I nodded and looked up to see the other four guys nodding too. Tristan was a billionaire who’d built up his online pharmaceutical distribution business from scratch. Dexter was a diamond dealer and as sharp a man as I’d ever met. All six of us were the best in our field. We all had a lot to be proud of. But Duke of Edinburgh would make top three on our list of accomplishments any day of the week. We all owed a good portion of our success to the skills we developed during those times.
“And you get to go to Buckingham Palace, right?” Stella asked.
“If you complete gold, you sure do. We met the Duke of Edinburgh.” Dexter pulled out his phone and brought up a picture of him and his mum and dad in front of the palace gates. We all had a similar picture. And of course, we had plenty of the six of us.
“You all seem very passionate about it,” Stella said.
“Well, Beck here is,” Dexter said. “If he hadn’t done Duke of Edinburgh, he would have fallen down a plughole.”
“Fuck off. I was lean.”
Stella laughed and part of me wanted to strip down naked and challenge anyone to take the piss out of me. I was still lean, but unlike when I was fourteen, I now had the muscles that defined my shape. I didn’t get out into the country to hike as much as I’d like, but I was committed to running and the gym.
“So, what else do I need to know about this guy?” Stella asked.
“He’s disgustingly competitive,” Tristan said.
“Coming from you?” He had to be kidding. Tristan was one of the most competitive people on the planet and the worst loser who ever lived.
“We’re not talking about me,” he replied. “We’re talking about you.”
“We’re all competitive,” I said. None of us could argue with that. What went unspoken was that we’d all step in front of a train for each other.
When Gabriel’s father died when I was seventeen, I caught three trains and walked seven miles to get to the funeral.
Two years ago, when Tristan’s sister’s boyfriend punched her, Joshua tracked him down online, drained his bank accounts of money, destroyed his credit rating, and gave him a criminal record for aggravated assault.
When I bought my first flat in Hackney, all of them showed up and helped me gut the place.
We were brothers. I’d learned some time ago that family wasn’t about blood that you shared but experiences that bound you.
“Okay, what about current bad habits?” Stella asked.
“Honestly, he’s not got the greatest track record with women,” Joshua said. “But other than that, he’s a pretty decent guy.”
“What does his track record with women look like?” Stella asked.
“Women just aren’t my focus,” I replied before anyone else could add something I couldn’t row back from. “So I can be a bit thoughtless.”
“Have you ever had a serious relationship?” she asked.
“Serious?” Dexter asked with a chortle.
“I work too much,” I mumbled.
“Like I keep telling you, mate, you won’t have to consciously try to make an effort when you find the right woman. But until then, a fake relationship sounds like a good idea. Make sure you keep him on his toes,” Dexter said.
“So this is some kind of immersion weekend before you go to the wedding?” Joshua asked. “I gue
ss you had to squeeze it in before you go to New York next week.”
Fuck, I’d completely forgotten I was headed stateside next week. Stella wasn’t going to be happy.
“You’re going to New York?” she asked. “For how long?”
“The trip is ten days in all. I’m spending a few days in Chicago, but I don’t go until Thursday.”
“Can you cancel? We have prep to do. I won’t make a total fool out of myself in front of all my friends.”