It's a beautiful name for a striking woman.
"Why are you here?" Crew directs the question at his brother as he tugs his T-shirt back over his head. "Why the hell would you bring her?"
"We're friends," Kade answers quickly, his gray eyes scanning Crew's face. "You know that we're friends, Crew."
"Did you know that I was up here with Adley?"
I can answer that question. When Kade texted me three days ago to see how things were going, I mentioned my weekend trip. I didn't tell him that I was headed here with Crew, but he apparently connected those dots on his own.
"Adley told me, but I thought you'd be gone by now." He taps the face of his wristwatch. "Isn't it dinner with your friends on Sunday night, then you at your desk first on Monday morning? You're running behind schedule."
"I'm here until tomorrow night." He crosses his arms over his chest.
"Fair enough." Kade moves to stand next to Crew's ex-fiancée. "Damaris needed a break from the city. I needed a day off work, so we're here for the night."
"You're leaving." Crew widens his stance.
"I'll take my old room." Kade turns to talk to Damaris. "You'll bunk in Lark's old room. Does that work for you, Crew?"
"No."
"Why not?"
"You need to leave now, Kade." He gestures toward the front door. "Get lost."
"If you can bring a friend up here, I sure as hell can too." Kade squeezes my bicep. "I'm not going anywhere."
"Fuck it. Then we are." Crew turns to his side to look down at me. "Pack up your stuff. We're leaving."
I've never seen him this on edge before. Usually, when he gets angry, it's always laced with humor. He's a master at controlling his temper, but that's not the person I see in front of me now.
"Crew?" I reach for his forearm, but he brushes my hand away.
"Get ready to go, Ad." His eyes dart between Damaris and me. "Now."
I nod.
Crew's on his way to the kitchen and the bedrooms beyond before I've taken a step. I fold my arms over my chest, suddenly aware that my dress is sheer.
"I'm sorry, Adley." Kade wraps his arm around my shoulder. "I didn't mean to fuck up your entire weekend."
I'm sorry too. Not only did Crew and I get interrupted at the worst possible time, but I met his ex-fiancée; a woman I didn't know existed until now.
"It's fine," I lie. "I need to get back to the real world anyway."
"You're from New York too, yes?" Damaris moves to look at me. "You and Crew are friends?"
"She's one of his best friends," Kade offers. "She keeps him in line."
I smile at him. In the text I sent him about my trip, I didn't mention anything about the kiss. It's not his business. It's a secret that only Crew and I share.
"I used to keep him in line." Damaris laughs. "We were friends too, but then it was more."
"And then he made a mistake and let you go," Kade adds.
"You would have been the best brother-in-law." She turns from Kade to study my face. "Have we met before?"
"No," I answer quickly because if I met this woman I sure as hell would remember it. She could jump on any catwalk and strut herself to a million dollar contract.