Awakened (Steel Brothers Saga 16)

Such a riddle, this man.

“Come on out on the deck,” Diana says. “It’s such a gorgeous night. You want a drink?”

“Maybe just some water,” I say.

“Sure. Dale, can you stay for a while?”

“He’s going back to the vineyards,” I say.

“Poo on the vineyards.” Dee pouts. “I haven’t seen my big brother in months. Come out and visit.”

I expect Dale to decline, but his gaze softens. “Okay, Sis.”

“I’ll get us some water.” She smiles at Dale. “Unless you want Peach Street?”

“Water’s good,” he says. “Where are Mom and Dad? Bree?”

“The three of them went over to Uncle Joe’s. I stayed here to wait for Ash to get home.”

He nods. “What are they doing over there?”

“Heck if I know. Just hanging, probably.”

That explanation seems to make sense to Dale. He and I follow Dee out onto the deck. I still have my jacket on, and I’m glad to have it. Dale and Dee seem fine without one.

Sometimes I realize just how much of a California girl I truly am.

Diana hands each of us a glass of cold water with a slice of lemon, pauses a moment, and then, “So…I have some news.”

“What’s that?” Dale asks.

“I got a phone call after dinner tonight. Remember that architecture internship in Denver I applied for this semester?”

“Yeah,” he says, “and the idiots chose someone else.”

She nods. “Apparently the idiots want me now. Their first choice fell through.”

A lump forms in my throat. “Does that mean…?”

“I told them I’d think about it,” she says.

“That’s ridiculous,” Dale says. “You really wanted that internship. What is there to think about?”

She looks at me awkwardly.

Me.

I’m what she has to think about.

Diana and I haven’t known each other for long, but we’ve gotten pretty close. Close enough that I don’t feel too weird living at her house for three months. If she’s not here, though? It’ll get weird real fast.

“I’m not sure it’s the right thing right now,” she goes on.

Dale shakes his head. “Sis, take it.”

“I don’t like being second choice.”

“Think of all the people who aren’t second choice,” he says. “This is a great opportunity for you.”

“So you’re in favor of this internship?” I say.

Dale meets my gaze. “I’m in favor of great opportunities for my sister. She’s going to be a hell of an architect.”

“I don’t doubt that,” I say, “but you don’t think an intern is needed at the winery.”

He stays silent a few seconds, takes a sip of his water. Swallows. “No, I don’t. We’ve been through that.”

“Interns are free labor,” I say.

“Are you paying my parents to live in this house? Eat their food?”

“Well”—my cheeks are burning—“no.”

“Then your labor is hardly free. Besides, we don’t need free labor. We have an excellent staff.”

“For God’s sake,” Diana says. “The two of you are a pair.”

I scoff. “A pair of what?”

“You’re like oil and water. Get over yourselves. You have more in common than not.”

We both have a passion for wine.

That’s it.

That’s all we have, but I admit, it’s a big one.

“I have nothing in common with her,” Dale says.

“That’s it,” Diana says. “I’m not taking the internship.”

Relief sweeps through me. Selfish, I know, but I’ll feel really strange living here without Diana.

“You are,” Dale says.

“I can’t. I invited Ashley here. I can’t just leave her.”

“Ashley’s a big girl,” he says. “She can take care of herself.”

“Can she? You haven’t stopped tormenting her all evening.”

I roll my eyes. “Hello? Remember me? Quit talking about me like I’m not here.”

“Sorry, Ash.” From Diana.

Nothing from Dale, of course, until he turns to me, his green eyes on fire.

“Tell her,” he says. “Tell her to take the internship.”

Talk about a rock and a hard place. If I tell her to take it, I have to stay here without her. Deal with Dale Steel without her. If I tell her not to take it, I look like a selfish bitch.

I’m not a selfish bitch. Not even slightly. But Dale Steel brings out the brat in me.

“It’s your decision, Diana. Not mine, and not Dale’s.”

“Nice going,” he says. “My sister will do a hundred things for strangers before she does one for herself.”

“I just don’t think the timing is right,” Diana says.

“See?” Dale glares at me. “She’s going to give up the opportunity of a lifetime—”

“It’s hardly the opportunity of a lifetime,” Diana says.

“That’s not what you said when you applied last spring. And that’s not what you said when you found out you were a finalist. I believe your exact words were, ‘This is the opportunity of a lifetime for me.’”

“I was being overdramatic.”

Dale shakes his head, that luxurious mane falling over his shoulders. “This is a chance to help design what’s going to be the highest skyscraper in Denver. Don’t tell me it’s all of a sudden not a great opportunity.”

“What do your parents say?” I ask.

“They don’t know yet. The email came after they went over to Uncle Joe’s.”