His Secretary's Little Secret. Catherine Mann

one-up me, for sure. And how the hell did you know about that? It was supposed to be—”

      Xander cut him off, a smile present in his tone. “A secret and you just invested well, I know. But one of your colleagues saw me at a wildlife preserve convention and thought I was you.”

      “Ouch.” While the brothers shared the same deep blue eyes and broad-chested build, Xander’s clean-cut executive look could never be confused with Easton’s collar-length hair and slightly disheveled persona.

      “It was a windy day. I didn’t look like I’d combed my hair.”

      “I think I was just insulted.”

      “You were.” A laugh rumbled in Xander’s throat.

      “Thanks.”

      “No problem. How’s it going on your...what was it you were doing today?”

      He was probing. Easton could hear it in his voice. Through clenched teeth Easton replied, “A professional run with my assistant.”

      “Right.” Doubt dripped from Xander’s tone. Easton could practically see Xander’s eyebrow raise, incredulous as always. “How’s that going?”

      “We’ll be back by the end of the day.”

      “Given your wanderlust soul, something makes me doubt that,” Xander teased, but the joke missed its mark. Struck a nerve in Easton.

      “We will be.”

      “That reminds me of when Mom used to say she’d have us all back to the hotel by dinner, but instead, we’d spend the night somewhere unexpected. You’ve got her sense of time, you know.”