“Yeah, considering Cade’s net worth, that brings Nick in at around half a billion dollars.” Darius caught her gaze. “Don’t ever underestimate Nick. He’ll come here all Southern-gentleman charm and manners and he’ll leave with the silver.”
Her eyes widened. “He’s a thief?”
“No, he’s a sweet-talker.”
Whitney couldn’t help it; she laughed. “So you have a sweet-talker and a grouch for half-brothers?”
“Yeah, great, isn’t it? I’ve got a grouch, a sweet-talker and a baby.” He snorted in derision. “Which makes me crazy to think I can unite them.”
“Or a tower of strength.”
“Right.”
“Oh, come on. You know you’re strong.”
He gave her a confused look, then a grin bloomed on his face and he nudged her playfully. “You think I’m strong.”
She sucked in a breath. Even casual contact with him sent her senses reeling. But she understood why. Not only was she needy, but he was awfully good-looking. Now that they were getting to know each other, it was sometimes difficult not to simply fall into what seemed to be happening between them.
But, remembering Gino, remembering how difficult it was just to be able to hold him without thinking of Layla, she knew getting involved in a sexual relationship would be every bit as traumatic. She couldn’t risk this newfound peace between her and Darius.
She got up from the sofa and walked to the fireplace. “Don’t get too excited. I’m just saying that anybody who runs a company as big as yours has to have his attributes.”
“Like what?”
“Like you’re vain and arrogant.” She smirked at him. “Do you really want the list to go on?”
He rose from the sofa and ambled over. “I like the other list better. The one where you talk about the good things.” He paused and studied her eyes as if he’d been thinking the same thing she had been while sitting beside him on the sofa—how easy it would be to fall into whatever was happening between them.
Trying to get them back on point, she said, “Okay, you’re strong. You’re a good leader. And when push comes to shove, you always try to do the right thing.”
He grinned. “See. I knew you could come up with a better list.”
“You’re making me want to go back to the one that starts with vain and arrogant.”
His features shifted, his expression became serious again. “Don’t.”
Awareness bubbled through her. She wanted to believe it was only their sexual attraction, something she could deal with by always staying a few feet away. But gazing into his eyes, that excuse didn’t work. In a few short weeks, she’d come to see what a good man Darius Andreas was. Were she not wounded, were she not afraid, she would be falling head over heels in love with him because he was the kind of man a woman couldn’t help loving.
She sighed playfully as if put upon. “All right. I’ll stick with the list that reminds me that you always try to do the right thing.”
“I’d appreciate that.”
His expression was so intense she suddenly wondered if he wasn’t telling her something more. That he seriously wanted her to see his good points because he wanted her to like him.
Her heart leapt with hope. But she squelched it. No matter how good he was, she was weak. She was broken. He deserved better.
She swallowed. Scrambling to get them out of their personal conversation, she pulled away. “I’ll bet it seems odd for you to have brothers who are so different.”
Watching her walk back to the sofa, apparently accepting her return to their original topic, he said, “Yes and no. We never met until we were adults, so I spent most of my life growing up as an only child. When we did meet, we didn’t like each other. I was the product of a marriage. They resented me because our father didn’t marry either of their moms. And Nick’s mom had a long-term relationship with our dad. It was a surprise when he walked away rather than marry her.”
“That is kind of awful.”
He took the poker from beside the fireplace and stirred the logs, creating a shower of sparks.
“If you dislike that story, you’ll really hate Cade’s. His mom was a one-night stand. Stephone simply refused to return her calls until she got a court order for a DNA test after Cade was born.” He shook his head. “He didn’t think enough of Cade’s mom to call her back. I don’t know Cade, but if someone treated my mother that badly, I’d hate him, too.”
“No wonder they’re bitter.”
“And don’t forget, our different mothers taught us different things. Mine always loved our dad. She taught me to respect him.” He shook his head. “I wanted to hate him.” He caught her gaze. “Not for me, but for her. He loved her, yet he couldn’t stop cheating.”
She understood Darius’s anger, but she’d handled enough divorces to be a realist. “For some men, fidelity is impossible.”
He looked at the ceiling. “Do you really believe that?”
“Yes.” She answered unequivocally, knowing that would bring some sort of meaning to his childhood suffering. It didn’t exactly smooth it over, but it did somewhat explain it and take the burden off the women who bore the Andreas brothers and put it where it belonged. On Stephone.
“With some men an affair is the best a woman will get. Lots of women go into them with their eyes open.” She shrugged. “I know Missy did. She hadn’t expected anything from your dad but what they had in the moment. I’ll bet she never spent a sorry day because her expectations were real, honest.”
Darius turned to face her and his gaze slid over to hers. His dark eyes held hers, as if there was something else he wanted to say, but instead he turned away and headed for the bar.
“So we get beer and steak,” she said, snatching the opportunity to return them to their intended subject because the silence in the room was strained. Awkward. And she wasn’t sure why. Especially since they had been getting along, relating normally, for several days.
She couldn’t risk losing that. “Since Nick is from the South, I’d say some Tennessee whiskey would probably also be in order.”
“Some shrimp.”
“And crab legs.”
Darius laughed. “Are you still trying to please Cade’s potential mystery wife or yourself?”
“Hey, if I have to be here, I’m making the most of your money and connections to get some really good fresh fish.”
Chuckling, he pulled a bottle from beneath the bar. “How about a glass of wine?”
“Actually, if our work here is done, I want to go talk with Cook and then call my dad.”
“Why?”
“I have a fabulous recipe for jambalaya and my father has the name of a whiskey I think both your brothers will like.”
“You don’t have to do that.”
She smiled. “I want to.”
The funny part of it was she did. She liked taking charge. She liked the spike of adrenaline that formed when she had a plan to work and was working a plan. She’d been hiding in the background for so long she’d almost forgotten what a formidable force she could be. After a brief smile, she left the room.
Darius watched her leave, not missing one sway of her soft hips, one step of her long, curved legs. He leaned on the bar and rubbed his