Shaking off the regret, I grabbed the file from my desk and headed upstairs. I pushed open the door to my brother’s office and found him and his girlfriend, Alexandra, wrapped like a pretzel on his office chair.
“Gross,” I said, announcing my presence.
Alex blushed like she always did, and Erik gave me a mock death glare for interrupting.
“I just came to drop these off,” I said a little winded.
“You know, if you let me move your office up here, you wouldn’t have to worry about those stairs.”
“I’m fine among my people. They’re my algebros.”
“Oh my god,” said a deep voice behind me. Ian, the Bergamo to Bergamo and Brandt, walked up and bumped his shoulder to mine. Or his arm since he was almost a foot taller than me. “Little Brandt, that may be one of your worst puns yet.”
Ian always gave me crap about my math puns like any pseudo big brother would. He’d been part of our family since I could remember, and I’d had a crush on him longer than I wanted to admit. Or, I used to have a crush on him. Thankfully, we’d been family long enough to move on from said crush and act like it never happened.
“I thought it was awesome.” Alex snickered and moved off Erik’s lap to lean against the desk.
I smiled my appreciation at her support as I dropped the files on Erik’s desk. “These are the numbers for the London office.”
He flipped open the folder and glanced over the first page.
Ian flopped down in the chair next to me and sighed. “When are we celebrating Alex’s big twenty-first birthday?”
“You guys don’t need to do that,” Alex said. She dropped her head and let her dark hair fall, hiding her face. Even after two years of being with Erik, she still hated having things given to her. Which blew my mind since all Erik did was shower her with everything she’d missed growing up. “It’s not even for another month.”
“For the woman who thawed Erik’s heart,” Ian said with a wink. “It’s got to be epic.”
“She’s graduating at the end of summer, too,” I added.
“Someone’s a show-off,” Ian joked. “Graduating a whole year and a half early.”
Erik smiled at Alexandra, and her cheeks blushed. Just from a look. “I forced her to. She said she wouldn’t marry me until she was done with school, so we needed to get this shit on the road.”
“You’re such a pain,” she reprimanded with a huge smile.
“Only for you.”
Their love was hard to watch. It hurt. Which made me feel guilty for not wanting to be around it too much. Erik deserved happiness. He’d been too serious for too long, shutting himself off to a future with anyone until he found Alex. I wanted that for him.
I just wanted it for me too, and I knew the chances of having it were slim to none. Watching them together stung like rubbing salt in a wound.
“Speaking of parties,” Erik said, turning his attention back to me. “We need to finalize the plans for the gala.”
The charity event was fast approaching but coming together smoothly. We were pretty efficient after so many years of hosting it. Each year bigger than the last, bringing in more money to help rehabilitate survivors of sex-trafficking. Almost all the money went to Haven, the all-in-one home to help those rescued through every step of the process, from therapy to drug rehab. Erik took a small portion to help fund his side business of tracking down traffickers and ending their role in the sex trade.
I took the most responsibility for planning the party. I’d never been able to share my past at the event but did my part by making sure the most money as possible was raised each year. I wasn’t as brave as the other men and women who stood up each year to tell their story. Sofia would have been a crusader, standing by Erik’s side as his partner in picking off the bad guys. She would’ve stood at the front of the line to share her story so no one would ever have to endure it.
I preferred behind the curtain work.
“Okay. I just can’t do it tonight. I have a barre class.”
Erik’s eyes flicked to mine with an all too knowing look. He knew I took the ballet workout class because Sofia couldn’t. It was my way of living for her when she couldn’t.
“Well,” Alex said, slapping her hands together. “That means now you can take me to dinner.”
Erik gripped her hips. “Only if I can have you for dessert.”
“Ew.” My face screwed up. “That is my cue to leave.”
“I’m right behind you,” Ian said. “Carina and Audrey are waiting at home.”
“Let me know when you’re available,” Erik said to my retreating back.
I quickly made my way back down to my office and started packing up for the day. My class didn’t start for another couple hours, but I could squeeze in some extra chapters before. Maybe it would help ease the pressure from earlier. Usually, the two activities eased any tension that crept up, but sometimes books and sweating it out weren’t enough. Hopefully, the extra hour of reading would do the trick.
I’d just slung my bag over my shoulder when my phone vibrated with a message.
Carina: Daniel said he’d give you a pass, but you need to sign an NDA first.
Carina: You in?
Daniel.
Just reading his name had my fingers tingling. It was the oddest thing to me because he was the newest person to my circle of friends, and yet, I didn’t have the usual anxiety around him. When I compared the feeling I had to hearing Sean watched me to how I felt just seeing Daniel’s name, it wasn’t even close.
Sean brought nerves and the unknown.
Daniel made my chest warm, and my heart speed up and slow down at the same time.
I’d only been around him a few
