Page 50 of Filthy Rich

“No worries.”

I walk off, lean against the railing and hit the button. “Yeah?”

“Good of you to answer the phone,” Roman says.

“I’m on vacation. As I mentioned.”

“And I love that for you. Except for the part about you dumping all your work in my lap.”

“Not all. Some. I’ve been in touch with the office. I’ve been doing plenty of work in my downtime. And I seem to recall covering for you when you were out last year,” I remind him.

“Are you comparing my ruptured appendix with your sudden desire to traipse around the world on a cruise ship?”

It takes me a moment to rein in my temper. I don’t like the reminder that I’m so out of control when it comes to Tamsyn. That I took one look at her and shelved the rest of my life, including a lot of my responsibilities. Most of all, I don’t like the intrusion of my regular life on my vacation bubble. I know the real world is out there waiting for my return. Ackerley will always be there looming in the background, with all the memories. That’s why this time alone with Tamsyn without interference feels so important. I deserve it after what I went through.

I tighten my grip on the phone and grit my teeth. “What the fuck do you want, Roman?”

Shocked silence on the other end of the line. I don’t care.

“I want to remind you that we’re closing the Vanderbilt deal next week,” he says. “We’ve got meetings. I need you back by then. I’m Superman, but even I can’t manage everything by myself.”

“Fine.”

Another lengthy pause.

“I’m concerned here, Lucien,” he finally says, and I hear the conciliatory note in his voice. “Is something going on with your personal life? Because the last time you got like this was…before.”

He knows not to say my wife’s name to me. Everyone does.

The merest hint of that part of my life ties me in knots.

“This isn’t like that,” I quickly say.

A pause. “But you’ve met someone?”

I don’t want to admit it, but none of me seems capable of denying Tamsyn, even a little bit. “Yes.”

He curses.

That’s when something weird happens. I find myself wanting to reassure him, even though I never explain myself, especially when it comes to my personal life. Or maybe I’m the one who needs reassurance.

“I’m having a little summer fun. Not a big deal.”

“It feels like a big deal, Lucien.”

He’s not wrong. “I don’t know what to tell you. Are we done?”

A long silence from Roman. “I’m your brother. I want you to be okay.”

“I am.”

“Now is not the time for you to go off the rails again. When Ravenna died, you just?—”

As always, the sound of her name unhinges something inside me.

“My wife went out on a boat and disappeared,” I say sharply. “I looked for her. Anyone would.”

Even now, I feel the shock of her sudden disappearance. The absolute disbelief that a woman like Ravenna could be there one minute and gone the next. So, yeah, I searched for her. Long after the authorities gave up, I hired my own divers. My own detectives. Because I thought… What? That she’d turn up somehow? Come back and wonder what all the commotion was about?

---