Page 32 of The Billionaire Experience

“Yeah, yeah.”

“How’s the book coming along?”

The dreaded question.

“Great.” He gripped his side, sucking in air through his teeth before slapping on a smile. “Right on schedule. How’s Chloe?”

Zander stopped walking and gestured to a park bench. The wind kicked at his dark blond hair, a few shades lighter than Brody’s. When they sat, his brother spoke. “Don’t make me drag it out of you.”

“What are you talking about?” Brody eyed a water fountain some yards away from where they sat, either because he was thirsty or desperate to flee this conversation. Zander was regarding him with what looked like not a lot of patience. “Oh, the book.”

“Yeah. The book.”

Brody leaned back on the bench and offered a brief shrug. “It’s off to a slow start, but then so is acclimating to homeownership.”

Zander’s expression lost some of its intensity. “I can understand that. It’s not a natural leap for you.”

He could say that again. Brody was used to living in a penthouse part time while attending parties part time while traveling part time. Now he was glued to his laptop when he wasn’t nailing pieces of wood trim in the master bedroom. Quite the contrast.

“I’m used to keeping busy.”

“You’re used to not stopping for longer than five minutes,” his brother countered.

“I hired help for the repairs, which frees me up to write.” If he managed to find time in between making out with Reagan.

“I heard about your handywoman.” Zander hoisted an eyebrow, proving he knew more than he’d originally let on. “Jaylyn said you two were dating.”

“Reagan and I are not dating. I just met her. And I will bet you a million dollars that J didn’t use that phrase.”

“Going at it was the phrase she used.” Zander’s lips curled with uncertainty. “I had to ask her to clarify whether that meant having sex or fighting. She amended that you were making out.”

“Hardly making out.” He was making out with Reagan before Jaylyn busted into the house unannounced. And he would have enjoyed resuming what he’d started if not for his sister’s interruption. “We ate dinner and drank a beer. Which sounds great right about now. Where’s a good post-run bar around here?”

“Sounds like a date to me.”

“We didn’t label it.” Which had left him in an interesting position. Was he supposed to call and ask her to come over, or was she planning on popping over as part of her workday? When did her workday start? He had no idea. All he knew was that he’d hired her “exclusively” save for the standing customers who paid monthly, and that he’d agreed to compensate her double for her time. She’d left Friday night promising to see him “tomorrow” but then had texted to say she couldn’t show up after all. Had he been stood up? “Should I label it?”

It was weird to feel uncertain about women—weirder still to ask Zander’s advice, who knew next to nothing about dating.

“You’re both adults. Presumably.” Zander slid him an arrogant glance and Brody flipped him off. “You can do whatever you like.”

“Jaylyn’s feelings are hurt. She went on and on about us not being a family and then mentioned that if I’m not careful I’ll burn the Reagan bridge and skip town.”

“She…what?”

“Oh, she didn’t share that part of the evening with you?”

“No. She didn’t.”

Figured.

“She has this idea that we—as in you, me, Dante, and Jaylyn—aren’t close enough. Now that you are living in Chicago and I’m here for a while, she wants Dante to visit so that we can have dinner together on Sundays or some shit.”

Zander didn’t say anything, but Brody could read his blank expression. They’d never shared weekly dinners, nor had they spent time together doing normal day-to-day stuff like most siblings did growing up. Even when they’d been under the same roof at Octavius’s home, they’d each had their own nanny. They’d often spent mealtimes and activities separate from each other. Which had seemed strange after he’d learned how most of the world lived. And it wasn’t like living with his mom had been normal, either.

“Jaylyn’s always wanted that closeness. It’s why she stops by to visit us and doesn’t leave,” Zander said with a tender smile.

True. The last time Jaylyn had crashed in on Brody she’d ended up staying for two months. But even then, he’d been out of the penthouse most of the time, leaving her on her own in the large space.

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