Page 54 of Nothing to Do

“Are Breckenridges capable of abandoning anyone in need?” Roxie asked on a smile.

“Privately, maybe, but, you know, Mom gets everywhere. She hears everything.”

Roxie laughed. “Got to love a man still afraid of his momma.”

“Maybe if Roman was afraid of anything, we wouldn’t be in this fucking mess.”

These men weren’t responsible for another man’s actions. Yet the way they sat, each relaxed in their chair, enjoying their drinks in the moonlight, they weren’t the most optimistic bunch.

“It’s not just about the addiction,” she said because someone had to come at it from another angle. “Yes, that’s a disease, that needs treatment, but was he on pills the other night? Is this a true relapse?”

“Roman takes whatever he can get his hands on,” Zairn said.

Struan nodded. “Yeah, he shouldn’t be drinking either.”

“He says he can control it.”

“He says a lot of things.” Struan held a weight on his shoulders that didn’t belong to him, that shouldn’t belong tohim. “He doesn’t understand moderation. If he could stop at one…”

Imagine living your whole life in the shadow of another. Of someone who looks exactly like you. Watching them live their life with complete disregard for anyone else. She could almost feel his guilt, his regret. Roman wouldn’t be the only one judged for his actions, Struan had to walk down the street wearing the same face. People wouldn’t give him a break, they’d assume he was his irresponsible brother.

“Did you get along as children?” she asked, curious about the man they hadn’t talked about. “You and your brother?”

“Roman gets along with anyone who puts him first.”

“And you did?”

“He’s spent a lot of time with therapists telling him all the things he missed out on.”

Except it seemed to her, Roman got a lot more than most. “He went into acting and Logan’s this crazy big rockstar…”

Struan’s lips curled, for the first time that night, apparently enjoying the conversation. “So why didn’t I launch myself into fame and fortune?”

“It’s not the first time you’ve heard the question.”

Of course it wasn’t.

His eyes drifted to his cousin. “First time today, that’s something.”

Though she’d only known him, known of him, for a couple of hours, she wouldn’t say he was the shy, retiring type. Quieter maybe than Tripp, definitely quieter than Roxie, he didn’t strike her as meek or passive. Maybe seeing him with Roman would—

Sound carried and everyone piqued. From elsewhere in the house, what was—

“Suck my balls!” someone screamed, okay, Roman screamed.

The voice was familiar now, for all the wrong reasons.

“Oh, well, there’s an invitation,” Roxie said, putting down her drink and uncrossing her legs to sit straight. “Rock, paper, scissors? Tripp, it could fall to you as the only single, non-blood relative at the table.”

Zairn’s hand slid onto her shoulder to draw her back in the seat. “Settle down, Lola.”

“Who said I was single?” Tripp asked.

“Certainly none of the dozen or so women you’re stringing along back home, Priest,” Roxie said, sharing a smile with Tripp.

“Only a dozen?” Zairn murmured under his breath. “You’re slacking, Junior.”

“Is he drunk?” she asked of their uninvited guest.

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