Page 58 of Nothing to Do

“I should get going.” She stood up, finally, everyone else was already on their feet. Zane didn’t see her as a no one, but it was obvious why the others would. “Thank you for dinner.”

Roxie came around to kiss her cheek and give her a hug. “You can stay, if you want to stay. There’s plenty of room here.”

“No, I want to get back to my sister.” She smiled at the men, the ones she’d had dinner with, the others she avoided. “It was nice to meet you all.”

Zane put an arm around her and she didn’t mind leaning on him as they made their way through the house to the front door.

He opened a closet and produced a light jacket. “Here, put this on. I don’t want you to get cold.”

“I’ll be fine,” she said, but threaded her arms into the sleeves anyway. “And you don’t have to escort me, I can make my way back—”

“Are you kidding? You’re my excuse to get the hell out of this madhouse.”

“It’s your house,” she said.

As he opened the door, she slipped through it.

“It’s Roxie’s house right now, and the mad thing suits her.”

“Do you think Zairn is still angry?”

“Yes,” he said, helping her into the cart.

No equivocation or hesitation.

“Would he hurt him?”

Zane came around to his side to start them moving. “Zairn Lomond has a long memory and a lot of friends. Roman forgets that too often.” Sliding closer, she held his arm when his hand went to her knee. “I’m sorry about tonight.”

“Sorry, why?” she asked as they drove through the main gate. “It wasn’t your fault.”

Though it was clear why he’d think she might believe that. “I said I was sorry for the other night, but I will keep saying it. I know now you weren’t responsible for what happened. You were with me, you had no idea he’d—”

“People enable him, you’re right about that. He has squads of flunkies running around cleaning up his messes. He’s used to doing what he wants, when he wants. I was only persuaded to let him even come here—”

“Because you thought his volatility was in his past.”

“And because I naïvely thought he’d be easier to control here. We think we control things, control him, but he always finds a way to screw things up for everyone else while he comes up smelling like roses.”

Lights warmed the road ahead, with more distance between them than regular streetlights, their color was warmer too. Funny the things she hadn’t considered, yet Zane deemed important. Lighting the road made everything safer and gave her a sense of security.

“I had no idea he had an identical twin.”

“It’s not a secret, but it’s not declared on the loudspeaker either.” Which meant superfans, and probably Alessia, would know. “Struan does all Roman’s stunt work, body doubles, you know any of the dangerous things Roman would have to be sober and sensible for.”

Ah! Hence Tripp’s amused outrage over the suggestion Roman would have to get in shape for the role.

“I feel sorry for him,” she admitted, her head sinking against him. “It must feel like his only value is what he can do for his brother.”

“Struan’s always been okay. He takes things in stride, doesn’t overthink them. He’s smarter than Roman, more honest, more honorable, but, yeah, we talk about it sometimes.”

“Talk about it?”

“Where will he be in five years? In ten? In twenty? His life, his daily purpose, is to be whatever Roman needs him to be. He works with him, lives with him, covers his ass on an hourly basis. If it wasn’t for Struan, Roman wouldn’t have any kind of career.”

“You’d never know it from the way they interact. Roman shows no gratitude.”

“Gratitude is something Roman was born without. Struan’s been doing this his whole life. Might say he doesn’t know any different.”

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