Page 73 of Nothing to Do

That was never an excuse. Man, was she judgmental tonight. Seeing Zane might deflate some of her pressurized distress.

She sighed. “You do know other people don’t live like this. That not every life is filled with melodrama and hissy fits.”

“I’ve heard tell.”

That flash of a smile lowered her shoulders a little. “I feel sorry for you.”

And his smile vanished to a frown. “Feel sorry for me?”

“I don’t know what kind of man you are, if you’re like your brother or not. But no one deserves to be an understudy in their own life. That’s what you are, you know. How do you even have friendships and relationships of your own?”

“Most of my friends know the deal. Tripp’s the guy I rely on most of the time, even though we live on opposite coasts.”

“That’s got to be tough.”

“Roman travels a lot. Even when he’s not shooting, he prefers not to stay put. He likes parties, likes the attention.” Something that didn’t need to be stated. “And he likes New York. It’s been a while, rehab put everything on pause.”

“For him,” she said. “What about you?”

They didn’t wait for the intercom, the gates opened for them, and he drove on through.

“It was good to get some time to numb out, focus on my own shit. I’m not a flashy guy like Roman and Logan, their lives always seemed exhausting.”

“It’s a life you live too.”

“On the periphery,” he said. “It’s not the same as being the one always constricted by demands.”

“Doesn’t your brother put demands on you? If you’re his double, a lot of the work has to be yours.”

They pulled to a stop by the portico. “I like the physical stuff and I always had more stamina than Roman for pushing through when things get tough. Working out helps me focus, I like getting lost in it. Roman was always more interested in… other things.”

Like drugs and alcohol, maybe like women and wild adventures.

“If it wasn’t for you—”

“See, I don’t like that.” He shifted to get a better angle for the conversation. “If it wasn’t for me, yeah, maybe he wouldn’t have got this far, maybe Hollywood would’ve written him off years ago, but what do I get from that? Who would get schadenfreude watching their own skin tank?”

More than a pretty face. Struan was more articulate than Roman, more patient, more genuine.

“I don’t think you want Roman to fail, or anyone wants him to fail. His success is built on your hard work.”

He shook his head slightly. “I don’t want it. I never wanted—”

“I get that because I’d bet twins are a big deal, if both of you got equal recognition—”

“I get to do what I love. I keep fit, face new challenges every day. I like what I do.”

“And do you ever think that maybe success is part of the problem? Roman’s been told his behavior is okay by those who clean up after him. Failing is an extreme end of the spectrum, but maybe if Hollywood wasn’t always weighing him down, the media wasn’t always hounding him, he could find peace in that? One that maybe helps him deal with his addictions without immediately launching back into the environment that caused the trouble in the first place.”

His almost defensive position loosened as he narrowed his eyes on her. “Have you been talking to Rox?”

“Not about this,” she said.

Lights flashed behind them.

Three other carts came trundling up with a dark SUV in back. She hadn’t seen any actual vehicles on the island thus far, so that last one was a surprise.

Struan appeared at her side and he offered a hand to help her out. Though as soon as she saw Zane in one of the carts, she let go to rush over.

---