Page 94 of Just One Fake Date

Ty nodded, his expression composed. He had to be hiding his shock and disapproval. “That’s one of the maps you have in your office.”

He was observant, that was for sure. “You’re right. I had the house to myself by the time he got back and he came to stay for a bit, fixing some things for me.”

“But no financial contributions?”

“He brought me tiles from Mexico and helped put them in my kitchen. He’s handy.”

“But shouldn’t he pay you rent when he crashes at your place or contribute financially?” Tyler looked as if he was going to rattle Aidan’s cage over cash, and as much as Shannyn thought it was a noble goal, she understood her brother’s reality better than that. The waiter took their soup plates away.

“That’s a serious long shot,” Shannyn said. “Do you remember Venn diagrams?”

Tyler blinked at her abrupt change of subject. “Sure. Showing relationships with circles.”

“Exactly.” She indicated her side plate. “So, let’s say this is money.”

“Okay.”

She took Tyler’s side plate. “And this is you.” She put his plate on top of hers. “Your relationship with money is absolute, complete, intuitive and instinctive. You make it, you grow it, you save it, you understand it thoroughly. Maybe you have some magical ability to attract it or conjure it out of nothing, but it follows you and sticks to you. You’ve known it all your life and have a thorough understanding of it, like breathing.”

Ty smiled just a little and she looked back down at the plates, stomping down on her urge to reach out and touch his mouth. “I’ll let that go for the sake of argument,” he murmured.

Shannyn picked up the top plate and moved it so that it slightly overlapped the one on the table. “And this is me now, with my passing acquaintance with money. It comes and it goes, and I try to make some of it stick in the right places, sometimes with success and sometimes not. I have a mortgage, I pay my taxes and I do my billing, but in my universe, there’s always room for a better relationship with money. Maybe just more of it.”

“Okay.” Tyler was watchful, like he was ready to step up and propose a solution, but he remained silent.

Shannyn put the plate down on the other side of the table, a good three feet from the first plate. “And this is Aidan’s relationship with money.”

Tyler laughed out loud, as if she’d surprised him. “He has none.”

“It is the most casual of flirtations. He never has any. He never chases it. He just doesn’t care. He’s not materialistic but he is lucky. He always lands on his feet somehow somewhere. Money isn’t particularly relevant to him.” Shannyn lifted a finger. “It’s not that he’s lazy. He seldom has a job but he works hard. He’s practical and he can fix things. So, when Aidan comes to stay, taps stop dripping, light bulbs get replaced, fridges stop making odd noises and holes get patched. Walls get painted. Fences get built.”

“Furniture gets cleaned and polished.”

“And sewing machines are delivered to remote locations with a minimum of fuss.”

“He must have some goals.”

“If he does, I don’t know what they are. One day, he came home with a map of Europe and Asia and an airline ticket to Madrid. That was two years ago.”

“The second map.”

Shannyn nodded. “I bought one just like it myself to keep track of his progress. He calls and emails, sends postcards, then suddenly turns up, usually looking for a beer.” She shrugged. “So, that’s it for my family.”

She didn’t think she’d get away with that, and she was right.

“Not hardly,” Tyler said, his voice silky soft. “You left out Cole.”

“I’m not talking about him.” Shannyn risked a glance at Tyler and found him looking as stubborn as she felt.

“You don’t think it’s relevant?”

“No. I should add that to my list of rules. No talking about Cole.”

“Too late for that. You’ve made your list, and by adding him, you indicate that he’s very important.”

Shannyn shook her head. “He’s not. Not any more. I just don’t want to talk about failures.”

“All right then,” Tyler said, surrendering the topic unexpectedly. His eyes were vividly green, though, a sure sign of his interest. He was very still and very watchful, so intense that Shannyn felt a shiver slip over her skin. “Tell me a story instead.”

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