Page 1 of Eat Your Heart Out
1
Gerard
Most of my brothers were already in the house, and the evening garden party was going. Wine flowed. Laughter drifted through the windows, and the night sky was thickening. A storm brewed.
My yacht had staff and was docked so I would not stress about rain.
I belonged there, with the only family I’d ever known, despite being abandoned then adopted from the hospital. Their happiness was all that mattered in the end.
My chest was still tense as I headed to my ship alone. Once the storm passed, I would be out to sea, and hopefully, with only the blue waters around me, I would learn to breathe again.
The staff were tying up the sails, and I jumped to help. Soon, it would just be me and them. Hard work was a relief. Once we finished, I reminded them they had rooms on the estate.
The Norouzis treated everyone with kindness—even me. Unlike the rest of them, inside, I struggled every second of every day to prove I belonged. And it wasn’t them. They loved me unconditionally.
I headed downstairs to grab my cell phone. I wasn’t expecting any calls, but not having it attached to me was hard. For five years, I had run and pushed and proved to myself over and over again that I was a winner. Losing was never an option. But at twenty-seven, my forehead had permanent wrinkles and my hair was thinning because I never slept or stopped working. I needed rest.
The only reprieve I’d had was working out, which cleared my mind and got me in shape for life on the ocean. My parents had encouraged me to let go and live my life, and sailing had always been my first love.
The last straw had been when I’d realized how much I was away making deals for my oil company and exercising in different gyms around the world. I’d sold my business because I wanted to stop.
My body tensed again at the memory, but then I remembered how that moment had been my precipice to change. Inside, the party was meant to celebrate my freedom and the start of my quest to see the world. The world was mine to enjoy, and it was time.
But even as I walked onto my ship, my mind raced with the question I needed to face.What will happen to me when I stop making deals?
I was on pins and needles, but I was determined to go through with the plan. One year of nothing but ocean would hopefully reconnect my heart, body, and soul.
Cyrus, one of my twelve brothers, stepped off his yacht then waved at me. He was olive skinned and Mideastern, like the only parents I’d ever known, as he was their natural-born son.
I’d always wished I had more of his looks, to be honest, though with every arm tattoo I got as a college kid, I knew I was rebelling and accepting I would never be perfect like the rest of them.
Once my brother was on board, he clapped me on the shoulder and said, “Congrats.”
I shook my head, but then we both settled into seats that overlooked the bay. “This is your night, Cyrus, not mine.”
He laughed. “You just made a 2.2-billion-dollar deal. You’re definitely Pedar’s favorite.”
No. I would never earn enough to prove myself. I winced at the thought that I logically knew wasn’t true. The trillion-dollar inheritance was mine as far as Pedar was concerned, without strings, but the money was more pressure on my shoulders. I lifted my chin and kept my thoughts to myself. “We both know that’s not true. Besides, today is your day. You’re engaged.”
“That party’s tomorrow night. The gathering in there is for you.” Cyrus’s eyes gazed at me like he saw right through me. “So, what are you going to do?”
He’d seen the map. I had a captain, his first mate, and soon, a steward to accompany me sailing around the world. I shrugged. “My yacht is being stocked.”
“And your food blog?”
My 1.2 million followers had no idea who I really was. Online, I spoke about food and wine. And my reviews had become renowned, as I was often in a new city or new continent. Writing about my dinners was almost grounding when I had no family near.
I shrugged again. “No one reads that anyhow except maybe that gossip site fishing for information. When I get to some ports, I’ll taste the local fare and leave my reviews.”
Our brother, Warren, recently had warned us that some of the gossip magazines had almost ruined his happiness with his fiancée. They were fine and would soon tell me their confirmed wedding dates. So the only things on my schedule for the next year were that I’d promised to fly to New York in May, dock or fly into Hawaii in June, and to join the family in December on a private island to ensure I hadn’t missed a family wedding. That meant I had to park the yacht a few times and shave.
The music from the house changed, and Cyrus smiled. “You could tell Pedar that you’re going to follow your passion and write your blog about foods. He’d be fine.”
I shook my head. “It’s not that easy for me. I was adopted.”
“You’ve been one of us since the day you were born. We all love you.”
Their love was the pressure inside my chest. It wasn’t physical, as I’d had every medical exam out there, not that anyone knew that.
