Page 88 of Always Red (Chasing Red 2)

My mom would probably sell me before she’d put dead dinosaur bones in her hotel. She had a spare son anyway.

I found myself grinning when I spotted Ben in the lounge, sitting on the window seat overlooking the beautiful manicured gardens.

Almost a year had passed since Ben and I had seen each other. He’d been more than a brother to me as a child; he’d also been a best friend and a father to me when ours left.

Dressed in a charcoal suit, he looked very sophisticated—if you didn’t count the dark blond hair that fell loose just above his shoulders, giving an impression of wildness. Even as a kid, he’d always been both a little proper and a little wild.

People always remarked how we didn’t look like brothers. He had our dad’s strong, masculine looks, while I’d inherited our mom’s softer features. He had a rakish face. Confident and intelligent gray eyes that could charm a woman or silence a grown man with just one look. A strong nose, a square jaw.

I had punched that jaw many times when we were kids, about as many times as he’d punched mine. He was the one who’d taught me how to fight.

He must have felt my presence because his eyes abruptly shifted to mine. And then he grinned.

“Look at that face,” he greeted, rising from his seat and wrapping me in a fierce hug. “Still butt-ugly.”

“Goddamn. I missed you.”

“Don’t cry now. People will think I broke up with you,” he said, but he only hugged me tighter. “Sit your ass down and tell me what you’ve been up to.” He signaled for service as we took our seats.

“What’s with the hippie hair?” I teased.

“Ah. Gives me an exotic look.” He smoothed his dark-blue tie. “Women love it.”

I scoffed. “Women just like you for your money.”

He chuckled, then smiled at the girl who placed a cup of coffee in front of him and a glass of orange juice in front of me. He thanked her, and she blushed. “We’ll have dinner in fifteen minutes.”

“Yes, Mr. Lockhart,” she said.

“I ordered for us already,” Ben explained as the server walked away. “So, a college graduate.” I watched as he poured cream in his coffee, stirring it with a silver spoon. “You’re all grown up and ready to take over the world.”

“Let’s start with one hotel. I heard you have a job for me.”

“If you want it. Mom wants you to supervise this hotel. It needs a lot more attention than the others.” He paused, sipped his coffee. “But you’d have to relocate here.”

“I’d rather stick to home,” I replied instantly.

I wasn’t budging. Red needed to finish one more year of school.

Ben raised his brows.

“For a year or two. At least,” I added.

He straightened in his seat, crossing his legs. “Mom won’t be pleased.”

I shrugged. I hated disappointing my mom, but this was nonnegotiable for me. “I’ll tell her myself.”

“You got a girl?”

“Yeah.” I grinned. “Yeah, I’ve got a girl.”

“There are two types of women in a man’s life,” he started, his gray eyes twinkling. “First type: Damn, she’s hot. I want to bang her.”

“And the second?” I asked.

“Damn, she’s hot. I want to bang her.”

I laughed and then thought of Red’s dark eyes, the way they laughed in delight or blazed in anger or determination. I felt my heart trip. “Nah. She’s more the ‘Damn, she’s perfect. I want to marry her’ type.”

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