Page 27 of Into the Woods

My brows lifted. “Isn’t that kind of… young?”

“Mum died,” he explained. “She had a rare genetic disorder. After she passed, my father figured the easiest way to raise me would be to let someone else do it.”

“Wow,” I murmured, imagining how awful it would be to have a parent die and then be shipped off to school all alone. “Did Alex not go with you?”

Ahead of us, Cami giggled at something Alex whispered. They paused at the coat check, shrugging off their jackets and passing them over. When Eric and I did the same, the attendant passed me a ticket that I tucked into my small clutch.

“You are absolutely stunning,” Eric told me, sounding a little awed.

I pressed my lips together but was unable to stop the smile that started to spread. Maybe Cami’s fashion sense had been dead on after all. “Thank you.”

“See?” Cami called, her tone airy as she waggled her elegant fingers. “I told you my cousin was exceptionally gorgeous.” She winked at me before hugging Alex’s arm to her chest while he led us down another hallway with an elevator at the end.

Eric’s lips pressed into a line, tension furrowing his brow for a millisecond before it smoothed away. “No. He’s five years older and has always been in line to take over my father’s position when the time comes. Family business, passed from one oldest son to the next.”

“Sounds… archaic,” I answered. I knew Alex was older than Cami, but I did the math. Eric was probably twenty-three, which put Alex somewhere much closer to the line of thirty than Cami’s twenty years.

“It absolutely is,” he agreed, “but it allowed me the freedom to choose my own path.”

Alex pressed a button for the elevator and turned to us, his gaze hard as he looked at his brother. “Yes, your own path. And how exactly is that going, little brother?”

Eric met his brother’s gaze with a level stare. “Splendidly. I mean, it doesn’t come with a lifetime membership to Assholes Anonymous like yours does, but we can’t all be winners, can we?”

Alex’s top lip lifted in a curl as Cami chuckled.

“Oh, come on, Eric,” she said, her tone light and teasing as she leaned around Alex, “he didn’t turn out that bad. I’ve trained him well.”

“Have you now?” Alex said, his voice quiet but with an edge that made me stiffen.

The elevator doors chimed before sliding open. No one moved.

Cami’s face fell. “I was just kidding, baby.”

“Quite the comedian, aren’t you, pet?” Alex remarked, his jaw still tight.

Eric forced a rough laugh. “Come on, Alex. We’re here to have fun. You remember what fun is, right?”

I watched the exchange with unease, waiting for something to break the tension. My gaze shot to my cousin, but she seemed intent on studying the dark wood floors under our feet.

“I’m sorry,” Cami whispered.

For what? I wanted to demand. For her boyfriend being an asshole, or for him giving off serial-killer vibes?

I was seconds away from grabbing my cousin and marching us the hell out of here. When she’d told me all about her billionaire boyfriend, showing off pictures of them all over Paris, I’d never gotten creep vibes. But now that he was in front of me? Bright red alarms were flashing in my mind.

Alex leaned forward and pressed a kiss to Cami’s temple. “Let’s not ruin our night.”

Cami nodded, the hand not tangled with his balled into a fist at her side.

Alex shot us a cocky smile. “And for the record, little brother, I know how to have p-plenty of f-fun.” The acid bite of his tone made me step back, but not before I felt Eric flinch.

“Let’s go,” Alex added, getting into the elevator car with Camille.

After a beat, Eric went in, and I followed, albeit reluctantly. I spent the silent ride up to the third floor mentally rehearsing how I planned to grab Cami for a bathroom trip as soon as the doors opened. I needed to know what in the actual hell my cousin was thinking.

God, I wished Maddie was here. She’d know what to say.

Then again, if Maddie was here, that would’ve meant Ryan was here. And I could just imagine Ryan Cain putting Alex in his place.

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