She rolled her eyes. “Ezra, get out of here.”
“Don’t hurt me like that,” he said, putting a hand to his chest. “I thought we had a good thing going.”
“So did I,” said the caterer. “Until you left on your boat and never called me back!”
He looked over his shoulder at me and put his arms up as if to say, ‘what’s a guy to do’. He was cute, that was for sure, but so not my type. Too cocky, too immature. Now Gina on the other hand, my friend who was asking about Ezra just that morning, I could totally see why she would be into him. They had similar personalities. Everywhere Gina went, she made friends, and it sounded like everywhere Ezra went he made ‘friends’ too.
I took my glass of water back to the table and sat down. “Hey Ezra,” I said. “Do you know a guy by the name of Dan Russo by any chance?”
“Dan Russo!” he said the name back to me in an excited voice. “Do I! He and I used to be really good friends. I haven’t seen him for longer than I’d care to admit, but once upon a time, he and I were like brothers. Why do you ask? Do you know him?”
“I’m good friends with his younger sister, Gina.”
Something about that name seemed to strike a chord with Ezra, but if he knew who I was talking about, he didn’t say anything, and before I could ask a follow up question, Matt poked his head into the kitchen. “Ezra, would you get back here! It’s your turn to listen to one of dad’s work stories from the glory days.” He looked at me and smiled. “Hey Stephanie. I hope you like the food.”
“It’s great. Thanks for setting some out for me.”
“Of course.” He frowned at his brother. “Ezra, c’mon. Now!”
Ezra groaned, poured himself a glass of champagne from the bottle resting in ice nearby, and then left the kitchen without another word. Once he was gone, the caterer turned to me and said, “Do yourself a favor and don’t fall for Ezra’s tricks.”
“Oh trust me,” I said. “I won’t. I’m worried about my friend though—it’s possible she already has.”
* * *
I thought everyone had left when I came upstairs with Will. He had fallen asleep near the end of the Disney movie he’d chosen for us to watch that night, so he was groggy as he made his way up to bed. I said goodnight after making sure he brushed his teeth, then headed back to the main floor just in time to catch Matt talking to one of his other brothers. They were speaking in a hushed tone, standing in the front doorway.
“What’s this drama with your new assistant?” Matt said.
“If I tell you, you have to promise me you won’t tell David.”
“Alright,” Matt said. “I guess I can promise that.” But then Matt stepped outside on the front porch and closed the door behind them, and that was the last I heard of the conversation.
ChapterEight
MATT
The dinner party had simultaneously gone better and worse than I had anticipated.
On the one hand, it was good to spend time with my brothers, and I think Jeremy had a nice time. It was his birthday after all, so that’s what really mattered. On the other hand, my dad spent much of the evening trying to either pick fights with my brother David, or trying tostarta fight between David and me. He made a few comments about how disappointed he was in David’s decision to step down as CEO, but then he had followed those up by proudly announcing that I was doing a better job running the company than David ever did.
It was all very passive aggressive and frustrating, but not unexpected. Not from him, that is.
By the time they all left, I was feeling pretty exhausted, but I had enough energy to clean up a little so that’s what I did. I finished some of the dishes that the caterer had left behind to soak, all while sipping my third glass of champagne. Right as I was scraping the last bit of pasta sauce off the lasagna dish, I heard the door at the end of the hallway open and Stephanie walked out. She was wearing pjs and her hair was pulled back in a loose braid. There were a few wispy strands framing her beautiful face and when she spotted me at the sink, she smiled in a way that made me almost drop the dish I was holding.
“You’re still awake,” she said.
“So are you.”
“I couldn’t sleep.”
“Me neither.”
She walked over to the counter and leaned back against it, looking at me from the side. “I had some coffee with my dessert, but I think the caterer accidentally gave me caffeinated instead of de-caf so it’ll be a while before I get to sleep. What’s your excuse?”
“I’m always a little wired after spending time with my family,” I said. “I’ll be up for a while too.”
“Yeah, I could see that.”