I rolled my eyes. "You think?"
"So, what are your plans for today?”
I shoved another piece of bacon into my mouth. I chewed and swallowed. "I'm heading home, as soon as the plane is ready."
Max picked up his napkin and wiped his mouth. "In that case, I think I'll head home from here. You don't need me to hunt down another location. We do have a contract on that one by the beach. What are you thinking we’ll do with that?"
I shrugged. "I don't know. Maybe we could raze it to the ground."
Any other businessman would probably talk me out of it or discuss what could be built next. But Max was my brother first. He would put our brotherhood above business and money.
"What's to prevent somebody from building something else there?” he asked.
I thought about that for a minute. "Maybe we could put in a park or a workout station like they have in Venice Beach."
He nodded. "Your brain's sharp this morning."
I picked up my napkin and threw it at him. "My brain is always sharp." Of course, I wasn't sure how we would monetize this idea, but Max wasn't worried about it, and it wasn't like we couldn't afford to have a piece of property that wasn't generating income.
It didn't make good business sense, but maybe it would provide goodwill toward my new hometown. If I were lucky, it would soften Kate's attitude toward me.
Max and I rode to the airport together, but he hopped on a plane heading to New York while I returned to Los Angeles. On the flight, I sketched out ideas for a new club, deciding that the Hollywood area might be the best place for it.
By the time I landed, my thoughts were all on Kate. I had to concede that Max was right that I’d have to work at earning Kate’s trust, something I hadn’t had to do before.
Coming from a wealthy, loving family, Max and I wanted for nothing. We had good looks and we weren't assholes, so generally, we could get what we wanted.
Max, of course, understood what it meant to doggedly work at something and overcome a challenge because he did it everyday dealing with his dyslexia.
Despite being twins, I didn’t have that. For me, school had been a breeze. Even when I’d met Kate the first time, everything had been easy. We were supposed to have a one-night stand, but by the end of the weekend, I'd fallen for her.
After that, everything we did was easy. We were always on the same page with whatever it was we were deciding to do, whether it was ordering pizza and studying, or heading up the coast and renting an Airbnb and spending the weekend studying, and of course, making love.
Not that I’d never hit any obstacles or resistance in my life, because I had. But with a little effort, I generally overcame them. Kate was the first time I was failing over and over.
The trip to Las Vegas taught me that my future happiness was built around Kate, so I had to commit to experiencing failure over and over again until hopefully, she would trust me again.
From the airport, I drove my car over to the Sea Siren. There was no time like the present to forge my future. I arrived late in the afternoon thinking that was a good time since the lunch crowd should be gone, but the after-work crowd wouldn't have arrived yet.
I opened the door, stepping in, scanning the open area. She was way over in the opposite corner, sitting with a man. I could see her face, but his back was to me. They both stood, and he pulled her into his arms, holding her, whispering something to her. They were too far away for me to make out who he was or even whether I knew him. That didn’t matter. I didn’t like what I was seeing.
He cupped her face, and they spoke for a moment before he leaned in and kissed her on the cheek.
My heart sank. I was too late. It was one thing to try to win her back if she was single, but clearly, she wasn't. Or at the very least, she was entertaining a relationship with this man. I went back outside, shoving my sunglasses on as I strode to my car.
I headed home and immediately went to my liquor cabinet, pulling out the first bottle I could grab, then heading out to the terrace to drink. Getting drunk every time I experienced heartbreak wasn't a good habit to get into, but I wasn't going to stop myself now.
I lost all sense of time as I watched the sunset and drank what turned out to be whiskey. At first, all I could feel were pain and dejection. As my mind numbed and floated, memories of Kate came back to me. We'd been so happy. We could be again. I was so sure of it. I had to make her see that.
Whoever that man was today, he didn't love her like I did. If it took me the rest of my life, I would make her see how much I loved her. How I'd always loved her.
"I have to see her."
I moved to get up, intending to go to her, but instead of standing, I rolled out of the chaise chair, landing on my hands and knees. My bottle had tipped over, but luckily, I’d drunk enough that there wasn't very much left to spill out. I righted the bottle, seeing only a small bit left at the bottom.
That probably explained my inability to stand up. I sat on my ass, working to get my phone out of my pocket, which was no easy feat considering my hand couldn't find my pocket. Finally, I got it out and managed to open a ridesharing app and ordered a car.
See? I was responsible.