“I did, but in my way.”By hibernating. “I swore I could see her everywhere, even hear her voice. I felt like I was going crazy. When she wasn’t talking in my head, it felt like losing her all over again. Then I would simply exist, curled in a ball and hidden under my covers. Sometimes, days would go by. The staff brought me food. I survived, even if my mom didn’t check on me once. She was mourning, too, but we should have relied on each other. Instead, she shut me out.” I downed half the drink, not even tasting it.
The shaved ice numbed my mouth and my brain enough to shut me up. I shivered, the silence I’d lived with since Kasey and Dad died sinking into me with the memory of that time.Why am I spilling all this to him?I hadn’t even told Justin everything—like how my mom ignored me back then. Still did, in fact. Other than Justin, I was completely and utterly alone.
Mom’s focus had always been on my sister. It hadn’t bothered me then. I had Dad and Kasey’s attention. And Mom was dramatic—which was likely the main reason she had such a close relationship with Kasey.
I shook off the abyss of loneliness, pasted on an I’m-okay expression, then raised my head and faced him.
He stood across from me, a deep-seated rage simmering in his cognac eyes. “Family doesn’t always do what’s best.”
With a wave of my hand, I brushed his words away. Setting the drink down with only a few sips left, I wracked my brain on how to take the focus off of my past. “Sofia’s great. I haven’t met your brothers, though.” The last of the anger seemed to drain away as he went with my conversation shift.
“She’s a handful, but that’s one of the things I love about her.” He chuckled. “If you only knew her when she was younger. She’d be right there with the rest of us, playing war in the backyard or video games inside, usually because I’d want her there—we’re closest in age. But mess with her clothes in any way, and it was like a holy terror was unleashed.”
“I can see that.” I grinned. “I saw her once when she noticed a stain on her shirt, and the range of emotions that flitted across her face frightened me. I realized then and there never to spill anything on her.” I knew from talking with her that the brothers all shared her same quick fuse if anyone they cared about was threatened.
“Sofia takes after Mom with her love of fashion, but the temper… I don’t know where that comes from. As for my brothers, I have a feeling you’ll meet them soon. Marco took over the position of Mafia boss since my father retired. And Nico has a few things in common with you.”
My eyebrows raised. “Really? So he lacks direction too?”
He frowned. “You don’t lack direction, Hailey. Stop being so hard on yourself. Not figuring out what you wanted to do in college isn’t unusual or a big deal. Many people struggle with what they want to do with the rest of their lives. Having all the answers at a young age isn’t common.”
“But you did.”
“Stop.” Trey’s gaze narrowed. “I grew up in a different world, and it shaped me and what I saw myself doing in the future. Plus, my brain is wired to figure things out. It comes naturally to me. But my family—there was a time when we almost lost Dad from a gunshot wound. It left a lasting impression. Violence is commonplace. We learned to view each day as a gift because it could be our last. The thought of anything happening to the ones I love was what pointed me in the direction of medicine. I wanted to be able to save them if I could. The decision was for purely selfish reasons.”
“Wow. Did you hear yourself? Being a doctor is never a selfish occupation. You’re caring for others.” I shook my head then lifted my glass and finished the last sip. He got up and mixed a pitcher of rum runners with orange juice, a few different varieties of alcohol, and nutmeg—per my abridged recipe—then poured some into two glasses. I accepted the new drink with enthusiasm. “Thank you.”
“Let’s take this into the other room.” He carried the pitcher, the food, and his drink. Once in the family room, he set them on the live-edge coffee table before turning on the fireplace with the flick of a switch.
The lighting was dim and comforting, and I sank into the couch, my drink in hand and going down far too quickly. I needed to pace myself. “Do you see yourself working at the hospital long-term?”
He leaned back, and his black button-down shirt stretched tightly across his broad shoulders, highlighting the muscle underneath the fabric.What would it feel like to be held in his embrace rather than a mere touch?I inhaled sharply through my nose. I couldn’t keep fantasizing about him. This situation wasn’t what I’d daydreamed about in the past. We were simply working together to stop Allen from cheating kids in need. I was only there because we had a partnership—an agreement—and I had to stay hidden until the ransom was paid.
“No. I enjoy working there, but my family needs me. I’m getting the experience necessary in surgery and the ER for now. Having a seat on the board will keep me in the loop with changes in the field, and I’ll work on select cases. At least, that’s my current plan.”
“What will you do once you’re on the board—about Allen, I mean?” There was no love lost between the two, and I wondered whether he would get Allen kicked off or change his position in the hospital. I was all for it. I could watch from afar what he did with my mom’s money at that point, although Allen would be more limited without access to donation checks from mom. How he’d gotten her to address them to him was beyond me.
“He’ll be demoted, but I prefer to keep an eye on him.”
“Ah, keep your enemies close?”
He grinned, and my heart skipped a beat. No man had a right to be that sexy and fierce at once. I was pretty sure most straight women would have sighed along with me.
He topped off my drink.How did that get so low?I glanced at his. Good, he’d finished his. I snagged another piece of cheese and one of the summer sausages in hopes of helping with the alcohol consumption. We needed bread.
I couldn’t squelch my curiosity about Trey and figured that once our little scheme was over, I might not have another chance to be alone with him. “What do you do in your spare time? There’s no video game console, and if there are books, I haven’t seen the room with them in it yet.” While beautifully decorated, it lacked the personal touches like a book left on the table… it was too neat.
“I’m not here to do more than sleep that often. This is where I crash when I’m too tired to drive home after a long shift, which is all I’ve had since residency. All that personal stuff is at my family home.”
“So this is a crash pad.” I frowned. It made me realize I hadn’t been brought into his personal space or life, not really. My only glimpse into him would be from what he chose to share.
“I usually spend my free time with my family or doing things Marco tasks me with. Tell me more about you. What do you like to do other than play video games with your best friend?”
“As odd as this is, I get a thrill from hacking into accounts or ending up in digital locations I shouldn’t be in.” He wasn’t on the legal side of the law all the time, either, so I admitted it freely. “If my mother had had her way, I never would have gone to MIT and would have been attending social events and fundraisers like she does. But that’s not my thing. Instead, I’ve embraced the college-dropout role and do what makes me happy. Aside from the occasional coding and video game marathon—okay, often with that one—I love to read, watch movies, and hang by the pool when it’s hot outside.”
“The computer stuff is what Nico likes to do too. He’s got an insane talent for it.”
Too bad that’s not the brother that makes my pulse go wild.Nico was hot, as was Marco, but I didn’t have the same reaction to them. I hadn’t met them officially, but I’d seen them before at the Coffee Stop.