“Hey, dickhead. I’ve been waiting for you,” Derrick fumed from the kitchen doorway.
“Oh, that’s the buzzing I’ve been hearing.” Dylan pretended fright. “You startled me. I thought I had some kind of infestation.”
“Ha ha. You’ve ignored me long enough. Now tell me. How did it go? I can’t call Natalie and ask, and I can’t seem to get ahold of Harper either.”
“Who?”
Derrick paled. “Oh shit. I forgot to mention him, didn’t I? Was he there?”
Dylan walked up to his brother and slugged him in the gut.
Derrick’s breath whooshed out and he bent over to clutch his stomach.
“That’s more like it.” Dylan felt better. “You not only gave me the wrong time for the meeting—which was at eleven forty-five, not noon—but you didn’t mention Harper. And, yeah, he was there. Luckily, he’s a decent guy and covered for us.”
“He knew we’d swapped?” Derrick wheezed.
“Yeah.” And he more than made up for it with a weekend of nonstop, amazing sex. Dylan cleared his throat. “He and I worked things out, but you owe him a big thanks. You never mentioned him before.”
Derrick winced as he straightened. “I meant to. Harper’s a great guy. He helps when Natalie gets her panties in a bunch. He’s smart too.” He frowned. “Why are you asking?”
“Because you should have told me he’d be there. As it was, I think only the fact that he respected you allowed me to get out of there in one piece. Natalie’s not that bad, but I wouldn’t want to piss her off.”
Derrick nodded. “And that secretary. Scary.”
“Marly’s actually very nice. She wears Vintage perfume, by the way. So mention it the next time you see her. Which is at eleven forty-five next Friday. Not noon.”
“You think Marly’s nice?” Derrick blinked, then smiled. “Way to go, bro.”
“You’re welcome. And we’re even.”
“Yeah yeah. Sure.” Derrick left the kitchen with Dylan and plopped down on the couch next to him. “So what’s new with you? Mom said you’ve been quiet.”
“Oh? I didn’t realize she’d noticed.”
Derrick stared at him.
“What?”
“What’s up with you and Mom? She seemed kind of weird when she asked me about you, and you’re being obnoxious.”
“I am not.”
“Yeah, you are.” Derrick glared at him. “What’s up?”
“She obviously didn’t mention James.”
“James? What about him?”
“She and he are now a couple. I guess I should have let her tell you, but I would have thought you knew.” He wondered why she hadn’t said anything. A mean, petty part of him hoped they might already have broken up.
Derrick gaped. “Mom and James? But they’ve known each other forever. Like, since before Dad died.”
Dylan winced. He didn’t like mention of their father’s passing. All of them, but their mother especially, had grieved for Andrew Warren. A beloved husband and father, he’d been all that Dylan could have ever wanted in a parent. And then, out of the blue, his heart had failed and he was gone.
“Does Gage know?” Derrick asked.
Dylan shrugged. “I didn’t want to know. I went to lunch on Friday and they told me. I guess I should be happy for them.”
Derrick didn’t seem to hear him. His shock turned him giddy, and he laughed. “Hell yeah. Mom and James. That’s perfect. Hey, remember how Mom looked at him when Sydney’s mom was at that dinner, hanging all over him? I remember thinking Mom looked jealous. She was!”
Dylan remembered that too. But he’d hoped his suspicions would prove false.
“I have to tell Gage.” Derrick giggled like a freakin’ girl.
Irritated with his brother, Dylan stood and walked to the door. “Yeah? Well tell him when you get home. I’m tired and have a long day ahead of me tomorrow.”
Derrick’s mirth faded. He stood and met Dylan at the door. “What’s up? Really?”
Dylan didn’t want to admit to being a mean-spirited snot of a son. “Nothing. I’m tired.”
“You don’t like Mom and James together. You can’t lie to me, Dylan,” Derrick said softly. “What’s wrong with them?”
“Nothing,” he blurted. “Nothing’s wrong, okay? I just need time to sort this out. Don’t tell Mom. I don’t want to hurt her. I just…let me work through it in my own way.”
“Dude, Dad’s been dead for over ten years. Don’t you think it’s time Mom lived a little?”
“She’s had plenty of dates since then.”
“But no one special, no one she really liked.”
“She’s liked plenty of guys. Mom’s attractive. I know she’s a woman besides being a mother.” So why can’t I be happy that’s she’s found someone she can really love?
Derrick goggled at him.
“What?” he snapped.
“I can’t believe Mr. Therapist is having issues with this. Dude, Mom and James. They’re perfect for each other. And I always said he had a thing for her.”
“Whatever.”
“I’m calling Gage.”
“Fine. Now get out.”
“You’re not being fair about this.”
“I said I’m handling it.” Dylan opened the door and shoved his brother into the hallway. “We’ll talk later.”
Derrick stared at him in shock. “What the fuck? Did you just throw me out?”
“Genius.” Dylan slammed the door in his face and locked it.
He heard his brother’s angry laugh, a few curses, and then nothing.
Feeling unworthy but knowing he had the right to deal with the issue as he saw fit, Dylan slunk to the couch and stretched out on it. “I need my own shrink,” he muttered, still hating the S-word.
Minutes later, a knock at the door interrupted his self-loathing.
“Go away,” he shouted to his brother.
The knocking continued.
“I said go the fuck away, Derrick,” he yelled again.
Another round of knocking.
Knowing his brother would keep pounding and no doubt involve the neighbors, he pushed himself to his feet and rushed to the door. He threw it open, intending to yank his brother back inside and give him the beating he deserved, when he saw Harper standing there with a questioning look on his face.
“Harper?”
“Hey, Doc. Problem?”
Harper took a step forward, and Dylan instinctively stepped back, out of his way. When Harper joined Dylan in the foyer and closed the door behind him, Dylan frowned. “How did you find me?”
“Public record of sale, my man. You bought this place six years ago. I know people who know people.” He paused, looking Dylan up and down. Then he grinned. “A tie? Did you know I was coming?”
Dylan snorted with laughter, immediately feeling better. “You’re an idiot.”
“Yeah, one that’s hung like a horse, remember?”
“As if I could forget.” Dylan’s body immediately responded. “Hell, come on in. Oh wait, you’re already in.”
He took Harper’s coat and hung it in the closet, doing his best not to visibly strip the man naked. Damn, but Harper could do flannel and jeans proud. “Want a beer?”
Harper walked to the coffee table and took a sip of Dylan’s tea. “This’ll do.”
“So what brings you by?”
“Wanted to see how the other half lives.” Harper grinned. “Nice digs. Figured you’d live in the uppity section of town.”
“What?”
“I’m in the building two blocks down.”