Page 94 of Game Change

“Oh, you brought a guest,” Heath says with a tight smile. I glare at him, and he pretends to zip his lips. “Brynne,” he says. She gives him a fake smile and a firm nod. “Come on.” He goes inside, and Milly follows him.

I walk around the car, put my arm around Brynne, pull her close, and kiss her forehead. “You ready?” I ask.

“No,” she says.

“No turning back now.” With my arm wrapped around her, she leans into me for support.

We collide with my brother. The only thing we have in common is our height. Other than that, we look nothing alike.

He seems to exhale and visibly relax when he sees me. He pulls me from Brynne and hugs me tight then pulls away to look into my face. This is new. He’s never hugged me before, and I don’t like it. I move away from him.

“You’re late,” he admonishes. That’s another thing he tried to do when I was younger. When he wasn’t ignoring me, he thought it was his right to parent me. I didn’t appreciate it then, and I don’t now.

“I’m not,” I say tightly. I’m five minutes early, but that’s considered late in this family.

“I’ll forgive you.” He tries to hug me again, but I move out of his way and shake my head.

“I don’t need forgiveness.”

He straightens and his smile slips. “It was a joke,” he says.

“You’re not funny.”

He sighs and looks away from me. “Who do we have here?” he asks. He’s all smiles for Brynne, and I’m pretty sure Heath has been running his mouth all day about us.

“Colin, this is Brynne Barber. Brynne, this is Colin.”

He takes her hand and gives it a firm shake. He holds on a little too long, so I knock his hand away and take Brynne’s back.

“Is all of this attitude necessary, Paddy?” he asks, but I don’t answer. “You can call me Colin the First,” my brother says to Brynne. “I’ve heard quite a bit about you.” His upper lip twitches, and Brynne raises her eyebrows. “Heath hasn’t shut up about you. It’s quite the rivalry he’s built up in his mind.”

“Oh, well, he’s not exactly neutral when it comes to me,” Brynne says.

“Don’t worry. I like you already.” He takes her hand and tucks her arm into his. “Come meet the rest of Paddy’s siblings. There are only a few of us today.”

I take Brynne’s other hand and walk through the grand foyer. There are double spiral staircases and black and white tiled floors. There used to be an enormous chandelier, but that’s been replaced with several hanging lights. It gives the place a more modern look, but the house is so big that it takes us a few minutes to get to the formal dining room.

“Brynne,” my brother says, “this is my sister Marilyn. She’s responsible for Heath.” His lip twitches again, and I ask myself, when in the hell did my brother get a sense of humor? I let go of Brynne’s hand long enough for her to shake my sister’s.

“Nice to meet you.” Of course, Marilyn won’t make eye contact. “Heath’s a good boy,” she says. She drops Brynne’s hand and walks away.

“And this is Lisa, but she said you’ve already met. You already know Uncle Milton.” Milton walks over with a server behind him, holding a tray of drinks. If this is what my family calls an informal dinner, Brynne will die when she joins me for a formal dinner.

I can’t gauge what she’s thinking right now. She’s looking around in awe, but I know coming here for the first time can be intimidating.

“Brynne,” Uncle Milton says. “Paddy.”

Brynne smiles politely and nods at him, but she doesn’t speak.

He takes a white wine from the tray and hands it to her.

“Thank you, Milton,” Brynne speaks the way one would to a stranger.

My uncle looks a little deflated.

“Brynne, relax and make yourself at home. This is just an informal little dinner, but I want to hear all about you. According to Uncle Milton, you’re the best architect he’s ever met.” My brother looks my way and says, “No offense, Paddy.” He giggles. Colin the First actually giggles. I scowl in confusion.

“Is that why you tried to buy Kincaid Architecture? Because you think I lack talent?”

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