Page 142 of The Best of Us

Chapter46

Juliette

I leftColin in the kitchen with his grandparents to steal a moment alone in the living room. I was growing increasingly anxious every minute Constantine was gone. He’d said he wanted to check both airports before returning, worried they’d be taking Lennon out of the States. But that was nearly an hour and a half ago.

There were no clouds blocking the view, so I went over to the window to try and get a glimpse of Central Park down below.

I caught sight of Alessandro hovering behind me in the reflection. “Let me guess, you have strict orders never to let me out of your sight?”

“Of course.” He pocketed his hands, continuing to hang back and offer me space without breaking his word to his brother.

“Can I ask you something?” I rubbed my arms at the goose bumps that’d become a permanent fixture and faced him.

He sat on the sofa and casually leaned forward, resting his arms on his legs. “Sure.”

I approached him slowly, unsure if now was the time for this conversation, but at least it would fill the time so I didn’t worry my way over the proverbial edge of no return. “I was under the impression Constantine didn’t tell anyone about meeting me in Aruba. He’s not much of a sharer, so I’m surprised he told you.”

“Muchof a sharer?” He smirked. “More like non-sharer, period.” He sat upright, and his wedding band caught my eye as he continued, “I thought you were going to ask me how we do this work and have families at the same time.”

His words sent pain deep into my temples, and I pushed my fingers to the side of my head to try and dull the sharp throb there.

Before I could respond, he said, “But now that I know your brother works with Carter, I suppose you don’t need that question answered.”

Speaking of Easton, he was talking to Izzy upstairs in the office, which was strange.

My brother.

Constantine’s sister.

Working together.

I’d called Easton to let him know what happened and how he was technically involved—then absolved him of his guilt before he could start up with any nonsense—before personally making the introductions between him and Izzy over FaceTime.

Gwen was also on their call, assisting with some “cyber stuff” (a.k.a. hacking) to try and expedite the search for Lennon.

Colin was relieved to hear they had her help. Courtesy of Easton’s boasting about her whenever they’d chatted in the past, Colin knew Gwen was one of the best cyber experts in the world.

As for Carter and Sebastian, they were off somewhere in the background “doing things.” I had no clue what those things were, but I wasn’t upset they didn’t join the call. I wasn’t prepared to think about the fact that Constantine would more than likely need to work with my brother and Carter to help save our son’s girlfriend.

“You good?” Alessandro stood and gave me a small smile. He clearly recognized I’d let my mind wander.

“I’m good now, yes.” I touched my cheeks, feeling the heat move into my face. “If you want to tell me about your private conversation with Constantine, I’m all ears.” I lowered my hands to my sides. “Unless you have a bro code you have to stick to.”

An easy smile crossed his lips. “I don’t mind. I’m sure Hudson and Enzo will ask for the story at some point. Jealous I knew and they didn’t. Not that they’ll admit that,” he said with a light laugh. “Constantine didn’t even mean to tell me about you.”

Now that was a start of a story I could believe.

“We were out drinking one night. This was before our sister . . . you know.” He cleared his throat. “Constantine was staring at a bottle of Legacy Ridge on the top shelf. Burning a hole through the damn thing, actually. So, out of curiosity, I asked him what that bottle ever did to piss him off.”

Andback to rubbing my arms again because these chills were relentless.

“He ordered it after that, like he was trying to prove a point that he was unaffected by it. Typical him, ya know? But after a few drinks, he blurted out the truth.” He set a hand over his chest. “I know, I know, I was shocked, too. The man opened up. For all of four seconds.”

I wanted to both cry and laugh. Alessandro had an infectious smile and was an amusing storyteller, but I felt terrible for Constantine and everything he’d gone through. So, I chose to remain as neutral as possible and waited for him to continue.

“He told me about a mystery girl he’d met when his buddies dragged him to Aruba for a trip. That the bourbon reminded him of you. And that even a year and a half later, anytime an unknown number showed up on his phone, he hoped it was you.”

His last words were gutting, and I had to clench my hands at my sides to channel the pain. Pain I felt on behalf of Constantine.

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