Page 9 of Trust

“Well, this has been fun, but I need to get to my place and clean off the grime of traveling.”

The three of them looked at him with varying expressions. Royal looked irritated, but understanding lit Ben’s eyes.

What surprised him was the relief he witnessed in Lani’s eyes. She always liked to hang out with her brother, but he could understand that she wanted to get away from him right now. His behavior was odd, to say the least. He needed to grill her. Maybe it was just the upcoming wedding that had his friend acting like an empty-headed billionaire.

“I’ll drop you off. I need to head out to a meeting with the organizers of the Kingston Invitational.”

He nodded. “Sounds good.”

“Dinner tonight?” Ben asked.

“I’d like that.”

“We have reservations for seven tonight.”

“Great. I’ll meet you there.”

They headed out of the house. He waited until they were in the SUV before he said anything.

“How long has your brother been acting like a dumbass?”

Three

Lani’s hands tightened on the steering wheel. “Dumbass?”

She didn’t know what her brother and Jakob had discussed while she had been on the phone with Conner. In the past, Jakob had always backed up her brother no matter what. It wasn’t like her brother did a lot of bad things to people or to her. It was just that she always got the idea that they were a team.

“Yeah,” he said. “Taking off in the middle of the day. Scheduling his wedding with only a couple weeks before the invitational. That’s not like him at all.”

She sighed. “Almost since he started dating Royal.” She stopped at a red light. “I’m assuming you’re staying at the family home?”

He nodded. “And don’t try to change the subject. I want to know why you are organizing their wedding.”

Dammit. He was being a bear about that. She didn’t want to discuss why she was being such a pushover. It embarrassed her. But there was one thing people didn’t understand. They may have a big family of aunts, uncles, and cousins, but they had always been together. Before their parents’ death, they had been close, but the tragedy had pushed them closer until now.

“Excuse me?”

Lani didn’t look at him, but she felt his gaze roaming over her face. “Don’t use that tone with me. I know you do that to avoid answering questions.” Double dammit. “Royal was throwing orders at you like you were her assistant. Don’t women get excited about getting married? Like the wedding part.”

“That’s misogynistic.”

“Sorry. Women like Royal only care what people think of her. That is what I meant. And don’t try to start a fight with me about that. You know I know the type.”

“Yeah, I bet you do.”

The moment she said it, she regretted letting it slip out.

“Now, what the hell does that mean?”

Well, she wasn’t going to be able to push past this, so she might as well push forward. “Come on, Jake. You date those types all the time.”

“Dating is sometimes a setup, you know that. I didn’t know you paid that much attention to my dating life.”

Someone behind them beeped, and she realized the light had turned green. Instead of questioning Jakob about his dating life, she started forward.

“I’ve been helping with the wedding.”

He crossed his arms over his chest. “I didn’t like her tone with you.”

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