Page 51 of The Friend Zone
“How do you know my brother?” Omar asked.
“What?” Dana exclaimed. “Yourbrother?” She looked from one to the other.
“You never told me you knew Omar,” Cole said.
“Would somebody please tell me how the hell the two of you know each other?” Omar asked.
“This… this is Sheldon, the guy I dated…” Dana let the words die on her lips.
Oh damn, Omar thought. His brother was the man Dana had dated, and he never had a clue because she never mentioned his name.
“You said your brother’s name was Cole,” Dana said.
“That’s what we call him,” Omar explained.
“You never told me your younger brother was Omar,” Dana said.
“Guess why not,” Cole said sourly. The time they spent together on the golf course did little to change his jealousy. “Omar and I have different fathers. My father’s first name is Cole, and my middle name is Cole. Close friends and family call me Cole.”
Dana knew he and his brother had different fathers because he told her the story once when he explained about their strained relationship. Cole Reevus was Dorothy’s first husband, but they split after he cheated on her, and she became a young divorcee raising an infant on her own. She met Omar’s father when her son was a couple of years old, and they dated for a while before marrying.
An awkward silence filled the kitchen as Omar and his brother stared at each other.
Even the chatter among the workers quietened down.
“Oh, shit.” Cole clasped his hands together and brought them to his lips, hysterical laughter falling from his lips and lighting up his brown eyes. Turning his attention to Dana, he asked, “Omar is the guy, the friend you dumped me for, right?”
She glanced at Omar, uncertainty on how to answer stamped into her face.
“Let’s step into the dining room,” Omar said casually.
Cole would be angry when he learned the truth, not necessarily because he was in love with Dana—though Omar didn’t doubt he cared about her since she certainly was a good woman—but because he would blame Omar for interfering. Yet another reason for the rift between them to widen. This would not bode well for their already brittle relationship.
“Was it him?” Cole asked Dana.
Omar’s muscles quivered with tension, but he kept his voice neutral. “Let’s go outside.”
Taking Dana’s hand, he led the way into the dining room. The host and hostess were talking and straightening up at the front of the restaurant, but the servers and bussers would be arriving soon.
“Let her answer the question,” Cole snarled, stepping up to Omar. If looks could kill, Omar would be diced into bite-sized pieces.
“Cole, that’s enough,” Dorothy said in a distressed voice. “Tonight is very important for your brother.”
“My brother, the go-getter,” Cole said, his upper lip curling in distaste. “In everything you’ve done over the years, you’ve always given a thousand percent. Everything you did.”
Irritated and unable to hold his tongue anymore because of his brother’s veiled insults, Omar asked, “What are you doing here?”
“Omar, baby, this is your night and you don’t need to get yourself upset,” Dorothy whispered, touching his arm.
“No, he’s right. What am I doing here? It’ll probably come as no surprise to you that mom and Senior didn’t want me to come. They thought it was a bad idea, that I would somehow create a problem on your big night. Why would they think so badly of me?” Without waiting for an answer, Cole moved closer so he and Omar were practically eye to eye. “Were they worried I would see what they didn’t want me to see? You took the woman I cared about away from me.”
“You’re being ridiculous. We didn’t have a clue you and Omar were dating the same woman. You never tell us anything,” Dorothy said.
“In case you didn’t notice, none of us knew you and Dana dated, but a couple of dates don’t make a relationship,” Omar said. “Much as you hate to admit the truth, she was never yours to begin with.”
Standing so close, he smelled liquor on his brother’s breath, which explained the reckless energy emanating from him.
Cole smirked. “No, of course not, because the Almighty stepped in and stole her away.”
