Page 61 of The Wrong Sister
“Nice to meet you, Crusoe.” He comes and offers me his hand. I don’t notice that I’m still hugging myself, so I drop my hands and grab his for a handshake. “I’m Noah, his,” he nods toward Ezra, “brother.”
“I’m Maeve,” I offer with a smile.
At the mention of my name, his brows shoot up, and he glances at his brother. “Maeve? As in Maeve Wrong?”
“Yes.” I squint my eyes at him. “How do you know?”
“Let’s go,” Ezra says in a voice that demands to be heard. The very same one he used on me during our first meeting. The cold, stuck-up suit uses it, not the Ezra I’ve come to know.
Noah’s eyes narrow even more when his gaze moves between me and Ezra. Then he offers me his elbow while eyeing his brother. “Milady, may I escort you to our transportation?”
“She can walk by herself,” comes Ezra’s gruff voice along with his gloomy presence.
At his words, I instantly grip Noah’s arm. “Thank you, milord.”
Noah lowers his elbow so it’s easier for me to hang on to since the man is as tall as Ezra and flashes me a wide smile. “My pleasure. Oh, wait a second.” He gently loosens my arm and shakes off his T-shirt, staying in nothing but male sweat and ultra-ripped muscles like his brother. Then he passes it to me. “Put it on. I don’t have anything with me, and I doubt there is anything decent on the boat. There’re two guys inthere,” he nods toward the boat, “so you probably will be comfier this way.”
I accept with a smile, pulling it on. When my head pops out of the collar, my eyes are met with a stone-cold face and thinned lips. Muscles on Ezra’s jaw are moving side to side. He’s pissed.
Well, fuck you, Ezra.
We walk toward the boat in silence. Noah’s support is the only thing that helps me get through the walk of shame. Because this is what it feels like. Like I’m some shameful secret Ezra doesn’t want to come out because he hasn’t talked to me once.
Not when we ride the boat to the islands. Not when Noah is telling me the story of how my family raised hell in all Polynesia trying to find me. And how the nice captain of the boat appeared on one of the islands. He was washed ashore and was in a coma for a few days. When he finally woke up, he gave the officials the approximate location of the crash, and this is how they were able to find us.
Ezra doesn’t talk. Nor does he express any emotions at the news that the captain is alive.
We go to the car to drive us wherever. I have nothing on me, so I just go with the flow, hoping that wherever we end up, they’ll let me borrow some money and clothing. Or at least a phone. I can make do in this T-shirt. It’s long and covers my thighs like a dress. I was way more exposed on the island.
It’s not an island anymore, Maeve. It’s back to reality.
And I understand it more and more with every passing second when Noah brings Ezra up to speed with what is happening in their company and an upcoming board meeting. About how they need to act fast if they don’t want to lose everything they’ve built.
Turns out, I was wrong, and Ezra is not out of myleague. He’s on a different planet. When he started talking to Noah, he shifted back into that persona from the coffee shop. The ignorant King on his high horse. The untouchable one. The unapproachable. Not my Ezra from the island. Not the man who held me while I was shaking with fear.
When I left my family, I left that world behind me. I was born rich. And I was rich until I ran away from home in Rhode Island to New York. My parents didn’t tell me much about where the money was coming from, but I knew they were investors of inherited old money. That’s about it. When I was growing up, knowing anything other than how to be presentable in society was not required. Therefore, I knew almost nothing about my father’s dealings. And I knew even less after I separated from them. So I don’t really know if Ezra is from old or new money. I’d never seen him in my life before he appeared in the coffee shop with a scowl on his face.
Judging by what I’m hearing, they have some giant real estate developing company I know nothing about because I’ve been living under a rock for the past few years. And the burnt building is not the only property they own. Something this big would be spread all over the internet and the front page of Forbes. But I have a flip phone. I don’t spend mindless hours scrolling through social media and news, so I don’t know much about what’s happening with the cool kids. I watch TV at work, and that’s about it. I might be young, but my mind is vintage.
I’ve never had an urge to Google someone’s name as much as I do now. Something is itching at the back of my head. Some understanding. Some idea I might not like. I think he’s from the same world I’m trying to get back to. This could be very bad. My parents won’t be happy if they get a whiff of me playing survivor games with a rich dudefrom New York they might know. Someone who can actually be from the same social circle.
Ezra still hasn’t said a word to me. He even took the furthest seat away from me. I mean, it’s a minivan, there aren’t many options available for a fella of his size, but he climbed to the very back seat where he sits like a grasshopper with his knees pretty much in his face.
Every second on the boat, I was aware of him watching me. But he hasn’t looked at me since we stepped foot on solid ground. All he does is look out the window while his brother talks. Noah looks at me from time to time, and it’s natural considering I’m sitting in the middle row on the seat next to him.
“Can I borrow your phone?” I suddenly ask Noah.
His eyes once again shoot from me to Ezra as he pulls out his phone from his jeans and passes it to me.
I type Mom’s phone number and wait. She picks up on the third ring.
“Hey, Noah-honey. Did you find him?”
This is so not good.I glance at Noah, trying to figure out how she knows it’s him and why she calls him honey, but I decide to leave the questioning for later. I’m too exhausted and emotionally drained for that.
“Mom?” My voice breaks.
A pause.“Maeve?”
