Page 21 of Roses, Pearls, and Hot Summer Nights
She swatted his arm. “This is my companion. She’s working on a secret project for me. Don’t give her a hard time. She’ll keep my secret. I will give you all a gift when it’s done, so tamp downon your curiosity until it is finished. Alatheia, this is my oldest grandson, Barrett.”
I smiled.Another Lent brother.Maybe he would distract the other two and they would all disappear? That would be easiest, even if I hated the idea—another whole problem unto itself.
7
Barrett continued. “I’ve been hearing a lot about her. When my brothers communicate, which isn’t much, it’s been mostly about her.”
His granny nodded. “That doesn’t surprise me at all. Now that you’re here, you can get to know her, too. Go out somewhere fun. I don’t think she’s done any of the tourist things. She should at least see all of the sights once.” She smiled, snagging her purse off a nearby table. “I am going out to lunch with friends, so you take her out.”
I rose quickly. “He doesn’t have to do that. I mean, we just met. He probably doesn’t want to take me out, Dina.”
“Oh, but he does.” She strode easily toward her bedroom. “Tell her you want to take her out, Barrett. You came all the way from the Hamptons for it, didn’t you?”
Barrett opened and closed his mouth. “I came to meet you, yes. And to check on my brothers. Plus, seeing Granny is always a benefit.”
He ran a hand through his dark hair. His eyes were like Jeremy’s, his hair was Julian’s. It was funny how genetics worked. I never really thought about it before at any length buttheir family offered a lesson in biology right in front of my eyes.Three brothers. Two brunettes, a blond, one set of blue eyes, and two sets of brown eyes. All of them gorgeous. It was sort of unfair to the world. If they took their good genes and mixed them someday with some other beautiful rich people, they could keep their DNA in the bubble in which they existed.
I kept my face neutral when I would’ve smiled, amused at my own thoughts.
“I don’t talk much,” I pointed out, feeling he should be warned. “Also, you don’t have to take me anywhere. I can take my work upstairs to my aunt’s apartment then you can have some quality time with your grandmother.”
His smile was slow. When it finally hit me full force, it was all consuming. As I watched it slowly form, as well as the dimple on his left cheek, it occurred to me he didn’t smile often.
You could tell with some people—for instance, Julian smiled easily. I didn’t fool myself into believing all of his expressions were sincere. I could tell, he sometimes even used it as a weapon. I saw him do it when he spotted the girl on the street he didn’t like and he smiled at her. Wasthatjust being polite? If I were honest with myself, I couldn’t tell, and I didn’t like not knowing.
Jeremy overall might share his smiles more conservatively, but his were more frequent than Barrett’s.Why is that?I wasn’t exactly sure.
Inconvenient.As thePoor Relationwould say, sometimes I just knew things.
He crossed his arms over his chest. “If we want to hit some of the bigger touristy things, we should probably get going. Otherwise, it will take us two days, which is fine by me. However, you seem to have taken an instant dislike to me, so maybe you won’t want a second day.”
I blinked, surprised he even noticed. “I haven’t taken a dislike to you.”
He shook his head slowly, approaching me until he crowded my personal space. “Yes, you have. You measured me and determined I was lacking the second I walked into the room. Come on, then, pretty Alatheia. We can keep this short and sweet, so my brothers will stop.”
Stop what?I don’t know why I followed him, utterly baffled by the entire interaction and slightly misfiring from over stimulation. I should have insisted I wouldn’t go with him. Despite realizing it, my feet kept moving. Somehow, it didn’t seem like Barrett was a person you saidnoto, not when he was in a particular kind of mood. He walked slowly, giving me time to catch up with him as he exited the apartment. A woman waxed the floors in the hallway. I smiled at her, but she didn’t acknowledge me, despite her gaze sliding to Barrett. I bit my lip, annoyed at seeking acknowledgement, yet again.
“Hello, Ms. Robertson.” Barrett nodded to her, but he didn’t smile. She, by contrast, grinned at him.
“Your grandmother must be so happy you’re all in town,” she blurted.
He nodded, putting on his sunglasses again. “I’m sure you’ll get an earful about it later. Do let me know if she has any complaints. I’ll fix whatever it is.”
I blinked in surprise.So apparently Barrett knows Ms. Robertson?That is … unexpected. He turned to me and then gestured between me and her. “This is Alatheia Winder. She’s staying with her aunt for the foreseeable future, and I think she could use another friend in the building. Most importantly, Granny loves her. Alatheia, this is Ms. Robertson. She’s been here twenty years, and she knows all the building’s secrets—both about the people and the place.”
I offered my hand to shake before I fully realized what he’d done. “It’s nice to meet you,” I managed, manners triggering automatically.
Ms. Robertson leaned forward. “This one is a gem. His brothers are almost there.” She dropped her hand from mine and raised her gaze to Barrett’s. “Yes, even Phoenix. I’ll be your friend while you’re here, Alatheia. Maybe we can even get that sadness off you soon.”
Sadness?Did I give that impression? I wasn’t sure how to digest the idea as Barrett ushered me out of the building. He knew the doorman’s name, too, but I barely registered it … Was it John?
I remained lost in my thoughts as we headed onto the street. I followed him, glad he didn’t make small talk. Barrett Lent said nothing to me; he just walked toward Central Park like he knew exactly where he was headed. Then again, he’d probably done it a thousand times before. I had seen the park a couple of times, but I hadn’t explored it—not that anyone would stop me. I doubted my aunt would care if I prostituted myself somewhere, so long as I didn’t get caught and embarrass her.
I snorted aloud, watching my own feet rather than where I was headed, remembering the look on my aunt’s face when we met.In fact, she probably would expect it after what she was told about me from Chicago.
A car honked, jarring me abruptly out of my thoughts. I hadn’t even noticed we’d stopped at a crosswalk, headed into the park. Nearby, I could see a playground and a beautiful rock-lined path. A glance at Barrett proved he wasn’t interested in the surroundings, as his gaze laser-focused on me.
I rubbed at my face, automatically self-conscious. “Something on me?”
