A Little Wild (34 page)

Zach gritted his teeth. “I’m not playing with you, Eth.”

“Afraid?” his brother jeered.

Zach jammed on the eye gear and grabbed his racquet. What the hell had Chloe Nichols done to his brother? Ethan “The Suit” Halliday leaving the office midafternoon to sneak to the sports club and spring himself on Zach instead of staying behind and sucking up to Dad?

As practical jokes went, this one blew.

“No,” Zach growled. “Because you’re an asshole.”

“And you’re an ignorant bastard. What else is new? Let’s play.”

“What’s wrong with you?” Zach wanted to break a sweat and release his aggression alone, not with his traitor brother. Only two days had passed since he and Tess had split up and he’d discovered Dad and Ethan’s birthday surprise. He wasn’t ready to forgive either man for that disaster. Until he worked through the barrenness of his life without Tess, he’d feel useless to everyone around him.

“What’s wrong with me?” Ethan echoed. “You really
are
ignorant, aren’t you? So eager to blame Dad for your chickenshit behavior that you can’t see how you contributed to this mess. Grow up, Zachster.”

Zach smacked his racquet against his palm. “That’s it, ass-wipe. Put on your best suit for the funeral viewing, Eth, because I’m gonna bury you.”

Ethan cackled as they raced onto the court. “My serve?”

“Go ahead.” Zach prepared for the volley. “Might as well get used to spoon-feeding, bro. After I’m done, you’ll need a nursemaid the rest of your worthless life.”

Ethan flipped him the finger. He served. The ball flew off the back wall, whizzing back and forth. From Zach to wall to Ethan, to wall to Zach again.

Ethan murdered the sailing blue bullet. Zach lunged for the return, but missed. His shoulder slammed into the mesh-reinforced viewing window. “Fuck!”

Ethan snickered. “Get up, cocksucker.”

Puffing, Zach straightened. They started again.

“You should have told me, Eth.”
Whack.

“Get over yourself, Zachy.”
Whomp.
“You told Dad you’re out of Halliday.”
Whack.
“So you are.”

“That simple?”
Whump.

“Yep. Which proves what an idiot you are.”

“This your idea of cheering me up?”
Fwunk!

Ethan flung him a glance. “Call her.”

Zach’s foot twisted, and he stumbled. The echo of the bouncing racquetball reverberated off the walls.

Game over. Now.

Because he wasn’t doing this.

He glared at Ethan. “So you came here to talk about Tess, not Dad. I take it Chloe told you?”

“About their bet?” Ethan nodded. “It was a joke. Harmless fun. Like you once enjoyed. Shit, you thought I asked her to hit on you. I didn’t hear any whining about your dream girl then.”

Zach stomped over to his club bag by the court door and dragged out a face towel. He heaved off his eyewear and chucked the racquet onto the floor. “Easy for you to say. You’re not in love with a woman who slept with you on a dare.”

Ethan jogged up beside him. “If you love her, do something about it! Don’t procrastinate like you did with Dad.”

Zach wiped his face. “Listen to you. A few dates with Chloe, and you’re Mr. Cupid
and
Dr. Phil.”

Ethan stuffed his racquet into his club bag. “Chloe and I are the real thing.” He hunkered by the bag. “After she and Dad met at the Greenburgs’, Dad told me that once a Halliday man falls in love, that’s it. He mates with the woman for life. Unless something tragic happens, like with Mom.”

Ethan rummaged through the bag. Had the dick left his towel in the locker room?

“There’s a Halliday tradition of marrying soon after meeting the woman, too,” Eth said. “Think of Mom and Dad, Grandpa and Grandma Halliday, Uncle Andrew and Aunt Rosaline.”

“Spare me the genealogy lesson. If this Halliday tradition holds true, why hasn’t Dad married Olivia?”

Ethan shrugged. “A different stage of his life.”

“I don’t see you proposing to Chloe.”

“Not yet. But I will. We’ve made a conscious decision to take our time.” Clutching a tiny box, he stood. “Here.” He thrust the box at Zach. “Open it.”

Zach popped up the dark blue lid. “What’s this?” A glittering diamond engagement ring in an old-fashioned setting nestled in a bed of satiny fabric. “I’ve heard of planning for the future, Eth, but this is beyond anal. You bought Chloe a ring even though you decided to wait?”

“No, fuck-face. Look closer. Scuffed box, faded interior. It’s Mom’s engagement ring. Dad gave it to me years ago. He thought I’d get married first, because I’m oldest. But Chloe and I think you should have it.”

“You do?” Zach’s throat tightened. His brother would relinquish this precious reminder of Mom?

“Chloe wants to design her own ring,” Ethan said. But Zach wasn’t fooled. Giving him the ring was one hell of a gesture.

“I don’t want it.” He snapped shut the box and pushed it into his brother’s hands.

“You’re so fucking hardheaded, you could sell your brains for concrete.” Ethan tossed the box into Zach’s sports bag.

“You’re irritating me, Eth.” Zach bent to the bag.

“Touch that ring, little brother, and I’ll kick your ass.”

Zach glanced up. “You’re insane.”

He stood, and Ethan shoved him. Zach stumbled back onto the court floor.

“Hey! What—”

Ethan elbowed his chest, and Zach’s breath wheezed out.

“—the fuck—”

Ethan grappled Zach into a full Nelson. Ethan’s arms strained Zach’s pits, his hands ramming down Zach’s head.

“—are you doing?”

“Wrestling you for Mom’s ring.”

“Dirty wrestling!” Zach struggled, but Ethan held tight. Shit, his brother was strong.

“No rules, blow job.”

“What’s at stake?” Zach grunted.

“You’ll wrestle me if I tell you?”

“If that’s what it takes.” Christ, they’d both lost it. “Let go, asshole. Fight fair.”

Ethan released him.

Sucking in air, Zach rolled his shoulders and rubbed his aching neck. “The stakes?”

“I win, you keep the ring. You win, and I’ll propose to Chloe tomorrow.”

Zach scoffed. “Does she know about this?”

“No. She won’t hold it against me like you’ve done with Tess, though. Besides, I’m taller than you. I have the psychological advantage of age.” The cocky bastard shrugged. “I’ll win.”

“You’re on.” The moron hadn’t uttered a word about Zach proposing to Tess. This fight was about possession. If Zach lost—like that would happen—he’d return the ring to Dad.

He dove for his brother, plunging an arm between Ethan’s legs and whipping him over his back. Ethan’s head dangled over his ass.
“Yeaaaaaahhhh!”
Zach howled a wrestler war cry.

Ethan swore. “What happened to fighting fair?”

“I lied.”

The fucker bit Zach’s ass. Zach’s hands sprang free. Ethan fell onto the court floor.

“Shit, Eth! You okay?”

“Grrrrrrr!” His brother lunged at him like a thick-skulled animal. An instant later, Zach’s face ground the court floor, hands and knees sliding as Ethan broke him down.

The court door burst open.

“Break it up!” The manager’s voice. Royally pissed off.

Ethan climbed off Zach, breath laboring. “Sorry, Jeff. Just teaching my brother a lesson.”

“Teach him somewhere else, damn it! Do I have to revoke your memberships?”

“Sorry.” Zach wiped saliva off his chin and struggled to regulate his breathing. Gawkers had assembled outside the observation window.
Tattletales.

“I want you both out of here in five!” Jeff stomped off the court.

Ethan grinned wickedly. “I won.”

Zach rolled his eyes. “We were interrupted. It was a tie.”

“You’re a coward, Zach. You know you love her. And she loves you.”

No. The latter was something he did not know. “Hell, Eth, just because Chloe’s the love of your life doesn’t mean Tess is the love of mine.”

“God, you’re brain dead.” Ethan threw Zach’s towel in his face. “Tell her you love her, apologize for blowing that stupid bet out of proportion, and stop acting like an ass.”

“I don’t know what to say, Tess. I’m really sorry.”

“It’s not your fault, Chloe.” Tess pushed the toe of her runner into the sand. Chloe sat beside her, their bikes and helmets resting on a drift log. A breeze had swept in since Tess had left work. She’d donned a sweater over her T-shirt and sweats, then had biked to Kitsilano Beach to meet Chloe.

“In a way, it is my fault,” Chloe said. “I didn’t have to dare you.”

“I didn’t have to take you up on it.”

“There’s a bright side.” Chloe offered a supportive smile. “Without the bet, you might never have met him.”

“Yes, I would have. At the Crockett’s meeting.” Since breaking up with Zach, she’d confessed all to Chloe—how she’d pulled a scam by pretending she and Zach were dating, the sexy pro bono arrangement for Climbing The Walls, when she’d decided to pursue the bet for real.

“But would you have spared him a second look?” Chloe asked. “Granted, he’s gorgeous. Well, not as gorgeous as Ethan, although that’s a matter of opinion.”

Tess’s mouth curved up. Trust Chloe to help her feel not completely horrible.

“You’re right, I probably wouldn’t have thought of him that way. I was too stuck on my ridiculous plan of dating safe guys while chasing a career I’m not sure I want anymore.”

“You changed your mind about the partnership? What brought this on?”

“Something Dad said at dinner last night started me thinking.”

Chloe patted Tess’s arm. “You see? Some good might come from these last few weeks.”

Tess pushed her hair out of her face and drew in a lungful of ocean-scented air. “You’re saying it’s better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all? It doesn’t
feel
better, Chlo.”

Sympathy sparked in her best friend’s gaze. “You really love him.”

Tess nodded.

“And you honestly don’t know if you want to make partner?”

“It’s not the right time to force that decision with everything undecided about my parents and…and after what happened with Zach.” Tess shrugged. “I’ll pass his file to someone else. I can’t imagine he’ll want me representing him now.”

Chloe sifted sand through her fingers. “Tess, have you considered that this thing with your parents is partially responsible for your decisions lately?”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, we’ve talked before about why your parents got married, and now you have this new information about why the marriage hasn’t worked. Yet. Who knows, your parents might pull a rabbit out of the counseling hat and surprise you.”

That would be nice—for them. And for Tess and her sisters. But Tess needed to fix her life before she could refocus on Mom and Dad.

“They tried to make it work, Chlo. Yes, they got married because Mom was pregnant. And, yes, in the beginning, Dad didn’t love Mom the way she needed.”

“He married her because he thought it was the right thing to do. Because it was expected.”

Tess nodded. “Mom tried to make him happy. She tried to make our lives perfect.” In other words, not real. Growing up, Tess had experienced the burden of battling to achieve that surface gloss. In high school, she’d earned straight A’s and had captained every field-hockey team. Graduated at the top of her law-school class. Strove to gain Lawrence Greenburg’s approval.

“Yes, your mom tried, but it backfired. She tried so hard, she pushed your dad away, which left her feeling even more needy. And he spent over twenty-five years giving her every material possession she wanted—”

“But whatever he gave her, whatever he felt, wasn’t enough.”

“Did he change his approach? No, he kept doing what he
thought
she wanted.”

“What was expected.” Tess chewed her bottom lip. For so long, she’d lived in fear of growing into a carbon copy of her mother, falling for a man who didn’t return that love, becoming clingy and manipulative as a result.

Could it be that all along she’d followed her father’s pattern? Like Dad—like Zach—she’d spent years trying to satisfy someone else’s idea of what her life should be instead of examining what she wanted.

What did she want?

Zach? Her job at Greenburg?

This was so confusing!

“What are you saying, Chloe? That I’m as doomed as my parents?”

“No. Decide what
you
want, Tess. Don’t get sidetracked thinking about what you
should
have. If you want Zach, tell him. Give him a chance to forgive you for deceiving him.”

“Issuing another dare, Chlo?”

“Nah, we’ve outgrown them. If you love Zach, you need to decide to tell him on your own.”

“I’ll see you tomorrow, Dad,” Zach said into the cordless. “I’ll sign whatever’s necessary to cut my ties to Halliday, and we can each move on with our plans.” He scribbled a reminder on his kitchen notepad.

“Very good, son. I’m glad you’ve found some direction and that we’re working through this.” His father’s voice deepened. “Your mother would have been as proud of you as I am.”

“No hard feelings?”

“I’m working on it. Lord knows we both played a part in this situation. I’ll shoulder my share of the responsibility if you will.”

“Damn straight.”

Thankfully, one good thing had resulted from Ethan’s impromptu wrestling match six days ago—his brother had shut up about Tess but had refused to back down regarding their father. Finally, on Monday, Zach had contacted Dad. They weren’t out of the woods yet, but at least they were talking. Which was more than Zach could say for himself and Tess.

“Olivia and I would like to take you, Ethan and Chloe to dinner Saturday night,” Dad said. “If two days’ notice will suffice. We have an announcement to make.”

“You getting serious about her?” Maybe witnessing Ethan and Chloe exchanging goo-goo eyes had prompted their father to pop the question to Olivia. Zach wouldn’t mind. Olivia Trent was a wonderful woman, and his father deserved to be happy.

A smile filled his father’s voice. “You’ll find out Saturday.” A pause. “Ethan says there’s a lovely woman in your life now, too. Ask her to join us. Olivia and I would love to meet her.”