A Friendly Arrangement Page 9

  Roth gripped Omar’s hand and leaned close. “The best part is now I have a conspirator when I give Jared a hard time.”

  “I’ve always got your back.” Omar’s grin reeked of mischief.

  Roth had envied the bond Holly had with her family, but now part of the missing link with his family had been filled. He had both his brothers. If only he’d had the same opportunity with his father. That wound in his heart would never heal, but he had to be thankful for what he did have.

  He could almost hear his mother’s sigh of happiness when she found out her boys were together. He expected Jared would take care of cluing her in soon enough.

  His face sobered as he released Omar’s grip. “I’m sorry again for—”

  “Hey, didn’t you just say we were done apologizing? We’re brothers, and I’ve missed you, Roth.” Pain, regret, sorrow, hope, and finally love flicked across Omar’s face.

  Roth couldn’t speak. Maybe not a very manly moment in his life, but this week had revealed a side of himself he didn’t know he possessed. A family bond meant more to him than he’d ever allowed himself to believe. Now that he’d found it, he wanted to hang on tight.

  “I need to say this. Coming out here was the best decision I’ve made in a long time. I can’t believe I almost didn’t come. I’m glad I listened to Holly.” He’d been on the verge of telling Jared to count him out, but Holly’s words about people changing haunted him. If they hadn’t had their talk, he wouldn’t be here right now.

  Omar’s eyes widened, and he blew out a breath of air. “I’m glad I listened to Devi. She’s the one who helped me realize how important family is. If you hadn’t come, I’d have had to hunt you down. Either that, or Devi would have.”

  “I can’t wait to meet her.” From all he’d learned about his future sister-in-law, he already liked her.

  “I want you to know that all the shit we fought about, all the times I told you that I didn’t respect you, I lied. I think I was jealous of you, bro. For taking the chance to make your own way.”

  “That means a lot to me,” Roth said. “If only Dad had felt the same.”

  “Dad always had to be stoic. Emotionless. But I knew him well, and he respected you. He was proud. He’d always brag about you to clients, telling them how you designed jewelry for movie stars. Traveled the world.” Omar nodded, his smile softening. “Dad respected you.”

  Omar’s words warmed him. He tried to smile through his sorrow. He’d have preferred to hear the pride in his father’s voice himself, but having that same pride reflected in Omar’s ran a close second. He had to let it be enough. “Thank you. Hearing that takes away some of the resentment I felt toward Dad. I just wish he and I…”

  Omar rubbed the side of his neck. “Both Dad and I thought you’d made a mistake when you didn’t join the firm, but you did things your own way. Like you always have. And you proved us both wrong.”

  Roth sat back and sighed. Their newly created bond let him see his brother for who he was. Omar had his own demons with their dad, and in turn Roth and Jared had let Omar’s and their father’s closeness cause a rift between them. The only difference being Jared had come to terms with his issues sooner and made friends with Omar, and Roth had let his grudge control his life.

  But those days were over.

  Jared cleared his throat as he closed the distance toward them. “Looks like shit is getting deep in here.”

  “It’s all good,” Roth said.

  “So, neither of you have mentioned my new place, unless it’s to give me crap. Tell me what you really think?” He spread out his arms—the beer bottles fisted in one hand clinked together. He passed one to Omar.

  Roth couldn’t have been more impressed with his little brother. Jared and his best friend Nick had forged a successful business. The hard work had definitely started to pay off. Jared’s new place was proof. “I knew from day one you and Nick would make Two Guys and a Security Company a success.” Roth controlled his grin as he teased his little brother about the name of his business. The one they’d jokingly come up with after a few too many beers when Jared and Nick were on the cusp of their plan.

  Omar laughed and choked on the long draw of beer he’d swallowed.

  “You know damn well that was a joke.” Jared shook his head and snatched back the beer he’d been about to hand Roth.

  “Wasn’t that name one of the contenders?” Roth furrowed his brow and tilted his head to the side in mock seriousness. “What did you end up naming your little company again?”

  “After a case of beer any name sounded good, right?” Omar grinned, wiping his chin with the back of his hand.

  “Now that you two are friends, my life is going to be hell. I can see that. Sad that you have to resort to gang mentality to get your digs in. But interesting to know that you fear going it alone.” Jared glared at them both with brotherly affection. “No matter. At least you can brag how you knew me when to all your friends, because in five years or less, if my plan pans out, Firstline Security will be the nation’s number one—”

  “Yeah, yeah,” Omar said dryly. “We’ve been hearing it all week, little bro. Firstline will be your first stop. Firstline will be a household name. Firstline—”

  Roth chimed in, “Firstline paid for this high-tech, high-rise condo. Firstline has made me a ladies’ man. Firstline—”

  “Both of you can eat shit. I know jealousy when I see it.” Jared took a swig from his bottle. “After this week I won’t be sad to see either of you go.”

  They all sobered for a moment and silence blanketed the room. After this week, none of them looked forward to leaving. Who knew when they’d all get together like this again?

  Roth cleared his throat and grabbed the beer Jared offered. “Seriously, Jared, we’re both proud of you. Your business is doing great. You’re doing great.” He spread his arms out to encompass the room. “And this place is incredible. This main room is bigger than my entire condo. What do you need so much space for?”

  Jared grinned, something secretive hidden in the depths. “The view.”

  Omar nodded. “And you already know what I think. If I didn’t believe in your company I wouldn’t have hired you to revamp Esterly’s security.”

  “You and Nick should be proud,” Roth said.

  Jared nodded and pride etched his face. “Thanks. Both of you. I couldn’t ask for anything more.”

  “Here, here.” Roth said, tapping his beer bottle against Jared’s and frowning when Omar pulled his back.

  “I can’t agree with you on that, brothers.” A teasing gleam entered Omar’s eyes as he glanced from Jared to Roth. “Life might look good now, but it gets ten times better when you meet ‘the one.’”

  Roth rolled his eyes, lowering his beer to rest on his knees. “Here we go again. Can you get Devi out of your head for more than five minutes?”

  Jared dropped into one of the three beanbag chairs in the room, his littered with images of My Little Pony that he’d borrowed from one of his office employees until his furniture arrived. “I gotta agree with Roth on this one, Omar. We’re glad you’re happy, but I enjoy my bachelor status. How about you, Roth?”

  “Here, here, again.” Roth downed a mouthful of beer, but this taste didn’t go down as smoothly as thoughts of Holly invaded his head. He might like being a bachelor, but he’d missed his friend this week.

  Omar pursed his lips and shook his head. “Neither of you have any idea. The grass is definitely greener on the other side.”

  Roth sagged deeper into his chair, turning the beer bottle in his hands as he listened to his brothers argue back and forth about the benefits of bachelorhood versus marriage.

  He’d have never believed the changes in Omar if he hadn’t seen them with his own eyes. The man he’d thought he’d known had faded away. Gone was the cold businessman who had nothing on his mind but making more money and working nonstop. Omar had been replaced by a man who genuinely enjoyed his life by taking time to laugh. And all be
cause he’d fallen in love with someone he put above all else, even his company. Omar had told him on the down low that Devi’s father had offered him a huge contract, but he’d turned it down because he didn’t want to mix business with pleasure. That’d surprised Roth most of all.

  He took one last mouthful of beer and reveled in the cold liquid sliding down his throat. He’d give Holly credit. People could change, even people like his brother.

  Not that Roth had any plans on following his big brother’s lead, and from the sounds of things neither did Jared, but he truly liked seeing the change in Omar.

  “So, what’s the game plan, Roth?” Omar pushed himself out of his Disney princess beanbag and drained the last of his beer.

  “I’m staying as far away from love and marriage as I can.” Roth grinned.

  The other two shook their heads, and Omar kicked Roth’s beanbag. “That conversation ended a while back. We’re talking about hitting a few of the nearby bars, taking in some music. Are you staying another night or heading home?”

  “Staying. I texted Holly this morning. She’s flying into O’Hare tomorrow.” Roth’s pulse quickened a little at the idea of seeing her again.

  “Yeah, and what’s the deal with this Holly? Who is she? Is she going to be your Devi?” Omar smirked.

  “Just a friend. A good friend.” Roth smiled.

  His brothers exchanged glances.

  Omar cleared his throat. “Um, yeah, I hate to tell you, but Devi and I were just good friends, too.”

  “I’d have liked to meet her,” Jared said. “Too bad I’m flying out to meet a client in Denver.”

  “And I’m leaving first thing in the morning—”

  “So you can meet up with Devi,” both Jared and Roth said in unison. “We know. We know. We’ve heard it nonstop since you woke up this morning.”

  Roth forked his fingers through his hair and tuned out his brothers’ ribbing of each other. He’d missed Holly this week and looked forward to seeing her tomorrow. Maybe as much as Omar wanted to see Devi.

  He wanted to tell Holly that she’d been right about Omar. She deserved to know. But that wasn’t all of it. He wanted to have her near. Hear her voice. Smell her perfume. Let her laughter tease his senses. Just knowing they’d be in the same city gave him an odd form of comfort.

  “Look at him. He’s already thinking about something more with this Holly,” Jared teased, his laughter bouncing off the bare walls.

  Not for one minute would Roth allow his brothers’ teasing to put any fear into him. Yes, he was attracted to Holly. Yes, he wanted to kiss her all night long. And maybe things might go a little further, but they’d never get to the point where Devi and Omar were. Neither he nor Holly wanted a future outside their friendship.

  Well, maybe a revision on the arrangement. One to include some horizontal benefits.

  But that remained to be discussed—if he got the vibe Holly would be interested in tweaking their deal and, more importantly, if he could work up the courage to suggest it.

  Jared tossed Roth his leather jacket, and it landed with a thump on his chest, reeling him back in.

  “Come on. Let’s hit the streets.” Jared slid his arms into his own jacket. “There are a few bars calling our names. We’ll start off across the street with some jazz.”

  “Why do I think your first stop has more to do with a certain bartender than the music?” Roth asked.

  “You have to admit Cara mixes a mean martini.” Jared fixed his collar and then pulled at his sleeves. “She also can twist a bottle cap like nobody I’ve ever seen.”

  “Always the ladies’ man.” Roth had seen Jared in action all week. No matter where they went ladies fell at his feet.

  “I’m game, as long as I can call Devi about nine.”

  This time Jared and Roth rolled their eyes. “Whipped, whipped, whipped,” they said in unison. It’d become their weeklong mantra.

  “Go fuck yourselves. I hear your jealousy.” Omar lifted his chin, but the twitch of his lips betrayed his serious expression.

  “Yeah, I know jealous, too. I saw it the moment you two laid eyes on my new place,” Jared said as he opened the door.

  “And I see it now because Mom always said I had the looks in the family and any bartender—especially one named Cara—wouldn’t be able to take her eyes off me.” Roth sauntered through the door and slugged Jared playfully in the shoulder.

  “In your dreams, bro.” Jared laughed. “All I know is that Mom said she saved the best for last. And since I’m the youngest that gives me the title of the best. After you, old man.” He motioned to Omar to hurry it up, his laughter thick.

  “I’m not even going to play this round. We all know I’m the real winner in this family, because I’ve got Devi.”

  Roth laughed as Jared ushered Omar through the door. Although they didn’t say the words aloud, they both mouthed their mantra.

  Holly spun around and admired her reflection in the hotel room mirror. The slinky black dress covered with tiny jewels sparkled in the light and made her feel pretty. And the short hemline didn’t hurt, either. She blew herself a kiss from over her shoulder and then pressed her hand to her middle as she spun to a stop.

  Nervous energy pulsed through her, but so did a huge dose of adrenaline. She spun around again and enjoyed the feel of the silky fabric brushing against her thighs. She had so much to tell Roth about this past week. They’d barely had a chance to talk when he’d picked her up at the airport. They’d grabbed a cab, he’d dropped her off at the hotel only minutes away, and then he’d left to finalize a business deal, but not before he’d planted a kiss on her forehead and told her what time to be ready.

  She’d missed him. Not just their chats over morning coffee, but their daily workouts in the building’s gym. Exercising alone didn’t have the same appeal. Roth always pushed her limits, especially when she wanted to give up. Her sit-ups and devotion to the elliptical had fallen short in his absence.

  During their time apart she’d convinced herself that she had her attraction under control. She blamed her crazy thinking last week on her blip of stress, a moment of insanity that any good-looking guy in the vicinity would’ve filled. But then she’d stepped off the plane that afternoon and a tidal wave of hormones flooded her good sense. A moment of insanity be damned. This wasn’t fleeting, and not just any good-looking guy could fill the void.

  She wanted Roth.

  He’d stood in that bustling, noisy airport in his faded jeans and blue T-shirt, his hands deep in his pockets as he rocked on his heels. The moment he spotted her, his face lit up with a smile, and she wanted him all over again. That he’d worn that blue T-shirt that matched his eyes—the one that suddenly had the power to set her pulse soaring—had been in her favor as well. He looked beyond delicious.

  But the real seal-the-deal moment had been when his deep voice washed over her. He’d told her he’d missed her, and anything she wanted to say had stuck in her throat.

  Even now her body quivered at the memory. She’d barely managed to stop herself from grabbing his face between her palms for some serious lip action. Instead, she reined herself in and quashed her urges. She greeted him with their normal hug, although she might have pressed in to him a little more than normal and held the hug for a few extra, glorious seconds to feel his hard body against hers.

  She blamed that damn kiss for catapulting Roth to the forefront of her mind. Even now her skin tingled when she thought of him.

  She wiped the line of sweat at her nape. Yes, he makes you hot in more ways than one.

  She grimaced at her reflection and slid on her gold hoop earrings. At least there’d be no chance of bad acting when they were out on one of their dating charades. Every time he looked at her she’d eat up each word, glance, touch, or kiss. Her hormone-enraged body hummed.

  Oh, please let there be kissing.

  She closed her eyes and tried to force herself back to earth. In all her years she’d never been so turned on by a guy.
Was it because he was off-limits? Or was it because he was Roth?

  She picked up her cell to check the time. He should be here in less than ten minutes.

  Holly slid her left foot into one red glitter heel and her right into the black peep toe designer rip-offs. She hobbled in the mismatched shoes toward the mirror.

  The idea of meeting his friends excited her and intimidated her, but if she looked her best she’d at least have confidence. Not that she didn’t have confidence to begin with, but it never hurt to beef it up. And how bad could his friends be? They were artsy types. Weren’t all artists casual and carefree? Either way, Roth wouldn’t be friends with people who’d judge her or make her uncomfortable.

  She kicked off the black shoe and slid her foot into the remaining red heel. The pop of color sizzled, and she couldn’t wait to see Roth’s face when she opened the door. A look of approval from him would work even more magic in keeping her confidence sky-high, and her libido wouldn’t take offense, either.

  Three quick taps on the door made her pulse jump.

  He’s early.

  She gave herself one final look in the mirror, touched the back of her head to make sure her updo was secure, and moved across the plush carpet toward the door. She licked her lips as she touched the handle, then opened the door and froze. Her eyes locked with Roth’s, and a slow smile spread across each of their faces. A buzz of awareness swirled between them and circled the room as he stepped inside.

  Time stood still, and her entire body flushed at the sight of him. He was obviously a hunk, but seeing him freshly shaven and showered—a touch of dampness clinging to his hair—and smelling like something spicy and hot, shot a dose of heat to her belly.

  His eyes darkened as he skimmed over her. She was glad she’d decided on the little black halter number instead of her other choices. She felt prettier. Sexier. Each part of her body that his eyes touched simmered with promise. His eyes finally met hers, and the heat in their depths startled her, shooting desire straight to her center. If they touched, they’d burst into flames.