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CHAPTER ONE
‘TO WILD OATSand Mommy issues. The first brought us into the world, the second has kept us on our toes and made us the men we are.’
Prince Azar Domene of Cartana groaned loudly, his crystal flute filled with Dom Perignon lowering a fraction as he shook his head. He could count on Teo making such outrageous toasts every year.
‘Dios.You could just wish the old man a simple happy birthday so we can get on with the drinking, you know,’ griped Valenti, the older of his twin half-brothers by five and a half minutes. The scar slashing just above his temple twitched as he shook his head.
Teo grinned and punched him in shoulder. ‘I didn’t fly four thousand miles to make mediocre speeches.’
‘And watch it with the old. I’m only three months older than you,’ Azar warned.
Teo grinned. ‘Speaking of wild oats—’
‘Don’t,’ Azar warned, fully anticipating what was coming.
He didn’t need a reminder of those wild six months three years ago. They were branded into his brain indelibly. If there was even a sliver of comfort to be taken from the circumstances surrounding losing his best friend, it was that his half-brothers had been there to offer support.
Teo shrugged. ‘Not talking about it doesn’t mean it’s going to go away.’
To his credit, Teo now spoke in a more sombre tone, respecting the gravity of this part of their history. Of the paths of chaos their mothers had wrought with their bitter rivalry, leading to those ‘Mommy issues’ his brother mocked so glibly.
‘But there’s a time and a place, brother,’ Valenti muttered, sliding his twin a hard, speaking look. ‘Azar’s birthday may not be the right time. Hell, you own and run a multi-billion-dollar fashion house. How do you not know the art of subtlety and nuance?’
‘You know the part of the ostrich I like?’ Teo asked as Valenti rolled his eyes. Then he sobered. ‘Their feathers. You can make a sexy statement with those. The burying their head in the sand part? Not so much.’
‘You’re so busy pushing everyone into doing “the right thing”,’ Valenti said, with mocking air quotes. ‘What about you?’
Azar watched Teo’s face tighten with a punch of curiosity and pity. Those wild months in the Arizona desert, in Paradise Valley, had taken their toll in one way or the other. Valenti had delved deeper into his usual frozen solitude while Teo, the polar opposite of his twin, had given debauched revelry a run for its money.
Although they’d never spoken of it, Azar was very aware that his brothers had arrived in Arizona straight from a visit to their father, weighed down with more baggage than usual.
‘There’s nothing to report,’ Teo answered, surprising them all. ‘Sometimes you just have to cut your losses.’
Azar watched Valenti’s eyes widen and knew he was about to probe deeper, verify whether he spoke of their father or mother. Or if it had something to with the new creative director he’d hired. He was going to intercept by speaking words he wished he didn’t have to. But they were necessary, if only to quiet the demons for a hot second.
‘Another toast. And, yes, I can make a toast on my own birthday.’ He tightened his gut and raised his glass, his chest burning with anger, regret and shame-coated bitterness. ‘To absent friends.’
Teo’s face shuttered. A muscle ticked in Valenti’s jaw. For a handful of seconds they said nothing, all three dwelling on memories. Azar knew both Teo and Valenti felt guilty for being caught up in their own drama and not realising the chaos unravelling in Arizona until it was too late.
Teo raised his glass. A beat later, Valenti followed suit. ‘To absent friends.’
Azar nodded in gratitude.
Courtesy of his father’s wild-oat-sowing history—siring three sons born within months of each other by two different women—he’d learned a hard lesson in not glossing over things. Secrets led to festering wounds and shattered trust. Hell, he wouldn’t be toasting his absent friend if he’d taken his own advice three years ago. Nick’s death had been senseless and deeply shocking, a product of suppressed sentiments and acute misunderstanding that would’ve been salvaged if everything had been laid out in the open.
He couldn’t lay the entire blame on Nick or himself. No, a good chunk of that laid with another. The woman who’d created carnage, disappeared from the scene of the accident that had taken Nick’s life, and then seemingly off the face of the earth. It grated deeply that neither the police nor his own expert security team had been able to locate her after all this time. Depriving him of essential closure and, yes, a little retribution.
But that was an ongoing task he wasn’t going to dwell on today, on his thirty-fifth birthday. Not when he had other news to impart. Since it wasn’t happy tidings, he’d waited until the party was almost over. His half-brothers would need a minute to process.
‘I have news,’ he said, when another round of champagne had been poured.
‘You’re planning another months-long bender? Count me in,’ Teo said.
He managed a smile, until the weight of destiny wiped it away. ‘Papá is going to call you two this coming week. But I think you should hear it from me first. His health problems are worsening. His doctors say they’ve done all they can.’
Valenti surged to his feet, his champagne forgotten on the table. ‘What? When did this happen?’ His usual gravel-rough voice was even coarser.
‘And why did you wait till now to tell us? You stood there and made me toss out nonsense when you knew this all along?’ Teo growled, his face dark with disappointment and anger.