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“Genevieve? When?”
“At a club the other night.”
“Why were you at a club with Genevieve?” The green-eyed monster reared its ugly head.
“She was there celebrating her sister’s divorce from this awful man, and I realized what she said about him applies to me too. No matter what I do to try to change, it’s never enough. I’m a giant failure.”
“That’s not true.”
Gus narrowed his eyes at Sebastian. “You know it is. I’m not driven like you and Sky. I’ve never succeeded at anything in my life.”
“You’re smarter and more talented than you give yourself credit for. And you haven’t succeeded because you’ve bought into your own lies. You’ve used them as excuses not to take life seriously. But the time for excuses is over, and I think you know it.”
“When did you get to be so wise?” Gus mumbled.
“I have my moments.” He held up his phone. “This was definitely not one of them.”
Gus snorted out a laugh, then got a little smile on his face. “She’s really great, Bash.”
“So you like her?” He wished he’d been the one spending time with her at that club, not Gus. What had they talked about? There was so much he wanted to know about her, and he hated that Gus might know more than he did.
“I do, but I wouldn’t do that to you, brother.” He pointed at Sebastian’s phone. “Don’t keep the lady waiting.”
Sebastian promptly focused on the message and began typing as Gus headed for the bathroom.
I’m okay. Family situation. All taken care of. How was work? Sorry to desert our dessert plans yesterday. ;)
He waited to see if any little dots bounced on his screen. They didn’t, but a text message came through a few moments later.
Rain check?
He could picture the way her eyes lit up when she smiled and that adorable dimple in her cheek. His fingers moved over the screen.
Anytime.
That evening, Sebastian and Gus were summoned to the house by their father. Whenever there was trouble within the family, especially anything that would affect them and their company that was public knowledge, they had a family meeting to talk things through.
Sebastian drove the two of them to the house, and Gus was quiet the entire way. He wasn’t normal, fun-loving Gus. He was so withdrawn, it was unsettling.
“You okay?” Sebastian asked before they pulled into the driveway.
“Not really.”
Sebastian gripped Gus’s shoulder and squeezed. “It will all work out. Trust me.”
“I wish I had your faith.”
“Last time I checked, we believed in the same God. He’s still there, Gus. He’ll never abandon you. And neither will we.”
Gus didn’t reply to that and quickly climbed out when Sebastian parked the car.
Gerard opened the door before they even reached it. “Good evening, sirs.”
“Good evening, Gerard.”
“Hey, Gerard.” Gus greeted him with a fist bump.
Harriet came swooping into the foyer, hugging and kissing on her boys.