Page 10

Gabriel
“Ihear congratulations are in order.”
I grimace, glad Connor can’t see my face over the phone. “You heard that from halfway around the world?”
“Word spreads fast.” I can just imagine him grinning, his blue eyes crinkled cheerfully at the corners. He’s never let a day get him down.
“And who broke the oh so joyous news to you?”
I set my phone down on the marble bathroom counter and put it on speakerphone while I run a comb through my hair. Wouldn’t want to look bad for Macken- I mean Serena.
“Dad told me during our weekly check-in. He wanted an update on how the new call center is doing here, and at the end he tacked on a gruffGabriel’s engaged to Serena Montague to make the buyout go smoother,” he says in a pitch-perfect imitation of Dad.
I laugh at his impression, because otherwise I might sob at the reminder I’ll be married soon. “Yep. That about sums it up.”
“So you were sacrificed for the cause?”
Sacrificed is a good word. Lets me play up the martyr angle more. “I’m trying not to think about it too much,” I tell him. “It’ll be bad enough when the day comes.”
“Maybe you’ll fall madly in love with her,” he jokes, but it falls flat on my ears.
“Not likely, buddy. She’s got the hots for Archer.”
“What?”
I sigh. Once again, I just don’t measure up to my older brother. At least my younger one isn’t in competition right now from the Philippines. Well, not for any potential brides anyway.
“She made it pretty clear she thought it was him she’d be marrying, not me.” I’m not taking it too personally, but it’s still a kick in the nuts.
“Sorry, man.” His voice holds genuine sincerity, the same way Mom used to sound. “What did Archer say?”
“I don’t think he knows. Anddon’ttell him.” The whole thing’s embarrassing enough as it is.
“Why not?”
“Because he either won’t care and it’ll be awkward, or thenhe’llbe the martyr and I’ll somehow get blamed for it. Besides, Dad’s probably saving him for someone richer.”
“Yeah?” he laughs. “Then who does he have in mind for me?”
I rack my brain for a girl we went to prep school with. Connor was a sophomore when I was a senior, so there has to be someone. “How about Amanda Harcourt?” Her father was a network executive at NBC back in the day, and I’m sure he’s only moved up the ranks since then. “Then we’d have the media on our side.”
“Now you’re thinking strategically. It’s actually a little scary.”
I chuckle, slightly miffed that he thinks I’m incapable of strategy, but I know he doesn’t mean anything by it.
I take him off speakerphone and head back out into the living room, grabbing a water bottle out of the fridge for the road. “Listen, I need to get going. I have a meeting with the wedding planner.”
“All right. But seriously, congratulations. I hope you and Serena can make the best of a crappy situation.”
God, that’s so like him to stay optimistic. Every good part of Mom rubbed off on him. It’s why I make sure to keep in touch with him, no matter where he is in the world.
It’s a little ironic that I’m closer with the brother that’s over eight thousand miles away rather than the one who lives literally a floor above me, but Archer’s always been the reserved one.
And too much like Dad.
“See you, kid.”
I head down to my waiting town car, my driver, Davis, idling at the curb, and sit restlessly in the back as traffic crawls along. Doesn’t matter what time it is, there’s always something holding up the road here. Not that it matters to me. I normally have nothing to do and all day to do it, as Dad likes to remind me.