Page 131 of Love By Design

Finn and Hunter went tense, both of them lifting their glasses in sync like they really were twins. Smith was clearly lost in his head which left the answer to me.

Again.

“To be frank, it was a series of business transactions,” I explained. “Our mothers all hit Willem up for child support of some kind and got buyouts instead. Which they all took. Yours clearly did not.”

“Buyouts?”

“Cash for parental rights,” I said, chasing the answer with some wine to erase how bitter it tasted on my tongue.

“That’s horrible.”

“It’s just a thing that happened. It happened a long time ago, and now I have three brothers out of the deal,” I said.

“Four,” Hunter corrected.

“For now,” Finn added on.

Andrew’s brows stretched toward his hairline. “For now?”

“We thought it was just the four of us,” Finn said. “But now here you are. There’s no saying there’s no other Covingtons running around.”

“I’m not a Covington.”

“No,” Finn said warily. “You’re not.”

“Alright.” I lifted my hand between the two of them, and Finn obediently stopped talking in favor of finishing his Manhattan. “And Andrew, Hunter says you’re twenty-eight?”

“Yes.” He licked his lips and looked around the table, curiosity finally getting the better of him. “What about all of you?”

“I’m twenty-five,” Smith said. “They’re thirty-five, and Marshall is almost forty.”

“I’m thirty-nine,” I grumbled.

“Almost forty,” Finn insisted. On either side of him, both of my other brothers smirked at him, and I found myself even more outnumbered than before.

“Are any of you married?” Andrew asked next.

“No,” Finn answered. “And we’re all single, except for Marshall.”

My mind wandered to Silas, and I smiled into my wine. I hoped he was having a good time with Lincoln, and I hoped he’d stopped beating himself up about winning the job. I was looking forward to celebrating with him at Rapture after dinner and celebrating properly with him in private after that. I’d have to come up with something good to get him out of his head long enough to appreciate how monumental his win truly was.

“What a smile,” Andrew teased, and he looked so much like Finn, my breath caught. I managed to return the expression, grateful when our waiter returned with a second round of drinks and a welcome distraction.

The rest of the night passed well enough with only the occasional lapse into uncomfortable silence. It was clear by the end of the night that no matter how much Andrew had wanted to come into this meeting with nothing more than morbid curiosity, he was leaving with four brothers he’d not planned to keep. The same could be said for all of us, even if I could still feel the resistance pulsing out with Smith’s too-tight smiles and sometimes too-loud laughs. We parted with hugs instead of handshakes and the promise that we’d make a best effort shot at getting together the following month.

I stood in the parking lot with Finn, Smith, and Hunter, and the three of us watched Andrew climb into his car and drive away with one last wave in his rearview mirror. As soon as the car turned the corner, Hunter slapped Finn hard on the back once, ruffled Smith’s hair, and headed for his own car.Finn and Smith and I repeated the routine, watching Hunter until he was out of sight, at which point I glanced at Smith.

“How was that for you?” I asked.

“He’s a lot like Finn.”

Finn snorted. “He’s more like you and Hunter than me.”

“A bit like Marshall,” Smith suggested, which earned him an eye roll from me.

“Stoic in the face of emotion,” I said, which wasn’t even true for me anymore. Silas could take me to my knees with a single look; he just didn’t know it.

“What’s the rest of your night look like?” Finn asked.