Page 117 of Rebellious Hearts

“You just don’t usually drop by,” I said and sat back, glad to have a distraction from work. The documents were so fucking boring I could scream, and I struggled to concentrate on shit that didn’t interest me.

Which seemed to be everything lately.

“So, how are things?” Chris asked. “I heard about the project falling through. Tough break.”

I shrugged. “I guess shit happens, huh?” I hesitated, studying Chris’s face. “How much did you hear about it?” Did he knowthat I’d fucked it up by lying and then fucked up what I had with Sofia, too?

“That the old man decided not to go with the project after all,” Chris said with a sniff, not giving away that he knew anything more, if he did. “I saw your press release, too. Pretty cool of you to decide to invest in that project yourself.”

I shrugged. “What else am I gonna do with all the cash that we make?”

“I’m just saying, it’s a good cause, and that’s… nice.”

I narrowed my eyes at my brother.

“What?” he asked, laughing. “Don’t look at me like that. You’re just usually so closed off from the world, an investment in something humanitarian is a nice change, something that’s out there for you.”

“You think I’m closed off?”

“Yeah,” Chris said. “Come on, it’s no secret you’re a dark horse, Ben. You’re always so brooding and quiet and no one knows what the fuck is going on in that head of yours. It’s nice to see you crawling out of your shell a bit, doing something good.”

I nodded slowly.

“She hasn’t called yet,” I said.

Chris was silent for long enough that I looked up to see if he’d heard me.

“Sofia?”

“Yeah. I thought after the press release she would call.”

“Why?”

I still couldn’t gauge if my brother knew what was going on or if his information was just about the work side of things.

“I just thought…” I let my voice trail off, not knowing how to end that sentence.

“That after that press release, she would call because she knows you feel differently about it now?”

So hedidknow more than he let on.

I nodded and simultaneously, Chris shook his head.

“What?”

“I still don’t get why you think she would call,” Chris said.

“I just thought… I mean, I apologized, right?”

“On TV?”

“Well… yeah.”

Chris studied my face for a moment.

“You know, Ben, it’s not wrong to risk it all when you know that it’s the right thing to do.”

“I’ve never risked it all,” I admitted. “I never thought it would matter. But since I met her, everything’s changed. My way of thinking about things. My way of doing things. What I want for my future.”