Good with His Hands(13)

"I'm making room for the painting I'm buying. At the auction," Bryce said, a pointed reminder that he had somewhere to be.

How like Bryce. Not only did he know exactly what he planned to bid on,  he'd already decided he was going to win. Hell, maybe he would. He  wasn't the family screwup.

Sean took a deep breath. "It's about a woman."

"Tara?"

"No, we broke up last month." Although Sean didn't speak directly to  his brother often, their mom tried to keep everyone updated on family  gossip. But she'd been busy preparing for an eleven-night cruise to  Hawaii. They wouldn't be back until the end of the week. "It's actually a  woman who works in your building. Danica...um, about yea tall? Gorgeous  brunette, real-estate agent down the hall from you."

"Oh." Bryce nodded. "Right. I know who you're talking about."

His brother's offhand tone made Sean angry on Dani's behalf. What had  she said when she thought he was Bryce? I've been thinking about you all  week. She'd noticed Bryce, wanted him. As much as the idea of her  desiring his brother put Sean's teeth on edge, it was almost worse that  Bryce had barely registered her existence. She was stunning, special.  She deserved a man who-

Who what? Lies to her? Cold reality sliced through his righteous  indignation. Last night, he'd wanted to take a swing at her ex-fiancé,  wanted to sock the guy in the nose for hurting her. Congratulations, now  you're the guy hurting her. He was in the mood for a fight, but it was  difficult to kick one's own ass.

Maybe after he admitted to Bryce what he'd done, his big brother would take care of that for him.





      7

BRYCE GRAYSON WAS having trouble following the conversation. He was  still trying to adjust to the surprise of finding Sean on his doorstep.

In the entire time Bryce had lived in the loft, his brother had never  once dropped by out of the blue. Why would he? Sean had plenty of  friends to call when he wanted to hang out; it had been that way since  grade school. Bryce, as the twin their parents had always relied on to  follow the rules, was more successful in relationships with clear  protocols-it was one of the reasons he'd joined a fraternity. From  pledging to initiation, there were conventions to follow.

Sean didn't need convention. And he'd never needed help with women  before, either, so Bryce doubted his brother was here to ask for an  introduction to the brunette he'd mentioned.

He fastened a cuff link, hoping Sean reached his point soon.  Punctuality was one of those social conventions Bryce respected. "What  does this Danica have to do with anything?"

"I met her in your office building yesterday. We went out last night...but she thought I was you. I, um, didn't correct her."

"What?" Bryce jerked his head up sharply. "You let her think she was on a date with me?"

"It's complicated."

"It's identity theft!"

Sean rolled his eyes. "It's not like I took your credit cards to Vegas."

No, this was far worse! As a kid, Sean had been the type to throw a  football in the house, then have the nerve to look shocked when  something got broken. Although Bryce no longer knew his brother well, it  seemed as though Sean hadn't changed. He was still charismatic,  impulsive and heedless of consequences.

Bryce had been the worrier. In younger years, he'd worried about his  brother getting hurt doing stupid stunts. But by the time Bryce got  tested into gifted classes in middle school, their formerly laconic  father had given him new focus for his worry. His dad's favorite  conversational theme became the opportunities that would be available if  Bryce worked hard enough. Bryce began to feel as if he was shouldering  the weight of his family-his mom had never gone to college, and his  father only had a vocational degree. While Sean spent his high school  years making out with cheerleaders, Bryce was studying for Advance  Placement exams, obsessed with not losing his GPA lead to the  salutatorian right on his heels.                       
       
           



       

"I didn't set out to lie to her," Sean defended himself, as if that  somehow made anything better. "It happened fast. She was supposed to get  married yesterday, but the cheating jerk bailed on her. She was looking  for someone to... You would have been all wrong for her! It's like Tara  used to say-"

"Tara your ex?" His brain hurt. Had his brother descended into daytime drinking? This exchange was making less and less sense.

Nodding, Sean glowered. "She made a point of frequently mentioning that  you're the successful one, the college-educated architect with the  bright future."

"So you picked up a woman in my name out of some kind of petty resentment?"

"Of course not! You don't understand-"

"What sane person could? You've done some reckless shit, but this  borders on criminal." The thought of trying to make small talk with  Danica after his brother's inexplicable fraud made his stomach tighten.  Sean might never have to deal with her again, but Bryce crossed paths  with her on a nearly daily basis. "I have to face this woman! Did that  even occur to you?"

"No. I admit, I wasn't thinking about you while staring into a  beautiful woman's eyes. But I figure it balances out, since you think  about yourself enough for the both of us."

Bryce's fists clenched at his sides. "What the hell does that mean?"

"It means, you're a lot more concerned about climbing the ladder of success than the people you left behind. Like our parents-"

"I'm the one who paid to upgrade their cruise!"

"Yeah, you threw money at them," Sean retorted, "like one of the  charities you support in the name of networking. How many times have you  backed out of family plans because of something 'important' like this  damn auction?"

Bryce had never been closer to hitting a person. "It must be so easy to  stand in judgment when you weren't the one expected to succeed." How  dare his jackass brother accuse him of not caring about their family?  Why did Sean think he'd come back to Georgia? The problem with Sean is,  he doesn't think.

"No," Sean said softly, "I guess I wouldn't know what that was like."  He raked a hand through his hair. "I didn't come here to fight. I know I  screwed up, and I figured I owed you the truth."

"And Danica? She deserves the truth, too." Bryce sure didn't want to be the one to explain the whole mess to her.

"I told her first thing this morning."

First thing? "Are you saying you spent the night with her?" Bryce asked, appalled.

Sean didn't reply, but the guilt in his gaze and tic in his jaw were answer enough.

Another question occurred to Bryce as his brother reached for the door. "What were you doing at my office in the first place?"

"Birthday surprise." Sean flashed a grim smile over his shoulder.  "Believe it or not, I walked into that building with the best of  intentions."

He'd somehow turned a token birthday gesture into a sex scandal? Only  my brother. "In the future, do us both a favor and just send an e-card."

* * *

DANI'S MONDAY DID not get off to an auspicious start. After a fitful  night of tossing and turning, only managing to drift off an hour before  dawn, she overslept. Then she lost more time applying heavier makeup  than normal in an attempt to cover the dark circles beneath her eyes.  Naturally, she hit every red light possible on her way to work. She  arrived at the office twenty minutes late. Which, for her, was like an  hour late.

"Aw, sweetie." Behind her retro cat's-eye glasses, the receptionist gazed at her with blatant pity. "Tough weekend, huh?"

Crap. So much for the concealing power of cosmetics. "Didn't get a lot  of sleep," Dani admitted. Saturday night, she'd been too busy having  enthusiastic sex. Last night? She'd lain in bed plagued by memories of  the enthusiastic sex. And it wasn't as if she could escape the mental  replay by sleeping on her couch. Hell, she'd even thought of Sean while  standing in the shower this morning, recalling the way he'd-

"Hon, you want me to hold your calls for a little while?" Although Judy  was barely forty, nowhere near old enough to be Dani's mom, she had a  naturally maternal air. "Give you a chance to get your bearings?"

"Thanks, Judy, but I'll be okay."

"You sure? It must be hard, being here when you're supposed to be on your honeymoon right now."

A brittle laugh escaped Dani. She kept forgetting people expected her  to be upset about the wedding. She'd done some soul-searching after Meg  left yesterday and had reached an epiphany. If she and Tate hadn't been  on separate continents, they would have broken up much sooner. The  geographic distance between them had allowed them to ignore the  personality clashes and the small, grating ways in which they weren't  compatible. She still thought he was slime for being unfaithful before  ending their relationship, but she could honestly say he'd done her a  favor by calling off the wedding.