Priceless Treasure(29)

“Screw that,” Ashton said. “We’ll just stop at Uncle Joseph’s. You know he’ll have a spread ready in minutes. He loves visitors.”

“Yeah, I have a soft spot for the old man. I’m so glad Dad found his brothers, and even more glad the family was worthy of being found.”

“Just a soft spot, Lance? I think you’re going soft all over in your old age.”

“As if you have a right to mock me, Ash. You don’t feel the same?”

“Yeah, I do. I just don’t admit all my girlie thoughts to the world at large,” Ashton said with a laugh.#p#分页标题#e#

“Because I’m a nice guy, I won’t mention the kissy-face stuff you subjected me to just now. And the family says I’m the one who needs to grow up,” Lance said with a roll of his eyes.

“Ha! We both know that’s so far from the truth, it’s laughable. You’re the most mature of all of us.”

Lance gave out a booming guffaw. “I know. I just wanted to hear you say it.”

“Yeah, that was real mature,” Ashton said.

“Once in a while a guy has to let go. I’ve decided I’ve been too serious for too long. Where in the hell has that gotten me?”

“A successful business, for one,” Ashton reminded him.

“Money only goes so far,” Lance said.

Ashton’s eyes flew open. “Are you telling me you’re not happy?”

He stopped what he was doing and faced his brother. Yes, he and Lance joked around a lot, but they’d die for each another without even a moment’s hesitation. They might have forgotten that for a short time, but their father had managed to bring them all back together, and Ashton, for one, was incredibly grateful.

“I’m happy … most of the time,” Lance insisted, but his laugh rang false. “Okay, this is getting way too deep for a Saturday morning conversation. I just saw Lucas drive up. Let’s get this show on the road.”

Ashton wanted to push his brother, find out what was going on, but he also knew when to back off. If Lance wanted to tell him something, then he’d get around to it, but he would do it in his own time.

If a man needed his space, he had every right to it.

“Tell me more about this Savvy chick,” Lance said. “I could see that she was curvy and hot with a beautiful smile and about the sexiest eyes known to woman. But does she have a brain cell alive?”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“You tend to date — or in one notable case get engaged to — Barbie dolls, Ash.”

“It’s lovely to know you hold such a high opinion of me,” Ashton almost snarled.

“Come on, brother. I’m already planning the party to celebrate your dumping Kalli. Not even Uncle Joseph, the man who thinks everyone over the age of eighteen should be planning marriage and grandbabies, likes that woman.”

“I didn’t notice,” Ashton said.

He tried to remember family gatherings. And come to think of it, Kalli tended to avoid them. She’d always had one excuse or the other, but he hadn’t cared enough to pay attention until Lance pointed it out.

“Yeah, Ash, and that’s because you didn’t look past the woman’s pumped-up breasts to the beady look in her eyes.”

“That’s not fair. I saw her eyes plenty happy a few times.”

“You sure about that?” Lance asked. “The woman can obviously act.”

“You’re in a mood today, big bro.”

The two of them made their way down the docks to his favorite private boat. Ashton thought of it as small but he didn’t do anything in small measures. This beauty was of the highest quality and was large enough for a couple of dozen people to fit on comfortably for an afternoon on the water, or else to house four couples for a week at a time. It boasted four bedrooms, two sitting areas, a large deck for sunbathing, spacious bathrooms, and an impressive modern kitchen.

He’d stayed on her for two weeks once with his brothers on a guys-only trip that had infuriated his sister, and they had seriously thought about sailing to Hawaii just to enjoy the peacefulness of the water while the rest of the world faded away.#p#分页标题#e#

Responsibility had called them back from that naughty jaunt, but that didn’t mean he didn’t go out on her as often as possible. Though he had a few dozen luxury boats, this one wasn’t for charter. It was his personal baby, and he couldn’t imagine ever finding a new favorite.

And just like that he’d somehow maneuvered his trail of reflections back to Kalli, as he realized the woman had never gone out on the water on his favorite boat. She hadn’t liked any of the boats, and she’d told him more than once that she much preferred to keep her feet on solid ground. That should have been a huge red flag.