Rachel couldn’t speak. Relief engulfed her, so intense and smothering, she could only nod or risk bursting into tears.
“Good.” Alesha sat up straighter and crossed her legs. “Now let’s get you out of this house and into my guest room. Then we’ll call that shady lawyer and get to work.”
Nathan had to close the laundromat. The day after the gala, people with cameras were lined up at the door, shouting his name when he tried to service a washer. The customer he was helping had gathered his dirty clothes and fled the scene like he’d witnessed a Mafia hit.
He wasn’t entirely surprised when Mia stopped by. He’d seen the look in Matt’s eyes after that punch. The bruise on his jaw had spread to his ego, so he’d used the one weapon he had left, threatening to call the police. When it came to drunken midnight fistfights, guys like Matt would always win in the harsh light of day.
Mia greeted him at the door with a steaming paper cup. “Brought you coffee.”
Nathan winced as his right hand closed around it. His bruised knuckles had swollen during the night. “Thanks.”
She briefly fussed over his hand before sitting next to him. “Matt’s making some noise, so I wanted to check in and see what happened last night.”
“He was being a dick. So I hit him.”
She sighed. “Nathan—”
“Is Rachel okay?”
Mia stiffened, and for a second, he thought she would ignore the question. “You could call her and find out.”
“My phone went dead last night and I just put it on the charger.” He’d also been drunk and humiliated, his phone exploding with so many notifications on the way home that the dying battery had been a relief. “I doubt she’d want to speak to me after last night.” If she did reach out, what could he say? “Sorry I mailed the portrait, but I was too high to know what I was doing”？
“I ruined the gala and her reputation in front of the entire country,” Nathan said. “Have you seen what they’re saying about her online?” BuzzFeed was having a field day. He had muted their names, but the gala story kept popping up in unexpected places. While some people mentioned Matt’s affair, Rachel’s nude was the biggest headline. She was the duplicitous gold digger and Nathan was the oblivious artist, too young and naive to know he was being used for revenge.
“I’m sure it’s not the entire country.” Mia looked at him over her coffee. “Those tickets are expensive. So it was probably a quarter, at most.”
Nathan groaned. “All these years, and you’re still not funny, Mia.”
She grinned. “You just don’t like my jokes.”
“Because they’re not funny.”
Her laugh was cut short by the door being shoved open and Joe stalking into his apartment, still dressed in last night’s tuxedo. Nathan glanced at Mia. He should have told Joe about her visits a long time ago. Now, in addition to hiding his relationship with Rachel, he had another poorly kept secret his brother could hold against him.
“Why the hell aren’t you answering your phone?”
Nathan stood, and his coffee spilled, burning his hand. “I just woke up a little while ago.” He set down his cup. “My phone went dead last night, and I lost my charger. I had a spare, but I think I might have left it at the—” Nathan paused, and decided it was a bad time to remind Joe of the lake house. “Somewhere. It’ll turn up.”
Joe looked disoriented when he finally focused on Mia. “What are you doing here?” His voice cooled. “Did Abbott call you?”
Mia stood slowly. “No.” She was staring at Joe like she saw something Nathan didn’t. “Joseph,” she said, her voice soft and measured. “Did something happen?”
“You should go,” Joe said, and ran a trembling hand through his hair. “I need to talk to my brother.”
Joe’s eyes were red, and Nathan wasn’t sure how to read his expression. He’d never seen it before. Mia stood and Nathan grabbed her arm. He suddenly didn’t want to be alone with his brother. “Wait,” he mumbled, “Just wait.”
Joe squeezed his shoulder. “Nathan,” he whispered, and his eyes glazed with tears. “Why didn’t you answer the goddamn phone?”
Nathan stopped breathing. He braced himself for what Joe would say next. But he already knew.
He knew.
“I thought—” Nathan finally exhaled, gasping. “I thought I had more time.”