Honor

Chapter 16

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

R eid

“Why do you look like that?” My cousin, Donovan, points at my face.

I brush away his hand with mine. “Don’t be an asshole.”

“You appreciate when I’m honest with you, right?” he questions, ignoring my insult.

Donovan is like a brother to me.

After my folks died in a car accident, Donovan’s mom offered to take Melody and me in, but my maternal grandparents stepped up, and we moved into their house in Queens. They went above and beyond to make sure that our dad’s family was a steadfast presence in our lives.

Donovan was the one who taught me how to ride a bike in Central Park. He broke the news that the jolly red-suited guy I thought was dropping off all those gifts under the tree every December was really just my grandma in her pajamas.

He’s four years older than me, but our bond has always been strong.

“You look like you haven’t slept in days,” he remarks before taking a pull from the bottle of beer in front of him.

I started my weekend with a drink on Friday night, and I’m ending it on Sunday night in much the same way.

The major difference is that on Friday night, I kept stealing glances at Miss Starling and the bartender she couldn’t take her eyes off of. Today, my view is my cousin and the city beyond since we’re on the patio of a bistro in Tribeca.

We try to meet up at least once a month.

Donovan owns a veterinary practice. He recently got engaged and welcomed a daughter named Grace into the world. I’m all in with Vidori, so our time together is limited to a quick lunch or dinner every four weeks.

“I work too much,” I say with a chuckle. “What’s your excuse? Don’t blame it all on baby Gracie.”

He lets out a deep belly laugh that draws glances from the people seated near us. Not one of them appears to be pissed off. In fact, they’re all smiling because Donovan’s laugh does that to people.

He shoves a hand through his dark brown hair. “I don’t look like shit.”

The bastard is right. He looks as put together as he always does.

Since he came straight here from the clinic, he’s dressed in blue scrubs.

I’m in a suit because I spent most of today at the office. No one was there to witness my wardrobe choice, but still, I dressed for the part. I did the same thing yesterday.

Work was the distraction I needed this weekend. Seeing Miss Starling chatting up the tattooed bartender on Friday night was unexpected. When I suggested to Baden that we drop by Tin Anchor for a beer, I thought I’d find her and Cleo alone.

I didn’t consider what might happen beyond that, but watching another guy flirting with her for more than an hour wasn’t it.

I left when a client called. Baden didn’t stop me, and Cleo followed me out, saying she needed to get home to her husband.

I ended the night at another bar closer to my home.

“What’s going on in your world?” Donovan changes the subject before taking a bite of his sandwich.

I drop my gaze to the salad I ordered. I’ll get to it, but first, I want to share the slice of good news I do have with him. “I’m going to be the best man at a wedding.”

“What?” He tilts his chin up. “Who asked you to be their best man?”

“Randall Fitzpatrick.”

“Randy?” He shakes his head. “He was your best friend when you were a kid. You two were inseparable for years.”

He’s right about that, so I nod. “He’s getting married and asked me to stand next to him, so I’m doing it.”

“Good for you.” He leans back in his chair. “I didn’t think you had it in you.”

“You didn’t think I had what in me?” I ask, genuine curiosity lacing my tone.

“The ability to agree to something like that.”

I take a bite of salad, and chew while contemplating that. “Something like what? I put on a tux, watch a friend get married, and drink as much champagne as I can handle.”

With a swipe of a linen napkin over his lips, he chuckles. “What about the bachelor party? That’s always on the best man.”

Well, fuck.

“Obviously, you didn’t think about that.” He taps the center of his forehead. “Make it easy on yourself and head to Vegas for a weekend with the groom and his friends. It’s not cheap, but it’s fun.”

He’s right, but jetting across the country for anything not related to making money is a waste of time in my books.

“I’ll think about it,” I say while reminding myself that the brass ring at the end of this is ownership of Azelius Spas, so technically, in a way, it would be a work-related trip.

Donovan swipes a finger over the screen of his phone to pull up a picture of his fiancée, Delia, holding their baby girl. “Look at that, Reid.”

I stare at the photo. It’s his family. He waited thirty-six years to find happiness that profound and it’s made him an even better man than he already was. “You know how happy I am for you, right?”

He nods. “I do. Maybe one day, you’ll have a picture like this on your phone of your fiancée and baby.”

“Slow it down, old man.” I laugh. “What works for you doesn’t necessarily mean it’ll work for me.”

“Don’t knock it until you try it.” He grins. “Besides, you have no damn idea what’s waiting around the corner for you.”

“I know I have work waiting back at the office for me.” I look down at my salad. “So I need to eat this and get the hell back there.”

“Work isn’t everything.” It’s his new favorite piece of advice to hand out. “But, when you brought up Randy, it reminded me of something that happened at the clinic a few days ago.”

I can’t help but laugh. “So work isn’t everything, but it’s a big part of it?”

He dismisses my comment with a flick of his wrist in the air. “Another old friend of yours brought his dog in for a routine exam. I hadn’t seen him in a few years.”

I finally dig into the salad, shoveling a forkful of the fresh greens into my mouth. I chew and swallow before I ask the expected question. “Who?”

“Kevin Dalca.” He smiles. “He recently adopted a handsome boxer named Boxy.”

“That’s original.” I go for another bite of salad.

He tilts his chin down. “He mentioned he’s been trying to get in touch with you about…”

“I know,” I stop him before he can finish his sentence since I know exactly what Kevin wants. “I’ll shoot him a text.”

I leave off the word soon because lying to Donovan isn’t something I’ve ever done, and I have no intention of starting now.