Page 212 of Titus

Colton turned. “Holy shit!”

The man beside Sebastian was tall, dark-haired, and sun-bronzed, wearing an untucked white linen shirt and jeans.

I had no idea who the man was, but he did share many of the same features as Sebastian and his brother, John.

Unlike Sebastian and John, however, this guy looked like he liked piña coladas and getting caught in the rain. The kind of man who spent his life sailing the South Pacific, frequenting tiki lounges, and refusing to take phone calls.

It was when he smiled that I saw the Aster family resemblance. He looked more like John than Sebastian, but the similarity was uncanny.

Wyatt stood. “Holy shit, man. Talk about a sight for sore fucking eyes.”

The man laughed, returning Wyatt’s handshake and clapping him on the arm, “How are you, you Spanish whore?”

Wyatt chuckled. “Some things never change, but from where we’ve all been sitting, you are the one who’s turned into the whore of the family.”

“I heard those were the stories told in my absence,” he said with a laugh, then looked at Colton, who stood next to Wyatt. He extended his hand. “Damn good to see you, Colt,” he said.

“You as well,” Colton replied politely. “Hell, after you fled your family and disappeared like a fugitive, I don’t think anyone ever expected to see your ass again.”

“That was the goal,” he said, prompting a laugh from Sebastian after they all took their seats around the table.

“This must be the runaway black sheep of the Aster family we’ve heard about,” Spencer said, turning to where the man sat at the head of the table. “I’m Spencer Monroe,” he introduced himself.

“Mark Aster,” he announced. “Nice to meet you.”

“This is James Mitchell,” Sebastian introduced him. “Jim, this is my younger brother Mark.”

Mark’s stark blue eyes fell on Jim. “Jim Mitchell,” he chuckled. “Seb was filling me in on the West Coast circle he’s playing in the sandbox with these days.”

Jim laughed and shook his hand, “He and your parents, if you can believe that.”

He smiled as Sebastian ordered them drinks. “Seb was also filling me in on how my parents are no longer the complete assholes they once were.”

“So that means you’ll be coming back into the family business,” Wyatt said with a smirk.

“Fuck that shit,” he answered. Then he looked at me, sitting where Colton was to my right, with an arm casually draped behind me. “I will say,” he looked at Colton, “I never imagined any of you Spanish boys settling down. Care to introduce me?”

The table reacted with muffled laughter. “This is Catalina Veléz,” Colton said with a grin. “Titus’s girlfriend.”

“Titus?” he said, taking a sip of his drink with a look of shock. “In a relationship?”

I chuckled in response. “Nice to meet you,” I said, taking his outstretched hand and shaking it across the table.

“The pleasure is mine, of course,” he said, glancing back at Sebastian. “Wow. Some things do change.”

“We were all just as surprised, but no more than Titus was when he stopped fighting his feelings for this one,” Colton said, sipping his drink with a wry expression.

“Where the hell have you been, man?” Wyatt asked.

“Well, despite what you may have heard, I wasn’t stranded on an island.”

“Damn, that was a good story and quite enjoyable to watch your parents squirm,” Wyatt muttered.

“I bet,” Mark grinned. “However, I think catch-up stories can wait,” he said, placing a thick leather folder on the table.

“I’ve spent the last twenty-four hours with Mark, going over the shit in that folder,” Sebastian’s voice cut through the silence. “I verified every source.”

Everyone on the rooftop fell completely still. Spencer slowly leaned forward as Jim’s expression hardened.