Page 16 of Wilde About You

Sadie

Surprisingly, there was some halfway decent food in the refrigerator. I expected fifty beers, a can of nacho sauce and a stack of raw steaks but found eggs and bacon and English muffins. The house was dead quiet. The party didn't go on too much longer after I got in bed. I only heard Ace's voice and two women. I had no idea why I was listening so hard to see if his friend Colin stayed up with the guests, but I was sure I didn't hear him.

I scrambled two eggs in a bowl. I hadn't eaten anything substantial in hours, and I was starved. I wasn't a big meat eater but today the bacon looked enticing. I dropped a few on the griddle pan and poured the eggs on the hot surface. I would eat and then get the hell out. Just my luck that the one place I considered as my new hideout was already occupied by my brother. I was just relieved it wasn't my parents.

"Hey, didn't recognize you without the hoodie," the deep voice floated over my shoulder. "Any room on that griddle for a few more slices of bacon?"

I glanced back at him. He was even more spectacular fresh and clean and standing in the morning sunlight, which was saying a lot. Without answering I pulled a few more slices free from the package and dropped them on the hot surface. They sizzled instantly.

"Eggs?" I asked. "I mean I've got the carton out, so it wouldn't be a big deal."

"Eggs sound good." He spotted the English muffins and dropped four halves into the toaster. "So … you're Ace's sister? Never would have guessed that in a million years. He mentioned he had a sister, but I have to say, I thought you were, I don't know, in prison or kicked out of the family for some heinous crime or something."

I flipped the bacon, ran a fork through the eggs and turned around. He was standing at the toaster as if the bread needed constant surveillance. "Just what did my lovely brother say about me?"

Colin shrugged his broad shoulders. "Nothing actually. Just that you existed and that you didn't get along with your parents and that you were into your own thing."

I nodded. "Was expecting worse, actually."

The toaster popped up perfectly toasted muffins. "Wow, these are nice. My toaster either shoots out raw bread or charcoal."

"I think raw bread would still be dough. So are you two close? Ace and you? I guess you probably are. You seem like peas in a pod."

He grabbed the muffins out fast and dropped them just as quickly on the counter. "Shit, those are hot. What do you mean peas in a pod?"

"Hmm, let's see. Your priorities. A quality snowfall and slope, hot women who love to party and—I can't think of a third one, but the first two pretty much say it all."

"I do love thick powder and a great slalom and half-pipe course. And yes, hot women who like to party—never say no to that, but there is more to both of us." He smiled. "Well, there's more to me anyway. Otherwise, you do seem to know your brother well."

I turned back to the stove. "Oops, hope you like your bacon extra crispy and your eggs rubbery."

I scooped the food onto plates. He added the muffins, and we carried our food out to the patio. Coastal fog lingered in small transparent patches over the sand and water, but it was shaping up to be a beautiful day. I'd been wracking my brain trying to figure out where I could go next but decided I had just as much right to be here as Ace and his friend. After all, I hadn't been written out of the family yet. At least I was fairly certain I hadn't.

"So, what's this whole thing about being a Wilde? And what else is there to Colin Wilde other than snowboarding and women?"

"First of all, your brother always goes overboard about my name and family. My dad is somewhat infamous⁠—"

I swallowed my bite fast. "Infamous?" I asked. "You do know what that means?"

"Uh yeah, because if you look up the word in the dictionary, my dad's picture is under it. Anyhow, I have four brothers, including one twin, and I guess you could say we all earned reputations that were not exactly shiny and commendable. But in our defense, we've grown up a lot, and we're all almost respectable now."

"Almost respectable. I think you should use that on a job resume."

"Morning," a quiet voice said from the screen door. It was one of the women from last night. According to the long T-shirt she was wearing and not much more, I concluded that she'd spent the night with my brother. "Hey, that all smells good."

"Help yourself to whatever you want in there. The griddle is still hot." The pouty frown that followed assured me she was expecting someone to make the breakfast for her.

"I'll just have some coffee," she said.

"I think the coffee is in the cupboard, and the coffee maker is on the end of the island." I was taking a lot of joy in letting her know that she was on her own for making coffee, too. Her pout grew bigger, and I was sure I heard a huff as she turned toward the kitchen.

Colin and I laughed quietly. "Guess she thought there was room service at this fine hotel," I said.

"What the hell are you guys laughing about?" Ace or Arthur as Dad called him when he wasn't in mixed company, was at the screen next. He looked like hell. His hair was sticking up even more than mine, and mine was intentional. His was from a rough night between the sheets. I hadn't noticed the second woman behind him until she stretched up and peered over his shoulder. Her hair was a mess as well, but she'd taken the time to put on mascara. Or maybe it never came off.

"Hey, Nina, come help me with this stupid coffee maker," the other woman called from the kitchen. Nina left to join her very helpless friend.

I glared at my dissolute brother. "Pig."