Page 64 of Crash Course
If he gave as good as he got, they’d be a solid match. Hell, they might make each other happy. And when had she ever thought that way about a relationship?
"You’ll never have everything, Cruz. No one will. You might get more than most though. Especially if you tell me Rohan found something on that sludge."
"Remember you said that." A beep sounded from his end. "I’m walking in now. I’ll call you back. And Cilla? Get ready. I’m coming for you."
11
Feelingway too horny for a guy about to spend the day with his brothers, Cruz strode into the Theater and found Rohan already at the conference table with his nose in his laptop. His ugly orange tumbler sat in front of him along with another refillable bottle he used solely for water. Add the manila folder and legal pad and little brother was settled in for the long haul.
"Morning," Cruz said. "You must have gotten here early."
"Shit to do."
Rohan finally peered up at him, eyeing him like he had toothpaste on his cheek. Which, he knew he didn’t since he brushed his teeth before showering.
"Why are you looking at me like that?"
"I don’t know. Something’s different."
Cruz snorted. "What the fuck are you talking about?"
"You look . . . rested . . . I guess. Brighter or something. I don’t know. Just different."
The booze.
Or lack thereof.
He’d been so tired the night before, after he’d walked Cilla to her car, he’d gone up to his suite, fought the craving to pour himself a whiskey, and dropped into bed.
"I slept good," he said.
Rohan sat back and spun his chair a quarter turn to face Cruz. "It shows. Anything you want to talk about?"
"Like?"
Rohan shrugged. "Why you slept good."
Holy hell. This was the problem with communal living. A guy couldn’t get a decent night’s sleep without it being analyzed.
"Maybe I was tired, Ro."
Maybe I didn’t drink half a bottle of booze.Dammit. Zeke was right. His occasional two fingers of whiskey had turned into an every-day habit. And sometimes, it wasn’t just one or two.
Cruz shook his head, then glanced at the closed doors of Zeke’s and Phin’s offices. "Zeke came at me about drinking too much."
"Uh-huh. He didn’t mention it."
Well, that was good at least. That Cruz wasn’t the target of some twisted family intervention.
"I’m glad he said something," Rohan continued. "I noticed it."
"What?"
"You were off. Not as sharp these last couple months. At first, I thought you were distracted. But there were a few mornings you looked . . . puffy. And tired. Then I saw a half-full bottle in your kitchen one day. Next day? The bottle was in the trash."
Jesus. Was his entire family rummaging through the trash?
"It’s not a problem," Cruz said. "Believe me. After the shit show with Zeke last week, I haven’t touched it."
