LITMIR.BIZ

      Mauricio went straight to the bar, ignoring his brother who lifted a beer toward him. He needed the hard stuff if he was going to be able to drive the image of Hadley and Jackson holding hands out of his mind. He knew he had no claim on her, and thought he had made his peace with that until he’d touched her.

      Touching her had proven that all of his growth since they’d broken up had been for nothing. The spark was still there. Maybe what they needed was one good lay to get it all out of their systems. But he somehow didn’t think that Hadley was going to be too interested in that.

      He ordered Jack Daniel’s neat and downed it in one swallow, and then forced himself to turn and move away before he started that slide back down to the out-of-control-guy he’d been last fall.

      They’d broken up when she’d moved to New York but had kept in touch with texts and video chats. Mo had missed her but he had been casually dating and hooking up as well. He’d texted her a few times saying he wanted her back in his life permanently without realizing that she was coming back to town the very weekend he’d sent his last text. Then she’d used her key to let herself in and surprise him at his place early one morning after he’d hooked up with someone else. She’d caught them together.

      Until that moment he had never realized what an ass he’d been. He had wanted Hadley back but he’d also hated to be alone so he’d been playing both sides. He shouldn’t have done that. He’d regretted it since then but he was too stubborn to admit that at first.

      He noticed Helena watching him with one eyebrow arched. He put his hands up and walked away from the bar, but as he turned, he knew he needed to sort this out. He was in the wedding party and had to spend the next nine months with this group. Helena deserved some reassurances that he wasn’t going to ruin her wedding with some sort of brawl.

      He walked over to Hadley’s sister. “I’m not going to F this up.”

      “Good,” she said. “Your mom reassured my mom that you were over Hadley.”

      “She did?” For fuck’s sake, he thought. His mom was going around making sure that everyone knew he’d behave? That was messed up. Like really messed up. He didn’t need her doing that.

      “Yup. You know what it’s like living here. It doesn’t matter that we’re the fastest growing small town in Texas, the attitudes are slow to change,” Helena said.

      He sighed. “Believe me, I know. You should be in real estate if you want to see slow attitudes. No one wants to pay full market value for anything.”

      “I’ve heard you have a way of charming them into paying the going rate,” Helena said.

      Real estate was a nice safe topic and one that he had no problem discussing. Anything to keep from talking about Hadley.

      “Your fiancé isn’t that bad at it either,” Mauricio said.

      “Good to know...” Then after a long pause, she asked, “Has he made any investments lately...big ones?”

      “Not that I know of. Why?”

      “It’s probably nothing,” she said.

      But he knew Helena. She wouldn’t have brought it up if it were nothing. “Want me to talk to him about something?’”

      She shook her head. “I’m not even sure if there is anything to talk about. It’s just he’s been acting odd and we have some funds unaccounted for.”

      Helena was notorious among their group of friends for her tight purse strings and keeping Malcolm on a budget. Or trying. It wasn’t that Mal didn’t earn a decent salary, but that he tended to be frivolous and impulsive in his spending habits. And Helena was a save-for-a-rainy-day girl.

      “I haven’t noticed any big new toys at work, but we are playing cards tomorrow night with my brothers, so I’ll see what I can find out.”

      “Thank you,” she said. “I don’t want to make a big deal out of anything, but I had to ask my parents to put a down payment on the flowers for the wedding and you know my mother. She thinks that means she’s in charge of the planning now.”

      He did know. His parents were the same way. If they were paying, they micromanaged every detail, which was why he hesitated to ask them to invest in any of his projects. “You’re welcome. It’s the least I can do for causing you stress today.”

      “I knew you’d behave.”

      “Right, because of my mom.”

      “Nah,” she said over her shoulder as she started to walk away. “Because you don’t like hurting Hadley.”

      Of course, she’d lobbed that as a parting shot so he couldn’t argue or defend himself against it. But it was the truth so who was he to argue.

      He noticed Diego watching him and just shook his head. He needed to get out of here. Now. He’d done his part to support his friend and even been pretty damned polite to Hadley’s new boyfriend, so he figured he could call it a day.

      He left the country club and the party, but once he got outside, he didn’t fancy going home to his empty penthouse apartment. He had always liked the place because Towers On The Green had been the first big development he’d done on his own in Cole’s Hill. And he’d claimed the penthouse that overlooked the square for himself.

      But he’d also lived there with Hadley for a short time and it had been where she’d come home from Manhattan to find another woman in his bed.

      “Mo, wait up,” Alec called from behind him.

      He turned toward his twin and stopped. Growing up, they’d gotten into a lot of good-natured fun switching places with each other and pulling pranks on friends and their parents. But these days Alec was busy running his tech company and Mauricio didn’t see him often enough.

      “Thanks,” Alec said. “I need a ride to the airport. Just got an email and I need to get to Los Angeles to take care of a problem.”

      “Sure.”

      “Want to come with me?” Alec asked. “A few days out of town would be nice and we could hang out. I feel like I haven’t spent enough time with you lately.”

      He shook his head. “I can’t. I have a meeting tomorrow with Homes for Everyone. It’s one of my bigger projects. I agree we haven’t been hanging out enough. When are you back in town?”

      “Ten days,” Alec said.

      “For the polo match that Diego set up?”

      “Yes. I can’t wait. Should be a good game,” Alec said.

      Diego and Mauricio had been working on a new horse stable closer to town and had added a field that was big enough to host charity polo matches. Diego ran the Velasquez ranch, Arbol Verde, which had been in the family for generations.

      Mo dropped his brother off at the airport and took the long way home, stopping by the old warehouse district where Hadley’s loft was. He told himself he was checking out the land because it might be a good development project. But he knew a lie when he told one to himself, and as he stared up at the corner loft unit and noticed that the lights were on, he had to force himself not to call her.