Chapter Five

Lucas

Two Weeks Later

Today, I officially move into the penthouse. The place is now full of my personal crap spread across a showcase interior. Violet will either be ecstatic when she sees the mess she has to work with, or she’ll have a fit.

Right at eight p.m., there’s a rap on the front door, and I’m still grinning as I stroll across the hallway. Violet’s been here four times during the last two weeks, when we discussed the redesign of the room and she showed me various configurations on her laptop. She never stayed longer than a couple of hours, we haven’t touched, her smile is driving me crazy, and I can’t wait until we see each other again.

I’m fucking doomed.

“Hey,” I greet my twin brother, Harry, as I pull open the door, and he steps inside, a six-pack hanging off his finger. He pauses and sweeps his glance around the hall.

“This is nothing like your old flat.”

Nothing like his apartment, either. “It’s not a Grade II listed property, but I have it on good authority it’s a great investment.”

Harry grunts in apparent approval, and I slap him on the shoulder and lead the way into the kitchen, where a dozen recently delivered cartons of takeaway Thai are spread across the worktop. Harry pulls the lids off a couple of cartons, and the aroma of the spicy stir-fry makes my gut grumble.

“You expecting anyone else?” He hands me a beer, and I know what he’s really asking.

“Nah. Just you and me, bro. Unless you want to go out later. The lads and I are going to Hydra.”

“Once was enough.”

He doesn’t bother hiding his shudder, and I laugh. My brother might be a genius, but he hates socializing. Although, to be fair, since he started going out with Alice last summer, his people skills have improved.

Marginally.

“I’m guessing you don’t want Hydra V.I.P. tickets to celebrate our birthday, then.”

“Fuck, no.” He shoots me a horrified glare, and his drunken noodles drop off his chopsticks. “We can go to my local. I’ll bring Alice.”

I groan. “It’s our quarter century, Harry. I’m not getting rat-arsed at the Slurping Toad, all right? I’ve hired the rooftop for the party—I told you that months ago, remember? Anyway, don’t you think Alice’d like to go someone different for a change?”

“She likes the pub.” Harry frowns, obviously clueless. “She doesn’t do nightclubs.”

Although I could probably persuade him to change his plans so we can celebrate big for one night, it’s not worth it. And if I’m honest, I enjoy hanging out with my brother at his local, where there’s less chance of being spotted by fans or the paparazzi. Sometimes I forget there’s more to a social life than being seen in exclusive clubs and partying with the stars.

I take a swig of beer to disguise my choke of laughter. If Violet could’ve read my mind then, she’d give me one of her you’re so up yourself looks. The way she did that first morning we met.

“Fine, you win. The Toad it is on Friday night. I’ll drag Will along, you bring Caleb. Mac’ll be there—she’s home next weekend.”

I know that for a fact, since she’s coming to the Hydra party on Saturday. Our sister might be in her second year studying medicine at university, but she also inherited the same social genes I did.

Harry visibly relaxes and digs into his food with renewed relish. “How long before you know if you can play again?”

“Another month.”

“Reckon you’ll get the all clear?”

“Yeah, course I will.” This is Harry. When we were kids, we shared everything, despite being so different. And although for a few years, things weren’t so great between us, over the last ten months we’ve got back on track. Due to the confidentiality clauses, I can’t tell him about the possible transfer, but at least I can drop the facade. “I don’t know. It’s killing me.”

He folds his arms on the worktop and gives me one of his intense gazes. “What’s the official prognosis?”

“I shouldn’t have a problem.”

“What’s your plan B?”

Flippant responses flash through my mind, and I discard them all. “Yolanda reckons I could have a successful career as a model.”

“Right.” He nods, but it’s obvious he can’t think of any worse career than parading in public. Although I’ve never minded strutting my stuff in front of the cameras, and I enjoy the various sponsorship deals that Bec’s negotiated for me—some of them don’t even require that I go shirtless—I can’t say doing it full-time appeals.

Which is why plan B isn’t an option. I didn’t bust my balls getting into the club of my dreams just to see it all go to hell. I’ve accepted that I won’t make the preseason tour later this month, but my knee will get better and I will play again. End of story.

“What about you? Still on track for total world domination?” I’m only half joking. His RPG is doing phenomenally, and since he expanded into the States, The Plains of Exitium has been nominated for loads of international game awards.

“Getting there.” He grins at me. “Next time you come over, I’ll show you what we’ve got planned for the next expansion.”

“Cool.” The lads and I often play TPoE. Hell, practically everyone I know plays it. Even our dad’s a fan now, which is bloody mind-blowing considering how devastated he was when Harry turned down going to university in favor of hanging out in his best mate Caleb’s basement so he could “mess about with coding.”

Not that Dad thought my choice of career was any better when I was signed up at seventeen. Only difference is he still doesn’t think much of it.

He’s not likely to change his mind now.

Harry jabs his chopsticks in my direction. “I’ll give you a clue. The Empress of the Fire Mountain discovers her true heritage. It’s epic.”

Considering the Empress already commands a dozen dragons in her arsenal, I’m intrigued, but know better than to ask for more details. When it comes to his world, he’s fiercely protective, and before he started dating Alice, he never shared insider info with me.

Thank God for Alice. She didn’t just bring Harry back to the real world. She annihilated the memory of his one and only previous girlfriend, who’d hung between us like a malignant specter.

Clare, the beautiful, straight-A student, who’d never given me a second glance all through high school, and who’d dated my brother for a year. Intellectually, they were the perfect match. Everyone said so.

Until I hit the big time, and then she thought nothing of doing the dirty on my own brother just to get to me.

Who would’ve guessed she craved her moment in the limelight?

Stop thinking about it.

I haven’t asked Violet out again since she confided about her ex, but I’m hoping she’ll change her mind about the dating thing. The only problem is I don’t know if her breakup was recent and she’s still in love with the nameless jerk.

For some reason, the longer I know Violet, the more it pisses me off that some guy hurt her so badly. And much as I want to go out with her, I don’t want to be her rebound fuck. How screwed up is that?

“How long were you friends with Alice before you asked her out?” I know she used to work for him before she left to go to university, but I can’t remember the details.

“We’re still friends.”

I groan. “Yeah, all right. You know what I mean.”

“Eight months.”

Fuck. “That’s a long time.”

“And we’ve been together for ten months.”

“All right. Don’t rub it in.” It’s a throwaway comment, but I should’ve known my brother wouldn’t let that one go.

“What?” He sounds genuinely amazed. “Since when do you want a committed relationship?”

“Harry.” I give an exaggerated sigh. “Stop taking everything so literally.”

He ignores me. “Is this about Yolanda?”

While he often dives off on a tangent, this is random, even for him. “Huh?”

“You and Yolanda. You’ve been friends for a while. She’s all right. Dad likes her, too.”

“We’ve been mates for four years.” He knows damn well there’s nothing between Yolanda and me.

And sure, Dad likes her. Why wouldn’t he? He might not understand her modeling career, but she’s academically brilliant, just like the rest of my family.

“You’re still playing the field?” He grimaces, and to be honest I’m surprised he even noticed his gaffe. More brownie points for Alice.

“Yep.” Which isn’t true, as I haven’t even flirted with another girl since meeting Violet, but I’m not about to tell Harry that. He’s so loved up, he’d probably jump to the conclusion she’s my soul mate or something equally cheesy.

“Rather you than me.”

“Hey, it’s not my fault I got the irresistibility gene.”

He shudders. “I don’t know how you do it. All those different girls. Nightmare.”

“Harry, you’re so fucking weird.” At school, he was the monosyllabic Carter, while I never shut up. Teachers forgave him because he was so clever, whereas I spent half my time outside the principal’s office or in detention.

People couldn’t understand why we were such good mates. Sure, we were twins, but it’s like we came from different planets. He’s a freaking genius and has never cared if people thought he was an antisocial dickwad. If he knew how many of the fights I got into when we were kids were in his defense, he’d be gobsmacked.

I didn’t have a fraction of his smarts, and sometimes I had no idea what he was talking about, but I had fists and agility, and no one dissed my brother.

Nothing much has changed, except no one laughs at him anymore.