Scratch that. Kate has the best tits I’ve ever seen.

And I’ve never actually seen them.

I sigh loudly and swallow the rest of the brandy, then smile when I see Stephanie’s name.

Steph and I have had a mutually satisfying arrangement for the better part of five years. She’s long and lean with a runner’s body and an enthusiasm in bed that can’t be matched. She has jet-black hair and chocolate brown eyes with the whitest, smoothest skin I’ve ever seen. She’s not afraid to make noise, and she can suck a cock like no one else.

Yes, I do believe I’ll call Steph.

My thumb hovers over her name, but suddenly I see laughing green eyes smiling up at me as she gets her palm read, her face set in rapture when she first tasted the beignets. God, my dick throbs at the thought of what those eyes will look like when I’m buried so deep inside her I can’t tell where she ends and I begin.

Motherfucker.

I throw my phone across the room, aiming for the couch, so it doesn’t break, then pick up my glass and consider throwing that too, needing to hear the shatter of glass, when Charly’s voice comes from the doorway.

“Sam would be impressed with that arm.”

I whirl and glare at my sister. “What the fuck are you doing here?”

“Well, I’m not here for your sparkling personality,” she replies, and plants her hands on her hips.

“Look, I’m not really fit for company tonight, Char.”

“Clearly.” She smiles, her hazel eyes softening, and I feel my chest loosen too. “You’re handsome when you’re pissed.”

“Don’t try to charm me.”

She tosses her head back and laughs, then plops down on my couch and rescues my phone from the cushions. “What did your phone do to you?”

“Nothing.”

“Wanna talk about Kate?”

“Fuck no.”

“Wanna talk about anything?”

I glare at her and cross my arms over my chest.

“That may work in the boardroom, but it doesn’t work with me.”

“You’re a pain in my ass.” I sigh and stare at Charly. She’s the second to the youngest, and I’ve been wrapped around her little finger since the day Mama and Dad brought her home from the hospital.

“You love me.”

I simply grunt and then cave under her hard stare and scrub my hands over my face.

“You took her for beignets.”

“Shut up, Char.”

“I’m just saying, you haven’t had beignets since Daddy—”

“I’ve had beignets since Dad died.”

“Yeah, the ones you make your assistant go get for you. But you never go there.”

I raise a brow and smirk at her. “I’m a bit too busy to just run out for beignets when the mood strikes.”

“You know, I may not be the genius of the family, leading the family business into the new millennium, but I’m not slow, Eli.”

“I’m sorry.” I close my eyes and pinch the bridge of my nose. “I don’t know what you want me to say.”

“Say that you like Kate.”

“It’s not a matter of liking her.”

“Well, why are you here, alone, while she’s right next door, also alone? That’s ridiculous.”

“Because she’s an employee, a friend of the family, and it sounds like she already has someone in her life.”

“Yeah, an asshole of an ex-husband.”

My jaw drops as I stare at Charly. “Rhys?”

“What?” She frowns and shakes her head. “No, Rhys is her cousin. Her very hot, baseball star cousin. Daniel is her asshole of an ex.”

I stand, circle my desk, lean my hips against it, and push my hands into my pockets. “What did he do to her?”

“Oh, no, that’s her story to tell.” Charly shakes her head as she stands and crosses to me, wraps her arms around my waist, and hugs me tight. “Daddy wouldn’t want you to live like this, Eli.”

I cringe, but don’t reply. No one was in that room with Dad and me right before he died. No one else knows what he said.

What, exactly, he expected of me after his death.

“I’m fine, bebe,” I reply, and smile reassuringly as she pulls away.

“But you want me to leave now.”

“No, you know you can stay here for as long as you want.” There are four women in my life that I’d do anything in the world for. My three sisters and my mother.

Scratch that. Five. It seems Kate has wormed her way onto the short list.

“I love you, big brother.”

“I love you too, brat.” I grin as she laughs and walks back out of the room.

“Get some sleep! You look like shit!”

“Thank you!” I call just before the front door closes. She really is a pain in my ass. I pour three more fingers and let myself out onto the balcony, my eyes immediately turning to the left, and sure enough, Kate is sitting out with a glass of wine in her small, perfect hand.

She turns her head, leveling me with a cool glare.

“Problem?” I ask and sink into my chair. She’s sitting only a few feet away, with a simple wrought iron railing separating us. I could reach out and touch her.

But I don’t.

“Yeah, I think there is a problem,” she replies, as calmly as if we’re talking about the weather.

“Would you care to share it?”