I wouldn’t be entirely surprised if she said no.’
‘Why?’
When Jake didn’t immediately answer, Leo glanced over to find his brother looking at him questioningly. ‘What the hell happened up there?’
Hmm.
Leo picked up a tiny blini topped with sour cream and caviar and ate it slowly, largely to give himself time to work out how he was going to respond, because wasn’t that the question of the night? And one to which there was no answer, because for one thing he still hadn’t entirely worked it out, and for another, hell would freeze over before he shared the details of the misunderstanding that made him look like such a complete and utter fool with anyone, least of all his no-holds-barred brother.
‘What do you mean, what happened up there?’ he said evenly, deciding that bluffing was the only way through this. ‘Nothing happened up there.’
‘Right,’ said Jake, clearly not believing him for a second. ‘Then why did Abby come down looking like thunder?’
Leo shrugged and kept his eyes on the party. ‘No idea,’ he said and took another gulp of champagne.
‘What did you do?’
‘Why would you think I did anything?’
‘It’s that time of year. Makes you morose. Edgy. Unpredictable. But more than that, she was fine when I asked her to go up and find you.’
‘Maybe she had a call. Maybe something’s gone wrong with the catering. Who knows?’
There was a pause and Leo glanced at Jake to find him looking back shrewdly. ‘I think I might have some idea.’
Leo went still, his fingers tightening around the stem of his glass as his pulse sped up. Had Abby said something? Given Jake a minute-by-minute account of what had happened? And were there perhaps ramifications to what he’d done? Hadn’t people been sued for less?
‘Really?’ he said, hedging his bets but bracing himself for the worst.
Jake nodded. ‘Yup. She’s a perfectionist. She doesn’t like things to go wrong.’
‘No, well, what event planner would?’
‘So perhaps finding you passed out after a drinking session piqued her sense of responsibility and orderliness.’
Leo frowned and wondered if his brain was still on go-slow because what on earth was Jake on about? What drinking session? ‘Passed out?’ he echoed.
‘That was her guess.’
‘It was the wrong one.’
‘You should have mentioned the jet lag,’ said Jake dryly. ‘Then she might have been a little less disapproving.’
‘I doubt it,’ said Leo, wishing that his state of sobriety had been the only misunderstanding of the night.
‘Why, what else happened?’ said Jake, and Leo mentally kicked himself for forgetting that while his brother sometimes came across as being so laid-back he was horizontal, he also had a sky-high IQ and an irritating talent for zooming in on things that one might prefer to be glossed over.
‘There may have been a slight misunderstanding,’ he said, resigning himself to the knowledge that he was going to have to divulge at least something of the events of half an hour ago because Jake could be surprisingly tenacious when the mood took him.
‘What kind of misunderstanding?’
‘Nothing important, and it was cleared up.’
‘Did it involve me?’
‘Why would you think it involved you?’
‘Because when she was telling me you were on your way down she kept giving me the filthiest looks. It made me want to ditch the champagne and break into the bottle of single malt I was planning on giving to you.’
Leo went still. ‘Single malt?’
‘To drown your woes and cheer you up. The present I was talking about to get you through Christmas.’
‘That was the present?’
‘Of course. What else would I have meant?’
What else indeed? Damn. He really had got things wrong. Badly badly wrong.
‘Are you all right?’
Leo snapped back to find his brother watching him closely. ‘Why wouldn’t I be?’
‘You’ve gone pale and you’re frowning.’
‘I’m fine.’ Or he would be once he’d come to terms with the realisation that for the first time in years he’d abandoned logic, reason and self-control, and had basically totally lost his mind.
What the hell was wrong with him this evening? he wondered for what felt like the hundredth time. Was it really merely jet lag and the time of year? Or was he coming down with something? Something he’d picked up on his travels maybe?
More to the point, why was Jake looking at him like that?
‘Oh, my God,’ said his brother, his jaw dropping as his expression turned to one of disbelief. ‘You didn’t.’
‘I didn’t what?’
‘Think Abby was the present.’
‘Of course not,’ said Leo with a short laugh that didn’t sound as dismissive as he’d intended.
‘You did.’
‘Don’t be absurd.’
‘I’m not the one being absurd. You did. You really did. And you claim to prefer subtlety.’
As this was a conversation he really didn’t want to be having Leo ran a hand along his jaw, shifted his attention to the party going on in front of them and, in a probably pointless effort at distraction, said, ‘Did I mention how great this place looks? Excellent tree.’
‘Forget the decorations,’ said Jake, sounding astounded, incredulous and appalled. ‘How on earth could you think I’d ever do something like that?’
Leo arched an eyebrow and swung his gaze back to his brother. ‘Well, it wouldn’t be the first time, would it?’
Jake looked as stunned as if he’d thumped him in the stomach. ‘What?’
‘Remember the stripper?’
‘That was twelve years ago,’ said his brother, after a moment. ‘For a mate for his eighteenth birthday, and he’d specifically requested it. Don’t you think I might have matured a bit since then?’ He ran his hands through his hair and then shook his head in disbelief. ‘Jeez,’ he said, blowing out a breath. ‘Thanks for that. I think I might be seriously offended.’
