“I said I’m getting married,” Ethan repeated. “It’s sudden, I know, but I promise you’ll meet her.”
“Are you out of your damn mind?” Dane growled, earning him a questioning stare from Stella across the room.
Dane gripped the cell and came to his feet, suddenly unable to sit still and listen to this nonsense.
“Who the hell is she?” Dane asked. “I just spoke to you a couple days ago, and you made no mention of any woman. Now suddenly you’re getting married?”
Stella’s eyes widened as he neared. Dane shrugged, because he couldn’t make sense of this crazy notion of his brother’s, either. Ethan had always been one to make rash decisions, but marriage at a time like this? What the hell? He’d never been serious about a woman, let alone mentioning he ever wanted that lifestyle.
“I’m marrying Robert’s biological daughter.”
Dane sti
lled. He reached for the back of the sofa and kept his gaze on his fiancée. She reached for his hand on the cushion and squeezed, offering him silent reassurance.
“Robert’s daughter?” Dane repeated. “You’re not seriously using a woman to get to—”
“No. I’m not a complete bastard,” Ethan scoffed. “I had no idea who her father was when we started sleeping together. We were just a fling, and then she ended up pregnant and now I find out—”
“Pregnant?” Dane yelled.
Stella closed her eyes and shook her head. Yeah, that pretty much mimicked his internal reaction, as well.
“What the hell, man?”
“Obviously I didn’t mean for that to happen,” Ethan retorted. “Everything has snowballed here, and I’m doing the best with the situation I’ve been dealt.”
“The best? You’re calling this your best?” Dane slid his hand from beneath Stella’s and reached up to rub his head, which suddenly started pounding. “You’re bringing a child into this chaos? Are you even thinking of the goal we agreed on?”
“You think I’m not set out to take Robert down?” Ethan demanded. “That’s all I’ve wanted since Mom died. We’re so close, I’m not letting anything get in the way.”
Dane blew out a sigh and reached for Stella’s hand again. She always calmed him, always kept him focused on what was important. For nearly two decades, Dane and Ethan had wanted to get back at Robert for taking their legacy from them. Dane had reclaimed the resort in Montana, and now it was Ethan’s turn. Then they planned on ruining Robert for good.
Yet now his reckless, playboy brother was veering off course, and Dane couldn’t do much about the mess his twin was in.
“Listen,” Ethan started in a calmer tone. “I had no clue who Harper was until this morning. She was just the woman I was having a fling with. I found out she was pregnant yesterday. Once my investigator told me who she was, I moved on that information. I’m not making apologies.”
No, Ethan would never apologize. Not for this and not for closing in on himself when they lost their mother. Dane had needed his brother, had needed someone to seek comfort with during the hardest time in his life.
But Ethan hadn’t been there. Not emotionally, anyway. Then Robert had stolen their financial stability and disappeared. Ethan had enlisted in the military, and Dane figured he might as well, too. Where else did he have to go? At least the military would provide a unit and stability.
“Now what?” Dane asked.
Stella wrapped her arms around him and laid her head on his shoulder. He loved this woman. He’d found her when he least expected to find anyone. He’d been so set on grabbing Mirage with both hands and never letting go.
But Stella had stepped into his path, and somehow he’d managed to get everything he hadn’t even realized he wanted.
“Oh, wait.” Dread hit Dane hard. “She doesn’t know you hate her father, does she?”
“She’s not aware of our history, no.”
Dane let out a string of curses that had Stella smacking his chest.
“You know this not going to end well for you,” Dane added.
“I’ll get Mirage. That’s what matters.”
Dane snorted. “You don’t mean that.”