“Dillon, where the fuck are you!” he bellowed, grabbing the first thing within reaching distance to throw against the wall.
A figurine shattered into a million pieces and Dillon emerged from the bedroom with his wife, Penny on his heels, wrapping a robe around herself.
“What the hell is going on?” Dillon yelled, eyes blazing. “Have you lost your fucking mind?”
“You’ve gone too far,” Reece shouted, not caring that Penny was there. “You think you can just do whatever you want without consequence well, that might work outside of this family but I’m a Buchanan, too and if you want a fight, I’ll give you one, you dirty motherfucker!”
“Calm down, Reece, let’s talk,” Penny said, trying to be the peacemaker but Reece felt anyone bearing the Buchanan name was the enemy. “What’s going on?”
“Ask your husband,” Reece snarled, his fists clenching. He pinned Dillon with a cold look. “Why don’t you tell your sweet wife what you’ve been trying to get me to do and let’s see how quickly her opinion of you changes.”
Penny frowned. “Um, what’s going on?” she repeated, looking at Dillon pointedly. “Let’s all calm down and talk this out. I’m sure there is a reasonable explanation and we’ll figure it out.”
“There’s no confusion about how your husband froze my motherfucking accounts because I haven’t danced to his tune in a timely manner.”
“Shut up, Reece,” Dillon growled but Reece was beyond caring at this point. “This is not the time to discuss private family matters.”
That was the wrong answer, except it was Penny who swiveled around to glare at her husband. “Excuse me? I am Buchanan business and if you can’t discuss what’s going on in front of your wife, then you shouldn’t be discussing it. Period.”
“Penny,” Dillon bit out, his stare hard enough to crush stone but Penny wasn’t cowed or intimidated.
Hell, Reece had to admit he was kind of impressed by how well she stood her ground.
“Go back to the bedroom and I’ll explain everything later.”
“Like hell you will. You will explain now.”
Reece smiled coldly, enjoying this unexpected support. “Yeah Dillon, why don’t you explain now? I’m sure your lovely wife would like to hear how you are forcing me to crush an innocent woman just so her husband can plant another building.”
“Oh honestly, Dillon,” Penny said, exasperated but not surprised. “I told you that was a bad idea. You should’ve done what I suggested from the start and then this whole ugly scene could’ve been avoided.” She sighed and tightened her robe saying, “I’ll put on a pot of coffee since we’re all up.”
No longer sure about his ally, Reece looked to Dillon for answers. “What the hell is going on?”
“If you’d just shut up for a minute,” Dillon groused, dropping onto the sofa with a scowl as if Reece were the one being the jackass. “I might be able to get a word in edgewise.”
Had the world just tipped upside down?
Talk about sliding down the rabbit hole.
Maybe he’d been a car accident and he was in a drug-induced coma.
Reece slowly took the opposite chair as Penny joined them.
“Do you love this girl?” Penny asked with a warm smile that frankly, baffled the hell out of Reece.
“Love? What the hell? I mean, what kind of question is that? I barely know her.”
Penny shared a knowing look with Dillon and Reece felt as if he’d just stepped into a funhouse, only he wasn’t having any fun.
“Seriously, are you two mental? What’s happening right now.”
“Oh, just tell him already. Your plan has turned things into a mess and this poor young man is twisting himself inside and out.”
Dillon looked seriously put out that his wife was outing him, but he nodded and said, “Look, something had to give,” he started. “It’s safe to say this family has been through the ringer and none of us came out the other side without scars. But it seemed you were stuck in a rut and Sutton was worried that he was going to have to bury his little brother if something didn’t change.”
“What are you talking about?” Reece said, incredulous. “Since when has Sutton been concerned about my welfare and wellbeing? He’s not exactly the caring type. You of all people should know that.”
“True,” Penny agreed, returning with two steaming cups of fresh coffee, which Reece took gratefully, if only to have something in his hand that made sense. “But after Sutton met Elizabeth, he realized that he’d been blind to what you’d been going through and came to Dillon to devise a plan to break you out of your rut.”
An intervention? Seriously? “What makes you think I wanted my life changed? I was enjoying my life just the way that it was.”
“If that were the case you would’ve had no problem doing what you needed to do so you could return to your previous lifestyle,” Dillon countered, looking like the smug bastard that he was. “But you struggled and here you are…broke as a homeless man…still unable to do the one thing that would restore your lifestyle.”
“Yeah, so genius, I don’t want to crush an innocent person, that doesn’t mean anything except you’re a controlling asshole.”
“Hey,” Dillon growled, losing his grin. “Watch it.”
Penny stepped in quickly. “Granted, Dillon’s plan was a little heavy-handed but how would you have handled it if Sutton or Dillon had come to you and said that they were worried about you? From what Sutton has said, you haven’t been the same since losing your ability to play lacrosse.”
Reece stiffened, hating that familiar ache of loss. “Shut up about that; it’s personal.”
“Exactly.” Penny agreed with a sage nod.
“I don’t want to be rude but…you don’t know the first thing about what I lost and I wouldn’t expect anyone else to understand but I would expect you to keep out of my business.”
“Watch your tone with my wife or you’ll be eating your dinner through a straw.”
“Let’s stay on track,” Penny said in a rush. “Look, let’s cut to the chase…do you have feelings for this girl?”
Flustered by the conversation and the confusion warring inside his brain, he didn’t have a ready answer but he knew as inexplicable as it seemed, he had to have some kind of feelings for Tana because otherwise he would’ve shared his information the minute he’d discovered it.
Still, he hated that Dillon had manipulated the situation. “It’s none of your business what I feel or don’t feel,” he said flatly. “What you did was fucked up. Unfreeze my accounts. Now.”
“Of course, sweetheart,” Penny assured him but she wasn’t finished. “When I first met Dillon I was determined to hate him because of everything I’d heard about him but it wasn’t until I let my guard down and actually got to know him that I realized everything I’d known was wrong not only about him but myself.”
“That’s a sweet story. Forgive me, but what does that have to do with me?”
“Because, you idiot, you’ve been moping around throwing away your life because of what you think you lost and now you have a woman in your life that could possibly show you that there’s something even better waiting for you if you just had the balls to embrace it.”
“I probably would’ve softened it a bit but that’s the gist of my point,” Penny said, smiling warmly at her husband with complete adoration that, if Reece were being honest, pinched him with want.
What if Tana looked at him with that same love and adoration? What would that be like?
It would be amazing.
But that wasn’t about to happen.
“Maybe you’re right and Tana was something special but in case you’ve forgotten…I did a lot of shitty things in an attempt to get the job done. She’ll never forgive me.”
“You’d be surprised what a woman in love can forgive,” Penny said, gracing Dillon with another saccharin smile.
Reece tried not to growl his next question. “And the building? Was that all pa
rt of the elaborate intervention?”
“Oh, no. The building has to come down,” Dillon answered with a shrug, which made Reece want to punch him all over again.
“How the hell am I supposed to tell Tana that the one thing she’s been fighting for is a lost cause but hey, we’re good together so let’s go get a beer?”
“I can’t do all the work for you,” Dillon said.
“You made the problem!”
“That’s one way to look at it. Or maybe I gave you an opportunity to step up and figure things out for the first time since your injury.”
Ahhh, fuck. They were going in circles.
“I need to talk to Tana.”
“I think that’s a wonderful idea,” Penny agreed, adding brightly, “Bring her by for dinner. I’d love to meet her.”
Meet her? No way.
Reece handed Penny his coffee mug and then said, “Penny, you seem like a very nice person but your husband is fucking crazy.”
To Dillon he said, “Do me a favor, the next time you feel the urge to stage an intervention do your best to fucking ignore it. You suck at it.”
Undeterred, Dillon returned, “That remains to be seen. I have my money on you figuring things out.”
Money? “You bet on me?”
“Yes, but I should warn you that Nolan and Vince put $20 on you failing.”
Fuck me.
“This family is nuts.”
Penny called out after him, “It’s part of the Buchanan charm!”
***
Tana wound her woolen scarf around her neck and locked the door behind her.
Papa was safely with Frannie and Tana had to rush to make the bus for work.
She was never late but her brain hadn’t allowed her a moment’s peace since Gypsy had dropped her bomb.
Tana expected her mother to betray her family — that was almost a given — but it hurt so bad to know that Reece had been a two-faced liar.
Or maybe it hurt more that she’d believed his lies.
It was difficult to reconcile the knowledge that Reece had been using her when she couldn’t stop the memories from showing her a different side of him.
Tender.
Sweet.
Funny.
The opposite of any Buchanan.
But it’d all been lies.
Her chest ached with trapped tears but she refused to break down and bawl on a city street much less on the bus surrounded by strangers.
Glancing at her phone Tana picked up the pace so she didn’t miss the bus.
Her pocketbook was dangerously light thanks to all the days off she’d been taking.
If she missed the bus, she’d have to take a cab and they were monstrously more expensive, which was not in her budget.
Good God, what was she going to do about Papa? Frannie had been a miracle.
But Reece paid for that miracle.
She couldn’t allow him to keep paying for Frannie’s time.
It wasn’t right.
And frankly, she’d rather sell her own body to pay for Papa’s care than let one more dirty Buchanan cent pay for something for her family.
Tana clenched her gloved fist and tried not to stomp her foot with pent-up rage.
That sonofabitch.
If she saw him again, she’d punch his lights out first and ask questions later.
As if her unspoken threat had somehow coalesced into the real deal, suddenly Reece was there, at the bus stop, waiting for her.
And she wanted to run in the opposite direction.
But she didn’t.
No, this might be her only chance to let him have it, to unload all the anger and hurt and nasty business locked in her heart because of him and she wasn’t going to waste it.
“I need to talk to you,” was the first thing out of his mouth and she could only stare with open derision.
“Oh? Is that so? Funny thing, I have a few things to say to you, too.”
“Look, you can yell at me, scream, punch me if you have to but I need to explain a few things.”
“Well, by all means, please unburden yourself.”
His gaze narrowed with suspicion as he said, “You already know don’t you?”
“Know what?” she asked, feigning ignorance but her eyes must’ve been burning hot as coals. “Do you mean, do I know that you’re a duplicitous bastard who was using me to further your family’s plan to demolish my grandfather’s building? Oh, yeah, I know about that. You really should choose your allies more carefully. My mother has loose lips.”
He started to talk but she cut him off, not ready to give him the opportunity to fill her head with more lies.
“I think the worst part was that I started to believe that you were decent, that I was the one in the wrong for judging you based on the actions of your family but now I just feel stupid for ever giving you the benefit of the doubt. You played me, good, Buchanan. Kudos to you for your winning performance. One question though, was the sex part of the deal or was that just a bonus?”
“Let’s go somewhere and talk,” he suggested but she stubbornly stayed put.
“And why would I do that? I wouldn’t cross the street with you if all that stood between us was a river of fire and certain death.”
“A little dramatic don’t you think?”
Tana poked him hard in the chest. “You don’t get to criticize me! You get to listen and take it because you earned this buddy. You earned it and don’t you dare stand there and condescend to me after what you’ve pulled. Honestly, if you had the brains God gave a goose, you’d be ashamed of yourself.”
“Okay, okay, I get it. Yes, I deserve it but there are things you don’t know, that you don’t understand and if you’d just be quiet for a second, I would explain.”
“You’re missing the point, I don’t want to hear your explanations,” she said hotly, trying to stay strong when in fact, her heart felt strangely leaden in her chest. “I don’t want another thing from you. I’m done with the Buchanans. Screw you and screw your family. The lot of you can rot in hell. Goodbye Reece.”
And then because she couldn’t stand to remain there another minute, she ditched the plan to ride the bus and flagged a taxi.
Getting away from Reece was imperative.
Because there was no way in hell she was going to let him see her cry.
And she was about to cry.
Like, ugly cry, in T-minus ten seconds.
bookmark: 23
Chapter 23
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Sutton and his wife Elizabeth flew into New York the following week and since he was still pissed at his brother for ruining his life, he wasn’t in the mood to entertain but the thing about the Buchanans was, they never asked for an invitation.
They just showed up.
“What are you doing here?” Reece asked sourly when his older brother walked into the loft. Thankfully, he was alone. Reece didn’t think he could put on a cheerful face for Elizabeth even though he truly thought she was a great woman.
How his brother landed a woman like Elizabeth, Reece would never understand. Elizabeth was soft where his brother was hard; artistic whereas Sutton could care less about anything to do with art.
But the one thing they seemed to have in common was they each adored one another with a ferocity that was almost awe-inspiring to witness.
Except, right about now, seeing his love-drunk older brother was the last thing Reece wanted.
“Don’t be a dick. Offer me a beverage. Where are your manners?” Sutton quipped, finding a seat and plopping into it. “And when was the last time you showered? You fucking stink.”
“Did you come over here to bust my balls? If so, fuck off.”
“All right, Elizabeth wants to go ice-skating so let’s get to the chase — for a smart kid, you’re a pretty stupid adult but I’m going to cut you some slack because when a Buchanan falls in love, most times it’s someone else who has to point it the fuck out.”
Reece glared in mutinous silence
and Sutton took that was a sign to keep talking when in truth, Reece hoped he would get pissed and leave.
No such luck.
“You’re pissed at us for poking our noses in your life. I get that. Maybe it was wrong, maybe it was exactly what you needed. The point being, we can’t take it back. It’s done. So now, what are doing? Moping? Throwing an epic pity party for yourself because things didn’t go your way? Letting the girl of your dreams get away because of pride?”
“I don’t love her!” Reece shouted, tired of everyone putting words in his mouth. “You fuckers put me in this position and now there’s a fucking mess for me to clean up.”
But the minute the hot denial left his mouth, his stomach clenched so hard he nearly doubled over.
Fuck, he was a mess. He hadn’t slept in a week.
Each time he closed his eyes, he saw Tana’s face, her crumpled expression, the anger, the hurt, the disgust, and he wanted to roar with something he couldn’t quite define.
But it wasn’t love.
Or was it?
“How the fuck am I supposed to know what love is?” Reece said bitterly.
“Let me help you out, little brother…how’s life been since your girl found everything out?”
“Shitty,” he answered dully, too exhausted to keep up the rage front. “Fucking shitty. I can’t sleep. I can’t eat. All I see is Tana’s face. I need her beside me. I want to wake up smelling her hair, feeling her pressed against me. Hell, I even miss arguing with her about things I’ve never even considered, like sponsoring a lacrosse scholarship or starting a youth league for under-privileged kids. Can you fucking imagine? Me? Working with kids?”
“So basically you can’t imagine returning to the life you knew without her, right?”
Reece admitted, “Yeah,” and his heart nearly cracked in two. He rubbed at his chest and groaned. “Can you die from this? I think I need a doctor.”
“Stop being a pussy. All you need is sleep, food, and for fuck’s sake a shower, and a plan.”
“A plan?”
“Yeah, dumbass…a plan. How else are you going to win her back?”
“Tana hates me,” Reece reminded Sutton, a spark of anger returning. “Because of you and Dillon’s stupid intervention. Next time you feel the need to meddle in someone else’s life, try a more conventional method.”
Pushed (Billionaire romance): Pursued By The Billionaire (Buchanan Romance Book 2) Page 16
