With Abandon: With or Without, Book 4

so much already
    and I know you have a lot to think about, but with your brother being mated to Chay—and we love Chay,
    you know we do—we can’t take a chance on either Reynolds Hall or Reynolds Inc. going out of the family.
    You aren’t getting any younger, Aubrey.”
    What was there to say? He’d known this was part of his duty nearly from the cradle. Having found his
    mate didn’t change anything. Matt was unsuitable. He couldn’t give the Reynolds dynasty an heir.
    Mom busied herself arranging her napkin in her lap, avoiding his gaze.
    Dad glanced at his menu. The scent of anxiousness, or was that nervousness, surrounded them both.
    Aubrey nodded, trying to ease their discomfort. He’d known this was coming for a long time now.
    “Even if she’s not your mate, Tara would make a wonderful mistress for Reynolds Hall,” his mom
    offered with a weak smile. “You should stop holding off and go ahead and marry her.”
    It was the perfect solution for him, but he’d never do that to Tara. He wanted her to be happy and
    have a love like his parents had, not simply the loving friendship he could offer her. He wiped his clammy hands on his slacks. Perhaps he wasn’t quite as detached as he wanted to be, but just because he suffered 48
    www.samhainpublishing.com

    With Abandon
    didn’t mean his parents had to. They’d given him their best since the day he was born. He could do no less for them.
    “I’ll see what I can do. With any luck you can start planning a wedding at Reynolds Hall by the
    beginning of next year.”

    “Why’s it dark in here?” Matt stumbled into the apartment and closed the door behind him. He
    dropped his backpack in the foyer and stepped down into the living-room area. “Hello?” Aubrey should be home, but it was very quiet. Matt lifted his nose and sniffed. Yes, Aubrey was here, as was Tara, and there was meat cooking. Yum. Aubrey had started dinner. “Au—”
    Something hit Matt smack-dab in the middle of the forehead, startling him into stumbling back a few
    steps. “Ah!” He almost fell on his butt when his heels came into contact with the foyer step. He ended up doing the flapping-arms thing for a good ten seconds and finally caught his balance. When he was able to touch his head, he came away with a suction-cupped foam dart like the ones in his younger brothers’ Nerf guns.
    “ Yes. ” Aubrey’s triumphant shout echoed from somewhere inside the dark apartment.
    A feminine giggle preceded a light being flicked on. “Good shot.” Tara stood by the end table with
    the lamp, holding a yellow and blue plastic rifle, or at least what Matt thought was blue and yellow.
    There was a crack, a clicking sound and a barrage of darts flew in her direction.
    “No fair. Time out. Time out.” She dove behind the couch.
    “Lime green?” Aubrey popped up from behind the end of the kitchen island with a Nerf machine gun
    in hand and tilted his head in a quizzical manner. His gaze was directed at Matt’s feet.
    Matt tossed the dart toward Tara and glanced down at his socks as he continued into the living room.
    “I was wondering what color they were.” He sighed. “I’m beginning to think I should’ve played the what color is this game with Eddie before I packed.”
    Tara peeked around the couch, spotting Aubrey with his weapon lowered, and she stood. “I’ll go
    through your clothes for you if you want, but Bree has better taste than I do. I’ve been known to mismatch my own clothes.”
    “Well you can’t do any worse than I do.”
    Aubrey frowned at Tara. “On purpose.” He returned his attention to Matt. “She does it to annoy her
    father. You’re color-blind?”
    “I can’t see reds and greens.”
    Chuckling, Aubrey came forward and leaned on the back of the couch. “Guess that explains the pink
    shirt. But what’s with the dress shoes and shorts?”
    Matt strode past the two Nerf assassins and tossed the Ducati keys on the bar separating the kitchen
    from the living area. “Pink is the bane of my existence. But dress shoes with shorts is stylish.”

    www.samhainpublishing.com
    49
    J.L. Langley
    Aubrey’s eyebrows shot up. “If you say so.”
    “You sound like my dad.” Matt shrugged it off. So he had a unique sense of style, sue him. “What’re
    you two doing?”
    “Playing. We started doing this occasionally when someone…” she jerked her head toward Aubrey,
    “…has a rough day and needs to unwind.”
    “You had a bad day?” Matt