The Billionaire Next Door (Billionaire Bad Boys #2)(85)

“Maybe you do need a therapist. You’re pale. Sit down.”

Tag shook his head and bypassed the chair, pushing his fingers into his hair. “This isn’t normal. Cranes are not normal. We’re f*cked up.”

“You’re normal.” Reese was his usual calm, stoic self, which was what Tag needed right now. “This is a big step and a first for you. Look at me. I holed up in a hotel suite like Howard Hughes last year.”

Tag dropped his arms. “You need therapy, too.”

“Probably.” One side of Reese’s mouth lifted. He gestured to the chair by his desk.

Tag dropped into it, one foot bobbing from too much coffee.

“How long has she been there?”

“Four days.” Tag scratched his cheek. “She has no idea I’m in full-on panic mode.”

“You’re not in panic mode. You’re fine.”

Tag took a deep breath. He wasn’t fine. Every passing day, he felt more trapped. Or…not trapped. Stuck. He was freaked. And this morning, he thought he’d figured out why.

“Remember when we were kids and Mom would be up packing our lunches, a cup of coffee by her elbow?” Tag asked. “Dad would come down, kiss her on the cheek, and pour himself a mug.”

Reese frowned, his answer a simple, “I remember.”

Tag swallowed down a bout of nausea and forced himself to continue. “Rachel was making a sandwich for her lunch this morning, a mug of coffee sitting next to her elbow. Sun was streaming over her blond hair. Then she looked up…and smiled at me. My heart just…stopped.”

And time along with it. The surreal moment played out in slow motion, and Tag caught a glimpse of a future that scared him.

“I can’t do this, bro.” Tag’s desperate laugh was dry and devoid of humor. “And I have no idea why.”

Reese lowered onto his desk, perched on the edge while looking down at Tag, concern evident on his features. Tag said nothing, just waited. There was nothing to say. He was a mental basket case who was freaking out because things were good. Now he was wondering if he’d missed the window to end things before they turned bad. He had no idea where the self-sabotaging thoughts had come from, so he had come here.

“You should leave,” Reese said.

Tag flinched. “Leave?”

“Yes.” Reese stood and smoothed his tie. “You have cabin fever. Get out of there.”

“What, like move?” Tag asked with a laugh. Because seriously, what was his brother talking about?

“Hawaii,” Reese said, deadly serious. “Blue ocean, bluer skies, sand, and surf.”

Tag leaned back in the chair and narrowed his eyes. “What’s going on?”

“I found some land in Maui. Perfect for a new build. I didn’t want to ask you to go since you were busy with the bar projects, but now…Maybe you should go instead of me.”

“I can’t go to Maui.” But man, did the idea of breathing clean ocean air appeal. He could leave his penthouse since it had inexplicably turned stifling.

“You can. You should. Before you do something stupid.” Reese crossed his arms over his chest. “Like barricade yourself in a hotel suite and ask your wife for a divorce.”

Tag remembered when Reese had gone through that. It was a rough patch both he and Merina had miraculously made it through together.

“You’re never home this much, Tag. Normally, every two or three days you’re gone.”

He hadn’t considered that, but damn, Reese was right. Tag typically traveled so much, he kept an overnight bag packed and ready. He’d been on one trip over the last several months, and it wasn’t a trip he’d taken alone.

“Tell me about Maui,” Tag said with a nod. A business trip might be just what his fictional therapist ordered.

“It’s a perfect slice of land,” Reese said with a smile that reflected his pride in finding it. “I wanted to go with an updated design for this one. Like we did in Miami.”

“Miami.” Tag practically salivated. Crane Miami with its ultra-svelte style and splashy lobby. The entire building lit up hot pink and electric blue at night. He rubbed his hands together, possibility blooming before him. What if Reese was right and what Tag needed was a project to sink his teeth into? A getaway to clear his head?

“Well?”

Breathe. Tag felt like he could breathe for the first time in days.

“I’m on it.” He’d overseen grand openings for restaurants and bars for Crane Hotels, but he’d never been a part of choosing the plot of land one would sit on. He couldn’t pass up the opportunity.

“Good. I’ll email you the details and have Bobbie set an appointment with the Realtor,” Reese said, then paused. “Tell me something. You’re the pro at letting girls down. Refusing Rachel should be well within your skill set. Why didn’t you?”

“I hate seeing her sad.” The lost look on her face. Her fear that she couldn’t tell him about her problems. She was so worried over him providing things for her. Didn’t she see he could? That he wanted to?

But that wasn’t the only reason.

“I care about her,” Tag admitted.

Reese watched him for a moment. “I know.”

His brother understood what he was going through. Being understood after feeling like he was losing his marbles was such a relief, Tag blew out a sigh, slightly embarrassed about coming in here and having a meltdown in front of a guy who had a tight grip on his faculties.