A Los Angeles Passion

* * *

“Who are you looking for?”

Trey turned to face his brother Max. “No one. Just checking out the crowd and seeing who arrived.”

Even though they were members of the same chapter and were heavily involved in Prescott George, they weren’t particularly close. Their brother Derek was a member as well, but only because their father insisted on paying his membership dues. Trey had always wondered if Reginald paid Derek’s dues because he genuinely thought Derek would be a great member, or just for bragging rights to say that all three of his sons were a part of Prescott George.

“The turnout is great,” Max said. “Great idea, Trey.”

“Thanks. I appreciate it.” When Trey had initially presented the idea of having Rent-a-Bachelor as a fund-raising effort to support their big Christmas bash for the chapter, he hadn’t expected so many members to be on board given the crazy few months they’d had. Surprisingly, the vote had been unanimous.

Max smiled as he glanced down at Matthew. “And who is this little guy?”

“This is Matthew, Carmen’s son, and the reason I had to put you guys on hold a couple days ago when Reginald called.” Trey looked from his nephew to Max. “Actually, I was hoping I would see you tonight. I’m sorry to hear about Reginald. How are you holding up?”

Max’s smile dropped. “I’m okay given the circumstances. I know that you and Derek don’t care for him, but I can’t imagine him not being here.”

Trey clasped Max’s shoulder. “I may not like the man, but I would never wish death on anyone. After I got over the initial shock, I immediately thought about you and how hard I know this will be for you. It’s unfortunate, and if you need someone to talk to, I’m here.” As the words left his mouth, Trey realized he truly did mean every word. He wanted to be there for Max.

“Thanks, man.” Max grew quiet for a few moments before speaking. “I’ve been meaning to ask you. After the call, some things were sort of left unsaid. I know you and Derek don’t owe Reginald anything, but I want to do this for him. I want to investigate this a little more and see if he’s innocent like he claims to be, but I don’t think I can do it alone. I know we all have demanding schedules, but I can’t help but feel like this is something we should all be doing together.”

Trey had figured that Max would want to investigate the case for Reginald. He’d had a couple of days to think about the phone call, and although Trey didn’t think for one minute that Reginald deserved their help, he couldn’t deny the fact that it would weigh heavily on his heart if Reginald was telling the truth and died without them uncovering the real culprit.

“Although I’m not sure I believe that Reginald is innocent, I’d be willing to help investigate further,” Trey said. “Maybe we should talk to Derek and meet sometime this week.”

“I appreciate this,” Max said. “And I already spoke to Derek. I called him this morning. He told me he was sorry that Reginald was dying, but Reginald has never been a part of his life, so he won’t help. I know that although he is a member, he isn’t actively involved with anything for Prescott George, but I’m hoping that he attends tonight so we can talk.”

Trey nodded. “I understand where he’s coming from. I may not have the best relationship with Reginald, but Derek went through worse. I think Derek would be willing to meet with us, though. My schedule is swamped, but maybe you could swing by my place this Sunday morning. Are you free?”

Max pulled out his cell phone. “I think so. I can come by before an event I have to appear at. What about Derek?”

“He texted me that he’s supposed to be here tonight.”

Max’s eyes widened. “Really? Derek never attends anything related to Prescott George.”

“I was surprised, too,” Trey said. “But in case he doesn’t show or doesn’t stay for long, maybe we should just contact him after the event and see if he’s willing to meet with us?”

“Sounds like a plan,” Max said.

After they parted ways, Trey was still a little surprised that after all this time, he was finally going to spend some time with his half brothers. Max had once tried to get close to him and Derek, but they both had shut him down. Being the oldest, Trey knew what he had to do. Even if they discovered Reginald was lying about his innocence, it was time for the Moore brothers to finally try to forge a relationship of their own.

Chapter 4 (#uf9c0a983-393c-5dd2-b842-63ef6184ecbb)

“Come on, beautiful,” Trey said to himself. “Where did you go?” He’d been working the room for the past thirty minutes and had already scanned some of the penthouse in search of the brown bombshell in the white dress he’d seen when he’d arrived.

He was about to head to the second level, when he heard someone call out his name. Trey turned around to greet his friend and his wife.

“Kendrick, Nicole. I’m glad you both made it.”

“Thanks for inviting us,” Kendrick said as the two dabbed fists. “It’s a great turnout.”

“Thanks, man. How long have you been here?”

“A little over an hour. We brought a friend with us, but we lost her pretty early on.”

Trey leaned in to give Nicole a hug, careful not to crush the baby against his chest. “Hey, Nicole. Beautiful as always.”

“Thank you. You look handsome yourself, but I must say that this little guy is stealing all the attention. I haven’t seen Matthew since he was two months old. How’s Carmen doing?”

“She’s good,” Trey said. “She got a gig on some new television show, so I’m watching Matthew for her.”

“I heard about that,” Kendrick said. “Congrats to her.”

Trey knew Kendrick from the Hollywood scene and had even written screenplays for a couple of movies that Kendrick had been the creative director of. Now Kendrick and his wife, Nicole, owned an up-and-coming production company.

When all the drama was going on with Reginald, Trey had been able to count on Kendrick and his wife for their support, which was more than he could say for some friends that he’d known his entire life. Kendrick wasn’t a member of Prescott George, but he understood all too well how scandals could affect your career, having dealt with his own scandal a while back.

“Are you good, man?” Kendrick asked. Trey didn’t have to wonder why he’d asked. This was the first event they’d had for the LA chapter since the suspension was lifted.

“I’m good,” Trey said. “Except for the fact that Matthew is getting a little fussy and I’ve been trying to track down this beautiful woman I saw when I arrived.”

“A woman, huh?” Nicole wiggled her eyebrows. “Was she wearing a beautiful white dress and some gorgeous red pumps?”

Trey squinted his eyes. “How did you guess that?”

Nicole tilted her head to the side. “Because Kendrick and I brought my girl Kyra with us to this event, and right now, Kyra is wearing her Million-Dollar-Matchmaker smile and dragging a woman in a white dress this way.”

Trey glanced over his shoulder, his eyes landing on the tall, curvy woman he’d been searching for. Nicole wasn’t lying. The other woman did appear to be dragging her his way, but he didn’t care as long as he got a closer look.

The white dress she wore fitted her hips and thighs perfectly, but it was her red heels with a strap that wrapped around the ankle that was doing wild things to his imagination. Top that with her silver raindrop necklace that dipped in between her cleavage, and he was sure he’d forget everyone at the party and leave with her if she asked him to.

Her shoulder-length dark brown hair fell in waves around her shoulders, and now that he could see her more closely, he noticed that her cat-shaped eyes seemed to be taking him in just as much as he was.

When they reached them, his throat tightened when he noticed just how plush her red-colored lips were. He could stand there and look at her lips all day. Had Kendrick not nudged him, he probably would have.

“Sorry—what happened?” he asked.

Kendrick shook his head. “Trey, this is our friend Kyra.”

“Nice to meet you,” Trey said, forcing himself to focus on the introduction. Kyra was definitely an attractive woman, but Trey couldn’t take his eyes off her friend.

“Nice to meet you, too, lover boy,” Kyra said with a laugh. “But I’m sure you want to meet my friend Kiara. So—” Kyra lifted Kiara’s hand in the air “—Trey, meet Kiara.”

Trey wasted no time lifting his hand and enclosing hers in his. When he did, Kiara’s eyes shot down to their hands before meeting his gaze again. That’s interesting,Trey thought. He’d heard about people meeting and feeling sparks when their hands touched, but he’d always thought it was a myth. Looking down at his hand and Kiara’s hand, he knew now what those folks had meant. When Kiara removed her hand, he had to refrain from lifting it again.

“It’s nice to meet you, Kiara,” Trey said.

Kiara smiled. “It’s nice to meet you, too, Trey.” Even her voice is sexy. Kiara’s voice was sultry, yet subtle. A combination he’d never really heard before. Had they not been surrounded by their friends, Trey would have bit down on his fist to contain his excitement from hearing his name leave her lips. Instead, he returned her smile, oblivious to the fact that their friends had excused themselves, leaving him alone with Kiara.