“He blames himself for their deaths,” Mara told Evan as she turned to look at him, surprisingly unafraid of his fierce words and seemingly snobby indifference. He cared about his family, so the guy couldn’t be all bad. Fascinated, she watched Evan’s face as his jaw tensed and a muscle pulsated with frustration. “He emulates you now,” she added, suddenly seeing the similarities between the two brothers. Jared wanted to be like Evan, cut off from his emotions, making it highly unlikely that he’d ever be hurt again.
“My siblings are nothing like me,” Evan replied, his tone ornery. “And Jared didn’t cause either one of their deaths.”
“I know. He isn’t capable of it.”
There was a silence then, nothing but the sound of the waves hitting the sand. Evan was thinking, but Mara found the man confounding. She had no idea what thoughts were going through his obviously razor-sharp brain.
Finally, he spoke. “Jared went on a six-month bender after Selena and Alan died. He was never a drinker, but I found him in an alcoholic stupor that nearly killed him. I sobered him up, and he may no longer wear his heart on his sleeve, but inside he’s still the same person. So as you can tell, he’s nothing like me.” Evan’s voice was stoic.
Mara gaped at Evan, letting the information that Jared had nearly killed himself by self-neglect because two people he loved had died sink completely into her brain. “Oh, God. My sweet Jared,” she whispered huskily.
Evan shrugged. “I think you’re the only one who thinks he’s sweet anymore. He lived through it. I had hoped that he learned not to mix business with friendships anymore. He gave up doing what he wanted because he associated it with the death of his . . . friends.” He choked out the last word as though it was hard to say.
“And you think I’m going to screw him.” Mara already had a grasp on Evan’s suspicions. For a brother who supposedly didn’t give a damn about anything or anyone, he seemed awfully tenacious as to her intentions.
“Are you?” he countered insolently.
“No. We argue about the business arrangements constantly. He’s being stubborn. I planned on giving him more than half the profits.”
“Ah . . . so that makes you just as ignorant in business as my brother is pretending to be. You’re both putting emotion into business. And it doesn’t belong there.” He turned his head to look at her.
“I—I suppose,” she stammered. She knew she was thinking with her emotions right now, and giving Jared more than his share was bad business. “But I owe it to him for helping me.”
“Emotion again,” Evan grumbled impatiently.
“This isn’t business for him. He’s trying to help me.”
Evan shrugged. “Then let him. It’s not like he can’t afford it.”
“I can’t,” she admitted. “I can never feel good about anything I achieve if I’m not doing it fairly, whether Jared is rich or not.”
“Admirable,” he answered grudgingly, drumming his fingers on the wooden arm of the chair. “Then do it properly. You’ve run a business before. It would be a simple enough contract and incorporation.”
It would be, if Jared would just agree. Was Evan not hearing her? Jared refused, and that was no small problem. “He wants it his way, and I owe Jared for what he’s doing for me.”
Frustrating man! But there was very little point in arguing with Evan Sinclair. No doubt he’d bested many people a whole lot more knowledgeable than she was. He was toying with her, but for what purpose she didn’t know. Obviously, one of his best weapons was doing business without emotion. She glared at him and crossed her arms in front of her, even though she couldn’t see his eyes through his dark glasses.
“You owe no one if you’re making them a profit,” Evan observed calmly.
“I will make a profit,” Mara retorted with a confidence she didn’t quite feel . . . yet.
“Very well,” Evan replied briskly. “Then I’ll have the contracts drawn up, and you can make me your partner in this venture.”
Mara’s brain worked furiously as she frowned at Evan. “Are you offering this to prevent your brother from mixing business and personal emotions?”
“My reasons are my own. Yes or no?”
It could work. It would get Jared out of the picture. He was much too generous, and he was determined to let himself be taken advantage of to help her. She had no fear that Evan would do something that didn’t benefit him. “Fine. I accept.” She glowered at Evan. While she admired his business sense, she didn’t like his meddling tactics when it came to his family. Evan was no more interested in this business than Jared was, but he’d make a deal with her to keep his brother from making a business mistake. Nevertheless, he’d be doing her a favor in every way except one. “You know Jared will be hurt.” Mara hated that. It was the only downside of this deal.
“He’ll be murderous,” Evan agreed. “Perhaps it might be better if you just let Jared think you’re accepting my deal unless he takes a fair cut. I believe it will solve your dilemma.”
Mara eyed Evan suspiciously. “You were testing me?”
He turned his head and rose to his feet. “Not exactly. But if it was a test, you passed.”
She rose to her feet quickly, so fast that she forgot about her healing ankle. “Ouch!” she exclaimed loudly, forgetting all about the fact that she was going to tell him off.
“Careful.” Evan put his powerful arms around her to steady her.