Chapter 5

"Damo!" Dayton snapped his fingers in his cousin's face. When his cousin looked at him, he shook his head. "Never in my wildest dreams did I consider my cousin to be the type to zone out. What's going on in your head, bro?"

Damian, Dayton, and Derek were sitting at one of the high end restaurants on the Upper East Side waiting for Dani to show up. It was Elizabeth and Daniel Stark, Damian and Dani's parents, thirtieth wedding anniversary and they were planning a party. As usual, Dani was running late.

Damian looked at his cousins. Derek would be easier to talk to about this but Dayton was right there. It concerned Dayton more than anyone because Damian was about to admit something that had been on his mind since the night Caroline Rochester shoved him out of her apartment.

"Damo?" Dayton squinted briefly then looked at his cousin. "Geez. Get your head back in the game."

Derek nudged his brother. "Leave him alone. It must be important if he's zoning out."

Dayton snorted. "The only thing that can get him to zone out like that is a woman." He stopped and looked at his cousin. "It is a girl, isn't it?"

Damian pinched the bridge of his nose. "What if I told you it was?"

The second oldest Stark smiled. "Well, if this one has held your attention more than the others then do tell about her."

Derek caught his eye and shook his head slightly, trying his best to warn his cousin that spilling his guts could cause backlash. What Derek didn't know was that Dani was already spitting mad at him. If he didn't bring it up now, Dani would and there would be even more hell to pay.

Sighing he leaned his elbows on the table. His mother would gripe about his bad manners but there was no food on the table so he was in the clear.

"There is a woman and you met her at the coming home party our mothers insisted on throwing," he said.

It took a moment for Dayton to understand what he was talking about. Once he figured it out, his face took on a darker tone. Beside him, Derek leaned back and gave his older brother room to rant.

"You're interested in Caroline Rochester?" Dayton finally asked. Damian simply nodded. "Are you out of your mind? She only wants you for your money. Probably even more so now that she knows you're a world class photographer."

"You didn't see the anger in her face five days ago when she shoved me out of

her apartment."

Derek snorted behind his hand. "She shoved you out of her apartment? That's funny."

"It's not that funny, Derek. It's not as funny as your wife hiring her to work at the gallery," Dayton spat.

The youngest Stark at the table sobered immediately at the mention of his wife. "Watch what you say, Day. That's my wife you're talking about."

"She's the one who told me about Caroline and now she's allowing her to work at the gallery? Does that make any sense to you?"

"It doesn't have to make sense. Toph is eight months pregnant and she needs help around the gallery because she can't lift all of the pieces. She asked Caroline to work there to give her a second chance at getting her life back together. You may not get it, but don't bash Tophyr because she knows how to forgive and you don't." Derek slammed his napkin down on the table and stormed off.

Dayton whipped his head from his retreating brother to his cousin who still sat across from him. Damian hadn't moved an inch and was staring at him passively as if this entire thing were just a normal conversation. If Damian truly did feel strongly about Caroline, there was nothing he could do about it. Once the oldest Stark got something in his head, there was no changing his mind. He would have to get bored or find something new, both he was really good at.

Dani decided at that moment to flounce into the restaurant and drop into the chair Derek had vacated moments before. It was never this tense between her cousins unless it was over the last croissant at Christmas breakfast. To see them staring at each other with heated gazes meant something else was going on under the surface.

"It's good to see you, Day," she said, deciding after a long time to go after their cousin first.

Dayton finally broke eye contact with his older cousin and looked at the younger. "Hey, Dani. How was your morning shopping?"

"It was a blast, as usual. But this time Annalise, my roommate who's from Greece, decided she needed a new coat so we spent three hours just shopping for a short leather jacket. I could have had five coats but she wanted that one."

"Sounds a little boring," Damian said. He had never been one to go on random shopping sprees but he couldn't say the same about snapping pictures. He guessed it was a different rush.

Dani pierced him with a glare. "Just because I love to go shopping doesn't mean you can bash it. I've seen how you caress your camera when there's something you're waiting to catch on film."

She frowned when he shrugged. This argument must have been really bad if they weren't talking to each other. Growing up in the same city with five blocks between their families, the four of them had grown up together, leaning on each other when things got rough.

When David got busted for drug possession and his family left New York, Damian had taken it harder than anyone. He and Dayton had been so close and then not to have him anywhere around really messed with his head.

It was that summer Damian really turned in on himself. After that, he went off to college and disappeared completely, only to show up in the news when he had a new girl on his arm.

Damian looked at both of them then shook his head. "I've got a meeting with Tophyr. I'll see the two of you later."

"Damian!" Dani turned back to the only man left at the table. "What did you do?"

Dayton frowned as he swallowed his water and set the glass on the table. "What do you mean what did I do?"

"The two of you have always gotten along. Now you're madder than a coon caught in a trap. I have a suspicion it has something to do with you."

"Did you know he was considering seeing Caroline Rochester?"

"Is that what this is all about? You don't agree with him seeing Caroline?"

"No, I don't! She almost ruined this family with her lunacy. She's not worthy of any of us."

"Maybe not but Damian has never set his eyes on one girl for very long. If he's set his eyes on Caroline for longer than two minutes, it must be real. He can't be swayed and trying to change his mind will just make the riff even bigger."

Her cousin understood. "You've already talked to him about this haven't you?"

"And he shot me down as well."

"Then there's only one thing left to do."

Dani tilted her head in confusion as her cousin clammed up and refused to talk to her.