“Not much to tell.”

“It’s tough, isn’t it?” She leaned against the counter opposite his. For once, her eyes weren’t bright with humor or challenge. “Being who we are and trying to get involved. The money thing, I mean.”

Because they both came from money. Because they’d been raised with the idea that they had to be careful, to make sure they didn’t fall for someone who was in it for the wrong reasons.

Without wanting to, Jack remembered sitting in on a painful conversation between Hunter and Meredith. He’d tried to escape more than once, but his friend had wanted him to stick around to make sure Meri really listened.

“Guys are going to know who you are,” Hunter had told her. “You have to be smart and not just think with your heart.”

Meri had been sixteen. She’d writhed in her seat as Hunter had talked, then she’d stood and glared at him. “Who is going to want me for anything else?” she demanded. “I’m not pretty. I’ll never be pretty. I’m nothing more than a giant brain with braces and a big nose. I’m going to have to buy all my boyfriends.”

Hunter had looked at Jack with an expression that begged for help, but Jack hadn’t known what to say either. They were too young to be guiding Meri through life-what experiences did they have to pass on? Doing twins from the law school hardly counted.

“I have it easier than you do,” he said, forcing himself back to the present, not wanting to think about how he’d failed both Hunter and Meri. “The women I go out with don’t know who I am.”

“Interesting point. I don’t talk about my family, but word gets out. I’ve actually reached the point in my life where I have to have men investigated before I start dating them. It’s not fun.”

“You’re doing the right thing.” Not that she was the only one checking out her dates. He ran a check on all of them, too. For casual dates, he only bothered with a preliminary investigation, but if it looked like things were getting serious, he asked for a more involved report.