Under the swagger and the teasing, there was something protective there. Solid. He was a guy who’d just rearranged his whole week just to show up for his sister, and I could respect that.
Hooch, their horse-sized dog, trotted into the dining room and I grinned, dropping to my haunches to greet him. “How are you holding up, big boy? Are you still getting enough love with all these babies around?”
Jameson shot me an unimpressed look. “Of course, he is. Hey, how’s work? Are they treating you well in acquisitions? I’m keeping your seat warm in finance and liquidations for now. Just in case you come to your senses and decide to join us permanently.”
“Thanks, but it’s actually going pretty well. I even found an investor for that acquisition you gave me to work on the other day.”
Sadie nearly choked on the water she was sipping from a glass bottle. “An investor? Why?”
“Our offer wasn’t tempting enough,” I said. “It was the most Sterling would’ve spent before going back to the drawing board, so I did what I thought he would do. Network, build connections, and find a way to get the job done.”
“Did he approve this?” Jameson asked carefully. “Sterling isn’t fond of making friends.”
Well, I guess it’s a good thing then that I don’t think Aurelia will ever be that.Besides, friends didn’t kiss friends, and I was dying to find out what that would be like.
Sadie’s eyes went wide. “Harrison, are you having a stroke? You’ve been staring off into space for at least two minutes.”
“Nope,” I said. “Sorry, I just zoned out for a second. I haven’t talked to him about it. He’s been taking a lot of time away from the office to spend with Laney before the baby comes, and when he is there, he’s always crazy busy. I’ll talk to him about it now that I’ve got someone lined up.”
Maybe.
I followed them to the kitchen to dish up, but while they were getting the food ready, I did my duty as a little brother and stocked up on their good snacks for the way home. It was a ritual. A comfort, and one of the few things about being a baby brother that I could really get behind—the right to raid their fridges as if they were my own.
“What about you, Trent?” I asked to shift their attention away from me, and also because I was curious. “What’s happening at the ranch while you’re gone?”
“New foreman,” he said happily. “He’s the most dependable ranch worker I’ve ever encountered and he’s lightening my load like you cannot believe. It’s great.”
Sadie let out a contented sigh. “Now he’s got no more excuses for not visiting. With Colby around, you can totally come out here for your little sister.”
“You’re right.” Trent’s eyes widened as he pretended to be stricken. “I should fire him immediately. As soon as I get back.”
I laughed, loving the energy he brought with him everywhere he went. Life was always just a little bit more fun when he was around.
CHAPTER 6
AURELIA
The first thing that happened the day I emailed my resignation letter, effectively immediately, to my father was… nothing.
There was no frantic phone call asking me what was going on. No reply, not even an out of office or a read receipt. No angry voicemail from either Scott or Daniel demanding to know where their favorite coffee-girl had gone.
Nothing.
After staring at my laptop and my phone for longer than reasonably necessary, I laced up my sneakers and went for a jog, letting the sharp December air sting my lungs while downtown flickered to life with Christmas lights. It’d been a long time since I’d been out in the streets this time of year, with enough time on my hands to really soak up the festive atmosphere.
Garlands wrapped lampposts, store windows glittered with fake snow, and couples walked hand in hand under awnings draped in red velvet bows. My street looked like the set of a Christmas-themed rom-com and for a second, the scene was just so darn cheerful that I even almost forgot I’d just detonated my entire life.
Almost, but not quite. A tiny shiver of terror slid down my spine as I thought about it. This was the first time in my entire life that I’d quit something, and it hadn’t just been any little thing. It’d been my job, at my father’s company, resigning from the position in a department I’d built.
I breathed through the fear of the unknown, reminding myself that I’d done it after I’d put a plan in place for my future. A plan that involved the youngest Westwood heir, who just so happened to have been lingering on my mind since our meeting.
Harrison wasn’t at all what I’d expected him to be, and it was refreshing to have been wrong. In another life, he and I might even have been able to be friends. For the rest of my jog, I let myself think about him as a distraction to what I’d done earlier, but by the time I got back, I was fully expecting to have to face the consequences of that email.
It was after ten am when I opened my front door, sweaty and flushed. Any other morning, I’d have been at the office for two hours by now, fielding coffee orders from my brothers while trying to get some work done. I dropped my keys in the bowl at the door, still waiting for some kind of explosion.
There was still nothing. Not a missed call. No emails. No texts.
Left feeling unsettled and untethered, I took a shower and got dressed, doing my best to ignore the fact that I’d just abandoned my family’s empire. Clearly, they were all ignoring it, so I made myself a cup of coffee when I got back to my living room and opened my laptop.
