Roman sighs and glares at me like I’m the cause of his problems. “Just take care of it. I need to be in New York for a bit, but I’ll be back and if it’s not fixed, you’re fired.” Another pause. “Fine. Bye.”
Roman’s not wrong about my focus being split too. I’ve been casually buying up homes in Brookhaven, my small hometown just two hours from the city in Connecticut. It’s the perfect blend of picturesque charm and practical opportunity, with its growing population of ex-city dwellers searching for affordable housing and scenic living. And I want to be on the forefront of this small-town renaissance.
But balancing my time between there and our project in NewYork is no small feat and I’mexhausted. To say I’m overwhelmed would be putting it lightly and to make matters even worse, his sister Natasha purchased her first property in Brookhaven. A cute little purple house with a picket fence and a dock that stretches out to the lake.
But like most of the homes in Brookhaven that have been weathered by the elements and the breeze off the lake that our town surrounds, it needs work. Serious work. And I simply don’t have the time to do it all with everything that’s piling up on my plate.
Roman comes over to where I’m crouched looking at the floor.
“I’ve been meaning to ask, why don’t you have Jack help Natasha with the renovations that her home needs?”
Roman lets out a sound that reminds me a lot of a growl. I roll my eyes. Roman’s been a dick to his stepbrother from the moment his dad cheated on his mom and got his mistress pregnant twenty-seven years ago. I guess that’s not changing anytime soon.
“No.”
“When are you going to let your grudge against him go?”
“Never.”
I chuckle. “It’s one-sided, you know? He didn’t ask to be conceived.”
“I don’t care.”
“Fine. But it’ll be a while until I can get to the things she needs fixed, and her house is rough. Jack’s been doing renovations for years. He’s completely capable.”
“I don’t care,” he repeats again, his dark eyes glaring at me.
I chuckle and shake my head before standing to face him again. “Your old angry broody thing doesn’t faze me. And stop talking to me like I’m one of your employees. We’re partners on this project. I’ve been letting it slide, but you’re getting on my lastfucking nerve with the attitude.”
That gets a smile out of him. “Where did you go last night?” he asks me again. And clearly, he’s not dropping that.
“I wasn’t expecting you to show up.”
Roman huffs. “After that guilt trip you gave me about not showing up for our employees, how could I skip it? Plus, then I would have missed out on that big, heartfelt speech you gave about new beginnings and how this year’s gonna be a game-changer for the business. I tried to find you to tease you about it, but you were gone. You didn’t even stick around to have a celebratory drink.”
“Yeah, just wasn’t feeling the best,” I say, brushing him off.
“It was Friday night. Youneverstick around in the city after work for a drink, let alone with me when I’m in town.”
“Since when have you ever cared about spending time with me outside of this project?”
He slings an arm around my shoulder, the obnoxious business guy nowhere to be found now. “I’ve always loved hanging with you. I’m just an important guy.”
I shrug him off.
Maybe me leaving early had something to do with the woman who kissed me and made me feel things I haven’t felt in years. Hell, maybe things I’ve never felt before.
The memory of her is like a splinter lodged in my brain. It’s nagging, sharp and been impossible to ignore. Everything about her is throwing me off. Who was she? Why was she at our private employee holiday event? And why did she run just as soon as she finished kissing me?
I’d even asked the bartender if he knew her name. He’d said she was a friend of the previous owners of the bar, a woman named Christina. Desperate for answers, I called up the woman I bought the bar from, someone I’ve only spoken totwice during negotiations. But when I asked her about Christina, she sounded confused. She told me she didn’t know anyone by that name.
That’s the moment that I realizedChristina,gave me a fake name. And that fucked me up even more.
“Sorry, man. We’ll reschedule. Or why don’t you come out to Brookhaven this weekend? Stay with Natasha at her new house, and we’ll grab a beer.”
He scrunches his nose like I’ve just suggested he stay in the building we’re working on rebuilding. “Hell no. I’m not spending my weekend in Connecticut and especially not in Natasha’s dump until you fix it. Plus, I know this is just a sneaky way to con me into learning how to swing a hammer so I can help you with all this construction shit.”
I chuckle because he’s not wrong. It would be nice to have another guy who knows what he’s doing on the job and isn’t collecting a paycheck.
