“I think you’re entering an overcrowded market.”
“Just like Grandpa and Sam did decades ago,” she countered. “And I’ll do it the same way. People. Quality. Fairness.”
“You’ll probably have to charge customers more,” Nicholas pointed out.
“Yes. And they’ll pay, like people pay a little more sometimes at Chandler’s. Because deep down, people are good, and they like to support good things.”
“Hmph.”
“I’ve researched this thoroughly. I even have someone standing by to start app development.”
But his frown was unrelenting and she leaned back in her chair, feeling the sting of disapproval. Still, she rallied. “Will you at least look at my business plan?”
“You have a business plan?”
“Yes.” She wouldn’t tell him about the market research she’d conducted. No need for him to be distracted by the fact that she’d been driving around for one of those supposedly unsafe apps.
“I’ll look at the plan,” he allowed. “I—”
A knock came on the door and they both glanced over as Alistair opened the door slightly. “I beg your pardon for interrupting, Mr. Chandler, Ms. Chandler. Ms. Kane’s mother and aunt have arrived ahead of schedule, and she wished for you to join her. Immediately.”
Nicholas swore and got to his feet. “Sorry, Eve. We can continue this later. Livvy might kill Tani if she says a single word about this curse.”
“Sure,” she allowed. She should be anxious about her brother not immediately being excited for her business idea, but like Nicholas, her mind had immediately jumped to what Tani and Maile’s entrance meant. Not to Livvy, but to Gabe.
Before the tragedy, she’d been too young to ever note how Tani and Gabe interacted. She didn’t completely know the circumstances of his birth yet, but she assumed Robert had had an affair. Whether it had been before or after their marriage, it couldn’t have been easy for Tani to have her husband’s illegitimate child growing up under her nose.
And if it hadn’t been easy for Tani, she imagined it must have been actively hard for Gabe.
Gabe came down the stairs, having changed into basketball shorts and a T-shirt to play volleyball. He took one look at the woman in the foyer, and nearly deployed an about-face to go hide in his room. Dark eyes looked up and met his. “Gabe! How nice to see you.”
Too late. He continued down the stairs, slower now, and gave the older woman as genuine a smile as he could imagine. “Ms. Maile. Nice to see you too.”
Maile Kane was large boned and wide-shouldered, her long hair still inky black and braided into a single plait down her back. Her face was broad and creased from smiling. She looked like Robert, which meant she looked a little like him.
Genes were so weird.
He accepted the hug she gave him, being careful not to hang on too long. Maile had been a loving constant in the Kane home. While he hadn’t gotten the same affection from her as she’d doled out to her brother’s acknowledged children, he could well remember snuggling up next to her while she read them a story.
He’d avoided her since Paul’s funeral. The talk eventually turned to reminiscing over her late nephew, which wasn’t the problem. Talking about Paul brought grief, but he could do it, and it helped. No, Gabe had avoided Maile because he’d grown increasingly disturbed by how often he’d felt tempted to clutch the hands that looked so much like his and tell her everything. He’d almost spilled it all when he’d sat next to her at Paul’s funeral and she’d wept into his shoulder over how she’d lost her eldest.
You didn’t lose your oldest nephew. I’m right here.
“Stop calling me Ms.,” Maile scolded. “You’re a grown man now. Makes me feel old.”
He called her Ms. because he couldn’t call her simply Maile when she looked so much like his biological father, but there was no way he could explain that. “Yes, ma’am.”
“None of that either,” she said dryly.
He forced an answering smile. “I thought you weren’t coming until tomorrow?”
“Tani’s been anxious since she saw the weather report yesterday. I’ve told her this curse stuff is nonsense, but you know how she is. She wanted to drive up while the weather was beautiful.” She linked her arm with his and led him to the living room. “Sorry if we’re crashing you young people’s party.”
“Not at all,” Sadia said from where she was serving tea off a tray. “It’s good to see you.”
Tani was already sitting on the couch, Jackson next to her. Livvy was perched on an armchair, rubbing her hands on her jeans. There were nerves and a touch of fear in her eyes when she looked at Tani.
Gabe got it. Part of him couldn’t help but regress to being a child around Tani. He’d been cheerful and rambunctious, and every time he’d crossed paths with this woman, the blast of coldness he’d received had been confusing and hurtful.
