My father’s death activated a clause that’s been buried in our inheritance contract for generations. We have until our next birthday to comply. Three months to find a woman we trust enough to hand our entire future to. Then a year of proving it’s real before our lawyers can challenge the clause. And every woman I meet from now until that deadline is either a solution or a distraction I can’t afford.
I drain the coffee and set the mug down harder than I mean to.
The stairs creak. Evan appears first with hair still damp from the shower. Then Callum comes downstairs, barefoot, restless already.
Evan grabs a mug. “Morning.”
Callum opens the fridge and stares into it, as if something will materialize. But we agreed not to bring a chef here this weekend. We want to relax without anybody else in our space.
Ben comes down next. Tania follows behind him, wearing a sweater that’s too big for her. Her red hair is pulled back, andthe freckles across her nose are more visible because she is not wearing makeup. Fuck, she really is stunning.
She notices me by the counter, and her face brightens.
I smile.
Evan pours himself coffee. “Sleep okay?”
She pours herself some coffee and adds cream. “Yeah. The bed is huge.”
Callum smirks from the fridge. “Next time, bring a boyfriend. Test out the space.”
Ben shoots him a look.
I feel my jaw tighten before I can stop it. The idea of Tania bringing someone here—some guy I don’t know, touching her, and sleeping in the room across from mine. I don’t like it.
Tania sips her coffee, unbothered. “No boyfriend. I’m enjoying having the big bed to myself.”
The tension in my shoulders eases.
I don’t like that those words made me relax either. I shouldn’t care whether she has a boyfriend. I shouldn’t feel anything at all. So, I force my attention elsewhere.
By late morning, the temperature drops. Fall is in full swing, and the trees outside are half-stripped with leaves scattered across the deck.
Evan suggests a fire.
We move to the living room. Callum brings in logs from outside, and I stack kindling while Evan crumples newspaper.
Tania settles into the corner of the sectional with a book open on her lap, legs tucked under her.
She’s pretending not to pay attention to my brothers and me.
But she’s paying attention. She’s just as affected by seeing us as men as we are by seeing her as a woman.
The fire catches, and I stand and brace my hands on the mantel to feel the heat.
Evan sprawls on the couch with one arm draped over the back. Callum paces near the windows, fingers tapping against his thigh. Ben settles into the armchair.
For a while, no one talks. The fire popping, the wind pushing against the windows, and the lake moving beyond the glass are the only sounds that fill the room.
Tania turns a page in her book. Ben checks his phone. Callum stops at the window and stares out at the water.
Evan shifts and glances at Callum, then at me. “We need to talk about it.”
Callum stops pacing and turns. “No, we don’t. We just re-agreed we wouldn’t talk about the business at all last night.”
Evan sits forward. “You and Silas agreed, and ignoring it doesn’t make it go away.”
Callum resumes his circuit around the room. “Neither does talking about it.”
