Total pages in book: 114
Estimated words: 106150 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 531(@200wpm)___ 425(@250wpm)___ 354(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 106150 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 531(@200wpm)___ 425(@250wpm)___ 354(@300wpm)
I glared, and everyone burst into laughter. Landry leaned over to give Zane a knuckle-bump.
“Ah, Bash is so fucking satisfying to tease,” Landry sighed. “And we so rarely got an opportunity before now.”
“Rowe’s a good person,” I said, sounding petulant. “He’s kindhearted and intelligent and dependable.”
“Then maybe we should add Rowe to the group chat,” Silas said mildly.
Everyone stopped their laughter and stared.
Silas shrugged. “At least he’d check it periodically. And it’s not like he’s going anywhere anytime soon, is it?”
I ran a hand over my hair, feeling unusually nervous. “I don’t know. I mean, I know I don’t want him to. That’s for damn sure. But… he’s got shit in Indiana that’s tying him there. Parent stuff.”
“Rough,” Dev said because he knew about parental expectations better than anyone.
“And I think… the shit that comes along with me is… a lot. All of this…” I waved a hand in the air to encompass the expensive beach house and all that it signified. “The galas, the money, the backstabbing employees. I don’t blame him for not being all ‘sign me up.’”
“Poor little billionaire Bash,” Landry said, half-mocking. Then he shrugged. “I don’t blame him. It is a lot to take in when you’re not used to it.”
“And that’s another thing,” I said, picking up on Landry’s comment. “I haven’t even told him I’m a billionaire. I haven’t told him about us owning Sterling Chase or creating ETC. He knows I come from the Dayne family, and even that level of wealth is problematic.”
“Meh, millions, billions,” Zane said. He’d gotten up to get another cinnamon roll but seemed to be spooning cinnamon goop straight out of the baking dish. “I doubt the extra zeroes will matter much when you tell him.”
“It matters that I can’t tell him.” I looked around the table. “Rowe and I have been discussing Daisy Chain all week, and I keep wanting to mention ETC or tell him he has the full backing of Sterling Chase, but I can’t. I have to act like I’m just a member of the board.”
Zane and Landry looked at each other, then at Dev. Dev pursed his lips for a long moment, then shrugged. As one, all eyes swung toward Silas. Silas was the one of us who’d been burned by a lover most recently—was still feeling burned, if his current level of anger was anything to go by. Silas, who’d made his distrust of Rowe very obvious just a week ago.
Shocking us all, Silas sat back in his seat and folded his hands over his lean stomach. “So tell him, then. Jesus, why’s everyone looking at me? I said to add him to the group chat, didn’t I? And Zane’s right. He makes a good cinnamon roll.”
I couldn’t have kept the smile off my face if I tried.
“You all are forgetting Rowe’s about to be pretty dang rich in his own right,” Kenji piped up, “once he gets his IP back and Daisy Chain is on the market. When he sees his own bank balance, I think the shock of finding out Sebastian isn’t just wealthy but wealthy as fuck will pale in comparison.”
“True story,” Dev grunted.
“I don’t think he’s put that together yet,” I agreed. “That would solve a lot of problems. He could buy his parents’ house or move them wherever they wanted to be. He wouldn’t have to worry about his job back in Indiana. He can go to design school, or… hell, he can choose to do whatever he wants.” And I prayed that choice would involve being with me. “But I can’t talk to him about any of that yet. I don’t want to get his hopes up until we know what’s happening with Austin.”
“Fucking Austin. I can’t get over that guy’s balls,” Dev said. “Stealing blatantly, thinking he’d get away with it.”
“Austin Purcell has no balls,” Silas corrected. “And he might very well have gotten away with it if Rowe hadn’t been willing to go to extreme measures.” He snorted to himself, shaking his head. “I’m still annoyed that he lied, but I’ve gotta give the man an A for effort.”
“Agreed.” I stood and walked to the windows in the living room. In the distance, I spied a lone figure standing atop a sand dune, watching the waves with a hand up to shade his eyes from the glare of the sun. The ocean breeze whipped his curls into a wild mess around his head.
I yearned to be out there with him. To have him in here with me. To follow him to Indiana or that nighttime flea market he’d mentioned. The where didn’t matter; all that mattered was the way I felt when I was with him. Settled and seen. Protective and protected. Challenged and accepted.
Home.
“Sit your ass down, Sebastian,” Landry said. “Let’s talk about the terms we’re offering Rowe.”