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Fake It Till We Fall

Page 29

by Elena Aitken

“I didn’t think you’d mind.” He shrugged unapologetically. “Besides, I’m excited to get these boards into the shop and turn them into a dining room table.”

“A table, huh?” I ran my hand down the board I’d just stacked. “I was wondering what your latest commission was.”

My twin brother was a talented woodworker and had slowly pivoted from his handyman business to taking orders for custom pieces all across Western Canada in the last few months with his growing business.

“It’s a big one, too. Supposed to seat ten to twelve people, with a river rock inlay and a live edge.”

“Wow,” I said, suitably impressed. “I can’t wait to see it.”

“Me too.” He laughed.

Reid started to look through the pile of wood I’d already prepared, mentally cataloging his order, as I continued to move around the shop, gathering pieces.

“You need anything else?” I asked. “Just help yourself and add it to the order.”

He took his time, moving around the warehouse, before returning to where I stood with the clipboard, double-checking a different order. Reid added a few pieces of walnut to his pile and leaned back against a stack of plywood.

When I looked up, his arms were crossed as he watched me. “So.”

I shook my head and looked down at the clipboard again. “So…what?”

I knew exactlywhat, but I didn’t plan to make it easy for him.

My brother wasn’t the type to dance around an issue for long. “What are you doing with Harper?”

I still didn’t look up but kept my pen moving across the paper. “I told you already.”

“Right.”

He dragged out the word in such a way that I finally gave in and looked at him.

“You have something you need to say?”

“You know I do.”

I set the clipboard down and crossed my arms. “Might as well say it then.”

“Do you know what you’re doing, Gray?”

“It’s not what you think it is.” I exhaled through my nose. “This is just for a few weeks. For Willa. You know Harper would do anything for her grandma.”

“And I know you’d do anything for Harper,” he said, without missing a beat. “But what about you?”

“What about me?”

Reid clenched his jaw and shook his head. “Do I need to say it?”

“Apparently you do, brother.”

He didn’t. We both knew it.

“You’re still in love with her.” It wasn’t a question. “She’s leaving, Gray.”

I nodded.

“Don’t you remember what happened last time?” Reid continued. “Because I do.”

How could I possibly forget? I shook my head and looked away. I didn’t have the time or energy to have this conversation.