Page 27 of The Rebel Billionaire

If I got back in bed, I would lay there, fighting to keep my eyes shut, my mind and body too awake to find sleep. My best bet was to exhaust myself with work so that I would sleep deeply thatnight.

My plan set, I pulled on a pair of scuffed work boots, grabbed my crowbar and hammer from where I'd left them next to the front door, and went back to work on the frontporch.

The muscles in my arms and shoulders wailed with affront as I pried free the first board of the day. By the third, I was sweating, but the activity had loosened up my muscles and my arms didn't hate me anymore. A few more hours, and I might have the front porch ready for thecontractors.

Every time I wanted to take a break, I pictured what the front porch would look like with fresh, straight boards in place of the rotted wood I wastearingout.

I still needed to redo the pillars and repaint the siding and the front door, but fresh planking on the front porch would make a huge difference. It was the first step in making the neglected house look like a homeagain.

I needed that, to see it begin to shine the way it was meant to. Bringing the house back to life was worth the hard work. I could take a break later, when the jobwasdone.

The smack of my crowbar and the creak of wood were loud enough to cover the rumble of an engine in my driveway. I turned in time to see Aiden's car come toastop.

Dammit.

I wasn't ready to talk to Aiden.Notyet.

He emerged from his sleek, low-slung car, his eyes locked on me over the roof, face carefully neutral. I couldn't tell if he approved, disapproved, or was braced for afight.

It was hard to figure out what tactic to take with him when he gave me nothing toworkwith.

He bent back into the car and straightened, shutting the door before coming around to walk through my yard. He was carrying, in one hand, a white cardboard cup that looked like it was from my favoritecoffeeshop.

"I come bearing hot chocolate from Annabelle's, but I'm not going to give it to you if you're going to throw it in my face," he said, holding out thewhitecup.

I put my crowbar and hammer down before I climbed over the framing of what was left of the front porch and approached Aiden. He stood in the scrubby grass of my front yard, surveying the house, one eyebrow slightlyraised.

I wanted to be mad at him. Iwasmad at him. Furious. On the other hand, this was Aiden. My big brother. And he'd brought mecocoa.

When I was a little girl, Aiden hadn't known what to do with me when I was upset. Our parents’ death had thrown him headfirst into fatherhood when he was barely out of histeens.

We'd been close when we were just brother and sister, but once our parents had died and he’d had to fill their shoes, he'd been ataloss.

Typical of Aiden, he'd approached the challenge of raising me like a problem to be solved. If something didn't work, he took a new tack and triedagain.

Aiden refused to give up on me. He could've hired a nanny and gone on with his life. Instead, he worked his way through every hurdle and he never letmedown.

Early on, he'd discovered that a mug of hot cocoa was the fastest way to stop my tears, whether they came from a nightmare or a fight atschool.

Even once I grew up, it hadn't been unusual for him to pop into my office at Winters Inc. with a cup of Annabelle's hot chocolate when he knew I was having astressfulday.

Isighed.

This would be easier if I could just be pissedathim.

"Is that a peace offering?" I asked, stopping a few feet away, my hands braced onmyhips.

"Maybe. Or maybe it's just hotchocolate."

I took it, bringing the white paper cup to my nose for a long sniff. Annabelle made the best hot chocolate. Her shop also had amazing coffee and pastries I couldn't resist, but her hot cocoa was the best, rich and not too sweet.Heaven.

"So this is the house, huh?" Aidenasked.

"Yep, thisisit."

"Based on what Vance said, I thought it would be falling apart," Aiden said, his eyes scanning every inch of my beloved, but somewhat decrepit, newhouse.

I kept my mouth shut and waited. Finally, he spokeagain.