Page 2 of I Choose You

“Dad’s got all the money he needs,” Kody argued. “He’s getting old.”

“He’s only sixty.”

“Eh, he’s getting older.” He set his empty bottle down and stretched his arms over his head. “He’s been with Margaret for a few months now.”

“Margaux,” I corrected.

“And he’s probably looking forward to slowing down in life. Not work as much, you know? Hard to keep a girlfriend happy when you’re at the office all the time.”

I sipped my drink then huffed a laugh. “Like you’d know anything about keeping a girlfriend happy. They never stick around long enough to be a girlfriend.”

He shot me a cheesy finger gun. “You got that right.”

I swatted his hand away. “She seems to make him happy.”

“She does. I mean, she’s all right. It’s weird, though. I never imagined he’d want to settle down again after Mom.”

Dating for a few months isn’t really settling down.

I hadn’t considered Margaux a replacement. Our mother passed away so long ago, it wouldn’t be fair to say any woman Dad dated was a rebound or substitute for what he’d lost. Dad never dated much, especially not in the beginning. He’d been too busy and preoccupied building Wagner Industries into what it is today. Now, though, he seemed even more well balanced. Light-hearted and patient.

“As long as she’s not a gold-digger who’s using him.”

I shot my twin a deadpan look. He was quick to assume the worst and be jaded enough to say it while I was always the one to do the simple thing of thinking before speaking—or judging.

“She’s got her own money. She doesn’t need his.” While I didn’t know everything about the woman our dad was dating, I’d paid attention when he’d introduced her. Margaux had been previously married and had a twenty-five-year-old daughter.

She wasn’t hurting for income, and she and my father had met in a meet-cute kind of way, nothing related to business. My first impression of the woman remained the same after I got to know her a little better. She was a soft-spoken, sweet lady, not too pushy but not a pushover either. “She makes him happy, though.”

“I guess. Are you going to finish that?”

I shook my head and gave him my bottle. “I won’t rain on his parade.”

Kody nodded as he led the way to the front door. “I won’t either. You’re right. He’s been happier since meeting her.”

“It’s not like he’d have anything to be unhappy about.” A successful business, wealth, a family. He had it made. Sixty wasn’t old, but when I considered what my father had, I knew it was what I wanted to do with my life, too. Accomplishments in all aspects of my life: work, income, and family.

Well, not the family part. I wasn’t as jaded about women as my twin was, but I wasn’t looking to settle down just yet.

Kody opened the door, and I followed him in. Looking around, I was relieved that everything looked the same. I wasn’t stuck in my ways and against change, but the way Dad asked us over for no reason needled at me.

“Hey!” Dad came down the hall. “There you are!”

“Hi, Dad,” I said, raising my brows as he approached. He walked too fast, too eagerly, but I put my arms around him once I realized what was happening. Over his shoulder, I caught Kody’s bemused expression.

A hug? “Hey,” I repeated, slower, as I patted his back. I wouldn’t say it was awkward, but, well, fuck, it was awkward.

He did the same to Kody, hugging him and smiling. He was happier than usual, and it was starting to freak me out.

Dad never hugged. He wasn’t cold or anything. He was a loving parent but he was not and never had been much of a hugger.

“Geez, Dad.” Kody did the same stiff pat on the back as I had done. “A hug? What, are you dying?”

Dad rolled his eyes at his joke as we released him. Still keeping his arm around my brother, he guided us both into the house, past the huge foyer. “No. No. I’m perfectly healthy.”

“Are you retiring?” Kody asked.

“What?” Dad slowed enough to smirk at him. “No. I’m far from being done with work. I’ve got plans to see through yet.”