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Of course, now my father had changed his tune. He decided all work and no personal life was the wrong course of action. All my brothers balked at his new inheritance plan that required us to marry and have kids. But for me, I wanted to strangle him. I had a chance at love and family, and he’d made me toss it aside. I always resented him for forcing me to leave Beth, but now, I found it difficult to be around him and not lash out, which was unlike me. Of all my brothers, I was the quietest, least volatile one.
My oldest brother, Chase, had attempted a workaround of my dad’s new plan by entering into a marriage of convenience. Now, he and Sara had fallen in love, but it didn’t change the fact that initially, he tried to find a loophole in my father’s crazy plan.
My other older brother, Hunter, found love too, but even he hadn’t believed love was possible until Grace. My youngest brother, Kade, had no interest in love, whether it existed or not.
Me? I knew love existed. I knew how all-consuming and perfect it could be. How uplifting and exciting it was to love someone who loved you back. I’d been an idiot to toss that away for a father who played me and my brothers as fools.
I rolled my shoulders to rid it of the tension that built when I thought about my father. Had I been man enough at the time, I would have stood up to my father and chosen Beth, so I had to own my part in my unhappiness.
Tonight I needed to push all my old resentments aside, and instead, I needed to focus on seeing Beth again. I’d have preferred to have the opportunity to get to know her again, and maybe see if what we had could be salvaged or rebuilt. But I’d settle for seeing her about buying her brother’s share of Jet.
It was bizarre that Ben wanted to sell and that he was sending Beth to negotiate the deal. Not that Beth couldn’t do it. I was sure she was very capable, but it was Ben’s baby. He and I conceptualized and then created the best club in the city. It didn’t make sense that he didn’t want anything to do with it or didn’t want to make sure he was getting the full value of his investment back. I needed to make sure he was involved or that he’d given her legal authority to make the deal.
I walked into the packed club and made my way to the bar where the manager I hired when Ben took his hiatus was waiting for me. I wanted to let him know what was going on and that the club needed to run like fine-tuned engine. My father would roll his eyes if he knew I was setting us up to give Ben a bigger payout by presenting the club at its most successful. But I was proud of the club and felt like Beth should be too. Her brother had been a part of this and she needed to see that. And he was owed his fair share.
Despite all the people and loud music, I knew the minute she entered the building. My head jerked toward the door where I arranged for one of the bouncers to escort her in instead of making her wait in line.
My heart stopped in my chest; she was so stunningly beautiful. Her blonde hair was down, hanging in natural waves that made me think of the tussled, just-been-fucked style. She was wearing a basic black dress that accentuated every delectable feature of her body from the hint of cleavage to the hourglass shape of her waist and hips. It hit at mid-thigh, showing shapely legs that I remembered wrapping around my hips the one and only time I fucked her.
“She’s a looker,” my manager said.
“Hands off,” I growled.
He laughed. “Understood.”
I didn’t want to appear too eager, not because I didn’t want her to know that I was open to… hell, I was interested… finding out if we still had that amazing connection, but because I didn’t want to scare her off. She came dressed to be in a club, but her eyes were wary and her expression annoyed, just like when she entered my office. She was here reluctantly. I tried not to take it personally and instead decided to make it my mission to show her a good time. If we ended up naked too, all the better. But if not, I hoped she’d be able to relax and maybe even smile.
“Hi Beth,” I said reaching my hand out to touch her forearm and leaning in to kiss her cheek. Jesus, she smelled good.
“Ash.”
“This is the manager I hired when Ben took his leave. Tuck, this is Ben’s sister, Beth McAdams.”
