Page 72 of Bound To Be Mine

“So,” Sebastian said, leaning back in his chair. “Let’s talk business.”

“Can we at least order food first?” I asked. “I’m starving.”

“Fine, fine.” He waved a hand. “But then we’re diving in.”

The waiter returned and we rattled off our orders. I went with the salmon, Briggs ordered a steak, and everyone else got various pasta dishes. Once the waiter disappeared, Sebastian pulled out a folder.

“Here we go,” I muttered.

Briggs shot me an apologetic look. “I promise this is the last contract for a while.”

“You said that last time.”

“This time I mean it. And it’s not me bringing a contract to the table.”

I laughed. “You’re lucky.”

Bernadette cleared her throat. “Before we get to business,” she said, her voice taking on a tone that made everyone at the table sit up a little straighter. “I need to address something.”

“Uh-oh,” Sebastian said. “I know that tone.”

Briggs frowned. “What?”

“The carriage incident,” Bernadette said.

Briggs looked at me. I shrugged. I had no idea what she was going to say. “What about it?” Briggs asked.

“You were drunk, Briggs. Very drunk. And you drove a carriage with horses through the Las Vegas Strip.” She crossed her arms. “Do you have any idea how dangerous that was? Not just for you and Mandy, but for those animals and everyone else on the street?”

I felt myself shrink in my chair. She was right, of course.

“I know,” Briggs said quietly. “You’re right.”

“I’ve seen too many accidents in my career,” Bernadette continued. You’re lucky nothing happened. I swear, when I saw that video, I thought it had to be AI. I couldn’t imagine you actually doing it.”

“I know,” he said again. “There’s no excuse for it. I was blackout drunk.”

“You’re supposed to be the well-behaved brother,” she said. I could hear genuine disappointment in her voice. “The responsible one. The one who makes good decisions.”

Briggs’s jaw tightened. “I’m sorry. Truly. It won’t happen again.”

She held his gaze for a long moment, then nodded. “Good. Because I’d hate to have to kill you.”

“To be fair, the owner of the carriage was right there,” I said. “You don’t see him in the videos, but he was there.”

“Oh good. I’m so glad there was someone else contributing to your delinquency.”

Sebastian laughed and leaned over to kiss her. “You should make him a binder. So he knows better from now on.”

Bernadette smiled and shrugged. “I know you’re joking, but I might.”

“On that cheerful note,” Dash said. “Let’s talk about these contracts.”

Sebastian slid the folder across the table to me. “This is the official partnership agreement. Everything we discussed before, plus some additional terms about the social media aspect and the campaign.”

I opened the folder and scanned the pages. Revenue splits, creative control, timelines, everything laid out in precise legal language. I was sure that had a lot to do with Briggs. Actually, I suspected he had asked Sebastian to give me the contract specifically because Briggs didn’t want to piss me off.

“Looks good,” I said. “Where do I sign?”