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Tate cleared his throat. “I'm with Travis."
"And I'm officially turning into Declan." I leaned back in my chair. "I told her to consider everything."
“Let me see if I got this correct,” Travis started. “You dated that weirdo Cammy years ago. I never liked her, by the way. Things didn’t work out. Then you whored around for a long time. You are clearly serious about Megan, but you’re not going to do anything about it?”
“When it comes to personal decisions, you can’t make things happen just by sheer force of will,” I said calmly.
There was no comparing my relationship with Megan to what I had with Cammy.
But that didn’t mean I couldn’t learn from my mistakes.
"Since when are you so sensible?" Travis asked. He took a piece of paper from the stack on the coffee table, crumpled it, and threw it at Declan. "You’re rubbing off on him. Back off with the advice."
"I’m not claiming credit for anything. He decided on his own," Declan said.
"Right. I have an idea. Why don't you pop open the other bottle too and withhold opinions?” I muttered.
Travis clapped his hands. “We can do that.”
Tate cocked a brow. "Have you met us? There's no such thing as ‘no opinions’ in our family. But we'll do our best."
***
Megan
On the way to the restaurant, I kept calling Aunt Dana, but she didn’t pick up. I’d messaged Nina earlier, but I wanted to talk to my aunt. The committee had booked a table for us at a fancy Chinese restaurant in the Golden Gate neighborhood. It was in a beautifully refurbished home from the Gilded Age.
Just as I entered the building, my phone buzzed. Aunt Dana was calling. I stepped into a corner near the coatroom, trying to stay out of the way as guests kept arriving.
“Aunt Dana, I won!”
“Congratulations, honey! You deserve it. You’ve worked so hard.”
“So did everyone else.”
“I’m very proud of you.”
“Thank you. It still feels surreal. The prize is one hundred thousand dollars and a two-year internship in Shanghai.”
“Oh my, that’s wonderful! But that’s so far away. When are you leaving?” I could hear the worry in her voice.
“Here’s the thing. I’m not sure I’ll take it. I got a job offer from my current company.”
“Your boyfriend’s company.”
“Yes, Aunt Dana,” I replied with a bit of bite in my tone.
“I see. And you think accepting it is smart? Look how working together with Carson turned out.”
I played with the pendant of my necklace—a tree of life that had belonged to my mother—and took in a deep breath to stay calm. I loved Aunt Dana to the moon and back, but it wasn’t always easy to communicate with her.
“It’s not the same. And Luke is nothing like Carson.”
“Maybe. But I still think you should pave your own way.”
“Thanks for the advice. I have to go now. I’m having dinner with the other winners.”
“Sure, sure. Have fun, darling. And congrats again.”
