AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“I undercut you on the patent deal you’ve been working on and on Monday FuturGen is going to announce a new partnership with an LLC I own. That happened way before I learned any of this stuff about you being my twin.”
Nick clenched his fists. “The patent? How did you even know I was interested in that?”
Logan wished the other man would punch him. God, he’d turned into the worst version of himself. Nick was getting married to Adler today. A better man would have—He cut himself off. He wasn’t a better man.
“I have connections. Plus, I was watching the stocks you’ve been buying up,” Logan said. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have done it, but I’m August Bisset’s son.”
Nick nodded. “I get it. We’ve never been friendly.”
“No, we haven’t. But I am sorry. I don’t know why I do things like that,” he admitted. “I just can’t stand to feel like I’ve lost. After the deal goes through I’ll transfer the patent to you. I want it to be my wedding gift to you and Adler.”
Nick nodded. “I used to be like that before Adler. But having her by my side, no one can best that. She...she makes me stronger than I am on my own.”
“I doubt that,” Logan said. Though he remembered Quinn pulling him from his parents before he’d made things worse last night.
“Maybe stronger is the wrong word. She makes me smarter. Now I normally think things through because I know that if I do the wrong thing...I’ll lose her.”
“Normally? Not this weekend, right? I mean, how could you handle this? I’m weirded out but it must be even worse for you.”
“I don’t know that it’s worse for me than for you, but I’m struggling. My dad has been a rock. We always knew that I was someone else’s son, just not that it was August. So Dad and I have a solid relationship.”
He looked at the other man. Nick was taller than Logan and had dark hair where Logan was blond. He searched Nick’s face trying to see something that would confirm they were twins, but there weren’t really any physical signs. “That sounds nice. Normally, Dad and I are solid, but this whole thing with my mom...it’s just pushed me over the edge. I said some shitty things to Quinn this morning. Like, even bad for me, and I know I should apologize but I can’t figure out if that would be better for her.”
Nick put his hand on Logan’s shoulder and Logan looked at the other man, who had always been his enemy but somehow no longer was. “I’ve been screwing up left and right with Adler this entire weekend, but I do know that I will do anything to keep her by my side. There’s not another woman in the world who I’d do that for. If you feel even close to that for Quinn, don’t let her go.”
Logan nodded. “Yeah, thanks. Aren’t you afraid that what you feel for Adler is a liability? That she’ll cause you to lose your edge?”
Nick stopped walking and put his hands on his hips as he turned to look at the ocean. “Without her I’d still be working sixteen-hour days and not have much of a life. Williams, Inc., is more profitable than it ever has been before and I have to say I think me being in a good place with Adler has a lot to do with it. Even your little stunt outmaneuvering me with the patent isn’t going to really be a bad hit,” Nick said with a wink before he turned and walked back toward his brothers. “I finally realized that there is more to living than work.”
“Like what?”
“Having someone to share it all with.”
Logan watched the other man—his twin—leave and thought about all he’d said. Quinn had always made him want to be a better man but there was a part of him that had resisted. Afraid to give up any of the things he’d believed made him who he was. But now that he was back to square one, why not remake himself as a better man? One who wanted Quinn by his side and could be the man she needed by hers.
“Make sure that we have cameras at the front of the church and that they are focused on the bride. I’ll use some of the drone footage for the guests and their reactions,” Quinn said. “I know that everyone is tired. It’s been a long day already and it’s not even lunchtime. But we need to get this right.”
“We will,” her assistant said. “I’ve given the crew a forty-minute lunch break. The bride asked if you would join her and the bridesmaids off camera. She’s in the suite still. The moms are...totally awkward. It’s all frozen smiles and tension. But I think we can work around it. I’d hate to be the photographer for this gig.”
“Me too,” Quinn said. She bet it was awkward between Juliette and Cora. Both of them hadn’t spoken since that day in the hospital when they’d made their deal and swapped babies.
She left the command center where her team was headquartered knowing Tillie had everything under control and went to find Adler. After their talk this morning, she was still ticked at Logan, but she’d pushed him to the back of her mind. He was in full-on corporate-jerk mode to her way of thinking. Knowing him, he wouldn’t be at the wedding. In fact, she wouldn’t be surprised if he had left Nantucket.
Her phone was quiet for once, which was a blessing, and she skimmed her social media feed as she walked to the elevator. She heard a familiar voice and glanced up to see Nick and Logan chatting with the other Bisset brothers. She took a moment, shaking her head. She would never have thought Logan could be civil to Nick. A lot had changed. But not enough.
She turned sharply into one of the staff hallways to avoid dealing with him.
Her heart hurt when she heard his voice, and she’d never been that good at hiding her feelings. In fact, the last time they’d broken up, she’d gone away for weeks to find herself again.
This shouldn’t feel as intense as it did. It made her mad that she’d taken a chance on Logan and he’d been just...what? She really couldn’t justify being mad at him for his actions. He’d never promised her anything. Never made it seem like he was hooking up with her to start a relationship.
It wasn’t his fault that she’d fallen in love with him.
It was her own.
She should have known better than to think she could toy with Logan and not fall for him. But she hadn’t. Also, he’d needed her. No matter what he might have said this morning, he’d needed her last night, and that had been the one thing that had driven her into his arms and lowered her guard.
Quinn took a deep breath. She wanted to believe she could be cool and that when she saw him again it wouldn’t hurt. But love didn’t work like that. And she was honest with herself, acknowledging she was always going to care for him no matter how he felt for her.
