AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Watching my favorite TV show. And I'm also trying to order a gift for Mom’s birthday, something that will be delivered to Stockholm and not cost an arm and a leg."
"When is her birthday?" he asked.
"Next week. My brothers and I decided to surprise her with a tent. My parents like to go camping. We used to camp a lot as kids too. How about you?"
Wow. I had no idea why I'd just told him all that.
"We never did that. Although, my half brothers did mention once that Dad took them camping."
His voice was a bit tight. Crap, how had I stumbled straight into an obviously bad memory for him?
"Do you get along with your half brothers?" I asked.
"I'm trying to," he said. "I'm not doing a very good job."
"Are they in Boston?"
"Yes. They grew up in Maine, but after they finished college, my grandparents asked if they wanted to move here. They manage some of the branches of Whitley Industries."
"So each of your brothers and half brothers is running a branch of Whitley Industries?"
"Yes. Jake runs Whitley Advertising. Cade, the coffee branch. Spencer, the publishing one. And Gabe covers the distillery, which he expanded by leaps and bounds. And of my half brothers, Nick is running a very successful fitness and sports chain. Maddox designs office spaces. And Leo runs a security company. But I’m not very close to them."
There was a lot of respect in his voice when he spoke about his half brothers’ accomplishments.
"Do youwantto be closer to them?" I asked.
He seemed to hesitate again. "I think it's unfair for me to hold resentment toward them. After all, it wasn't their fault any more than it was ours. My other brothers, especially Gabe, but also Cade and Spencer, have a much closer relationship with them. It's just me and Jake who have had a harder time, but Jake is coming around. They're good people, and that's all that matters. It's important to my grandparents that we all get along."
I thought it was very endearing that this grump who was used to running everything with an iron fist and everyone bending to his will was so hell-bent on pleasing his grandparents.
"I think your grandparents are very blessed with all of you," I said.
"Grandmother likes you. And she is very rarely wrong about people."
"I see. So that's why you're warming up to me?"
He let out a growl. I laughed.
"All right, I need to get back to my show," I told him. "It’s gotten to a really good part.”
“Am I distracting you?”
“Yes, you are.”
"I wanted to hear your voice," he said. "Make sure we're on the same page."
My heart rate accelerated, but I decided to play it cool. "About what?"
He hesitated before murmuring, "Everything."
Oh dear God.That one word was so loaded.
“We are,” I said even though I wasn’t exactly sure what I meant. When he didn’t reply, I said, “Good night, Colton.”
“Enjoy the show.”
I sighed as I disconnected the call. Then I noticed a message.
