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So, when I walk into the city admin office and I’m greeted by stale air conditioning and fluorescent lighting, I suck it up. The old flat gray-brown carpeting does not bother me. Standing in line for twenty minutes will not get on my nerves. I will not think of the half dozen ways I could improve the flow of customers, and I will simply accept that waiting my turn is good for me. It builds character. Thinking of what might have been is a pointless exercise, and accepting things as they come is the mature thing to do.
“MacMillan.”
I blink, thinking the man at the counter has called me forward in line, but the voice came from behind me. But when I turn, my spine stiffens. I snipe, “Cargill.”
It’s Sawyer Cargill, the oldest of the sons in my generation. He is taller than me, but I have more muscle. Like most of the Cargill sons, he has dark hair and blue eyes some might mistake for handsome, but all I see in them is arrogance. He’s good-looking and carries himself well. The best part of seeing him is seeing me appears to have ruined his mood.
Mine was already ruined.
He’s behind me in line, where he belongs. “What a pity your tailor has gone near-sighted.”
“I should have known it was you behind me. I thought I smelled failure.”
He chuckles. “I hear you’re building a cute little motel in the sticks.”
I snort a laugh. “Is that the best you’ve got?”
“Hardly, but I thought I’d try being vaguely civil for once. Given we are about to be brothers-in-law, I thought I should make the effort. But I don’t think it’s going to take.”
“Neither do I.” I shrug and turn back around. “And our cute little motel, as you call it, is going to shut your charming boutique yacht club down, so I’ll be sure to send a formal apology to keep the peace between our families.”
“Charming and boutique? What a delightfully spiteful way to call us small.”
“Yes, well, I tried that vaguely civil thing, and I don’t see that working out for me, either.”
“Astounding,” he says sarcastically. “And how, pray tell, would you shut us down? No yachts on land, Beau.”
“Come now. You don’t think yachts will be enough to keep you in business, do you?”
“We’ve been in business for three generations. If you think we’d be dumb enough to rely on a single stream of income, then you have another think coming.”
Rolling my eyes, I count the people ahead of me in line. Five to go. This is taking too long. They could open a second window and have this line humming.
“A pity they don’t have another window open,” Sawyer grouses. “Then I wouldn’t have to be stuck here.”
I will not point out I was just thinking the same thing as him. In fact, “What’s the matter, Sawyer? Too good to wait in line? You Cargills really are all alike, aren’t you?”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Parker thinks he’s too good to give my sister a normal life. You think you’re too good to wait in line—"
“Waiting in line is just fine by me, but I do not savor the thought of spending another minute withyou.” He pauses. “And Parkeristoo good for a normal life. Hopefully Maya can accept that, and they can build a happy life together.”
“She deserves a man who will dote on her and take care of her and build a real life. Something with roots and stability. Not a sail and going wherever the wind takes them.”
Sawyer’s jaw tenses. “They are sailing around the world together. Before the wedding, she will know precisely what it means to be married to Parker. She can make her own choices.” He is right, but I don’t have to admit it.
Why is the guy at the front taking so long?
“Or are you Chief Operating Officer of your family, as well as your corporation? Are you the one making Maya’s choices for her?”
I laugh. “There is no one in Maya’s life who makes her choices except for her. I hope Parker can deal with that.”
“He’s the same way,” he says. “Always been hardheaded. And a little different from the rest of us.”
I nod. “Maya, too.”
“Perhaps they are a good match. Unlike the rest of us.”
