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“Good,” Aspen said. “Because while I had four of your very intimidating best friends grill me that first week, that'll be nothing compared to what Brecken will bring to the table tonight.”
I smiled down at her, finally moving away from more complicated thoughts. I bent down and stole a kiss before pulling back as the doors opened and we entered my apartment.
“You know I'm always up for a challenge.”
“Howdoesone make the jump from hockey team coach to investing in developmental research in the energy sector?”
I had just taken a sip of the iced tea I’d ordered, and nearly spit it out at Brecken’s bold question. Our drinks had only just arrived, the three of us barely out of the introductory phase of this dinner.
“I'm the owner,” I casually corrected her. “Not the coach. And honestly, it's not that broad of a jump. I have investments in a variety of different commercial categories.”
“Yeah, I've read all about that,” she said, and my eyes flashed to Aspen for a silent vibe check.
Aspen was still smiling softly, sipping her drink, her eyes bouncing between her sister and me and back again. She was letting me choose how I responded to her little sister's questions, and not doing me the disservice of trying to explain my choices for me.
“What I'm trying to understand is thewhy?” Brecken continued.
“I was given an empire, and I wasn't going to let it die just because having it grow would be a lot of hard work. I'm always on the lookout for the next opportunity at growth, or expanding my wealth?—"
“Because being a billionaire isn't enough?”
“Brecken,” Aspen said, her tone chiding.
But I laughed, nodding respectfully toward her little sister where she sat across from me at the table. This kid had even more unapologetic confidence than her sister, if that was possible. And yeah, I knew she was nineteen and technically an adult, but to me she was just a kid. I admired her for her lack of sugarcoating. She had questions, and she wasn't beating around the bush before asking them.
“It's more than enough,” I answered. “But inheriting wealth doesn't mean you just sit there and live off of it for the rest of your life. Not for me anyway. My parents left behind a legacy, and I've committed my life to expanding it. The more I have, the more successful I am, the more I have to give.”
Brecken tilted her head, sizing me up from where she sat. Her long blonde hair was tied back in a braid, and I wondered if that was what color Aspen's hair would be if she didn't dye it.
The two looked a lot alike, but there was an even more identical look of shared love and protection between the two that I’m not sure they noticed.
“What charities do you give to?” Brecken asked, after we placed our orders with the server, and I couldn't help but notice that Aspen was practically chugging her drink at this point.
“My friends and I predominantly donate to Doctors Without Borders, but I also have a particular interest in hospitals and the services they provide,” I said. I could see the gears turning behind Brecken’s eyes as they softened just slightly with my answer.
She was hunting for another question, another bold ask in the hopes of tripping me up and revealing my true nature, no doubt. I couldn't blame her; I did the same thing to all of Bristol’s romantic interests back when she was single. Hell, I'd almost been the cause of ruining her now husband’s career back when I’d caught him kissing my then seventeen-year-old sister.
The years that had passed—and a hell of a lot of education from Bristol—had taught me that I might have overreacted by kicking him off of my team back then, and thankfully it all worked out for them in the end.
“How are you liking NYU?” I asked before she could come up with another question, genuinely interested in how she was getting along at the university.
“I love it,” she said the answer rolling off her tongue easily. “My courses are still introductory, but I'll be going into family law.”
“Brecken took on a double caseload this year,” Aspen said proudly. “She doesn't even make the extra coursework look challenging.”
Brecken waved her sister off, but there was a glimmer of happiness shining in her eyes. “I can never get enough,” she said. “Plus, I want to make sure to put as much coursework as I can into each semester so I can reach my goal as a family lawyer that much sooner.”
“That's no small major,” I said just as the server brought our food to the table. We all took a couple bites before I continued. “And you're still so early in your college career, what makes you so certain that's what you want to do?”
I opted to ask the questions that I would ask Bristol if it was her sitting across from me, hoping that it would help me prove to her that I had no bad intentions when it came to her family.
“I picked my major years ago,” Brecken said determinedly. “Watching your big sister struggle with the courts to gain custodial rights will do that to a girl.”
I flinched, grinding my teeth as I nodded. “I hate that you both had to struggle with the system for so long before finally being free of it. It's super admirable that that's the career choice you would go for, no doubt to help people who are in similar situations.”
Brecken smiled softly, nodding as if she'd made up her mind about me, but I couldn't tell if it was favorable or not yet. “That, and I've always been fascinated by the justice system,” she continued.
“And she's always been the top of her class in everything,” Aspen added. “School has always come naturally to her, which is why I wanted her to be able to go to her dream college when she got out of high school.”
