The Best Man's Proposal (The Hamilton Sisters)

by Wynter Daniels

  Niki shook hands with the redheaded woman. “Nice to meet you. What was your name?”

  “Sandi Benson. I read about that party in the style section of the newspaper yesterday. Good work.” She hooked Niki’s arm and led her away from Tristan, toward the bar area. “You’re going to London with Tristan, hmm? When are you leaving?”

  “Three weeks.” The prospect of which wasn’t half as thrilling as it had been a month earlier.

  “If you girls will excuse me,” Tristan said, “I have an appointment with my acupuncturist in half an hour.”

  “We’re women, not girls.” Sandi waved him away as she might a pesky fly. Then she motioned Niki toward the office. “Would you go over the budget for that party with me later on? Tristan showed it to me yesterday while you were off. I figured he had to be wrong. There was no way you could have pulled off an event like what I read about on such a shoestring.”

  Niki checked to make sure Tristan was out of earshot. “It wasn’t easy, believe me, but I’ve been doing that sort of thing for years. I planned my sister’s wedding on a tight budget, too. It’s how I roll.”

  Sandi held her fist to her chin. “The school of life, huh? Tristan said you majored in international business, though.” Sandi reached over to grab two bottles of Tristan’s coveted premium spring water sitting on a nearby table and handed one to Niki. “Where’d you learn how to do event planning?”

  Niki took a sip. Tasted the same as the stuff that Grant had poured through the filtered pitcher he kept in his fridge. “I grew up poor. You learn to make the most of next-to-nothing.”

  Sandi smoothed back her short hair and smiled. “I like you, Niki Hamilton. We’re going to get along great. Too bad you’re leaving so soon. I’m hiring assistant managers for both locations who can run things while I’m away. I never had an assistant at the New York club, but since I’ll be splitting my time now between Miami and New York, I’ll need them here and there. I guess I can’t convince you to stay on here when Tristan’s offering you Europe.”

  “It’s been my dream for as far back as I can remember.”

  Sandi nodded as she headed in the direction in which Tristan had disappeared. “I get that. Miami’s a far cry from London.”

  The next few days flew by as Niki worked side by side with Sandi, setting up special events, booking parties, and ordering supplies as Tristan made arrangements for their impending departure.

  Only Niki’s nights were long as she thought about Grant, wondered what he was doing, what movie he might be watching. God, she missed him.

  As she packed her clothes in anticipation for her move to London, she wondered why she wasn’t more excited…or excited at all. On her day off, Amy and Lucy helped her box some items to send to England.

  “Carnaby Street is the place to shop in London,” Amy said. “At least it was when my folks went to the UK on their honeymoon thirty years ago.”

  Lucy rolled a pair of leggings and placed them in a box. “You’ll definitely need some warmer clothes.”

  “Hmm. Probably.” Amy sat on the edge of Aunt Bev’s bed.

  “For a woman who’s moving to her dream city soon, you sure don’t seem very excited.” Lucy rubbed Niki’s arm. “What’s wrong, kiddo?”

  Niki pasted on a smile. “Nothing. Everything’s great.”

  Amy frowned at her. “We know you better than that. What gives?”

  She faked a yawn. “I’ve been working hard at the club. Would you guys mind if we called it a night?”

  Lucy narrowed her eyes at her. “I don’t believe you, but I’ll respect your wishes.”

  As soon as they left, Niki picked up her phone and started to call Grant, but what would she say? Don’t go? I’ll miss you?

  She was leaving, too. She hung up and sighed.

  So what that she hadn’t had a good night’s sleep since she’d moved out of his house. Staying at her eighty-five-year-old aunt’s condo made sense as a temporary crash pad, since Aunt Bev was still in a rehab facility after her heart surgery. Not that it was perfect, though. The bed was hard as a slab of granite, and she could hear old people groaning and the hum of electric chair lifts in the adjacent units half the night.

  She was exhausted when she got to Heatwave the next day. One of the bartenders tipped his chin toward the office. “Sandi’s looking for you.”

  When she found the new boss, Sandi ushered her into the office and shut the door. Folding her arms over her chest, the redhead paced the small room. “I know we’ve only been working together a couple of weeks, but I’ve got a good feeling about you.”

  Niki took a seat, wondering where Sandi was going with her speech. God, it was nice to get compliments at work rather than Tristan’s hodge-podge hit parade of guessing games, insults, and threats. “I like working with you, too.”

  Sandi picked up a spreadsheet and tapped a circled number. “Is this really what my cousin’s paying you?”

  “Your cousin?”

  Sandi rolled her eyes. “Unfortunately, yes. Tristan’s father and my mother are siblings.” She pointed her pencil at the spreadsheet again.

  Niki looked at the figure and nodded. She’d been wondering how on earth someone as great as Sandi would end up financially partnered with a drip like Tristan. The fact that they were family made sense. Plus, he did have good instincts about business—and hiring people, if she did say so herself.

  “You know how much more you’re worth?” Sandi continued. “If you were a man, he’d be paying you double that.”

  Was this a practical joke? Niki glanced around the room, wondering if Tristan was hiding in a closet. Nope, there were no closets, no dark corners, no place to hide. “Yeah?”

  “I sure hope he’s giving you a hell of a pay bump when he moves you to London, because that’s one of the most expensive cities in the world.”

  Niki gulped. “It is?” Tristan hadn’t mentioned a word about a raise. He said he’d put her up in his guest room for the first three months. How would she get by after that?

  Sandi leaned against the desk. “I have a proposition for you. If you’ll consider staying on and working here, I’ll double your salary.”

  “D-double?” She held her breath, completely speechless. Did Tristan know about this? If not, would he agree to it? “But it’s still Tristan’s club, right?”

  “Yes and no. We own equal shares in Heatwave, since we started the New York and Miami clubs together. Tristan will now be running the London club and any other European expansions while I take over the two US clubs. I have free rein to hire who I want, and that would include you. He’s a smart businessman, and if I think you’re needed more here, and you want to stay, he’ll be okay with it. Trust me on that, Niki. It’s okay if you want to think about it, but obviously you don’t want to wait long before giving me an answer.”

  Niki nodded mutely.

  “Don’t mention anything to Tristan. Leave that part to me.” Sandi gave her a reassuring wink. “Take the rest of today off; think about it. Give me your answer by tomorrow.”

  So Tristan didn’t know. What if he didn’t approve? A chill rolled over her skin. He’d been known to fire people who overstepped or didn’t play his game, although the fact that Sandi was part owner and related to him meant it was a different ballgame for her than for the rest of the staff. It also probably meant some positive changes for Heatwave.

  Niki left the club. She sat behind the wheel of her car for several minutes, trying to make a pros and cons list. She wasn’t much of a list maker, but she knew someone who’d decided his fate based on one. Instead of going home, she headed to Dex’s office.

  After fifteen minutes with her brother-in-law, she’d ensconced herself at the large dry erase board in the corner of his large office, marker in hand, following through with the written list he’d suggested she make after they’d talked through her issues for a bit. And she had a couple of reasons in the plus column to stay in Miami—higher salary and better boss. The cons were no European tr
avel and remaining in Lucy’s shadow, which just didn’t seem like that big of a deal anymore now that she was finding her footing in the working world. Going to London had a big plus—the fact that it was London. But the con was also big—creepy boss, as well as a questionable salary that might put her below the poverty level in that pricey city. She wasn’t sure she could afford to live in a cardboard box in Hyde Park on what Tristan would likely pay her.

  She glanced over her shoulder at Dex and found him busily working on his computer. If this was going to help her, she had to be honest. Dex wasn’t paying attention anyway. She uncapped the dry erase marker he’d loaned her and in the cons column she added “HEARTBREAK” in all caps.

  “What’s that all about?” Dex asked. What the heck? He wasn’t even looking up.

  She gulped. “Oh, nothing.” Dex and Lucy were so overprotective. They didn’t need to know anything that had happened between her and Grant, especially considering how close Grant was with Dex. She grabbed the eraser and wiped off the word, but it didn’t go away completely. Just as the pain never went away completely.

  …

  Grant parked his truck in the driveway of his parents’ house then checked the time on his phone. The drive from his new job had taken him almost an hour. He’d been so spoiled in Miami to only have to travel twenty minutes to the firehouse.

  He scrolled to a photo of Niki. A short commute to work wasn’t the only thing he missed. Shoving his cell into his pocket, he grabbed his bag and got out of the truck.

  Raised voices drew his attention to the porch. He strode over and stopped a few yards away to listen.

  “I don’t want to spend another damn winter here,” his grandmother said.

  Where would she spend the season if not in the house where she’d lived for the past six decades? Grant glanced through the screen at his grandparents.

  His grandfather stood over her and poked a finger at her. “We can’t just up and move away from the kids and grandkids. It ain’t fair. I told Doris on her wedding day that she could live here for the rest of her life. How am I supposed to break that promise?”

  “For heavens’ sake. She’ll understand.” Not a lock of his grandmother’s silver hair was out of place. She folded her arms hard against her chest, causing the ever-present sweater over her shoulders to slip a little.

  His grandfather glanced at Grant. “Damn it, boy. You eavesdropping again?”

  Grant strode toward the porch. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to.”

  “Aw, like hell. You do it all the time.”

  He held back a chuckle. “Everything okay, Grandma?”

  She sighed. “Not really, only it doesn’t make any difference. I never get what I want anyway. I haven’t for fifty years.”

  His grandfather let out a groan. “That’s right, Irma. You’ve been miserable all these years.”

  Sniffling, she shook her head and pulled a handkerchief out of her sleeve and dabbed the corner of her eyes. “I didn’t say that.”

  The commotion brought Grant’s parents out to the porch.

  “What’s going on?” His mom gave Grant a worried stare.

  “Ask them,” Grant told her as he gestured toward his grandparents.

  “I miss my sister since she moved to Peekskill.” His grandmother furrowed her brow. “I’ve lived in this damn town my whole life. Can’t I spend my remaining few years looking at the Hudson River and getting to see Bernice every day?”

  “It’s only a two-hour drive. Why can’t we just visit more?” His grandpa folded his arms and turned his back to her.

  “Daddy, that’s not the same thing,” his mother said. “And it sounds like Mom doesn’t want to stay on the farm. Not that I can blame her. Now that we’re getting older, too, it’s hard.”

  Grant’s temples started aching. His father widened his eyes at him.

  His grandfather fisted his hands at his sides. “I promised Doris she could live here forever.”

  Grant’s mother held up her hands. “I want to say something that’s been on my mind. Pete and I have been talking about how much work this place has become. Everywhere you look something’s falling apart. I adored raising my boys on the farm. Time’s come to move on, though. Daddy, I love it here, but I don’t want to live the rest of my life here, either. I agree with Mom. Peekskill’s a great little town. Aunt Bernice and Uncle Joe got a terrific deal on their house, and Bernice said the train ride into Manhattan is only a little over an hour. She goes to Broadway plays once a month.”

  His grandmother nodded. “We could get a lovely Victorian house near Bernice’s or one of those newer ranch-style homes. Plus we wouldn’t have to drive so far to get to doctors like we do here.”

  “There’s an artists’ community where I can take classes,” his mother chimed in.

  His dad scratched his head. “You want to move there, too, Doris? What about the farm?”

  Yeah, what about the farm?

  “We’ll sell it,” his mother said, and his grandmother nodded her agreement.

  Did they realize that he’d uprooted his life to come back here to take care of the farm? The house where he’d grown up? “Hang on a second. Maybe I don’t want to let go of the farm. Don’t I get a say in any of this?”

  “No,” they all said at once.

  “Listen, kiddo,” his grandmother said. “You’re young. The world is your oyster. If you want this place, you can buy it yourself. We’ll sell it to you for a song.”

  Setting his hands on his waist, he mentally calculated how he could do that. He had his half of the proceeds from the Miami house. “I might just do that. I’ve got a lot of memories here.”

  His grandpa shook his head. “This is a farmhouse that needs a family to live in it, a family with generations to care for it and love it and tend to it, not one man to handle everything. The rest of us have grown too old for all that. And that pretty girl he insists is just his friend means an awful lot to him. Mark my words. The only way Grant will live here is if she does, too.”

  The mention of Niki brought with it a fresh crop of pain. “She’s leaving for England, Grandpa, so that’s a moot point.”

  “I don’t give a damn if she’s going to Timbuktu. I’d have chased your grandma to the ends of the earth.” He took his wife’s hand. “And if she really wants to move to Peekskill, that’s where I’ll be going, too.”

  His grandpa was right, except it was too late for him and Niki. That ship had sailed, or flown, as it were. They’d both agreed it was for the best.

  Hadn’t they?

  But the farm wasn’t much of a home if he was there all alone. If most of his family wanted to move two hours away… Still, he couldn’t bear to think of losing the place he’d always loved. He wondered if his brother and Amber would consider going in with him to buy the place. The house was large enough that they could have privacy. And Ben was handy and not afraid of hard work. Amber knew her way around a toolbox as well. “Don’t call any real estate agents just yet.”

  “We’ll discuss it over dinner,” his father said. “All this talk of moving is making me hungry.”

  “Ben and Amber are coming for dinner tonight, so have a snack in the meantime.” His mother shook her head then went inside.

  Perfect timing. He’d have a conversation with Ben and Amber to see if they could go in with him on the down payment to buy the farm.

  Yet he couldn’t muster much excitement about anything since Niki was absent from his life. Maybe someday, but not anytime soon.

  …

  “You’ve been a big help, Dex.” Niki gave her brother-in-law a hug then took a final look at the white board where he’d helped her make a list of pros and cons.

  He walked with her out of his private office and into the waiting room where his administrative assistant gave them a cursory glance.

  “It’s always helped me to see things laid out in black and white, side by side,” Dex said. “Sometimes we have ideas in our head that aren’t necessarily valid. Seein
g it drawn out can make reasons more clear, help us find our truths.”

  Niki nodded. He’d helped her flesh out some of those truths. Like the fact that she wasn’t ready or willing to just walk away from what she and Grant could have together. She had to give it another shot. And the fact that Lucy didn’t overshadow her; she merely inspired Niki. Plus, when the chips were down and Aunt Bev got sick, she was so glad that she’d been close by. If her aunt had gotten ill and Niki had been overseas, what would she have done? Living in Europe sounded amazing, but it wasn’t realistic when she had family she loved in the US. There was nothing stopping her from visiting all of those European cities she’d always wanted to see, though.

  Instead of going home, she returned to the club in hopes of finding Tristan there. She had to iron things out with him. Thankfully, she found him in the office, cleaning out his files.

  “Shouldn’t you be home packing?” he asked her.

  “That’s what I wanted to discuss with you.” She sat on the edge of the chair, her heart racing.

  “Anything over one suitcase, you’ll have to pay for.”

  She sat taller. “I’m curious about my living arrangements in London.”

  “I told you, I have a lovely guest room. After a few months, either we’ll find you your own place or…” his voice trailed off and he smirked.

  She shook her head. “Or what, Tristan?”

  “Oh, come on. Who knows what could happen between two consenting adults.” He huffed. “Fine. After that time, we’ll find you your own place.”

  Boy, had her creepy boss description in the cons column been accurate. “You know, I’ve decided I won’t be going to London with you, after all.”

  “What?” Bolting out of his chair, he slammed the door shut and stood hulking over her. “Are you crazy? I’m offering you the opportunity of a lifetime.”

  Drawing a slow breath, she channeled Lucy’s confidence. “I so appreciate the opportunity, Tristan. But honestly, I’m uncomfortable working with you after the advances you’ve made toward me a couple weeks ago and today. I think it’s best that our working relationship…be not quite as close.”