by Ivy Layne
“I don't know how to make it up to him,” I said. “To all of you. But I'm home now, and I'm not leaving again.”
“Not leaving would be a start,” Charlie agreed. “I'm just trying to say be patient with Aiden. He wants you here. And I know he wants you back at Winters Inc. He does. He just needs time.”
“We've got time. And I don't expect him to hand me one of the executive suites. I'm not looking for your old job. I'm not remotely qualified at the moment. I got a degree in economics while I was in the Army and I started my MBA, but then my schedule got… unreliable and I had to put the MBA on hold. I wasn't thinking about coming home back then, so it didn't seem like a big deal. I'm going to look into transferring into a program here, but I haven't walked through the doors of Winters Inc. in over a decade.”
I suddenly felt like I was in a job interview. Charlie studied me thoughtfully. For a minute, I thought she was going to turn me down.
I would've understood if she had. Aiden was pissed at me, and Charlie adored Aiden. She loved all of us, but Aiden had practically raised her. Then, surprising me, she leaned back in the armchair and grinned.
“Did anyone ever tell you why I left Winters Inc.?” she asked. I realized no one had.
“No. I guess I just assumed you were tired of the corporate life and wanted something new,” I said.
An explosive laugh burst from Charlie. She wrapped her arms around her stomach and bent forward, her shoulders shaking with the force of her mirth. When she had her breath back, she said, “Oh, hell no. I was working eighty hour weeks. I had zero life. A lot like Aiden, actually. He kept telling me to slow down, stop working so much. But there was so much to do, and I didn't want to leave him alone with the company.”
“I know, I'm sorry,” I started to say, guilt a heavy weight in my gut when Charlie laughed again and waved her hand in the air, dismissing my apology.
“Not the point,” she said. “So one day he calls me into his office, sits me down, and fires me. Fucking fires me. Complete with security escorting me from the fucking building.”
A giggle escaped, and Charlie wiped away a tear. I stared at her, dumbfounded.
“He can't fire you,” I protested. “You have an equal share of stock in the company. And you worked your ass off. You could've gone to the board and—”
“I know, but I wasn't going to go to war with Aiden over my job. The bitch of it was I never liked working for Winters Inc. I only did it because I thought I should, because I thought it was what Aiden wanted. And Aiden fired me because he thought it was what was best for me. Bossy asshole.”
“That was why you stole his whiskey,” I said, putting the pieces together. Charlie grinned again.
“So totally worth it,” she said. “And that was when I met Lucas, so it all worked out, but I haven't forgotten Aiden turning my life upside down because he thought he knew what was best for me. I owe him one.”
“So you'll help me?”
“I'll help you,” Charlie agreed.
“I know you're busy. With the wedding and everything, if you want to wait until after the holidays we can do that.” I didn't want to wait. I wanted to start taking my life back right away. To my relief, Charlie shook her head.
“A lot of what you have to do, you'll do on your own, anyway. Just off the top of my head, I can think of piles of research you need to get through. You can review what I give you and then we'll go over it together. By the time I'm done with you, Aiden won't be able to put you off anymore. He needs you back at the company, even if he doesn't want to admit it. This time, I know what’s good for him, and he's going to suck it up whether he likes it or not.”
I got up from the armchair. Charlie stood with me, and I pulled her into my arms, kissing the top of her head. “Thanks, sweetheart,” I said. Her arms wrapped around me and squeezed tight.
“We all missed you so much, Gage. I know things are crazy right now, with the weddings and the holidays and Aiden being an ass, but we're so glad you're home.”
“Me too,” I said, speaking the truest words that had ever passed between my lips. Not a day had gone by that I didn't miss my family, miss Winters House. Wrapping my arm around Charlie’s shoulder, I turned us to the door of the library. My stomach growled, and I hoped there was enough of whatever was on the tea tray Mrs. W had brought Sophie and Amelia to tide me over until lunch.
An idea occurred to me, a fucking brilliant idea, and I said, “Give me a job. Wedding stuff,” I clarified. “I'm not doing anything else right now, other than whatever homework you have for me, so let me help with the wedding.”
Charlie stopped dead in the doorway of the library and stared at me, her blue eyes wide, brimming with amusement and relief. “You want to help with the wedding? Even Lucas doesn't want to help with the wedding.”
“Doesn't Lucas have a new job? And you guys bought a new flip house? Sounds like he's got his hands full.”
Charlie slipped her arm through mine, and we started toward the living room again. “He does. He seriously does. And he's not a wedding stuff kinda guy. Not that you are either, but if you’re willing to help, I'll take it. The wedding planner squeezed us in last-minute after I begged and she doesn't have time to manage everything the way she normally does. I've got lists coming out my ears. I don't know why coordinating a renovation feels like fun, and throwing together a wedding is making me crazy, but it is. We probably should've waited, but we just wanted to be married.”
“Consider me at your disposal then,” I said, as we walked into the living room. Helping Charlie with her wedding would ease some of my guilt at asking her for her time when she was slammed with her own commitments.
That it would give me an excuse to be near Sophie was just a bonus.
Chapter Five
Gage
We strolled into the living room, arm in arm, to find a small plate of sandwiches and a fresh pot of hot water on the tea tray.
Amelia looked up to see us and her face brightened. “The battle-ax said you were coming to raid our tea tray.”
Charlie and I sat on the couch opposite the one where Sophie and Amelia had set up camp, the tea tray on a coffee table between us. The gas fireplace had warmed that end of the room with a cozy glow. Winters House was filled with light, even on a gray December day, but the heat of the fireplace was welcome.
I helped myself to one of the small sandwiches. Charlie fixed two cups of tea, one for her and one for me, saying to Sophie and Amelia, “Gage said he would help with the wedding stuff.”
“Did he?” Amelia asked, raising an eyebrow at me.
I grinned at her, but mostly I was trying not to stare at Sophie. She sat beside Amelia, her lap covered by a towel on top of which she had a stack of white netting, a pile of pink ribbons and a bowl of what looked like birdseed. She was filling the squares of netting with the birdseed and tying them into neat little bundles.
I had no clue what they were for, and I was pretty sure I didn't want to know. My plan was to do what I was told and take every opportunity to get closer to Sophie while I was at it.
I'd never seen her during the day. In her neatly-buttoned camp shirt, her silvery blonde hair pulled back into a tight braid, she shouldn't have looked tempting. I'll admit to the tiniest flash of disappointment that she wasn't wearing a nurse's uniform. Not that I really would've expected her to.
No one who worked in the house wore a uniform. Not these days. I had childhood memories of the head housekeeper in a starched black dress covered with a white apron, the day maids in similar outfits of gray and white, gardeners wearing dark green shirts and khaki pants. When my uncle Hugh had taken over the house, he cut back on the staff. I remembered him telling my dad that times had changed and a full staff no longer made sense.
So, no Sophie in a nurse's uniform. Probably for the best. I was having a hard enough time resisting her as it was, despite the bulky, shapeless robe she wore at night and the boxy, short-sleeve, button-down camp shirt she had on right now. As f
ar as I could tell, she wasn't wearing much makeup, if any. She didn't need it. Her green eyes were fringed with thick, pale lashes, her cheeks and lips a rosy pink.
I was staring at her lips when the sound of someone saying my name cut into my distraction. I blinked and looked up to see Amelia watching me with a knowing gaze.
To cover, I grabbed another small sandwich and said, “Yeah?”
“I asked you what you thought,” Amelia said, and I sensed a trap in her words.
Cautious, I said, “About what?”
“I want Charlie to set Sophie up,” Amelia said, her brown eyes sparkling with mischief. Normally, I found Amelia's antics entertaining, but just then I wanted to shake her and send her to her room.
Trying to act casual, I said, “Set her up with who?”
Charlie was watching me with curious eyes. Sophie's cheeks had flushed a deep pink, and her gaze was fixed on the ball of netting-wrapped birdseed in her lap.
“No one in particular,” Charlie said. “Sophie says she doesn't want me to set her up with anyone, and I think we should respect her wishes.” She sent Amelia a hard look we all knew Amelia would ignore.
Proving us right, Amelia said, “Sophie's been moldering around this old heap long enough with only an old lady and Aiden for company. She's been a widow for two years. If she doesn't get back out there, she'll end up all alone.”
I noticed that Sophie had no trouble standing up to Amelia on the subject of cookies, but was oddly silent as Amelia tried to organize her life.
Charlie cut in with, “When Sophie decides she wants to date, if she wants me to fix her up, I will.” Slanting Sophie a grin she said, “Lucas has some definite prospects on his new team. Smart and hot. Really, when you decide you want to date, you let me know.”
Sophie's cheeks just flamed hotter. She retied the same bow for the third time, her fingers shaking a little. As Amelia urged Charlie to call Lucas now, I leaned forward and said to Sophie, “Do you want them to leave you alone?”
I wasn't prepared for the sheer relief that washed through me at Sophie's quick nod. My gut had twisted into a tight knot at the idea of Charlie setting Sophie up with one of Lucas’s hacker commandos.
I knew who Lucas was, and I knew the type he'd have on his team. Charlie wasn't far off. They'd be smart as hell and in killer shape. I didn't want a single one of them anywhere near Sophie.
Sophie was mine. And no one, not even me, was going to push her into anything she wasn't ready for.
Sitting back, I waited for Amelia and Charlie to stop bickering before I cut in and said, “Drop it.”
Charlie immediately turned her attention to the tote bag of wedding stuff at her side. Amelia glared at me mutinously. “It's none of your business,” she said.
“It's none of yours either,” I shot back. “Meddle with someone else's life. You've got a whole family here to irritate. Leave Sophie alone.”
“Fine,” Amelia conceded. Looking at Sophie, she said, “I just don't want you to be lonely. You're stuck with me all the time, and you never go out.”
The blush in her cheeks had faded some when Sophie looked up at Amelia and said, “I'm not lonely. This is the least lonely I've been in years. I promise. And I like being stuck with you all the time. Being with you is fun, even when I'm worried you're going to get me fired with one of your pranks.”
At that, Charlie laughed. “Amelia's pranks aren't going to get you fired, Sophie. We might kick her out, but we'll keep you.”
Amelia harrumphed. “And that's why you're my second favorite great-niece.”
“I'm your favorite, and you know it,” Charlie said, unfolding a binder on her lap and scanning down a list. “At least until Annalise comes home, then you'll love best whichever one of us is causing the most trouble.”
“You’re both my favorite great-nieces,” Amelia said with an affectionate smile at Charlie.
“We’re your only great-nieces,” Charlie interrupted, wryly.
“But after stealing Aiden’s whiskey, you’re my favorite. For now,” Amelia finished.
Charlie cleared her throat and started going through her wedding list. I tried to focus on what needed to be done, but my eyes kept wandering to the curve of Sophie’s lower lip, wondering what she would taste like and if she’d let me kiss her.
By the time Charlie was done with the wedding meeting, I had a to-do list and a hard on.
I managed to escape the living room while the three women talked about Charlie’s dress, saying something about running errands. I loved Charlie, but I didn’t care about her wedding dress, and I had to get moving. I needed a phone, computer, tablet, and a new wardrobe. It was a lot to tackle in one day, but I wasn’t a fan of shopping. Better to knock it all out at once.
Before I left, I made a few of the phone calls on Charlie's list and set up meetings with a photographer and two musicians. Charlie had narrowed down the choices and said she trusted me to make the final decisions. After that, it was quick work to get the electronics I needed, and much longer to restock my wardrobe. I was having enough trouble convincing Aiden to let me through the doors of Winters, Inc. A closet full of cargo pants and faded t-shirts would not help my case.
My brother Vance had directed me to a store in Buckhead that didn't exist when I last lived in Atlanta. They carried everything from jeans to the highest quality suits, did custom tailoring on-site, and were happy to serve me a beer while a helpful sales assistant showed me my options.
Not long after I’d been handed my beer, Vance showed up, strolling in with his blonde hair tied back with a twist of metal he’d probably picked up from the floor of his studio. As always, Vance drew the eye. Female—and a few male—heads turned as he tracked me down in the back of the store. He threw himself into the arm chair next to mine, sent the saleswoman a wink when she offered him a beer, and said, “So, how weird is it to be home?”
I shook my head in response. Weird didn't begin to cover it. I wasn't going to try to explain, sitting in public, so I just said, “It's going to take a while to settle in.”
“Doesn't help with all this crazy shit going on,” Vance said. “Why Tate and Charlie decided to get married in the same week is beyond me.”
“I got the feeling the rush to the altar wasn't so much Charlie as Lucas,” I said. Not that Charlie was resisting. She was head over heels for Lucas Jackson. I'd only met him once, the night I got home, but from the way he looked at her, I’d say he was just as crazy about Charlie.
“He waited six months to put a ring on her finger,” Vance grumbled, “but as soon as she said yes, BOOM—wedding.”
“It's not like you waited much longer to marry Maggie,” I said.
Vance's blue eyes warmed, and a secret smile played across his mouth. “I had to lock that woman down before she got a better offer,” he said.
“Yeah, more likely you wanted to marry her before you had a chance to fuck it up again.”
“That too,” Vance agreed, easily. “You doing anything after this?”
“No plans, why?”
“Come over for lunch,” Vance said. “I told Maggie I'd pick something up. Ella—she helps us with Rosie—is working all day today and she's taking Rosie to the park, so we can have an actual uninterrupted adult meal.” Vance gave me a sidelong look. “You're probably used to those.”
I thought about the last six months, spent mostly locked in a tiny cage with a dirt floor. Uninterrupted, yes. Meals, not as many as I was used to. My captors had been a lot better with the torture than they had been about feeding me.
I didn't say anything about that to Vance. This wasn't the place, and I wasn't sure I wanted to talk about it with my little brother anyway. I didn't want to talk about it with anyone. Instead, I said, “Lunch would be great.”
Vance stuck around until I was done, offering his opinion when he thought it was needed. It would have annoyed me, but Vance always had better taste in clothes than I did, especially after I'd spent more than a decade in some form
of uniform.
I loaded the back of the car I’d borrowed from Aiden with my purchases and followed Vance to the restaurant where he picked up his take-out order, then on to the home he shared with Maggie in Buckhead, not far from Winters House.
Magnolia Henry had inherited the Henry family house from her grandmother, and it looked like she'd taken good care of it. It was smaller in scale than Winters House. Most homes were, even in Buckhead.
The white house sat in the center of several sprawling acres, and despite the gray winter skies, it looked warm and welcoming. Vance led me in the front door, pausing to kick off his shoes and nudge a brightly colored plastic train out of the way before leading me back to the kitchen.
Chapter Six
Gage
Maggie emerged from the hallway at the front of the house. I didn't know her well. I knew of her, but she was younger than me and had gone to school in England, her path not crossing with the Winters family until Vance had hired her a few years before.
If you'd asked me what kind of woman Vance would marry, I never would've picked Maggie. Before her, Vance went for easy and flashy. In all things. His life had been about partying, working, and fucking, in that order. He’d had a drinking problem, one we’d been at a loss to deal with until he dragged himself to rehab and turned his life around.
Lucky he had, because, a year after he got sober, the infant daughter he didn't know he'd fathered was dropped on his doorstep. If you'd told me that was coming, I would have sworn Vance wasn't father material, but he fell in love with his daughter at first sight. He'd confessed on one of my short visits home that he'd been after Maggie for years, but it took the combination of sobriety and baby Rosalie to turn her head in his direction.
Maggie wasn't flashy, and she definitely wasn't a party girl. She was smart, with a warm, open heart and the kind of timeless beauty that said she would be just as gorgeous at seventy as she was in her twenties.
