Page 54 of Conflagration
“Hey, baby. I’ll be in the office getting work done. If I lose track of time, just knock and let me know when it’s time to go.”
She smiles up at me, nodding.
Just as I’m about to close the door behind me, I turn back to her. “Hey, how about we get out of the house tonight?”
“That sounds nice, Branson,” she tells me.
Once I’ve closed myself off in my office, I spend the next few hours catching up on work. Even though she’s right on the other side of the door, just knowing she’s there is enough to keep me focused at the tasks at hand, working efficiently and meticulously. Because the minute it’s time to hang up work for the day, I plan on doing just that—not let myself think about work until I step foot into my office the next morning.
She pokes her head in the door at three, letting me know that it’s time to leave for my physical therapy appointment. As I save my work and shut down my computer, a sense of fulfillment washes over me and I know this is what I’ve been missing. All this time, I thought I only needed my work to satisfy me, but in reality, I’ve been using it as a means to not get close to anyone. Now that Ariana is here, I’m learning that there’s more to life than just becoming the next head of Wellington Enterprises.
For the first time in my adult life, I have everything I’ve ever wanted right here. And it feels pretty damn good.
“STOP PACING, Knox,” I say, watching my brother walk back and forth in the back room of the Methodist church we grew up in. “Why the hell are you so nervous? It’s not like Charlie’s going to stand you up at the altar.”
He stops and glares at me, causing Jace, his best friend and other groomsman, and Cohen to laugh. “I’m not nervous, asshole, and I’m not a fucking idiot. Of course Charlie’s not going to stand me up. She knows I’d hunt her down and spank the shit out of her if she tried doing that.”
The room falls silent as Cohen, Jace, and I glance around at each other.
Dad clears his throat, and Knox looks over at him. “Umm, son, what do you kids call it? TMI?”
“Yeah, Knox. The rest of us don’t need to know the kinky side of your relationship. I mean, after all, she’s going to be my sister-in-law, and the last thing I need to be thinking about when she’s walking down the aisle is you spanking her,” Cohen teases, causing Knox to growl and step towards him. Not threatened at all, Cohen just laughs.
Stepping in between them, I turn to Knox. “Okay, if you aren’t nervous, then why are you pacing?”
He groans, pulling a piece of paper out of his pocket. “Charlie insisted we write our own vows and I still don’t have mine memorized. And it’s all his fucking fault,” he says, pointing at Jace, who holds his hands up in surrender
“Hey, don’t blame me just because she was inspired by my poetic words when you brought her to my wedding,” he teases.
Patting Knox on the shoulder, I give him an encouraging squeeze. “Dude, chill. Charlie loves you. You could get up there and say anything and she’d still marry you. Calm the hell down.”
He nods, his jaw still tense. “Thanks, man.”
The door opens and the pastor sticks his head in. “It’s showtime, guys,” he informs us, leaving quickly as he came.
Knox lets out a deep breath, and I place my hands on his shoulders.
“You ready for this?”
He fold the piece of paper and sticks it back in the pocket of his dress greens. “Fuck yeah, I’m ready,” he says with renewed confidence. “And, Branson? I’m glad you’re here.”
“Me too, kid. Me too.”
He looks at me, cocking an eyebrow. “You do realize I’m thirty. I haven’t been a kid for a long damn time. Cohen’s the baby of the family,” he says just as Cohen walks up to us.
Placing an arm around each of my brothers’ shoulders, I grin back and forth at them. “True, but that’s the beauty of being the oldest. Both you and Cohen will always be my kid brothers. And I love you assholes.”
Cohen looks at me like I’ve lost my mind.
But Knox gives me a head nod then pushes the side of Cohen’s head. “I love you shitheads too.”
“So I’m an asshole and a shithead, yet I’m supposed be feeling the love?” Cohen asks, pushing away from me.
I drop my arms, and Knox grabs Cohen and pulls him into a headlock, threatening to fuck with his hair.
“You love us, Coh. Admit it.”
I’m laughing my ass off when Mom walks in, gasping when she sees her sons. “Knox Nathaniel, unhand your brother this instant!”
