Page 50 of Midnight Confessions

I clear my throat, snapping myself the fuck out of it, and take a deep breath. Maybe more oxygen to the brain will help this damn ailment I’ve come down with.

I smile curtly at Winter and separate our gaze.

She was right, it’s clear a little space is in order. Messing around with her, laughing with her, getting through this bullshit wedding crap by fucking her andonlyfucking her are all one thing. But coming down with feelings is another.

Fuckthat.

* * *

Winter,Dottie, and Keith sit on the terrace laughing, drinking wine, and talking for the past hour while we wait for Preston and Sondra to arrive. I made it a point to say hello to everyone, but I’ve spent most of the evening sending out emails, making a few phone calls, and attending the conference call I had originally canceled.

Getting lost in my work is exactly what I need to distract me from the Winter storm I’ve been getting swept up in.

My phone vibrates, so I pull it from my pocket and see that Hayden is calling.

Fucking clear.

Immature, I’ll admit. But the asshole deserves it. He cleared my calls for the first two weeks after I moved here from New York. Now he’s decided it’s imperative that he speaks with me, knowing I’m here for Preston’s wedding. Prick can wait until I get home.

My phone vibrates again. I look down, seeing my father’s name. My little bitch of a brother is siccing our dad on me.Wonderful.

“Mr. Fox,” I answer.

“Cut the shit, Aleck. Why are you ignoring your brother?”

“I’m notignoringhim, Father,” I say dryly, knowing it will piss him off, but in the interest of being irritated as fuck today, I don’t care. “I’m on vacation. He couldn’t be bothered to answer or return my calls when I moved back. He canceled meetings when I took over the Crate-Pafford merger. Files mysteriously disappeared, and the list goes on. He can leave a message with Trent if he needs to get ahold of—”

“Aleck, I’m going to say this once and only once: get along with your brother. I don’t care if he’s the biggest prick on the planet—”

“Which he is,” I immaturely add.

“Nevertheless, you will be thefaceof Fox and Latham. You are to transcend the immature bullshit. What if there was an emergency? What if something had happened to myself or your mother?”

“Nothing happened to you or mom, obviously. He’s a self-serving little asshole. When he says jump, I say go fuck a cannoli.”

My father takes an exasperated breath. “Is that the way the vice president of one of the biggest law firms in the country would behave? Your uncle Bart hit on your mother. Have I told you that? I hated that asshole for years for pulling all the shit he pulled when your grandfather handed me the company. You know what happened after Bart died? I regretted every ounce of retaliation I took part in. You know why? Because life goes on and death doesn’t give a shit if you’ve rectified your behavior or not. Life comes, then it goes. Now, I’m sick of getting calls from Hayden complaining that you’re ignoring him.”

“He’s an asshat for even calling you. What, is heseven?”

“Son, be the bigger, more mature person. We cannot choose our family.”

I don’t know if he meant to say it, or if he truly has forgotten about adopting me. Forgotten that I’mnotactually his flesh and bone, but Hayden is.

“Except in this case, you can, and you did. Hayden has hated me since the moment you brought me home. This isn’t your typical sibling rivalry. You know how much hell he put me through.”

“I wish I could change that for you two, I really do. You had a rough start together. But he’s the only brother you’ve got, Aleck. Buck up and put it behind you, Son. Because when I’m gone and you two are running this company together, your relationship needs to be solid or the firm will suffer for it.”

I take a deep breath, hiding my frustration. “Got it. I gotta go, we have dinner reservations.”

“Talk later, Son. And call your Mother,” he adds hurriedly, before I hang up.

“The fucking firm will suffer for it,” I whisper under my breath. “Never mind your son’s fuckinglife.”

A hand slides over my shoulder, jolting my attention from my phone. I snap my head up and stare into the roundest, most beautiful hazel eyes I’ve ever seen.

My parents treated me well, and I’ve always suspected it was to make up for the hell I grew up in. Ialsosuspect that my brother has always hated me because of that. Hated that he was no longer the sole recipient of their love and attention. And because I grew up with a clear image of rage as a viable stress reducer, Hayden and I fought. A lot.

I never backed down, and I always wondered if that made my parents regret bringing me home. That feeling grew inside me,festered, giving itself weight and space in my mind daily.

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