Total pages in book: 97
Estimated words: 94624 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 473(@200wpm)___ 378(@250wpm)___ 315(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 94624 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 473(@200wpm)___ 378(@250wpm)___ 315(@300wpm)
“Sounds good,” Sam told him, and then Dane hung up.
“Your mother would be horrified that you left her home hungry.”
“Well then, maybe she should start inviting us when there’s no one else there.”
I grunted.
“Spit it out,” he instructed me.
“I know you love your family.”
“I do,” he agreed. “But I’m finding that the like part is the most important piece if you want to spend time with people.”
“Oh?”
“You know it is. And what’s crazy is I like Aaron Sutter more than I like my own brother. How the hell did that happen?”
“You spend more time with Aaron,” I pointed out. “I pushed the two of you together.”
“But the reality is, I don’t do anything I don’t want to.”
“That’s so true,” I agreed with a roll of my eyes.
“So there you go. I love my family, but I love and like my friends. Except my parents. Them I like too.”
“I know.”
We were quiet for a moment.
“For the record, you’re my favorite.”
I smiled as I looked at his profile. “You’re my favorite too.”
After another moment he said, “Though I’m kinda crazy about Aja.”
I laughed over that.
At the diner, Sam immediately tucked my sister-in-law against his side and asked her what kind of shake she wanted.
“Chocolate-and-vanilla swirl,” she answered, her arms around his waist.
They made a very cute couple as they went together to the counter to order.
“My husband wants your wife,” I informed my brother.
“It’s the same for her,” he told me. “I have enjoyed seeing the evolution of their relationship over the years.”
“I’ve enjoyed watching yours and Sam’s.”
“Well, Sam has a keen mind that I appreciate, he’s very loyal, and he never backs down from a position he believes in. I’ve come to depend on him, and his sense of honor, a great deal.”
“Well, when he lists the important people in his life, you’re there even before members of his family.”
“Yes, but Sam and I are family. He married my brother after all.”
I nodded.
“Why were you at his parents’ home this evening?”
I gave him a quick rundown of the events in Vegas.
“This man, Tony, will he be attending the wedding?” Dane asked.
“No. Apparently Sandra doesn’t like him either because he insulted her matron of honor.”
“He sounds like a real treat,” he said snidely.
“He is.”
“When you were facing off with him, you didn’t feel threatened, did you?”
I scoffed. “No. And anyway, I really don’t think Michael would have let him hurt me.”
“Are you certain?”
“Yes, I’m certain,” I insisted.
“All right. Well, I do think you should––”
“Can I ask you why you didn’t hire Michael all those years ago?”
“Why?”
“C’mon. Just tell me.”
“I believe it had to do with the projects he showed me his sketches of.”
“And you didn’t think you could train him up? You’ve had other people work for you that weren’t great at the beginning who you’ve taken under your wing, and now they’re people you count on.”
“Yes, but I have to see some kind of spark or creativity at the beginning,” he explained. “If I see a profound lack of imagination and merely a fundamental understanding of space and light—I can’t be expected to waste my time trying to nurture something that isn’t there.”
“Okay, but you see so much in Sam, maybe those same qualities are––”
“But Michael interviewed with me long before I met Sam, and even now, the few buildings I’ve ever seen of his are utterly forgettable. And of course, when I hear how he did not stand up for my brother…these reports do not speak highly of the man.”
“Maybe it was hard for him to live in Sam’s shadow.”
“I suspect that finding your own calling, excelling there, and not worrying about what others think of you, is the path to living one’s life well.”
“I agree,” Aja said as she plopped down beside her husband. “Who’s jealous?”
“Michael,” I told her.
“Oh I heard. Now, is he jealous of Sam or Dane?”
“Perhaps both.”
“That’s too bad,” she said sadly. “Hopefully his marriage to Sandra will bring him out of all that and make him happy.”
“I hope so,” I told her.
“He definitely needs to learn to choose better friends,” she told me. “And really, Sam showed great restraint. I would have beat the crap out of that guy.”
“Yes, but you’re more bloodthirsty than Sam.”
“That’s true,” she agreed, leaning into Dane, who lifted his arm so she could be closer. “The big question is, are you still going to the wedding?”
“I’m going to say yes.”
“Good,” she said, smiling at me. “I’m glad. Sam needs to take the high road.”
“You don’t mean it,” I told her. “You just hope Tony crashes and Sam gets to pulverize him.”
“Not at the venue,” Aja assured me. “Outside. I don’t want anyone’s wedding ruined. On the street, during the reception, that’s a whole other story.”
I shook my head at her, but Dane only smiled.
A week later, on Saturday night, we were there for first the wedding, in one part of the venue, and then the reception in the main area of the Chicago History Museum. It was beautiful. The bride was stunning in the knee-length cream wedding dress that she’d been married in and stood at the end of the line of the wedding party that everyone had to greet as they walked into the venue. Sam was first, shaking hands and smiling, then me, followed by Hannah and Jake and Kola and Finn.