Chapter 22
LUKE
On Sunday, two weeks later, we headed to Travis’s party in the afternoon. Megan and I were spending every night together, sometimes at her place, mostly at mine. I didn’t want her out of my sight.
"So, wait, your brother Sam is also coming especially for this? And Kimberly from Paris?"
I nodded as we got out of the car in front of his building.
"That's so cute that they're coming here for him."
"My brother might also be coming because he's dating someone here."
She whistled. “So, he's doing long-distance? That must be hard."
"I'm sure it is. By the way, it's not common knowledge in the family."
"You don't have to tell me that. I'm discreet anyway. I wouldn't go around and just blab about people's personal lives."
I winked at her. "Everyone in my family would." Travis lived in a penthouse on the other side of the city from me, but not in a high-rise. His building only had five levels, and it overlooked a park.
We went up the stairs because the elevator was occupied by the catering company.
"Holy crap," Megan exclaimed. "That's quite a lot of food.”
“And I think that's just one elevator ride, judging by how Travis usually does things. There's going to be plenty of food."
"He’s having a celebration, so why not?"
My phone vibrated in my pocket. Taking it out, I saw it was a message from the real estate agent I’d asked to handle the contract for the couple living in the house I’d rented out to them a while ago.
Joseph: They’re bugging me again about buying it. Thought I’d check if you want to.
I wrote back simply, Yes. Tell them I’ll sell.
I smiled, happy about my decision. They liked the house, and I had no use for it. It was time to sell it.
“What’s with that smile?” Megan asked.
“Remember that house I told you about?”
“The one you planned to move into?”
“Yeah. The couple renting it now wants to buy it. And I told my agent I’ll sell.”
She smiled from ear to ear. “Good for you.”
It was. Unloading the place was like the final closure on the Cammy chapter.
When we entered the penthouse, it was clear that everyone was already out on the terrace, because the place was empty.
His apartment looked entirely different from mine, was all straight angles and lines.
It had a huge terrace, and we went straight outside to join everyone else.
My brother had set up multiple umbrellas between the rattan couches and chairs.
On one end of the terrace was a pop-up kitchen. I grinned. Travis didn’t bring a catering company—he brought chefs. There was even a grill station.
At first, I didn’t understand why he didn’t want a penthouse overlooking the city skyline, but I had to admit, the view of treetops was great.
"Everyone else is already here?" Megan asked, looking around.
I did a quick inspection. “My parents are the only ones missing. Come on. I’ll introduce you to everyone you don't know."
"I'm so excited," she said. "And I can't wait to talk to Paisley."
I chuckled. Most people who wanted to meet my family only wanted to because of the Maxwell name. But Megan was excited about meeting my niece.
“Babe, I can take over the final order for the treehouse and communication with the contractor. You’ve got enough on your plate.”
The competition day was coming up in a month, and I wanted her to focus on that. I wanted her to win.
“No, I enjoy it. It’s recreational.”
We made a beeline for Gran. She was sitting on a metal chair, drinking white wine.
I smiled at her as we approached. “Gran, this is Megan.”
“Darling, it’s great to meet you.” She looked between the two of us. “I’m Beatrice, but you’re more than welcome to call me Gran.”
“I’m happy to meet you,” Megan said.
Gran looked around the terrace, smiling. “You know, one of these days, I might invite John to a family gathering.”
I was stunned. My eighty-two-year-old grandmother had found a companion, and I couldn’t be happier. Meeting him would be interesting. Clearing my throat, I said, “You do that. We look forward to meeting him.”
She laughed. “You mean grilling him. On second thought, I’ll make him wait some more.”
“As you wish. Just so you know, we’ll grill him whenever you introduce him.”
“I have no doubt. By the way, Kimberly and Reese are staring at us. I think they want to meet Megan.”
I looked over my shoulder. She was right.
“We’ll catch up later, Gran,” I promised her, and we would. I wanted her to see how special Megan was and what she meant to me.
“It was lovely meeting you, Beatrice,” Megan said.
As we headed toward my cousins, Megan asked, “What was that about?”
“We found out recently that Gran is… dating.”
It felt strange to utter “Gran” and “dating” in the same sentence.
“That’s great, isn’t it?”
“Obviously we’re happy for her. Just in shock.”
Megan laughed. “Clearly. By the way, your cousins look happy to see you."
"No, they're happy to see you. Trust me. They don't usually welcome me with those grins, but now I'm with you."
"Way to make me feel special," she said.
I put an arm around her shoulders, bringing my mouth to her ear. "I always want to make you feel special, Megan. You are special. I bet my ass they’re gonna spend half the day talking about the bachelorette party for Lexi.”
“Hey, don’t bet that! It’s not yours to give away,” Megan said.
I laughed. “Duly noted.”
“When is the wedding?”
“Beginning of December.” Swallowing hard, I added, “Want to be my date? I don’t want to steal my brother’s thunder, but it would be an honor to have the most beautiful woman in the world on my arm.”
Her face opened up in a huge smile. “When you ask me like that, how can I say no? I’ll still be in Chicago in December.”
Still. Fuck. I hated the sound of that, but this wasn’t the time or place to address it.
We reached Kimberly and Reese at the same time as Sam.
"Hello again, Megan," he said.
"Hey, Sam, good to see you. And nice to meet both of you," she said to my cousins.
"We’re so excited you could make it, Megan. We’ve wanted to meet you for a while. And it’s great you’re here too, Sam. This is shaping up to be the best celebration in a while," Kimberly said. "Parties always bring us together, so it was good of you to take a leave of absence."
Sam smiled back. I was trying to fight a smile of my own but wasn't very successful. My cousins picked up on it immediately.
"What's that?" Reese said, pointing at me.
I looked apologetically at Sam, who shook his head and laughed. "Strictly speaking, I'm not here just for the party. I started seeing someone who lives in Chicago.”
"Oh my God!" Kimberly exclaimed. She was so loud that my ears were ringing.
Megan blinked, clearly shocked at the reaction. I should have warned her that we could be a handful.
"Cousin, this is great news," Kimberly continued. "When can we meet her?"
"Not anytime soon," Sam said. "I only told you because this stuff usually gets out in our family." He looked pointedly at me, and I took no offense to that.
"Anyway, I am here for Travis’s party," Kimberly said, then added, "Oh, it's good to be home.”
“Should we make the rounds to the rest of the group?” I asked Megan. “I think my brother is preparing to give a speech of some sort. He looks full of himself." He was walking around from one side of the terrace to the other like some overpompous presence.
"Isn't he going to wait for your parents?" Kimberly asked.
"They just arrived," Reese said.
I looked toward the door and saw them walking out on the terrace.
Travis went up to them, walking fast.
“I know that stance,” Declan said, joining us. Liz was on his arm.
“He’s going to make a speech,” I surmised.
"I can't wait." Declan’s tone was firm.
I stared at him. "Dude, chill. Let the man speak."
"I am chill," Declan replied.
"Of course you are," I said sarcastically.
Next to him, Liz burst out laughing. "Yeah, Declan. That would not be a word I would use to describe you."
"By the way, Liz, this is Megan," I said, gesturing between them.
"Great to meet you, Megan. We've heard a lot about you," Liz said.
"I'll introduce you to everyone else after his speech, okay?" I told her.
"Sure," Megan said. I loved that she took everything in stride and was as happy to be here as I was.
"Welcome, everyone," Travis said. Mom and Dad had taken a seat near him while the rest of us gathered around to listen. “I hinted a while ago that I want to start another business, and I’ve decided to go into hotels. My first one will be in the building above The Happy Place. I’ve also acquired the two adjacent buildings, so it’s going be a decent size.
And Gran is going to see a lot more of me in the near future. ”
We all clapped, Gran included. By the look on her face, this wasn’t news to her.
Good for him! I was proud of my brother. That building was part of the Maxwell legacy, and he was putting it to good use.
"Some of you feared I’d become a party boy and kept nagging at me not to do it." He glared meaningfully at Declan. I laughed, and so did a few others. “It’s going to take a while to get all the permits, so it won’t be up and running for months. For now, I just wanted to share it with you."
“What’s the name of the chain?” Reese called out.
He grinned. “Maxwell Hotels, of course.”
The expression on everyone’s faces was one of pride. The legacy would live on in another form. I had to admit, Travis was one savvy son of a bitch.
“And with that, I’ll let everyone get on with the party. The chefs will prepare anything you desire. Me, I want a hamburger. Let’s go!”
Everyone clapped and then began to place their orders.
Megan and I went up to Travis before anyone else could. "Congratulations, brother. I'm sure it's going to be a great venture."
"I know. I'm excited too. And you’re going to be on top of the architectural design, if you’ve got time.”
“I always have time for family.”
He turned to my woman, giving her a quick hug. “Great to see you, Megan. So glad I wasn't a cockblocker after all."
"Travis," I warned.