29. Brody
Brody
I try to act casual as I step into Jaxon’s office, but the time is making me anxious.
Two hours past her meeting time. Two hours of nothing.
I’d thought—hoped—one of us would have heard something by now.
Especially since my phone has been missing for the last hour.
Does the universe think I don’t deserve answers today?
Jaxon sits behind his desk, eyes locked on his laptop. Too locked. It gives me a very bad feeling.
“Hey,” I say lightly. “Anything from Jami?”
He looks up, then down at his phone, sitting beside his laptop, faceup. Waiting. “I talked to her after she landed. Nothing since.” His mouth tightens. “I hope everything went okay.”
“Maybe it went really well,” I say. “Maybe she’s out celebrating with the buyer.”
I expect that to earn a smile. Instead, Jaxon pushes back from his desk and grabs his phone. His thumbs fly as he fires off a text. The office falls silent, the kind that hums in your ears.
We wait.
Nothing.
I lean against the doorjamb, forcing myself to look relaxed. “She was up early. And she hates flying,” I say, injecting a little humor. “She probably went back to the hotel to nap. She likes to nap.”
Jaxon’s gaze snaps to me. One sharp question in his eyes: How do you know that?
“Or she’s out to dinner,” I add quickly. “Or… something. I’m sure everything’s fine.”
“Yeah,” he says, not looking convinced in the slightest. “I’m sure it is.”
The silence stretches again, heavy now.
“Hey,” I say, needing to break it. “Have you seen my phone? I haven’t been able to find it for the last hour.”
“I can call it.”
“I think it’s in my office somewhere. Give me two minutes, then call.”
He nods.
As I turn to leave, I hesitate. He’s genuinely worried about his sister. Hell, so am I. And there’s something else there too—something he’s not saying. It’s not just concern over whether this is what she really wants, or whether she’s doing this for their parents. It feels deeper than that.
I hurry back to my office and listen for the ring. A minute later, I find my phone buried beneath a stack of files. Strange. I hadn’t touched those today.
I answer as it buzzes in my hand. “Got it. Thanks, bud.”
After I hang up, I scroll through my calls. My messages.
Nothing.
I look up when there’s movement in the doorway, my heart jolting hard enough to hurt. For half a second, I’m sure it’s Jami.
But it’s Elise.
She’s wearing Jami’s new pickleball gear, paddle tucked under her arm.
“Game?” she asks.
I’m about to say no, but maybe moving, burning off this excess energy, will help quiet the restless buzz under my skin while I wait to hear from Jami.
“Yeah. Okay,” I say. “I just need to change.”
At my cubby, I pull out the clothes Jami made me for my birthday. The fabric is soft under my fingers, familiar. A sweat-wicking T-shirt with our logo and matching shorts, the design subtly different from the rest. Made just for me.
My mouth curves into a smile even as my chest tightens with worry.
I change quickly, and then we head out to the courts. I see Nicola standing off to the side like she’s waiting for a partner. Elise spots her and waves her over without hesitation.
Elise glances up at me, eyes bright, hopeful. “Why don’t you see if we can find her a partner? We’ll play as a team.”
“Sure,” I say, and glance around. That’s when I spot Susan, also dressed in Jami’s clothes.
Ten minutes later, we’re all on the court, but my head isn’t in it.
I miss easy shots. overcorrect. Misjudge the bounce.
Meanwhile, all three women are wiping the floor with me.
I’d forgotten how athletic Elise is. She’s not just good.
She’s relentless. When she wants something she really goes after it.
She grins at me after a clean point. “If Jami ever bails, I can take her place in Alberta,” she says lightly, dazzling smile firmly in place. “We make a pretty good team, Brody. We always have.”
Something inside me stalls.
If Jami ever bails.
I hesitate just long enough for doubt to slither in. Why would she say that? Does she know something I don’t?
No. She can’t. She and Jami aren’t friends.
Jami knows how badly Elise hurt me. Forgiving her was one thing, inviting her back into my life as anything more than a friend was never part of the deal.
And aside from both being designers, having a similar build, similar features, they’re nothing alike.
…Right?
The thought twists before I can stop it. Maybe on the surface they’re similar. But underneath? No. They’re different people. Different values. Different hearts.
Jami would never betray me.
Then why the hell didn’t you ask her to stay?
Because I…I couldn’t stand the thought of her hating this place. Of choosing me and resenting it later. I want her happy. Even if that happiness looks like Toronto. Like skyscrapers and dreams I can’t compete with.
When we win the game, Elise whoops and runs straight at me. Before I can react, she jumps, wraps her legs around my hips, her arms slinging around my neck.
What the fuck…
I grab her and peel her off me, setting her back on her feet. She’s laughing, completely unbothered, like this is normal. Like this is allowed.
“Well done,” she says, still smiling.
Nicola already has her phone in one hand and her paddle in the other. Did she even set it down to play? I swear that thing is practically fused to her palm. But I guess that’s Hollywood—existence only counts if it’s documented.
“Can I get a group photo?” she asks brightly. “We all look so good in Jami’s clothes.”
“Yeah, sure,” Susan says without hesitation.
I stall for half a second. The idea of being photographed beside Elise twists something sour in my gut. But we are wearing Jami’s designs. This is how she got the buyer meeting in the first place—visibility, proof of concept, bodies moving in her clothes.
It could help her career, so I nod. After the pictures, I head back to my office and change into my work clothes. I’m halfway through stacking files when Elise appears in the doorway, leaning casually like she belongs there.
“Want to grab dinner tonight?” she asks.
“I’m staying late,” I say easily, nodding toward the paperwork. “I’ve got some things I need to get through.”
“I can grab us takeout.”
“That’s nice,” I say, keeping my tone even.
“But I’ve got leftovers at home.” She opens her mouth, definitely about to push.
“Elise.” I stop her, already tired. God, how do I say this without blowing everything up?
“I just want to be clear. I’m not interested in getting back together.
I hope I haven’t been giving you the wrong idea.
I’ve got my business to grow, and the competition.
I don’t really have time for a relationship. ”
Not that I’d want one with her, but I’m also not into hurting her feelings, despite what she did to me.
Her expression changes. If looks could kill, I’d be a chalk outline.
“Oh,” she says. “But you have time to hook up with Jami?”
My stomach drops.
How the hell does she know that?
Maybe she guessed. Or maybe she sensed it, the same way Devon did. But the anger in her eyes doesn’t make sense.
She cheated on me.
“It’s not—”
“I made a mistake, Brody,” she snaps, cutting me off. Her eyes are bright now, a little wild. “I thought we were past that.”
“We are,” I say firmly. “We’re friends.”
“So this thing with Jami isn’t about making me jealous?” she presses. “Because that’s exactly what it looks like.”
“Jealous?” The word lands wrong. “Is that what you think this is?”
She scoffs. “Come on. Don’t insult me. You went out and found a replica.” Her lips curve, cruel. “Elise 2.0.”
“Replica?” I rub the bridge of my nose, trying to assemble a sentence longer than one word. “That’s not—”
“But she’s gone now,” Elise says smoothly. “Out of the way. So when you’re ready to admit what you’ve been doing, come find me.”
She turns toward the door. Pauses.
Gone now?
Out of the way?
What the ever-loving fuck?
Before I can ask what the hell that means, she’s already gone.
I sit there for a full ten minutes, staring at nothing, replaying every word until my head starts to pound.
When my brain finally kicks back into gear, I grab my phone, about to text Jami.
If she’s still in a meeting, or out to dinner, I don’t want to interrupt her with a call.
Maybe she doesn’t want to hear from you at all, dude.
I set my phone back down, having no idea what to do.
I dig into my files but I can’t focus my mind. After an hour the place has emptied out for the day and when the evening staff arrive, I give up and go find Jaxon.
“Ready?”
He scrubs his face, drags a hand through his hair, and checks his phone one last time before shoving it into his back pocket. I pass him his crutches and we head out front, the night swallowing us whole.
The drive home is quiet in that heavy, loaded way. No music. No talking. Just the crunch of tires and the echo of our own thoughts. We pick at the leftover birthday food Ma insisted we take, neither of us really tasting it.
And Ma, does she really want me back with Elise? The thought sits wrong. I can’t figure it out, no matter how many times I turn it over.
I mutter something about being tired and escape upstairs, needing space before my head explodes.
The shower runs hot, steam fogging the mirror, but it doesn’t touch the tightness in my chest. When I finally drop onto my bed, I stare at the ceiling, phone in hand, waiting. For a buzz. A name. Anything from Jami.
Nothing comes.
I toss. I turn. I check the screen so many times it’s practically muscle memory. Three a.m. creeps up on me before sleep finally drags me under. Morning light jolts me awake like a slap. My heart’s already racing as I reach for my phone.
Still nothing.
Okay. Now I’m officially distraught.
I shove out of bed, yank on sweats, and step into the hall. My knuckles rap against Jaxon’s door. “Jaxon, you up?”
“I’m up.”
I walk in to find him sitting against the headboard, rubbing sleep from his eyes. “Anything?” I ask. I don’t even try to mask the panic this time. If he thinks I’m her brother, then I’m going to act like one.
“Yeah,” he says slowly. “Came in late last night. She’s safe, but…”
“But what?” My pulse spikes.
He holds out his phone. “Why didn’t you wake me?” I blurt, already moving. I snatch it from his hand, my fingers clumsy, my chest tight as I read.
Jami: Hey bro. There was a mix-up with the meeting, and once I got to the city, I forgot how much I loved it. Heading back to Nova Scotia.
The words blur as something sinks low and heavy in my gut.
She’s leaving.
And she didn’t bother messaging me. Was I that unimportant to her?
“What the fuck?” I rasp, my heart pounding so hard I’m sure I’m about to crack a rib.
“My thought exactly.” Jaxon’s watching me closely, his sharp, expectant eye pinned on my face like he’s waiting for the truth to surface and it’s well past time it did.
“Jaxon,” I start, dropping into the chair across from him because my legs have officially stopped working. There’s no point pretending anymore. “I don’t… I don’t understand. I thought—I thought—”
“You thought she was happy here?”
“Yes.”
“You thought she wanted to build a life here?”
I nod again, my throat too tight for words.
“A life with you?”
The question hits like a pickleball to the face. For a second I can’t tell if he’s mocking me, baiting me, or bracing for impact himself. But one thing is suddenly crystal clear—Jaxon knows what’s been going on behind his back.
“Jaxon,” I say carefully. “We never meant—”
He lifts a hand, stopping me cold. “Hey. You’re both adults. And for the record, everyone in town could see what was going on between you two.”
“Everyone?” My voice cracks. “How long have you known?”
He snorts, shaking his head. “Since the airport, Brody.”
“Shit.” Guilt burns hot and fast. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you.
” I sneak a glance at him, half-expecting him to haul himself up and take a swing.
If he wasn’t on crutches, he probably would—and I wouldn’t even blame him.
“We didn’t think…” I blow out a breath. “No. That’s not true.
We did think. We tried not to let anything happen.
Believe me, we tried.” My hands clench together.
“I wanted to tell you. It damn near killed both of us keeping it quiet. You’re protective of her.
I didn’t want to hurt our friendship. Or the business. Or your relationship with Jami.”
“Are you done?”
I flinch. My pulse thunders in my ears. Any second now, he’s going to crack a crutch over my skull.
I continue with, “Would it make it any better if I said I love her?”
The words hang there, bare, raw…honest.
His face softens, and he exhales like he’s letting go of a weight he’s been carrying for a while.
“I love you like a brother, Brody. And Jami…she’s my sister. Jami and I spent our entire lives being told what to do, being controlled. I wasn’t ever going to do that to her. I’m her brother, not her parent.”
I sit there and wait for the…but.
He leans forward, and his voice drops, low but steady. “Brody, I couldn’t think of a better man for her. I knew you both had a lot to figure out, so I stayed out of the way. I just…I never wanted to see my sister hurt.”
“Jaxon…” I mutter, my heart pinching tight.
A beat passes. Then, “She’s hurt, Brody. Do you want to tell me why?”
The accusation stings and I flinch. “I… I don’t know what happened.”
“You’re the last guy I thought would hurt her.”
My throat closes, and I gulp hard. “I would never do it on purpose.” My thoughts race. “Maybe I do know what happened. Maybe it’s because I didn’t ask her to stay…because I told her she should go to Toronto.”
“There’s more,” he says, rubbing his face, glancing down as if measuring every word. “I know my sister. There has to be more going on with her.”
I force myself to meet his gaze, every word scraping against the walls of my chest. “This place. Our home. Maybe she feels like I…pushed her out. I know what she’s been through, and in a million years, I would never purposely hurt her.”
He leans back, eyes narrowing slightly. “Why did you want her to go? You and I both know it’s not what she wanted.”
“I couldn’t ask her to stay, Jaxon. Not if it’s not what she wants.” My voice cracks on the last word.
He folds his arms. “Why don’t you let her decide for herself what she wants?”
“I thought I was doing that.”
His features soften again, just enough to cut through the panic in my chest. “She’s scared, Brody. She’s been hurt. Maybe she needs to hear how you really feel.”
“How. What do I do?”
A long beat and then, “I think you know.”
The room suddenly feels too small. My mind races, flipping through everything she’s ever said, every glance, every laugh, every hint she ever gave me. My chest tightens, pounding with urgency. I lift my eyes, and Jaxon is there, steady, waiting, like he’s waiting for me to have an epiphany.
“You’re right,” I whisper, voice raw. “I do.”