Chapter 29
“We won the Pendergast deal off Market Street,” Miller said, walking into my office and tossing a half-finished bundle of wires and bulbs on my desk. “But I’ll need your help with the filaments for the fixtures they want. Some days, I hate our showroom.”
“I was fine with the space staying a conference room,” I murmured, not looking away from my computer screen.
“Brooke always kept a bowl of fancy fruit on the table for when we had meetings. And if I remember correctly, it was your idea to remodel, so you and Magnum would have a place to display your designs.”
“Yeah, and our profits are up twenty percent year-to-date because of that room.”
“Exactly. So why are you complaining?”
“Ugh. Maybe I miss that fancy fruit as well. Remember when we were all stuck eating that strawberry-citrusy one for a week?”
“Soursop?”
“Yeah. That’s it,” Miller said, snapping his fingers.
“It was one of the better options, wasn’t it? Remember when she got that one that smelled like dirty socks?” I asked, stretching my back until it made a satisfying pop.
“Oh yeah. I could barely stomach the smell, let alone try to eat one. I didn’t care how good Simon said they were.”
“Yeah. Glad we left it to Simon to enjoy that one.”
Tito and Port raised their heads from Malibu’s large dog bed in the corner.
She’d stayed at home today so I could spend one-on-one time with the pups, and they had no problem taking over the space.
Their tails wagged, and they yipped as I laughed then cleared my throat as Port stood and stretched, trotting over to Miller to demand pets.
He obliged, dropping to one knee and scratching behind her ears.
Not to be left out, Tito followed suit as Miller chuckled, giving him the same attention.
“You two hooligans be good,” I chastised as Tito put both paws on Miller’s thigh and attempted to crawl into his lap.
Keeping those two rascals in line was more work than sharing my house with manic chipmunk roommates.
Tito looked at me with those big brown puppy dog eyes and whined, but I stood firm, pushing away from my desk and crossing my arms. Reluctantly, he backed up until all four paws were on the floor.
I nodded and looked at Port. “Don’t you get any ideas.” But she only shook her head and scratched behind her left ear with her paw, content to wait her turn for pets.
“Couldn’t you ask Magnum for help with whatever that design is supposed to be? He’s the one who added those fixtures to the showroom last month, right? The sparkly ones that landed us the Lincoln kitchen remodel?”
“I could ask him, sure. But I remember how much you used to help me with the tinkering. The lights at Mom’s house are all you, bro-tato chip. So are the designs at your place. Not that I’ve been invited over in the last few weeks,” he quipped, batting his eyelashes like an idiot.
“Save me the guilt trip, would you? My door is always open. And I wasn’t the one who missed poker and fishing last month.”
“Now, that’s not fair. You know we were visiting Emma’s family. Meeting the girlfriend’s parents overrides poker night.”
“Sure. Sure.”
“Don’t give me that shit,” Miller said, sitting down fully on the carpet with a groan and letting Tito crawl into his lap. He rested his head on my brother’s knee and yawned, stretching out his front paws.
“Fine. I refuse to get into a pissing match with you, anyway. So, tell me. How do you think my helping you with these finicky fixtures will work out? Me attempting to remember something I haven’t done for five years, only to get frustrated and accidentally break the damn thing?”
I tapped my chin and then dropped my hand beside my chair where Port had trotted to, patiently waiting. She leaned into my scratches, and her tail thumped on the floor as I chuckled before finally looking fully at Miller.
He sported purple smudges under his eyes and several days of scruff, but it was his rumpled appearance that caught me the most off guard.
His jeans had several grease stains that looked days old, and his polo had more wrinkles than an old man’s forehead.
I picked up Port and settled her on my lap before pushing my readers to my forehead and really taking in his appearance.
Haggard was the most positive thing I could think of, and that had me pushing everything else from my mind.
“Finicky fixtures? Try saying that five times fast.” Even his attempt to joke fell flat—probably from his exhaustion, or whatever ailment was plaguing him.
I still chuckled at his humor, shaking my head but furrowing my brows.
“What’s going on with you?” I resisted the urge to sit beside him on the floor, knowing better than to do something that asinine—my back couldn’t take that kind of abuse.
“I haven’t seen you this out of sorts since you proposed. ”
“Fuck. I know,” he answered, running a hand through his messy hair as Tito whined because he’d stopped his ministrations. “But who knows where to begin?”
Huh. I tugged on my polo, unbuttoning the second button and wondering how he’d react to me doing something completely out of the ordinary.
Maybe he could be my sounding board, and I could be his.
Fuck knows I’d thought of nothing but my night with Summer since she left the other night, and the last thing I wanted to do was scare her off by turning into some clingy man-child who texted her fifty times a day.
“Well, while you figure it out, how about I start?”
I opened my top drawer and took out two mini-Kong chew toys, throwing one to Miller, who tossed it into the dog bed.
Tito followed and Port jumped from my lap, running toward the toy, so I tossed mine in that direction as well.
Playful growls and yips filled the silence as we watched the pups wrestle with the toys and each other.
I tore my eyes away from their antics and focused on Miller. “Right. I got a call this morning, and an offer from a guy to buy the Mustang.”
“Yeah? So? You’ve gotten offers before and have refused to get rid of it. Didn’t Mark offer to buy it before he and Jenna got married?”
“Yeah. You’re right. I’ve gotten several offers over the years.”
I reached into my back pocket and took out my wallet, slowly opening the worn leather and handing Miller a folded check. His eyes widened as he took in the amount, then darted to mine, his mouth opening and closing like a fish gasping for water.
“This… This is big.”
“Yep.”
“Are you going to share what prompted this change of heart? You couldn’t be sick of us nagging you since we’ve been doing it for the last fifteen years.”
“Nope. I can handle a little nagging.”
Port raised her head from the bed and jumped on her brother’s back, wrapping her two front paws around his neck and furiously licking Tito’s cheek. Miller smiled, and that simple gesture seemed to melt some of his exhaustion away.
“I’ve been meaning to sell it for a while now.”
“Ah. So, this wouldn’t have anything to do with Mom’s neighbor’s daughter or the red bruises decorating your neck?”
“I thought gossiping with Mom wasn’t one of your pastimes anymore.” One hand darted to my neck until I found the raised marks he saw. How the hell had I missed that when I got out of the shower this morning? “Damn.”
“Wear them proudly. I know I do.”
“Yeah, no. I’d rather my private life stay that way.” I pulled my collar higher on my neck, making Miller laugh as I rolled my eyes and huffed.
“So, you don’t want to tell me more about Mom’s neighbor girl or your late-night excursions?”
Ah. Deflection. My bread and butter.
Still, I started this give and take nonsense. The least I could do was see it through.
“She might have been a contributing factor, but ultimately the choice was mine. Keeping that half-finished Mustang in my garage did nothing productive.”
“It’s nice to see you finally letting go and moving on. And I would love to know exactly how much she contributed, bro-tastic.” Miller waggled his eyebrows.
The need to brush off his question warred with my desire to have an intelligent conversation about my issues. Fuck. What the hell was wrong with me? I’d gone from someone who kept their thoughts close to the chest to someone who willingly sought the opportunity to talk.
But his drama was just as important as mine.
“Not until you explain why you look like a dump truck ran you over,” I answered, grabbing my cold coffee from the desk and finishing the mug with a grimace.
“Fine. I proposed.”
“Yeah. We know. Last weekend, right? Mom has been up your ass to plan an engagement brunch, and you’ve been oddly elusive.”
“With a damn good reason, mind you.” He stood from the floor and sat across from me, cracking his knuckles with a sigh.
“She didn’t say no, did she?” I asked, clutching the armrests and halfway rising from my comfortable leather chair before he waved me away.
“Of course she didn’t say no, you dick. I’d be neck deep in a barrel of bourbon if that was the case. Not trying to finalize those light fixtures before they go to manufacturing.”
“Then what the hell is the matter? Marriage is a good thing, right? You’ve been talking about it since you were in high school. Why you waited so long to get together with Emma is beyond me. Mom’s been referring to her as one of her kids for a decade.”
“Yes. Thank you for reminding me how long it took for my head to dislodge from my ass.”
“That’s what older brothers are for. Didn’t you know that? For dislodging heads from asses and giving advice.”
“Nice to know where your priorities are.”
“Look,” I said, crossing my arms and clenching my hands on my biceps. “If you want to drop it and talk about the weather or some shit, that’s fine. Fuck knows I’m horrible at this. But I’m still your brother, and I’m willing to listen.”
“She’s pregnant, okay?” he hissed between clenched teeth, standing to pace inside my office. Miller walked the length twice, running a hand through his hair and shaking his head.