20. Trinity
Trinity
I still didn’t understand why he thought this was any of his business. I stood back from the curb, shading my eyes as the sign company I’d hired hoisted the huge outdoor sign to attach to the front of the building.
James cleared his throat. “It’s my business, hell, it’s everyone’s business since you’re using Grandmother’s money.”
“Money she left to me.” I glared at my brother.
I never should’ve answered the phone when he called and said he wanted to stop by.
I knew it would come to this if my family got wind of my plans.
That was the main reason it had taken me so long after my grandmother’s death to take action.
There weren’t any loners in the Ryan family.
It was an all-for-one and one-for-all kind of mentality.
As long as your plans were approved by the rest of the family, they’d throw their collective weight behind you.
But I hadn’t gone through the family on this one. Now they’d make sure I paid the price.
“Look, I’m not trying to stop you?—”
“Good.” I cut my glance to my brother. “It’s too late for that anyway. I already bought the building.”
He shook his head. “It’s a Contract for Deed. You don’t own the building outright yet. There’s still time to walk away.”
“You don’t get it.” I clamped my hands to my hips. “I don’t want to walk away. Grandma knew what I wanted to do. Why do you think she left me the money?”
“She left all of us money. Just not nearly as much as she left you.”
“That’s what this is all about, isn’t it?” I gritted my teeth so hard my jaw ached. “You’re jealous because she left me more?”
James pushed his glasses back up on his nose. “She left you more in that trust than she left the rest of us combined. You think that’s not going to ruffle a few feathers?”
“I don’t give a damn about your feathers.
They can molt for all I care.” I crossed my arms over my chest, hugging myself tight.
Of course it was about money. It always was with my family.
Grandma knew I didn’t give two shits about the family fortune.
But she believed in what I could do with the money.
That was the only reason I hadn’t just donated it to her favorite charity.
“You’re being irresponsible.”
“Says who?” I’d avoided run-ins with my siblings in the past by leaving.
Whenever things got a little heated, I’d take off on a new adventure to avoid the conflict.
When my parents pressured me to pick a college, I signed up to volunteer at a mission in Colombia.
When they wondered when I was going to find a nice boy and settle down, I followed a friend to Thailand and spent six months hopping from island to island.
Leaving was my way of dealing with things.
But that wasn’t going to work this time.
“Look, Trinity, I just want to make sure you’re not throwing it away. You’d be better off burning it than investing in this”—he waved a hand at the front of the building—“money pit.”
I swallowed the lump growing in my throat. “Thanks for your concern. I’ll put you down as a no for the grand opening.”
The door next door swung open, and Oliver stepped onto the sidewalk. “Oh, hey. What are you doing out here?”
Seeing him standing there, towering over my brother like a life raft in the choppy waters of my current situation, I wanted to climb on board and let him navigate away from my brother’s jealous concern.
Instead, I glanced up to where the crew had secured the sign to the top of the building. “Got a new sign.”
Oliver followed my gaze. “Wow. Looks good.”
“It does, doesn’t it?” I smiled, relieved to have a distraction from my run-in with James. “You remember James, don’t you?”
“Of course.” Oliver thrust his hand at my brother.
James took it in an awkward handshake, probably sensing he was outnumbered. I took in a deep breath. He wouldn’t give up, not that easily. But at least I’d held him at bay for today. He wouldn’t dare discuss family dealings with Oliver present.
“Nice to see you again…Oliver, isn’t it?” James pressed his lips into a polite smile.
I almost laughed. He was pissed all right. I’d hear about it later, but there was nothing else he could say in the moment.
“I’ve got to get to the office. We’ll talk later.” James made a move to give me a hug at the same time I stepped to the side. Our interactions had always been awkward. We did a half-embrace kind of thing then he pulled back. “See you soon.”
I waited until he’d rounded the corner of the building before turning back to Oliver. “Nice timing.”
“I take it you and James aren’t seeing eye to eye on something?”
“That’s one way of putting it.” I leaned against the bricks, the rough texture pressing against my back through the thin T-shirt I’d thrown on.
Oliver put a hand next to me and leaned in. “Want to talk about it?”
“I just wish…”
“What?” His finger brushed a chunk of hair back from my face and tucked it behind my ear.
I stopped myself from turning into his hand, nuzzling my cheek against his palm, and inviting him upstairs to finish ruining the canvas I’d all but given up on. “Nothing.”
Brown eyes drilled into mine. He didn’t buy it. Who would?
“Does it have to do with your brother not wanting you to buy the building?” He reached out, guiding me away from the building as the crane lowered.
“Yes. He thinks I made a mistake.”
He lowered his voice, leaned in so the heat from his breath brushed across my cheek. “What do you think?”
My toes curled in the slip-on sneakers I’d shoved my feet into this morning as his voice thrummed over me, making my skin pebble. “I think my grandmother would be proud of me for following up on the dream we talked about.”
“Your grandmother sounds like a strong woman.”
“She was.”
“She sounds a lot like you.”
A laugh bubbled up. “Hardly. She was strong. Never afraid to speak her own mind. She didn’t take crap from anyone, especially my father.”
Those broad shoulders rose and fell in an exaggerated shrug. “Yeah, still think that sounds a lot like you. The two of you were close?”
“Very. I told you I’m the youngest. Grandma spoiled me. She used to watch me quite a bit since Mom was so busy with my siblings.” Talking about her grandmother felt like someone had ripped a bandage off an old wound. “She’s the one who taught me how to knit.”
Oliver nodded. “So this co-op is a way of honoring her?”
Tears welled up in my eyes, but I willed them not to fall. I wouldn’t cry in front of anyone, especially not Oliver. He already thought I was enough of a hot mess.
“Yeah. Something like that.” I needed to change the subject before I started bawling. “Where are you off to?”
“Class.” He nudged his chin toward the backpack slung over one shoulder. “Finals are next week.”
“Ready to finish up and head back home?” At the thought of Oliver leaving, my stomach gave a little twist. I smoothed my palm over my navel.
The smile faded. “I’ll stick around for a little while longer. It’s winter there so I’m not too eager to get back.”
“Good.”
“Good?” His brows rose.
“Yeah. You’ve shown me you’ll work for food. I was wondering if I could interest you in some gourmet pizza in exchange for a few hours of manual labor.”
His head tilted down, and he moved closer. “What kind of manual labor are we talking about?”
Tingles raced up my thighs. “Not the kind that’s making you look like that.”
“What do I look like?” He stepped to the side and stood in front of the window, checking out his reflection.
“You look like you did last night. Right before…” Oh hell. Had I said that out loud?
“Before what?” His hands pushed against the brick wall, caging me between them. He stepped closer, sandwiching my feet between his, lowering his head toward mine. “Before I did something like this?”
He didn’t give me a chance to respond before he covered my lips.
Without thinking, my arms reached up, grasping his shoulders.
Heat unfurled from my belly, radiating out along my limbs as he took the kiss deeper.
My back pressed against the wall, the rough texture of the brick barely registering.
I could lose myself in a kiss like that.
“Um, miss?” A deep voice broke us apart. The sign installer stood three feet away, clearly uncomfortable at interrupting our public display of affection.
I cleared my throat as I ran a hand over my hair and pulled down the edge of my shirt with the other. “All done?”
He shoved a clipboard at me. “If you could just sign here?”
I scrawled something that might pass for my signature on the paper. “Thanks so much. It looks great.”
“They’ve got the power set up on a timer, so you don’t have to worry about turning it on or off.” He ripped the bottom page from his clipboard. “Here’s your copy. Let us know if you have any questions.”
“Thanks, I will.” I folded the paper in two as I turned back to Oliver.
“So pizza tonight? Your place or mine?” He’d tucked his thumb through his belt loop and stood there like the earth hadn’t just tilted on its axis.
“What?”
“The manual labor you asked me about…your place or mine?” The way his mouth quirked up on one side told me he knew I’d enjoyed it.
“Mine. Definitely mine.” If we started at his place, we’d never get around to setting up the shelves I’d ordered. “Six? Seven? What works for you?”
“I’m off tonight so I’m flexible. How about I stop by around six? We can have dinner and then get to the hard stuff.”
I rolled my eyes. “The only hard stuff we’re going to get to is trying to decipher assembly instructions for the shelves I bought.”
“Mmm hmm.” His grin grew wider. “See you tonight.”
Then he turned and moved down the sidewalk like a man who knew he’d be getting exactly what he wanted later. And who was I kidding? The way he kissed was only a hint at his true strengths.
I cast one more glance up at my gorgeous new sign before heading inside. Maybe it wouldn’t take very long to build the shelves. We could always take a break once we got the hang of it.