3. Tyson
THREE
TYSON
“I’m so happy you’re here,” my sister, Winnie, exclaims as she throws her arms around me.
I smile, my arms wrapping around her shoulders as I pull her in for a hug. “It’ll be a change of pace to spend the summer here instead of Manhattan this year.”
Winnie pulls away with a soft smile. “You’re allowed to say it’ll be nice to actually have fun for the summer instead of working your life away.”
I lift an eyebrow as I stare back at my sister.
“Like you don’t work your life away,” I point out.
She’s worked just as hard as I have in the last year to make sure the merger between her husband’s company and our family’s company went smoothly.
Bishop-Moore Hotels has had far more success than any of us could’ve hoped for when we convinced the boards of our fathers’ companies to turn against them and give us control.
Winnie’s smile grows wider before she waves her hand through the air dismissively. “Okay, we’ve all been working a lot over the last couple of years. But it’s time we have some fun and take a break. We’re going to do that this summer.”
“What are we doing this summer?” Archer asks, strolling into the foyer of their Hamptons home.
Winnie gives him a loving smile as she immediately steps into her husband’s embrace.
“We’re not working so much this summer, and we’re going to have fun.
I’m making that rule now.” It’s obvious just by how they look at each other how madly in love they are.
I can’t help but smile at the sight, happy for my sister that she found someone like him.
If someone had told me five years ago that my sister would be happily married to Archer Moore, I wouldn’t have believed them.
He was our biggest rival. I never sought out to speak to him because I believed him to be a dick.
It turns out, most of what I knew about him were lies told to me by my father.
Now, Archer is not only my brother-in-law, but he’s also one of my closest friends.
We run Bishop-Moore Hotels together. He’s the deciding factor, but he’s never had to use his majority decision over me.
We’ve agreed on all decisions so far, and it’s working great.
It’s actually working out so well that I don’t mind that it seems like the only thing I do is work.
Archer’s whistle breaks me from my thoughts. “You know who you’re talking to, right?” he teases, his eyes meeting mine with a smirk. “I don’t know if anyone ever calls Tyson or me fun.”
“Maybe it’s time they start,” Winnie immediately responds before lifting on her toes to press a kiss to her husband’s lips.
I stay quiet and shake my head. My plans for the summer were the same as they’ve been in previous years—stay in Manhattan.
Work. Travel when I needed to. While I’ve occasionally visited this vacation home she shares with Archer, the Hamptons never seemed like a place I wanted to spend an entire summer.
But I love my sister, and she can be convincing.
Everyone else in our circle has bought homes and become members at Pembroke, so I thought it was time I joined the club.
I’ve been testing the waters by coming to visit during the offseason, and I’ve finally decided to spend the entire summer here with the rest of my friends and family.
“Want Archer to help you grab your bags?” Winnie asks, changing the subject and looking around the foyer.
I shake my head as my lips pull into a thin line. “That won’t be necessary.”
She cocks her head to the side. “What do you mean?”
I run my hand over my mouth as I buy myself time to answer my sister’s question. Things happened rather quickly, so I haven’t had the chance to tell my sister that I won’t be needing to stay with her and Archer this summer. “I actually bought a home here,” I state.
Winnie’s mouth pops open. “You bought a house? I thought you didn’t know if you even wanted to spend the entire summer here?”
I lift a shoulder. “I’m still not completely sure.
But it’s a good investment either way. I can either rent it or sell the place again.
The perfect house came up, and I put in a cash offer before anyone else had the chance.
You know how it works out here. You have to act fast if you want a good property. ”
“Where’s the new house?” Archer asks, his tone not as shocked by my announcement as my sister’s.
I tuck a hand into my pocket as I shrug. “I think it’s less than ten minutes from here. I’m not exactly sure. I haven’t seen it yet. I came straight to your place from the airport.”
“You bought a home without seeing it first?” Winnie interjects. She narrows her eyes on me with her arms folded over her chest.
I can’t help but smile as I tilt my head to look at my sister. “As if you and Archer haven’t purchased properties just by looking at the photos alone?”
Her mouth snaps shut as Archer chuckles. “He’s right. Why do you seem so shocked? Shouldn’t you be happy your brother bought out here? You’re always going on and on about how we need to spend more time as a family…time that doesn’t include work.”
Winnie stares at me for a few moments longer before her lips turn up in a smile. “Archer’s right. I am excited. You’re just not normally spontaneous enough to just buy a house without even mentioning it.”
“Maybe I’m more fun than you think,” I point out, the corner of my mouth lifting up.
My sister rolls her eyes at me. “We’ll see about that.
” She claps her hands together and gestures to their large living room.
“Now, c’mon and sit down and tell me everything about the house you bought.
I want to see pictures.” She pauses as she makes her way to the couches.
“Wait, I don’t have to see pictures. I want you to show me the house immediately.
And then we can start talking about how you’re going to decorate it, because I know you’re not going to buy a house here and have someone else do the interior decorating… right?”
The look on her face tells me that even if I had hired another interior decorator who wasn’t my sister, I now have no choice but to use Winnie.
Luckily, I know my sister well enough to know that the moment I bought the house, she’d want to completely make it over.
“Right. Although I think I purchased the house fully furnished.”
Winnie smiles and shrugs as if that doesn’t bother her at all. “That doesn’t matter. We’re still going to make it yours. I can’t wait to have a summer project.”
Archer lets out a low whistle before he steps closer to me and claps a hand over my shoulder. “My best advice is you just let her pick out everything, and you don’t argue. She’s done wonders with choosing furniture and finishings for the hotels. She’ll do great with your new place.”
I nod because I have no doubt that my sister will exceed any expectations I have for decorating my new Hamptons home.
To be honest, from the photos, it looked decorated well enough for my liking already.
But I love my sister, and if doing the interior design for my house is her idea of fun for the summer, then I’m going to let her do that.
“I guess we should head over to the new house, then, shouldn’t we?” I offer as I tuck my hands into my pockets.
Winnie jumps up and down in place as she excitedly claps her hands together. “Yes! I have to go get my sketchbook in case any ideas come to me immediately.”
Archer offers me a smile before he watches his wife disappear upstairs. “Well, it looks like we’re going to your new place whether you like it or not.”
“Seems like it,” I respond as I return his smile.
Winnie was right when she said I’m not very spontaneous.
I’ve purchased countless homes before, but it’s not like me to purchase one without even seeing it in person first. But houses sell fast here in the Hamptons, and I didn’t want to miss out on this one because I loved it so much.
It felt like I needed to buy it…so even though it was out of character for me to purchase without seeing it first, I did it anyway.
As we wait for my sister to gather whatever she needs before checking out the new home, I can’t help but think that maybe this summer will be different.
I guess only time will tell.