Page 25 of When Hearts Collide

“Oh please, I’m the one who usually mops up after your women troubles, not the other way around.”

“If the press gets a whiff that the members of the C-Suite of multi-billion-dollar Fleur Entertainment Holdings are all behaving like squabbling six-year-olds, our stock price and IPO plans will tank,” Maxwell mutters, but his eyes are soft as we watch Lana and Rex bicker with each other. “Why anyone will believe us is beyond me.”

“I think you guys got my birth year wrong,” Ethan quips.

While he’s the fourth child in the Anderson pecking order, he gravitates more toward Maxwell and me than with Lana and Rex, who were as thick as thieves growing up.

“The IPO plans are still going well?” I ask Ethan, who is our chief financial officer, and will be doing most of the heavy lifting on the accounting and financial reporting side of the offering.

“The Board of Directors is formed for Fleur Twilight. We just engaged with an accounting firm to audit the financial statements. You know the partner.”

I cock a brow. “Who?”

“Jess Chapman.”

“Steven’s oldest sister?”

Ethan nods. “She flew out here two weeks ago with her husband, James. We met up with them and Steven here. So, we have that going for us. At least it’s someone we know and like who’ll be digging into everything, not that there’s anything interesting in Twilight’s books.”

“No more shop talk, you guys,” Lana interjects as Rex nods beside her. “If you start talking about the IPO, then I’ll need to start gushing about how Ryland is making my job as chief of PR easy with his impeccable public image, and Rex will then make everything about him and his latest marketing efforts.”

“They are groundbreaking campaigns because I’m a genius. Investors are lining up at the door because of them.” Rex narrows his eyes at her.

Lana arches her brows as if to say, See?

I shake my head. My siblings are a rowdy bunch, but I wouldn’t trade them for anything in the world. If only Mom were here to see us now.

Lana brings up her phone and says, “I know the press thinks everything is hinging on you, B,” she looks at me, “but you know we have your back, all jokes aside, okay?”

“I know.” But I’m still the only person the press focuses on.

“I’m not going to insert myself into this. I’m retired and leaving the madness of the company to you five.” Dad polishes off the sushi on his plate before he reaches for another helping of the stir-fried udon on the table.

“Enjoying retirement, Dad?” He retired three years ago after handing over his position to Maxwell. “Still gardening?”

Dad smiles, his eyes glazing as if reminiscing about the past. He nods, his fingers twisting the silver ring on his left hand. “I feel closer to your mom in the gardens.”

A heavy silence blankets the room as my eyes dart to Maxwell, finding his brows furrowed, a heaviness in his tall frame. I clasp one hand on his shoulder and the other on Dad’s, giving them both a soft squeeze.

They’re the biggest victims of the curse, their burdens are the hardest to bear. Not to mention, they’re subjected to the same family trust I’m trapped in. And you think you’re living in a cage? You haven’t lived in their shoes before, you ungrateful bastard.

“I’m sure she’s looking down on us and is happy at what she sees,” I murmur, my voice thickening as the pendant weighs heavily under my sweater.

Faded memories of Mom float through my mind—her kind green eyes, bright smile, playing hide-and-seek with us in the large backyard gardens of our estate. Rex was screeching at the top of his lungs, alerting everyone to his position, and Ethan was babbling nonsense as the nanny shushed us because baby Lana was asleep.

It’s one of the last memories I have of her before she died.

“Anyway, retirement has treated me well. I think my hair has stopped graying.” Dad chuckles, pointing to his mostly gray hair streaked with the dark strands prevalent in our family.

We laugh and I look around the room, taking in the people I love more than anything in this world, the very people I can give up my life for without a second thought, the reason I’ve dutifully followed the footsteps planned for me since I could walk and take my rightful place within the company.

I take in Lana’s bright smile, her cheeks flushed at whatever Rex is saying, Rex’s arrogant smirk, something the ladies love him for, Ethan’s exasperated sigh at the new ruckus at the table, Dad’s face, finally not creasing from stress when he was at the helm of the company, and my twin and closest friend, Maxwell, who’s smiling softly at the same scene before me.

Family first. Sometimes, it’s best not to travel the road less taken.

Chapter 11

Toward the end of dinner, Dad stands up and raises his glass. “To your mother, who’d be very proud of you all. She’s here celebrating every milestone as she’s always in our hearts.” He stares at us, his eyes suspiciously red.

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