Page 21 of Bossy Bred

9

JAKE

She loves me.

Those words have been echoing in my head ever since Leta told me how she feels.

She loves me.

And I think I love her back.

It’s taken me several days to process it all. Hell, I’mstillprocessing it. I’ve never been here before, and it’s hard to know how to navigate these unfamiliar waters.

Which is why right now I’m logging onto a video call with my brothers, Shaw and Reid.

My computer connects to the call, and my brothers’ faces pop up in separate boxes on the screen. They’re each at their own houses, and I can see glimpses of their homes behind them—warm, lived-in, family homes that are messy with kids’ toys.

“Hey, guys,” I say, resting my forearms on my thighs as I lean forward. “Thanks for jumping on this call.”

“Is everything okay?” asks Reid, frowning. Shaw looks equally as concerned.

I suddenly realize how worrying it must have been for them to get my request to have this call. This isn’t something we normally do. Usually we just text each other about stuff.

“Yeah, don’t worry,” I say. “It’s nothing bad.”

Both of my brothers look relieved.

“What’s this about, then?” Shaw asks.

“It’s, uh…” I shake my head. “Well, it’s about a woman.”

Like that, the whole mood of the call shifts. Both Reid and Shaw grin at me, each with an expression that says,Holy shit, it finally happened.

“What’s her name?” Reid asks eagerly.

“Leta,” I say. “She’s incredible. She’s passionate, she’s funny…she’s everything. We’ve been spending a lot of time together, and I can’t get enough of her.”

“But…?” Shaw prompts.

I run a hand over my jaw. “I think I’m in love with her, and that terrifies me.”

Silence falls over the call as my brothers absorb how serious I am.

“Why does it scare you?” Reid asks.

“It’s unfamiliar territory,” I say. “It’s raising the stakes. It’s one step closer to the thing I’ve gone my whole life believing I don’t want—marriage.”

“And why don’t you want it?”

It’s a good question. I don’t want to answer it, but I know I need to.

“I’m not convinced I’ll be any good at it,” I admit.

Both Shaw and Reid look confused. “What the hell would make you think that, Jake?”

I shrug. “Iwork. That’s what I do, and it’s what I’m good at. I’ve always known it’s my strength. I’m a leader. A decision maker. I know how to run a company like nobody’s fucking business. But I don’t get that same assured feeling when I try to imagine myself as a husband or a father. I can’t even picture stepping into those roles at all. That blankness has to mean something.”

“First of all, I think you’re getting way ahead of yourself,” says Reid. “Second of all, I disagree with your logic. So what if you can’t picture having a wife and kids? That doesn’t mean anything. Hell, look at me. The first time I met Mackenna, I had a whole list of reasons why she was a bad idea. Thingschange, man. Sometimes our logic is flat-out wrong.”

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