Page 23 of Coffee Break with the Billionaire

Wyatt came into my world when I was fourteen and he disrupted everything. I spent the first six weeks of his life furious with my sister for bringing him home—I was an innocent fourteen and I didn’t dwell on how exactly my seventeen-year-old sister ended up with a baby in the first place—until my mother stuck Wyatt in my arms one night when he wouldn’t stop crying.

He stopped for me; for a few glorious moments, our house was quiet as Wyatt’s big blue eyes tried to focus on my face.

And then he took the biggest poo of his young life, all the way up his diaper, soaking through his sleeper and onto my T-shirt. I didn’t care; in those few moments where Wyatt stared at me, a bond was forged and I pledged my life to my baby nephew.

Sixteen years later, Wyatt is still a huge part of my life.

“So when’s the last time you had a date?” Wyatt asks as I take the coast road out of town.

“Why are we talking aboutmydating life when it’s you who wants to invite Brody to the Halloween party? How’s that going?”

“Done. There’s no point stressing about it—I like him, I asked him, and he said yes.”

There’s not a large LGBTQ community in Battle Harbour, but what there is, is fiercely protected by the people.

It’s what scares me about Wyatt leaving for university next year because I know it’s not like that everywhere. Or anywhere. The thought of him taking blows from society about who he loves crushes my heart daily.

But I know I have to let him go. I’ll support him in whatever way he wants; he knows that.

Being an uncle is tough. But it has some great aspects to it, although Wyatt trying to get me to talk about my dating life is not one of them.

“You should try it sometime,” Wyatt wheedles.

“What? Asking Brody to the Halloween party? Nice guy, but not really my type,” I tease.

“Ugh! Don’t even joke about that. You’re way too old for him.”

“That is true.”

“You’re so old you need to go on a date.”

“I don’t have time to date.”

“You don’t have timenotto date. You’re getting old.”

“Thirty is not old.”

“It is when you’re sixteen.”

The light is fading as we make our way to the viewing spot. The trees on the side of the road are brilliant with their fall colours and leaves skirt across the road as we pass. Wyatt fiddles with the radio, and I feel myself relax after the day.

Chapter nine

Fenella

Itake a tonof pictures of my new car and post them right away. And then I get behind the wheel.

I bought a car!

It’s the best kind of rush.

My phone keeps alerting me to the texts after my car news, but I leave it face down. This is too fun to drive. The Charger purrs and growls, like a wild cat.

I wonder if they have big cats in Laandia, like mountain lions and panthers.

I bet they have bears. What if I see a bear?

Gunnar flew me over Laandia once in his little plane, so I’ve seen the land from about ten thousand feet, but I’ve never been outside of the town limits of Battle Harbour. It’s very different from a big city that can sprawl for miles—once you get free of the town streets, it’s all trees and rocks and the odd house perched on the side of a hill. The town itself might feel small, but outside the settled streets feels wild and wide open, if you can be open while surrounded by towering forests.

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