Page 13 of Sweet Nothings

“This paper goes over all the basics,” Perry explains, pointing. “You’ll need to come down to my office, or I can meet you at yours to sign all the paperwork necessary to get the properties into your name.”

“Wow.” He nods, taking a resolving breath. “I don’t even know what to say.”

“Um…” Jude’s eyebrows arch. “Congratulations, brother.”

Micah nods as he looks down at the paper in his shaking hands. The heavy thoughts are glaringly obvious. “Thanks, I guess. I don’t know why, but it feels wrong to be excited about this.”

“You should be excited.” I reach out and massage his shoulder. “Don’t feel guilty.”

He gives me a relieved smile. “I appreciate it.”

“For my middle son, Jude Ryan Harding.” Perry flips to the next page, then quickly looks up. He hesitates and clears his throat before reading the single line on the paper. “I leave him nothing but this message: the choice you made years ago to put yourself and your own interests above your own family has brought you here to this moment. You played with the fire long enough, you were bound to get burned.”

My lips part the second I attempt to inhale. Air squeezes through my lungs as I look down at my younger brother. He doesn’t move. His eyes are trained forward, staring at Perry.

“Jude?” I ask, nervously adjusting my tie.

“What, Lennon?” Jude asks, snapping his head to the right. His eyes are glazed over, but there isn’t a hint of sadness or anger.

“Are you okay?” I place my hand on his shoulder.

“Of course.” He sighs, life returning to his face. “If that asshole would have left me anything, I planned on donating it anyway. This just proves to me that I made the right decision. Every time.”

“I’m sorry.” I look at him sympathetically. “If I could do anything…” I hate what our father did to him. Since finding out the truth, it’s been difficult to not keep business and family separate. But this career I’ve built is bigger than my father and the shit he pulled when he was alive. I hate the pain my brother has suffered through, but the only life I’ve ever known is this one.

“Don’t be sorry,” Jude reassures me, running his hands along his knees. “In hindsight, I think I expected this. I’m surprised I’m mentioned in his will at all.”

I open my mouth to let my brother know I still love him. I want to tell him I’ve only ever wanted to erase the memory of our father in this city but keep the legacy he built. But Perry interrupts before I can tell him I aim to do whatever I can to make it better for the Harding name.

“Now onto Lennon.” Perry addresses the room.

I nervously shove my hand in my pocket and curl my fingers into a tight fist.

Perry flips to the next page. From where I’m standing, there are clearly more words typed on the page than either of my brothers’.

“To my eldest son, Lennon James Harding. For your unwavering loyalty, I leave one hundred percent of the shares in Harding Holdings, LLC. I give you the entirety of the company, along with all its employees and clients. I gift you the three penthouses in Boston, the house in Cape Cod, along with all my vehicles and belongings.” Perry glances up. “He’s listed each of these properties and assets on the next few pages.”

“Wow.” I nod, running my hand down the side of my face in disbelief. “That’s quite . . .”

“There’s more,” Perry interrupts.

“More?” Micah laughs, draping his arm over the back of his chair, relaxing his back against it. “How could there possibly be more?”

“There’s a condition.”

“A condition.” I should have expected this. My throat runs dry. Any condition from my father won’t be a simple one.

“A small formality.” Perry scrunches his nose and blinks in a way that makes me think it’s anything butsmall.

“What formality?” I ask slowly.

“Your father says you receive all of this under the condition you get married.”

“You’re fucking joking,” Micah blurts out. He’s sporting a smile but it’s more in disbelief than humor.

Jude clears his throat as if he was expecting this right along with him not receiving anything from our father.

James has always had the ability to dangle the prize in front of you, enticing you with its luster, and roping you in, but it always came at a cost. Always.

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