Page 75 of Twins For My Bestie's Brother

“That’s perfect for you,” I say with a smile. “You’ve got the right man for the job.”

Danforth grins. “I know I do.”

Carina leans on her husband’s shoulder and looks my way. “You and I will be seeing a lot more of each other.”

“I’m sure,” I say. I don’t know how business partners work, but I’m sure there’s going to be lots of visits and traveling and . . . well, the timing isn’t ideal, but we can work through it. Businesses take a long time anyway, right? I’m sure things can be structured around a baby and my business and—

“We’re going to start here in Banff and develop winter sports excursions here at the hotel, graduate to long-term trips,” Danforth explains. “And, of course, we’ll have a place for you to stay here on the residential floor.”

“Residential? Why would you need—”

Jackson interrupts. “To get the business off the ground, Danforth’s asked me to stay up here for a while. Obviously, I wasn’t going to do it if you couldn’t be with me,” he says. Justsays it. No concessions or sheepishness about telling me the plan.Hisplan.

“How long is a while?” I ask him.

Jackson shrugs and shakes his head. “It won’t be too long.”

“At least a year,” Danforth follows up.

My breath catches in my throat. “Those are two . . . very different answers.”

Jackson laughs. “We’ll get it off the ground in no time.”

“A year isn’t no time,” I huff through a smile.

He glances at me. “In business, that’s no time, baby.”

The condescension is palpable.

There are so many thoughts swirling through my head. First: Jackson has made a decision. Not for him. But forus. We are apparently a package deal with him and his business. And being a part of that package means not consulting me whatsoever. That’s news to me.

Second: If I agree to his plan, which would probably require a lobotomy to get me to agree, my plans for the tattoo parlor to open by the summer are completely scrapped. I could go freelance and travel with my equipment, but I would have to build a following, and how many people in Banff are looking to get tattooed on vacation?

Third, and probably most important: A year here means that this baby,ourbaby, would be born here. Away from my loved ones. Away from my home. I’m sure there would be ways to work around that, but I don’t want to be doing gymnastics to accommodate Jackson’s work and schedule when I’ll beliterally carrying his child.

Why? He doesn’t need more money. We’re comfortable. We’re happy. I thought . . .

I thought I came first. I thoughtwe’dcome first.

Now I don’t even recognize the man beside me.

The image of red wine sloshing into my wine glass breaks my concentration.

Chapter 24

Jackson

Danforth and I shake on it. “I’ll start having my team work on all the backend stuff,” Danforth says.

“And I’ll start brainstorming,” I say. My ideas are sloshing around in my head on a sea of all the wine I drank. No brainstorming tonight. I’m not sure I’d be able to make heads or tails of my thoughts.

“Don’t work too hard, alright?” he says, then wraps his arm around Carina’s waist. “You can still join us at The Confluence.”

The Confluence is the late-night bar. See? Another name that doesn’t really tell you anything about the place.

I glance over at Lily. She’s been quiet for most of dinner. “I think we’ll call it a night. But maybe tomorrow.”

“Good man,” Danforth says. “Well, shall we, my love?”

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