Page 14 of Always

Bedhead! Nothing better than the dawn of a new day. #feelingbetter #embracethenewday #simplyskye

Simply Skye.

I sigh.

Skye Manning is anything but simple.

Perhaps I should let her go. Rethink my plan. She’s so young, after all, and if she’s not hurting the way I am…

I take a sip of coffee and look at the post again.

Her brown hair is a wild mess, tangled and sticking out in every direction. But there’s something effortlessly beautiful about it—each strand falling in perfect chaos. Her brown eyes, still sleepy, have this soft warmth to them, like she’s just waking up to the world. Her skin glows with that natural, untouched beauty, and a lazy smile curves on her lips. I’ve seen her like this—completely unguarded and real.

I can’t let her go. How did I even have that thought? I have to try to make this work, so I’ll continue with the plan that came to me during my sleepless night.

…

“Who are you and what have you done with my brother?” Ben asks, his mouth full of scrambled eggs.

“You’re the one who told me to figure this shit out,” I retort.

“But heading off to Kansas?” He shakes his head. “Talking to her parents without her knowledge? Have you lost your mind?”

“If I don’t do what I can to figure Skye out, I’ll definitely lose my mind.”

“Have you forgotten the deals that we have on the table? In theUK? China? Not to mention here in the good old US of A.”

“You can handle things until I return. Fuck, Ben, it’s not like I’m leaving the country. I’ll be gone a day or two at most, and I set up a meeting with Beauregard Textiles in Kansas City on Monday, so there’s reason for the visit.”

“Since when are you interested in textiles?”

“I’m interested in making money. Sam Beauregard contacted our mergers and acquisitions department a couple months ago, and—”

Ben holds up his hand. “Please. Spare me the details. I guarantee you none of this interests me.”

“Fine. I’m not leaving until Sunday anyway, and I won’t be gone long. I’ll spend today tying up loose ends and bringing you up to speed. Anything else I can get done tomorrow.”

“Tomorrow’s Saturday.”

“Yeah? What’s your point?” He knows I work weekends.

He huffs. “I don’t need to be brought up to speed. I know everything inside out.”

“Yeah, you do. That’s my point. No one will miss me.”

“Except that you never take time off. Claire won’t know what to do with herself.”

“I’m at the New York office about a third of the time anyway. What the hell is this about, Ben?”

He sighs and wipes his lips with his napkin. “You’re just not yourself, Bray. It’s freaky.”

“You’re the one who told me I need Skye.”

“I did. But not at the cost of everything else.”

“The business will be fine—”

He holds up a hand. “That’s not what I mean. Of course the business will be fine. But the fact that you’re talking about going off to some farm to meet your girlfriend’s parents without checking with her isnotfine. And you know what else isn’t fine? This isn’t you, Braden. You never leave the business. You’re amicromanager if I ever saw one.”

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