Page 59 of A Billionaire Rebel

As I emptied my beer,I was grateful that the dinner with Grandad was only him, my brothers, and me. Dad would’ve disapproved of alcohol with dinner, and even though that was typical of him, it would’ve grated on my last nerve. My usually easy-going nature had taken a hit after that call from Jae.

“All right, Deklin, you said you wanted us to get together. Spill.” Leave it to Davin to say it flat-out like that.

“Okay, so you guys know that I went to Tahiti with Sofi, right?” Deklin began.

“Obviously, I knew,” Davin said. “You took off time from work.”

“Yeah, I knew.” I rolled my empty bottle between my hands, wondering if I should ask for another one.

“Well, while we were there, some things came out.” Deklin and Grandad exchanged a look. “Apparently, Grandad hired her to distract me from Aurelia in the hopes that it’d break up the engagement…”

As Deklin told us about how he’d left Sofi in Tahiti in order to come back here and confront Grandad, I found myself wondering what my brothers and Grandad would say if I told them about Jae dumping me.

I’d never been dumped before, which meant they would most likely find it highly entertaining, especially since I wasn’t about to let them know how much it had upset me. How I couldn’t stop wondering what had really happened to make her break things off with me. How I couldn’t stop thinking about her.

“…I told her that I wanted to marry her and adopt Dallas.”

I straightened in my seat. I’d missed the middle of the story, but it seemed like I’d tuned back right in time. “You proposed?Again?”

“It’s not the same thing,” Deklin said, his expression far softer than I’d ever seen before. “Dadhad wanted me to marry Aurelia. I never loved her, not like that, and you were the one who made me realize that it wouldn’t be fair to either of us for me to marry her.”

“But you love Sofi.” I could see the answer on his face and said it as a statement rather than a question.

“I do.” He smiled.

“You’ve known her for what, two weeks?” I asked, aware of how irritable I sounded. “And she lied to you.”

“I know how it sounds,” he said. “But for the first time in my life, I know what I want for me, not for anyone else.”

I glanced at Davin and wondered if he saw in me the same thing I read in his eyes.

Jealousy.

The press release had come out yesterday, which meant my entire family already knew that my years of living my dream were over. I hadn’t asked them if they’d seen the news. I’d been able to read it on their faces the moment I’d gotten here.

“She’s it for me,” Deklin said.

I wanted to laugh, but not because I didn’t believe him, even if it seemed that way. It was bitterness, pure and simple. I’d been dangerously close to thinking about Jae that way, and she’d left me without a real explanation.

“Deklin, you’re just starting off with Holden Enterprises,” Davin said. “Do you really think it’s a good idea to get involved with a woman who has a kid? A woman who lives, I might add, in a completely different state.”

“That’s part of the reason I wanted us all to have dinner together.” Deklin didn’t seem deterred by Davin’s observations. “I’m going to be looking for a place of my own, somewhere Sofi and Dallas will be comfortable too. Once they get settled in here, Sofi and I will start planning a wedding.”

Davin got it before I did. “You wanted us to know because as soon as Dad figures out you’re living with someone you’re not married to, he’s going to go ballistic.”

“He is,” Grandad agreed.

“But we’ll have your back,” I said. It didn’t matter if I thought he was moving too fast this time. Unlike his engagement to Aurelia, this thing with Sofi was his choice.

“Thanks,” Deklin said with a smile. “I can’t wait for you guys to meet Dallas. He’s such a great kid.”

As he went on with a story about Dallas, I was struck by how my baby brother was handling the thought of becoming an instant father. He was thrilled. Anyone could see it. The life that he’d chosen for himself didn’t look the way I’d always thought his life would be, but it was clearly what he wanted.

I was happy for him. He’d found something that gave him purpose. He was going to have a family and a place of his own. He’d figure out whether or not he wanted to stay with Holden Enterprises. Whatever he decided, he’d have support.

“Now that Deklin’s shared what’s been going on for him, I think it’s Damon’s turn.” Grandad looked at me. “When do we get to meet this Jae Knox we’ve been seeing all over the news?”

Dammit.

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