Page 1 of Tiago

Chapter1

Tiago

“Are you going to sit there staring at her business card forever, or are you going to call her?”

I lift my gaze to glare at my brother, Ryder.He’s sitting across from me in what used to be my grandfather’s office until the old geezer passed and left his estate to his adult grandchildren.

Dallas is in the chair next to Ryder, and he snickers hard enough that his shoulders shake.He’s our cousin and arrived yesterday.We’ve been catching him up on all things Wilde—the town and the old geezer.

“Don’t you have a new wife upstairs?Maybe you should go nag her instead of me,” I point out.“Is she cuffed to the bed, waiting for you to bring her something to eat?”

Ryder smirks.“Don’t say shit like that in front of her.It embarrasses her.”

I chuckle.“That’s why I do it.”

Dallas stands.“While you two yap about women and cuffs, I should choose a room.Gretchen told me there are dozens.”

Gretchen is the house manager.She worked for our grandfather for decades before his passing and has stayed on to help all of us.She’s in the process of hiring more staff to get the estate back in good working order.

Dallas pauses at the door.“The first room at the top of the back stairs is yours and Claire’s?”he asks Ryder.

Ryder nods.

I chuckle.“The second room, too.It’s for the babies they’re making.”

We can hear Dallas laughing all the way down the hall.

Ryder stands, too.“Better go check on my wife.She was in the bathtub when I left her.”He taps the business card on my desk.“Call her.”

I watch as my brother leaves the office.I’m not sure how I got roped into being the one who has claimed this office and taken on the task of going through Amos Wilde’s belongings.I suppose it’s because, at forty-four, I’m the oldest grandchild to have arrived so far.The only one older than me is Brody, and he’s planning to join us—at least temporarily—in the near future.

I pick up the card from my desk and lean back in the creaky leather chair to stare at it.

Reagan Clegg: Adventure Coordinator

I met Reagan at the bakery Claire’s parents own two weeks ago, and I haven’t gotten her out of my mind.I’ve been crazy busy since my brother and Claire decided to get married two weeks after meeting, but I have no excuses now.I should call her.

Maybe she’s nothing like my first impression.The only way to find out is tocallher.I think a part of me is enjoying the fantasy I have going in my head—the one where Reagan is the most perfect woman in the world for me and we fall deeply in love like Ryder and Claire have.

I’ve been surrounded by Ryder and Claire’s sappy lovefest from the moment I arrived in town three weeks ago.Maybe it’s their sticky sweet whirlwind romance that has me all sappy.

I love how my brother found a woman, claimed her, and barely let her out of his sight from that moment on.I tease them mercilessly.I love how Claire’s cheeks redden when I torment her about things like the headboard banging against the wall, the way she screams when she comes, or me constantly asking her if she’s pregnant yet.

Claire is a strong woman.She can give as well as she takes.She can do both at the same time—put her hands on her hips while holding her head high with the most embarrassed pink cheeks I’ve ever seen.

The truth is I’m all bluster.I want what they have.However, I’ve been burned in the past; putting my heart on the line is risky.The last woman I dated, Silvia, strung me along for three years.In the last few months of our relationship, we hardly saw each other, and I eventually realized the reason she hadn’t been in my bed for quite some time was because she’d been cheating on me.

That was four years ago.I haven’t dated since then.That was when I bought my RV and started traveling around the country.I paint portraits and still life, selling my art at any gallery I stumble upon, answering to no one.

It’s an easy life.It’s a boring life.It’s alonelylife.

Visions of Reagan pop into my head again.She’s about five-six and incredibly fit, which isn’t surprising since she runs an adventure company.When I met her, she was wearing khaki hiking clothes.Her hair was in a long blond braid down her back.Her smile lit up the room, and her blue eyes danced.

The only problem I could see at the time was her age.I asked Claire later.Reagan is twenty-six.I’m forty-four.That’s a pretty significant age gap.It’s also the same age gap between Claire and Ryder, and they’re fucking happy.

I know several other things about Reagan because this is a small town, and everyone knows everyone.Claire told me most of what I know, though.I didn’t have to rely on gossip.Reagan’s business isn’t doing well, but that’s not unusual in Wilde.

Every business in town is holding on by a hair.The economy has been in a gradual decline for decades because my grandfather let it happen.He was a regular Scrooge—collecting rent from everyone but not maintaining properties.

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