Page 33 of Crazy In Love
“Because he’s a professional. I wear suits when I go to the office, and I’m damn good at pickleball,” I said.
“Unc-ee, you can’t say ‘damn.’”
“I’m talking about the body of water, little monster.” I rumpled the top of her hair, and Archer shook his head and chuckled.
“Dude. The toilet didn’t work. You need to fix this. This is not fun having the girls skip Sunday dinners and pickleball. What’s next?” He paused and motioned for Archer to cover Melody’s ears before continuing. “No sex until Bridger apologizes? No. I’m done. Make this right.”
“They all stopped by the ranch this morning and took the horses out,” Axel said. He had a large ranch with eight or nine horses. He made custom horse trailers for a living, so his ranch was his happy place.
I thought it over. “Does she ride?”
“Yeah. She looked real comfortable up there.” Axel shrugged.
“Should I get her a horse? Will that fix this?” I asked. Because at this point, I was sick of this shit. Hell, I’d probably buy her a private island to get this to go away. I could buy her the island and then banish her to go live there. That wasn’t a bad idea.
“You are not buying her a horse. You can’t buy this girl off, B. Do you get me? Just drive to her house, knock on the door, and when she opens the door, you simply say two words: ‘I’m sorry.’” Easton sighed. “It’s not that difficult, brother.”
“I’d rather send her the horse,” I said under my breath, earning me a chuckle from Rafe, who was seated beside me.
I wasn’t big on feelings, but I’d be lying if I didn’t admit that I felt—something about the girls not coming to Sunday dinner.
I knew my brothers weren’t happy.
Hell, no one was happy.
I wanted to blame Emilia for all of it, but I knew deep down, this was on me.
I needed to make it right.
ten
. . .
Emilia
It was officiallythe first of December, and this time of year was my absolute favorite. The crisp chill in the air, the first layer of white powder covering the mountains in the distance, making them look like a painting.
I’d gone out riding this morning with Lulu, Eloise, and Henley. It was becoming our routine. Lulu surprised us and brought a bottle of champagne and orange juice in her backpack today, and we’d sipped mimosas down by the water, all bundled up together. And then we’d taken the horses on a trail around the mountain. We talked and laughed, and they still offered to forgo the Chadwicks’ family dinner on my behalf. I’d never had such loyal friends in my life. I’d insisted they go to dinner, as I’d never asked them to ban pickleball or Sunday dinners. But I appreciated the loyalty.
Bridger had yet to apologize, and I hadn’t seen or spoken to him since he’d sent a toilet to my house. I’d resigned myself to the fact that I probably wouldn’t ever get that apology, and my friends needed to get back on their routine with their families.
I, on the other hand, was just hoping for a civil dinner tonight with my own family. Jacoby was home, and my mother would beasking him endless questions about his new partnership at the law firm. My brother was what you’d call the golden boy in our family. His girlfriend, Shana, a makeup artist and model, had just moved in with him in New York.
At least the conversation would revolve around them and their lives in the Big Apple, so I wouldn’t be getting hammered about Vintage Interiors, which sadly hadn’t gotten any calls yet.
I’d invested the money this week to run an ad in theRosewood River Review, the paper owned by my family. It had taken a chunk of my savings to afford a month-long ad, since I’d paid full price.
No favors for me, thank you very much.
Not that anyone had offered.
I walked in the front door of the home I grew up in, then hung my long, heavy dress coat in the closet. It was an older ranch house, decorated the same as it was when I was a kid. I was dying to update it, but my mother was not in a hurry to do any renovations, so I’d stopped pushing years ago.
The smell of garlic and warm bread wafted in the air, and music played through the speaker system.
“Hey,” I said as I entered the kitchen. “I’m here.”
Jacoby turned, his face lighting up when he saw me. We’d always been close, but he was busy, and we didn’t get to see one another often these days, ever since he’d graduated from law school and moved to New York. He hadn’t come home for Thanksgiving, as he and Shana had gone to Maui for a beach vacation instead.
