Page 20 of The Mistakes I've Made
“Not seriously enough, according to my older brother who believes I should have a wife, kids, and a minivan by now.”
“Hey!” he argued. “I never said anything about a minivan.”
We both chuckled as I got the burners going, and I pulled out a block of cheddar cheese and some bacon.
“So, why the shrill wake-up call?”
“I heard you paid a visit to the inn last night.”
I let out a giant huff of frustration. “Seriously? Can nothing in this town go unnoticed? A bunch of fucking peeping Toms, that’s what this place is.”
“So, it’s true?” He shook his head in disbelief. “Fuck, Taylor. Did you sleep with her? Because the whole town is going to hear about it by noon, and considering your reputation—”
“I didn’t sleep with her. Give me some credit.”
His brow lifted.
“Okay, so maybe I asked her out.”
He began to groan.
“Before I knew who she was! But you know how I am—see a pretty woman, and ask her out! I can’t help myself.”
“So, why go then? If you knew who she was, why show up at the inn at all?”
“Because I thought I could talk some sense into her.”
His disbelief grew. “You thought you could talk sense into a woman who’s set to inherit a billion-dollar company? What did you think would happen? You’d just lay out your simple point of view, and suddenly, she’d just agree with you? She’d pack her things and go hop back on that fancy plane of hers, and go head to Hawaii?”
“Well, I—”
“Oh my God, you did.”
“I just thought she might listen to my—our concerns.”
“And did she?” he asked, clearly not amused by my attempt at leadership in the least.
“No,” I said, my head hanging low in shame. “She actually requested that all town concerns be sent through the proper channels. Whatever that means.”
Dean began to pace the length of my kitchen floor. “Jesus, Taylor.”
“I know,” I said, feeling exactly like the idiot kid brother I used to be.
“Do you? Because what we’re facing is massive, and it needs to be handled delicately. We needed a plan—a goddamn formal plan. And you blazing into that inn, pissing off the one woman who stands between us and possible disaster wasn’t it!”
His words stung, but they weren’t wrong.
I’d fucked up.
Royally.
I’d let my emotions and my dick get the better of me, and it could have cost us all majorly.
“What do you need me to do?” I asked, swallowing my pride, breakfast momentarily forgotten.
“Stay away from her,” he said. “And let the powers that be figure this out.”
I nodded, taking his instructions to heart.
