Page 97 of My Ex-Fiance's Best Men
“We know you were never okay with our business decisions or our lifestyle choices,” he says. “Lord knows we’ve had our share of fights over pretty much everything we’ve done over the past few years.”
“And I stand by everything I said,” Dad bluntly states.
August pauses and pinches the bridge of his nose. “You’re not going to make this easy, are you?”
“I’m just being honest. That being said, I’ve made my peace with it,” he replies with a casual shrug. “You wanted to go your own way. I put together an executive board that includes two of your cousins, just to make sure a Coates or two will still be running the show after I’m done. But it’s fine. It’s all material stuff, anyway. Where I’m going, none of it matters.”
“Loving the optimism, Dad,” I mutter.
“It’s a fact of life, son. But anyway, I digress.” He clears his throat. “Here’s the thing, boys. It didn’t work out the way I wanted. I was angry about it. Furious and bitter. But then I sat back and watched the two of you take everything I taught you and put it into a new business venture. I watched you build your empire from scratch, much like I did before you. And I realized, well, that was the whole point, wasn’t it?”
“It was?” August sounds surprised.
“You made your own way, your own money. It makes you more of a Coates than anyone else in this godforsaken family.”
I’m just as confused as my brother. “Where is this coming from? The last time we spoke?—”
“I was in a foul mood. I’m still not a fan of your lifestyle, Dominic. That isn’t changing anytime soon.”
“We’re with Phoebe Baldwin,” I blurt out. “August, Theo, and me. We’re building something good, something beautiful together. It’s working, Dad. We love her, and she loves us. Phoebe is the best thing that’s ever happened to us.”
Dad rubs his temple. “Yes, yes, it’s all over the internet. I’m not going to put any of that on these walls, though.”
“She’s pregnant,” August says.
“Say that again?”
“Phoebe is pregnant. We’re building a family,” August replies.
Dad needs a moment and another sip of iced tea to process this bombshell. But he doesn’t look anywhere near as horrified as we expected. If anything, he seems calm.
“I didn’t see this coming,” Dad says. A smile blooms across his face, and somehow, I feel as though I’m able to breathe again. “You’re going to be fathers?”
“Yes, sir.”
“The three of you.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Well, that is one lucky kid, what can I say,” the old man grumbles. “Maybe you’ll be better at it than I was.”
August and I are speechless. We were expecting a shouting match. A fist banged against the table, the iced tea glasses flying across the room. Definitely not this. But it’s good. It’s better than I’d hoped for.
“I’m sorry, Dad. We thought you were going to be pissed,” I admit.
He shrugs again, a smirk twitching across his tired face. “I’m too old to fight with my sons, Dominic. Your mother would want all of us to get along. I guess I never told you this enough, and I should’ve.”
“Told us what?” August asks.
“That I’m proud of you,” Dad says. “I’ve always been proud of you boys. You’re hardheaded, stubborn mules. You’ve pissed me off plenty of times, but that’s just because you’re more like me than I care to admit. But you worked hard, you forged your paths, and you never made me seem a fool to the world.”
August shakes his head slowly. “That was never our intention, Dad.”
“Well, I’m a stubborn mule, too. I wanted you to take over. To follow in my footsteps. But life doesn’t always go the way we planned. I’ve made my peace with it, and in that peace, I’ve found clarity.” He pauses and leans forward. “I am damn proud of you. So proud, there aren’t adequate enough words.”
As I look at my brother, I can see years of pent-up anger fading away with one deep breath as he finally has the one thing he’s always craved from our father—his approval. His support. His validation. Those things were always precious to him, and to see August get it now is a good feeling.
“We’re glad to see you’ve come such a long way, Dad,” I say. “I know August really appreciates it, even though he’s currently at a loss for words.”
