A red mist formed behind Radd’s eyes and it took all his willpower not to put his hands around Digby’s throat and squeeze. Brin was his.
“Do it and die.”
Digby’s expression turned mocking, then amused. “Just get over yourself and admit it already, brother.”
Aargh!
Okay, yes, maybe he was in love with her. But who fell in love in under a week? Could he trust his feelings, as new and strange as they were? Radd, with considerable effort, pushed aside his fears and, after taking a deep breath, examined his feelings for Brin.
She made him feel whole, complete, the best version of himself. He loved her dirty laugh, her sexy smile, the sway of her hips and the way she crinkled her nose when she was deep in thought.
Nothing else, not the mine, not the business, not even Digby, mattered as much as she did; he was now second in his own life. Brin was all that was important.
He couldn’t live his life, didn’t want to, without her.Melodramatic much, Tempest-Vane?It was hard to admit, but having Brin in his life would enrich it exponentially, far more than the money in his bank accounts had ever been able to do.
She was all that mattered, all that was important.
“Ah, and the penny has dropped,” Digby commented, his tone smug.
Radd managed a small smile. Then he winced. “It’s all very well me having a come-to-Jesus moment, but that doesn’t mean that she’ll have me.”
“Nope, she’d be mad to take you on. I’m a far better bet,” Digby teased.
Radd’s “screw you” held no heat. Digby laughed and then his expression turned guarded. Radd turned to see who’d caught his attention and saw Vincent Radebe strolling across the vibrant, immaculate lawn toward them. That meant that the wedding was over.
Radd remembered that the wedding party was supposed to gather by the whimsical fountain for photographs and wondered why Vincent had left the wedding party. Naledi would not be pleased.
The guests wouldn’t be far behind him so if Radd wanted to slip away—he couldn’t wait to track Brin down—he needed to leave soon. Vincent held up his hand in a “wait, please” gesture and Radd frowned, not bothering to hide his impatience.
“I’m having second thoughts about selling the mine,” Vincent said, folding his arms across his chest.
Now why didn’t that surprise him? Radd waited for the wave of anger, the crashing waves of disappointment. Neither arrived. Interesting…
Before he could respond, Digby, looking cool, urbane but very, very determined, met Vincent’s gaze. “That’s your prerogative, of course. Now, if you’d be so kind as to accompany me to the accounts office, I will need your credit card to pay for this wedding at our usual rate. ” He turned to Radd. “Shall I add the cost of the wedding party’s stay at Kagiso, as well?”
If he was backpedaling on their agreement then they’d make him pay. Nobody pushed the Tempest-Vane brothers around. Not anymore and not ever again.
“Absolutely. Vincent’s guests enjoyed the full package at Kagiso.”
Vincent’s deep brown skin paled. “Uh…”
“Thank you for allowing us to host one of the most iconic, and expensive weddings of the past ten years at The Vane,” Digby said, still using that smooth voice. “We are honored and grateful. I’m afraid the bill might sting, but that’s the price for lifelong memories.”
Radd almost snorted. Naledi and Johnathan wouldn’t last the year, never mind a lifetime. “How much are we looking at?” Vincent asked, sounding a little choked up.
“More than a million,” Digby suavely replied. “Maybe a million and a half.”
“And that’s including the stay at Kagiso?”
Radd shook his head. “No, that’s just the cost of the wedding. Your cost to stay at Kagiso will probably be another million.”
Vincent swore and he rubbed his hand over his bald head.Yeah, you tight-fisted bastard, Radd thought,we don’t play.
Radd was over playing games with him, was tired of being the puppet dancing as Vincent pulled the strings. It wasn’t who he was; he didn’t like it and it was time to end this farce. He was tired of paying for his parent’s mistakes.
“Look Vincent, we all know you want to sell the mine, it’s no secret that you are focusing on telecommunications. You’ve held on to the mine, probably because it is so damn profitable. We’ve made you a solid offer and we threw in hosting this wedding, and your stay at Kagiso, at cost. You want to sell the mine, but you’re hoping you can squeeze some more cash out of us. It’s been fun making Gil’s sons dance, you’ve enjoyed a little payback.”
He saw the flash of agreement in the older man’s eyes.