Page 9 of Grumpy Ex's Secret Baby

“Yeah, I need some time to myself to figure out what’s going on with my life. I’m getting too old to keep working in the entertainment industry. It’s exhausting.”

Leigh nodded and kicked her legs over the arm of the chair, leaning back to look at the stars before glancing back at me. “You know, I never thought you would ever work in the entertainment industry, much less stay there this long. I’ve been waiting for you to leave it.”

“Yeah. Going back to Richmond Valley and working with small businesses seems like the direction I want to move with my career. I want to slow down and start a family, especially after seeing the life you and Clarke are creating.”

“Any special women in mind?” Leigh asked, wiggling her eyebrows at me.

I laughed and shook my head before I took a long sip of my beer and considered how much to tell her. “No special women, but Haley lives back in Richmond Valley again. I might see her while I’m there. I saw her when I was there a few weeks ago.”

“Haley! That’s so exciting, Ty. She used to sneak in snacks for me that Mom wouldn’t let me have.”

I grinned, remembering Haley and Leigh whispering to each other in the kitchen as Haley got down the basket of snacks that Leigh couldn’t reach. There had been plenty of times over the years that Haley would come over and play with Leigh or give her fruit snacks before we disappeared to watch movies and hang out.

“Yeah. I figure I’ve got a lot to apologize to her for too. Some shit went down a few years ago that I’m not proud of. Then I asked for her number a few weeks ago and lost it, so there’s that to apologize for as well.”

Leigh rolled her eyes, her grin stretching wider. “You’re going to be in some deep shit, big brother. Why didn’t you just call some of the people in town and ask for her number?”

I groaned as I looked down at my beer bottle. “Well, that’s because I’m an idiot who didn’t consider doing that.”

Now that Leigh had said it, it made sense. I could have called several of the people in Richmond Valley I still talked to and asked for her number, but it didn’t cross my mind once. I settled into the idea that I had lost her number and would have a lot more apologizing to do. If I were a smarter man, I would have called somebody and asked them for her number.

“Stealing my wife?” Clarke asked as he perched himself on the arm of my chair and stole my beer. He took a sip before handing it back to me. “What are you two up to?”

“Not a whole lot,” I said, finishing the beer.

“That’s great,” Clarke said, standing up and holding my hand. “It’s time for the best man to make his speech.”

“I hate you,” I said, grinning as I heard my name announced by their wedding planner.

Leigh cheered from her seat as I joined the wedding planner near the bar and took the microphone. I looked at the people gathered around before pointing to Leigh.

“I'll get you back for making me give a speech,” I said.

“Promises, promises!” Leigh yelled.

“So, for those of you who don’t know, I’m Leigh’s brother, Tyson. There’s not a whole lot I can say about Leigh and Clarke that most of you don’t already know. As weird as it is to see my best friend marrying my baby sister, I know that no two people are better suited for each other. In the time that they have been together, I have seen them both grow as people, pushing each other to reach new greatness. I know that their love is going to be one that lasts well beyond a lifetime. Congratulations, Leigh and Clarke. I love you both.”

The crowd cheered as the music was cranked up. Leigh flew up from her seat and grabbed my hand, dragging me to the dance floor to forget the rest of my worries as we danced the night away.

***

“Here’s all the paperwork I need you to sign before I start sending out the formal statements regarding your change of interests in the company,” Camille said a week and a half after the wedding as she walked into my office.

I yawned and ran a hand through my hair, looking at the stack of paperwork. A couple of days ago, Leigh had her housewarming party. The entire week had been filled with post-wedding parties and good times spent with my family and friends before I moved to Richmond Valley for the next few months. It had left me exhausted, wishing I could crawl back into bed for a few more hours each morning.

At Leigh’s housewarming party, I had told her I was only staying in Richmond Valley until the new year, but today, I wasn’t so sure I would ever come back. The more I thought about it over the last week and a half, the more I started liking the look of permanently living in a small town.

“I have to sign all of this?”

“Yes, and then we have to work on your media plan and finetune your statements.”

I rolled my eyes at Camille and pulled the papers closer to me, ready to get to work before I caught a plane in a few hours.

Even though I drove to Richmond Valley on my last trip, I didn’t want to do the drive this time. I needed a truck while living in Richmond Valley, and it made more sense to buy one when I got there. The more I thought about the plane ride, the more I imagined what would happen with Haley when I saw her again. My mind started to spiral as I ran through everything that she would possibly say to me.

“Come on,” Camille said, tapping on the stack of papers. “Focus on this stuff and get it done. If you don’t, you’ll miss that flight.”

With a sigh, I stared at the paperwork and started signing the flagged lines. As much as I wanted to procrastinate, I couldn’t miss my flight.

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