You, Me, and Forever (Blushing)

I hadn’t spoken to Montana since she’d stormed out of my house last night.

And this was why I didn’t do relationships.

I’d pissed her off. Personally I thought she was being absolutely ridiculous.

So the fuck what if I don’t believe in happily ever after. I never claimed I did. This was not something that we agreed on, and now I was suddenly the bad guy for not believing what she believed?

Hell, she brings up the fact that this is a fling every goddamn day.

Why was this suddenly a surprise?

We’d talked about this, and she’d said she understood my perspective. And now she appeared appalled by me.

How was that possible?

She knew I wasn’t a man who bought into the whole happily ever after fairy-tale bullshit. She knew how fucked up my family was.

So why was I the bad guy now?

My phone rang, and I saw my brother’s name flash across the screen.

“Hey. You’re not in surgery this morning?”

“No. Everyone’s brains are intact today, apparently. I’m sipping a latte in the hospital cafeteria.”

“Such a glamorous life,” I said with a laugh. “What’s up?”

“Well, Mom has been trying to reach you, and you’re too busy playing house in small-town Alaska to return her call. Although, it’s fair that you’re ignoring everyone while you’re distracted with Montana. I don’t know how you convinced her to hang out with you. She’s far too cool for you.”

I rolled my eyes. He’d already told me she was out of my league several times since he’d met her. “Yeah, I think she figured it out too. She’s not speaking to me at the moment. Shocker, right? So what’s up with Mom? Everything okay?”

“Mom is filing for divorce.”

My eyes widened. “They just had an anniversary party.”

“Yep. Well, she said she felt like Dad was disrespectful to Gino, and she’s done.”

“You’re fucking with me.”

“I’m a brain surgeon, Myles. We don’t really fuck with people.”

“Let me get this straight. He has an affair with our housekeeper, and they have a love child that we all know about, and he’s a complete asshole every single day of his life—but he asked Gino to get him a cocktail, and that’s her breaking point?”

“I can’t make this shit up, brother.”

“Damn. That’s a call I wish I’d taken. I’ll get back to her after we hang up. Does Dad know?” I asked.

“Yes. She said he’s moved out of the house. He’s staying at a hotel.”

“Damn. It took her long enough, but I’m happy she finally got there.”

“Yeah. Me too. I wanted to talk to you about something else,” he said, and I didn’t miss the change in tone. It sounded serious.

Obviously, our parents’ pending divorce should have been serious, but considering it came about two decades later than it should have, it only felt like a relief. For my mother at least.

“What’s going on?”

“I’ve been thinking a lot about what we’ve been talking about.” He cleared his throat. “About changing professions. And I’m thinking of doing it sooner rather than later.”

Being a brain surgeon was a whole different level of stress. My brother was the best guy I knew. He wanted to make a difference in the world, but he also wanted a life. And right now, his entire life was his work. It was costing him his relationship, one that I knew was very important to him.

“You want to come play with LEGOs, Samuel?” My voice was laced with humor.

“I think about it. I look at my attending, and he’s on his third marriage; he has no relationship with his kids. I look at Dad, and I certainly don’t want to follow those footsteps. I don’t know, man. I’m starting to wonder if there’s more to life. Brianna wants to start our life together, and I can’t even find a weekend to sneak off to the courthouse to marry her. She deserves better. We have trust funds that we’ll never be able to spend, so it’s not like I’m in this for the money. I do like helping people, but I just don’t know at what cost.”

My brother deserved the fucking moon. He was nice as hell and had a heart of gold.

“Listen to me, Samuel. You are the smartest dude I know. If you’re ready to jump, I’m ready for you to land at St. James Corp. We’re growing, and having two of us at the helm just means that the sky is the limit. But I know it’s a tough decision, and I admire that you aren’t quite as impulsive as I am.” I chuckled.

I’d literally talked to my grandfather on the phone after taking an exam while in medical school and then caught a plane home and never looked back. I withdrew from school and started my life that day.

One that I was proud of.

“Fuck. I’ll never hear the end of it from Dad.”noveldrama

“Who gives a shit? He’s not a good guy, Samuel. I don’t know why the fuck we wanted his approval so badly. Maybe because he was a verbally abusive dickhead when we were growing up, and he made us feel like we needed it to be successful.”

“Goddamn, brother. That is some good money spent on therapy right there.”

“It sure is. Listen to me. I know how much you love Brianna, and it sounds like she’s at the end of her rope. Not coming to Mom and Dad’s party was a statement. You need to take her seriously.”

“I know. I’m working on it. And you know how she is. She broke down last night and said she doesn’t want to change me, but she can’t keep living this way either. I just need some time to figure out how to do this. I’m going to finish this rotation and really think about it.” He cleared his throat.

“Don’t waste your life thinking. Trust your gut, okay?”

“Yeah. I wish I had your gut sometimes. I’ve never been as sure about things as you are.”

“You’re sure about the shit that matters. Trust yourself.”

“All right. I can do that. But back to more pressing issues. Why isn’t Montana speaking to you?”

“Hmm . . . great question. I said something about marriage in general being a joke, and seeing as it’s her livelihood, she got offended. I tried to fix it by telling her that I understand why she wants to be a wedding planner, because come on, there’s a shit ton of money in this business. Everyone wants to throw a big party and celebrate some bullshit fairy tale, which will inevitably implode. But kudos to her for cashing in.”

“Good Christ, asshole. Did you seriously say that to her?”

“Oh, I forgot that I’m talking to a guy who wants to get married.” I chuckled. “You and Brianna would be the exception. But statistically speaking, the success rate isn’t super impressive.”

“Damn. We’re so fucked up.” He sighed. “I’ve been dating a girl for more than a decade and I haven’t proposed, even though I know she’s my person. I love her so fucking much, and I’m messing it up because I’m terrified of ending up like our parents. And you can’t seem to hold a relationship for more than a hot second, although you’ve been awfully clingy to Montana, and don’t think I haven’t noticed.”

“Is there a point here?”

“What the fuck are we doing, Myles? We have everything we could want as far as stuff goes. Big homes and private planes and Grandpa’s yacht. But all we do is work. We aren’t really living. We’re just putting on a show. So, in the end, we aren’t really any different than Mom and Dad. We’re going through the motions.”

His words hit me hard, but I shook them off. “That’s a bunch of bullshit. We aren’t pretending to play house. We aren’t fucking up innocent children.”

“But what if we could have it all, Myles? An actual healthy relationship and a family where our kids actually like us?”

I laughed. “You really are in a deep self-reflection phase, aren’t you?”

“Brianna left me.”

I startled at his words. “What? When?”

“Right after the anniversary party. She said she was done waiting for me to figure out what was important in life. And she’s right, you know?”

“Holy shit. Are you still living together?”

“She moved out. She’s staying with her sister.”

“Fuck. You should have led with this.”

“I guess I didn’t even want to say the words aloud. I’m still processing it. And do you know what I’ve concluded?”

“What?” I knew how much he must be hurting, and he’d waited all this time to tell me.

“Dad may have affected our lives up until now—but we’re adults. We can do whatever the fuck we want to do now. We don’t need his approval. We don’t need to please anyone else. So what the fuck are we doing?”

“Sounds like you’ve already made your decision about work,” I said.

“Yeah. I think I made it before she left, but I was too scared to do anything about it. And it doesn’t have anything to do with Dad at this point, if I’m being honest.”

“What is your hesitation?”

“I made it, you know? It’s one of the most brutal career paths, and I just don’t want to let anyone down. People will think I’m insane. Who suffers this long through medical school and residency, only to quit and go play with LEGOs?” He chuckled.

“Samuel fucking St. James. That’s who. Who gives a shit what anyone thinks? It’s about what you want out of your life. Come build things with me, brother. And go get your girl back.”

“Working on it. Just wanted to make sure you were ready for me. I’ll be in touch soon.”

“Sounds like a plan.” I paused. “Hey, Samuel.”

“Yep.”

“If you need me, I’m here. You know that, right?”

“I’ve always known it, Myles. Your heart’s much bigger than you think it is. You’re the guy I’ve always leaned on. Best big brother I could ask for.”

My fucking chest squeezed.

“Right back at you.”

“All right, my pager is going off. I’ve got a patient. Talk soon.”

He ended the call, and I mulled over his words as a text message came through. I was disappointed that it wasn’t Montana, but I opened the text from my assistant.

I didn’t respond. Instead, I dropped my phone in my back pocket and made my way outside. Porky must have been out foraging, because he wasn’t on the porch. I made my way to the inn, where Charlie and the crew were hard at work.

“You guys got this down quicker than expected.”

“This is our best season to work,” he said. “It’s still light for a good portion of the day, and these guys like the overtime.”

“Were you able to salvage the things we discussed?”

“Yep. I’ll get everything transported when we start renovations at the Murphy Ranch soon.”

“Those shouldn’t take too long, huh?”

“Nah. It’ll be quick. Just waiting for you to give me the go-ahead over there.”

“Yeah. Montana will head up all the decisions on that site, but we’re still working out the details on the contract. So we can’t move forward until she signs it.”

He gave me a puzzled look. “You two are always together—I would have thought that would be the easy part.”

“Nah. She’s got an issue with the partnership. I offered her a great deal, and she’s arguing for less. I can’t fucking figure her out sometimes.”

He laughed. “She’s just a very proud person. Always has been. So you’ve got to make her feel like she earned that piece of the pie and it’s not a handout.”

“How the fuck do I do that?”

“You’re a resourceful dude, Myles. I’m guessing you can figure it out. She’s not someone you can throw money at. I’m sure you know that by now. So, try speaking her language instead of yours. But hey, feel free to throw all the money at me anytime you want.”

“Well, this was completely not helpful, but I’ll figure something out.”

“I’m sure you will.” He chuckled.

I shook my head at the shit show this morning had turned into.

And I knew that I needed to fix this before I left town.

I would make Montana Kingsley sign that contract if it was the last thing I did.