Entangled (The Accidental Billionaires #2) - J. S. Scott Page 0,30

beach with a beer for very long,” Seth warned.

“Neither can I, which is why I’ll be working on my own company. I’ll start in my home office and see where it goes.”

“What’s your plan?” Seth asked.

“I want to amass one of the biggest seafood-supply companies in the world. I want to build a fishing empire. What I can’t get myself, off the boats I plan to launch here, I’ll source from fishermen around the world. I have a ton of contacts. And I want it all to be done with sustainable fishing. I’ll use the guys who do it the right way. No more bycatches.”

Even though I’d always loved fishing, there was too much waste and too many species that were caught and killed without being our targeted catch. If my grandkids were going to be able to still get protein from the oceans, there needed to be more responsible fishing.

“You seem to have it all figured out,” Seth said flatly.

I nodded. “I’ve been thinking about it for a while.”

I could provide a ton of jobs in Citrus Beach, and I could also do fishing the way it should be.

Not that I planned on going out again for long-ass trips. I could find great captains and crews to man the boats.

Building up the name would take a lot of work, but I was up for the challenge. In fact, I knew I’d relish it.

“If that’s what makes you happy, I think you should do it,” Seth said grudgingly. “But maybe we could swap your part of this business for half of your fishing empire. I’d like a piece of it. I could run Sinclair Properties, and you could build your business. But we’d be partners in both businesses.”

“I’d have to think about it,” I said in a noncommittal tone.

“You’re still pissed?” he said, astonished.

“Not really,” I shared. “Busting your face and watching you bleed helped.”

“That’s cold,” he shot back.

“You don’t exactly give me a warm, fuzzy feeling right now,” I rumbled. “What you did was stupid. And it caused Skye a lot of pain she didn’t deserve.”

“Agreed,” he said in a hoarse voice. “If I could go back and change it, I would. But I can’t change the past.”

“I can’t either,” I conceded. “All I can do is work for a better future. Skye and I are going to get married.”

Okay. Yeah. I knew she hadn’t agreed yet. But she would.

He gave me a cautious look. “You want to get back with a woman who left you for another guy?”

“I told you. She had nowhere else to go,” I said, knowing it was the truth now. “And I never saw that damn letter.”

She’d thought I’d abandoned her.

So she’d had no choice.

“If it makes you happy, then I’m glad,” Seth said as he threw the tissues away.

His face was swollen, but the bleeding had stopped.

I nodded. “Thanks.”

“So when’s the wedding?”

“As soon as I can convince her to marry me.”

“She said no?” Seth questioned.

“The only thing she agreed to was moving into my house so I could get to know Maya.”

“You’re stubborn enough to convince her,” he said drily.

I stood up. “I hope so.”

“Where are you going?” Seth asked as he rose from his chair.

“Home,” I decided.

“I was hoping you might hang out and help me.”

Since I was used to never saying no when my family needed me, I asked, “What do you want help with?”

“We got a prime piece of real estate down by the water, but we can’t build. Some tree-hugging lawyer is having a fit because it’s the nesting place of some endangered bird species. The California least tern or something like that. She called early this morning. I have a feeling she’s going to be a pain in my ass.”

“Conservation is important. I think Jade would agree.” Our sister was a die-hard wildlife conservationist.

“Don’t tell Jade,” Seth requested with something that sounded an awful lot like panic. “She’d be all over my ass.”

“Maybe you could just make the land a sanctuary.”

Seth glared at me. “I bought the real estate to develop. It’s right on the water. I’m not willing to lose that kind of money.”

“I’d kick in. Those birds are at pathetic numbers.”

“Not. Happening,” he answered obstinately.

“Then good luck developing,” I told him as I strode toward the exit.

“Aiden,” he called.

I stopped as I reached the door to look back at Seth.

“You can’t stay mad at me forever.”

“I’m sure I’ll get over it.”

Time would be my friend. Eventually, the hell of listening to every bad thing that had