A Moment Like You (The Baker’s Creek Billionaire Brothers #2) - Claudia Burgoa Page 0,63
when I realized that my wife was married, but she had been lonely for years.”
“Is that why you don’t work?”
He shakes his head. “As a family, we decided that taking care of Natalia would be better than hiring a nurse and selling the house. It was only for a few years since the doctor said her health would deteriorate. Of course, I wanted to spend whatever time she had left by her side.”
“I’m glad she’s still around.”
“Sophie,” he says, smiling. “She’s the warrior of the family. She won’t let her go without a fight. She is always searching for a new treatment, therapy, or medicine that can keep her mom with us at least for a little longer.”
“No surprise there,” I say, wiping my mouth after finishing my sandwich.
His gaze becomes serious and he says, “She’s sacrificed a lot for us. I keep telling her to stop. My daughter never gives up on anything or anyone. While she devoted her time to her family, she lost a lot.”
“What did she lose?” I ask, wondering if we can recover it and if I’m the problem.
“Mostly friends and love. I was afraid that this move would break her, but it’s the first time in years that I’ve seen her happy.”
Hearing him say that gives me a sense of accomplishment that I’ve never felt before. Maybe I did something right, and I could do a lot more. Every time I kiss her I’ll remind her she’s loved, that she matters to me.
“Your family seems to like her, and the town has nothing but great things to say about her.”
“She’s part of the family,” I assure him.
“Be careful,” he warns me. “She’s strong, but underneath there’s a soft soul. Don’t break her.”
“I wouldn’t dare, sir,” I promise him.
“It’s time to go back to work,” he states. “You have a lot to learn. After this, I might teach you how to change the oil of a car.”
“Why not teach me how to cook?”
He glances at me and smiles. “With time. You have to start with the basics. I can see you were raised by a nanny.”
“And boarding school.”
He shakes his head the same way Sophia does when she’s about to undertake a difficult project. “You’re a lot of work, but I can teach you what they neglected to do.”
By three, my brothers come over to help, and around six, Emilio is calling us all for dinner.
“This is the part of the show where I leave,” Beacon says around eight, taking Grace by the hand.
She’s been visiting more often and hating us less than she did when she learned about us. We like her, in general. She’s cool, except for the part that even though she’s a professional musician, her dad trained her in tactical operations and she could kill us in our sleep.
Beacon turns to Vance and asks, “Are you coming with us?”
“Where are you going?” I ask, concerned. He’s been complaining too much about having cabin fever and what if this is it? The moment he says, “Fuck it I’m going back home.”
“The bar’s reopening,” he states. “I’m having an unplugged presentation to help them celebrate. G is playing too.”
“I’m not,” she says, rolling her eyes. “Unless you get me a cello, I refuse to play anything else.”
He grins, but before he can say anything, Hayes asks, “When did the bar close?”
“Technically it hasn’t closed. It’s just under new management,” Beacon says. “It’d be nice if you could come by and show some support.”
I turn to look at Hayes who nods slightly. Then I say, “We’ll be there. Is nine okay?”
Beacon grins. “Yeah. Whatever, dude.”
“If you want to leave Arden with us,” Emilio tells Mills, “we can set the railing up on the bed we have in the guest bedroom.”
Mills freezes.
“My parents have seven grandchildren, and he’s already shown you that he’s great at babysitting,” Sophia offers, pulling Arden out of his highchair. “You want to stay with Grandpa Milo?”
“Pa Milo,” Arden says wiggling his legs.
A flash of her carrying our own kid during a family gathering makes my heart swell. Every day that passes I wonder if I’ll ever go back to New York. This is what I want for the rest of my life. Sophia, our children, and the family we’re building—with my brothers.
Twenty-Five
Henry
Sophia is brilliant. There’s never been a doubt about it. When she sent me her plan on how to alleviate the tension at Merkel and how I could still be present without leaving Oregon, I agreed to it right