A Moment Like You (The Baker’s Creek Billionaire Brothers #2) - Claudia Burgoa Page 0,70

I’d know. I’ve stayed there every night for the past month. Where is she going to stay?

“Can she stay somewhere else?”

He gives me a sad glance and shrugs. “We can try to negotiate, but I can’t make any promises, sweetheart.”

Twenty-Seven

Henry

“Why am I not surprised to see you in the middle of this fucking storm, Mr. Parrish.” You fuckin’ creep.

“I’m going to kill you,” Blaire mumbles in my ear as she’s making her way toward the main door. “I’m heading to the office, but call if you need me. As usual, it was unpleasant to see you, Mr. Parrish.”

“If all goes as I predict, I’ll be seeing you soon to deliver the check with Mr. Aldridge’s donation.”

Blaire glares at me and says, “Fix this!”

I’m about to ask where everyone else is when I hear voices coming from the living room. Vance and Hayes chat with a woman who sits on the couch. I assume that is Martina.

“They found you,” Hayes says.

“Of course. I was at the office,” I answer and turn my attention toward Martina.

She hasn’t changed much since the last time I saw her during my grandfather’s funeral. She and her family were there to show their support. She’s tall, slim, and the highlights in her brown hair make her look almost blonde.

“Henry, dear,” she says, smiling politely. “My lawyer has been trying to reach you for ages. We’re still confused as to who represents you these days. I’m grateful that I got ahold of Mr. Parrish. Your father recommended him when he summoned me.”

“William?” I ask, and Hayes’s head turns in her direction, his eyes bulging. “When did you see him?”

“January?” She waves her hand as if it doesn’t matter when or how that happened. “He was an acquaintance of my father and wanted to meet me in case he wouldn’t make it. I’m sorry for your loss. I’d have reached out if I had learned earlier.”

It’s on the tip of my tongue to tell her that the announcement was made public. Sophia took care of those small details.

“Your father was lovely, and handsome just like all of you. I had no idea you…well, you have brothers.”

Hayes and I look at each other. We have so many questions, and I bet he feels played just like I do. If we manage to dodge this one, there has to be more shit coming our way. We have to be ready. But he only says, “It’ll be fine,” as he squeezes my shoulder reassuringly. “If you need us, we’re going to be outside.”

Translation, he’s not pissed, and I got his full support. My chest loosens up a bit. No matter what happens, my family is backing me.

“To what do I owe you this visit?”

“I’m getting mixed signals, Henry, and Daddy is concerned about my future. It’s in my best interest to go to the root and make sacrifices if that’s what is needed.”

Her reply isn’t what I expect. What sacrifices? What… “Mixed signals?” I ask, but I want to say, “Let’s break this arrangement” is pretty self-explanatory.

“Well, yes. First your father asks me to see him just to meet the future mother of his grandchild, and then you’re asking to dissolve our agreement?” She clutches the necklace she wears and says, “It’s pretty stressful, and what with my birthday coming up and all the preparations I have to make for the wedding?

“Mr. Parrish here was telling me that you can’t get out of this town. You should’ve thought about that before you moved in here. We reserved the Natural History Museum years ago. I can’t just cancel it to marry…here.”

“There are a lot of details you two have to resolve. The one detail I’m interested in is your living arrangements,” Parrish jumps in immediately. “This is a serious relationship, which means—”

“This is a business transaction my grandfather set up when I was twenty-two. Unfortunately, I dismissed it and never thought about it until I moved into this town,” I lie because really I thought about it when I realized I am in love with Sophia.

“As Ms. Edelstein explained, I contacted her to resolve this matter immediately, but there’s been a lack of communication between parties. My future is in this town. I see how you could try to twist this into one of William’s stipulations because you can’t seem to believe that we’re here to stay, or you want to see us fail. However, I wouldn’t drag a person who I barely know into this mess when my intentions aren’t the