Body Shot (Last Shot)(87)
“What difference would it make if it’s not family running it? Couldn’t your dad still have final say over decisions, but someone else does the work?”
“I think that’s kind of how it goes now. Except Dad still does too much work. It’s a big company. Anyway, they made me feel kind of guilty now that Dad’s actually gotten sick and he really does have to take things easy for a while.”
“You want to go back to Boston?” Marco asked bluntly, leaning forward, elbows on his knees.
“No.” The honest answer sprang to Beck’s lips. “I don’t. I like it here. I like what we’re doing here. I like having time to goof off and go mountain biking or sailing. I sure as fuck wouldn’t be doing that stuff in Boston.” He hesitated. This was kind of hard to talk about. “I like what I’m doing with the foundation. And…I like hanging out with you guys.” What that really meant was, he loved them like brothers and didn’t want to lose the only real family he’d ever had. That idea was like a knife twisting in his gut.
“Then stay,” Marco said. “Simple as that.”
“You gotta do what you want to do,” Cade added. “What’s best for you. Your family can guilt you into going back there and taking over, but if it makes you miserable, what kind of life is that?”
Beck rubbed his face. “Yeah.” He bent his head.
“And what about Hayden?” Marco asked. “What the fuck, man? Why didn’t you tell us she broke up with you?”
“It just happened. That night I got the call from my mother and I jumped on a plane to go home. Didn’t have time to tell you.”
“We talked on the phone,” Marco said dryly. “But whatever. What happened? It was different for you to get involved with someone, but you two looked good together. You seemed really…happy. Never seen you happy like that with a chick.”
Yeah, he had been happy. Now that the happiness was gone, he recognized how potent and bright it had been. He’d thought he was fine before he met Hayden, only maybe he just hadn’t known what real happiness was.
He told them what had happened, about Hayden’s fears that she was letting down her team by having a life, about her losing the grant, his offer to give her money, and her horrified reaction.
“Whoa,” Cade said. “She knew about your money?”
“Nope. You know I don’t go around telling people that.”
“Hmm. So that must have been a shock to her.”
“I guess.”
“And she turned you down.”
“Hell yeah. Basically implied I was treating her like an expensive hooker.”
“Jesus Christ.”
“Well, I get that,” Marco offered. “If all you two had between you was sex, sure she’d feel that way.”
“It was more than sex,” Beck snapped.
Marco smiled slowly. “Oh. Was it?”
Chapter 23
Beck bent his head.
“Bullshit’s here, bullshit’s there, bullshit’s flyin’ in the air.”
Beck’s head snapped up to glare at Marco. “What the hell does that mean?”
“It means you’re full of shit. You’re in love with Hayden. Jesus, pull your head out of your ass.”
Beck gritted his teeth and his face tightened. He swallowed. “Okay, yeah, maybe I do care about her. But she told me to get lost. She’s got no time for me. So I may as fucking well go back to Boston.”
“What about us?” Cade demanded. “You just said you want to be here with us.”
“All in, all the time,” Marco murmured. “You know the motto.”
Beck nodded. Fuck, yeah. Marco was right.
“You all in here with us?”
He lifted his head and met Marco’s eyes, then Cade’s. “Okay, you assholes, I’ll say it. It’s gonna be hard staying here and not seeing Hayden again.”
“You’re either all in, or you’re not.”
Beck sucked in air. “Yeah. I’m all in here with you.”
“Okay, good. What about Hayden?”
“What about her? It’s done.”
“It’s not done. She’s miserable.”
Beck’s gaze snapped up to Marco’s. “What?”
“She looked awful when I ran into her this afternoon. Drained. Exhausted.”
Beck frowned. “Did something happen with her aunt and uncle?”
“I don’t know. She did mention that it had been a rough week, and said something about them. What’s up with that?”
“Ah, her aunt broke her hip a while back and she’s been looking after them. Fuck, hope they’re okay.”