Page 51 of A Matter of Fact

“What an insightful conversation this has been, then.”

“Do you want me to tell Dad to go get fucked?”

He barked out a sharp laugh. “I would love to see how that goes over.”

“Remington has more money than me,” Sebastian joined in, laughing. “I’m not scared of him, Rhys.”

That statement had Rhys’s mood sobering up in a snap. He was glad Sebastian wasn’t scared of their father. He didn’t want that for him, but Sebastian was foolish if he disregarded the amount of money and power that their father had. If he forgot how far his will could reach. But Rhys was also glad for it. That meant he’d been a good older brother. He’d kept the worst of it from Sebastian. That was all he’d ever wanted—for at least one of them to have the things they wanted in life.

His laptop chimed with another incoming email, and Rhys swallowed back the sense of dread that had taken hold at the base of his spine.

“You there?” Sebastian asked, tone calmer and more reserved.

“Yeah. Yes. Of course, Sebastian.” He was and he would always be.

“Will you let me know what you decide?” his brother asked. “Don’t just…go, if you go.”

“I’ll keep you apprised,” he promised.

“I’ve gotta get going.”

“I know.” Rhys nodded to himself. “It was…nice talking to you, Sebastian.”

Sebastian exhaled into the phone. “Same. Alright, then. Bye.”

“Bye.”

Sebastian ended the call, and Rhys dropped his phone into his lap with a groan. The fact that his father was calling around to Sebastian, trying to get to him, spoke volumes as to the mood he was in over Rhys’s extended vacation in Myers Bluff. He closed his eyes and swallowed back all of the trepidation and uncertainty he could find inside himself. He needed to make his next move with a clear head. He needed to make a plan of attack. Set a goal, find the path. This wasn’t the first time he’d done it and it wouldn’t be the last.

But worse, the call from his brother had brought up a lot more than quiet worries about his future state of residence. Now Rhys found himself thinking about Callahan. Thinking about the fight he and his father had over his intentions for the future. The quiet resignation from Callahan when Rhys had ended things. It still made him sick to think about. Callahan deserved better than him. Then and now. And honestly, Beckett probably did too.

“Get it together,” he mumbled to himself under his breath.

Easier said than done.

Rhys slammed the lid on his laptop closed and stalked back into the bedroom. He climbed back into bed and buried his face in the pillows, pulling the sheets up over his head. It smelled like sweat and cum and coffee. It smelled like Beckett.

It smelled like a happiness he knewhedidn’t deserve.

CHAPTERSIXTEEN

BECKETT MAKES A CONCESSION

Beckett wiped down the last of his tables, grinning at his reflection in the shiny tabletop.

“Who has you so happy?” Audra asked, smacking him on the ass with her towel as she passed by.

“As if you’re not aware.”

“Rhys, was it?” she teased.

“Rhys,” he agreed.

Always Rhys.

“Anything in particular? Did he like your cake?”

“Was that…” He turned and raised a brow at her. “Was that a sex question?”