Page 16 of Forbidden Kisses

“No problem. I have to say, I loved cooking with Jeremy. He's so good in the kitchen. He told me about the two of you and how you cook together. You must have rubbed off on him, as he certainly knows his way around."

Every time she spoke about him, an inexplicable warmth coiled through my chest. Ms. Williams, although very competent, had always spoken about him almost as if he was her subject. This was new and uncharted territory for me. I liked it that Riley cared.

I opened the door and immediately pressed the button for the elevator. She stepped sideways as the doors opened, and Iaccidentally brushed her back with my knuckles. She sucked in a deep breath, and so did I. Damn it, I had to get a hold of myself. Then again, it was only our first day working together. I was certain that things would change.

"Good night, Duncan, and give Jeremy a hug for me," she said before stepping into the elevator.

I nodded as the doors closed and tried to push Riley to the back of my mind… to no avail.

Yeah, things might change… but not for the better.

CHAPTER SIX

Duncan

On Monday morning, I met with my brothers for our general meeting. It was the only time when all of us were at Sterling Investments. After the staff finished their weekly report, they filtered out. My brothers and I stayed behind. Usually, we used this time to brainstorm ideas about each other's current businesses and potential new ones.

My second-oldest brother, Chase, was sitting between Griffin and Wyatt. Knox and Finn, the youngest ones, stayed together as usual.

"All right, who's got anything to bring to the table?" Griffin asked.

Chase went first. He usually had the most ideas. He mentioned the articles he'd read about the wine business. This was something we'd discussed in passing before. A winery in Napa Valley wouldn't be bad, but it might be a lot to look after.

"I agree," I said. "I’ll look into it."

"Honestly, I'd be in, but only if we did it as a family venture," Knox said.

"Why?" I asked. We each had separate businesses. Although, owning a business together had its perks, especially with the logistics of this venture being more complex.

We were a powerhouse together. We fed off each other’s strengths when setting up Sterling Investments. Knox and Finn had still been in college, but their coding skills were unparalleled. They rest of us were thankful when they’d joined us too.

"I just feel like that would be a cool family business. Then we could all fly out to Napa Valley together. Though, on second thought, I guess we can do that even if only one of us owns it," Knox said.

Wyatt smiled slyly. “Anyone want to fly out to Napa this weekend… for research?”

That was surprising coming from Wyatt. He usually wasn’t impulsive—that was more like Griffin.

Griffin shook his head. "I'm out of this one. I promised Mom and Dad I’d stop by the store and help them with renovations."

Wyatt straightened. "What? You didn't tell me that."

"I went back and forth with them," Griffin said, "and they finally agreed."

"What do you mean?" I asked. I'd been out of the loop about this. “Last I knew, they were redoing the foundation.”

Griffin looked at all of us. "They’re doing more than that. The place needs refreshing, and Mom has very specific ideas about what she wants."

"Why didn't she tell us? Why didn't she tell me?" I asked. I'd seen her a few times last week, after all. “Why aren’t they hiring someone?”

“They did. And then decided not to use them.” Griffin turned to me. "Maybe she figured you’d have enough on your plate with Jeremy."

"But now things are getting back on track. I've hired a new nanny for him.”

"Really? Mom didn't mention anything,” Wyatt said as Chase glanced at me suspiciously.

"Another sixty-year-old who tells Jeremy how young men should behave," Knox teased. "No wonder we’re his favorites."

He looked far too full of himself. It was time to put my smartass brother in his place.