Page 2 of Rebellious Hearts

I was the oldest of us all at thirty-three, but I’d been adopted last and it showed.

I was the fucking black sheep. There was no doubt.

I just wasn’t like the other Blackwoods.

The server disappeared, and we sat back against the modern velvet seats. Jester was a nice place. Mahogany panels against the walls, old nautical-themed art, the lighting always turned down low, and the bar—Jester’s main attraction—was bright and glowing in the center with all its backlit shelves and exclusive bottles of alcohol that each cost hundreds if not thousands of dollars.

I glanced in the direction of the two women. They’d taken a seat at the bar, and they were deep in conversation, so I could stare as long as I wanted without being a total creep.

The one with the gray eyes had her back turned to me, but her tan leather jacket and jeans, so tight they looked painted on, showed off beautiful curves on a body that she clearly made apoint of keeping in shape. Dark brown hair and olive skin—the lights behind the bar illuminated her like an angel… God, she was fuckingdivine.

“Hello?” Amy called out. “Earth to Ben.”

“What?” I looked at her.

“I was asking about the project. You know, the one we came here to celebrate.”

“Right,” I said. “Yeah, it’s pretty cool, I guess. It’s this little coastal town just south of Savannah in Georgia. Harborview, it’s called, and this town has gone to shit. I mean poverty like you hear about in the news, with broken buildings and shit. Alex wants me to spearhead fixing up the place and then eventually we’ll build another Blackwood Inc. factory there.”

“Job creation and breathing life into the town,” Luke said. “You guys are saints.”

I shrugged. “I guess so. I mean, it’s not like I was planning to do this but Alex suggested it’s the best place for me to be right now.”

“That’s what you want, right?” Amy asked, studying me. Her icy-blue eyes missed nothing, and I fought the urge to squirm under her scrutiny. “You want a change to get out of dodge and stretch your legs?”

“Well, yeah,” I said. “Besides, if we pull it off it will look good on my résumé and it will be good for the company.”

“And you don’t have to hang around your brothers all the time,” Luke said with a grin.

“Right,” I said.

Amy was still staring at me.

“I’ll be right back,” Luke said and got up, heading toward the restrooms.

“What is it?” Amy asked.

“What’s what?”

“What’s bugging you?”

I shook my head, but Amy swatted my arm.

“Don’t you dare lie to me.”

I sighed heavily. “Okay, okay. This is a big deal, and I get it—bringing Harborview back to its former glory and creating so many jobs with another factory is all well and good, but I can’t help but feel like Alex is just sending me away.”

Amy frowned. “Why would he do that?”

I shrugged. “We don’t get along. You know that.”

“Yeah, but he doesn’t hate you, Ben. This sounds like a positive thing for your career, not a negative thing.”

I shrugged again. I understood what she was saying and I guess I could have looked at it that way, but it just felt weird. Maybe I was being too touchy-feely about it, getting worked up over something that wasn’t there. But Alex had chosenmein particular, even though I oversaw a huge sales department. It just didn’t make sense thatIwould be the one best for the job of expanding the company as a whole.

“This is a celebration,” Amy said, putting her hand on my arm. “We’re here to celebrateyoubecause you’re fantastic. Okay? Don’t be so negative. A lot of people love you and you don’t even know it.”

“Thanks, Aims,” I said to her and put my hand over hers for a second.