Southern Bombshell (North Carolina Highlands 5)

“Reese sounded like she was doing well when we spoke.”

“She really is. Something about Charleston just lights her up.” Chris tucks his hands into his pockets, making the hem of his blazer flip upward. “Like I said on the phone, I was disappointed y’all broke up. You made her happy, and that made me happy.”

“I made her happy while I could,” I say.

“I know you did, son. And I know it was the right call to end things. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, I have no ill will toward you.”

I let out a breath. “Thank you for saying that.”

“She told me about you and Milly too.”

My stomach lurches. “I—”

“No need to explain,” Chris says, waving me away. “Reese wasn’t upset about it, so neither am I. Your personal life is none of my business. You’re allowed to do what you want, Nate.”

Like she knows we’re talking about her, Milly walks into the room. Everything inside me rises. She looks startlingly beautiful—I swear the woman belongs on the cover of a magazine. Her hair cascades over her shoulders in shiny blond waves. She’s wearing a brightly colored blouse that’s open at the neck, revealing a tantalizing glimpse of her chest. Her pink pleated skirt grazes her ankles, and the toes of her alligator print leather boots peek out from under the skirt’s hem.

The best part of all? She’s smiling. The kind that touches her eyes and fills the room with this kind of buzzy energy even Chris isn’t immune to. He’s staring at her too.

I have no idea how the hell I got so lucky.

“Hey y’all.” She sets down her bag on the table, carefully removing her laptop and a notebook and pen. “Great to see you.”

“Chris knows,” I blurt. “About us.”

Milly blinks. “Oh. Okay—”

“Congratulations,” Chris says, extending his hand to her. “I said the same to Nate—no hard feelings. We all love this company, and we’re here to make sure it has a future.”

Milly nods. “Let’s get it done.”

Silas shows up a minute later. He shaved, and he almost looks presentable in his khakis and button-up shirt. I feel a nudge of pride. Despite having a deadbeat for a parent, my brother got his life together. I’m a lucky bastard to have him in my life.

Moving to my spot at the table—no one’s at the head, we’re sitting in seats across from each other—I square my shoulders and take a deep breath. “Y’all ready?”

“Been ready for years,” Silas replies.

Chris unbuttons his blazer and sits in the chair opposite mine. “Let’s do this.”

“I’m ready.” Milly looks up at me, that smile still in her eyes. “And so are you.”

Good thing, because Dad picks that moment to appear on the threshold. Glancing at the clock, I realize he’s only five minutes late. The hairs on the back of my neck stand up.

Wilson must’ve known something was off. If his early arrival—for him, anyway—didn’t tip me off, his expression does. His eyes are narrowed to slits as they dart around the room, landing on Milly.

He’s sensing the ambush about to come his way.

The old me would’ve felt sorry for him.

The new me is annoyed. Insulted, even. What did he expect would happen, treating everyone the way he has? Pulling the shit he did?

I don’t hate my dad. I want to, believe me. But hating him would mean he still had a hold on me, and those days are done. I just want him gone.

Gesturing to the seat beside mine, I say, “Wilson, please sit. We have a proposal to make.”

“A Beauregard at Kingsley Distilling.” He moves toward Milly slowly, a long-legged stride that speaks to his ridiculously enormous sense of entitlement. “Never thought I’d see the day.”

“Times have changed,” Milly replies tartly.

Silas chuckles. “Thank God for that. Dad, sit your ass down, would you? No one has time for your bullshit today.”

“I see your older brother’s rubbin’ off on you.”

“That’s a problem because . . .?”

I pull out the chair. “Dad, sit.”

He glances at the stack of paperwork on the table. “What’s that?”

“The proposal. Sit and I’ll tell you about it.”

“How ’bout you tell me about it, and then I’ll sit?”

Chris clears his throat. “Wilson, those papers right there, they’re going to give you everything you’ve ever wanted and then some. Let’s make a deal, all right?”

“A deal?” Dad’s eyebrows pop up as he turns to me. “Son, you don’t make deals without me.”

I bite the inside of my cheek. “I can’t do business with you if you won’t sit the fuck down, can I?”

We stare each other down. Milly, bless her, takes the opportunity to sit in her seat on the other side of mine. She crosses her legs and uncaps her pen, tucking her hair behind her ear as she leafs through her copy of the paperwork. “That’s a lot of zeroes, y’all. Lots of commas too.”