Never Marry Your Brother's Best Friend (Never Say Never, #1)

But what he does has been working for Elena, and I don’t want to belittle that, even if I’m certain I can improve on it moving forward. “I’m looking forward to hearing how you’ve managed such a large and diverse portfolio for so long, especially as a one-man show, Mr. Oleana. That’s quite impressive.”


He narrows his eyes, not believing my bullshit for a second. But when I hold his gaze, he relents. “Fine. Call me Pat, and let’s get this thing done. There’s a beach calling my name.”

“A beach?” I echo.

Elena pats my arm, leaning over to fill me in. “He’s retiring to live near his grandkids out on the coast.”

I’m surprised. It must take a lot for a man like Pat to hang up his tie and coat to put on flip-flops and a sunhat. I sure as hell can’t see my dad doing that anytime soon. But . . . “Why not continue managing the Cartwright portfolio from there?” I gesture to my tablet, the one-stop shop that lets me work anywhere, anytime, and would do the same for him.

He shrugs. “It’s time. Me and Elena go way back. Hell, we used to play on the floor while our dads had lunches and meetings.”

He looks at her, and together, they say, “Bo-ring!” They seem to share such a bright familiarity, and I wonder if there was ever more than friendship between the two of them, back before Thomas came into the picture.

I smile politely as they laugh.

“What was I saying?” Pat asks.

“You were explaining why you’re not going to manage Elena’s portfolio from the beach,” I prompt, biting back a comment about his forgetfulness and whether it’s age-related.

He nods several times, giving himself a moment to collect his thoughts. “Have you ever done the same thing for so long you could do it in your sleep?” he asks. Not waiting for my answer, he continues, “That’s what this is for me. It has been the joy of my life to make sure the Cartwright estate is safe and properly managed. And for a long time, I couldn’t imagine doing anything else. That’s why I’ve kept on. But it’s time for me to retire, and my kids don’t have a mathematical bone in their bodies, so I don’t have anyone in my family to pass the business on to. But I can’t leave Elena in the lurch, not after we’ve been through so much together.”

Elena smiles, but her eyes look glassy and wet. “Don’t go making me cry, Pat Oleana. I’ll have your ass on my wall as a trophy if you ruin my mascara.”

He chuckles and pats her hand. It looks more friendly and platonic than flirtatious, though. “You’ve worn waterproof mascara since the day you turned twenty-five and cried black rivers down your face when Thomas told your daddy that he would never ask you to change your family name and in fact, changed his to join your family.”

Wait, what?

I don’t know if I say something or make a noise, but Elena waves a hand at Pat and then explains to me, “Did you not realize that? Cartwright’s my given name from my daddy.”

I shake my head in confusion. “I definitely didn’t know that.”

Elena shakes her head, her eyes going distant. “It was quite the scandal back in the day. Everyone thought either I was a bossy heifer who wouldn’t let Thomas hold his own balls, or that he was a gold-digging thief who was going to steal my money and leave me buried in the woods off highway fifteen. Neither were true. He loved me and didn’t have a family of his own anymore, seeing as his parents has already passed. He was happy to join the Cartwrights and was as proud to bear our name as any born-and-bred Cartwright was. Daddy said he was an adopted son and treated him like family. Never called him an in-law once. Not a single time.” Her smile is wistful as she remembers.

Her eyes clear, and she pins me in her gaze. “Family’s important to us—to my Daddy, to me and Thomas, and now, to Claire, Mads, and Jacob. They’re the next generation. That’s why I like you and Luna so much. I can see how much you care for one another. And with the way you two got on with that sweet Gracie girl, there’s a big, full family table in your future. A whole line up of your brothers and sister, nieces and nephews, and babies of your own. I think that’s what makes this feel right, you know?”

Elena puts her hand over her heart, and I swear to all that is holy, if she starts saying the Pledge of Allegiance or singing Amazing Grace, I’m going to bolt from this room and never return because the guilt of what I’m doing is so heavy with Elena speaking in such a heartfelt way about what family means to her. Not that I’m going to be careless with her money, I legitimately will do her estate well, but because of the means I’m going to ‘get the job’.

And what she sees in mine and Luna’s future is scary as fuck. Still, I picture Luna big and round with a baby in her belly and it’s not a bad image. Luna would be a great mother, I think, remembering her with Grace and the stories she tells about school field trip kids.

It just won’t be my baby.

Eventually, this whole thing is going to come to an end. I’ll get the deal and get to work proving myself to Elena, and eventually, Luna and I will probably get divorced when it’s been appropriately long enough. After that, she’ll find someone and fall in love for real, get married for real, and have a baby . . . for real.

My gut roils at the thought of someone else touching her, loving her, creating a family with her. I swallow thickly and agree, “Family is everything. We love each other no matter what.”

And isn’t that the fucking truth? I’m talking about Luna, but also, my whole family.

We loved Cameron through his darkest days when his wife died, leaving him alone with Grace. We supported Chance starting his own business and the slow days when he wasn’t sure it was going to succeed. We defend Cole even though we don’t really have any idea what the hell he does. We make sure Kayla gets her turn in the spotlight when she could easily be overshadowed by her numerous brothers. And we accept that Kyle is always going to have one foot in and one foot out of the family, even if we don’t understand why. We just welcome him into the fold every time he chooses to come back.

And me too. Look at what they’re doing so I can have a shot at this deal. Going along with my crazy lie and this whole created life with Luna? Well, other than Dad.

Pat clears his throat, and I realize that he and Elena are staring at me. “Penny for your thoughts?” Elena asks gently.

At the same time, Pat says, “That’s enough blubbering on about nothing. We should get down to the details here. I want to see what you have planned.”

He makes it sound as if his shotgun is ready to punch holes in whatever plans I have, but I take Pat’s offered rescue from the emotional bend of our conversations, not needing to analyze any of my family drama or feelings for Luna right now. “Great idea. My research shows that you follow a pretty strict eighty-twenty split for assets, leaning heavily into conservative investments. Correct?”