Braxton (McKinley Brothers Book 1) by Alexis Ashlie

Author:Alexis Ashlie [Ashlie, Alexis]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2020-10-05T16:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER FOUR

BRAXTON

I’m late to pick up Daniella.

I’d been in a meeting with my executive team, with my brothers on Zoom calling in from their respective locations. We were nailing down final details for the opening of the Montreal branch in a few weeks, and we didn’t all agree on a few issues. The debate got heated with one of my managers, and the meeting went into overtime. I eventually lost the argument, and I’m okay with that. I refuse to hire someone who doesn’t have the guts to stand on their own convictions.

So here I am, no time to change into something more casual, still formally dressed as I always am for work, feeling like a stuffy old fart. I secretly hope Daniella has planned something quiet and relaxing, even a home-cooked meal. I need to unwind.

But there she is in the doorway, in pair of jeans that hug her curves without strangling them, and a berry-colored woolen top. Okay, so the girl likes pink. Her hair is out around her shoulders, and those pearls are dangling from her ears again. So, she likes pearls, too. Noted.

We hug briefly, and as we walk back to my car I try not to expose my glee. I’d been thinking of her all week, longing to see her again, and now that she’s finally walking beside me, her presence feels larger than life.

“Where to?” I ask.

She has a mischievous glint in her eye. “Straight ahead four blocks, turn left, and await further instructions.”

“Mission Impossible, huh?”

“Something like that.”

“Buckle up, then.” And I kick it into gear.

Twenty minutes later, I pull up and park, unable to hide my astonishment. We’re at an amusement park. It’s not the weekend—in my business, those are my hectic nights, so it’s hard to get away—but the park is still pretty busy. The music spills over the walls, exciting and inviting. Multi-colored lights bounce off the hood of my unimaginatively black car.

I’m aware of Daniella next to me, eyes on my face, waiting on my reaction. “Well . . .?”

I stare at the Ferris Wheel as it spins, and hear the screams of the excited riders, and suddenly I’m thrown back to my childhood when my brothers and I begged our father to take us to a game, an amusement park, a zoo, the things normal kids get to do. And he’d laugh mockingly, reminding us that McKinley’s didn’t have time for “fun,” and that laughter and play would make us soft. The handful of times we’d ever been to an amusement park was when our mother sneaked us out of the house for a few hours of forbidden gaiety, knowing full well she would have to face my father’s wrath when she got home.

I’m ten years old again, and I can’t wait. I strip off my jacket and toss it onto the back seat. My tie follows. I tug off my cufflinks and drop them into the ashtray, and roll up my sleeves. “I’m in!” I announce. As we walk through the entrance and Daniella pays for our passes, she takes my arm.

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