Page 131 of Faking it For Summer

“I’ll come with you,” she says.

“What do you mean?”

“I’ll come with you to your grandparents’ house, okay? I want to be a support for you, and I want you to know I’m okay with you helping them. This situation is not about that. It’s just about me being worried and nervous, and this is really new for you and for me. And what if we don’t make it?”

“But what if we do, Mia? What if it’s everything we could have ever dreamed of?”

“I don’t know,” she says. “I’m just scared that it could be everything I’ve ever dreamed of—and then I’ll lose it.”

chapter twenty-six

Mia

The tension in the room is so thick you could cut it with a knife. Rex is sitting on the couch, looking like a scolded child. Andi is sitting next to him, looking like she’s lost. Luke’s parents are sitting at the table. His mother is crying, and his father looks like he’s had the wind taken out of his sails. Only Bitsy looks solid, staunch, resolute. Her husband is at the golf course, and I wonder what he’ll think when he gets back.

Luke is sitting across from Rex and Andi, recovering from the bomb that’s just been dropped in his lap. Rex has pretty much run the company into the ground, which I think is ironic. I kind of want to laugh if the situation wasn’t so serious, but I can tell that that would be the absolute worst move to make because the entire family is in crisis control. I respect that Luke hasn’t laughed in Rex’s face and called him a loser. If it had been me, I would have let Rex have it, but Luke is better than me. He’s dignified in his takedown of Rex. Though I suppose he can’t jump up and down and tell his parents off for shutting him out like they had.

I didn’t know one person could fuck something up that badly, but it doesn’t surprise me that Rex has.

Luke speaks calmly as he addresses his family. “This is a shit show,” he says, looking up from some of the folders.

He’s in take charge mode right now, and it’s interesting to see him as a businessman. To listen to him talk about numbers and plans. This is a Luke I’m not familiar with. I can see that he excels, that he loves it, and that this is his drive. And I also realize this side of his life really doesn’t have any impact on me, his love for me, and our relationship. My guilt and immaturity about holding his job against him because of my own selfish need to want to come first in every situation rears its head.

I now realize I can’t come first in every single situation. I just want to feel like I have no chance of losing him.

“So, what exactly is it that you want me to do?” Rex asks, speaking up, sounding like a petulant kid.

“I need you to step down,” Luke says, running his fingers through his hair and staring at his brother. “I need you to check your ego. I need you to stop acting like you’re the fucking boss of everything and that you know everything because you obviously don’t. This is our family company. Our parents rely on the income that we make. Grandma and Granddad rely upon the pension they receive. You rely upon it. Your family will rely upon it.”

Andi looks nervous. “Is there a possibility that you’re going to have no money, Rex?”

“It’s fine, Andi,” he says in a tense tone.

“Because I didn’t sign up for no money, and I certainly didn’t sign up for you …” She pauses as Rex gives her a deafening glare. She presses her lips together and stares at me.

I frown because she looks miserable. She looks miserable, which is not the way a new bride should look. I don’t say anything because it’s not my place, and she and I aren’t friends. But I’m curious as to what is going on between her and Rex and what the conversation about being pregnant meant.

“You just had to come in and save the day,” Rex says. “You just had to be Batman or Superman or whoever the fuck.”

Luke shakes his head and looks over at me. I blow him a kiss, and he gives me a warm smile. I smile back at him.

I notice that his grandma is staring at me, and there’s a pleading expression on her face, which I find surprising, given the fact that she may have to sell her house and may be left with no money.

“Look, I can take care of everything,” Luke says. “I can pay off the outstanding loans, and I can help turn the company around, but”—he pauses—“I’m just really exhausted right now. Physically, mentally, emotionally. I want to help everyone, but I do not trust Rex to still be in charge of the company.”

“You just want to be CEO!” Rex screams. “That’s all you’ve ever wanted. You’ve wanted to take my place. You’re probably happy that this has happened.”

“Do not talk to your brother like that,” Mr. Haverbrook says, and I’m shocked because I’ve barely heard the man speak ten words in all the time that I’ve known him. But I’m not interested in football, so we never had much to chat about. It’s a pity though.

“What?” Rex and Luke both say in shocked tones. Neither one of them has ever heard him speak up for Luke. I think the world is about to end because this is something that I’d never expected to see.

“What are you saying, Dad?” Rex sounds like an unsure kid. He looks confused and defeated, and for a moment, I almost feel sorry for him. But then I think back to how he’s treated Luke their entire lives, how he’s spoken to me, and how he’s treated Andi. He’s a jerk, and he doesn’t deserve my pity.

“I made a mistake. You don’t have a head for business like your brother. I’m sorry, son.”

He looks over at Luke. “I’ve been unfair to you, and I regret it. I’ve noticed that Rex has not been handling this well, and I would love your help turning this around.”

“So, what, you’re just giving him the company now?” Rex says. “Thanks, Dad.”