Knox: I wanted you to pick me. Tell me you wanted me as much as I wanted you. Say you were mine and admit how you really felt. I shouldn’t have to convince you not to fuck my brother.

Hadleigh: God! You’re impossible! You were all about it and telling me what to do to him. Now you’re backpedaling?

Knox: Yeah, well I’m sober and thinking with a straight mind. At the time, I thought you were gonna tell me you wanted me, but you didn’t. So I’m walking away. It was fun while it lasted. You’re free to do whatever the hell you want now.

Hadleigh: Okay. Wow. Thanks for proving me right.

Knox: About what?

Hadleigh: That you’d be the one to break my heart.

That’s where she’s wrong.

She broke mine.

I never replied to Hadleigh’s last text from a couple of days ago. There’s no use going back and forth. Our issues didn’t matter anymore. I’m not upset with Kane for getting involved. He’s wanted her for so long that there was no way he would deny what she was offering. For the same reason I couldn’t say no either.

But that doesn’t change the fact that she was undecided while we were inside her. Neither of us deserves to get played or be used to fulfill her own personal fantasy. Even if she didn’t mean to, that’s how it feels.

My shitty mood hasn’t changed, though, because Kane and I are still not talking. Not only did I lose a girl I’d been friends with for years but I also lost my brother. Things will never go back to how they were.

Wanting a distraction has motivated me to focus more on the stud expansion. Dad finally made time in his schedule, and I’m going to present everything to him. I’m nervous about his reaction but also excited. If he agrees, we could break ground right after the new year and start full operations by summer.

“Hey, son.” Dad grins when I walk into the house.

“Wanna beer?” I hold up a six-pack.

“That’s why you’re my favorite,” he muses, and I chuckle.

“Yeah, right.”

I hand him a bottle, and he twists it open. “I’m excited to hear about your plan. Tell me everything.”

Taking the seat across from him, I sip my beer, then open the manila envelope. Everything I researched is printed out along with start-up costs, property estimates, and profit and loss calculations.

“A stud master, huh? You know you’re gonna get so much shit for that.” He chuckles, reading through the pages.

“I’ll wear the title proudly.” I shrug with a smirk.

“I know a bit about this process. It’s good money but not always easy. You think you’re up for the challenges? The contracts and dealing with people?”