He braced himself for a difficult meeting, but Luke was smiling as he sauntered in, wolfing down a handful of strawberries. A swath of dark hair partially obstructed his eyes, and he flashed his unmistakable grin. Luke had relied on a bottomless well of daredevil charm his entire life, but Gray was immune to it, especially when Luke began juggling the berries.

“Are you drunk?” Gray asked.

“Not drunk, just happy,” Luke said as he flung himself into the chair opposite the desk and draped a leg over the arm. “You should try it sometime.”

“And why should I be happy?”

“Because the century is young and so are we. Because it was a crystal-clear day spent with good friends and healthy sport. And most importantly, because I found a shipwright who can fix Dad’s boat. I’ve bartered the use of my horse for a couple of weeks to pay for it.”

That was a surprise, and a welcome one. “I didn’t think you could make arrangements so quickly,” Gray admitted.

Luke shrugged. “I can do anything. You know that.”

“Is the deal with the shipwright why you missed dinner?”

“Philip and I went out to celebrate with the other teams. There is a magician in town who twisted his own head off in front of the crowd. I don’t know how he did it. Mirrors? I’m stumped. You should have been there.”

Gray didn’t bother to acknowledge that. “Luke, it’s time you took a more active role in the family business.”

“Not that again.”

“Yes, that again. You’ve done a decent job managing the factory since Dad died, but now that I’m back, I’ll take over management of the factory and the warehouse. I need someone to go overseas and work with our suppliers.”

Luke looked appalled. “So I can contract malaria and dysentery like you?”

“If need be. I want you to go to Cuba. I’m expanding our Caribbean spices, and we need more suppliers.”

Luke straightened in his chair. “Look, I can’t be you, Gray. I’m not cut out for business. We all know what happened the first time Dad tried to get me on board.”

“That’s in the past. You can’t let one bad experience taint you for life. It’s time to start doing your fair share. You’re earning more from the company than Otis, and that’s not fair.”

“Otis again,” Luke muttered with a roll of his eyes.

“Yes, Otis,” Gray asserted. “Dad and I have always depended on Otis, and he’s never let us down.”