Series: Like Us Series by Krista Ritchie
Total pages in book: 241
Estimated words: 236417 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1182(@200wpm)___ 946(@250wpm)___ 788(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 236417 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1182(@200wpm)___ 946(@250wpm)___ 788(@300wpm)
He said, Tell them.
Moffy looks between us with furrowed brows, then his gaze settles on me. “You okay, sis?”
I must appear as startled as I feel. “Uh-huh.” I take a breath. “Our parents talked about who’d be in the running, and they tossed out anyone who has a career.”
“Who’d they name?” Beckett asks with more concern.
“Charlie, Eliot, Ben, Xander…and me.”
Moffy rakes a hand against the back of his stiff neck when he hears our brother’s name and mine, and Beckett’s jaw tenses in a way I’ve never seen from him.
“What the fuck,” Sulli mutters, then sneezes.
“Bless you,” Beckett says smoothly again. “Why bring us here, Charlie? I can’t protect them from this. You know I can’t.” His eyes redden, and it’s not from allergies.
“I just wanted you here,” Charlie says simply, then addresses Jane, Sulli, and Moffy. “I wanted to give you three the opportunity to take the helm. Because if any of you want it, now’s the time to take it before we call up the younger ones.”
“I don’t want it.” Sulli’s voice sounds stuffed. “I’m having a fucking baby in April, and I just launched a fitness app with Kits and Banks.” Her phone buzzes, and she adds after reading the text, “The two of which just chopped down a ten-foot tree without me and now they’re asking what’s going on.” She left them in the woods to join this impromptu meeting. “I’m texting that I’ll let them know in a sec.”
“The ballet,” Beckett says. “I can’t.” It’s assumed that he can’t take over Fizzle while also dedicating his life to dance.
Jane has her fingers steepled to her lips. “I can’t either.” Her apologetic eyes ping to us all, resting the longest on Maximoff. “I’d do this with you, but Thatcher is still suspended from security work, and I need to be with him and Maeve.”
And then there was one.
Everyone now looks to Moffy—the brother I’ve always known would take a bullet for each of us. He would lose everything if it meant we had everything. That was also the brother who never fell in love.
He cracks his knuckles, barely breathing. His gaze is faraway.
“You don’t have to,” I whisper.
His forest-green eyes lift to mine, a struggle within them.
“He could,” Charlie says, then tells Moffy, “What’s it going to be, Superman? The cape is in reach. Take it.”
Moffy casts a glance at the shut attic staircase, then digs in his pocket. “I need to call Farrow—”
“Can’t make a decision on your own?”
“Don’t be a fucking dick, Charlie,” Sulli snaps. “He’s allowed to call his husband. It’s a big deal. If he took this on, it’d totally affect Farrow and their kids.”
“He’s the CEO of an award-winning philanthropy. He’s sat in meetings at Hale Co., the only company of our families that rakes in close to what Fizzle earns. He has the most experience in the corporate world. That makes him the most qualified of us all.” Charlie twists his head to Moffy. “So here’s your chance, Maximoff. Fall on the proverbial sword. We all know you love doing it.”
Moffy keeps a firm hand on the back of his own neck. His other fist is tightening around the phone, and his eyes narrow on Charlie in a much angrier way.
Charlie and my brother are now having a stare-off, each one glaring at the other, and my nerves spike. Don’t fight. Don’t go back to what was. My breathing shortens.
“You’re scaring Luna—stop, Charlie,” Beckett says quietly.
Charlie cuts his gaze to the side, then steps away from the wardrobe. He returns his attention to Moffy. “Is it hard for you? You can save everyone from years of being stuck in corporate hell,” Charlie says, walking towards him. “Save your brother. Save my brothers. Save your little sister.” His eyes flash to me, and in that one look, the world slows…and I sense that Charlie already knows how this will end before it does—that this is the fifth move in a chess match he’s completed ten minutes ago. I wonder if he granted me passage into his mind, or if I have a tiny morsel of the power that only Beckett shares.
I can almost see through Charlie Keating Cobalt.
But it only conjures more questions. If he already knows what Moffy will choose, then is he toying with him because my brother is unbreakable? Or is he pushing Moffy for a greater reason? Can both be true?
Maximoff drops his gaze to me. He has a husband, a son, a newborn daughter, and a career he loves, and he’d only be taking over Fizzle so no one else would be imprisoned by it. The truth is, I don’t want to be the CEO of Fizzle any more than they do.
It’s a legion of work and responsibility and pressure. But my future is a lot less defined than his. He’s already made a beautiful home on his favorite planet, while I’m orbiting the stars with Donnelly.