Chapter One
Ryker
“Congrats. I’m proud of you,” I said.
I clinked my glass of champagne to my sisters’. Tess and Skye just quit their jobs to focus on their business full-time. They’d been running an online lingerie shop for a few years, but now they were preparing to open a brick-and-mortar store. The official opening was in three weeks.
“Thanks, brother,” Tess answered. I could see she was truly pleased with my praise. But it was the truth; I was damn proud of them both.
“I’m so glad we finally took the leap,” Skye said, stretching on the couch that had just been delivered to the shop. Tess and I sat on the armrests.
“And because we’re all about setting goals, let’s hope we’ll nab an investor soon,” Tess added. Although they’d made a lot of money on their own, they could expand faster with an investor.
“You know I can help,” I offered for the millionth time. I was director at a venture capital firm and knew many investors.
The fund I worked for couldn’t invest directly—that would be a conflict of interest—but I could pull some strings.
Tess shook her head. “We already told you we don’t want you to put your skin in the game for us. What if this doesn’t work out? Your reputation on Wall Street will suffer.”
I didn’t care about my reputation when it came to my family. I just wanted to ease their way as much as possible. The business world was ruthless, and I was convinced the best way to succeed was to approach it the way we’d done everything else: by sticking together.
“Besides, you’re already helping.” Tess was batting her eyelashes. I knew something was up.
“What do you need me to do?”
“Don’t phrase that so open-ended, because our list is a mile long,” Skye warned. We’d already hung curtains before the couch was delivered.
“I know. I saw the list. There are still a million things to check off.” That was the reason our family took turns coming to the store after work. They’d gotten the keys to this place two weeks ago, and we’d divided the weekdays among ourselves. Until the store opened, our brother, Cole, came Thursdays, I did Monday, and our cousin, Hunter, and his wife, Josie, stopped by on Wednesday. Mom and her husband came Tuesday and Friday.
Skye winked, sitting upright again. “Nah, you did enough for tonight. Thanks for helping us hang the curtains. Tess and I have to pack some new online orders.”
“Is that why we drank only the small champagne bottle?” I pointed to the floor, where there was a large one next to a pile of boxes.
“Oh, no. We’re keeping the large Dom Perignon for the actual opening, when the whole gang will be here,” Tess said. “Minus Josie and Hunter.”
“Why aren’t they coming?” I asked.
“They might come. They’re taking a trip and aren’t sure if they’ll come back in time. Those two are using every free moment to travel,” Skye said with a grin.
Sometimes I still couldn’t believe that our cousin was married to his best friend, but I didn’t say it out loud. My sisters picked up on it anyway.
“Still haven’t recovered from Hunter breaking out of the bachelor pack, huh?” Tess teased.
“Something like that,” I admitted. Even though Hunter was our cousin, we considered him a brother. After our parents’ divorce, Mom moved us all to New York, and Hunter had practically grown up with us. Josie had been a family friend for a long time, and she was one of my favorite people. I just never imagined she and Hunter would marry. I’d always thought Cole, Hunter, and I would be eternal bachelors. At least Cole was still in the same camp as me.
Skye clinked her empty glass against mine, grinning from ear to ear. “Fearing things might change for you too, Flirt?”
“Absolutely not.”
Josie had been the one who’d nicknamed me back when we were teenagers. I was proud of my nickname and did it justice on a regular basis.
“I definitely detected a sliver of fear,” Tess said on a chuckle.
Skye nodded, pointing a finger at me. “Yeah, look. He has that expression when his pupils widen and his eyebrows sort of go down.”
“What about it?” I asked, confused.
“It’s how you look when you’re semi-afraid,” Skye informed me. I groaned.
“I don’t get afraid. It’s one of the reasons I’m in venture capitalism.” I loved the fast pace, the risk, the unpredictable nature of the market even after analyzing all performance indicators.
“Ha! I definitely remember a few incidents that contradict that statement,” Tess said.
Skye snapped her fingers, as if she’d just remembered something vital. “Like that one time you partied so hard before Christmas that you didn’t think you’d make it to family dinner. I believe the words ‘save my ass’ were said in a pleading tone.”
I groaned, rising from the couch and placing my glass on the large box we were using as a makeshift counter. Since they were a few years older than me, they remembered stuff I didn’t... and didn’t let me forget things I’d rather overlook.
“Girls, if you don’t need me, I’ll get going.”
“Wait! Let’s not forget the daily selfie,” Tess asked. “Let’s move further away, so the couch is in our backdrop.”
“Why are you taking these?” I inquired.
“So we can keep track of our progress. Helps when we think we’ll never get through the to-do list.”
“Hey, this is the last time we come here in our office clothes,” Skye said. “It’s going to be sweatpants-palooza in here until we actually open up for customers and need to look professional again.”
“Come on. Squeeze in for a Winchester selfie,” Tess said. I laughed as the two of them stood at my sides. I held the phone so the three of us and the couch were in the same frame. Skye adjusted the lighting, mentioning something about how the fact that I had dark blond hair and theirs was light brown made it difficult to find a filter that fit us all.
Afterward, I picked up my guitar case, strapping it to my shoulder.
“Performing tonight?” Tess asked.
“No, just taking my new guitar to the bar.”
“Have fun,” Skye said.
I loved playing the guitar, and performing was the best way to unwind and put the day behind me. I hadn’t scheduled anything for this evening because I didn’t know how long I’d be here. I walked out of the store, looking around and taking in the surroundings through the lens of an analyst: the location was excellent. It had decent foot traffic and attracted both locals and tourists. My sisters had experience in the industry. They had a great shot at making this work. It was early March, so they’d missed out on Valentine’s Day sales, which was huge in their industry, but if they managed to open by April, as planned, they could still make a killing with Easter sales.
I headed straight to the Northern Lights, the bar where I performed from time to time. It was crowded tonight. Happy hour had started a while ago, and a bunch of suits had come in right off Wall Street. When I was on stage, watching the crowd relaxed me. When I had to make my way through it, not so much.
“Rose, I have something for you,” I called to the bartender on shift. She was also the manager. I placed the guitar on the counter.