Love Redesigned (Lakefront Billionaires #1) by Lauren Asher

I swear, the man is one step away from signing up for one of those competitive wilderness shows.

“Fina told me you took Dahlia to the hospital yesterday.” Rafa cuts to the chase as soon as I walk through his front door.

“Did you invite me over here to hang out or for an interrogation?”

“A mix of both.” He tucks his hands in his front pockets.

“At least you’re honest.”

He shoots me a look before walking away.

The style of his house is completely different from mine—it feels warm and lived-in, with its oak floors and Nico’s artwork hanging on every wall. The paint colors were chosen by Nico, with each room matching a different pair of my godson’s glasses.

Not my cousin’s smartest design choice, but one made out of love nonetheless.

I follow behind him, only to take a detour toward the classical music playing from the conservatory. Nico sits at the piano with his nanny and music teacher, Ellie. They play in tandem, perfectly in sync as their fingers fly across the keys.

Ellie’s body sways to the music, making her blonde hair shift with the melody.

“Did you get lost on your way to the kitchen?” Rafa says.

Ellie hits the keys all wrong, making the most horrific noise.

“I wanted to say hi to Nico.”

“Tío!” Nico slides off the bench and runs toward me. His coordination is a bit off because of his eye condition, but he jumps into my arms with all the momentum he can muster.

“Hey, you.” I ruffle his hair before tipping my chin toward Ellie. “Nice to see you again.”

She rises from her seat. “Likewise.”

“Is Rafa making you work on Saturdays now?”

“Not usually, but he inconveniently forgot to tell me he needed my help today.” She doesn’t bother hiding her annoyance.

Ellie never gets flustered. I’ve watched her be thrown up on by a sick Nico, get kicked in the stomach by one of Rafa’s goats, and twist her ankle during a hike, but I’ve never seen her look like this.

I spare my cousin a glance, only to find him glaring at Ellie. I’m not sure what’s wrong with him, but he needs to figure his shit out and get himself under control before he scares her away like he did all previous nannies. Whether by playing instruments together or learning to read braille, Ellie stands apart from the others with how she goes out of her way to help Nico and support him with his retinitis pigmentosa diagnosis.

Nico still values his independence like every normal eight-year-old kid, but sadly, it is only a matter of time before he completely loses his sight, a reality that has been stressing Rafa out as my godson’s vision worsens.

“Sorry you had to cancel your date.” Rafa’s face might be blank, but his eyes remind me of two burning coals.

Ellie smiles. “No worries. We rescheduled for tomorrow.” My cousin makes the most inhuman noise.

Her hazel eyes narrow. “Still struggling with that sore throat of yours?”

“You’re sick?” I ask my cousin.

“Sick of Eleanor’s bullshit is more like it,” he mutters under his breath before turning back toward the hall.

I fight a laugh. “Eleanor?”

“Don’t you dare call me that.” She points a finger at me.

“What’s up with him?” I ask once Rafa is out of hearing distance.

“He’s been like that all week because of the weather.” Ellie’s gaze swings from me to Nico.

There is nothing worse than Hurricane Hillary influencing my cousin’s mood long after their divorce.

I step toward the hall. “I better go before he comes searching for me.”

“Bye, Tío!” Nico gives me one last hug before reaching out for Ellie’s hand. They return to the piano and restart the song.

I find Rafa sitting at the kitchen island, staring at his coffee like it might reveal his fortune.

“You good?” I grab the iced coffee he made me. Rafa might be an irritable dick most of the time now, but he still goes out of his way to do sweet things because he can’t help himself.

He runs his hands through his hair, making a mess of the already-disheveled strands. “Hillary called.”

“Hm.”

His shoulders droop. “She’s flying into Detroit and wants to see Nico.”

“When?”

“The weekend of the Harvest Festival.”

My brows rise. “Is she coming?”

“No.”

“Shocker.” Once the divorce papers were signed, she booked a one-way flight back to Oregon to be with her family and never came back to Lake Wisteria. If it wasn’t for Rafa flying out there so Nico could see his mom, I’m not sure she would have seen him until now.

“Nico’s excited to see her.” His fingers tighten around his mug.

“It’s been what? Four months since he last saw her?”

“Five,” he grunts under his breath.

“I forgot she missed his birthday.”

“I sure didn’t.” His voice reeks of self-loathing.

“You’ve got to stop beating yourself up over her poor decisions.”

“I’m the one who got her pregnant. Who else is there to blame but me?”

“You were barely an adult when all that happened. It’s not like you could have predicted things would turn out this way.”