Chasing I Do (The Eastons #1) Read Online Free PDF Page A

something,” Owen said. “I do it all the time here when someone wants to book the bar for an event but bring in their own caterer.”
    “I don’t think a few extra grand is going to sway her.” After his ill-thought threat, he didn’t think anything shy of a public apology from every member of his family would sway her. “Plus, money doesn’t motivate her.”
    “How do you know?” Owen said, crossing his arms in challenge. “She seemed to change her mind the second Kyle’s finances took a turn.”
    Gage never agreed with his family’s consensus that Kyle’s financial status had a role in her decision to skip the wedding. Darcy was never looking for a hand-out. She was looking for a partner. Someone to love, who would love her back. “I just know.”
    Rhett studied him long and hard. “If you’re so sure that money won’t sway her, then how about you?”
    “What?”
    “Well, you’re the one who claims to know her .” Owen threw up air quotes. “I forgot how close you two used to be before she and Kyle hooked up.”
    Too close. “No way.”
    “It’s actually not a bad idea. She’s always liked you, trusted you,” Clay added.
    “Not anymore.” Not after today. “And even if she did, that doesn’t mean she’d change her policy. Especially for an Easton wedding.”
    Jesus , Darcy was right. Saying it aloud made him realize what an impossible situation this was. Them expecting Darcy to agree would be like her asking Rhett to play at her wedding. Worse even, this wasn’t just her place of work, it was her home.
    “She won’t change her mind,” he said, confident now in that fact, even if he wasn’t okay with it.
    “She would change it for you,” Rhett said, so serious that apprehension twisted in Gage’s stomach. “And if she’s worried about the house, tell her I’ll bring in my best people.”
    “What people?” Gage laughed, but it was more of a release of emotion. It had been one hell of a day and he was about at his breaking point. “You mean your roadies?”
    “No, I mean I will have Steph call the company that catered for Oprah when she interviewed her. I will provide background checks on every employee who walks on that property. And I will give every media outlet exclusive pictures from the wedding when it’s over. It might even land her a cover.” Rhett sounded so serious that Gage began to believe that it might work. “And I will personally vouch for everyone invited, as long as Stephanie gets her dream wedding and Mom gets to see us walk down the aisle without a reminder of Kyle hanging over her head.”
    “And will you personally apologize for what happened at the funeral?” Gage asked, ignoring the shocked looks on his brothers’ faces.
    He’d worked hard to do the right thing, to avoid situations where he treated others unfairly. After seeing the absolute conviction in Darcy’s eyes when she said there was more to the story, Gage began to question everything he’d assumed to be just.
    Including how his family had treated her after the wedding day.
    “Are we all going to apologize? Because, let’s face it, there is no way she’d feel comfortable letting Mom on the property after the fall-out they had.”
    And by fall-out, he meant his mom having Darcy arrested for trying to get her stuff out of Kyle’s apartment, then accusing her in the news for the death of her son.
    “When did you become Debbie Downer?” Rhett asked.
    Gage had no idea. He was the guy with the plan, the brother who could find an upside to any problem.
    Years of negotiating multi-million dollar contracts for some of the biggest egos in sports and music had taught Gage that most life decisions were driven by emotional needs. People didn’t haggle over an extra half-percent—they were searching for validation. The key to closing a deal was pinpointing what that meant to each person, then delivering it in a way that both sides felt as if they’d been heard.
    Darcy didn’t want money, and