CHAPTER ONE
Adam Harrington put his key in the lock, unlocked the door and pushed it open. With a grin so wide, it made his cheeks ache, he turned to his brothers and with a grand swipe of his arm and said, "Welcome to my new home."
He'd recently graduated from MIT and, although he loved his parents, there was no way he was moving back home and giving up the freedom he'd acquired in his four years as a student. His 'side business' of creating mobile apps and software programs had allowed him to build up a very healthy nest egg ... that now had an apartment size dent in it.
"C'mon, Adam, give us a quick tour before the movers start bringing your stuff up," said Finn, as he ruffled his hair on the way past. Finn was his middle brother, and the one he was closest to. It still bothered him that he treated him like a child. At least that's how it felt. Finn had built his own gaming business when he was younger and now, since he'd met his wife, Willow, he was a promotional video creator for local and national businesses as part of their marketing agency. Adam was the youngest of five brothers. His two eldest brothers, Marcus and Alex had joined the family business, Harrington Enterprises, while he and Finn had set up their own businesses while in high school, not interested in following in their big brothers' footsteps. Noah, the only missing brother today, was currently on a world tour with his band Stroke of Midnight. He'd certainly taken a different path.
His brothers, currently taking their own tour of his new apartment, were all happily married, and it was only himself and Noah that were still single. Marcus and Carly had been married for a few years now and were expecting their first child. Finn was next to 'fall' and married Willow, a few months ago. Alex was last to 'fall' and had been happily married to Melody, his Executive Assistant for the past two years. At twenty-two, Adam felt he was too young to settle down. The world was his oyster and he wanted to enjoy it. This was his time to figure out what he wanted, without having to compromise with anyone else ... again.
He'd refused all the job offers he'd received - the jobs he hadn't applied for - head hunted by the top tech companies in the United States. He refused because he knew he wanted to be his own boss. He wanted to continue to bring his own ideas to life and reap the rewards, rather than building someone else's dreams. He'd had enough of that growing up with four older brothers.
"This is a really nice place you've got here," Marcus told him as he put his hand on his shoulder, "I'm really proud of you. We all are."
"Thanks, Marcus, it means a lot," he grinned at his brother. He was proud of what he'd achieved. Now he had time to focus on his business, he was ready to bring to market his more ambitious ideas.
It didn't take the movers long to bring his stuff up. He'd sold most of his belongings from MIT rather than shipping it home, intending to buy anything as and when he needed it. It wasn't as if he couldn't afford to indulge in making his new apartment feel like home. The new purchases he'd made were arranged to be delivered later that day, then he'd get settled in.
"If you need anything, you know where we are," Finn reminded him. "I'm assuming you want us to leave so you can get organized?"
He loved his brothers but wanted to enjoy this experience doing things his own way, rather than with his brother's bossing him around.
Adam must have been silent for too long as Alex slapped him on the back which brought him out of his thoughts, "We get it. You want your own space and anyways we've got wives to get back to and I know who I'd rather spend my time with," he winked.
"Thanks guys," he told them, as he ushered them towards the front door. "Once I'm settled and actually have a couch and somewhere to sit and eat, I'll invite you all round for a meal."
"You cook?" Finn spluttered as his left eyebrow shot up. Finn was lucky his wife and mother-in-law cooked, or he would have been surviving on takeout all these years.
Sadness trickled through him as it donned on him that they didn't know the adult version of himself. He'd not let them. They'd all left home before he had and that was when he truly began to appreciate his independence and started to explore different interests. It didn't surprise him that Finn didn't know he cooked. It was something their mother had insisted on after Finn moved out. While at MIT, fed up eating takeout and typical student food and he found he enjoyed it. Finn on the other hand, he chuckled, hired a chef.
"You mean you don't?" he grinned, knowing fine well the answer.
"No, seriously? You cook?" Finn asked, giving him a weird look he couldn't quite decipher.
"Yes, I cook," he said, and couldn't help himself as he added, "from scratch," he smirked at Finn.
Finn stared at him and said quietly, "I didn't know that about you." He shook his head and made his way out the front door, along with Marcus and Alex.
He could understand that. His brothers thought they knew him, but he'd changed quite a bit since they'd left home and was able to grow into his own personality. There was a lot about him his brothers didn't know.