“The kind of fight that ends with you flying home early and packing your bags?”
I glanced at my things. “Um. Yeah. I’ll find a new place for us since the old apartment is transitioning into a bog and the landlord is in no hurry to prevent that. But you don’t have to worry. I’m sure Ryan won’t care if you’re here for a few weeks or even the rest of the summer.”
“Actually, I need to talk to you about that.” She slipped her hands into her pockets and rocked back on her heels. “Jakobi asked me to move in with him. I said yes, but I wanted to talk to you about it first.”
“But-but you hardly know him,” I cried, leaning fully into screeching parent mode. “You have your grad program starting in the fall and—and you know he’s a lot older than you, right?”
“I do know that,” she said easily. “I think it helps. It’s better. He’s not as”—she wiggled her fingers together as she reached for the right word—“disappointing as most of the guys my age. He’ssettled and he knows who he is, and I can be who I am without constantly needing to adjust myself for him.”
“Okay,” I managed.
“And he’s very supportive of my grad work,” she went on. “He brought up the idea of selling his place and finding somewhere closer to campus. We’re going to some open houses this morning.” She pointed to her shoes. “That’s why I needed my weekend sneakers. I tried going with the work week sneaks but I couldn’t do it.”
“That’s…that’s great news, Ines.” I needed to get myself together. I knew I sounded like I was announcing a tragedy and not celebrating this new beginning with her. “I’m happy for you.”
“Thanks.” She scooped up a hoodie that’d slipped from one of my bags and shoved it back in. “I don’t want to say that I’m sure things will work out with you and Ryan because I have no factual knowledge to support that. However, I can’t comprehend a world where you two don’t end up together because you’re like a law of nature. Maybe you need to give nature time to sort itself out.”
“I’ll try that,” I said. “Thanks.”
We rode the elevator in silence, though Ines ended up shouldering half the totes since I couldn’t keep anything together this morning. Jakobi was waiting by the entrance and he almost fumbled his iced coffee when he spotted me.
“Emme,” he said, alarmed. “What brings you back to the city so soon?”
“We’re not discussing that,” Ines said to him.
“Hey, Jakobi,” I replied with a smile that must’ve been a fright because his brows pitched high above the rims of his sunglasses. “I hear you’re stealing my roommate. You better be good to my girl.”
Still staring at me like I was the walking dead, he said, “My greatest joy in life is taking care of my lady.” He clasped Ines’shand and gave her an adoring look. “Can we give you a ride somewhere? You’re always welcome at our place. How about that? Come over and we’ll order brunch. Ines can show you her harp.”
“You have open houses to see.” I waved him off. “I’m all right. I swear. Even if this whole picture is a little terrifying.”
He shared a glance with Ines. “Then let me call your driver. Ralston would kill me if I left you here to”—he motioned to my hat and bags, and shook his head in disbelief—“handle this by yourself.”
“You really don’t need to worry,” I said, turning toward the garage entrance. Ryan had more than enough cars for one person. He wouldn’t miss this one. “Good luck with the house hunt.” I shot Ines a glance as she handed back the other half of my bags. “We’ll talk later. I don’t want you forgetting about me.”
“You’re my sister,” she replied. “I couldn’t forget you even if I tried.”
Tears welled in my eyes as I descended the stairs to the underground garage. I dumped everything in the back and then climbed into the driver’s seat. I knew the right thing to do would be calling ahead, but I hadn’t turned my phone on yet and I didn’t have the stomach for it now.
So, I hit the road with my bleary eyes and heavy heart, and hoped for the best—even if I didn’t have a great track record with that sort of thing.
Ben answered the door,his middle finger still immobilized in a hard, metal splint, and he crowed, “Emster! Get in here, girl!”
I interpreted this as an invitation to burst into loud, hysterical tears.
“Shit. Fuck. Jesus. Dammit. What did I do wrong?” He pulled me inside as he called out, “Grace. I need you out here.Grace!” He shuffled me toward the sofa and pushed a box of tissues into my hands, all while yelling for Grace with increasing panic as I cried harder. He dropped down to kneel in front of me, tipping my chin up as he looked me over. “Just try to breathe.”
I was halfway through the tissues and blowing my nose like a squawking goose when Grace strolled in from the patio. She stopped in her tracks when she spotted me on the sofa and her husband watching me like I might combust at any moment.
She pulled out a pair of earbuds and dropped them on the countertop, saying, “Ben, I need you to go get some pineapple juice. A jar of cherries too. And the biggest bottle of vodka you can find.”
I told Grace everything.Therealeverything, not the smoothed down version Ryan and I had sold everyone over the past few months. The revenge husband, the business deals, all of it.
I told her how I’d allowed myself to believe it was all true and how I realized this weekend that nothing had been true.
“I don’t think that’s accurate,” she said as I loudly slurped up the last of my drink.
Ben appeared a moment later with a refill. Ben was a keeper. Ben wouldn’t orchestrate a marriage to his competitor’s daughter just to buy some soccer teams.
