“Fuck!” Zoey gasps.
She wraps an arm around me, steering me into a small park area and guiding me to a bench.
I slump into the seat gratefully as my legs wobble.
“Does he feel the same?”
“Yes.”
She blows out a breath, leaning against the bench.
“Wow.”
“You can say that again,” I mutter.
She turns to me, her brow scrunching up in thought as she meets my eyes, which I’m sure are filled with a mix of panic and guilt.
“Okay. Breathe. This isn’t a bad thing.”
“It isn’t?” I stare at her, incredulous.
“No. Daddy Beaufort wants his English Queen. I mean, I can see why. You’re driven and a little crazy, and so damn sweet. You’re exactly the kind of person I would have put him with.”
She holds my eyes with complete sincerity and despite the severity of the situation, I snort.
“The kind of person you’d put him with… except I’m twenty years younger? Oh, and he’s my client.” I screw my face up.
“Yeah.” Her brow creases. “I get the client thing. But the age gap?” She shakes her head. “You’re smart. You’re a real bad-ass bitch building up your company the way you have. I mean, I imagine it’s more like a meeting of minds, right? Do you notice his age when you’re together?”
“No. He’s just… Sterling.”
I look down at my paper coffee cup and fiddle with the lid.
He’s just Sterling. The man who told me to take my sister’s photograph to a private viewing of the Statue of Liberty he arranged. The man who listens to me, who understands my past, my pain, my fears.
The man who understandsme.
“And physically, Sterling’s... Well, he’s not like most guys his age, is he? Don’t tell Sinclair I said this, but that man would blow guys half his age out of the water. And that whole suited gentleman vibe… Phew.”
Zoey fans herself, and I’m grateful for her attempt to lighten the mood when all I see is darkness and uncertainty ahead.
“What am I supposed to tell Sinclair? She needs to know why I’ve failed her. Why I’ve failed him.”
“Failed? No way.” Zoey purses her lips. “Sinclair said the last couple of weeks are the happiest she’s seen him in ages. Do you think she’ll care that you’re the one it’s because of?”
“I—”
“Their family has been through so much. She wants him to be happy. It’s all she’s spoken about for months. It’s like she refuses to get on with her own life until she knows he’s okay. If you’re worried about Sinclair’s reaction, don’t be. I mean that.”
“God,” I breathe, wrapping my hands around my coffee to keep them warm.
I want to believe her. I need there to be a way that I haven’t screwed this all up.
“I don’t know what to say. Thank you for making a hellish morning bearable.”
Zoey returns my smile with one filled with hope. She’s seen Sinclair go through the worst couple of years imaginable. I admire Zoey for wanting to latch on to the good in what’s happened between Sterling and I. She wants there to be something to hold on to. Something that she thinks will bring not only Sterling, but her best friend, happiness.
But despite wishing I could share her optimism, I still can’t.
