“So you took the fall,” Maddy says, her face pale. “You played the villain to save him.”
"I had to." Tears spill before I can stop them. "It's everything to him. I told him I was taking the money. I told him it was a job, so he'd hate me enough to let me go. I love him, Maddy. But I couldn't let him lose everything for me."
“He believed you?” Maddy asks.
A hollow laugh escapes my throat. “Instantly. Because that’s what he expects. He expects people to have a price.”
“He’s an idiot,” Savvy says, pacing the small room. “If he believed you, he doesn’t deserve you.”
“He deserves to win.” My spine straightens. “He worked so hard for it.”
“And what do you deserve?” Savvy asks, stopping in front of me. “You saved his reputation. You took down Royce Aston. You gave him everything, Ivy. And now you’re sitting here with a check you won’t cash and a broken heart.”
“I have the company.” My voice thins. “We have the money now. We’re safe.”
“I don’t want his money,” Savvy spits. “I want to burn his house down.”
“It’s not his fault.” I shake my head. “He didn’t know about Penelope. He… he actually asked me to stay.”
The room goes quiet.
“He what?” Maddy asks.
"He came here last night," I say, barely audible. "He was at my door, Maddy. He buzzed for an hour."
Maddy’s eyes fill with tears. “And you still didn’t open it?”
“I couldn’t,” I sob. “Penelope. If I stayed, she would have destroyed him. I couldn’t let him lose. I love him.”
The confession hangs in the air, heavy and undeniable.I love him.
We sit there for a long time, drinking tequila and eating donuts in a grim sort of silence, watching some mindless reality TV show to fill the space. But an hour later, my phone, which I’d finally turned on to order pizza, starts buzzing.
I ignore it. It buzzes again. And again.
“Someone is popular,” Savvy slurs slightly.
I pick it up. Five missed calls. All from the same number. Area Code 631. The Hamptons. It’s not Brooks. I know his number by heart. It’s not the house line. I answer on the sixth ring.
“Hello?”
“Ivy?”
The voice is male. Frantic. And vaguely familiar.
“Yes?”
“It’s Mark. Mark Green.”
I sit up straighter, my heart rate spiking. Mark. Brooks’s best friend. The one whose wedding I saved. “Mark? Is everything okay? Is Brooks okay?”
“I don’t know,” Mark says. He sounds breathless, like he’s running. “Listen, Ivy. I’m at the party. The Labor Day gala. It’s… it’s a disaster.”
“What do you mean?” I ask, clutching the phone. Maddy and Savvy pause the TV, watching me. “Did the tent collapse? Did the caterers quit?”
“No,” Mark says. “Brooks. Brooks is… he’s gone rogue. He showed up late; he looked like he hadn’t slept in three days. He’s been pacing the library, mumbling to himself… It’s like when he almost ruined my wedding. Betty is trying to keep the schedule moving, but Brooks looks like he’s about to detonate a bomb.”
My stomach drops. “Is he making the speech?”
