For reasons I refused to justify by admitting that I was as in love with her as I’d been eight years ago, I just… I really fucking hoped she’d put a pen to those papers and sign. No matter what else might’ve changed in the last near decade, the one thing that hadn’t was that I still wanted Adeline to be my wife.
CHAPTER 20
ADELINE
The last time I’d walked into this building, I didn’t know I was being ambushed. This time, I knew exactly what I was walking into, but somehow, that didn’t make me feel much better. My hands were still trembling and my nerves were ragged. I had a scratchy lump in my throat and I was feeling slightly nauseated too.
Despite all that, I followed Simon down the hallway, my heels clicking loudly against the polished marble floors. It sort of felt like each step was another second ticking down, bringing me closer to the inevitability of marrying Zach.
Like maybe, it’s always been inevitable that he and I would end up together. But that doesn’t mean he actually wants this. God, why amInot more upset about it?
I should’ve been. And yes, I was nervous as hell, sure, but I was also just a little bit happy. A little bit relieved. A little bitexcitedabout the prospect.Which makes me a terrible person, of course. Shit. Poor Zach.
“Relax,” Simon said over his shoulder like he could feel the tension radiating off me.
“I am relaxed,” I lied. “Just thinking, is all.”
He glanced back at me and I gave him a tight smile, but he didn’t seem to buy it. Instead, his head shook. He stopped outside the doors to wait for me when he reached the conference room, then pushed them open as soon as I got there.
Gee, thanks for giving me a minute to collect myself, cousin. On the other hand, he’d made the trip from Virginia for me—again—so I couldn’t be too put out about it.
As soon as I stepped inside, my footsteps faltered, my jaw practically hitting the floor when I sawLife As We Don’t Know Ithanging on the far wall. I stared at it for a second, my suspicion now confirmed without even a shadow of a doubt.
“What do you think?” a familiar voice asked softly behind me. “Would the artist approve of it presiding over a room where some of the biggest deals in the city are made on a daily basis?”
I swallowed hard, unable to stop myself from leaning just slightly toward him. Zach must’ve walked in barely a minute behind me. Our eyes met when I glanced up, a soft, knowing smirk curving on his lips.
That smirk didn’t belong in boardrooms and it definitely shouldn’t have come out to play when we were about to sign a contract that would upend his entire life. It belonged somewhere else entirely, reminding me of warm summer nights and easy laughter.
As I held his gaze, I felt that same old light and carefree feeling that I hadn’t felt since I’d left him. Thateasethat came with breathing the same air as my best friend.
“You bought it,” I said, my brain defaulting to the least emotional observation I could make. “I don’t think the artist had such a serious room in mind for it, but there is a certain, ironic beauty to it being here.”
He shrugged, but before he could say anything, the door opened again and Alex walked in. All that easy lightness I’d beenfeeling evaporated the second I looked at him. Zach’s oldest brother was all business these days.
I didn’t dislike Alex. I never had, but right now, he represented another marriage being arranged for me. A lack of choice for Zach when it came to his own future. Plus, he’d effectively shut down whatever moment had just tried to bloom between us, which definitely made me annoyed with him for just a second.
“Clark Morris has approved the contract,” he said without any prelude or fanfare, striding right over to the massive conference table in the middle of the room and handing over a folder to Simon. “You’re welcome to review it, but I think you’ll find it’s all in order.”
Simon pulled out a chair beside his and gestured for me to sit. Reluctantly moving away from Zach, I headed to the seat my cousin had offered and sank into it. Simon opened the folder and set it down on the table in front of us, scooting closer so we could read through it together.
At first, it felt like every other document I’d been handed over the past year, filled with dense, legal language, but then, we hit the financial section and I frowned.
No. That can’t be right.
I glanced at Simon, who was reading the same clause I was looking at, but he didn’t question it, just nodding as he registered the astronomical amounts detailed like they, too, were nothing more than just details.
“This is…” I started but then stopped because I didn’t actually have a word for what this was.Generousdidn’t cover it andexcessiveseemed rude.
When I’d married Louis, I hadn’t seen any of this side of things. I hadn’t been invited to the meetings or given contracts to review. No one had included me in the discussions prior to the decision being made.
All they’d wanted from me was to show up in a white dress a few weeks later. The full extent of my involvement before our actual wedding day had been meeting him for coffee once to discuss expectations.
This was different. Very, very different, in fact.
Lu and Jennifer would be taken care of. For life.
Zach hadn’t even just provided for the basics. He’d thought of everything, their education, future homes, college tuition, and so much more. There was stuff here I hadn’t even let myself think about because it had felt too far out of reach, and that wasn’t even counting the separate investment portfolios he’d already started putting in place.
