Terms + Conditions (Strangers #3)

Chapter Thirty-Nine

CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE

THEN

July 2024

“I DIDN’T THINK YOU’D be back until tomorrow.”

Over my shoulder, I see Elizabeth paused mid-step in the entryway to the kitchen, her computer in her arms. I dig through the refrigerator a little while longer before settling on a container with leftover lasagna.

“Get a lot of work done?”

I grunt a response, popping the lid off on all sides of the container and sticking it in the microwave.

“It must have been pretty important to make such a quick trip for one little meeting.”

“Yeah, well, you know how Max is.” I sigh and scrub a hand down my face. Stifling a yawn, I cross my arms and lean back against the counter. This might be the most we’ve talked in three weeks, outside of dinner for Nick’s birthday last month.

Elizabeth gently rests her laptop on the counter, chewing on her bottom lip, her finger tracing a circle on the countertop. “Did Max go with you?”

“Yeah, he and Jack tagged along.”

Her features fall as if she had just dropped the curtain, revealing the person behind the mask. “Do you think I’m that stupid, Josh?”

“What do you mean?”

“You know what I mean.”

And boy do I. Swallowing the lump that has formed in my throat, I can’t find words.

“You didn’t go to some work thing; you went to Wichita to meet her .”

She doesn’t know that for sure. Who am I kidding? Of course, she does. There’s no use trying to deny it.

“You went when I asked you not to.”

“I wasn’t trying to hurt you, Elizabeth.” That much was true. I had told her I was going to Nashville to meet with a client about a new collaboration opportunity, but that was far from the truth. Okay, maybe not far from…We did have a Nashville client and Max and Jack did go meet with them. But I told them I had to take a raincheck for personal reasons. “I only wanted to see what was so important that she had to send me a letter asking to meet her. It’s been almost fifteen years!”

“You weren’t trying to hurt me, but you went to meet up with the girl you called, and I quote, ‘the one who got away.’”

Got me there.

But that was a long time ago when Elizabeth and I were still getting to know each other. We were talking about former lovers, and back then, I won’t lie, I used to wonder what would have happened if Juliet and I had tried to make it work. And maybe, just maybe, I considered the thought again when the letter showed up, but only because Elizabeth and I were broken up, and she was sticking to her guns that we were done for good this time.

About a month ago, we had a big fight that ended with Elizabeth throwing her ring on the counter and walking out. Normally, I would have gone after her, but that night I let her walk away without putting up a fight. When she came home, I was asleep on the couch. I had fallen asleep on the couch waiting for her to come back home, and her footsteps pulled me from the light sleep I was in. Keeping my eyes closed, I waited to see if she would call me to bed, but she didn’t. She stood there for a moment longer and I swear I heard a small sniffle before her footsteps retreated down the hallway. I thought about going after her, but against my better judgment, I didn’t.

She had gotten mad because she wanted me to go to Napa to celebrate the opening of a new winery or tasting room or something, I can’t even remember. But I couldn’t get the time off work. There’s a rumor of a new promotion becoming available and…I want it.

Do I think I’ll get it? No, but I think I can take over for the person who will get the real promotion, so in a way, it’s still a promotion, just smaller. Elizabeth didn’t understand why I wanted the job. I didn’t need the money. But that wasn’t the point.

I think a different issue we’re facing is knowing the clock on our relationship is ticking, and fast. We have a choice to make: it’s less than a year until our required time is up, and we can file for separation without any repercussions, or we can choose to stay together.

Neither one of us knew what the other one was going to do. Instead of being adults and just talking about it, we let our emotions get the best of us, and it turned into something ten times worse. And instead of trying to fix it, I guess you could say I’ve let the wound fester. If that letter showing up two weeks ago was like rubbing salt in the wound, actually getting on a plane and going to Wichita was dumping the whole damn jar in.

Two weeks ago, a letter arrived addressed to Mr. Josh Davis with only a return address and no name from Wichita, Kansas. Elizabeth had initially left it on the counter for me to open when I got home, but then her curiosity got the best of her, and she opened it anyway. Inside, she found a letter from Juliet Sinclaire, the girl I had met during spring break 2010 in Daytona. Juliet wanted to talk but didn’t say what she wanted to talk about. Instead, she ended her letter with a time and place to meet.

When I got home that night to find it ripped open, it pissed me off. Who was she to going through my mail?

“You’re not going,” Elizabeth said, and that pissed me off even more. “Why would you go, Josh? You don’t even know this woman! What if she wants money from you? You are married into a pretty well-known family, in case you’ve forgotten.”

“Like you’d ever let me forget it.” The words tumbled out before I even realized what I had said. But it was too late to take them back, and it’s not like they were a lie. I’ve lost count of the number of times she has reminded me of the expectations of being related to not only the Villas but also a Cain. “We’ve barely spoken to each other for the last month. You don’t get to pick and choose when you want me, Elizabeth. I am not some toy you can just toss to the side when you’re tired of it.”

Ultimately, though, I did tell her I wouldn’t go after sleeping on it. She was right, I didn’t know what Juliet wanted, didn’t know her intentions, and it wasn’t hard to find out who my family was.

But then…I did it anyway.

I went to Wichita under the guise of a work trip and went to the cafe Juliet named in the letter at the time she listed. I sat there for six hours. Six . But she never showed.

“Elizabeth.” I sigh, rubbing my eyes. “It wasn’t like that.”

“You know what, I really don’t care.” Elizabeth simply shrugs and walks away, and I almost let her. I almost let her walk away without the fight because I was exhausted after the quick turnaround from Wichita, and I didn’t want to fight about this. I’d rather go to bed, let the dust settle, and talk about it tomorrow. I think we both know holding off won’t make the conversation any different. We have to do this—to have this conversation, and finally face the elephant in our relationship.

“You don’t get to just walk away. We need to talk about this.”

But she doesn’t stop. Elizabeth continues down the hall toward the guest room she’s been occupying for the last month. I’m finally able to catch her, taking hold of her wrist, preventing her from closing the door and locking herself away in her room. “What is there to talk about, Josh? You’ve made it pretty fucking clear the only thing standing in your way is me and our fucking predicament, which by the way, is your fault. We wouldn’t be in this if you hadn’t—”

“My fault?” My voice carries down the hall. “You’re the one who didn’t want to wait for her inheritance like some spoiled brat. How asinine is that? You act like you’re some sweet, innocent angel, but you are far from it, Sugar.”

Elizabeth takes a shaky breath, looking away from me.

“You pretend to be this perfect, wholesome girl, but you’re nothing more than a snake in the grass.”

Regret started to seep into every part of me with every word. My stomach churns as the words fall from my lips, and I hate myself for not stopping them. Sure, part of me meant what I said…She has always put on a show for other people and kept up appearances, but never to the detriment of others. Despite her reserved and hardened exterior, Elizabeth is one of the most kind and loyal people I’ve ever know.

Her head whips to meet my gaze again, her voice deadly, “Fuck you, Josh.”

I take a deep breath, trying to settle the increasing beat of my heart, the adrenaline that has reached every end of me with nowhere to go. I can feel my hands begin to waver, my chest aches, and a black hole has formed in my stomach.

“All I’ve done the last six and a half years is support you, stand by your side. Love you. Even when we—”

“You don’t love me.”

Elizabeth gasps at my words. “I don’t love you?”

“You’ve been waiting to leave since we said I do. Hell, from the moment we signed that damn contract.”

She doesn’t deny it, her gaze unwavering on the other side of the hallway.

“Time’s almost up, Sugar; I was just preparing myself for the inevitable.”

I hate to admit it, but I knew this day would come. I just never thought it would come so fast. Never thought I’d feel so attached to her. Never thought I’d fall in love with her. Fall in love with someone who would never fully be mine.

“The inevitable.” Elizabeth scoffs and wets her lips. She takes a ragged breath and her brown eyes meet my gaze again, but she doesn’t look like the same woman who had been standing in front of me moments ago. She reminds me of the eighteen-year-old girl who sat across the table ten years ago and agreed to this arrangement for a set amount of time. “You’re right. This was always the plan. No use pretending there is anything between us anymore.”

I swallow the lump in my throat, and the pit in my stomach begins to swallow me whole. This is what I wanted, though, isn’t it? I just wanted her to be honest and stop pretending. Stop pretending we didn’t know this was coming.

“You want her, Josh? Fine. But I’m not giving you a damn dime, so you’ll just—”

“So, you’re going to make us both suffer because you don’t want to cough up chump change?”

Elizabeth’s face falls, but her eyes are still set ablaze. “Go fuck yourself, Josh.”

The bedroom door slams between us. I raise my fist to knock. I don’t want that to be the last thing we say to each other tonight, but my hand falls to my side. I need to let her cool down. Hell, I need to cool down. We shouldn’t talk in this frame of mind. It will only make things worse. I thought we’d be able to fix things, even after she said we were done for good after that last fight, but now…I’m not so sure. We’ve had our fair share of arguments before, but something about this one feels different. Final.

And why wouldn’t it be?

That’s what we wanted…right?