Chapter 34
Chapter Thirty-Four
Isla
Mia sits across from me on the terrace, sipping her iced coffee while she swipes another banana chocolate chip cookie from the platter.
We’re enjoying a late lunch. We’re also catching up. I haven’t seen her in a little over two weeks because she’s been so busy at work. We’ve talked or texted pretty much every other day, but it’s always different when we see each other in person.
She arrived ten minutes ago. We came out here, and Sheila presented us with a platter of delicious cookies and flavored iced coffee.
“I need a Sheila in my life. Everything that woman makes is heavenly.” Mia plants a kiss in the center of the cookie then laughs as she hoists it into the air like a torch. In the bright sunlight, she looks like a curly-haired version of the Statue of Liberty. “These are soooo scrumptious.”
“I agree. Mom asked her to whip up a batch of these for the restaurant over the Labor Day weekend.”
“Ohhhh, great call. People are gonna go bat shit crazy over these. And of course, I will be there.” She giggles. “Ready to eat.”
“Just promise you won’t eat all of them.”
She shakes her head and takes a big bite, savoring as she chews. “No, Ma’am. I’ll make you no such promises.”
“You are so crazy.” I chuckle.
“For these, yes. And I absolutely adore scrimping off this new lifestyle of yours.” She waves the remnants of the cookie around. “The house, the food, and the man.”
I can’t even protest anymore. Especially about the man.
Knox and I have been married for four months now.
Four whole months of bliss.
Everything seemed to change for us in Italy, then on the night of the gala…
God. Somehow, life shifted into something that felt almost unreal. Peaceful in places I didn’t think peace existed.
“Oh my God, you’re thinking about the man, aren’t you?” Mia squints at me over her glass.
“You’re the one who mentioned him. Of course, I’m thinking about him now.”
She points the cookie at me. “You know, for someone who claimed this marriage was strictly business, you’re awfully radiant these days.”
I grab a cookie for myself and nibble on it. “Radiant?”
“Glowing,” she clarifies, leaning forward. “Like you swallowed the sun. Or had very, very good sex.”
I choke and cough. “Mia!”
She smirks, unbothered. “I’m just saying what everyone else is thinking.”
“No one else is thinking that.” I shake my head, but warmth creeps across my cheeks.
“Yes, they are. I’m just blatant enough to say it.”
“Okay. So, maybe things have been… nice.” I know I’m trying to downplay the obvious, but I’m still hanging on to some version of playing it safe. If it even exists anymore.
“Nice?” Mia repeats, frowning. “Isla. Can we just acknowledge that you’re happy?”
I gaze back at her, a smile creeping along my lips.
I can’t deny what she can see. Not when the truth sits so openly in my chest. “I am happy.”
“Yay! Finally, something we can agree on. Can we also agree that being with Knox has been good for you?”
My shoulders relax, and I nod. “It has. Things have changed,” I admit. “In ways I didn’t expect.”
Mia’s grin softens into something warm and almost protective. “Well, I’m glad our Plan A of getting him to forfeit the contract didn’t work. And I’m glad you allowed nature to take its course.”
Heat races up my throat. “That just sort of happened.”
“In Italy.” She finishes off her cookie and sets her glass down.
“Yes. In Italy.” My voice carries the awe I still feel from my honeymoon. Not a day goes by that I don’t think of Italy and everything that happened there from the beginning to the end.
Mia lets out a wicked laugh. “I’m still cracking up about Chad. I wish I could have been there to see Knox kick his ass.”
“Oh my God.” My eyes widen. “That part was not good, but Chad didn’t do himself any favors.”
“And there’s still been nothing from him since?”
“Nothing.”
“How are you feeling about that?” She studies my face.
I drag in a slow breath and shake my head. “Is it terrible that I feel nothing? I mean, I should feel something, right? I probably should have even contacted him to see if he was okay, or even make sure we’re cool because that’s what friends do. But I haven’t.”
She leans forward. “You see that there? That’s the problem with Chad. You were always the one trying. Always thinking of him.”
“Was it really like that?”
“Yes, it was. He had no attachment to you. That’s why it was so easy for him to leave you.
” Her chest caves, and she looks like she wants to be careful with me but also wants me to see reason.
“He loved you. I’ll give him that. And I think it’s impressive that he tried to get you back.
But he missed the point that simple forgiveness wasn’t the answer.
I think you haven’t heard from him because he’s having a hard time accepting you’re with someone else. Someone better.”
I sigh and lean back against the chair. “Is Knox even really an option?” I feel bad for saying that, but I have to be realistic.
“Are you kidding me? He’s, like, the option.”
“But we’re supposed to be getting a divorce in two months’ time. We haven’t talked about it. I didn’t expect us to, but it’s something we’ll have to face soon enough.” Something I’ll have to face.
Mia gives me a sympathetic smile. “Maybe you should talk about it.”
“I couldn’t. What would I say? I wasn’t supposed to feel this way.” I cover my cheeks with my hands. “It’s complicated.”
“Of course, it is. Love usually is.”
My pulse skips. “I didn’t say love.”
“You didn’t have to.”
Love.
What a dangerous word for me.
Yet it feels right at home in my mind. And my heart.
It was the thing I felt that I didn’t want to accept or name.
Love.
I love Knox.
But didn’t I know that?
Love is the only thing that could make me as curious as I was about him and as jealous as I felt when I saw him with his friend’s wife on our wedding day.
Love is the only thing that could make me ask him if he was mine, too, and slice my heart open in the same breath when I thought of what my life would be like without him.
When he told me he was always mine, it hit me in a way I couldn’t explain.
So, love…
Yes. I love Knox. I love him more than I’ve ever loved anyone in my life, and the scariest thing about that is I know I’ll never love anyone else the way I love him.
“I’m right, aren’t I?” Mia’s tone turns wistful.
Cautiously, I nod, as if I don’t even want the air around me to know I’ve found this gem. “I’m in trouble, aren’t I?”
“No. I don’t think you are.”
“What the hell am I going to do?”
“I think you know the answer to that.” She nods and reaches for another cookie. “I’ll give you a clue. It doesn’t involve playing it safe.”
“I know that part.”
Mia tips her head, eyes sparking with mischief. “On that note… I may have some life updates of my own.”
I sit straighter, curiosity sparking. “What sort of changes?”
“Logan booked a trip. A trip to St. Lucia for seven nights.”
A small shock ripples through me. Logan and Mia have been together for nearly six years. He’s never booked a trip like that before. “That’s amazing. Did he say anything else?” I have a feeling he has more in store for her on that trip.
“Nope, just that we’ll be staying in a private villa with a private beach. And… he’s been acting all nervous and weird.”
I clasp my hands. “Oh my God, Mia, I think he’s going to propose.
“Me too.” She squeals, half-laughing, half-panicking. “God, I hope he does. He might not, but I hope he does.”
“I hope so, too.” The words slip out without hesitation. “He loves you so much. And you love him. This would be perfect.”
Her eyes soften. “It would. I’d love to end the year with both of us happy with our men.”
My stomach twists, part of me wanting that future… and part of me terrified of believing in it. “Mia—”
“Nope.” She lifts a finger, shutting me down before I can talk myself out of hope. “Just let me have this wish. There’s nothing wrong with seeing what happens.”
My heart stumbles. “No, there isn’t.”
Footsteps approach behind us. When Mia’s face brightens, I know who’s there before he even speaks.
“Ladies…”
I turn, and Knox is there. A dazzling smile brightens his handsome face as he walks toward me with that slow, deliberate stride that always makes my pulse misbehave.
He’s dressed casually, the sleeves of his biker jacket pushed up and hair a little messy.
His eyes are completely locked on me.
Mia gives Knox a little wave but laughs under her breath when she sees how focused he is on me. “Yep. That’s the look of a man who’s a goner.”
I flash her a quick scolding stare, then look back at him with a smile. “Hey, there. You’re home early.” He was supposed to be hanging out with Dorian.
“Something came up. Something good.” His gaze flicks to Mia in greeting, then snaps right back to me.
“Can you share what this good thing is?”
He stops next to me and grins wider. “Sure, it’s to do with you.”
Mia and I trade eager glances.
“Tell me.” I can’t help my excitement. “What is it?”
Knox glances from Mia to me. “Let’s just say I thought it may be more fun if you two moved your lunch date to Neiman Marcus.”
In Mia’s world, Neiman Marcus is her version of heaven, so those simple words have her hooked and make her sit up straight like a hunting dog catching a scent.
“Lunch at Neiman Marcus?” She leans close, her eyes glued to Knox.
“And shopping,” he answers. “But only if my wife here agrees.”
“She says yes,” Mia cuts in before I can answer.
“No. No shopping.” I wave my hands.
“Are you insane!” Mia gasps, staring at me as if I have indeed lost my mind.
“Knox, we’ve talked about this.” I intensify my stare, looking him straight in the eye.
This is him trying to treat me again. I still haven’t spent any money on that card of his, so he’ll find any excuse to get me something crazy expensive.
I’ve been coming home to find endless gifts waiting for me. I have every kind of designer bag a girl could dream up. Shoes, clothes, makeup, and scented body items from all my favorite stores. Either he buys them himself or gets Sheila to do it.
To make matters worse, he takes care of Mom, too—paying all her bills and stacking her home with food and literally anything she wants.
And he does the crazy things with her as well.
Just the other week, she complained of a backache.
So, he sent her to get a deep tissue massage at a spa. In Switzerland.
“We have spoken. But this is for a special occasion. The kind that requires shopping. And since I know you won’t spend like you should, I think Mia should go with you… and treat herself, too.”
“Oh my God. Knox, I always liked you.” Mia presses a hand to her heart. “Thank you so much. You’re one of the best men I know.”
Knox chuckles. “Looks like your cousin still needs convincing.” He turns his gaze back to me.
I roll my eyes but humor him. “What is this special occasion?”
“You have an interview tomorrow morning at eleven a.m. sharp.”
My eyes fly wide. “What? An interview? With who?”
André Nebruski, the creative director at the Lyceum Theatre.”
The world drops out from under me. A rush of heat floods my chest, my pulse spiking so fast it hurts. “What are you saying to me?”
“Interview. With André Nebruski. Tomorrow.”
A trembling breath escapes me. André Nebruski. The man whose set designs I used to study frame by frame on grainy YouTube videos. The man whose lighting concepts I traced in my sketchbook until my fingers cramped. The man who shaped half the modern theatre world with nothing but vision and genius.
He’s the name. My north star. My impossible dream.
And Knox just… handed me a seat at his table.
My head is so light it feels like it may turn into air, but I manage to stand. “How? André Nebruski is… my idol. I never sent an application or my portfolio.”
“I did.”
I freeze, and everything in me just stops. “You… you what?”
“I sent pictures of your portfolio to him.” Knox nods with deep masculine pride. “I have a friend who has a contact in the theater business. They managed to get me in touch with André. I know how badly you want to work on Broadway and at the Lyceum in particular, so I set the ball in motion.”
“Oh God Knox…But… but my portfolio isn’t finished yet. I had one more painting to do.”
“You have enough, and they’re all perfect.”
“But—"
“No.” He places his hands on my shoulders to steady me. “Relax. I got my contact to take a look at your work before I sent them to André. Her name is Daisy Tomlinson. The name may ring a bell.”
My jaw drops.
“Daisy Tomlinson?” I squeak, emotion rushing up so fast it nearly breaks me. “No way. No way.”
“Yes way.”
My hands tremble, and the tremor shoots through me. “Knox, she studied under André. She’s one of the top stage designers in New York. I wrote an essay about her in college. She’s…she’s the reason I even thought I could do this. You got her to look at my work?” My voice thins to a fragile thread.
“I did, and she loved it.” His eyes soften in a way that hits me deep. “So did André. He was thoroughly impressed. He said he’s been looking for young designers with a fresh vision.”
“That sounds exactly like you,” Mia chirps. I’m so stunning and excited I almost forgot she was there.
I glance at her with tears filling my eyes, then back at Knox, my throat tightening with all my hopes. “Knox…I can’t believe this is possible. And André seriously agreed to an interview based on seeing pictures of my work?”
“He did. But we have to get everything to his office tomorrow. He’ll look over everything then interview you. I know it’s short notice, but he’s travelling and—”
I throw my arms around him. “Oh, Knox. This means everything to me. Everything.”
He holds me, pressing his forehead to mine. “I know, love. I know.”
My eyes sting as my vision blurs. “You’re the best.”
“I try.”
“Does this mean we can go shopping?” Mia claps her hands. “Neiman Marcus is calling me.”
We laugh, and Knox releases me.
“Yes, Mia. We can go shopping.”
She yelps, jumping up and down with delight. “I can’t wait to get there.”
I glance back at Knox. “Thank you for treating us. And for… everything.”
His mouth curves. “My pleasure, love.”
I didn’t think it was possible to fall any harder for this man.
But, God… I was wrong.