25. Chapter Twenty-Five #3
But he did it anyway, because he didn’t want to lie anymore. But at the first chance of telling the truth, at being deserving of our truth, I crumbled.
Like Daisy, I couldn’t leave the confines of the role I’d been cast in.
Like Henry, I couldn’t cross the line.
I got scared that I was going to lose what I’d worked so hard for. I thought I was going to lose the only thing I’d ever wanted.
And I did. Lose the only thing I’d ever wanted.
It just… wasn’t the job, like I thought it was. It wasn’t a chance to finally prove my worth to my parents. No, I lost something so much greater than that.
I lost the only man I’ve ever really loved.
I cry as Alex cries, begging Henry to take a chance. To put their love first.
And just when I think it’s going to fall apart, when I think Henry’s going to curl in on himself and shut everyone out…
He rises to the occasion. He finds a way to make it right. He finds a way to be the man Alex knows he is, the man he wants to be.
I look at Jacob’s empty space, setting my empty pint on the nightstand as I get underneath the covers. I lay my head on his pillow.
It still smells like him. Sweet, spicy, and comforting.
And it dawns on me, that even in the darkest moments, love can prevail.
Like a light beaming over the water, or a gesture of faith. Because love is something that never truly loses. It doesn’t die or fade. It’s evermore.
And if I stay here, like Henry in his gilded castle, afraid of the unknown, afraid of the truth , I’m never going to win.
I’m always going to remember Jacob in my wildest dreams and nothing more, and dreams don’t keep you warm at night.
They don’t make the world around you light up like the Fourth of July.
I look at the clock, noting it’s late. It’s nearing one am.
I’m exhausted.
But I know what I need to do. So I close my eyes and tell myself when the sun comes up, I’ll fight to win.
I’m not going to let Garrett Tempest or my father’s words keep me from what I want more than anything.
When the sun comes up, I’m going to write my own fucking fairytale. I just hope that I’m not too late.
I wake up and shower as fast as I can, if only because I didn’t sleep well.
I tossed and turned most of the night, going over exactly what I wanted to say to Jacob, hoping that he’ll at least give me the chance to do so.
I know realistically this might not end well.
Jacob left in a hurry last night after everything had happened, and I can’t say I blame him.
Garrett’s assault, his bitter confession…
and I certainly didn’t help matters; too focused at the time on my own selfish needs rather than the truth.
There’s a chance he won’t want to see me, after what had happened and I can’t say that I blame him, but there is one aspect of our relationship that can’t be ignored, and that’s the fact I hired him to do a job, and that job is over.
I have an obligation to pay him what I promised, not because it’s good business to follow through on such things, but because it’s the one solid fact that stands between us and the possibility, the wild dream of more.
I run my hands through my hair, relishing in the warmth of the water on my skin. It’s almost as if the water itself is cleansing me; absolving me of the last shreds of what we were. What I created us to be, leaving room for what I know we are. What we can be if he accepts my offer.
At least, I think I know what we are, but I won’t know for sure until I see him, until I say what I have to.
I don’t bother to dress in my usual attire. Today, I’m not focused on being Aaron Everett, hotel heir and perpetual bachelor. Dad always said to dress for the job I want.
And what I want is to be Jacob Riley’s boyfriend. If he’ll have me.
So I put on my dark wash jeans and a hot pink polo, run some product through my hair, slip on my tennis shoes and watch, and head for the door. I barely notice the body in my peripheral as I hit the kitchen.
“Where do you think you’re going?” My father’s voice is calm. Even.
I stop, turning to see him at the island with one cup of coffee in front of him.
It’s only then I hear the sputtering sounds of the coffee pot, the sizzle of bacon on the stove.
I look around, but no one else looks to be awake, as it’s just the two of us and I can’t see any bodies out on the veranda from the window. It’s just me. And my dad.
“Out,” is all I say, but I don’t move.
“You can’t go out on an empty stomach,” he says, getting up from his spot at the island. He nods, motioning for me to follow him. I’m frozen between running and listening, my heart being pulled in one direction, while my brain—
“Just sit down, Aaron. Have a cup of coffee with me before you go off half-cocked and fuck things up even more than you already have.”
Ah. There it is. There’s the father I know.
I scowl at him, but my stomach growls, and I relent if only for the coffee. I don’t know if I can eat, being as I feel like my damn stomach is in knots.
“You know, you really need a medal for being a motivational speaker,” I snipe.
My father pours a cup of coffee and slides it to me.
“You can get your own cream and sugar. Though, I don’t think all that sugar actually counts as coffee, but…” he says, and I realize he’s never once poured me coffee. Or taken a coffee order for me, yet… he knows I don’t drink it black. He knows how I like it.
The fact stops me in my tracks as he pushes the creamer pitcher and the sugar bowl towards me.
“Thanks,” I mutter as I take my time putting my three spoonfuls of sugar in and mixing in the cream.
“You know, before I built Evermore , I had this vision,” he says calmly, sipping his coffee. I watch as he sets his cup down, to flip the bacon in the skillet. I’ve never seen my dad cook before in the kitchen. On the grill, sure. On vacations, but…
At home, usually his chef prepared our meals, or mom would take a day or two to make some trendy meal she was raving about or craving. I didn’t even know my dad knew how to cook.
Granted, bacon isn’t really cooking, more or less just flipping, but—
“I wanted the hotels to be a home away from home. I wanted our customers to feel like they were family. Like their kids were part of our family, and that they could relax and just… enjoy one another. Make memories.”
I watch as he cracks two eggs into the skillet next to the bacon.
“Yeah, I know. I’ve heard the story,” I say, sipping my coffee.
He sighs, and I can’t take my eyes off him as he gives me his back, pushing the eggs around to break them up. Scrambling them.
My stomach growls.
“You built it because it was profitable.”
He moves to the refrigerator, opening it as I speak.
“You said Evermore was all you had,” he says softly. “And I guess, in a way, I understand. Because, for years, I thought Evermore was all I had, too.
But I didn’t just build the hotels because they were profitable.
I built them for you. For your mother, for our family.
Because I wanted that vision. The one where you were running up and down the halls, laughing.
The one where your mother and I could curl up on the patio with a glass of wine while you watched movies from the pool.
I wanted the happy ever after too, Aaron.
And I wanted everyone to have that. Even you. ”
I watch as he brings over a cup of something blue and when he sets it down in front of me, I realize it’s the shark cup.
The dessert Jacob and I had worked on yesterday.
That we made together. I look at the clear blue Jell-O, the little gummy shark suspended in the crystalline gelatine.
I note the brown sugar and vanilla pudding sand on top, the little life saver candies garnishing the sugared sand; a life raft.
“Especially you.” My father stands next to me. “All I’ve ever wanted was to give you and this family the life I’ve always dreamed of,” he says, his gaze drifting to the dessert.
“All I’ve ever wanted was for you to be happy,” he says.
“Dad—”
“And you were always so resistant. So stubborn. You had your own visions, and they didn’t align with mine. I thought I must’ve made a mistake. I must’ve fucked up somewhere because—”
He turns from me, shutting the stove off. I watch as he grabs a plate and pours the bacon and egg out onto it with ease. Watch as he sprinkles herbs and garnishes the damn plate with a sprig of parsley from the plants on the counter.
And then I watch as he pushes the plate towards me.
He hands me a fork. I take it from his hand, his hard, long fingers brushing mine.
“I know why you did it,” he says, sitting next to me. He takes a sip of his coffee as I take a bite of bacon.
“Why you hired Jacob.”
I tense. “Dad…”
“No, Aaron, listen to me. I’m only going to say this once.
I know I haven’t always said the right thing or acted the right way, and I can’t promise I’ll say the right thing or do the right thing in the future, either, but I’m willing to try, ” he says.
“Because this—” He motions around the house.
“None of it means anything if you don’t have someone to share it with.
True wealth, Aaron, isn’t found in spreadsheets or fiscal reports.
I think you know that.” I freeze as he looks at me with warmth. Warmth I’ve never known before.
“I think you embody the values of Evermore more than anyone I know.”
My eyes start to water because I’ve waited so long to hear him say this.
He spins the dessert cup, smiling down at it like it’s made of gold.
“Lola said you and Jacob made these. Together.”
I smirk. “Yeah, we did. Well, mostly I stirred the Jell-O and he did the rest, but—”
“You two make quite a good team,” he says before pushing away from me and refilling his coffee.
“Yeah, I guess we do.”
My dad leans against the counter, fixing his gaze on me.
“The job is yours, Aaron. If you want it.” He says the words solidly. The weight of them heavier than the world on Atlas’s shoulders.
I’ve waited all my life to hear those words, but they don’t hit me like I expect them to.
They don’t feel as good as I thought they would.
I frown.
“I think you’ve more than demonstrated your commitment to this company, your loyalty.
How much you do indeed care. And I do think you would be a good fit.
I always did, but… I needed to know that you wanted more than just the company.
” He nods. “I just needed to know where your priorities really were. I needed to see it.”
I blink, trying to process the words. It’s what I wanted but…
“And hiring a professional date proves my loyalty? Proves I want this?”
“Hiring Jacob proved you were resourceful, but seeing you light up when he walked into the room…” He sighs. “You can’t fake love like that. .”
Silence falls between as I let those words settle. “You think Jacob loves… me?”
My father purses his lips. “I do. I think that boy loves you very much, and you’re a goddamn idiot, but what do I know?”
I don’t miss the smirk on his face, and his words, albeit pissy, carry an edge of humor to them.
“Can… can I think about it?” I ask, meeting his gaze. “The job, I mean, it’s… it’s a big decision, you know.”
He sips his coffee. “Of course.”
“Thanks,” I say, unsure if I’m talking about the job or breakfast of…
He heads for the door to the deck.
“Flowers,” he says, stopping with one hand on the door handle.
I stand up straighter.
“Huh?”
“You should never show up to apologize without flowers.” He smirks at me, and I can’t help but feel a smile of my own form.
“I hear men like flowers, too, you know.”
I nod. “Noted.”
I grab my checkbook, my keys, and make my way to the car, turning on the radio, my heart in my throat and punch in the location for a florist closest to Jacob’s apartment. I pick out a large bouquet of stunning roses and stop by Paradise to grab a caramel macchiato.
When I make it to Jacob’s apartment, I feel like I’m going to explode from nerves alone.
I knock, and it seems like forever until the door opens. And the moment I see him, dressed in grey sweatpants, shirtless, wearing a thick cardigan that hangs off his shoulders, his messy blonde hair falling in his bright blue eyes, those eyebrows furrowed and that perfect mouth parted in surprise…
I know this is it.
This is the shot I want to take.
Here goes nothing.