Chapter 34
Magnolia
I stand in the hallway while I wait for Nash. I don’t want to get stuck talking all evening with Charlie and Piper. As much as I love them, I need to talk with Nash tonight. I texted him the second I left Alexander’s.
Nash finally appears at the top of the stairs. He’s holding a length of carpet in his hand.
“Um, what are you doing?” I ask as he stops in front of me, holding up the rectangle fabric for my viewing pleasure.
“This is a tripping hazard.” He shakes the carpet. “It was loose on the stairs. Gah, I can’t wait to get you out of here.”
Butterflies make a few rounds in my stomach. Maybe some part of me should call him presumptuous. He’s talking about making choices for me. But really, I like that he wants me somewhere safe.
“I can’t believe the building supervisor doesn’t fix anything.” He tosses the scrap of carpet in front of our door. “Someone could trip on that going down the stairs.”
The door swings open, and Piper steps out into the hall. The toe of her boot catches on the carpet, and she stumbles forward.
Nash catches her arm and looks at me with raised eyebrows. “See? Tripping hazard.”
“You’re the one who put it there.” I laugh.
“Sorry about that. I trip a lot,” Piper says as she stands up straight again. “Sorry to interrupt your hallway make-out session, but I’m heading to work. We’re doing inventory this evening.”
We say goodbye and wait as she walks down the hall.
“Should we go get some dinner?” Nash asks.
Piper is still in the stairwell because she calls back, “It’s half-off appetizers at the pub tonight!”
I look at Nash to gauge his interest.
“I’m assuming that’s where she works? Where you get to use their equipment?” he asks.
“Yes. If we go eat there, you can see what you think of some of my and Piper’s whiskeys.”
“All right. Let’s do it. We need a chance to talk anyway. Will I be functioning after this dinner?”
“Depends on how much you like the whiskey,” I say with a laugh.
“I have a confession. I’m the biggest lightweight around.”
“Let’s Uber then.”
“Oh, I have an even better idea.” He pulls his phone from his pocket and texts someone.
“What are you doing?”
“Texting Eli.”
Nash’s phone chimes. “Perfect. He’s working tonight. He says he just brought Grandpa home after a drive.”
“Where would he be going at this time of night? Shouldn’t he be home, recovering still?”
“He’s been sneaking out for some drives with Eli. I think he wanted to get out and see something other than the inside of his house.”
Nash holds out a hand, and I slowly put mine in his.
“You look beautiful tonight,” he says as he pulls me toward him.
I stop with my feet between his. My purple high heels make me tall enough that if I were to tip my head back a little, I could kiss his lips.
Nash seems to be thinking the same thing because he slowly lowers his head and presses his lips against mine.
Heat floods my face, and my heart races.
He releases my hands to grab my waist and pull me closer until I’m plastered against his chest. One hand covers my lower back while another grasps my hip, his fingers digging into my skin, but it doesn’t hurt.
I can’t believe we didn’t start kissing the first day we met. I’ve been missing out on this the whole time.
I reach up to wrap an arm around his neck, deepening our kiss. I can’t get enough of him. He’s everything I’ve wanted. He doesn’t make me feel small for my dreams. He actually likes my quirky sense of humor. He doesn’t mock me for my love of small towns. He makes me feel seen.
Someone clears their throat loudly, and Nash and I pull apart abruptly.
Charlie is standing in the hallway now, her hands planted on her hips. “Good thing we don’t have security cameras in this building. You’d be giving someone a show.”
“Can’t you and Piper just stay in the apartment for one minute?”
“Piper left fifteen minutes ago,” Charlie says helpfully.
Nash still has a firm grip on me as he looks past my shoulder at Charlie. “I like kissing my fiancée. Get over it.”
Charlie just grins at him. “Glad to hear it. But even I have a date tonight.”
“With Bryce?” I ask about her current boyfriend as I grasp Nash’s arms and attempt to step out of his hold. He doesn’t let me go.
“Yep. I’m going to meet his family.”
I force a polite smile on my face. I don’t like Charlie’s current boyfriend. He seems dismissive of her. And she deserves better than that.
She turns sideways, squeezing past us in the narrow hall. “Carry on! Don’t mind me.”
She disappears down the staircase, and Nash chuckles.
“I guess this isn’t the best spot to be kissing you, is it?”
“I guess not,” I agree with a breathless laugh. “We were getting a little carried away.”
Nash’s phone chimes. “Eli’s here.”
“Wow, we really must have been kissing for a while. Also, do you ever get used to having a driver at your disposal, or do you always feel like a rich snob?” I ask with a grin.
“Well, what I feel like isn’t a polite word…”
“How long are you going to be stuck doing this?”
“Pretending to be a rich snob?” he asks as we hurry down the stairs.
I get a flash of déjà vu, holding his hand and running down a flight of stairs.
“Yes.”
“Can I answer that question over dinner?”
“Fine. But I’m not going to forget it.”
We reach the car, and we spend the entire drive talking with Eli.
By the time we get to the pub, Nash has gone quiet. We get seated at our table, and he looks at me with a serious look on his face.
“You look like you’re about to kick a puppy.”
“I would never kick a puppy,” he mutters.
“Then why do you look so sad?”
“Because Grandpa wants me to sort out a family dispute over housing. There are some arguments on who is going to get to live in a townhouse in the Old Mill district.”
“Let them flip a coin,” I mumble as I pick up the menu.
I glance at the bar across the room and spot Piper mixing drinks for a group of four standing there.
“You asked me if I like pretending to be a rich snob…”
I fold my hands together and rest them on the tabletop as I wait for the answer.
“I would give anything to be done managing his business affairs and move to Pine Ridge.”
“Then do it.”
“I can’t just leave.”
“Sure you can.”
“I have to sort things out. It’s not that simple. Grandpa needs someone to handle the family. He needs someone to mediate and keep things spinning.”
The server comes over and takes our orders, then disappears.
I slowly move my hand to the middle of the table, pressing my palm flat. “Why are you doing the family diplomat?”
“Because it needs to be done.”
“No. Why are you doing this? What do you get out of this?”
He slides his hand forward until his fingertips touch mine. “I want to make my grandpa happy.”
And there’s the crux of the matter. He wants his grandfather’s approval and love. And feels as though he has to perform for it.
“But I feel like it’s becoming consuming,” he adds.
We sit in silence, our fingertips barely touching each other.
“I told your grandpa the truth,” I say slowly.
Nash looks up from the boring tabletop. “What did he say?”
I grimace. “He knew the entire time.”
“Wait, the entire time?” Nash’s eyes widen.
“He said he knew what your fiancée looked like before I even came around.”
“So, he knew right away. And said nothing.” Nash shakes his head. He smirks. “He must really like you then.”
“He asked me if I was with you for the money during one of our visits,” I say with a shrug.
The server brings our plates of food, but I’m not hungry anymore. Nash looks angry. Furious even.
My stomach drops. Does he think I’m with him for his money?
“This isn’t going to work.”
“Your hamburger?” I ask, because I don’t like where this is going.
“No. Us. This.”
I push the plate of food to the middle of the table so that I can fold my arms and rest them there. “I don’t care about your money, Nash.”
He shakes his head. “I know you don’t. You helped me when you didn’t know anything about me. That tells me everything I need to know about you. But this? This family dynamic? It’s going to ruin everything. I can’t date you while this is going on.”
“What does that mean? Are we breaking up on our first date?”
Nash looks at me, warring emotions flashing across his face. “I have to settle things before we can continue.”
“Or I can stand at your side while you handle things.”
“I will not put you in the middle of this mess.”
“You already have,” I remind him gently.
“And it’s not fair to you. I can’t believe Grandpa suggested you were with me just for my money.”
Before I can tell him anything else, his phone rings.
He glances at the name on it. “It’s Grandpa.”
He turns it on and puts it on speakerphone. “Hello?”
“Kevin has filed a lawsuit, contesting my will.”
“You’re alive though.” Nash is shaking his head.
“Yes, well, apparently, he had already started filing to contest it when he thought I was going to die.”
“Surely, it’ll get thrown out. You’re alive. It’s not like there could be anything in a lawsuit?”
I pull out my phone and immediately start searching for how to contest a will in court.
Apparently, there are many ways and reasons to file those lawsuits.
Good grief. People should find themselves a hobby.
I always assumed whatever was written in a will was final. But people still go to court over it.
“I’m pretty sure it will get thrown out,” Alexander says.
He sighs loudly enough that we can hear him over the phone.
“But he’s finally pushed me too far. I’m calling the whole family, and we’re having a reading of the will—while I’m alive and healthy.
I’ve switched everything to a living trust. Can you be there this Friday? ”
“Yes,” Nash says heavily. “I’ll be there.”
“Good. It’s bound to get messy, so brace yourself.”
Nash hangs up the phone and looks at me blankly. “Now do you see why? This is ridiculous.”
“Can you disown family members? I’m just asking for a friend.”
He smiles weakly at that. “I wish it were that simple.”
“Some people are poison. And just because they’re in your family doesn’t make that fact any better.”
Nash shakes his head. “You don’t want to be a part of this.
I think it’s best if we end our engagement for the rest of the family.
Grandpa knows, so it’s not like we have to keep it up in front of the rest of the family.
You need to walk away from this, from me.
These kinds of lawsuits can be messy, especially if you’re going to start a new business.
You do not need your name dragged through the mud with me.
We need to separate until this is over.”
I stare at him for a moment as I think about what he’s actually saying. He really is breaking up with me on our first date. This might go down in history as the most volatile relationship ever. Engaged on day one, then breaking up on our first date…
I want to ask him if circumstances were better…would he feel differently? But I don’t bother. Because I already know the answer. He feels trapped by what his life is right now.
I slip the ring off my finger and set it between us. “I never met your father, but I assumed you were just like him. I guess I was wrong.”
I stand up and walk out of the pub, straight to the car that Eli is sitting in.
“I hope you get paid well,” I mutter as I sit down in the front seat. I rub my thumb against my empty ring finger. I can’t believe I’ve gotten so used to wearing that ring. But I just can’t look at it tonight. I can’t be a yo-yo right now.
Eli grins at me. “I could retire a happy man right now.”
His words pull me out of my horrible mood for a moment, and I look at him. He has to be somewhere in his late thirties or early forties.
“I’m glad to hear that. Why do you stick around then?”
He shrugs. “This family has enough drama to keep me entertained. There isn’t a soap opera on TV nearly as entertaining as working here. And Alexander and Nash are good to me.”
“As they should be. Do you mind driving me home?”
Eli glances back toward the restaurant where Nash is exiting, a stern look on his face. “Are we not waiting on him?”
“You told me you liked the drama. That man just broke up with me on our first date. To protect me, or so he says. And to be honest? I’m still mad.”
Eli grins. “I can come back and pick him up.”
He steps on the gas and peels out of the parking lot, leaving Nash behind. And it’s the first time I feel like laughing in the last hour.