Chapter Four
Bella
New York City
By the time Wednesday lunch arrived, I was exhausted in a way sleep didn’t fix.
New York helped. It always did. The noise, the speed, the absence of reverence. No one bowed to legacy here. They bowed to momentum.
I liked that.
Sloane was already seated at our usual table at our favorite restaurant. There was a comfort to the ritual of meeting once a week, regardless of what was going on in our lives.
Sunlight caught the edge of her wineglass as if it had been staged. She wore cream and gold—elegant without effort—with an easy confidence that came from being born into a wealthy family that was also, miraculously, a sane one.
I slid into the seat next to her. “Did you order a drink for me?”
“You doubt my level of friendship?” she joked, and a glass of Sancerre appeared almost magically.
Jax arrived a moment later, dropping into her chair with a thud.
Her leather jacket was tossed over the back, and her hands were already nicked from whatever she’d been welding that morning.
“Did you order my—” Her beer arrived. She accepted it with both hands and took a healthy swig.
“Sorry,” she said, returning the mug to the table. “It was hot in the shop this morning.”
“How is the commission going?” I asked.
She waved her hands. “Today, or in general?” She added quickly, “It’s coming together. It’s a bigger project than I’m used to, and I want it to be perfect.”
“It will be,” Sloane assured her.
“How soon until your work is on display?” I asked.
“A month, maybe two. I’m good at making realistic animal structures, but it’s daunting to design a bear that people will look at while eyeing an actual bear behind it.”
“Yours will probably look more realistic than the real thing.” I chuckled. “And when the zoo announces how much they love it, we’ll celebrate.”
Sloane raised a glass. “Here, probably.”
Jax and I toasted that very real possibility.
Relaxing into her chair, Jax asked, “Sloane, how did your date with the Greek billionaire go?”
Sloane rolled her eyes. “Boring, as expected. He took me out on his yacht and had nothing beyond that planned. If I wanted to spend time on the water talking about global politics, I would have invited my parents to spend time on my yacht.”
Jax joked, “Then the rumors are true? The life of an heiress truly is difficult?”
Sloane tossed a napkin at Jax. “You’re lucky you don’t have a father who thinks the only way you’ll be happy is if you marry someone in his income bracket.
When I tell him there’s a good chance I might not want to marry at all, he looks like I’m plotting to end him, his lineage, and all hope for the future. ”
“Well, at least you have a father,” Jax said, deadpan.
Sloane froze.
Jax smiled. “I couldn’t help myself. It was that or lecture you again on how you’re old enough and smart enough to do whatever the hell you want.”
Sloane slow-blinked, her cheeks flushing, then she smiled. “Thanks.” After clearing her throat, she said, “Let’s order.”
We did. The usual. The house special. The good thing about this place was that although it was always the same, it was also always delightfully different.
As we waited for our meals, Jax nudged Sloane’s arm and then looked at me. “Something happened.”
“I’m fine,” I said automatically.
“That’s how people answer when they’re not and something did happen,” Sloane said with a nod.
I sipped my wine. “You’re both dramatic.”
“Bella,” Sloane said gently, “you only call us dramatic when you’ve had a week.”
It had been twenty-four hours since I’d seen Drew and my adrenaline was still running high. Had I made things better or worse? I hated that I didn’t know.
Sloane tilted her head. “I ran into your mother in the Berkshires this weekend.”
I stilled.
“She looks younger every time I see her,” Sloane continued lightly. “Happier. It’s almost irritating.”
Jax grinned. “Well, she was a model.”
“She’s enjoying her freedom.” That was how I saw it.
“She’s enjoying herself,” Sloane corrected.
Jax leaned in. “Also, for the record, Beth knows more about my dating life than you do. She calls me every few days for updates.”
I shot her a look. “She absolutely does not.”
“Oh, she does,” Jax said. “And she’s shamelessly curious, yet surprisingly supportive.”
Sloane nodded. “Your mother is awesome.”
“You need to stop gatekeeping her,” Jax added. “She’s so upbeat.”
I felt my jaw tighten. “With you.”
“She worries about you,” Sloane said. “Like yesterday, when you didn’t take her call.”
“How often do you two talk to her?” I asked, my mouth rounding.
“She likes us,” Sloane said.
“And misses Firebrook Valley.” Jax smiled. “I’m her pipeline to the gossip.”
The food thankfully arrived, and I was able to avoid another uncomfortable topic. Firebrook Valley—the small mountain town at the crossroads of northern New Hampshire and Nowhere. Every summer of my childhood had been spent there, along with too many summers since.
I reached for my fork and stabbed at a stem of broccoli, buying time. Part of me wanted to spill the situation with Brady to them, but I still didn’t know what to think. I might have been half-hoping I could pretend the conversation I’d had with Drew hadn’t happened.
We ate a few bites in comfortable silence before Sloane said, “You’re right, Jax, there’s something off about Bella.” She leaned toward me. “What are you not telling us?”
I shook my head. It wasn’t that I didn’t trust them. I’d told them far more personal things. But the meeting with Drew? I was still processing it.
Jax changed gears abruptly. “Did you meet someone?”
“No.”
Sloane cocked her head to one side. “Break up with someone?”
I rolled my eyes. “You know I’m not dating anyone, so there’s no risk of that.”
Leaning back, Jax tapped a finger on the table. “Is it your dad? Did he do something you couldn’t prevent?”
I wrinkled my nose, half because I hated that they knew him well enough to know what he was capable of, and half because I was the reason they knew. “No. Not this time.”
Pursing her lips, Sloane studied me. “We can do this the easy way or the hard way.”
My mouth twisted with humor. “Said like a true friend.”
Jax leaned in as well. “Said like your best friends. Now, you can either tell us what’s bothering you or we’ll initiate the ‘twenty-to-infinity questions’ protocol.”
That had me coughing back a laugh. “Please, not that.”
They both splayed their hands as if the outcome was out of their control.
“Okay. I met with Drew Burke yesterday.”
Neither of my friends said anything for a moment. They exchanged a look.
Sloane spoke first. “Do you know that when you say his name, you have an eye twitch?”
I raised a hand to cover my traitorous eye. “I do not.”
“You do,” Jax insisted. “But then, he’s always had that effect on you.”
Sloane sighed enviously. “I’m so jealous that you’re from Firebrook Valley, Jax. I get to hear all the stories secondhand, but you witnessed the Burke-Holliston feud in person.”
I grunted. “There was nothing to witness. The Holliston family has property on one side of the river, and the Burkes have property on the other. All we share is access to the water.”
“So you say. But what was it like to spend summers in the same town? You had to cross paths. What did you do—pretend the other person wasn’t there? Cross the street? I’m fascinated by the entire situation.”
“We were civil,” I asserted.
Jax laughed. “Barely. And Firebrook Valley isn’t a place where you could get away with that behavior. Mabel would never allow it.”
Sloane’s expression turned wistful. “Mabel. I’ve heard so much about her I feel like I know her. Yet somehow, every time you bring her up, I want to demand another story. Does she still make all the teens in Firebrook Valley work shifts at her coffee shop?”
“It’s not forced labor,” Jax clarified with amusement.
“Cookies and Coffee is the heart of Firebrook Valley. There’s not a lot of work in the area.
She offers a place to make some money, a place to be tutored.
If you need help, she even assists with scholarships and college applications.
Mabel is your One-Stop Mom Shop. Anything your mother doesn’t know how to do, Mabel can help with—even giving you a good hug after you’ve made a big mistake. Not all moms can do that.”
I sighed, knowing the many reasons Jax loved Mabel. After her father left, Jax’s mother had turned to drinking for solace, and Jax had turned to Mabel. “Mabel is a saint. When I doubt if there’s any good left in humanity, I remind myself that Mabel exists.”
Jax feigned offense. “Not me?”
“Or me?” Sloane joked.
“Oh, of course, the two of you as well,” I added with a wink.
Sloane’s lips curved, then her expression turned serious. “Why did you meet with the son of your father’s sworn enemy?”
“There was a situation.”
Jax frowned. Sloane leaned closer.
“It involved Brady,” I said. “And a video.”
That sobered them.
“What did the Burkes do?” Jax’s hands clenched on the table.
“They didn’t take the video.” I briefly described finding the video, having it taken down, and the worry gnawing at me. Had they gone to a party together? Were they leaving for a reason I didn’t want to know? “I don’t know how worried to be because Brady won’t tell me anything.”
“And you thought,” Sloane asked carefully, “that Drew Burke might know something?”
“I hoped he would.”
“Did he come here to New York?” Jax asked.
“No. I went to Boston.”
“I can’t picture that,” Jax said. “Unless . . .”
I added, “The Beacon.”
Sloane stared at me. “You summoned a Burke. To The Beacon.”
Jax laughed so hard she nearly spilled her drink. “You took him into your creepy, old-money library?”
“It’s not creepy,” I asserted. It was old, stuffy, and stifling. Okay, maybe a little creepy.
“Wow, you spent one of your coins on this?” Sloane asked.
“It’s about Brady and this wasn’t a topic I could send in a text,” I said. “Also, we can’t be seen together.”
“Because your father would lose his shit,” Jax said.
I couldn’t deny that. “It would also be bad for business. The Hollistons and Burkes are competitors. Adversarial ones. Being seen with Drew would have the market asking questions that wouldn’t help either company.”
“What’s it like in there?” Jax asked.
“If you’d really like to know, I’ll take you sometime, but it’s not somewhere I enjoy being.”
Sloane nodded. “I’m glad my family decided not to be members. It sounds worse than a date with a Greek billionaire.”
Jax made a face. “I’m curious, but I remember what you said about only having three invitation coins you can spend over your lifetime. I wouldn’t want you to waste one on me when I can’t see how it would benefit me.” She frowned. “But I also can’t believe you wasted one on Drew.”
“You’re worried about the video,” Sloane surmised.
I nodded. “It’s not like Brady to keep secrets from me. And I don’t like how drunk he looked. I didn’t think he was into partying. Now I’m wondering what else I don’t know.”
“He’s a college student,” Jax said. “There’s probably a lot you don’t know.”
“Not helpful,” I joked, but without bite.
Jax’s eyes sparkled. “Keeping it real. So, how was Drew?”
“He was . . . difficult,” I said tightly. “Unimpressed. Arrogant. Angry.”
“Sounds about right,” Jax murmured.
“And?” Sloane prompted.
“He said he’d contact me if he uncovers a reason he needs to.”
“Rude,” Jax stated.
“Yes.”
“I bet he’s worried about his sister,” Sloane said gently.
“I’m sure he is.” I stared at my plate. “I wish I knew if I made things better or worse.”
Sloane’s voice softened. “Why are you carrying all of this alone?”
“Because Evan won’t do anything even if I tell him,” I said. “Because Brady won’t talk. Because my father is no longer my mother’s problem.” I winced. “Not that Dad is a problem.”
Jax crossed her arms. “I like your dad, but you enable him when you protect him.”
“You don’t understand.” I shook my head. “He’s a product of how he was raised.”
“As are you.” Sloane met my gaze. “How long do you let generational trauma keep traumatizing everyone else? When does it stop?”
“It stops with me,” I said firmly.
“Does it?” she asked in the tone only someone who knows your darkest secrets and loves you anyway can. “I’m sure your father didn’t think he’d fixate on a man who stole from him and make his life about punishing him. He probably also took people to The Beacon thinking he could make a difference.”
Jax placed a hand on my arm. “Didn’t you say your father took your mother there?”
I nodded. “He did. Three times. He hoped she would eventually be accepted as a member, but she didn’t come from an approved bloodline.”
“I can’t believe a wife is still considered a guest,” Jax grunted in disgust. “You know what? I don’t think I want to see that place in person.”
Sloane placed her hand on top of Jax’s. “Sometimes rejection is the universe’s way of saving a person from a situation that wouldn’t serve them.”
I blinked back emotion and placed my hand on both of theirs. “Wine with a side of wisdom. No wonder I keep coming back here.”
We chuckled and sat back.
In the silence that followed, I had too much time to replay Sloane’s questions. “I’m nothing like my father,” I said.
“We know,” Jax said quietly.
I looked skyward. “I don’t have bad feelings toward Nora. She’s never been anything but nice to me. Brady would be lucky to be with someone like her, but—”
“But she’s a Burke,” Sloane said with a sad purse of her lips.
I dug deep, honest with my friends in a way I could never be with anyone else. “It’s not me who wouldn’t accept her. But if my father acted toward her the way people at The Beacon acted toward my mother—”
“Who knows,” Jax cut in optimistically. “Your father might surprise you.”
I huffed. “Jax, you know my father.”
“Okay,” Sloane said, “so what’s the plan? What do you do now?”
I sighed. “I wait. And hope that Drew talks to Nora and discovers there’s nothing going on and no reason for any of us to worry.”