Chapter Thirty
Drew
Boston
Boston looked the same as it always did.
Steel, glass, clean lines, and absolute control.
It should’ve felt like a relief—slipping back into the life I’d built piece by piece, where every person knew their role and every problem had a protocol.
Instead, it felt as if I’d stepped into someone else’s suit.
It was too stiff, too tight, and no matter how I moved, the seams threatened to burst.
I’d barely slept. Every time I closed my eyes, I saw Bella in that law office—fingers laced through mine like it was the most natural thing in the world.
I heard her voice say, I love his son. I remembered the way her breath had caught when I kissed her.
It wasn’t the performance for our fathers; it was the part after.
The part that left her stunned and me . . . certain.
Last night, right after she’d arrived in the city, my phone had lit up.
Bella: Home safe. Reporting in as ordered.
I’d stared at those words longer than I’d ever admit. Dry. Playfully obedient. Perfectly Bella. She’d followed the rule I’d tacked on to push her buttons, and now she was tossing it back at me with that quiet, sharp wit I couldn’t get enough of.
I’d typed back immediately: Good girl.
No reply after that. Just the little read receipt that told me she’d seen it. I could practically hear her rolling her eyes from three hundred miles away.
It was late evening the next day, and I was still at my desk.
I hadn’t gotten much done. It was impossible to concentrate on contracts or market trends when my mind was a loop of her.
I didn’t want to pressure her, but I missed her.
It was staggering how quickly she’d gone from someone I had no desire to speak with to the person it felt wrong to end my day without hearing from.
My phone buzzed. Her name appeared on the screen, and I let it ring once—to savor the anticipation—then answered, leaning back in my chair. “Bella.”
A tiny, surprised inhale came from the other end. Then her voice slid through the line like warm honey over gravel. “You sent more candy yesterday.”
I smiled, the tension in my shoulders finally beginning to ease. “I did.”
“My teeth are going to rot out. Is this a long-term tactical play to incapacitate the competition?”
I laughed—quiet, rough, the sound bouncing off the glass walls of my office. “You don’t have to eat them all at once.”
She huffed. “What I do or don’t do with your gift is my business, but I called to thank you for it.”
“You’re welcome. How was your day?”
Another pause. I could almost see her biting her lip. “I went to see my mother. My father was hoping she could talk some sense into me.”
“And?”
“And we had a good talk. One we should have had a long time ago.”
“I’m glad.”
“How about you? Have you spoken to your father since . . .”
“He said he was fine with my decision to see you but stayed in Firebrook Valley to pout. I lined up a few people to check on him. But he’s no longer under home arrest, so that’s a win.”
“I spoke to my father before I left, and he is taking a mini vacation. He said to clear his head.”
“Where?”
“Firebrook Valley,” she said in a pained voice.
“Oh, boy.”
“Laurent said he’ll watch him for me.”
Rolling my shoulders back, I looked up at the ceiling of my office. “They’re grown men. They should be able to be in the same town without an issue.”
“That’s what I’m telling myself.”
“Hey,” I said gently. “Don’t overdose on that sugar.”
“I do what I want,” she joked, but I could tell she was tired. “The candy was thoughtful and I might have already had a few.”
“You okay, Bella?”
There was a pause, but I felt better when she said, “Yeah. Yeah, I am.”
“I’m here if you need me. Or there with you if you need me there.”
She inhaled audibly. “Same, Drew.”
She went quiet again, but the energy had shifted. She wasn’t building a wall; she was standing in the doorway. “I’m at my office getting a few things done that I put off from earlier today.”
“Me too. What’s on your list?”
She rattled off some tasks that sounded a lot like what was still on my plate for the day. “Go get it done.”
“I always do.”
“I know.” I paused, letting the words settle. “Text me tonight so I know you made it home safely.”
“Of course. I’m a rule follower, you know.”
“Really?” I sat forward with interest. “Had I known that, I would have added more to the list.”
“I don’t even want to imagine where your mind just went.”
“Oh, we both know you do, but I’ll keep it to myself for now. I’m not a rule follower, but I like you, Bella, so I’ll play this game with you.”
A soft, shaky breath came through the speaker. “Is it a game?”
“It’s whatever you want it to be.”
She ended the call and I laughed from the sheer enjoyment of her and the way her mind worked. I didn’t doubt for a second that she was sitting there looking at the darkened screen of her phone and smiling exactly the way I was.
My phone buzzed again, but this time it was Nora. “What’s wrong?” I answered, instantly alert.
“Nothing’s wrong,” she said, her voice bubbling with that high-octane energy she’d had since she was a kid. “I just need the truth. Are you really dating Bella Holliston?”
I closed my eyes, leaning heavily against my desk. Firebrook Valley gossip traveled faster than a mountain storm. “Nora—”
“Yes or no, Drew! The whole town is talking. People are saying you two looked like you were about to elope in the middle of the street!”
I could lie. I could call it strategy or a tactical alliance. But as I stood in my sterile Boston office, the words didn’t fit anymore. “I’m seeing her,” I said.
Nora shrieked so loudly I had to pull the phone away from my ear. “I knew it! She’s terrifying, but she’s awesome. Brady told me she’s the only person who can make their father listen to reason.”
“She’s a lot of things, Nora, but terrifying is not one of them.”
“I meant it as a compliment. But I still can’t wrap my head around you and Bella Holliston. How? When? I need to know everything.”
I barked out a laugh. “Easy, tiger. We’re together. That’s all the intel you get for now.”
Nora went quiet, her voice softening into something rare and sweet. “Dad didn’t tell me about this, but he knows, doesn’t he?”
“Oh, he knows.”
“How did he take it?”
“He’s sulking in Firebrook Valley.”
“Should I go there?”
“Give him some time to sort himself out, Nora. He hasn’t been himself lately and he’s not alone there. I’ve got people checking in on him.”
She whistled. “You and Bella. I didn’t see that one coming.”
“I didn’t expect you to be friends with Brady.”
“That’s all we are. Friends.”
I swallowed hard against the sudden tightness in my throat. “You’re allowed to be whatever you want to be to each other. Just tell him I will tie cement to his legs and toss him over the side of our yacht if he ever hurts you.”
“That’s oddly specific, Drew.”
I laughed again. “If there’s nothing else, Nora, I’m at the office and wrapping things up.”
“That’s all I had. Love you, Drew.”
“Love you too.”