Chapter 23
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
ISLA
It’s nearly midnight but I can’t sleep.
I’m in my tiny kitchen practicing the filling for one of the macarons for Magnolia Day. I haven’t gotten the blueberry basil ones right yet—blueberry is a tricky flavor because it’s so subtle. And keeping my hands busy helps with all the snarls in my head.
Sheriff Briggs took my statement about what I heard at the party and said he would look into it. He seemed excited by my thoughts about the autopsy too. Though he’s so eager to impress Russell Everton after making all those missteps in the initial investigation, I think he’ll take theories from any source he can get.
I check to make sure my blueberry basil jam has cooled enough, then I get to work on the mascarpone filling.
Russell is an intimidating man, I think as I sift powdered sugar into a bowl. I recall what Caden told me on the beach—all those rules, all those conditions and expectations…I didn’t realize how tightly he was bound by his father.
I’m glad Caden apologized for calling me a gold digger. I can forgive him now and move on. I don’t like holding onto grudges or bad feelings. This is a clean break. The only man I’m going to think about from now on is my future husband.
I add mascarpone to the sugar and then fit the bowl into my electric mixer. I wonder if I could make some macarons for the wedding. The raspberry lemonade ones have been coming out exceptionally well. Lucille might gripe but I bet Luke would love it. And I know if Lucille gave any pushback, he’d stand up for me. He’s always so supportive.
I beat the sugar and cheese together for a few seconds until they’re incorporated. My stomach gives a little shiver. Soon, I’ll be Mrs. Luke Richards. And, if my Magnolia Day booth goes well, it could be the start of something more. Maybe Eric Kim would let me do a little pop-up shop at Perks. It would mean more time in Magnolia Bay, but Luke would understand that. I start to spin wild fantasies about opening my own bakery, becoming a name in my own right on the North Fork. What would I call it? Something in honor of Grace. Or my mom, maybe.
I’m just adding vanilla extract to the bowl when suddenly, there’s a pounding on my door. I jump. Who would be calling so late at night?
My first, wild thought is that it’s Caden, coming to confess his love again.
“Isla?” Luke calls.
Now I’m really confused—Luke said he was going to stay in the city tonight. I hurry to open the door and gasp.
“What happened?” I cry as he pushes past me into the apartment. His face is crusted with dried blood. It’s on his hands too. His eyes are wild. I catch the scent of whiskey on his breath.
“Your fucking ex attacked me,” Luke says.
“What?”
“Caden Everton,” Luke growls.
My mind is spinning. “Caden attacked you? Why?”
Luke suddenly looks wary. “You haven’t talked to him, have you?”
“No, why would I—it’s the middle of the night. And he’s not my ex,” I remind him sternly. “Why would Caden hit you?”
Luke slumps onto the sofa and I hurry to grab a dishtowel and soak it with cool water.
“He said we can’t have the wedding at Everton,” Luke says.
“ What? ” I whirl around, my heart pounding. “What are you talking about? He—he can’t do that!” Everything is settled. The wedding is just over two weeks away!
“He can,” Luke says. “He’s so jealous, babe. And acting like a real asshole. You should have seen him.”
I come over and dab at his face with the towel. “Start at the beginning,” I say. “And tell me everything.”
“I was at the Minton Club,” he says, wincing when I dab at the blood on his nose. “They were having a game night, poker tables, roulette, the works. I was there with a potential buyer for one of the Sixth Ave properties. Wining and dining him, playing craps, that sort of thing. Then I see Caden and his brother Alistair harassing this waitress.”
“Harassing how?” Alistair has always had a playboy reputation but not Caden.
“Touching her, saying inappropriate things, that kind of stuff. So I went over to tell them to knock it off. Caden got pissed—he started getting in my face saying no one tells him what to do. He’s an Everton and he can have whatever woman he wants. I think he might have been drunk. The poor waitress looked scared to death. I was trying to diffuse the situation when security came over. Caden tells them it was me who was harassing the woman.”
“What?” I yelp.
“I tried to set things straight and that’s when he said he wouldn’t let us get married at Everton. I think…” Luke looks at me with his wide brown eyes, so fearful and forlorn. “I think he’s trying to break us up, babe. I think he’s jealous and he still has feelings for you. In his deluded mind, preventing us from getting married at Everton will stop us getting married at all.”
I stare at him, stunned. This doesn’t sound like the Caden who apologized to me earlier—though he did admit he was jealous. Was it really that strong? Strong enough to sabotage my wedding?
“Security had to escort him out,” Luke says. “Look. I got it on video.”
He takes out his phone, opens the video, and presses play. I gasp. Caden’s face is twisted with rage, his expression murderous as two burly security guards take him by the arms and haul him away. I’ve never seen him look so dangerous before—not even when he was threatening Carl. But the man in the video seems capable of anything.
“Oh my god,” I murmur.
“I know he was your friend,” Luke says. “But I don’t think you should see him anymore. He was seriously scary, Isla. I don’t want you getting hurt. And I think he would do anything to drive a wedge between us.”
Tears fill my eyes. How could Caden have done this? What was he thinking? He said he was happy for me. Was that a lie? I feel like I suddenly don’t know him at all.
I finish cleaning Luke’s face in silence, my thoughts twisted up in knots.
“A doctor at the club reset my nose,” he says. “I better not have a black eye for the wedding.”
“Don’t worry about that now,” I say. “I’d still marry you, even if you had two black eyes. And a broken nose.”
Luke touches my cheek gently. “What did I do to deserve such an amazing woman like you?”
“We need to figure out what to do about the wedding,” I say. “I’ll talk to Daisy tomorrow.”
“Let me do it,” Luke insists. “You’ve been taking on so much of the wedding responsibilities. I need to shoulder my fair share.” He grimaces. “Plus, it’s my fault Caden made the threat to begin with.”
“No,” I say. “You were standing up for a woman in need. I’m sure she was grateful to have you as her ally.” I take his hand and squeeze it. “You should rest. Let me get you some Advil.”
I move to stand, and he grabs my wrist. “I love you,” he says. “You know that right?”
I nod and kiss his forehead gently. “I love you too,” I say.
Luke and I get into bed and I lie there, fuming.
No matter what Luke says, I’m not letting Caden get away with this.
He’s going to answer for what he did tonight.
The next morning, Luke and I head over to the Richards’ house to talk to his parents.
Lucille is livid when she sees his face and hears the story.
“We’re pressing charges,” she says, taking out her phone. “I’m calling our lawyers right now.”
“No, Mom, don’t,” Luke says. “Let’s not make a big deal out of this.”
I’m glad he said that—I don’t want to get lawyers involved either. I just want this whole mess to be resolved as quickly as possible.
“I’ll start looking for other venues now,” Lucille says in a huff. “They’ll be giving us our deposit back in full, I can guarantee you that.”
I can’t deny I’m disappointed. After my initial resistance, I was really looking forward to getting married on the estate. But no way is that happening after what Caden did.
“I’m going to talk to Daisy later today,” Luke says.
“Good,” Lucille says.
“I need to go check in at the Thorn,” I tell Luke.
“Don’t forget about tea with the Willises this afternoon,” Lucille reminds me.
“Of course,” I lie, because I had definitely forgotten. I don’t much feel like having tea with a bunch of people from the Way right now, but it’s probably best to keep up appearances.
Lucille whisks Luke off to get an ice pack for his nose and call their doctor. I head out of the house and get into my car.
I’m not going to the Thorn.
As much as I appreciate Luke’s offer to talk to Daisy, this is my battle to fight. I need to confront Caden face-to-face and see what he has to say for himself. I don’t know how he can possibly defend his actions. I drive straight over to Everton Estate, storm up the steps of the mansion, and pound on the door.
I’m so mad it’s a wonder there isn’t steam pouring out of my ears. I’m still knocking when the door flies open. But it’s not Caden who stands there.
It’s Russell Everton.
“Hello,” he says, looking equally shocked to see me. He glances side to side. “I thought you might be the sheriff.”
“Oh,” I say, shifting from foot to foot. “Um. No. Is Caden here?”
“He is,” Russell says, stepping back. “He’s in the kitchen. This way.”
He starts to lead me down a hall past the sweeping front staircase in the foyer. Then he stops and turns.
“I never thanked you,” he says abruptly. Russell Everton doesn’t strike me as a man who thanks anyone ever, so I’m unsure of what to say here. He must see the confusion on my face. “For vouching for my son’s whereabouts,” he clarifies. “The morning my wife…”
“Oh,” I say again.
There’s another brief, awkward pause.
“I probably should have called to thank you back then,” he says.
“Um, no you shouldn’t have.” That didn’t come out the way I meant it and I flush. “I only—just that—with everything going on—I didn’t mind…” A prickle of embarrassment creeps up the back of my neck. “I only did what anyone else in my place would have done. I told the truth.”
Russell is looking at me with a strange expression on his face, like he doesn’t know what to make of me. “You have my thanks anyway.”
Then he turns and strides off down the hall, stopping at the door to the enormous kitchen. This room I remember from the party: light and airy, with more counter space than I’ve ever seen outside a professional kitchen on TV. All the latest appliances. I bet there’s even a proving drawer.
“Caden,” he says. “You have company.”
Then he leaves. Shock flickers across Caden’s face before he stands, pushing away from his stool at the kitchen island. He’s in his usual jeans and T-shirt combination, the tattoo I’ve become so familiar with stretching over the ropes of muscle on his arm, his hair mussed, the stubble on his cheeks beginning to darken.
“Isla,” he says.
My anger flares back up again. “What the fuck, Caden?” I demand. “You broke Luke’s nose? You told him we can’t get married at Everton anymore? How could you do that? The wedding is so soon. Why are you trying to sabotage it?”
Caden’s face goes through several expressions—shock, confusion—before finally landing on anger. “Isla, I am not trying to sabotage your wedding. I didn’t say you couldn’t get married at Everton.” He grimaces. “No, wait, shit I did say that. That’s not what I meant though.”
I fold my arms over my chest. “What did you mean?”
Caden grits his teeth. His forearms flex. I can feel the tension radiating off him. “What did Luke tell you happened, exactly.”
“He told me about that waitress you and Alistair were harassing.”
Caden’s eyes look like they’re about to pop out of his head. “What?”
I plow ahead, determined. “He said he tried to step in and help her and you got aggressive. When security came over, you blamed everything on Luke. And you told him we couldn’t have the wedding at Everton anymore. Then you punched him in the face. He got it on video , Caden. So don’t try to deny it.” I swallow hard. “He said you’re trying to break us up.”
Caden is breathing heavily, his face turning the color of a ripe plum. “Goddamn him,” he mutters. “Convincing indeed.” He slams a fist down on the table. I jump and see his knuckles are bruised.
“Isla, you know me,” Caden says. “You know me. Do you think I would harass a woman? And do you honestly think I would cancel your wedding? First of all, I don’t have the power to do that. I’m not a part of the company anymore—Daisy would have to be the one canceling. Or my father. Second, even if I did have that power, do you think that’s the way I would go about trying to break you and Luke up? Look how successful that would be. You’re even angrier at me now. I might still be in love with you but I’m not stupid.”
My brain gets stuck on the way he said he’s still in love with me. I shake my head to clear it.
“Are you saying Luke is lying to me?”
Caden gives a sad sort of half chuckle. “You should ask him that yourself.”
“Don’t patronize me.”
“I’m not.”
“Is Luke lying to me,” I demand.
Caden holds my gaze. “Yes.”
I swallow hard. “I don’t believe you.”
“Funny, he said as much while he was threatening me last night. Telling me you’d never believe me if I told you the truth.”
“What’s the truth?” I ask. “Tell me your version then! I…this isn’t making sense.” A dull ache is beginning to throb at my temple.
“Do you really want to know?” he says.
My eyes flash. “Yes.”
Caden holds up his hands. “Okay. Fine. I punched Luke because…” He hesitates and I feel a dizzying sense of trepidation, like maybe I don’t want to know what he’s going to say next. “It was him who was with one of the waitresses. But he wasn’t harassing her.” He clears his throat. “He was kissing her.”
I pause for the longest second of my entire life.
“What?” I ask, confused. The words don’t make sense.
Caden’s expression is pained, but he speaks each word with precision. “I saw Luke making out with a waitress at the Minton Club last night.”
It feels like the floor has dropped out from under me. My knees buckle and I clutch the counter for support.
“No,” I whisper.
“I’m sorry—” he begins but I cut him off.
“Luke would never, ” I hiss. “He would never do that.”
Caden looks weary. He shrugs.
“He had a video,” I say, desperate for evidence that contradicts Caden’s version of events. My mind rejects it. Luke wouldn’t cheat. He wouldn’t do that to me.
“Of what, exactly?”
“You getting hauled out of that club.”
“That was after I slammed him against the wall and confronted him about cheating on you. Which he didn’t deny since I saw it with my own eyes. That was also after he said marriage was different for “people like us,” as if I would ever be unfaithful to someone I loved. And it was after he told me that you liked your freedom too—like this was an arrangement you two had or something.”
“What?” I barely mouth the word.
“And then, yes, I punched him in the face and broke his nose. And then, as you saw, I was hauled out of the club by security.” Caden rubs his hand over his bruised knuckles. “I don’t regret that.”
“I can’t…believe…this,” I gasp.
“I’m telling you the truth,” Caden says, his face burning with sincerity. “Why would I lie?”
“To break us up!” I insist. “Just like Luke said.”
“Isla, you came looking for me ,” Caden says. “If I wanted to use this to break you two up, wouldn’t I have come running to you last night? Called you to tell you what I saw?”
“Why didn’t you?” I demand.
“I didn’t know what to do!” he cries. “Luke told me he could be very convincing. I have to give him credit, he came up with a pretty good cover story. I’ve been agonizing about this all morning. I tell you and you’re going to be hurt—hurt badly, and you might not even believe me, so then I lose any chance of having you in my life even as a friend. I don’t tell you, you marry a cheating asshole who, by the looks of it, was not at his first rodeo. Both options are shitty. I was trying to figure out what to do. Alistair said to tell you but I…” His expression turns bleak. “I didn’t want to hurt you either.”
Nausea overwhelms me. I think I might throw up. I want to tell him to get Alistair on the phone right now, but being Caden’s brother, he’s not the most reliable witness.
My body feels like a live wire, every muscle tensed, every strand of my hair alight. Luke can’t be a cheater. I’ve never even seen him glance at another woman when we’re out together at a restaurant or getting drinks with his friends in the city.
Caden takes a few steps toward me, so that he’s only inches away. I can feel the heat of him, mixed with that leather and soap scent. “I’m sorry,” he says softly.
I shake my head. My eyes burn. This has to be a lie. Like Luke said. Caden telling lies to break us up…but my mind starts to spin back over other things. How Luke gets called into work at odd times. How cool he’s always been about me staying out here while he stays in the city.
My stomach twists sharply and bile rises in my throat. I turn and lean over the sink, willing the contents of my stomach to stay put. I feel a strong warm hand on my back.
“Don’t,” I snap, and the hand goes away. I take a few deep breaths and my stomach settles.
“I don’t know what to say,” Caden says.
“You’ve said enough,” I retort.
I turn and flee the kitchen, running back down the hall and out the door. When I get into my car, I grip the steering wheel and gulp for air.
Luke has always been such a decent, forthright person. I can’t have fallen for a cheater. Surely, I would have noticed a change in his mood or a sudden secrecy around his phone or something. There would have been signs. Right?
My head throbs. I don’t want to think anymore. I’d like to extract my brain for a minute. I start to hyperventilate as I pass the lodge and pull over when I reach the street. Tears fall thick and fast down my cheeks. My chest aches. What do I do? Who do I believe? I take out my phone to call Charlotte but stop short of hitting her number. I don’t think I want anyone else’s opinions in my head right now.
My phone buzzes.
Hey babe, the Willises just got here. They’re asking about you. When are you coming back from the Thorn?
It’s such a normal text. He sounds the way he always does. It’s disorienting. I take a deep, calming breath. I need to pull myself together. Be an adult. I’ll talk to my fiancé. See what Luke has to say for himself when confronted with Caden’s accusation.
Maybe this is all nothing, I think hopefully. A misunderstanding. Caden saw something he misinterpreted. Things got out of hand on both sides. Yes. There’s got to be a logical explanation to all this.
I start the car up again and drive to the Richards’ house. I dab at my eyes with a tissue and apply some concealer from the little bag I keep in the glove compartment. I check myself in the rearview mirror and take another deep breath.
Then I head inside.