Chapter 9
EMERY
“What is this? The nineteen hundreds?” Abigail demanded as she pushed her chair back and stood. She bit her nails as she paced back and forth in front of the table where Bash and I were sitting.
Noah was in the living room—I wasn’t sure if he could hear us or not—and Timothy was still passed out on the bed in what I could only assume was Sabrina’s room.
Something had happened between Abigail and her sister.
Bash had attempted to get Abigail to tell me the story, but she’d hurriedly changed the subject to me and why I was here…
which was now the topic we were discussing.
The stupid marriage stipulation the board had just forced on me.
“Why—why is your family so backwards? Why does Emery’s marital status matter?
” Abigail had stopped moving and focused her energy on Bash.
“Why would they even put that sort of rule in place?” Her hands were firmly planted on her hips, and she was glaring.
“First you had to marry that Emmeline because of your family, and now Emery?”
Bash’s eyes were wide as he stared at his fiancée before he flicked his gaze over to me. Regret washed over me at the memory of what I’d asked Bash to do.
How could I have been so stupid as to bring up what the board demanded in front of him? Did he hate me for complaining about having the same kind of ridiculous rule enacted on me? My cheeks warmed with guilt.
“I’m so sorry, Bash,” I whispered. How could I have been so insensitive?
Bash’s eyes were wide as he slowly shook his head. “It’s okay. I’m okay. We’re okay,” he said softly.
I could see in his gaze that he wanted me to believe him. That he didn’t feel any ill will toward me. I offered him a relieved smile. “Thanks.” I was never going to forgive myself for what I had done to him, but it was nice to know that he’d moved forward.
Abigail looked like a deer in headlights as she glanced back and forth between me and Bash. When I finally caught her gaze, she furrowed her brow. “I should—I didn’t mean—” She blew out her breath.
I held up my hand. “It’s okay. I’m a different person now. I would never make Bash marry anyone he didn’t want to.”
Abigail gave me a wide smile. “Good.”
“For the record, I would never do that either,” Bash said, holding up his right forefinger.
Abigail zeroed in on him. “But it’s your family that is making Emery do this.”
“I—I didn’t make up that rule,” he said as he firmly planted his hand on his chest. “That was put in place by my grandfather. He did it to protect his company from my crazy aunt.” He shrugged.
“I guess they forgot it was there and never had it removed when my dad took over.” He went quiet for a moment as if waiting for Abigail to respond.
When she didn’t, he added, “If it were up to me, I would throw that ridiculous rule out.”
Abigail frowned as she narrowed her eyes at Bash. I could tell that she was trying to digest his words and decide if she was going to accept that answer. Finally, she sighed, and a relieved expression passed over Bash’s face as she moved to sit back down.
“I guess the real question is, do you want to do this?” She had her elbows resting on the table and was leaning on them, bringing herself closer to me.
At her question, my thoughts instantly turned to Carson’s letter. He wanted me to be with someone if anything happened to him. I couldn’t help but wonder if this clause was his influence from the grave. The fact that both came to light around the same time felt too deliberate to be a coincidence.
Abigail’s expression was expectant, so I sighed before I tapped my fingers on the tabletop. “I don’t know. I mean, it’s what Carson would want, right?” I snuck a peek at Bash to see his reaction.
But, just like always, a forlorn look passed through his gaze when his brother’s name was mentioned.
I knew it hurt him so much to talk about his brother, but it was nice to have someone else in the room who knew Carson like I did.
Who remembered what it was like when he was alive.
We breathed life into his memory when we were together.
“I mean, it would be nice for Timothy to have a father figure in his life. All he’s known is me…
” I paused. “And I guess, Noah, now.” My cheeks warmed as I spoke his name.
My gaze drifted over to the living room.
I could see the soft outline of his profile as he sat with his right arm slung over the back of the couch, his attention forward.
The low murmur of a TV news anchor could barely be heard from where I was sitting.
Abigail had followed my glance, so when I brought my attention back to the table, so did she. Her eyebrows were drawn together as she studied me.
“Who is Noah?” she half mouthed, half whispered.
I glanced over at Bash. “You didn’t tell her?” I asked.
He looked at me before turning his focus on Abigail. “No.” His response was so matter-of-fact. Like, why would he tell her?
Men.
“Another imposition from the board. They said a woman CEO needs a bodyguard and assigned him to me.” I rolled my eyes as I pinched my lips between my teeth. I contemplated telling her about Noah and Carson’s history, but then decided against it.
I wasn’t sure if Noah wanted people to know that much about him, and it felt like too intimate a detail for me to reveal.
“So he’s just following you around?” Abigail asked, glancing in Noah’s direction once more.
“Kind of.” I shrugged. “He’s staying at my condo.
Drives us around. Those kinds of things.
” A protective surge rose up inside of me.
I knew that Abigail didn’t mean anything by her question, but for some reason, I wanted to protect Noah and defend his intentions.
After all, I was annoyed with the board, not Noah. None of this was his fault.
“Well, I think the solution to your problem is a man.” She tapped the table with her fingers.
“And just your luck, the island is crawling with them from all the renovations and investments happening.” She clicked her tongue.
“So many new guys are coming in and out of the shop. It’s like a buffet of men.
” She punctuated her words with a wink. “We’ll get you set up in no time. ”
I really wasn’t sure how to respond. The only thing I could come up with was a halfhearted, “Oh.”
“Abi,” Bash said.
We both turned to see him studying Abigail. He held her gaze, and a silent interaction took place between them. The kind that took place between two people who knew each other so intimately that they didn’t need to speak. They just…knew.
An ache rose up inside of me as the memory of having those kinds of moments with Carson washed over me.
It had been so long since I’d shared my secrets with another.
It felt like a lifetime ago. The memory felt like a dream I once had.
One where I wasn’t quite sure if it had been reality or just fiction.
Abigail narrowed her eyes as if Bash was being ridiculous.
“Of course, we’re going to vet them. Not just anyone is going to date—or marry—my sister-in-law.
” She reached out and patted my hand. “I was merely saying that if she needs a smorgasbord of men, she’s in the right place.
Harmony is crawling with them right now.
” She paused and glanced between Bash and me.
“Some of them are rich, too. Lots of investors here as well.”
My cheeks heated at her insinuation. I would be okay with a construction guy or a regular blue-collar worker.
I wasn’t trying to hint that I wanted a rich guy at all.
Most rich guys I’d been around had been more focused on climbing the income ladder than nurturing their relationships.
I already knew what it was like to be alone by situation; the last thing I wanted was to be left alone by choice.
I just…didn’t know how to date. Where would I even start? Carson and I had been together for so long that I didn’t know who I was without him. And I certainly didn’t know who I would be with someone else.
I hurried to respond. “I don’t care about salary or income.” The last thing I wanted was for Abigail to think that I was stuck-up.
“Well, I care.”
Bash’s comment had both me and Abigail turning to face him. A quick glance in Abigail’s direction, and I knew she had the same reaction I did. Her eyebrows were scrunched together and her lips parted.
“Bash.” The way she said his name reminded me of the way I spoke to Timothy when he said something naughty.
“Listen, he needs to be a self-made man. It’s the only way we’ll know he’s not in it for her money.” Bash tapped the table with his forefinger a few times. “There’s no way I’d let my sister-in-law get with a gold digger.” He folded his arms and shook his head. “No way.”
Abigail folded her arms as well. They stared at each other for a moment before Abigail sighed and turned to face me.
“I see where Bash is coming from. It could be an issue.” She scrunched her nose like she was combing through her thoughts.
“Let’s see. I’ll do some digging. There have to be rich guys around. ”
“There’s an investor gathering at the hotel tomorrow. A sort of meet and greet. That’s probably where we should look first.”
Abigail started nodding along with Bash as he spoke. Her expression had morphed from one of confusion to one of direction. “That’s perfect. Single, rich guys should be there, right?” She glanced from Bash to me and back.
Bash raised his eyebrows. “It would definitely be a place to start.”
Abigail clapped her hands. “Wonderful.” Then she glanced down at her watch. “Shoot, I gotta go open up the shop. Wanna come with?” She was studying me with a hopeful look in her eyes. “Fanny called in sick this morning so it’s just me.”