Chapter 20
EMILIA
Ikneeled in front of the adorable little blond boy all dressed up in a plaid bow tie and shiny black shoes. “Did you eat some cake?”
He nodded shyly.
“Me too!” I gave him a wink. “It was so yummy that I think I might have two pieces. What about you?”
His eyes lit up and he looked at his father questioningly.
“I don’t know, buddy,” Logan said with mock seriousness. “Two pieces of cake in one day? I’m not sure you can handle it.”
“Daddy, I can,” he insisted, hopping up and down excitedly.
“You can what, young man?” Oliver said as he joined our group.
“He’s angling for another slice of cake, thanks to this one,” Drew said as he pointed at me.
“Well, it’s a party, so I vote yes as well,” Oliver smiled at his grandson. “Let’s see if we can make that happen. That okay, Logan?”
He nodded then Oliver tapped a server passing by and seamlessly gave the order. When she turned to walk away, Noah skipped along behind her.
“I need to talk to that kid about strangers in vans with candy,” Logan said as he watched his son take off. “He’s such an easy target. Offer him anything sweet and he’s gone.”
A beautiful grey-haired woman in a floaty tangerine dress joined us, and I caught Oliver smiling shyly at her in a way. I didn’t blame him; she was stunning, with a willowy build, bright blue eyes, and the regal carriage of a retired runway model.
“I don’t think I’ve had the chance to introduce you all to my friend Candace Fremont,” Oliver said. “Candace, these are my sons, Logan and Drew, and Drew’s fiancée, Emilia.”
We all smiled and shook hands but I detected a chill in the air coming from Drew and Logan.
“You local?” Drew asked her.
His voice sounded clipped, like he was talking to a staff member that he had a problem with. I cringed a little, because I had a feeling I knew what was happening.
“Me? No, I live in Manhattan,” Candace answered with a kind smile despite the bad cop vibes Drew was giving off. “It’s such a wonderful change of pace to visit the West Coast. I love it here. We’ve had a run of bad weather lately in NYC, so I’m drinking in the sunshine.”
“With sunscreen, of course,” Oliver added with a laugh. He bumped a little closer to Candace and I noticed the way their arms rested lightly against one another.
Logan noticed, too. His glare was unmistakable.
“So is this who’s getting you to wear it when you go golfing?” Logan asked in a way that sounded almost accusatory. “Candace, do we have you to thank for that?”
I cringed when I saw that Drew was equally locked onto the pair, glaring.
Candace, for her part, seemed to be weathering the disapproval just fine. If anything, she looked amused. “Oh, no, I can’t take credit for that. Your father is doing an excellent job looking out for his health all on his own. He had to remind me to put it on the last time we golfed.”
“And when was that?” Drew asked.
Damn. In this scenario there was no ‘good cop’, just two very grumbly brothers being deliberately rude to a stranger.
“Um,” Candace turned to Oliver. “Was that a few weeks ago? It’s hard to keep track, we’re both so busy. Retirement, what’s that?”
They both laughed despite the stony faces.
“So that means the two of you are hanging out a lot?” Logan said.
It was starting to feel like a tag-team inquisition, but both Oliver and Candace seemed to be above it.
“When we can,” Oliver said. “But we live on different coasts and, like Candace said, we both have full plates.”
“Interesting,” Drew said as the crossed his arms and leveled his stare at Candace. “And how long are you staying, Candace?”
Oof, the words were neutral but his tone was lethal. The poor woman.
“I’m leaving tomorrow morning, early.”
“I’m assuming that you’re staying in one of our properties,” Drew said.
“Not at all,” Oliver interjected. “We have plenty of room at the house; she’s staying with me.”
The silence was painful.
I was about to say something, anything, to break the tension but right as I opened my mouth I felt someone crash into my back, sending me reeling forward a few steps.
“I am so sorry,” a sweaty guy said, clutching his now half full drink out in front of him. “Did I get you?”
I glanced over my shoulder at the damp burgundy spot running down my hip. “A little.”
“Ah shit. Does red wine stain?” The sweaty guy grimaced.
Candace was already striding towards me. “Not if I have anything to say about it. Come on, let’s take care of that mess.”
She took my arm and gently led me away.
“Yikes,” she said softly.
I wasn’t sure if she was talking about the stain or the drama we’d just left.
“Sorry,” I answered equally vaguely, because we didn’t know each other well enough to really get into what we were thinking.
We walked into the bathroom that was big enough to belong in a hotel and Candace immediately got to work, bending over at the waist to examine the stain.
“Don’t worry—you’re in good hands. No one can get rid of a stain like a former surgeon,” she said confidently.
“Oh wow,” I breathed. “That’s what you used to do?”
She unwound the bath tissue and started wetting it down in the sink. “Former surgical oncologist.”
“No way,” I replied. “That’s incredible.”
“Thank you. I retired from the surgical suite a year ago but I’m not ready to just give up, so I’m now a medical consultant. It’s a very fulfilling way to continue my mission.”
She started dabbing at the stain and I searched for a way to bridge what had just gone down with the guys.
“I’m sorry you had to put up with Drew being so …”
“Justifiably suspicious?” Candace filled in, and I laughed at her dead-on take.
“That’s generous of you to call it justified,” I said.
“I understand it,” she insisted. “They’ve never seen their father with anyone but their mother.
But here’s the thing; we’re not officially together.
At least not yet. We enjoy one another’s company, but we haven’t defined our status, which is probably why the boys were caught off guard to meet me.
I’m surprised I’m here at a family party, but I was fairly booked up on this trip and the party just happened to coincide with a time that I was free. ”
“Serendipity,” I said.
“Perhaps,” Candace smiled. “It worked out. For now we’re just enjoying our time together. He’s become one of my best friends.”
“Aw. That’s the way it should be.”
That was how it had been with my grandparents—and their relationship was always the one I’d held up as a model.
Poppy and Grammy had adored each other, had made each other laugh, had enjoyed every minute they spent together all the way up to her last days.
I’d always hoped to find that for myself, but no relationship I’d ever had had felt that comfortable and steady.
I didn’t have the best track record at finding men I could actually have fun with, outside the bedroom.
When I tried to think of what that would even look like, I immediately pictured curling up on the sofa in the media room with Drew, watching reality TV and heckling the people on screen.
Or hanging out in the garden with Drew and Winston, doing the crossword together and pretending Winston was giving us all sorts of ridiculous suggestions.
Even when I was wrapped up in work—like the hours I’d spent going through Kristen’s video files from her grandpa—he made things easier for me, keeping me company and making sure I was provided with drinks and snacks.
He made me laugh. He was thoughtful as hell. We cared about the same things.
Yeah, in addition to wanting to fuck his face off, I also really, really liked Drew Ashford.
Candace stepped back to admire her efforts. “Okay, not bad.”
I turned to check it in the mirror and sure enough, all that was left was a colorless wet streak.
“Thank you!” I gave her a quick hug and she laughed.
“We should get back out there or the guys might come hunting us down,” she said.
We walked out into the crowd and I scanned to try to find Drew. I finally spotted him near the windows, chatting with Harrison. They didn’t see me walking up so I slowed to try to eavesdrop on their conversation on my way over.
When I heard Harrison say my name I came to a full stop and ducked behind the corner.
“Yeah, she keeps surprising me,” Drew said.
I could hear the smile in his voice.
“I really like her,” Harrison said. “Seems like she keeps you on your toes.”
Now it was my turn to smile. An endorsement from big brother had to mean something.
“She sure does,” Drew replied. “She’s smart as hell. And when it comes to problem solving? Next level.”
“Clearly,” Harrison said. “All I can see are stripes of pink on everyone’s dessert plates thanks to her.”
“Right? That’s what I mean.”
“Talk to me about the ring,” Harrison said.
I glanced down at the sparkler on my hand. It really was a beautiful piece—simple but flawless. It was so brilliant that it looked like there were fireworks inside of it, even in the dim light.
“It felt right,” Drew said.
I wasn’t sure what they were getting at. Felt right how?
“I have to admit that I was a little shocked seeing it on her finger,” Harrison said. “Not in a bad way, just that … well, that you thought it was the right choice. I trust you, so I respect it.”
I strained to hear, because the conversation was getting deeper.
“I have to admit that it was partly convenience, at least at first. I still had Mom’s first ring in my safe at home, and we needed a ring to make the engagement look real, so …”
Wait. I was wearing his mom’s ring? I glanced down at it again.
I would have expected something grander…
but on the other hand, he said ‘first ring,’ which meant that Oliver had probably upgraded her at some point.
Oliver was the one who had really built the company up into a global brand.
He’d inherited a hotel chain, and he’d turned it into an empire—but the big-time growth had happened long after he’d gotten married.
“It fit perfectly,” Drew continued. “Like Cinderella’s glass slipper.”
I hugged myself at the comparison.
“I’m not much into signs but it sort of feels like that means something,” Harrison suggested.
“Yeah, maybe.” He shook his head. “I don’t know. Constantly having cameras in our faces because of Carter and Kristen makes it hard to figure out what’s real and what’s fake.”
“The cameras aren’t always on you.”
“That’s true and those times are the ones that matter. We have to see where things are after the Carten wedding but I gotta admit…” He paused, then smiled. “This doesn’t feel fake anymore.”
Neither did I. Or rather, I hadn’t really let myself think about it because living in the now had felt so good lately. But from the way he was talking, it sounded like he really saw the potential for a future for us.
And if he wanted that, so did I.