Chapter 34
Cal
“Hey, Mom.” I smile as she opens the door and holds it open for me.
I set a few bags of groceries on the table, along with three new paperback books.
“Honey, what a surprise. It’s not Tuesday, is it?” she asks, looking confused.
I shake my head. “I’m going to New York. I wanted to make sure you were good before I head out for a few days.”
She softens, shame filling her face. “Oh, honey. Thank you. I’m sorry you had to take the time to do this.”
“Mom, don’t say sorry,” I tell her. “I love you, and I want to take care of you.”
“Does this mean you’re going to get Silvie?” she asks, looking hopeful.
I chuckle and nod. “Yeah. I’ve been an idiot too long. I shouldn’t have let her leave.”
I tell her about how Jonah gave me the bar, and she wipes her eyes. “That Jonah has always been a good man.”
“Mom, I have to tell you something,” I say, frowning, unsure how to talk to her about this.
“Okay,” she says hesitantly, as if she knows this isn’t going to be an easy conversation.
“What happened six years ago when my biological father came to Coconut Beach? What happened to make you not want to leave the house anymore?”
She swallows and looks down at her hands in her lap. “How do you know he came here?”
“He found me this week and told me,” I tell her.
“He’s here?” she asks, looking at the door and back at me.
Holy shit, she’s scared. I want to pound that asshole in the face. But I need her to tell me what he did, so I need to stay calm. I need to figure out what broke her in order to fix her. I need her to let me in.
“Not anymore.” I shake my head. “In fact, I told him he’s never allowed on this island ever again.”
She breathes a deep sigh of relief. “That seems a little extreme. It’s not my island.”
“He won’t be bothering either of us. But I need to know. What happened?”
“He showed up one day after all these years.” She exhales and looks over at her bookcase.
“He was with his family. They came into Cocktails & Chaos, and he was joking with his wife and kids. He looked over at me and said to his family, ‘That could have been your mother if I’d stayed here and not made a life for myself.’”
My jaw goes tight, and my fist clenches.
“I had a lot of shame at seeing him and his family laugh. They looked at me like I was just some server at the bar and not the woman who had you. It made me feel so ashamed. It brought back memories of when I was a single mom, pregnant, and just...alone. People judged me, and then I raised you alone, and that wasn’t easy.
Him coming here and doing that just made me feel. ..bad. Staying home is my safe space.”
I’m going to kick that motherfucker’s ass.
“I’ve been going to therapy,” she admits. “Silvie’s helping me. I have had two sessions now, and I am talking about a lot of things I’ve kept buried. I think it’s helping.”
My heart squeezes. “I’m proud of you, Mom.”
I had no idea that Silvie was still helping my mom. Even though she went back to New York and she hasn’t reached out to me, she’s still helping my mom. That gives me hope that there’s still a chance for us.
Mom smiles. “Thanks. I’m proud of you, too. Which is why I want you to go live your life. Let me live mine. I’m figuring it out and getting better. I don’t want you to think you have to stay here for me.”
Damn it. Jonah and Wilby were right. I was hiding out here behind my mom. And she doesn’t want that, either. I might have lost the best woman because I was too afraid to live my life. How sad is that?
No more delaying. I need to go get my wife.
Me: Still okay if I come?
Wilby: Jet’s been in Coconut Beach waiting. Can be wheels up in two hours.
Me: I’m coming. Thank you.
Wilby: I think you’re making the right choice. She needs you. You need her.
Me: I know. Don’t tell her I’m coming, okay? I need to do a few things when I get there.
Wilby: You’ve got it.
The elevator ride up to Montclair Holdings feels longer than it should.
I am so nervous right now but not letting anything get in the way of what I need to do.
I know what I want, and I know what I need to do.
The numbers feel like they’re climbing one by one.
I adjust the cuffs on my sleeve and straighten my jacket.
I’m wearing my dark navy suit that’s tailored with clean lines.
Light-blue button-down shirt, no tie. I’m drawing the line at a tie.
I don’t need one to impress the person I’m coming here for.
I’m here to see one man. And one woman. And really, she’s the only one who matters to me.
When the doors open, everything is familiar but still feels foreign. People glance up, and a few heads turn curiously. I recognize the look. They know who I am and what I’m here for.
I walk straight toward the front desk. “Good morning. I have a meeting with Charles Montclair.”
Her eyes flick down to her screen, then back at me. Something shifts in her expression. It’s respect. Interesting. “He’s expecting you.”
Good. This is a good sign.
The dark-wood double doors to his office are heavy, their polished handles shiny.
I knock once and enter when I hear him call out.
He stands before his floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking Manhattan.
To some, he may seem intimidating, but to me, he’s not.
No matter how much he tries to be. He’s staring out at the city as if he owns it, which I suppose he kind of does.
He turns slowly and takes me in from head to toe. He nods his head approvingly. “You clean up well.”
I don’t respond to that, because I feel like it’s a test. Of whether he can get a rise out of me or not.
I’ve had practice with people. While he was making deals, I was behind a bar for the past five years studying people like him.
Seeing how they interact, how they tick, and I’ve got Charles Montclair’s number.
There’s just one problem. He doesn’t have mine. He has no idea about me. None.
“I’ve had practice.”
He gives me a confused look and gestures to the chair across from his desk. “Sit.”
I don’t. Because I’m not a fucking dog. Or a cat.
“I won’t take up too much of your time,” I say. “I’m here to get my wife.”
The words hit, and he’s silent. His eyes narrow and his jaw tightens.
“I thought we were past this. You were staying in Coconut Beach and playing your part. Silently.”
“With all due respect, Charles,” I say evenly. “Enough. Drop the bullshit.”
Silence stretches between us.
“I’m here because I want things to go differently this time,” I continue. “I want a real wedding with family. I want Silvie to be surrounded by people who love her. Not whatever bullshit circus you had that first time.”
He studies me, his eyes still narrowed.
“She’s my wife. And I love her. And I’m not going anywhere.”
He blinks and looks like he’s not sure what to say. “You weren’t supposed to be real. You’re a bartender in Coconut Beach. She has a real opportunity here to change her legacy.”
I step closer to him, not aggressive, but firm. “I am a part of that legacy. She is my family.”
“What do you want? Is it money?” he asks in an even tone.
“I don’t think you are understanding. See, where you come from, it’s all about money. For me...it’s about family. Big, loud, happy family. People who show up, even when it’s hard to show up. They love each other and would do anything for each other. That’s my currency.”
A look of surprise crosses his face. He’s thinking.
“You don’t know me. You think I don’t fit in your world. And that’s fine. Maybe I don’t. Maybe I do. But I’m here anyway.”
His gaze flickers at that, and he continues to listen.
“Family is everything to me, Charles. I grew up with a mother who loved me and encouraged me to have anything I wanted in life. She told me I could be and do whatever I wanted. She only just wanted me to be healthy and happy. So, I had a good role model. Silvie didn’t have that for a mother. And she should have.”
He sighs and looks away.
“Things are going to be different from here on out,” I say. “My wife will have her village that supports and encourages her.”
His eyebrows furl together.
“And she needs you to be a part of her village,” I continue. “She’s been working for this her whole life and she loves it. And she should have it. With all of us having her back and encouraging her.”
His shoulders lower a fraction. “You think I don’t know that she needs that?” he asks quietly.
I swallow.
“I think you’ve been an empire,” I say. “And somewhere along the way, she got left behind to be abused and neglected by her own mother. Now she thinks work is all she has and somehow can’t have both.”
He walks back over to the window and looks out at it. Then looks back at me. “You and I aren’t so different.”
I don’t break eye contact.
He walks over to his bar and pulls down two crystal glasses from the shelf. “I started as nothing. Did you know that? I was the bartender at my wife’s family’s country club. I mixed drinks for all of the men who thought I’d never become one of them.”
Holy shit.
His mouth twitches at my surprise. “And look at me now,” he continues. “ But I didn’t come from a family like yours. I didn’t marry into a family like yours. I tried to create that...and failed. But Silvie? Silvie is different.”
“Silvie is everything,” I say softly.
“She loves you,” he says as he pours bourbon into two glasses. I don’t tell him that it’s eleven in the morning.
“I love her,” I answer.
“I know.”
He studies my face like he’s looking for doubt or something to conflict with this. He won’t find it.
“I was wrong about you,” he says finally. “And I wasn’t fair. I thought you were a rebellion for my daughter.”
“I’m not.”
“No,” he agrees quietly. “You’re not.”
He steps closer and hands me a glass. I take it and hold it.
“What does this marriage and life look like for you, Cal?” he asks over his glass.
“I know you think I don’t fit into your world. But I fit into Silvie’s world. I can promise you that. I love her and I will take care of her and support her until the day that I die,” I say with conviction.
He unbuttons his cuffs and rolls up his sleeves to reveal completely tatted-up arms. Wow. Unexpected.
“You mark everything important on your skin?” he asks.
I shrug. “Sometimes.”
He nods once. “I did too, once upon a time. See? Not much different.” He lets loose a sharp breath. “I’ll support this,” he says. “The board is still gunning for her. But having you by her side helps.”
Relief pulses through me, but I don’t let it show.
“I’m here for whatever she needs,” I tell him. “I’ll attend meetings and dinners. I’ll be by her side if that’s what she wants.”
He nods.
“But I’m not playing golf. I draw the line there.”
He blinks, and then he laughs. “That’s where you draw the line?”
“That’s where I draw the line. Golf is boring, Charles.”
He shakes his head, still smiling. “Thank fuck.”
“Do you want a family?” he suddenly asks.
The question surprises me because Silvie and I have briefly talked about it, but she seems pretty driven in her career, and it didn’t seem like something she wanted.
But then I think about what she said about what I wanted.
And that I need to want for myself, not just for what everyone else wants and needs.
“I want Silvie,” I say honestly and meet his eyes. “Whatever she wants. If that’s kids, I’m in. If it’s just the two of us, running back and forth between Coconut Beach and New York, I’m in. If she wants to run this company and have me support her, I’m in. I just want her. She’s it for me.”
Something shifts in him then. He’s not a businessman standing in front of me. A titan of his industry. He’s a father.
“You’d follow her anywhere, it sounds like,” he says.
“I already did. I’m here, aren’t I?” I grin.
He looks down at his desk for a moment.
“You don’t have to like me, but you need to know I’m not going anywhere.”
He lifts his chin and looks at me. “I do like you.”
Then he straightens and buttons his sleeves again. He turns and walks toward the door. “Come on. Let’s go get my daughter back for you.”