34. Quentin
Rei was stiff beside me in the car, flowers forgotten at the event.
She swiped angrily at her face, but the orange streetlights still caught the tear tracks on her cheeks.
Telling her family had been a clusterfuck of the highest order.
I knew they wouldn’t react well just based on Rei’s anxiety, but that had been something else.
“W-why do they think y-y-ou’re with Conrad?” I asked, jealousy had my stutter rearing its stupid, ugly head.
Rei looked up at me with glassy eyes. “They don’t know that Conrad’s just an employee. They think he’s my business partner. They have this idea of him rescuing me from all the stupid things I did in the past.”
My jaw tensed. That explanation made sense but only created more questions. I wanted to ask her what stupid things she’d done, but now wasn’t the time. “So you made a few mistakes. Who hasn’t?”
“Dennis,” she said sourly. “He’s their perfect biological child.”
My stomach roiled for her. All of this felt wrong.
Her phone went off, and I took a moment to catch my breath. She pulled it from her purse and quickly pointed the screen away from me. But I could read the caller ID in the window reflection.
Private Investigator
“I have to answer this,” she whispered, holding it to her ear but lowering the volume so I couldn’t hear anything. “Hello?” she asked. Her lips were pinched and her eyes seemed tight as she listened.
“That’s it?” She paused. “There has to be something. Dig deeper. I need everything. Cost doesn’t matter.” She hung up and dropped her phone in her purse. “Sorry, work call.”
My first instinct was to think she was lying, but PI’s could be helpful in business.
Maybe she was looking into a potential client.
Besides, I hardly told her about all of my daily business tasks.
I was probably just upset because of how her parents treated her.
“Has your mom always called you the wrong name?” I asked.
It upset me that she had only one daughter and still didn’t get it right.
“What?” Rei asked, chewing the inside of her cheek.
“Your mom called you Andrea.”
Rei stiffened. “Sh-she calls us all the wrong names when she’s mad. She called Dennis the dog’s name all the time when he was a kid.”
My eyebrows pinched together. Something was off about her answer, but I couldn’t put my finger on it.
Probably because something was off about this whole evening.
Even if my parents thought I was doing something stupid, they would still be there to help me out when it failed, with a hearty “I told you so.” Rei’s family wasn’t what I expected.
Before I could ask more questions, she said, “I never should have told them. We should have had a true elopement and let them come to terms with it later.”
I frowned. “Don’t let them make your decisions for you.”
She gave me a confused look, and I couldn’t help it.
I reached out and swiped a tear from her cheek with my thumb.
“My parents didn’t want me to quit my job at the bank to join a start-up with zero funding.
They didn’t like the idea of me using my life savings to prep pitches, only to go down with a sinking ship. ”
“MyHome?” she whispered.
I nodded, still holding her face in my hand. “They’re not the ones that have to live with the consequences of your failures... or your successes.”
She looked up at my eyes, vulnerable, shy, broken, and whispered, “You think this will be a success?”
My heart beat painfully at just how much I wanted it to be. “I do,” I whispered, making her smile for just a second before I pressed my lips to hers.
The salt from her tears passed over my lips, but she held my face with her hand like she needed me this close too. I couldn’t stand the thought of her sadness like I couldn’t stand the thought of her parents’ disapproval tearing her away from me.
Deepening the kiss, I drew her closer, wishing I had the words to show her how incredible she was, whether they saw it or not.
She was kind and savvy, running a major business from behind the scenes like a mastermind of epic proportions.
Everything I learned about her only amazed me more, and I hoped I’d get to learn about her for the rest of my life.
The car rolled to a stop, and I looked over at her house. I wished I didn’t have to leave her. “Do you want me to come inside,” I whispered.
She looked from me to the house. “I need some time to process everything,” she whispered. “Is that okay?”
I tried not to take it personally. We’d only connected recently, but I hoped she’d let me closer in time.
“Of course it’s okay. Whatever you need.
” I kissed her again, chaste this time, knowing she wanted to return to her castle.
“But if that changes, let me know. I’ll be here whenever you need me. ”
She gave me a weak smile that didn’t quite reach her eyes and said, “Thank you, Quentin.”
Then she opened the door.
I watched her walk into the building, wishing it was tomorrow night already so I could take her with me to my family’s New Year’s Eve party and help her forget this disastrous evening. But at her door, she turned around to look at me.
And she started walking my way.
I rolled down my window when she reached me, cheeks red, eyes already growing puffy.
“I changed my mind,” she whispered. “I don’t want to be alone.”
My heart lurched, and I reached for the handle. Only once I was out of the car did I turn to Divi. “Have a good night.”
He gave me a small smile. “You too, boss.”
I held Rei’s hand in mine and walked with her to the front door.
She put her keys in the knob and let me inside, safety lights flickering to life.
Silently, she locked the dead bolt and led me up to her room.
She changed into silken pajamas printed with strawberries while I slipped out of my suit, leaving me in boxers and a plain white shirt.
And then we lay together on her bed. Studying me across the mattress, she said, “I just want to cuddle.”
My lip twitched. “I’ve heard that one before. You’re just trying to get me in your bed.”
She giggled and climbed under the covers.
I slid into the nest-like bed of pillows and memory foam mattress toppers that threatened to swallow me, drawing her back to my front. She fit so naturally against me, my arm closed around her soft waist. She held on to my forearm like it was a lifeline.
“I’ve been alone for a long time,” she whispered.
I could relate. “Me too.”
“I’m not used to letting people in or accepting help.”
“Me neither.”
“So it’s the blind leading the blind?” she wondered.
“Seems like it.”
She chuckled softly. “At least I’m not doing it alone.”
“Never alone,” I said. “Not when you’re with me.”
Eventually, her breathing slowed, and she fell asleep, but I couldn’t. I just kept remembering the look in her mom’s eyes the second she realized Rei was getting married.
Maybe my parents were taking this news a little too well.
Making sure that Rei was asleep, I got out of bed and took my phone to the hallway balcony that overlooked her dim living room below. Through the curtains, the white furniture was cast in a bluish glow. Even though it was late, I knew Mom would be awake. She always was a night owl.
After a few rings, she picked up and rushed out, “What’s wrong? Why are you up so late?”
“Everything’s okay,” I said.
“But you’re up past ten,” she replied in disbelief. “Are you sure you’re okay?”
“I’ve just got a lot on my mind, okay?” It came out a little defensively, but she didn’t seem to mind.
“So you just called me to chitchat? Doesn’t seem like you.”
My lips curled as I leaned against the railing. “I called to get roasted by my mom, apparently.”
“Oh, hush,” she said through a laugh.
“I was just wondering why you and Dad are taking the news of the wedding so well,” I asked. “I mean, Rei’s parents freaked out when they heard the news.”
“Ah, there it is...” she said as if it were all coming together now. “How did Rei feel about that?”
“Not great,” I said, although that didn’t come close to describing the devastation that I’d seen in her eyes.
This woman who was so full of life and energy looked small and defeated for the first time when she told me she didn’t want to be alone tonight.
The memory broke my heart for her all over again.
Mom said, “And Rei called off the wedding because they didn’t approve?”
My eyebrows scrunched. “No, it’s still on.”
“Right, so are her parents coming to the wedding?”
I shifted my weight from one foot to the other. “I’m not sure.”
“So it seemed like they had two options. Support their daughter and be there for her, whether it goes well or poorly. Or tell her how they really feel about it, hurt her feelings, and drive a wedge between them before the biggest day of her life so far.”
I got what she was saying, but the ramifications had me standing up and pacing the banister. “So you’re telling me you agreed with our marriage even though you think it’s a stupid idea?”
“No, I supported you and hoped for your happiness even though I personally would have a difficult time marrying someone so quickly.”
“Why didn’t you tell me you think I’m making a mistake?”
“The hard thing about mistakes is it’s impossible to know you’ve made one until you’ve seen the outcome of your decision.” She let out a small sigh. “Ten years from now, I might be saying marrying Rei was the best thing that ever happened to you. We won’t know until later.”
My lips pressed to the side. “You always told me when you thought my ideas were stupid before. I thought you’d never forgive me for quitting the bank.”
“That’s why I went to therapy. I was scared for you.
I wanted you to have the safety net that I never did.
” She was quiet for a while. “But my therapist said you’re grown and can make your own decisions, and I agree.
It’s my job to manage my emotions around the disappointment, not try and make you do something different so I feel more comfortable. ”
My eyebrows rose as I took that in. “Wow, that’s very… mature of you?”
“Calling me mature at my age?” she retorted. I could just picture her side-eye.
“I mean, twenty-nine is still young,” I teased.
She chuckled. “Go to bed, son. You need your beauty sleep.”
“What about you?”
“Twenty-nine-year-olds live on iced coffee and a dream. I’ve got it covered.”
I chuckled softly. “Okay, Mom... I love you.”
“I love you too,” she said. “And please tell Rei I’m sorry. We’ll be there for her until her parents see this was a good idea after all.”
My lips twitched. “Good night.”
We hung up, and I walked back to Rei’s bedroom, mind spinning about so many things.
While I’d known my mom had a therapist, I had no idea I was the reason she started.
It touched me that she was trying to show up better even though she was already amazing.
Why couldn’t Rei’s parents do that for her?
I’d been around long enough to know the world wasn’t fair.
But it struck me at a new level when I got to the room and saw Rei sleeping, hair splayed around her in a dark cloud, hand gripping the edge of her pillow.
The perfect woman deserved an unshakable support system that saw just how resilient and brave she was.
I promised myself that I’d be that for her, and I knew Mom was on my side. Tyrone and Dad would follow suit, because they knew what family was all about.
My throat clogged with emotion as I slid back under the covers and curled behind her once more. Here, I could protect her. Here, I could cherish her.
Warmth seeped from her body to mine like a lullaby. Even though I didn’t have my blackout curtains, sleep mask, or mattress set to the perfect firmness, my eyes slid closed, and I had the best sleep of my life.