Chapter 38 #2
“I’ve got people on it,” Callum said once he’d recovered.
He took a sip of whatever cocktail he’d mixed up this time and swallowed it, then glanced at the liquid, winced, and looked back at me.
“Our PR people are doing triage. They’ve already managed to slow the bleeding.
There are plenty of people out there who know her and who know you, who are pushing back.
Baby Blossom clients have been speaking up for the place, as has the community.
There’s power in that. We’ve got our best people spending all their time on this and they’re doing everything they can.
For now, there’s not much more we can do. ”
Jameson slowly arched an eyebrow before he smirked at me. “Which begs the question. Why are you here with us instead of being with her?”
Because I don’t know what the hell else to do. I didn’t say that, though. Instead, I shrugged and took another sip of my drink. “Mom’s got her. I can’t just sit back and wait for someone else to clean up this mess, no matter how badly I’d rather be with her.”
“Why not?” Jameson finally sat down too, looking right into my eyes with a challenge flickering in his. “Clearly, you’ve fallen in love with your wife. That’s not a bad thing. It’s weird, but it’s not bad. So go save her from Mom and let the PR people do their jobs in peace.”
“But I’m the fixer,” I hissed between clenched teeth, jabbing a thumb at my chest. “I’m our family’s weapon and you know it. No one just calls me when there’s trouble. They unleash me. I don’t sit on the sidelines and wait for shit to happen. I’m the one who makes it happen.”
“I hate to be the one to tell you this, bro,” Callum said with amusement on his features.
“But this isn’t a hostile takeover, or a corporate scandal, or a boardroom full of assholes trying to stop you from getting what you want.
It’s your wife. She doesn’t need the Westwood bulldog. She just needs you.”
“Sterling, the man.” Jameson smirked again. “Not Sterling Westwood, the name that strikes fear into the hearts of his enemies.”
“Fuck you.” I scoffed, but I was trying to hold back a snort of laughter. “What do you think this is, Braveheart?”
Their words hit me harder than I was willing to admit, though. All because everything they’d said rang true and the realization was more terrifying than anything I’d ever faced—no matter how many titans of industry I’d gone up against in my career.
Callum stood from his perch on the armrest and drained his undoubtedly strong-as-jet-fuel cocktail.
“I’m going to check in with our team. You and I both know that they’ll call if they need your help, but we have to let them handle their end right now.
Once we know more, we can decide how to move forward. ”
“Go be with your wife, William Wallace,” Jameson chimed in with a shit-eating grin. “We’ll call you when it’s time to suit up for battle, but for now, just go make sweet, sweet love to?—”
“Shut up,” I cut him off and pushed back my chair, laughing despite myself before I tossed back the rest of my drink. “I’ll go save her from Mom. You two can go fuck yourselves for thinking this is funny.”
“I just might take you up on that,” Jameson joked—or maybe not. I really didn’t want to know. “Say hi for us.”
“For the record, I’d just like to point out that I didn’t make fun of you,” Callum said. “All I did was offer sage advice.”
“Noted. I’m stunned that it’s actually true, but you’re not wrong.” I set my glass down with a thud and pointed at Jameson. “I’ll remember this when your turn comes.”
He sighed, but something strange flashed behind his eyes. Something that told me all his bravado tonight had been to hide something else. Dad had mentioned he’d been moody and now this. If I had time to deal with it right then, I would have, but Laney needed me more tonight.
After giving them both a wave, I turned toward the hallway where I’d last seen her, already missing her after spending so much time apart today.
Being the family fixer could wait. For once in my life, I was putting myself—and my wife—first.
The sound of Mom’s voice drifted out of the breakfast room and I followed it until I found them tucked into the nook off our kitchen with Mom talking Laney’s ear off. She was just listening, her knees pulled up to her chest and her chin resting on her arms around them.
She looked numb. Beat in a way that made all sorts of instincts surge through me to take her back to Napa and keep her there with me forever—away from all this bullshit.
My mother glanced at me when I walked in, smiling cautiously as if she wasn’t sure if I was just checking in or if I’d come bearing more bad news. “Sterling?”
“Why don’t you go make sure that Dad and Vincent don’t get in a fist fight?” I suggested gently. “It’s been a day and I’m taking my wife to bed now. We could all use some rest.”
“That’s a great idea, honey.” Mom’s smile morphed into something warm and approving, and she nodded as she rose gracefully from her seat. “Don’t you two worry about those old men now. They won’t start swinging.”
“You didn’t see the way they looked at each other when we came in,” I said, but she was already waving me off.
“Oh, it’s nothing. Ancient history,” she said breezily as she strode over to brush a kiss to Laney’s cheek.
“Harlan used to have a big old crush on Bella way back in the day. Before I was in the picture, of course, but it was Vincent who won her heart. I didn’t put all the pieces together until a few days ago, but nothing untoward ever happened.
They’re just old frenemies who need to learn how to let go of the past.”
With that, she brushed a kiss to my cheek too, patting me on the shoulder before she pulled away to look up at me. “I’m pleasantly surprised, darling. I didn’t think I’d be seeing you again until after midnight, but you’re doing the right thing.”
She swept out of the room as if she hadn’t just dropped a massive bomb on us. Laney and I both just stared after her for a long minute. Stunned by what she’d said about our dads and Laney’s mom, I only snapped out of it when Laney started giggling.
“I just can’t process that today,” she said as she stood up and came over to me. “You said something about taking me to bed?”
“Yep.” I slid my fingers around hers like it was the most natural thing in the world. In response, she wrapped her free hand around my elbow, leaning into me. We walked out into the hall together.
Finally feeling like I could breathe for the first time since I’d found her reading those messages this morning, I led her out into the garden and across the lawn. “We’re in the lake house tonight. I asked them to get it ready for us before we came.”
“The lake house?” She glanced up at me, her eyes watery and red-rimmed but not as devastated as they had been earlier. “Just how many houses are on this property?”
“A few,” I said vaguely. “I’ll give you a tour sometime. Maybe tomorrow. Let’s see how it goes.”
“That’ll be nice.” She sighed and glanced up at the stars, melting into my side. We walked along the garden path to the guest house on the second lake.
Nestled between carefully trimmed hedges that created a natural barrier, the lake house was little more than a cottage built right on the shore of the water. I would show Laney around tomorrow, though. For now, the only thing that was important was that it was nice, fully furnished, and clean.
Finally alone again, I locked the door behind us and pulled her into my arms, holding her against me and closing my eyes against the onslaught of emotions that surged through me.
Now that she’d started tearing down my walls and I’d willingly let them fall again for my brothers earlier, it felt like they were crumbled on the ground and I couldn’t seem to figure out if I even wanted them to come back up again.
“We’re going to be fine, Laney. I don’t know how yet, but everyone we’ve got is working on this. I’m still not convinced I shouldn’t be with them, but I needed to be with you for a while first.”
She lifted her head away from my chest and looked up at me, bringing a hand to my cheek and touching her fingers to it gently, like I was something precious to her. She shook her head. “Don’t go. Let them deal with it for tonight. There’s nothing we can do that’s not already being done.”
I wasn’t convinced that was true either, but I nodded and brought my lips to hers, kissing her deeply and with more meaning than I’d ever kissed anyone before.
If Jameson had been right and she needed me to be here with her instead of out there fixing this, then here was exactly where I was going to be.