Chapter 44
STERLING
T oday had drained everything out of me. It’d been one of the longest, busiest days of my career—which was saying something—and then I’d gotten stuck having to come to dinner with my family when I hadn’t even had time to take a piss.
All the days I’d spent away from the office ever since I’d met Laney had finally caught up to me, meaning that I’d been hit by an avalanche of red tape and bullshit I’d been putting off for too long.
By the time most people had been having breakfast this morning, I’d restructured several multi-national corporations and I’d only just been getting started.
It was safe to say that whatever softer side Laney had slowly been coaxing out of me had gone solidly into lockdown long before lunch.
I’d retreated back to a place emotionally that I was much more familiar with, the icy, business-first part of my personality that practically screamed, don’t ask how I’m feeling unless you want to be disappointed by the answer.
Once I’d gotten to the house, I’d hoped for a quiet moment with my wife to take the edge off, but instead, I’d been cornered by Callum, who headed up our marketing department, and dragged into Dad’s study for PR updates I didn’t give a shit about.
All the while, Jameson cracked ill-timed jokes about by my demeanor, insisting I was being pissy because my honeymoon had been cut short and my balls had probably turned blue.
Dad wasn’t making things any better either, fighting for dominance over my brothers’ bullshit by insisting we review the current status of our most recent acquisitions right the hell now.
I grunted and nodded, playing my part, but I didn’t really hear any of it.
Laney knocked once and then opened the door, walking into the room like she owned the air I breathed. In strappy heels and a floral sundress that made her look like summer, she smiled and greeted my dad and my brothers, but I felt the crack in my armor before she even spotted me.
When she did, however, with just a tilt of her head and a smile that was meant for me alone, she rocked my entire world and broke me right out of the lockdown. Jameson, Callum, and Dad had stopped talking to watch her walk over to where I was standing.
She didn’t say anything at first but came right up to me and looped her arms around my neck. Pushing up on her tiptoes, she leaned in, her lips moving against my ear as she whispered, “You look like you’re plotting someone’s death. Do I need to step in and save you?”
I didn’t smile, but I felt relief and amusement lighten the load somewhere deep in my chest. “I’m beyond saving, but you may be able to slow my descent into complete insanity.”
“Done deal.” She took my arm and started tugging me toward the door. “Sorry, gentlemen. I haven’t seen this man all day and I need him for a few minutes, but CC said to remind you that there’s a dining table downstairs with all your names on it. Literally.”
Callum laughed. Jameson smirked. Dad just sighed but motioned for us to leave and nodded for my brothers to follow.
I let her pull me out of the room, down the hall, and past the French doors into the garden. The sky had softened to a deep gray blue, the final streaks of sunset just about ready to fade. Mom’s roses were in bloom and Laney’s warmth washed over my side like a balm.
For the first time all day, I felt my shoulders loosen.
Laney was quiet as we walked, as if sensing that I needed space and time to breathe.
I kept my hands in my pockets, but kept glancing at her by my side, her hand wrapped around my elbow and the golden light hitting her hair to turn it a rich amber.
The words I love you jumped to the tip of my tongue again, but she looked like she was struggling to find words of some sort herself. As both of us danced around our feelings, she finally managed to find her voice first.
“I wanted to thank you, Sterling,” she murmured and stopped walking, turning to face me and bringing those gray eyes up to mine. “Thank you for everything. I don’t only mean fixing things with Baby Blossom, but also for showing up. For taking care of me when I didn’t really know how to ask for it.”
I looked at her. When I did, when I really looked at this stunning, incredibly strong and brave creature who had somehow said yes to marrying me, I suddenly couldn’t breathe past the weight of pride in my chest.
“I’m proud of you, baby,” I said quietly. “You didn’t give up. You didn’t run. I know it would’ve been so much easier for you to walk away, especially from me, but you didn’t. You’re so much stronger than you think.”
Her eyebrows swept up slightly. “That means a lot coming from someone who scares the entire city.”
“Only half of it.” I smirked, reaching for her hands and wrapping my fingers gently around them. “The other half just haven’t met me yet.”
She laughed that soft, genuine laugh that always made me feel like I’d done something right.
It shattered the cage I’d kept my feelings shoved inside all day, and suddenly, I wanted to say so much more.
Most importantly, that I’d been thinking about the storefront in LA again that she’d liked so much.
I also wanted to tell her that it was time to stop pretending like this marriage didn’t matter as much as it did.
Just as the words formed, however, Garvey appeared in the doorway like a butler-shaped cockblock. “Dinner is served, sir.”
Of course.
Resigning myself to speaking to her about it all later, I offered her my arm and turned toward the house. “Back to the war we go.”
She laughed again, and even though I was frustrated that I hadn’t gotten to talk to her, I still felt better just for having her at my side. When we got to the dining room, the table was full of laughter and clinking glasses, but it didn’t take long after the meal for things to start spiraling.
My father stood up with his wine and tapped the side of his glass. We all fell silent and I wondered if he knew he didn’t actually need to tap his glass when it was only us here. He also hadn’t needed to stand up, but I turned to face him, an ominous feeling suddenly stabbing at my gut.
“I’d like to make a toast to Sterling and Laney,” he said, nodding at each of us in turn. “Thank you for proving that arranged marriages aren’t a thing of the past, but a brilliant idea. Quick, clean, and legally binding. What more could you want?”
Laney stiffened beside me, and frankly, my own muscles had locked up too. I had a feeling Dad was about to go for the mic-drop moment, and a second later, he proved me right. He swirled his wine and zeroed in on my brother.
“It’s you next, Jameson. Best to start working on it now. As soon as the dust settles around Sterling and Laney, we’re going to need you to find yourself a wife.”
Jamie set his fork down slowly, his jaw clenching as he narrowed his eyes at Dad. “You’re not serious.”
“What would possibly make you think that?” Dad asked and inclined his chin toward me. “If you really need to answer that question though, just take a look at your brother and the ring on Laney’s finger. That should clear it up for you.”
“Why?” he seethed quietly, the very tops of his cheeks flushing. “The ink is only just starting to dry on Sterling’s fucking paperwork and you’re already looking at me?”
Dad shrugged a shoulder. “You’ve been single for too long, son. It’s time for you to settle down. Grow up. Become a man.”
“Yeah. No. Fuck that.” Jamie shoved his chair back with a loud screech of wood against marble and stood. “I don’t need to listen to this shit.”
“Sit down,” my father commanded, but my brother was already storming around the table and he disappeared without looking back.
I’d known this was coming, of course. I’d even warned Jameson about it weeks ago, but neither of us had expected it to happen so soon. Laney must not have expected it at all, not that I could blame her, and she glanced at me, concern written all over her face.
Mom didn’t look much better, letting me know that she hadn’t seen this coming tonight either. Callum looked like he’d seen a ghost—or maybe it was more that he’d just realized he was officially on notice.
My dad sighed like Jameson was a toddler having a temper tantrum and sat back down with aggravation flashing in his eyes. Everyone else seemed stunned, and since I was the only one that had been through this recently, I figured I had to step up.
After giving Laney’s hand a quick, reassuring squeeze under the table, I rose from my seat. “I’ll go talk to him.”
I followed Jameson out through the main hall, but he was nowhere to be found.
As a kid though, he’d always gone to hide out on the second-floor balcony.
On clear nights, it offered a view of the city lights in the distance, and whenever he’d been thinking about escaping this place, that was where he’d gone.
My hunch paid off when I got up there, finding him leaning against the railing with his foot kicked up on the metal bar and his shoulders rising and falling fast on harsh, sharp breaths. As I’d expected, he was standing out there in the dark, facing the city.
“Don’t jump,” I said lightly as I walked out to join him. “It’s not high enough. You’ll probably just end up breaking your leg.”
He snorted. “I don’t need an intervention, Sterling.”
“No,” I agreed. “You might need a drink, though. It’s not an easy ultimatum to absorb.”
“I meant what I said down there. Fuck him. I’m not doing it.” He didn’t even look at me as he said it, his posture tense as hell.
It kind of seemed like he was two seconds away from punching a wall or taking up bourbon as a religion. I sighed and slung my own arms over the railing, looking out at the skyline glittering in the distance with him. “You need to calm down, Jamie. You’re not going to?—”
He let out a sharp bark of laughter. “Don’t start. I’m not in the mood for the old I-told-you-so speech.”
“Good, because I wasn’t about to give it, but I’m serious about calming down. Storming out of dinner like that and huffing around out here makes it look like he got to you.”
“He did get to me.” Jameson spun and started pacing like a caged animal. “How the fuck is that not supposed to get to me? And you, this is all your fucking fault, man. You were just fine with it and now you’re living proof that his plan works. Mr. Success Story. Mr. Company Man.”
I leaned against the railing, my jaw clenching and releasing. I tried to remember how trapped I’d felt when I’d first realized that my dad was serious. “I didn’t have a choice.”
“Bullshit. We’ve always got choices, Sterling. You just chose to go along with it.”
“You think I wanted to get married like that?” I scoffed, my voice sharper.
“I didn’t wake up one day thinking ‘ you know what? I’m bored.
Whatever shall I do today? How about arranged matrimony and making a baby with a fucking stranger.
Yeah, that sounds great .’ I made a calculated move, Jameson.
For the business. For the company. For our family. ”
“Tell yourself whatever you want if it makes you feel better, but I’m still not just caving like you did.” He snorted loudly, like a buffalo issuing a warning. “Some of us still believe in marrying for love. If I ever settle down, that’ll be the reason.”
“Love?” I groaned. “God, not this again. We’ve been over it, Jamie. Remember the last time we had this conversation?”
“Refresh my memory, Mr. Robot,” he snapped, tone dripping with sarcasm. “Something about duty, and efficiency, and family.”
“It’s exactly that. All of that. Marrying for love isn’t part of the equation for us.
You need to forget about it. It’s never been part of the deal, Jamie.
For other people sure, marriage is all about love, and romance, and all that other hippy-dippy bullshit, but we’re not other people. We’re Westwoods. Fucking act like it.”
He stopped pacing to scowl at me like I’d mortally offended him. “Do you even hear yourself right now?”
I sighed. “I hear myself just fine. All I’m trying to say is that?—”
“Is that all Laney is to you then?” he demanded as if I hadn’t spoken at all. “A pawn? A signature on a contract? Do you even care about her?”
“Of course, I care about her,” I growled. “Don’t put words in my mouth and don’t pretend you know anything about what’s going between her and me.”
He stepped closer to me, eyes narrowed and blazing, his chin lifting higher as if he thought he held some kind of moral high ground. “Admit it. Say it out loud. Say you didn’t just marry her to secure the deal.”
I didn’t speak. I couldn’t.
“That’s what I thought.” He let out a dry laugh. “You love her, don’t you? And it scares the shit out of you.”
I pushed away from the railing with exasperation growing in my chest. “This isn’t about me. It’s about you. If you want your inheritance, do what I did. Play the game. Win.”
Jameson’s jaw clenched. “What happens if I don’t?”
“Then walk away,” I said coldly. “Just know that if you do, you’re gone. You’re out. He isn’t fucking around with this.”
We stood there for a long minute, just staring at each other silently.
If only he would see that we weren’t on opposite sides of this war we’d never chosen, but we were fighting anyway.
I was trying to help him, but he refused to hear me out, just finally turning and walking toward the open doors again.
“Enjoy your empire, Sterling,” he said without looking back. “Just hope it doesn’t cost you everything that actually matters.”
He was gone before I could respond and I scrubbed my hands over my face, shaking my head. I turned to head back downstairs too. I didn’t care if they were still having drinks.
Personally, I was done with this day. I was taking my wife and going home. When I got to the drawing room, however, it was empty. Mom and Dad were gone, Callum was missing, and there was no sign of Laney either.
I frowned, turning to find myself face to face with a very disapproving Garvey. “She’s gone, sir.”
My heart twisted, my stomach bottoming out. “What do you mean she’s gone ?”
“Mrs. Westwood may have overheard your conversation with Master Jameson and she left,” he said rather coldly. “She’s gone, sir.”
Whirling around, I flat out sprinted to the foyer and burst through the front doors to run outside, but Garvey hadn’t been joking. Laney was long gone and I had a feeling she wouldn’t be home when I got there either.
His words came back to haunt me as I raced over to my car. She’s gone, sir. Mrs. Westwood may have overheard your conversation with Master Jameson and she left.