Chapter 33
CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE
ASLAN
I ’m numbed.
It’s all my fault.
I’m a stupid man.
But she blindsided me.
Not that I should blame Keaton for my stupid behavior.
I didn’t let her go. I kicked her out. What the fuck is wrong with me?
Someone should punch me.
I drive to Paradise Bay. Lysander and Gatsby are in the vineyard, assessing the land and deciding what we’re going to produce this year.
“What did you do?” Gatsby asks as I approach them.
“Nothing.”
“Uh-huh. You drove your bike.” He taps his temple. “Your vein is throbbing, and I can feel the darkness in your heart. What happened?”
“He fucked up,” Lysander answers.
“Shut up.”
“I could, but then, who’s going to tell you that you’re an idiot?”
“I will,” Gatz punches me on the shoulder. “You’re a fucking idiot. What did you do?”
It doesn’t take me long to explain to them how I lost Keaton. They’re both shaking their heads in disapproval.
“The worst part is that I already had a plan for her. Of course, if she was willing to accept our offer. I needed to discuss it with all of you, but I wanted her to be our COO. She’s practically it, without the title or the salary. I just…”
“You are an idiot,” they say in unison. “How are you going to fix it?”
“Can I fix it?”
“Only if you want to,” Gatz says. “Do you love her?”
I nod a couple of times. “So much, I’m fucking dying.”
“Jump back on the bike and talk to her.”
“He’s the idiot of the three,” Lysander says, crossing his arms. “Neither one of us would just leave the girl and never go back to claim her.”
Gatsby rubs the back of his neck but doesn’t say a word. I wonder if he did something that stupid .
Since hanging out with my brothers isn’t going to repair what I broke, I make my way back to the city.
When I knock on Keaton’s door, I’m expecting to see her angry face, not Savannah’s teary eyes.
“What happened?” I hug her, and she begins to cry.
We enter the house, and I let her sob until she’s ready to talk.
“You should’ve stopped her,” she says with such an accusatory tone, I feel even more guilty.
“Where is she?”
“She left after telling me a lot of lies. I guess because you hurt her.”
“Did you two get into a fight?”
She nods and tells me everything that transpired between them, not only today but since Keaton moved in a couple of years back.
Including Keat’s ex, who broke up with her when he found out that she had to take care of her ill mother and her underaged sister.
In return, I tell her that everything Keat told her about her upbringing is true.
“Do you think she left because she thinks we don’t love her?”
I hate to agree with her, but she’s right.
If I hadn’t been so stupid, we could’ve discussed her future.
All I want is for Keaton to be successful.
It never occurred to me to promote her to COO until recently, but she is, in fact, the Chief of Operations for Spearman LP.
There’s a reason why other companies want her, she’s good at what she does, and she has the knowledge to run a company as big as mine.
“When I asked why she was with you, she said because your biggest asset is your heart,” she mumbles. “I thought you two were perfect for each other and still, you let her go.”
Because I’m an idiot, I don’t say out loud.
I’m terrified of Keaton because I love her. I only listened to what I wanted to hear because it was easier than fighting for her. I’ve never loved anyone in this world as I do her, yet I treated her just like the rest of the people who were supposed to protect her.
I call Gatsby. “Can I borrow your jet?”
He sighs. “Do you have a plan?”
“No.”
“Make a plan before you fuck it up again. We’ll be on the roof of your building in a couple of hours.”
A plan? My brothers can’t come up with anything. It’s impossible to order takeout without having to fight for hours, but I’ll humor them.
When I turn to look at Savannah, she’s smiling.
“I’m going to get her, but you have to change your attitude toward her too.
All she wants is for you to be successful.
She sacrificed a lot for you. It wouldn’t hurt for you to consider going to college, or if that’s not for you, you can figure out what to do with your life. She worries a lot about you.”
She nods. “I can do that.”
Satisfied, I leave the house, sending a text to Fern to check on Savvy since Keaton and I will be out of town. It’s time that they learn what it is to be part of the Spearman family. We look after each other.