Chapter 6
CHAPTER SIX
Honesty stared at him, the cup of coffee he’d brought her held loosely in one hand. She hadn’t taken a sip yet. She was still digesting everything he’d just told her.
When she regrouped, she said, “I’m so sorry about your grandfather. I had no idea he was ill.”
“He wasn’t.” Dante sat on the couch next to her, his elbows resting on his knees, his fingers folded between them. “He had a heart attack. Three days after a clean physical.”
“Were you two close?”
He nodded, his mouth a grim line.
She set the coffee aside and then rested her hand on his forearm. His tendons were strung tight. “I’m so sorry.”
“You said that already.”
He wasn’t crying. His tone was flat. Dante had made a habit of being open with her. He’d been the first to say “I love you.” And now he was sitting here telling her that his grandfather died with as much emotion as a stone wall.
A wave of premonition swept past her and sent a shiver up her spine.
“How’s your mom?” This grandfather was his mom’s dad. He used to be a big Hollywood producer, which explained how Simone had become a costume designer.
“She’s overwhelmed. We have to plan the funeral.” He met her eyes. “I’m dropping out.”
“Of school?”
“Where else?” His face was drawn, grave.
“He left his foundation behind, and it’s been willed to my mom.
To us. I’m going to help her plan the funeral.
She has no time to do any of this. She’s on location in New Zealand, for Christ’s sake.
” He rammed a hand into his too-long hair.
He needed a haircut, but with back-to-back exams these past two weeks, he’d put it off.
“You don’t have to leave school to plan a funeral.”
“My mom can’t run the foundation. That’s on me.”
Honesty was shaking her head. “This is your life, Dante. I understand this is a lot to take in.” Hell, she was struggling with it.
“But after the funeral is sorted, you might decide to bow out of the foundation. Give yourself time to process. You just found out your grandfather died. Don’t make any rash decisions. ”
“I found out four days ago.”
Four days ago? He had known for four days and hadn’t told her? Even though he’d been busy, he could have found a stolen moment to share this with her. He should have.
“Honesty. I’m moving to LA.”
“No, you’re not.”
“I am.”
“Ask your professors for extensions. They will excuse your absence or allow you to make up your work. I’m sure they make exceptions for bereavement.”
“You’re not listening to me.”
“That’s because you’re not making any sense!” They’d been dating going on three years. They’d been as serious as they could be while maintaining high GPAs. She’d assumed they would make decisions about their future after they graduated.
“There are board members in place, including my mom now. She has no idea how to do any of it.”
“And you do?” This was insane. He couldn’t move to California after giving her thirty seconds of notice.
“There are people depending on me, Honesty. There are charitable organizations and programs depending on that money. I can’t run it from a dorm room in the Midwest.”
What about her? She was depending on him.
He took her hands in both of his, his eyes flooding with regret—the first emotion she’d seen cross his face today. “What if you came with me?”
“To…Los Angeles?”
“Yes.”
When he didn’t say more, she said, “I might be able to stay a few days. Or maybe I could help with the arrangements from here?”
“I meant what if you came with me to stay. In Los Angeles.” He stated it slowly, as if letting it sink in for her.
“To live, you mean.”
The yes was written plainly on his face. His handsome, tired face.
“I can’t. I have to finish school.”
“They have nutrition programs in California.”
“Assuming I’d walk away from Northwestern, which I wouldn’t, I’d have to enroll, be accepted. Find out which, if any, of my credits would transfer.”
“Or you could work with me at the foundation. Take my mom’s seat. We can figure it out together. There’s an inheritance.”
“An inheritance.” It had been a forgone conclusion that Dante would receive money from his father, but that end date was up in the air. Sort of like everything when it came to Octavius Crane. Now, though, it appeared that Dante’s ship had come in.
“This wasn’t a vanity side project for my grandfather. The Moretti Foundation funnels millions of dollars to organizations that need that money. It’s not a part-time gig. It’s a legacy. It could be our legacy. We can stop wasting our time here.”
“Oh, I’ve been wasting my time on my life’s purpose?
” She stood from his couch and looked down at him.
How could he sit there and tell her that what she’d worked on for the last three years had been meaningless?
What about her passion for food? What about her plans to improve people’s health?
What about the fact that she and Dante were in love?
“Did I ever factor into your decision?” she asked.
“Of course. Why do you think I’m asking you to come with me?” He stood with her.
“Four days later.”
“Why does that matter?”
“If you have to ask—”
“If it’s money you’re worried about, I’ve got it. You’d be well-compensated.”
“Well-compensated. Do you hear yourself? I am your girlfriend, not a hired executive.” Not that she had expected a marriage proposal, but she had certainly dreamed of him saying words other than “well-compensated.”
“We don’t have to do this anymore. The classes, pulling all-nighters, the pressure to keep our grades up. Aren’t you tired of struggling?”
Yes, she had pulled her share of all-nighters.
She worked hard. She skipped parties when she needed to, but she had done it in the pursuit of work she loved.
For her, those sacrifices hadn’t been a struggle.
“Did it occur to you that I like where I’m at in life? That I am excited to go into my field?”
His throat bobbed as he scanned the room. Then he put his hands on his hips and asked, “Why?”
She realized then that they were not remotely on the same page. Since before he’d delivered the news of his grandfather’s passing, she’d been sure he’d want to continue being together after they attained their degrees. Now he didn’t even want that.
“Honesty—”
“Honesty.” Dante strolled up the sidewalk toward her. She was suddenly back in her body in the present day. Where the clouds hung low and heavy and there was a threat of rain. “There you are.”
Her eyelashes fluttered as she focused on his face in the gathering darkness. He wasn’t wearing a grim expression and offering her an ultimatum. He was in a slim pair of dark pants and a collared shirt with a suit jacket over top. An expensive watch glinted in the lamplight.
“I called your name twice. Were you deep in thought?” His cheeks lifted as he offered her a smile.
“Uh, yeah. I was.”
“Have you been waiting long?” present-day Dante asked. “Took me a minute to find the place.”
“I didn’t expect them to be so busy tonight.”
The Apex, a swanky, crowded bar downtown, was fairly new to the neighborhood.
There was a sea of customers swarming the bar.
Waitresses and waiters dodged each another while balancing trays of drinks.
She’d been here a few times with Gabby. It was a great place to laugh over a martini, but not ideal for a cram sesh before her luncheon tomorrow.
“I brought my laptop, but I don’t think there’s going to be a flat surface to put it on.” She adjusted the strap of her leather bag on her shoulder.
“Yeah, I’m not seeing much in the way of open tables. If this was my town, no problem.”
“In LA, they clear out when you come around?”
“Don’t be ridiculous.” He slipped the bag from her shoulder and transferred it to his own. “I have a permanent reserved table.”
She rolled her eyes but smiled all the same.
He had changed so much since they’d been together.
It was like she knew him but also didn’t.
“I was thinking about the day you told me that your grandfather had passed. And then you told me you were dropping out of Northwestern. And then we argued instead of focusing on what mattered.”
His mouth formed a grim line. “Deep thoughts indeed.”
“It’s just… I shouldn’t have argued with you. You were grieving, confused. We could have talked about us the next day or a week later.”
“I was in LA by then.”
“I know.”
“We can’t turn back the clock, Honesty.”
She knew that too. “When Christian died six months ago, if I had come to you sad and lost just four days later…” Her throat grew tight thinking about it. She swallowed around a lump there and confessed, “I would’ve said all the wrong things.”
The low rainclouds hanging over the city burst like water balloons. Dante grabbed her hand and stood with her under the overhang, sparing a look at the sky as if berating it for its shitty timing.
He turned that same intense expression on her. She wasn’t used to the hardened, shuttered version of him yet. “Let’s find shelter.”
“We could squeeze in at the bar.” But there were people hovering, on the lookout for the next available seat. “Maybe.”
“Somewhere quieter. With room for your laptop.”
“Okay. How about…” Her mind was a blank. She didn’t want to sit in a diner or a coffee shop. She wanted somewhere tucked away. Somewhere she could focus on the problem at hand. “I got nothin’.”
“The Crane Hotel bar is a block and a half from here.”
She’d never considered that. “Okay.”
“I’ll call a car.” He held out his hand as a taxi sped past.
“Let’s run for it.” She could use a baptism to wash away the bad memories.
“Are you sure?”
“Yes.” The rain was slowing as fast as it’d come on. They wouldn’t be dry when they arrived at the Crane but they wouldn’t be soaked through either. “We’ll hug the buildings. You’re not scared of a little rain are you, Dante? Are you made of sugar?”
His eyes narrowed in challenge. He loved to compete.
She grinned. “Race you?”
“Count of three.”
When he said “one” she took off running in the direction of the Crane.
He caught her easily, pulling her out of the way when a man with a huge black umbrella came barreling toward them.
And for that moment, as she held hands with him in the rain, she felt like they were in college again. That the world was full of promise and possibility.
Dangerous thoughts, those.
But she didn’t let go of him.