Chapter 35
WILL
Iwas halfway to the door when the floorboard creaked behind me. Fuck.
My eyes slid shut, like maybe if I didn’t see her, she wouldn’t have caught me trying to sneak out. “You’re leaving without saying goodbye?”
Wincing at how fast she’d put it together, I abandoned any hope of trying to talk my way out of it and turned to face her. Eliza stood at the bottom of the stairs, barefoot with her hair sleep tousled and her gaze still half unfocused.
She looked so comfortable here in my house and I suddenly felt a dull ache start in my chest. Just seeing her so at home here was going to make this significantly harder than it already was. I’d let her settle in just as surely as I’d let everything fucking else happen.
“I wasn’t sneaking out,” I said, hoping to keep the emotions out of my voice. “I just didn’t want to wake you and I have to get to the office early today.”
“You weren’t going to leave a note?” she asked halfheartedly, stretching her arms above her head and stifling a yawn.
As she stretched, her pajama top rode up a little and I caught a glimpse of her stomach, a band of smooth skin just above her waistband that made me want to drag her right back to bed. Finally, as her arms lowered, I wrenched my eyes back to hers.
“I’m not a note person, but I am adaptable, so if you like notes, I can start leaving them.”
She took the last few steps slowly, walking closer while studying me in that quiet way she had, noticing things without making a big deal of it. “It looks like you’re dressed for war. Should I be concerned?”
I glanced down at myself, realizing for the first time that I was wearing a black shirt with a pitch black suit and tie. “There’s only cause for concern if you’re planning to attend. If not, you have nothing to worry about.”
“I’ll pencil it in,” she quietly. “Are you sure you’re okay, though? I know there’s something going on with you, Jesse. If you don’t want to talk to me about it, that’s fine, but I would like to know whether I need to worry about you.”
“I’m fine,” I lied. “Things at work are just worse than they have been in a while. We tend to go through phases at W&S, and between the wedding and the baby being due, we’ve just got a lot on our plates.”
At least that was true, but Eliza still searched my face like she was deciding whether to push further. Then she nodded. “Okay.”
That was it. Just a simple okay. Now that she’d gotten some kind of actual answer out of me, there was no interrogation or pressure to elaborate.
How the hell did Jesse get so lucky?
“You don’t have to fix everything by yourself, you know,” she said gently. “If there’s anything I can do to help, just tell me what it is and consider it done.”
“Thanks.” Our gazes locked and some of the tension in my chest eased immediately.
God, this is a problem.
“What are you doing today?” I asked, needing to shift the focus away from how much I wanted to just suggest that we run away together right about now.
She made a face. “Ideally, I’m hoping for some time to recover from shopping with Eugenie yesterday, but she may have other plans.”
It suddenly felt like someone had dumped a bucket of ice into my chest cavity. “You’re seeing her again?”
“I’m not sure. We didn’t make plans or anything, but it’s not impossible.”
She didn’t seem excited about the prospect at all, but that didn’t mean Eugenie would stay away. “Call me if you hear from her, okay?”
“Why?” she asked, obviously just curious and not understanding why she should call me if she heard from her own sister, which was completely fair.
Finally, I chose the only answer that was honest out of all the possible options. “I don’t like her.”
She blinked a few times, but then a slow, amused smile spread on her lips. “Well, it’s a good thing you broke up with her, then.”
Right. That. Shit.
I’d almost walked straight into it, and even now, correcting her to let her know that I had never been with Eugenie—and never would be—was right on the tip of my tongue. Along with that came the intense urge to just tell her everything.
The truth was right there, closer than it’d ever been before. I could tell her right now, before things got even worse. Before she found out from Eugenie, or Jesse, or anybody else, but I exhaled slowly.
Not yet.
I had a plan, but that meant talking to Alex first. Just keep it together, Will. You’re almost there.
Eliza stepped closer again, her hand brushing lightly against my sleeve. “You should go. I’ll talk to you later, okay?”
I nodded, holding her gaze for another second before I dropped a kiss on her forehead, turned, and left before I could change my mind. Soon, I would be able to be honest with her. I just had to talk to Alex first.
Jesse wasn’t there when I got to Westwood and Sons, and although I’d expected this, it still managed to irritate me.
“He’s not coming,” I said as I walked into Alex’s office. “I’m willing to bet that he won’t be at work today.”
Alex didn’t look up immediately, finishing whatever he was reading before setting it aside. “Good morning to you too.”
“Are you taking the bet or not?” I asked, stopping in front of his desk. “This isn’t going to work, Alex.”
He leaned back in his chair and frowned. “Let’s not place our bets just yet, and that’s a pretty broad statement. What’s not going to work?”
“Jesse isn’t ready for any of this and you know it,” I said. “The company. The responsibility. The fact that his name is currently attached to a marriage that has actual consequences. He doesn’t want it and trying to force him into it isn’t going to work.”
Alex’s expression turned weary, the look in his eyes resigned. “Do you think I don’t know that he’s not ready?”
“I think you underestimated it.”
“I gave him an opportunity, Will.” He held my gaze. “Dad wanted me to at least try, and I have.”
“Putting him in a situation he didn’t want, didn’t ask for, and wasn’t equipped to handle was you trying?”
Alex shrugged. “It was the best I could do under the circumstances. I really thought he’d show up this time. He still might, and besides, you’ve been handling it for him. Giving him time to ease into it.”
“That wasn’t the plan,” I snapped. “I’m not going to be in this marriage with them, Alex. She knows me now, and even though I tried, I am not Jesse. I might look like him, but I’m not.”
“No,” Alex agreed. “It wasn’t the plan, but thank you for stepping up, Will. I know it wasn’t fair. I was also trying to give you time, but you got roped into this anyway.”
I frowned, caught off guard by what he’d just said. “You were trying to give me time for what?”
“To find someone on your own.”
My eyes widened and I scoffed loudly. “That’s why you set Jesse up instead? To give me time?”
He nodded. “Nate and I didn’t have the option to try to find someone by ourselves. It worked out fucking great for both of us, but Jesse needed a nudge. He’s not going to take finding someone on his own seriously and you two were next in line. I thought that you deserved the chance, at least.”
I was struck dumb. That was the only way to describe it. All along, I’d wondered why they’d chosen Jesse for Eliza instead of me. I was a few minutes older. By rights, it should’ve been me.
That excuse about wanting to use this to force him back into the fold had been thin to me from the get-go. It’d been years since he’d gone off on his own, so why would it now suddenly be so urgent to bring him back?
“Nate will be here shortly,” Alex said then, shifting gears. “We’re going over options regarding Eugenie.”
“Our options? This isn’t something that can be solved with the right strategy, Alex,” I said. “I’ve been thinking about it, and I’m going to pay her.”
Alex’s eyebrows lifted slightly. “No, you’re not.”
“Yes, I am.”
He shook his head. “That’s not happening.”
“It is,” I said firmly. “Jesse was right. This is the only way.”
Alex shook his head again. “It’s not. Nate and I are going to fix it, Will.”
“The only way we can be sure she keeps it quiet for now is by giving her the money. At least that should tide her over for a while. In the meantime, we can talk to Callum. Coordinate a strategy for damage control when the time comes.”
He rolled his lips into his mouth, nodding slowly. “What happens then? Let’s say you pay her this obscene amount of money, what happens after?”
“I tell Eliza the truth. That’s what.”
“Why?” He leaned forward, genuine confusion furrowing his brow. “If you give Eugenie the money, why tell Eliza the truth after paying two hundred million dollars to hide it?
I let out a slow breath, dragging a hand down my face before answering. It was time to tell Alex the truth. That was what I’d come here to do, but my heart was still pounding in my ears as I finally managed to formulate the words.
“The woman I want thinks I’m my brother. That’s why. This has crossed into territory none of us anticipated and I’m done lying. She deserves to know before she walks down that aisle and I want to be the one who tells her. Paying Eugenie is the price of the time I need to do it.”
Alex watched me for a long moment before he inhaled a deep breath through his nostrils. “Have you slept with her?”
“Well, you’ve always been direct.”
“Don’t play games with me right now, Will. Just answer the question. Have you slept with her?”
I nodded, honestly so completely done with lying, faking, and pretending that I just didn’t have the energy to do it even one more time. “Yes, I have.”
A scoff sounded from behind me, and immediately, I knew Jesse had come to work today after all. I didn’t need to turn to know he was standing in the doorway.
“You’re unbelievable,” he said as he stepped into the office. “That’s where this went?”
My jaw tightened as I spun to face him. “You don’t get to weigh in on this.”
“Of course, I do. You’re pretending to be me and sleeping with my fiancée. I’d say that if anyone gets to weigh in on this, it’s me.”
Before I could respond, as I was opening my mouth to do it, a soft sound came from the door he’d obviously left open. A barely there squeak.
All three of us turned toward it just in time to see Eliza spin on her heels and take off down the hallway, that golden brown hair sailing out behind her. I felt the blood drain from my face.
“Fuck, she heard everything,” I muttered, already knowing it all the way down to the marrow of my bones. “Eliza!”
By the time her name was out of my mouth, she was already turning the first corner and she didn’t stop or even look back. For a long second, I was rooted in place, my heart pounding and my body refusing to react.
This was my worst nightmare and it was coming true right now.
Eliza had overheard everything and now she was running. I couldn’t even blame her, but I sure as hell wasn’t letting her go just like that.