Chapter 43
Olivia
I’ve been putting off the inevitable for long enough: it’s time for me to pick up the rest of my stuff from Reed’s place.
I left most of my things at The Luxe in my haste to leave. I’ve been nervous about the prospect of going to get them back, and when I thought that he had disparaged me to his father, I didn’t particularly want to do it at all.
Now that I know that wasn’t the case, though, I can’t delay it any longer. It needs to be done. I need to move out of my parents’ house, and that means I need to gather up my belongings and find a place of my own.
So I leave my parents’ house in the afternoon one day in late January, heading to The Luxe.
Part of me is hoping Reed will be there, and part is hoping he won’t. Either way, I texted him to let him know I’d be coming by, and he okayed it, so he knows I’ll be there.
As I walk into the lobby, Henry smiles and nods at me, a touch of sadness in his gaze. He lets me into the elevator to Reed’s penthouse without a word.
I step out of the elevator tentatively, half expecting Reed to be waiting in the foyer. But he isn’t. The apartment seems empty. Quiet.
I make my way down the hallway, letting my fingers trail across the familiar white walls, underneath the artwork I’d gotten to know so well during my time living here. I let myself into my bedroom, turning to close the door behind me.
When I face the room, I freeze, stunned.
There are sticky notes everywhere. All over the dresser, spread across the side table and the headboard. Different colors, but the same penmanship on each one: my handwriting. It’s every note I ever left for Reed.
And on the bed, spread across the sheets, is a roughly knitted blanket, dark blue and purple.
I swallow, moving slowly into the room, and lay a hand on the blanket.
“What do you think?”
Reed’s voice startles me, and I whirl around to see him standing in the doorway. I have no idea how he managed to come up behind me so quietly. He’s not smiling, but there’s warmth in his eyes.
“What is this?” I whisper. “You kept all of these? All this time?”
“Yes,” he says.
“Why?”
He’s quiet for a moment. “I’ll be honest. At first, I didn’t even know why. I just like those little reminders of you. Thinking about you made me smile. But now…” He trails off, breathes deeply, then says, “Now I know exactly why.”
He meets my gaze, and I have to fight to hold his.
“You were always more than my fake fiancée,” he says. “You were the love of my life.”
I feel a tightness in my chest, and tears burning at the corners of my eyes. I reach down to touch the soft, knitted blanket. “Did you make this?”
He nods. “Yes, I did. I learned to knit. Because it was something you cared about, and that made it special to me.”
I can’t find the words to reply. I’m too overwhelmed by emotion, caught up in the intensity of the moment.
“I want you back, Olivia,” he tells me. There’s fire in his eyes. “I want to be with you—more than anything. I miss you so fucking much. More than you could ever know.”
I’m touched, and so, so tempted to fall right into his arms. But the rational part of my brain holds me back. “What about your family?” I remind him. “What about the company? I’ll never fit in with any of that. We talked about this.”
“My family’s opinion doesn’t matter to me. You matter to me.”
“But—your legacy. Your future.”
He shakes his head. “My father will never have the opportunity to make you feel less than,” he says firmly. “Ever again.”
I’m taken aback by the protectiveness of his words. I try to process this, and as I do, he keeps speaking.
“I’ve decided to step down from the hotel.”
I stare at him. “You what?”
There’s a small smile playing across his lips as he repeats, “I’m stepping down from the hotel. My brother and I both sold our shares of the company.”
“Why—why would you do that?” I blink, stunned. I feel a small stab of panic at the idea that he would do something like this—throw away his entire future—just for me.
He shrugs. “We’ve got our own things in the works,” he says, still smirking. “We’re both smart. We’ve been brought up around the business. We have the capital and the knowledge to make our own go of this. There’s no need to ride the Eastwood coattails forever.”
“Are you serious?”
“Of course I’m serious. We’re striking off on our own. Starting our own business.”
“But—but—”
“It’s well worth the risks,” he says. “It means that neither one of us will have to keep living under our father’s thumb. I’m sick of letting my toxic family dictate my life, and so is Shane. He doesn’t want to succeed my father at Eastwood, and neither do I.”
He takes a step closer to me, and I’m sorely tempted to step closer to him, too.
“I want you, “ he says, his voice fervent. “And I don’t want to let my family’s disapproval keep us apart. Before I got to know you, I would’ve chosen the company. I was raised for most of my life to accept that that was my future. But now I know better. You’re my future.”
I lift my hand to my mouth, trying to hide my shock, but I know he can tell how I’m feeling nonetheless.
“I don’t know what’s going to happen to Eastwood Hotels, but it doesn’t matter. You’re my family. You’re my priority. And I’m always going to choose you first.”
I can’t believe it. I can’t believe he stepped down—for me. Reed is the type of man who is driven, headstrong, and restless. The fact that he chose me above everything I thought he wanted… and without the approval of his family…
“You care about me that much?” I whisper.
“I love you with my whole heart,” he replies. “With everything that I am.”