Page 70 of Losing Ansley

"Are you sure? Because I've offered this before, and you wouldn't take it." He says. I shrug. I'm pretty sure I know what he's going to say.

"Yeah. Yeah, I'm sure. Before, I was young, dumb, and hurting so badly. It still hurts, and it probably always will. But I know now that wasn't your fault. It wasn't on you, and you tried to make it right, so I am sure." He grunts and taps his hand on his knee.

"I put three-quarters of the inheritance in investments. I consider half of that your inheritance because it should have been. I have doubled it since then." My mouth drops when he tells me that.

"What?" I exclaim.

"As angry as I was. Dad had connections, so I used them, and they taught me what to do, so I followed their instructions, and it paid off." He explains.

"Why are you working your ass off then?" I question, and he chuckles.

"Because I'm doing what I want. I'm exhausted, yes. But I won't be doing this forever. Here's what we'll do." He changes the subject, and I lean in, listening to his plan.

I CALLED CAROLINEand Liv to tell them I was coming home. Lincoln and I have been texting but haven't talked much. I miss him so much, but I want everything to be perfect when I see him. I turned in my notice at work. Anita was understanding. Leslie was devastated, but I told her I'd be coming to Atlanta regularly to visit my brother, so I'd make sure to see her.

Dylan helped me break my lease and sell all of the furniture in my apartment. The only thing I kept was my big fluffy chair. It was going back with me to Mississippi. I just hadn't figured out how. If it were up to Lincoln, he'd rent a huge UHaul. For now, it's staying at Dylan's, and we'll come back to get it.

I've been staying at Dylan's for two weeks and working hard on Lincoln's Christmas present. I'm currently Facetiming with Caroline and Liv while I put the finishing touches on it.

"So he has no idea you're coming home tomorrow," Caroline asks, and I shake my head.

"It seems very unlike him not to knock down your door." Liv states, and Caroline snorts.

"He says he's giving me my space." I sigh. "He said he didn't give it to me when I moved here, which forced me to ignore him, so now he's trying not to be overbearing." I groan, and they both laugh. Caroline leans into the phone.

"Are you wishing he'd knock down your door?" She asks.

"Yeah. And then throw me against said door and fuck me." I state bluntly. They both start cackling.

"Ansley!" They say together.

"Look, I'm just trying to be completely and totally me. So there ya go." I roll my hand at the phone.

"Well, when you show up tomorrow, I'm pretty sure that's exactly what's going to happen," Liv says, and I raise an eyebrow at her.

"That's the plan." I pull the thread and hold the dress up for them to see. "What do you think?" They ooh and aah over the dress, and I smile at them. Part of Lincoln's Christmas present is me. Tomorrow night is his company's annual Christmas party, and I'm going as Liv's plus one.

Lincoln loves me in green. He says it looks great with my red hair. So, I made myself a sequined dark green dress with cap sleeves with a slit in the leg that goes all the way to my upper thigh. I can't wait to see him, and I hope he's happy to see me. Because, like it or not, he will have a new roommate tomorrow night.

CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

ANSLEY

THE CHRISTMASparty is at the Trade Center downtown, and I can't stop fidgeting in Liv's car. Liv grabs my hand as she gets in line for the valet.

"It's going to be okay, Ans." She encourages me, and I swallow.

"I know. I haven't seen him in over two weeks. He's not bringing a date, right?" I ask for the thousandth time. Liv snorts.

"There's no way in hell he's bringing a date," Liv assures me. When it's our turn at the valet, we get out, and Liv hands her keys over. We start to head to the elevator, but I stop her.

"What if we run into him before I'm ready?" I ask her, and she shakes her head.

"He's already here. He said he was going to get here at six. It's six thirty." She reminds me. I'm driving her crazy, but I need this to go off without a hitch. We ride the elevator to the floor where the event is being held. I look around the room to make sure I don't see him.

We quickly make our way to the balcony that is blocked off for him. It's a routine for him to come out here before giving his speech to prepare and have a minute to breathe. We have to maneuver around the rope to get outside, and when I see Caroline, she shrieks and throws her arms around me. I hug her back tight and then push her back to look down at her stomach.

"How have you gotten so big in such a short amount of time?" I ask her, and she chuckles.

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