Page 13 of Forbidden Romeo

My hands tremble as I clutch the box tighter. “Why didn’t he give it to me sooner?”

Mom gives me a small smile. “You’ll see.” Then, glancing at Holden, she says, “ I also wanted to talk to you both about something before you left. I-I wanted to let Holden know I've been thinking more about his offer to buy the pub. The more I consider it, the more it makes sense. The pub has been a burden for years, and the money would really help me out. So if you're still interested, I'd like to accept your offer."

Holden's eyebrows shoot up in surprise, but he quickly regains composure and strides over to me to pull me into a tight embrace. As his familiar scent envelopes me, I feel myself relax in his arms, the tension from our earlier argument melting away.

"Of course, I'm still interested,” Holden says. “I'll have my lawyer draw up the paperwork when we get back to New York." He smiles warmly at my mom. "I think this will work out for everyone, especially if you’re open to a few small changes here and there to make it more profitable."

“What about Mallory?” I ask.

Mom’s spine straightens. “I’ll handle your sister.”

I worry my lip, not entirely sure my mom is equipped to handle the wrath of Mallory. And not for the first time, I wonder just how much Mallory knows about what happened at the Kennedy Center during mine and Holden’s performance. Tons of people saw that show in DC and still don’t know the whole story. So how does Mallory? Or is she bluffing?

“But,” Mom says, her voice suddenly stern. “I expect your contract to be more fair than that joke of an offer your father drew up for us five years ago.”

“What?” I ask at the same time Holden whips his gaze to my mom.

“What are you talking about?” Holden asks, looking genuinely confused.

Mom’s brows scrunch and she tugs her sweater closed tighter around her. “You don’t know?” Mom pauses looking carefully at Holden. “I assumed that’s what Mallory was talking about.”

Holden still only shakes his head as he falls softly to sit on the edge of my bed. “Tell me… what were the terms of that offer?” Mom is back to wringing her hands nervously and only continues speaking after I give her an encouraging nod. “Well, when Katie was a freshman, he offered us bailout money for the pub. But only if we used some of the money to transfer Kate to Northwestern.”

“Why would he do that?” I whisper.

With tears in his eyes, Holden looks up at me. “Because you were the one person he could never buy off. The one person he couldn’t corrupt or ruin. So he thought he could get to you through your folks.” Blinking, a single tear slips down his cheek and Holden quickly wipes it away. With a deep breath, he looks at my mom, giving her a sad smile. “Luckily, your integrity was obviously genetic.”

Mom sighs and tenderly cups Holden’s cheek. “And luckily your integrity is learned, not genetic.”

The sight of my mom bending to place a maternal kiss to the top of Holden’s head makes my heart squeeze in my chest. “Now come on you two, I made lamb chops for dinner and packed you some sandwiches for the plane tomorrow. It’s time you get back to New York. Indiana was never your home, sweet girl,” Mom adds, giving me a wink.

I turn my triumphant smile to Holden. “See? Told you.”

He stands and follows my mom out of my bedroom toward the delicious scent of lamb and plum sauce wafting toward us. “The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree, does it?”

Mom squeezes me into a hug. “In this case, no.”

CHAPTER 6

“What does Mallory mean she knows everything?” Jill screeches as I haul one of my bags onto my bed with a grunt. I’d barely been home for a few hours before Jill jumped at me to talk.

“I don’t know… I assume it means she knows everything! Though I don’t know how.”

“Why didn’t you confront her?”

I sigh out a heavy exhale. “It’s not actually a part of my life I want to keep reliving over and over again. I’ve only just forgiven Holden. Besides, after it all blew up with Holden’s offer to buy the pub, she stormed out and didn’t talk to me the rest of the night.”

“Okay,” Jill says, taking my black dress pants out of the bag and placing it on the discarded hanger that’s still on my dresser from when I was packing a week ago. “What about Meg and Holden’s son?”

“Maybe his son. Apparently we don’t know if it’s his or not. And we won’t know until we find her.”

“All Holden’s resources and he can’t track her down?”

I give her a warning glance as I place my laundered clothes, thanks to Mom, back into my drawer. “He’s trying, Jill.”

“Well what about Missy? She clearly orchestrated Meg showing up to the theater… she must know how to reach her.”

I perk up briefly as Jill’s cat, Junie hops up on my bed with a chirp, bumping her soft head against my knuckles, seeking attention. “That’s true,” I say, pausing my unpacking to scratch under her chin.

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