Page 28 of Dare to Need

He’d always said he’d teach me the ropes, but I couldn’t help but think that it didn’t matter how much he tried to teach me. I would never live up to his legacy. Not in the way he wanted me to.

But I had to try. Even if it broke me.

I slowed my pace as a growing ache in my feet started to increase. Maybe it was time to head back to the hotel and fix the wake of mistakes I’d left behind me.

As I turned to head back, I glanced up at the building I’d stopped in front of and sucked in a sharp breath. Across two large opaque glass doors was a name I knew was going to haunt me for the rest of my life—Studio 628.

A dream realized, only to be cut down as swiftly as it was built. The reason I could hardly breathe and was only capable of saying something that would shut Eva down when she tried to come up with a solution. The one piece of the puzzle I had yet to tell her about.

A distorted reflection of myself stared back at me through those glass doors. Forced to grapple with the sudden changes that occurred in the past five days, this was the one decision I never wanted to be reminded of again. The very thing that I knew was likely to break me before I even had a chance of making things right with my father. That in order for me to take over his company, I had to rescind my contract to show my art at Studio 628.

There was no telling how long I stared at those glass doors, hating the reflection within them. But as I finally dragged myself away, there was a piece of my soul stamped onto that glass and I knew I’d never get it back again.

ChapterTwelve

EVA

The ache in my chest kept growing with each passing hour since Garth left our hotel room. I had to believe that the way he spoke to me was a reflection of the pain he felt and not a slight against me. At least, I tried to believe that. My brain was screaming at me to run as fast as I could in the opposite direction. Because my brain knew what my heart did not want to address. If Garth kept heading down this path of destruction, it was one path I knew would lead to heartbreak. And ifhebroke my heart… No. I tried to shake the thoughts from my mind. I couldn’t keep thinking like that.

I took a sip of the lemon water the waitress had placed in front of me while I waited for Mrs. Walker. Forcing the negativity out of my mind, I focused on what I could control. The pieces of this mess that I could help with and the first thing I had to do was get my own shit in order.

Bells clanged against glass as I looked to see who walked through the door of the café. Mrs. Walker was more dressed down than I’d ever seen her, wearing dark blue jeans, tan sandals, and a crisp white button down that was tucked in, showing off her slim frame. Oversized aviators shielded her deep brown eyes.

I waved at her from my seat and when she spotted me, she slipped off her sunglasses to reveal the tired reality I knew she was facing. Similar to Garth, her eyes were dull as though the life had been sucked out of her. Her concealer did a good job of hiding the dark circles, but her under eyes were still puffy from lack of sleep and the emotional toll that I could only imagine her husband’s illness was having on her.

“Eva, darling,” she said as I stood up to give her a hug. She smelled of warm vanilla that reminded me of the lattés Garth and I made back home. It made my chest swell with emotion and heat stung the back of my eyes.

“I’m so sorry I’m late. George had a difficult morning and I wanted to make sure he was comfortable before I left.”

“Oh my gosh, Mrs. Walker. Please, don’t be sorry. He’s the priority right now. I appreciate you being willing to take a little time to talk with me today.”

Her face softened as she settled into her chair. “We should all be a priority right now. I know this time has been difficult on all of us.”

I knew what she was trying to say without coming right out and saying it. Knowing that she was at least aware of Garth’s struggle gave me a glimmer of hope that she would know what to do. That, somehow, this would pass and we could start moving forward again.

“Two hot coffees with vanilla and cream?” A willowy blonde stood at the edge of our table, two steaming mugs in her hands with a raised brow.

“Yes, that’s us,” I said, taking one of the mugs from her.

“I wasn’t sure if you liked espresso, so I ordered some vanilla coffee. I hope that’s okay.”

“It’s perfect, thank you.” She rose the mug to her lips and blew over the hot liquid. Steam billowed across the table.

We settled into a comfortable silence, both of us sipping on our coffees. I never would have thought that being around someone so powerful would make me feel at ease, but Mrs. Walker had a motherly aura about her. Similar to what my own mother possessed that made everyone around them gravitate toward their warmth. The relationship I had with her was completely different from what I had with Connor’s mother. There wasn’t a single warm bone in that woman’s body and I was pretty certain her heart was made of stone—or ice.

Mrs. Walker leaned forward slightly and gave me an easy smile that didn’t quite reach her eyes. “How is my son doing?”

It was the question I knew was coming, but my heart still leapt into my throat. My gaze flicked back and forth between her worried eyes as I searched for the right words to say. After a few moments, I settled on telling the truth.

“He’s not doing well and to be honest, I have no idea how to help him.” A loud exhale whooshed past my lips as Mrs. Walker looked at me intensely. “I don’t know exactly what happened between Garth and his father, but I do know that he holds a lot of guilt and shame from the relationship. I think all of that is starting to play out now that his father is sick. He’s trying to take back years worth of remorse and…I don’t believe he’s thinking about the consequences his current actions might have on his own happiness.”

I swallowed back the tears that were starting to threaten my composure. “I know I haven’t known Garth for that long, but he’s the strongest person I’ve ever met. And to see him go through all of this without a clue as to how I can help him makes me feel terrible. Especially after he helped me beyond measure last year. He always knew the right things to do and say to make me feel better. And I…I just feel like I keep messing everything up and making things worse for him.”

Shaking her head, Mrs. Walker reached across the table and took my hands in hers. “Eva, I want you to know that Garth may not be able to communicate it right now because of the pain he’s in, but my son loves you more than anything in this world. Your presence alone has such a positive impact on his well-being. So, as much as you want to help him through this, sometimes the only thing we can do is be there for the person we love. The shame and guilt is something that only Garth and George can work through together. Trust me, if I could take away both of their pain I would have done that a long time ago. But the issues they are having are things that they need to address and we just have to trust that everything will work out the way it is supposed to.”

I knew, somewhere deep down, that she was right. The only way that Garth could move forward and overcome his guilt would be to address it with his father. But after he told me he had taken over his father’s business, I couldn’t help but wonder if his father was using this opportunity to get Garth to do what he’d always wanted him to do.

It wasn’t really my place and maybe if we were under different circumstances I might not have said anything. But Garth was hurting and I feared he had made a major mistake when he agreed to take over the company.

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