Page 11 of The Price of a Promise

Waiting, waiting, waiting until we could steal another night.Until my father stepped down as the main obstacle between us.Until the stars finally aligned so that we could be openly happy together.Making plans without friction and secrecy.God willing, we might even be able to wake up and go to sleep in the same house someday.It was a reality I could almost taste but had no road map for how to arrive there.

We got lost in the stream of pedestrians as Axel guided me back into the airport, up toward departures.Every step at his side felt like an adventure—it had since the day I met him, in line at the student union waiting for a mid-day grilled cheese with a slice of pepperoni stuck in the middle, and he’d asked if I wanted to ditch class and go to Chinatown with our grilled cheeses.He’d been a total stranger, but something about the mischief and innocence in his gaze had made me answer yes.And I’d been answering yes ever since.

“You’ve got the fancy purse today, I see,” he murmured as we maneuvered through the crowds.

“I have the Venice Beach bag along too.”

“Good.It brings Chris with you, you know?”

I smiled.Axel wasn’t afraid to talk about Chris.Not like everyone else was.My parents had only mentioned him a handful of times since he’d taken his life six years ago.

“You know, every time I wear that bag, I can hear his laugh in my head.I think he was with us that day on the beach.”

“That shit happens to me with Jordan and Kaylee,” he said, smiling warmly at me.He’d lost his two younger sisters—victims of the foster care system.Kaylee had passed away the brothers’ freshman year of college.Jordan had simply disappeared, and though the brothers still held out a flicker of hope, they told themselves she’d suffered a similar fate as Kaylee.The same system that took his sisters had allowed him and his biological brother Damian to flourish.“Sometimes I just swear they’re hanging out with me for a day.”

I laughed.“Maybe they just pop in from Heaven to visit.”

“It’s like the spirit version of Bring Your Kid to Work Day, except—” he glanced at me, probably reading the confusion on my face.“No, Margulis Realty didn’t do Take Your Kid to Work Day, did they?”

“They did not,” I said with a laugh.

“You didn’t miss much,” he mused.

But our lost siblings were still heavy on my mind as we moved through the airport.“Do you ever beat yourself up trying to still honor their memory?”

Axel let a low whoosh of air go.But not because this was too heavy.This was just how we were—we could talk about it all.Whenever and wherever.He was the first person I could just let it all out with.

“Every fucking day,” he confirmed.“Damian too.”

“I feel like there’s so much I have to do to make things right,” I murmured.These were words I had never—could never—utter around my parents.They viewed Chris taking his own life as an act so heinous and embarrassing that they refused to speak about it.Even with me.

“Sounds like you need some TLC, babe.I don’t know if I’m gonna let you go this time,” Axel said, squeezing his arm around my shoulders as we weaved through the crowds.“Your MBA isn’t that big of a deal, right?You’ll be fine if I lock you up in my apartment.”

“Yeah.As long as you feed and water me.I wouldn’t even be considered a victim.”

“Because you’d be willing.”The sexy smirk that stretched across his face as he looked down at me had the power to turn this joke into reality.Because I’d do anything for him.Including sabotage my career, if necessary.

Including forsake my family…if necessary.

“We can just share your MBA,” I cracked, as a gust of the chilly wind whipped past.I burrowed deeper into his embrace.

“You can have it,” he said.“I’m only getting it for you anyway.”

I laughed and swatted at his chest, but he didn’t return my laughter.“You aren’t serious.”

A shrouded look crossed his face.“I know it’ll look better to your dad if I have my MBA.And it’ll look better for the CEO of our business to have an MBA.But after the week I’ve had, I’m ready to fucking drop out.”

I patted his chest.“We’re almost through it.Because you’re right.It will look better to have it.You’ve come this far.Why stop now?”

He grunted in the most Axel-like fashion, a mix between a petulant adolescent and a bull.“Because I’m over it.”

“You’re more than halfway through—”

“And more than halfway broke.Trace is graduating this semester, which means we can get a jump on the business.And we need to.Besides, I was ready two years ago to be CEO; so why flush all this extra money down the drain just to receive the bragging rights of a Colombia MBA?”He sighed, the blue thunderstorm of his gaze darting over the crowds.“I’m so conflicted.Trapped between money and commitment yet again.”

“Axel, if there’s anyone who can figure out a solution to this problem, it’s you.”

“I’m sick of having to always figure out the solution.”His throat bobbed as he gazed off into the distance.“I’ve been dealing with this shit my whole life.I just thought that once I got to this point, it would get easier.”

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