Page 64 of What's Left of Us

Georgia/ Seven Years Ago

It’s been monthssince I’ve seen my father, but it might as well have been years when I get the first look of his face. He looks gauntly. Has he lost weight? He was never good at eating routinely when he was busy and tended to snap when people interrupted him to bring him anything.

The dark brown hair on his head has filled in with silver, making him look so much older than his fifty-three. And the bags under his bloodshot eyes make me wonder when the last time he got a full night’s sleep was.

“You know what I find fascinating, Georgia?” he asks, tucking his hand into the front pocket of his expensive slacks as he studies the shelves full of local history books that the library meticulously organized by alphabetical order.

He answers his own question before I can find my voice, too stunned by his presence to fully grasp that he’s in front of me. “The company you keep. First, it was your little friend Emilia DeMatteo and her godawful hair and wild temperament, and now, a cop. Acop. One who, might I add, is a little too curious for my liking.”

How does he know about Lincoln? How did he know I’d be here, for that matter? I only accepted the part-time job at the public library a few weeks ago, and my schedule isn’t consistent on a weekly basis.

“I suppose I’m partly to blame for letting you go,” he continues, not sparing me one look as he takes a book from the shelf and examines the cover. “I’ll admit, it was a…rash decisionmade in the heat of the moment. But I didn’t expect you to make the naive choices you have. A cop, Georgia? Really? I know I allowed you to linger around Chamberlin, but officers make things tricky if they’re not in your back pocket.”

If I had the choice, I wouldn’t have lingered around Chamberlin or his wandering hands. “You kicked me out,” I point out, standing taller in feigned confidence. “What was I supposed to do?”

When he looks at me, his expression is blank. Unreadable. There’s no indication that he’s sorry for what happened between us or that he’s missed me. It’s been almost five months. One hundred and fifty-two days since we’ve spoken or seen each other.

“You were supposed to come back home,” he informs me, his eyes roaming over the hair that I’ve chopped to my shoulders. I’d debated dyeing it something drastic like Millie suggested, but I couldn’t go through with more changes than I already had.

“I had a meeting at Dutchess,” he tells me, speaking of the golf club he frequents. “And had quite the talk with Antonio Carbone and some of his…partners.”

The way he says his name makes my skin crawl. I don’t waste my time asking how Antonio or his son is because I have a feeling I already know. I’d imagine the man isn’t very happy, considering he was promised a wife for his son, only for me to run away and ruin it.

“It has taken months to get him to speak to me after the little stunt you pulled,” he informs me, piercing me with those disapproving brown eyes that scratch my soul. “There have been a lot of sleepless nights where I’ve worked hard to get back into his and his partner’s favor. They arenotthe kind of men you break deals with, Georgia. I’m lucky Antonio was even willing to show up today and discuss moving forward with our business proposition.”

My heart drops. “I thought the engagement was off,” I say, voice no more than a notch above a whisper. “What proposition could he be willing to agree to?”

“The Carbone family’s real estate business is expanding nearly as fast as the Del Rossi Group,” he explains. “Combining the two would mean having an empire that could build, flip, and sell new homes in more areas. Antonio and I have mutual investors who feel this merger would benefit each business, allowing them to put stakes into one sole company rather than two. We were coming to an agreement before you decided to have your little act of rebellion.”

I still don’t understand where I come into play. “The Carbones are a respected family with the same traditions as you and Leani. It was my understanding that the engagement was off because of the circumstances.”

“Consider it back on,” he says firmly. “Luca is hardly a man with a clean reputation, as you well know. With some convincing, his father was on board with our original agreement.”

A body chill shivers down my spine.

“Rumors can wreak havoc on a family, but sometimes they’re just that. Rumors. Surely, a woman such as yourself, raised by two reputable people, would never stoop so low as to put your family’s good name at risk. You’ve been taught better. Raised better. Have you not?”

I gape at him. He wants me to lie. Pretend the last five months never happened. “You lied for me and told them what I did never happened.” I realize, shaking my head in disbelief.

“As far as I’m concerned, your little indiscretion with the cop didn’t happen.”

“And where do they think I’ve been all this time? Certainly not planning my wedding.”

“Away,” he answers plainly.

“And they just believed you?”

“They believe what they want to. They believe what theyneedto, especially when fifty million is on the line.”

My eyes widen at the number. “So that’s my price tag? Fifty million dollars.” The number churns my stomach. “Why would marriage need to be involved if you could simply partner and merge your companies? If you have investor interest, then make a contract that benefits you and Antonio. I don’t need to marry Luca for anything to be signed.”

He steps toward me, his presence overwhelming as I become encased by the shadow he casts. “That’s where you’re wrong. Be smart, Georgia. All of those meetings you sat in on as a little girl and eavesdropped on as a teenager should have taught you that everybody needs leverage.”

Leverage.Is that all I am to him?

“This deal will make us both very rich men with very powerful assets, which means there needs to be a tie that ensures it does not go south. The investors don’t want to put their money into failing businesses without some reassurance, and I’ve already stretched myself too thin with the men expecting profit. Marriage is about creating allies, and you and Luca Carbone will be the basis of the one we are making for this new investment. It means being put on their good side, which we both desperately need. It’s time to come home. I’ve given you time to play house and make-believe, but now it’s time to be serious.”

He’s not asking.

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