Page 9 of Gilded Dreams

Comforting arms wrap around me, and I lay my head against Joe’s chest. Atlas, Brogan, and Ryder all three stand a moment longer before Atlas speaks up.

“We’ll be gone by sunup.” And then they follow my mother’s exit. All three roaring out of the marina.

I fight back more hot tears wanting to spill down my cheeks.

“I can practically hear your thoughts, baby girl. Nothing is wrong with you. You’re just growing up is all. She’s having a hard time accepting you’re not in pigtails anymore.”

“I think I embarrass her. I just want to be normal, Joe.”

Joe pulls back and levels his dark brown eyes on my blue ones. “And who says you’re not?” A familiar smile warms his expression and I see so much of Atlas my heart aches for the man I can’t have.

Three

Kandy, six torturous, heart-wrenching years later

Riding through heavy traffic in NY gives me the time I need to prepare for the long day ahead. Six years and I never have gotten used to all the horns, congestion on every street, or the abrasive nature of the locals.

But I love it. No one sticks their noses into my business and not a single family member lives within driving distance. Christmases are spent with me jetting off to a new tropical island every year. Except for this one, but that’s okay.

I call that bliss with a capital B. Especially around this time of year. I thumb open the calendar on my phone and count the days until Christmas vacation kicks off. Oh baby! Five weeks and three days until I seal myself away in my new apartment overlooking Central Park and not come out until January or I run out of Oreos. Whichever comes first. I’ll finally have time to binge that new historical romance show everyone is swooning over and paint my living room cranberry red. Maybe I’ll get a tree this year, too.

The past year of working for my best friend, Justice Thorne, at Thorneware, a multi-billion-dollar tech company has come with a new set of challenges I didn’t run into as a one-time secretary for my friend’s mother. But no one ever said being made partner would be easy. Meetings, endless phone calls, contracts, and long nights of number crunching, missed dinners and lunches have been my days for weeks on end. Come to think of it, I can’t remember the last time I actually sat down to eat a home-cooked meal. A burrito on the go and a quick Danish with a coffee is all I’ve managed for weeks.

A thrill of tingles wells up inside of me at my new status within the company which came with a set of keys to my new apartment and a sizable increase in pay with stock options. Two months and I still can’t get over the birthday present my friend gifted me. All because I helped her find true love with three hunks who dote on her tirelessly.

As per usual this time of year, my mind lingers on old memories of my lost chance at love. Seeing Justice with her harem of men brings cravings for what might have been once upon a time, but like I have done for the past six years, I shove those memories aside and focus on what matters. Me in the now. Because if I don’t, who will?

I pass a thumb over a golden butterfly hanging around my neck. A birthday present from them a few years back. I’d only been here for a year and was desperately fighting to make enough money to afford to live in such an expensive city.

Up until a year ago I was not too sure I wouldn’t be forced into returning home.

Truth be told, the day Justice broke it off with her mother and asked me to come work for her was one of the happiest in recentmemory. That day we both left behind the narcissistic woman—aka the powerhouse owner of Thorne Tech, Justice’s natural competition in a market filled with tech-savvy geniuses.

I feel eyes on me, and I look up to see the driver staring at me through the rearview.

“All okay, Mr. Mackay?”

My driver looks back at me for a brief moment and then back on the road. “Yes, ma’am.”

He couldn’t be more than a few years older than me. Clean cut, soft hands and remarkably easy going. Almost too much so. I like a little grit and height to my men, but there’s a type of man for every type of woman, I suppose. Whoever gets to look into his kind eyes every day would be a lucky chick for sure.

His services are another benefit that came with my new position. One I secretly love more than anything. I’ve picked up some unsavory attention from an unwanted admirer. Not being alone when I go and come from the office puts my mind at ease. At first, I didn’t know if I would ever get used to having a chauffeur but not spending an hour elbowing my way through pedestrian traffic is yet another nice benefit.

“Have you lived here long, Mr. Mackay?”

He nods. “My whole life. I know everything there is to know about the Big Apple. Good and bad. It’s easy for a girl like you to get lost here. Best be careful.” He hands me a disposable coffee cup from my favorite shop around the corner from my place and a small white bag.

“You’re right there. It’s nothing like my small Texas town. That’s a good and bad thing.” I smile and greedily take both and sip at the steamy liquid and literally moan with delight.

“What a surprise. Wow, that was good. You even got the flavor right. Thank you, Mr. Mackay.”

“Vanilla latte, two sugars. Extra whipped cream on Fridays.”

My brows rise in surprise. “Youaregood.”

“You look tired. You should take better care of yourself, Kandy.”

Not Ms. Lockhart, I notice, but whatever. You buy me my special Friday coffee and sugary goodies; you can use my given name.

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