Page 33 of Little Did You Know

"Did Emmett get you help?" The words scraped my throat. "Professional help?"

"The school counselor talked to me a few times."

"The school—" My fingers dug into my palms. Trust Emmett to do the bare minimum, to find the cheapest possible option. Images of the inheritance documents flashed through my mind: seven figures, all of it earmarked for Olivia's care. My jaw ached from clenching.

"He said we couldn't afford anything else."

A bitter laugh threatened to escape. I forced it down, tasting copper. That wasbullshit,and it angered me. Emmett's parents were well off when they died, not to mention the extraordinarily large life insurance policies they had. Olivia's parent’s business had never been failing; a large inheritance was left, and there was no debt. I knew all this because Emmett and I met with a lawyer after their death. I know exactly what assets they had and the exact numbers for the amount they were worth.I will get to the bottom of this if it kills me.

"Was Emmett there for you?" The track gravel crunched under my shifting weight. I already knew, but I needed to hear it.

Her fingers played with the hem of her running shorts. "He was there physically for a while." A muscle twitched in her jaw. "But eventually, he started to disappear. It was mostly Anthony and me." She tilted her face toward the stadium lights, shadows cutting across her cheeks. "He had his way of grieving, I guess. Made sure I had money. Just..." Her shoulders lifted in a half-shrug. "Wasn't good at the emotional stuff."

She nudged my shoulder with hers, forcing lightness into her voice. "I've told you all my secrets. Your turn."

"I don't have any secrets." The smile I offered felt brittle at the edges. "What do you want to know?"

She traced patterns in the gravel with one finger, shoulders hunched. "Why didn't you come back?"

My chest constricted. The track lights buzzed overhead, filling the silence as I searched for an answer I'd avoided for nine years.

I checked in regularly with Emmett in the beginning and sent money for Olivia weekly as agreed so that her money would remain in a new account until she turned 18. I'd received my portion of the inheritance days before the summer ended. I left and never looked back.

The Ryan family attorney contacted me several times about meeting with him about dividing assets, but I didn't want them; I thought it should go to Olivia and Emmett.

"I don't know," I finally replied. "I should have, but I guess I was trying to escape that summer myself."

"I wish I could have escaped with you," she said no louder than a whisper. Throwing my arm around her shoulder, I pulled her into me, and she rested her head on my shoulder.

"I should have taken you with me." The words slipped out before I could catch them. But I was just a dumb college kid with a dream. I had no idea how to take care of a little girl, but apparently neither did Emmett. My chest tightened as I realized he was younger than I was, and he was expected to care for his little sister.

"So..." Olivia drew out the word, tilting her face up to mine. That look in her eyes—half mischief, half something else—made my chest tight.Not the proposal again. Please."How come you never settle down? All these women, but never the right one?"

A laugh escaped, more reflex than humor. Classic Olivia, going for the jugular with a smile.

"I guess I'm not a one-woman kind of guy," was my brush-off reply.

"Hey." She nudged my shoulder. "I showed you my scars. Your turn." Her voice softened. "Was it... was it because of that summer?

My smirk slipped. Damn her for always seeing through the bullshit. "Partly," I guessed, but I knew if it had something to do with it, it was minor. She urged me with her eyes to continue. With an exasperated sigh, I continued. "It's not the primary reason." I paused and swallowed hard. "After that summer, I came back to school at USF, and it was about that time that I met all of my good friends now, and it was also the time that I met Victoria Cross. I'd never dated anyone seriously before her, and it got serious quickly. I had a hard time when I came back, and Tori helped me. She was there for me. I thought she was the one I was going to marry." I stopped thinking back to the beautiful, tall blonde with blue eyes.

"What happened?"

"We dated for several years." I traced patterns in the gravel with my finger, avoiding Olivia's gaze. "Everything seemed perfect until that last summer. Justin and I were launching the company, burning through savings and sleep. And Tori..." My hand stilled. "She was in Paris for a summer class. Her emails got shorter. Then stopped. Should've seen it coming, really."

"What happened?"

The moon caught the dust I'd kicked up, making it shimmer. "Turned out she'd fallen for someone else. Some trust fund kid in her class. I found out when I went to pick her up at the airport and she wasn't on the plane. She'd flown back weeks earlier—to Vegas. To marry him."

"That sucks." Olivia shook her head.

"I thought she was different. I thought she loved me and not my money, but once she realized I sank every bit of cash I had into my business, she checked out. The guy she married was wealthy by birth, and it turned out that she was only interested in his money. She divorced him about a year later. She took a rather large settlement from the divorce and started her clothing line. After that, I vowed that all women were the same and that I would never trust one again."

"Did you love her?" Olivia's fingers stilled on her lap.

The question deserved more than a quick answer. I stared at the dark outline of trees beyond the track. "No." The certainty in my voice surprised me. "Now, I don't think I did."

"Where is she now?" Olivia leaned forward, moonlight catching the curve of her cheek. "Did you ever see her again?"

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