Page 34 of Just Like Starting Over
Luke nods. “Have you told him?”
“I told him before. I wrote to him right away. I wrote when Sierra was born, even though he never answered me.” I hear the hurt in my voice, but it’s late and I can’t pretend.
Luke studies me. “Wow. How does Mike justify that?”
“He says he never got any letters. I’m tempted to believe him, but it makes no sense.”
Luke leans against the front of my car, pondering this for a moment, his arms folded across his chest. “You know, Mike has never been the kind of person to say one thing and do something else. He’s very straight up.”
“Yes,” I agree, leaning against the car beside him. I’m echoing his posture without planning to do so. “That’s one of the things I always admired about him. He would tell you the truth, even if it wasn’t convenient.”
Luke nods. “So, if he says he didn’t ever get the letters, maybe he didn’t.”
“Then what happened to them? I know they arrived.”
Luke looks at me. “You sound very sure.”
“I called. I talked to Mr. Cavendish. He said they had arrived and that Mike didn’t want to hear from me again. He told me to stop sending them.”
Luke is studying me and I have to look away. “I’m going to guess he said more than that.”
I shrug, even though I can still hear every word. “Ancient history.”
“Is it,” Luke muses. “Look, Syl, I don’t want to hurt your feelings…”
“But...”
“Did Patrick ever object to you and Mike dating?”
“Not that I know of. Mike never said anything.”
Luke shakes his head. “But he wouldn’t, would he? Because Mike is loyal. If he’s your friend, nothing will change his mind about you, maybe not even Patrick.”
“I don’t understand.”
“Okay, consider that Patrick is all about advantage. And Mike was one of the golden sons, chosen to continue the legacy. Who would Patrick want him to marry? Someone who could add to his success. An heiress. A royal princess. Maybe even the competitor’s daughter – Mackenzie Rhodes, possibly, so the two great estates could be merged into one. It would be a dynastic union, given his choice, to better the fortunes of the Cavendish clan.”
I see exactly where he’s going with this. “But I’m nobody.”
“You’re not nobody, Syl, but you’re not the crown princess of anything either. And that’s okay.” He gives me a friendly nudge. “I’m not going to find fault where Patrick does.”
“Me, neither.” I smile for him even though his suggestion makes me sad.
“So, what would happen if Patrick told Mike to step back?”
“Mike would do as he was told by his dad?”
Luke doesn’t look convinced. “Even if he’s in love?”
“He said he was.”
“Really? Then he was. The guy can’t lie to save his life and that’s a good thing.”
It feels good to have Luke confirm what I already want to believe.
“Here’s a little compare and contrast, just for fun,” he says, his tone lighter as if he’s trying to make me feel better. “If Patrick had ever taken exception to any of my choices, I would have persisted in that choice, whether I still wanted it or not,just to annoy him. That’s the dynamic between us and it’s never going to change. But Mike would listen to Patrick, then reassess. If his decision was important to him, he would ignore Patrick’s advice, regardless of what the ultimate price might be. That price could be high, given that he was one of the heirs to the throne, but Mike was always principled.” Luke nods. “He would just carry on, and he would make sure that you never heard about it, in case Patrick’s view hurt your feelings. He would protect you from that”
I take a breath, knowing that this is a solid theory. “Mike said he was going to propose that night of the prom.”
