Page 97 of Terms + Conditions
“I don’t understand why she’s going back to David. Finn—”
“Loves her. Finn is completely in love with your sister. And that’s why he’s letting her do this. Why he’s letting her go. He wants her to be happy, and if she thinks this is the thing that will make her happy…then he will let her go.”
I get the feeling we’re not talking about just Michaela anymore.
When I glance to my right, Elizabeth is no longer looking at me, her gaze locked on laced fingers in her lap. We shouldn’t have done what we did last night, we both know that, but I don’t regret it. Even if she does, I can’t bring myself to regret making love to her one more time before I have to let her go. With my eyes back on the road, I reach my hand across the console and take both of hers in mine, squeezing gently. I swear I feel a wet drop land on my skin before she slides her left hand into mine, covering them with her other one.
The rest of the car ride is quiet, our hands intertwined on her lap, and when we pull into the driveway an hour later, neither makes the first move to get out.
“I bought a house,” Elizabeth whispers after a few minutes. The words chip away at what’s left of my heart. She bought a house…by herself. “In Jupiter Beach.”
What does she want me to say? Don’t go?
Nothing I can say will change her mind. This is what’s going to make her happy. And who am I to stand in the way of her happiness? I’ve been doing that for the past nine years. It’s time for her to get what she wants without me getting in her way.
Elizabeth leans across the center console and ghosts her lips over my cheek. “Goodbye, Josh.”
CHAPTER FIFTY
NOW
THE HUM OF THE crowded diner is better than the deafening silence of the taxi ride. My legs feel almost confined underneath the table. My chest tightens every so often, and I need to take a deep breath, but it never feels deep enough to free the grip on my lungs. I’m still trying to figure out what I’m supposed to do with a teenager who quite literally just walked into my life. When I woke up yesterday morning, I expected to enjoy Christmas with my wife and family as we did our best to get back into the swing of things. There was zero cause for excitement. But now…Well, nothing could have prepared me for this.
Brie looks around the restaurant with the occasional glance in my direction, but never enough to make full eye contact. I’m surprised she isn’t staring into her phone. Isn’t that what most teenagers do? Instead, it sits facedown on the table but not too far from her, and she sits on her hands. Most of her pent-up energy is being released through the shaking of her leg. How do I know? Because it’s vibrating the entire table. Occasionally, it will stop, only to pick up after just a few seconds.
“So…”
“Here we go, folks,” the waitress interrupts right on time, dropping a plate in front of me. Steak and eggs. She drops a stackof pancakes in front of Brie, who starts digging into the food like she hasn’t eaten in days. The same way she did last night when Mom helped her put together a plate of food.
“Hungry?” I raise an eyebrow, and she freezes. Her brown eyes lift from the plate as she swallows the bite she had just taken. “If you like those, you should try Tessa’s cake down at Honeybee’s. Best ones in all of South Carolina.”
“Sorry. I haven’t eaten much, being on the bus and all.”
“You rode the bus by yourself?”
Brie shrugs, stabbing a loose piece of pancake. “It’s not as bad as it sounds.”
“Brie.” I sigh and shove my plate away. “I have to ask, how did you find me? Your mother and I haven’t exactly kept in touch the last fifteen years.”
Instead of answering, she takes a large gulp of coffee. Black with exactly two sugars. I had been opposed to letting her order a coffee—what fifteen-year-old needs coffee?—but I didn’t put up much of a fight.
“How did you find me?” I ask again.
“It’s not hard when you’re related to people like the Villas.”
That’s fair. I have always done my best to remain as low-profile as possible, and Nina does a great job at keeping her private life private, but there will always be a certain level of publicity when it comes to the Villas. How could there not be when you own the largest investment firm in the world? Ric’s death was a tragedy on a global scale. There were family, friends, and business partners from all over the world at his funeral. And then there’s my sister…She does not maintain a low profile online. Neither does Finn, come to think of it.
She pops the pancake in her mouth. “And I found the letter you wrote Mom.”
Right.
The letter I wrote back to Juliet last year.
I almost forgot about that. The one I sent to the return address with a simpleI’ll be there.What else was I supposed to say? I wonder if that is the envelope Brie handed Nina with the birth certificate last night.
“Does your mother know you’re here?”
“Of course.” Brie scoffs. “What, do you think I just ran away from home and didn’t tell her where I was going?”
