Page 9 of Neverland

“He was the only boy I ever kissed. It was on my birthday.” My sister's face drops, knowing it was also the day our lives got flipped upside down again, and I never saw him after that. “It’s only ever been him.” I swipe at a tear on my cheek. “I thought it was special and sweet that he was waiting for me to turn eighteen. Now he’s all…” I can’t finish the sentence.

“You know what? Fuck him,” Elsa bursts out, getting mad for me.

“I tried.” I give a humorless laugh.

“And he wouldn’t give?” She cocks her head to the side, I’m sure surprised.

“Nope.” Boy did I try. It’s almost embarrassing how much I did.

“If there is one thing I’m good at, it’s math, and this math doesn’t add up.”

“Love isn’t math.” My sister doesn’t seem to believe that from her expression. Still everything she said has opened my mind a bit more. What if Easton isn’t the man I wrote about?

I find that so hard to believe, but in my life, nothing is ever as it seems.

8

EASTON

“What do you have for me?” I ask Miranda the second I step into the conference room. Tray is being my shadow. I haven’t stopped since I got my hands on this book.

“I got what you asked for, but it’s really not worth the risk of loss or gain. Textbooks hold a huge margin in the publishing world, but there—”

“I’m not asking for financial advice on this, Miranda.” She looks a bit surprised by my remark. Then again, it’s her job to do risk assessment with my finances.

“Then what is it you want? I’m sure they’ll sell for the right price. The publishing house was intrigued when I asked for some information about purchasing the company. They handed over everything on your list.”

I didn’t want to outright ask certain things to the publishing company. The last thing I wanted to do at the moment was draw attention to my Melody. I wanted to know what contracts they held and what potential authors they had that would make a profit. That would make it seem as though I was weighing the potential growth of the company.

The reality is there is only one contract I want to see. This is the closest I’ve been to finding her in years. I’m trying to remain patient, but I’m holding on by a very thin thread. But I know I need to keep my cool or I could blow the best lead I’ve ever had.

“The contracts of the authors.”

“Which? I can do a date gathering to see—”

I cut Miranda off again, getting straight to the point. I might not have wanted to draw the attention of anyone at the publishing house of my true agenda, but Miranda is a vault. She’s been with my family for years.

“Melody Ledger is one of their authors. I specifically want to seehercontract.”

“Ledger?” Her brows pull together, and I’m sure she’s trying to recall if there is a Melody somewhere in my family tree.

“Yes.” A fucking pen name. For now.

“All right.” She makes a few clicks on her keypad before she airdrops me a file. I waste no time in clicking it.

Melody's beautiful signature is on the sheet, but the address is a PO Box. That doesn’t matter. There has to be a bank account where she’s receiving payments. That wouldn’t be connected to a PO Box. It would have her real information on it.

That will take me nothing to get. I don’t even have to tell Tray. I drop the document over to him, and without question he turns to go find the information. I can’t help but wonder how far she is from me.

“Is there something I need to know, Easton? Something that I might need to brace some of our holders for?” She places her hand flat on the table. Miranda wants to be ready for whatever might be coming her way.

“I’m not sure,” I say honestly. “The debts have been paid.” There is no real way to see how this might play out. Not until I get my hands on her. There’s no way of telling what people's reactions will be. Melody is paying for sins that aren’t even hers.

Money can be returned, but time can’t. The men her father gave up had to pay with time. I’ll have to go about this carefully in order to keep her and her family safe.

“Oh.” She lets out a small gasp of understanding. A few things click into place for her. “I suppose it doesn’t matter.” Miranda knows what I’m after.

“It doesn’t,” I agree. There is nothing or no one that will ever stand in the way of me and my Neverland girl again.

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