Page 107 of Mine to Love

“Hi.” Smooth. Real smooth.

She looks at me over the rim of her paper cup. “Hi.” Her eyes lower while she drinks her coffee.

“I don’t know where to start.”

“When my coffee is gone, so am I. I have things to do.”

I nod in understanding. “My intentions were never to insult or hurt you. I can see how what I did may have made it look...made you feel like I was buying you. You have to believe me, Reese, that is the furthest thing from the truth.”

She sets her cup down and looks at me square in the eye for the first time. “You don’t find it ironic that you’ve made your millions counseling companies on proper money management and spending, and restructuring and sometimes suggesting they sell out because of poor financial decisions, yet you did precisely that with LP Financial? You’re losing money there. Why keep it going if not to keep me salaried and at your disposal?”

I reach my hand across the table to hold hers, but she quickly pulls away. “You’re right. LP isn’t making money. You’re correct that I started the company with you in mind.”

Reese pushes back her chair but this time I’m quick and hold on to her wrist.

“Let me explain. Please.”

“I can’t sit here.” She glances around the growing crowd.

“Can we walk?”

She hesitates, then nods. I stand, and out of instinct, place my hand on her lower back guiding her to the door. Once outside in the fresh air, we drink our coffees in silence until we are away from the line at the shop.

“My plan had been to sell off pieces of Pierce Financials this year and open LP Financials next spring.”

“Sell Pierce? Why?”

This is the part I haven’t told anyone yet, not even my family. It’s only fitting I tell Reese first.

“We grew up wealthy but not spoiled. Nick was the athlete and a ladies’ man. Holden had the looks and the skill to fix anything and everything, and Camilla, well, she’ll always be the princess.”

“You’re the brains.”

“Yeah. Math geek extraordinaire. What every teenage boy strives to be. Not many around here know this, but my grandfather, my father’s father, was an oil tycoon. Intelligent, business savvy, and a workaholic. He believed the key to happiness was the number of commas in his portfolio and the more businesses and people he owned.”

“Your father seems so grounded.”

“He was. He is. Smart like his father, but not like-minded. My mom was his family’s housekeeper’s daughter. Totally off limits because she wasn’t worthy, according to my grandfather.”

“Your mother is the most wonderful human being I’ve ever met.”

“And my dad would agree, which is why he left the family fortune and married her. Granted, she was pregnant with Nick at the time. Still, he would have done it anyway.”

Reese stops and lets out a sigh. “Logan, I adore your family. You don’t need to sell me on them. What happened between us...it has nothing to do with them.”

“It does. I’m getting there.”

I don’t need to give her the entire backstory, but I need to unload the burden I’ve been carrying around for more than a decade. It’s selfish of me, but it’s part of my story, and she should know.

“Dad raised us to be independent thinkers. To value family and people over money and our careers. My brothers and sister succeeded where I have failed. I have too much of my grandfather in me, even though I’ve never met him.”

“Never?”

“He disowned my dad when he chose love over business. But Dad didn’t want to raise a family in poverty and one thing led to another. Before he knew it, he had a successful business, more money than anyone would ever need, and a big, happy family. As soon as Cami graduated from high school, he retired, and they moved to Maine.”

“That’s a nice story. I still don’t see how this has anything to do with us.”

I spot a bench and gently guide Reese to it. We sit close to each other without touching, even though I really want to touch.

---