Page 36 of Overnight Inheritance

“None of this is your fault, Rosario. Not a thing.” The fault was all his father’s. “Why would he even say that? If he really thinks I’m playing a game, why would he alert her?”

“Honestly, I think he just got carried away with his story about dating Sarah when he was young and being a blowhard, and totally lost sight of who his audience was. But, yeah, if youwerecapable of something like that and were using Mae, then he’d have shot the Newport plan in the foot.”

Seb gripped the steering wheel tighter. “How did Mae take it?”

“She seemed rattled. I tried to talk to her after, but I think she just wanted to get out of the office.” She drew in a breath. “There’s something else.”

“Hit me,” he said and braced himself.

“Mae asked where you were and I assumed she knew about the lunch for Ashley and had just forgotten, so I told her. I’m sorry if I’ve put my foot in it.”

He winced as he made a left-hand turn. Poor Mae, double blindsided without him there to explain. “Again, that’s not on you. That one’s on me. Do you know where she went?”

“She didn’t say, but she did leave you a note on your desk.”

“I’m on my way. And thanks for the heads-up.”

He disconnected and tried Mae’s number. She didn’t pick up, so he left a message, apologizing for not being around today and asking her to call him. He should have been up front about today, and at the very least told her in the text he’d sent her this morning where he was going, but he’d needed some time to get his head around the day first. Once he’d arrived there, he’d realized why.

They’d all visited the grave site first, in a picturesque cemetery partway between Manhattan and her parents’ place, and then had lunch together at a local café to reminisce. Laying the flowers at her graveside, his feelings had suddenly made sense. He was there to say goodbye to Ashley before moving into the future with Mae. Having a future with Mae without doing this first would have felt like a betrayal of his first marriage. He’d needed to tell Ashley.

The others had let him have some time alone to stand beside the marble headstone, which he’d appreciated. He’d given her an update on Alfie, told her how proud she’d be of her son, promised her he was still prioritizing finding work-life balance. And then he’d asked for her blessing to move on with Mae.

In that moment, as he’d told Ashley about her, he had been hit with a bone-deep certainty that he loved Mae. He’d told Ashley that he loved her too, but that his love for Mae was different. Ashley would have understood—they’d never lied to each other about their feelings, and she’d known that he loved her as his best friend, his ally, and the mother of his son.

Mae, though? She was everything. His here and now, his future, his everything. He could barely breathe when he thought of her.

He tried her cell again a few times on the drive back, but she still wasn’t answering. Once he finally reached the Bellavista headquarters, he had to force himself not to run to his office to find her note. He smiled and exchanged greetings with various people in the hallways and told someone from accounts that it was okay to send through some files.

When he stepped through to Rosario’s office, she said, “I’ve cleared your afternoon.”

“You are an angel,” he said, without stopping.

In the middle of his glass-top desk was a folded slip of paper with his name written in her neat handwriting. Barely restraining himself from lunging at it, he picked it up in controlled movements and opened it.

Sebastian,

Rosario told me where you are, and I’m sorry you have to go through this, because Ashley’s birthday will be a rough day for you.

I haven’t called or texted because I didn’t want to interrupt, but the thing is, I’m mad at you, but I don’t want you to see me mad on a day like today. So, I hope you’re okay, and tomorrow we need to talk.

Mae

His stomach turned over and made a new knot. This mess needed fixing, now. First, he had to find her.

He was still holding the piece of paper in his hand when his father blustered past Rosario and into his office.

“There you are,” he said in his too-loud voice. A voice that had grated on Seb his whole life. “I’ve been looking for you. What’s the point of having a personal assistant if they don’t know where you are?”

Seb folded the note and put it in his shirt pocket. “Dad, it’s not the time.”

His father stabbed a finger in the air in the general direction of a wall clock. “These are business hours and I need an update on the Sheridan property, which is a business matter, so thisisthe time.”

Seb glanced up at him, the man who’d sucked any joy from most things in his life and who might now have ruined his future. “What did you say to her?”

“Who? Rutherford’s daughter?” He flicked a hand as if this was beneath his notice. “Nothing much. I’ll give her one thing, though. She at least looks like the Rutherfords. Still not convinced her brother’s part of their gene pool. Not that their features sit well on her. Not really a looker, is she?” His father laughed.

Seb drew in a breath through his nose. Blowing his top at his father wouldn’t help anything—besides maybe his mood—and would only waste time. The day his father handed over the reins of the company and stepped away couldn’t come soon enough. On that day, Seb was going to tell him exactly what he thought of him and then walk away from him forever. Today, however, yelling at his father would only delay finding Mae.

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