by M. S. Parker
“You're just on a sabbatical, Mr. Stirling.” Louis's voice was firm. “How can I help you?”
A sabbatical. That was interesting. It appeared my parents hadn't told them that I'd actually resigned. It made sense though. A lie like that would be the best way to keep our shareholders from getting too nervous with Rebecca in charge. It wasn't a surprise that I hadn't heard the story before. I hadn't looked at any business news since leaving Philadelphia.
I wasn't about to correct Louis's mistaken impression. Best to speak to my parents first. With Louis, I stuck with what I needed. “I'm looking for someone. Twenty-two. Princess Nami Carr. Parents King Raj and Queen Mara. I need to know where Nami is from. Which country her parents are king and queen of.”
If Louis thought this was an odd request, he didn't say anything about it. “Is this personal or business, Sir?”
“Personal.” I definitely didn't want him doing this on business time. The last thing I needed was my sister finding out that I was looking for someone, not to mention that, no matter what my parents said, I wasn't in charge anymore. “I know that cuts into the amount of time you can spend searching.”
“I'll do my best,” Louis promised. There was a moment of silence, and then he added, “Do you know when you'll be coming back, Mr. Stirling?”
“No.” I kept the answer simple even though I felt bad about essentially lying to him. I didn't have a plan to go back any time soon, if ever.
“I'll keep you apprised of what I find,” he said. “Good night, Sir.”
I hung up the phone and tossed it onto the couch next to me. I had absolutely no idea what to do now. Should I keep on with my feeble attempts to search or had I pretty much exhausted all of those options? I wasn't even really sure what I was looking for, or what I planned to do when I found it.
If I managed to track down her parents and figure out what country she was from, what then? I had vague notions of some sort of romantic reunion where I'd show up and convince her to give me a shot. I'd charm her parents, show them that I was the right match for their daughter. I was the one who deserved to marry –
Fuck.
I sat up and put my head in my hands. What was I thinking? I didn't want to get married again, especially not to someone I barely knew. I'd done that once and it hadn't ended well at all.
But Nami wasn't Britni. They were as different in personality as they were in looks, which basically meant night and day. Britni was spoiled, petty and arrogant. Nami wanted nothing more than to be a normal person, to live a normal life. She was kind and funny and sweet. She had a streak of steel in her too. A strength of which I didn't think even she knew the depth. I hadn't loved Britni, but Nami...
Dammit!
I slammed my hand on the coffee table. I wasn't in love with Nami. I couldn't be. Not after just a couple days. The problem was, I couldn't come up with another reason as to why she was constantly on my mind. It couldn't be explained away with only lust. I'd had other women who could've quenched it if that's all it was. Not that I didn't want her. It was stronger than lust though. I couldn't even rightly call it desire. It was a need, like food or water or air.
But it wasn't love, I told myself again. I'd thought before that I'd been in love and I'd been wrong. I wasn't going to make that mistake again. No, I'd wait until I found her, see if she was even willing to see if there was anything more to what we had than two nights of passion.
I was still arguing with myself regarding whether or not I was in love with Nami when my phone rang. I sighed when I saw the screen. Mom. I wasn't really in the mood to talk to her, but I'd ignored her previous two calls. Ignoring this one would just be rude.
“Mom.” I tried to keep my voice flat. “How are you doing?”
“We're fine,” my dad answered.
Right. Conference call.
“Reed, you need to come home.”
My heart skipped a beat at the tone of my mother's voice. There was a hint of something that sounded a lot like panic.
“What's wrong? Is someone hurt? Sick?”
“It's Rebecca.” The words were tight.
My heart constricted painfully. I might not have liked her very much, but she was my sister and I loved her for that.
“She's okay.” My mom must've sensed that my father's terse statement made things sound bad.
“Physically,” Dad said.
This couldn't be good.
“Your sister's in a bit of a...delicate situation.”
I wished they'd just get on with it and tell me what was going on.
I heard my father's half-laugh at my mother's words. “Don't sugarcoat things, my dear. Reed, your sister's been having an affair with Benjamin Westmore.”
My first thought popped out of my mouth. “Seriously? He's older than both of you.”
“Not Senior,” my dad said. I could almost hear him rolling his eyes. “Junior.”
“Right.” I felt stupid. “And he's married.”
“Married with kids,” Mom clarified.
“And to make matters worse, Westmore Senior has already sent us invitations to the wedding of his youngest son, Blayne.”
I'd only known Blayne Westmore by reputation, but I had to admit that I was surprised he'd settled down at all. I also had the vague recollection that my parents had been trying to marry him to my sister. That would make tensions between the two families run a bit high.
“So don't go to the wedding,” I suggested. “Send an expensive gift.”
“We're not calling for advice.” Dad sounded annoyed. “We want you to come home and take the third invitation. Go with us.”
I stood up and began to pace. I couldn't sit still and listen to this. “You want me to fly all the way home for the wedding of someone I don't know.”
“We want you to show everyone that we're a united family and that we will rise above this little...incident.”
My mom, ever the diplomat.
“I'll think about it.” I couldn't bring myself to refuse outright. The sense of duty to family did run deep. “But I'm not making any promises.”
“We'll have a ticket reserved for you on Friday if you're coming.”
After a couple more moments of small talk, the call ended. I knew they were both frustrated that I hadn't made any promises, but I'd given them the best I could. Besides, I had Nami to think of. I needed to find her before it was too late and she was married.
I paused, sighing. If it wasn't too late already.
I had no idea how fast things like this moved in her country. For all I knew, she could've gone straight from the airport to her wedding. Time wasn't on my side.
However, I thought, being back in the States might give me more resources. I could hire a private investigator to find Nami, deal with him face-to-face instead of making calls from halfway around the world.
I would do it, I decided. I'd go home. Something inside me clicked. This was a turning point, I thought suddenly. Whatever happened, it was going to happen at home because once I'd found Nami – or was told that finding her wasn't possible – I would have to decide where to go from there. There would be no putting it off anymore. My weeks of fun were over and it was time to start looking towards the future. A future I hoped Nami would be a part of.
Because, no matter what I told myself, I was in love with her.
Chapter 5
Reed
When my parents had called to try to coax me into coming home, I'd thought they'd exaggerated how bad things were. By the time I arrived in Philadelphia a few days later, things were even worse. Rebecca had driven our company into the ground. Money was missing. Clients were jumping ship and the only thing that had saved the employees was Julien Atwood.
I could feel my parents watching me as my father explained that Julien had convinced his family into buying out the company at a loss. The papers had been signed yesterday. I knew why they were watching. It had been Julien, after all, who'd gotten the girl, but I didn't begrudge him Piper. In fact, I was ha
ppy for her, for them both. They'd been able to overcome so many obstacles to be together, not the least of which was their families and pasts. I could only hope to be so lucky.
“How bad is it?” I asked, pulling myself out of my thoughts.
My father frowned at his plate. “We have other assets,” he said. “Other sources of income.”
I knew what he meant. Stocks and real estate mostly. I also knew how lavishly my family lived. The business had been a steady source of income they'd been able to spend without risking their net worth.
“It's not only the money,” Mom spoke up. “What happened with Rebecca and Benjamin, and then the Atwoods having to buy us out...” She shook her head. “Our societal standing has never been more precarious.” She gave me a disapproving look. “And all because of that Piper girl.”
I leaned back in my chair, no longer hungry. “I'm not with Piper, Mom,” I reminded her.
“Do you think that makes it any better?” Dad asked. “The whole Brock scandal overshadowed what happened between you and Britni, but people didn't completely ignore the fact that you left the daughter of a prominent family for a whore. Now she's with the Atwood boy and you look like a fool.”
“Piper isn't a whore,” I snapped. I wasn't sure which part of that pissed me off the most. The fact that he'd referred to Brock Michaels being arrested for rape to be a 'scandal' or that his concern over Piper choosing Julien over me had nothing to do with whether or not I was hurting.
“Stripper, sorry.” He gave me a hard look that said he wasn't sorry at all.
“Why didn't you liquidate other assets to save the business?” I hadn't intended to ask the question, knowing it would come across as accusatory, but my patience had all but disappeared with my father's statements.
His face flushed, a mottled red creeping up his neck. “I don't believe that's any of your business.”
“You practically beg me to come back here and then tell me that it's not my business?” I crossed my arms. “What do you want from me?”
Both parents looked startled at the blunt question, but I didn't try to smooth it over. I was through waiting for and following their instructions like a good little puppet.
“Tell him.” My mother's voice was soft.
Dad glared at her for a moment and then sighed. “I suppose you do need to know.” He folded his hands on the table. “We seem to have gotten behind on some of our property taxes.” He shifted in his seat. “And made some bad investments.”
“So when you said you had other assets and income...?” I let the question trail off.
“We won't starve,” he said. “But we're going to lose the villa, the vineyard and maybe the apartment. All sold to pay our taxes.”
“Are you asking to move back here full-time?” I asked.
The house here on Chestnut Hill had originally belonged to my parents, but they'd sold it to me a couple years ago when I'd decided I preferred it to an apartment in the city. The family used it occasionally and I didn't mind as long as I was given advanced warning. I valued my privacy, particularly from my family.
“It may come to that,” Dad said. “But I was thinking more about the stock you own.”
“What about it?” My eyes narrowed. I had a bad feeling I knew where this was going.
“You're not majority holder, but you do own the second biggest chunk. I want you to buy out everyone else and get the business back from the Atwoods.”
My mom reached across the table as if she was going to touch me, then stopped and pulled her hand back. “You've done well for yourself, Reed.”
She was right. I had. While I did enjoy the comforts that my family name offered and I had like being able to stay at the villa and the vineyard in Italy, I had money beyond the trust fund I'd inherited when I'd turned twenty-one. I'd invested well and, while I had splurged on occasion, I didn't spend excessively. I'd promised myself that I would never count on my inheritance or trust fund to support me.
“What would you do with the business if I got it back?” I asked.
“Well, you're back now,” Dad said. “And the stock would be in your name, of course. We always intended for you to inherit the company. It'd just come a bit early.”
And there it was. Like the past few months hadn't even happened. I was expected to come back and pick up as if I hadn't been away at all. I'd had my fun and now I was supposed to be the good son again, regardless of what I wanted.
“I have a lot to think about.” I pushed my chair back and stood. “You said the wedding's at one tomorrow?” My mother nodded. “I'll see you when it's time to go then.”
Before either parent could press the matter any further, I walked out of the dining room, heading for the stairs. I'd wondered why my parents had insisted I come to my house rather than meeting them at their place. Now I knew why. It was a not-so-subtle way of letting me know that if I didn't let them stay here, they could be homeless.
I was so caught up in my thoughts that I almost ran into Rebecca.
“What are you doing here?” The question came out more harshly than I'd intended.
“Hiding,” she snapped. “I'm a disgrace, or didn't our parents tell you?”
“Sorry,” I apologized automatically. “You just startled me. I figured you'd be at your place.”
“My place.” She barked a bitter laugh. “I don't have a place, Reed. When Mom and Dad found out about the affair, they stopped paying my rent and I didn't have any choice but to live with them.”
I searched her face, trying to tell if she knew what was happening with our parents' finances, but I couldn't see anything other than outrage at the indignities she'd supposedly suffered.
“And now that the golden child is back, I'll fade into the background again.”
I knew I should feel some measure of sympathy for Rebecca considering how she had always been overlooked when it came to a lot of things, but I'd been just as much a pawn of our parents as she had. She could've done things differently, chosen to make something of herself separate from our family.
“I don't know if I'm staying,” I admitted.
She rolled her eyes. “And why wouldn't you? You have everything here.” A cruel smile curved her lips. “Well, everything except Piper. I hear she and Julien are quite the couple.”
“I'm happy for them,” I said quietly. Her expression said she didn't believe me, but I was telling the truth.
“Are you thinking of trying to get Britni back then?” she asked. “Because that ship sailed too.”
“What's that supposed to mean?”
The smug look on her face said she'd been holding on to this particular tidbit. “She's engaged. Or will be soon enough from what I understand. Rich, good-looking, and here’s the best part...he’s not in love with another woman.”
My hands wanted to curl into to fists, but I forced them to stay open. “You do know I never loved Britni, right? If she's found someone who loves her, good for her.” My voice was even.
Anger flashed in her hazel eyes. Apparently, my lack of reaction annoyed her.
“Love's for idiots.” She folded her arms over her chest and squared her shoulders. “Men marry for lust or money and women marry for money or prestige.”
“Oh really?”
“Come on, Reed. You can't still seriously be that naïve.”
“Is that what you were doing with Benjamin Westmore?” I asked. “Trying to get him to pay you off as his mistress?”
Her cheeks flushed. “That was a mistake. I've learned since then.” She glanced at her watch, an expensive one I'd never seen before. “I have to go. Cecily's expecting me.”
“Cecily Postman?”
Rebecca nodded. “We're spending the weekend together since I'm apparently not good enough to go to the Westmore wedding.” She turned to start down the hall.
“Cecily's in London.”
Rebecca froze. “What?”
“I saw her at the airport when I arrived. She was getting ready to board a plane to
London and didn't say a word about you meeting her there.” I took a step towards my sister. “Where are you really going?”
Her jaw tightened. “None of your business.”
“Rebecca...” My voice held a note of warning.
“Let it go, Reed. It's my life.”
Trying for the nice, protective older brother wasn't working, so I went for option number two. “Are you sleeping with Cecily's father?”
The stiffening of Rebecca's spine told me the answer before she spoke, “And if I am?”
“Then you’re stupid, Rebecca. He's old enough to be your father. His daughter is your best friend, for crying out loud.”
“Tell you what, Reed.” She still didn't look at me. “You worry about your love life and I'll worry about mine.”
“Well, I guess you get a point since this one isn’t married.”
She opened her mouth, then closed it.
There was nothing I could do but watch her walk away. She wouldn't listen to me, I knew. Rebecca never listened to anyone. She did what she wanted to do and that was that. I shook my head and resumed my walk to my room. I was seriously jet-lagged and if I didn't get some sleep, I wouldn’t be even close to presentable for the wedding tomorrow.
It wasn't until my parents and I were in the car heading to the church when I realized I hadn't once thought about the fact that I was going to see Piper again. I'd been too preoccupied wondering if either Louis or the PI I'd hired had found anything on Nami. Once I was seated, however, I found myself scanning the crowd for Piper. Just before things got started, I spotted her with Julien. She looked at me and gave me a tight smile. I could tell, even from a distance, that she was worried how I'd react to seeing her with him. I smiled and nodded, then turned away, hoping she could still read me well enough to know that we were okay.
As soon as the wedding began, however, Piper was the furthest thing from my mind. I couldn't help but wonder if Nami was married already. Had her wedding been like this? When everyone turned to watch the bride walk down the aisle, I didn't see the tall blonde. In my mind's eye, it was Nami, expression politely resigned. Or had she been happy? Did her parents pick her a match she could love?
