by Lisa Lace
“He loves you, you know.”
“He says he does,” I nod. “I guess I still worry, though. He’s left me before.”
“Oh, he’s not going anywhere this time, Lily. I mean, he gave up the defense contract for you! He wouldn’t do that for anyone. That deal was worth billions.”
I frown. “Defense contract?”
Jennifer returns my confused look. “You know, the Department of Defense?”
“I don’t know about it. What do you mean, he gave it up for me?”
She flushes red and waves her hands. “Forget it. I thought you knew.”
Jennifer stands, but I grab her wrist. “Jennifer? Tell me.”
Her face is pained. I can see tears beginning to rise. Whatever she’s talking about, she knows she’s said too much. “I can’t.”
“Jennifer, please. Tell me what you mean. I’m only going to ask him anyway.”
Her voice lowers to a whisper. “I shouldn’t have said anything.”
“Tell me.”
Jennifer slowly sinks back onto the bench. Her hands are shaking. When she glances at me, her gaze is guilty. “You know Vincent Oswald.” It’s not a question. Jennifer knows the whole story.
“Yes.”
“He’s not a good man.”
My suspicions burn hot. “Seriously, Jennifer. What’s going on?”
“Ethan was trying to protect you.”
“Please tell me what you know.”
“Vincent bought out the deed to your apartment. He was going to evict you if Ethan didn’t give up the defense contract. It’s a huge contract worth billions. Steele Industries has been working on it all year. Vincent was after it, too.”
I feel like I’ve been punched in the gut. “And Ethan gave up the contract?”
“In return for the deed. To save your home.”
My blood is boiling. Tears sting behind my eyes. My voice catches in my throat. “And that’s why Vincent up and left suddenly? He really was using me to get to Ethan?”
Jennifer lays her hand gently on my arm. “I’m sorry, Lily. Ethan came to Payson to warn you. He had a feeling that Vincent was up to something.”
“It was business this whole time.”
“Lily.”
“Ethan only came back because of Vincent. He wasn’t coming back for me at all. He only wanted to make sure that Vincent didn’t get me. He got him out the picture by making a business deal. This whole thing, it’s only been one big competition between them, hasn’t it? They’ve been using me as a pawn.”
Jennifer is openly crying now. “It’s not like that, Lily. Ethan only wanted to protect you.”
“Protect me from something that was his fault to begin with. From maybe having a happy life. He used me.” I stand and stride toward the building where Ethan has set up his temporary offices. “He practically bought me from Vincent. Who does something like that?”
“It’s not what it seems.” Jennifer races after me. “Please, Lily! Take some time to think about it. He was never trying to hurt you. He loves you.”
I stop and spin on my heel to face Jennifer. We both have tears streaming down our faces.
I throw my hands up in despair. “I can’t trust him, Jennifer. It’s never the whole truth with Ethan. If I’d known what had happened with Vincent, maybe I wouldn’t have fallen right back into his arms, but he made me believe he was there for me when I needed him. Really, he was pulling the strings the whole time.”
“Please, Lily, try to see it from Ethan’s perspective.”
“I’ve tried to see it his way! I tried to see it his way when he first left. I made excuses for him because of what he’d been through, and when he came back, I forgave him. He sleeps with me and vanishes, and I forgive him again because I tried to see it from his perspective. Now I find out he’s pushed Vincent out of my life to make it easier for him to sweep back in, and they were both using me to score points against the other the whole time. Those aren’t the actions of a man in love.”
“He wasn’t thinking, Lily.”
“He never does.”
“Please take some time to think.”
“I’ve given him enough time and enough chances. No more. We’re done.”
Ethan
In addition to the boardroom and general office space we’ve rented for the time we’re in Arizona, Jennifer and I have joined offices. I’m in mine—alone.
Jennifer enters first. She casts me a frightened glare, mouths the word ‘sorry,’ and then scurries away, her head bowed.
Behind her, Lily. She looks furious. Her skin is flushed with rage, her hands shaking.
I run through scenarios in my mind, trying to figure out what’s happened. She and I were so happy this morning. Now Lily is glaring daggers at me.
I stand from my desk. Jennifer has disappeared behind her door and quickly closed it after her. I put my hands on my hips. “What’s wrong?”
Lily storms toward me, coming to a stop a couple of feet away, her arms crossed in front of her. “What’s wrong? You tell me, Ethan. What have you done that might make me mad?”
I stare at her blankly, and my gaze travels to Jennifer’s closed door. She’s said something to Lily to make her this angry. I can only think of one thing: the defense contract. “She told you about Vincent.”
“Yes, she fucking told me, Ethan. Jennifer assumed you’d have been man enough to tell me what games you’ve been playing, but obviously, you didn’t want me to find out.”
“It’s not like that, Lily.”
“What’s it like, Ethan? What am I missing? Because to me, it looks like you and Vincent have used me as a pawn in your stupid fucking games.”
“I never intended for you to get dragged into anything that was going on between Vincent and me.”
“Then why didn’t you walk away? When you found out Vincent was seeing me, why didn’t you let it be? His plan only worked because you got involved.”
“He was going to evict you, Lily. He bought out your building.”
“And when did you find that out? Before you fucked me and left? After?”
“Lily.” I shake my head. “I tried to warn you that Vincent was playing games, but you wouldn’t listen.”
“Why would I have listened, Ethan? Everything you say is a lie.” She sobs, her hands falling loose at her sides, her face crumpling. “When you called me that day, and I told you all about Vincent, you knew. You knew that he was leaving because you’d given up the contract. You could have told me then, and let me make my own decision. Instead, you swoop in, pretending to be the hero. You let me feel bad that Vincent had left because it made it easier for you to take his place. Do you have any idea how that makes me feel?”
“I didn’t want you to know what he’d done. I didn’t want to hurt you.”
“You should have told me the truth. I let you back into my life because I thought you wanted me. But that’s not real, is it, Ethan? If Vincent hadn’t matched with me on Destiny, you’d have gone on living life in New York, never thinking about me at all. All of this was about revenge and getting one up on him. Nothing more.”
“I knew what Vincent was like. I was trying to protect you.”
“From what? You didn’t know he bought the building until yesterday. Otherwise, you’d have already given up the contract before now, and none of this would have happened. When this began, you only didn’t want me to be with Vincent because you couldn’t stand the thought of me with a guy you didn’t get along with in college.”
“Lily, I don’t care about Vincent anymore. I promised myself after all this was done I’d never get involved in any of that again. I only want you.”
“And the amazing Ethan Steele always gets what he wants, doesn’t he?” Pacing in front of me, Lily shakes her head in disgust, “Is this what billionaires do? Put people’s lives on the line and watch them squirm? Is this fun for you?”
I step forward and take her by the arms. “Lily, I did everything I could to stop him from usi
ng you. I came to Payson to warn you, and then I gave up the defense contract. For you. That was years of work. Hundreds of hours of manpower. Billions of dollars.”
She tears away from me and scowls, her eyes filled with hot, angry tears. She throws her hands up in the air and stands to face me, her chin raised defiantly. “And what, Ethan? I should fall at your feet because you lost the most? What do you think I am, a prize at an auction? Am I meant to give myself to the highest bidder?”
“Of course, I don’t think that, Lily. I was only trying to do what I thought was right.”
“And what about what I thought?” She waits for me to respond, and shakes her head when I have nothing to say. “That’s right. You didn’t care what I thought. You didn’t tell me about Vincent buying the building so I had the opportunity to lay into him myself. You went over my head and paid him off, and then took all the credit for being my shoulder to cry on. You knew that if you told me the truth, I wouldn’t magically take you back, so you got rid of the competition. It’s terribly underhanded, Ethan.”
“I didn’t give up the contract to try and deceive you into taking me back. I gave it up to save your home. Lily, I know how much that apartment means to you.”
“You don’t know anything about me. If you did, you would have told me what was going on, and we could have confronted him together. You’ve made me feel like I’m nothing.”
“I’m sorry. I was only trying to—”
“Protect me. So you’ve said.” Lily comes to a standstill.
She raises her eyes to me. The anger is gone; there is only a cold defeat in them now. She stands in front of me, her gaze fixed on mine. “Ever since you came back to Payson, you’ve done nothing but mess with my head. You tried to make me believe that you still loved me, but I don’t believe it.”
She runs her hands through her hair and squeezes her eyes shut. She lets out a long, determined breath. When she opens her eyes, they’re full of steely determination. “You’ve always meant more to me than I do to you. That’s why you left the first time without saying goodbye. That’s why you came back into my life, slept with me, and disappeared. That’s why you think you can buy and sell me like a business asset. And it’s why I still come back for more and hang around like a little puppy dog, waiting for you to come back. I won’t do it anymore.”
“Lily.”
She holds up a hand. “Enough, Ethan. Just enough.”
I grab her wrists and bow down to try and catch her eyes again. Now her gaze is avoiding mine. She turns her face away.
“I won’t lose you again.”
She blinks, and tears fall. “This time, it’s not your choice.”
“Lily, there’s nothing stopping us now. Please, give me one more chance.”
“No. I want you to leave.” She swallows, glancing down at the ground. “Go back to New York, Ethan, and don’t come back.” She casts me one final, wounded stare, then leaves.
I chase after her and try to hold onto her, but she tears away and breaks into a run.
Turning, she lifts a hand in warning. “Stay away, Ethan. I mean it. Let me go.” Lily stands a moment to make sure I won’t follow her again, then turns and strides away.
My shoulders slumping, I let her go, then I enter Jennifer’s office.
She’s sitting behind her desk with her head in her hand, silently crying. She jumps when I open the door and immediately begins to babble an apology. “Ethan, I’m truly sorry. I didn’t mean to say anything. I thought she knew.”
I hold up a hand and offer a tight, forced smile. “It’s okay, Jen. This isn’t your fault.”
Jennifer bites down on her lip, her eyes blinking quickly. She wipes her face, stands, and perches on the edge of her desk facing me. She lets out a long breath and holds up her hands. “I thought she’d think it was romantic.”
“She didn’t.”
“What are you going to do?”
I pick up my jacket from the back of my chair and fold it over my arm. “I’m going to go back to New York.”
“What? Ethan, you have to keep fighting for her!”
I shake my head. “I’m no good for her, Jen. I’m messing with her head; she said it herself. Maybe it’s best if I just walk away now and let her live her life. If she wants to find me, she knows where I am.”
Jennifer is silent for a moment. I can see her brain running through options, trying to think of some miraculous way to turn things around. “I’m sure if you just explained things to her.”
“She knows what happened, and she’s right. I didn’t think about her enough. I was thinking about myself. My business, my rivalry, the woman I wanted. Lily deserves better than that.”
“You’re too hard on yourself, Ethan. You did those things because you love her.”
“I do love her. That’s why I’m going back to New York. She’s better off with someone who’s going to put her first.”
Jennifer shakes her head. “You’re making another mistake. Lily loves you, too. I know she does.”
“Let’s give it time, Jen. For now, Lily needs her space, and so do I. I’ve got a lot of hard thinking to do to figure out what I’m doing with my life.”
She falls silent and nods. “If that’s what you want. I’ll start making arrangements for the team to go home.”
“Thank you, Jennifer.”
She crosses the distance between us and puts a hand on my arm. “Are you sure this is what you want? You’re leaving her again.”
“She doesn’t want me here.”
Jennifer holds her tongue, but I can tell she’s burning to say more. Instead, she picks up her cell and makes the calls to get us back to the city.
I don’t want to leave Lily, but I know I’ve hurt her, and she doesn’t understand the things I’ve done. She thinks all this was about Vincent and about me. I need to show her that my choices were made because I love her.
Somehow, I need to find a way to prove she’s my everything, and I can be the man she needs me to be.
Lily
Chloe sits on my sofa, drinking a soda, while I work on my latest sculpture in the middle of the living room. “I thought you’d have something more to tell me,” she says.
I turn to her and shrug. “I told you nothing had happened. I haven’t heard from him.”
“Nothing at all? Not even a voicemail, or an email? Anything?”
“Nothing.”
“And Vincent?”
I scoff and roll my eyes. “Not a word. Not that I’d give him the time of day anyway, after the shit he pulled.”
Chloe lies back on the sofa and shakes her head. “I can’t believe the pair of them. Idiots.”
I pick up a thin modeling tool and sculpt the detail in a long whorl of hair in my latest bust sculpture.
“You know, I’m feeling better about it.”
“You are?”
“Yeah. I mean, what Vincent did was despicable. He used me to blackmail Ethan. And Ethan should have known better than to start playing games with him. But a billion-dollar contract is a big deal. He gave that up to save this crummy place—for me. I know he should have done things differently instead of being so underhanded and sneaky with everything, but I guess I can believe that in Ethan’s own weird way, he thought he was doing the right thing.”
Chloe offers a knowing smile. “You’d forgive that man for anything.”
“He tried to tell me Vincent was going to use me, and I didn’t listen. I mean, if Ethan had told me that Vincent had bought out my building and was going to evict me, I probably would have rolled my eyes and told him to stick it. For everything that Ethan’s done wrong, I’ve got to admit he tried to keep me out of it before any of it started.”
I pause and run my finger over a smudged line of clay to smooth it. I tilt my head to one side and look back at Chloe. “You know, I never stopped and thought about how much effort he went to trying to warn me about Vincent. He dropped everything in New York to come and tell me I was walking into trouble.”
“He was probably looking out for number one, Lily. He didn’t know what Vincent was going to do, and he wanted to stop it before it began.”
“But Vincent’s plan could only have worked if Ethan cared about me. Ethan didn’t have to come to Payson to tell me about Vincent, but he did—because he cared. He didn’t have to give up the contract. He could have let me be evicted and still have funds to put me up somewhere else. But he didn’t because he knows how much this place means to me. I thought everything he did was for himself, but, I think maybe, he did do it all for me.”
Chloe’s expression softens, and she lets out a long breath. “What have you gotten yourself into?”
“I know.”
“You still have feelings for him, then?”
“I couldn’t forget about Ethan Steele if I tried. I’ve always loved him.”
She sits up and fixes me with an earnest stare. “So? Why don’t you go get him?”
“What?” I chuckle and shake my head. “No. The time has passed.”
Chloe rolls her eyes. “You’re too keen to let destiny do everything for you. Sometimes you have to take matters into your own hands. You’ve done nothing but obsess over Ethan since the day I met you, even though you’ve tried to hide it from me. Maybe you should do something about it.”
I smile. “I thought you didn’t like him.”
“I didn’t like how unhappy you were when you were holing yourself up, waiting for him to magically return. But if you’ve got a chance to be with him, and he makes you happy, then I’m behind you, Lily.”
“It’s all so messy now. Even if I do decide to forgive him, and want to give it a go, where do I even start with that?”
“Easy. Call him or send him an email. Go to New York if you have to.”
“I’m going to give it some time to figure out what I want. Ethan has been my everything for so long. Maybe I need this time alone.”
“It’s up to you.”
I turn back to my sculpture, working on another whorl. The face is coming to life.
Chloe looks over my shoulder. “Wow. You’re talented, Lily. Too talented for this place. Maybe New York is where you should be.”
