by Iris Morland
Anthony gazed at Bruce as he spoke, watching the man turn redder and redder. “Ryan threatened to go the press himself, although knowing him, he was just bluffing. Letting the world know that he’d fucked his boss’s wife wouldn’t have been a great look.”
“How dare you!” Bruce pointed a finger at Anthony. He slammed his palms on the table as he rose. “You dare to speak of my son that way when you’re the one who stole money from your own company—”
“Stole is a bit of an exaggeration,” said Anthony wryly.
Bruce’s hand shook as his face turned even redder. Anthony was vaguely concerned the old man would collapse in a fit, although in Anthony’s mind, it wouldn’t be much of a loss.
“Sit down, Bruce. This isn’t about you. You’re only making yourself look like a fool.” Stan’s voice was like a whiplash.
Anthony had never heard him talk like that in all the years he’d known him. He was impressed by the older man’s ferocity.
Bruce gaped at Stan, slowly sinking into his chair again.
Stan turned to Anthony. “Hearing what you’ve said, Anthony, I can say that myself and the board don’t want to lose you. You’ve run this company like no one I’ve ever seen, and I know how dedicated you are to it. That being said, allowing you to stay in your role as CEO without any disciplinary action would be unwise. It would seem as though we condone what you’ve done. So we offer you this: you can stay with the company, but your position will be demoted. We’ll elect a new CEO. That being said, you’ll still have many of the same duties as before.”
Where once Stan’s words would’ve enraged and devastated Anthony, now he only felt…apathy. Yes, that was the world. He was losing control of the one thing that he’d thought mattered, but he’d been wrong. Wealth, power, position—none of it mattered if you didn’t let yourself love and feel and want.
Anthony sat back down, considering his words. “I understand why you’ve had to make this decision,” he began. “In your shoes, I would’ve made the same.”
“Good, I’m glad you can see that we’re between a rock and a hard place,” said Stan.
“But I’m afraid I’m not going to take you up on it.” When the entire board gaped at Anthony in disbelief, he continued, “This company was my life for so many years. I poured everything I had into it. It was like a lover, child, and a parent all in one. I only wanted its success.” He smiled grimly. “But in the last few weeks, I’ve realized that this company gave me an excuse to be less than a man. I let it control me, and I let it push other people away.”
He took a deep breath. “I’m resigning completely. Effective immediately. Because the funny thing I realized is that I don’t need this company anymore. So I give it to you, because I know you’ll take care of it. I have faith in you.”
Anthony looked at Bruce then. “Your son was my best friend, and I trusted him. He betrayed that trust. But I forgive him. If you want to tell him that, you can.”
“Anthony, are you sure?” said Stan.
“I’ve never been surer of anything in my life.” He started smiling. “Now that that’s out of the way—does anyone know an agent that wants graphic novels?”
24
Thea wasn’t sure if she was going to die of excitement or nerves. Maybe both. Her stomach roiled a bit, adrenaline pumping through her, and she kept wiping sweat from her forehead. It didn’t help that it was one of the warmest days on record in Seattle, with the temperatures edging toward ninety degrees and few places having air conditioning.
But Thea didn’t care about the heat. She only cared about how this art show would go, and if she’d made a huge mistake agreeing to do it.
“Hey, it’ll be amazing,” said Mittens as they sat outside the gala in his car. He rubbed her back. “Do you need a Xanax?”
Thea laughed shakily. “No, thanks. The last thing I need to do is start blurting out embarrassing things.”
She wiped her clammy hands on her pants as she tried to settle her nerves. She couldn’t help but remember the last art show she was in, when Henry Thatcher had told her that her art was drab and lifeless. It was stupid that all these years later, his words could still affect her. If Henry Thatcher showed up in front of her right then, she would be sorely tempted to push Mittens out of the driver’s seat and run Henry over.
“It’ll be great,” said Mittens again. “Come on, we have to go inside. I’m going to run out of gas just sitting here.”
“You have a full tank.”
“By the time you calm down, we’ll be out of gas. Now, come on. We have an art show to go to.”
Thea walked inside the gala, at first looking at other artists’ work on the walls. She stopped to look at a gorgeous landscape in pastels that she wished she could put on her own wall. Other works included metal sculptures, canvases covered in glass and beads and ribbons, and more traditional paintings of people that were haunting in their colors and overall composition.
Thea hadn’t entered in paintings, and now she wished she had. She hadn’t entered at all, actually. After she’d sent out a number of query letters to agents for her graphic novel, she hadn’t heard anything for weeks. Assuming rejection, she’d been about to send out a second round of letters to other agents when she’d gotten the email from an agent in New York.
Rebecca had asked to see the rest of Thea’s graphic novel, and the rest had been history. Thea had soon signed with Rebecca’s agency. Now she just had to wait for a publishing house to want to publish Thea’s novel, but Rebecca was confident that Thea would get multiple offers.
The whole thing was surreal. And now portions of Thea’s graphic novel were displayed for people to see. Thea took in one of her favorite panels, the one she’d written with Anthony in mind.
Her heart squeezed whenever she thought of him, which was every other minute. It had been over two months since she’d last seen him. She’d hoped that when she’d sent him a draft of her graphic novel with her note inside that he’d come around. To her immense disappointment, he’d never once contacted her and hadn’t even acknowledged that he’d received her gift.
She still loved him, though. She’d always love him no matter what happened. It was bittersweet, finding success in her career but not being able to share it with the man she loved. Perhaps it was the price she had to pay for her past mistakes.
“Oh, Thea, these are amazing!” said Violet, pulling Thea into a fierce hug. “I’m so proud of you. I can’t believe I’ve never gotten to see your work before this! It’s gorgeous. I’m in awe.”
“Thank you,” said Thea.
Ash came up behind Violet and gave Thea a hug, too. Although her brother was hardly the type to give effusive praise, Thea could see the pride in his expression. Although the man that she loved wouldn’t be here, it helped that her own friends and family had come to support her.
Trent soon arrived with a very pregnant Lizzie. He had to keep Bea from touching everything that she could get her toddler fingers on, which resulted in quite a few meltdowns within the space of two hours. Other friends and family, including Lizzie’s siblings and their significant others and children also came, and soon the gala was filled with people.
“Look at you,” said Mittens as he put an arm around Thea. He grinned. “You’re gonna be a real star, you know that, right?”
Thea poked him in the stomach. “You just want to go shopping on Rodeo Drive if I get rich.”
“Duh. Who do you think I am?”
She laughed, allowing herself to simply enjoy the event. Although she held her breath when strangers came to view her work, her fears were alleviated when she only received praise. Slowly but surely, Henry Thatcher’s words faded from her consciousness. Her work wouldn’t be to everyone’s tastes, but that didn’t mean she wasn’t talented. That was something she wished she could tell her younger self.
“I’m sorry I’m late.”
Thea turned to see her younger sister Lucy pushing through the crowd. Lucy lived in Los Angeles and was a
n aspiring actress. It was rare that Thea got to see her.
“You came!” Thea hugged Lucy hard before stepping back. “You’re so grown up now! I can’t believe it.”
Lucy blushed. “Come on, I’m twenty-six now. Geez.”
“Mittens, meet my baby sister Lucy. Isn’t she adorable?”
Lucy disclaimed this adjective, but soon Thea was distracted when her other younger brother Phin came up. Considering how much Phin hated crowds and people and noise, Thea was extremely touched that he’d come at all. A lawyer based in Portland, Phin tended to keep to himself, always saying that work kept him from coming up to Washington to see his siblings.
Thea hugged Phin. “I’m glad you were able to come,” she said.
“There are way too many people here,” he said dryly. “Congrats, sis. You’ve really done it now.”
“I have, haven’t I? Now that you and Lucy are here, I get to introduce you to everyone.” Although Phin groaned, he let Thea lead him around until he finally told her he needed a drink and a break from socializing. Lucy, the extrovert of the family, relished talking to everyone. It was probably why she loved acting so much.
Thea returned to her work, noting that the crowd was thinning somewhat. As she turned around to get her glass of wine she’d set down earlier, a man said over her shoulder, “So you really did it.”
Thea stilled. Her heart began pounding so hard that she was fairly certain she was losing her mind. It couldn’t be—
“It’s you,” she breathed. Anthony stood in front of her, wearing a dark gray button-up shirt, the cuffs rolled up to expose his muscular forearms. But more importantly, she saw something in his eyes that she’d only seen in her dreams.
He approached her, taking her in from head to toe. She shivered, like she’d actually felt his hands on her body.
“What are you doing here?” she asked.
“I heard there was an art show. I thought I’d drop by.”
“You thought you’d just ‘drop by.’” Thea narrowed her eyes. “What game are you playing? Look, I know you’re pissed at me, but I’m not going to argue with you in public—”
He shook his head. “I’m not here to argue.” He laughed softly as he pulled out his wallet. Reaching inside, he took out a card and handed it to her. “I wanted to ask if you had a publisher yet.”
“What?” Thea glanced at the business card, then stared at it when the words finally registered in her mind. Anthony Bertram, Founder and Owner of Bertram Publishing House. “Now I’m really confused. How can you run two companies at once?”
“Simple. I only run one now.”
Thea stared at him, astonished, before guilt twisted her stomach. “Oh God, Anthony, is this because of the story? You lost your position because of me? I’m so, so sorry. I never thought—why didn’t you say something?”
“Because I didn’t lose my place. I resigned.”
Thea was fairly certain she’d entered into an alternate dimension. She’d wake up soon, and she’d be in her bed in Fair Haven, wishing that she could see Anthony one last time.
“You resigned?” She knew she sounded like a parrot, repeating his words, but it was like her own brain was incapable of coherent speech.
“I did. Because somebody sent me a gift in the mail.” His gaze darkened, his voice lowering until it felt like a caress against Thea’s skin. “Did you mean it, Thea? What you wrote?”
“Of course I meant it, you idiot.”
“You love me?” he demanded.
“What do you think?” Tears had sprung to her eyes, and now she brushed them away irritably. “Do you think I quit my job and started showing people my work on a whim? I wanted to show you that I was brave. And, yes, I meant every word that I wrote.” Her voice hitched. Embarrassed, she turned away.
“You didn’t answer my question.” He gently turned her to face him again.
It was as if the crowd around them had disappeared entirely. To her surprise, Anthony looked…unsure. She’d never seen that look in his eyes. Unsure that she loved him? He really was an idiot.
“Yes, I love you,” she said. “But what does it matter? You don’t love me. You hate me, remember?”
“Oh, Thea, you’re so wrong.” He wrapped an arm around her waist. “I do love you. So much.”
“How? I thought you didn’t believe in love.”
“Like you said, I was an idiot.” He linked his fingers with hers. “I had a few revelations while we were apart. I realized that my company was my excuse to keep away from the world. To keep anyone from getting too close. Yes, I was angry at you, but I know now that you were trying to do something good. What have I ever done that helped the world? I couldn’t hold that against you. Not anymore.”
“Anthony,” she breathed. Realizing that they were still in public, she took his hand and pulled him into a semiprivate alcove that was technically employees-only. “Anthony,” she repeated, before she started smiling like an idiot. “You love me? Say it again.”
His lips quirked. He touched the tip of her nose before touching her bottom lip. That same finger trailed down her throat until his fingers splayed over her heart—the heart that beat for him alone.
“I love you,” he whispered. He kissed her jaw. “I love you,” he said again as he kissed her cheek. He kept saying the words, wrapping Thea in them, until finally he took her mouth in a searing kiss.
Thea’s heart soared. Wrapping her arms around him, she kissed him with everything in her heart. Because the man she adored loved her, and she vowed that they would never part again.
After a long moment of kissing, they both gasped for air. “You have a publishing company now?” asked Thea wonderingly.
He grinned, kissing her fingers. “I know of the perfect first client. So, you never answered my question: do you have a publisher?”
“Not yet, but I’ll have to talk to my agent first. She thinks I’ll have lots of offers.”
“And I’ll win you in the end,” he vowed.
She smiled. “But that’s the thing. You’ve already won me, Anthony. Heart, soul, and body.”
The love in his face almost blinded her. He kissed her again, and neither needed to say another word for a good while.
Epilogue
“Do you think he remembers this is his home?” said Thea as she and Anthony walked down the hill from the cabin to the creek.
“He’s a rabbit. I’m not sure he remembers much of anything.”
Thea elbowed him, but she smiled, too.
It was late summer now, and although most of the trees were still green, Thea noticed a few that had started to change for fall. Anthony had surprised Thea with a getaway to the cabin that had started it all.
At the moment, they were taking Sneaky back to where they’d rescued him. He’d made a full recovery with the assistance of the wildlife rescue. Thea had assumed they would release him outside Fair Haven, but Anthony had once again surprised her when he’d somehow negotiated with the rescue to have them release Sneaky to him. She had a feeling he’d made a hefty donation for the privilege. She didn’t mind that in the least.
They reached the creek, the damaged bridge having been rebuilt since that spring. Thea found some bushes where Sneaky could hide out. Taking the carrier from Anthony, she set it down on the ground and opened the wire door. Nothing happened. Thea peered into the carrier, just barely able to see Sneaky’s wiggling nose as he hunched in the corner.
When he didn’t leave the carrier, Anthony touched Thea’s arm. “Let’s give him some space. He’s probably terrified of us on top of being here.”
They walked far enough away that they could watch the carrier, but far enough that Sneaky couldn’t hear them talking. She hoped the rabbit knew he was safe and home now. She knew for herself that that feeling of coming home couldn’t compare.
Anthony kissed her temple as she leaned against him. They didn’t say anything, just stood there, watching, the sounds of the forest filtering around them. It was such a peac
eful moment that Thea never wanted it to end.
After Anthony had gone to her art show and they’d gotten back together, they’d lived apart until the last week, when Thea had moved down to Seattle. Anthony had offered to move to Fair Haven, but Thea knew he couldn’t run his new publishing company from the small town. She also knew that she needed a fresh start.
They’d moved into a gorgeous three-bedroom bungalow just west of the city proper, and Thea had fallen in love with it as much as she’d fallen for Anthony himself.
“Did I tell you that Rebecca got another publisher wanting my graphic novel?” whispered Thea. Sneaky still hadn’t emerged from his carrier. “That’s four places now.”
“Five, counting me.”
“Oh yes, of course. How could I forget?” She grinned up at him, which just earned her a smacking kiss along with a pinched butt cheek.
Anthony had embraced his new company with a fervor Thea could only have expected from the former owner and CEO of Bertram, Sons, and Co. But this time, he knew that the company came second to his relationship, and he showed Thea how much he loved her every single day. Sometimes it was simply a goodbye kiss when he went into his newly rented office space. Sometimes it was a bouquet of flowers when he returned home. And sometimes it was simply the way he whispered I love you before he slid inside her, reclaiming not just her heart, but her very soul.
“Oh, look! Look!” Thea elbowed Anthony as Sneaky poked his nose out of the carrier. She held her breath, and in the blink of an eye, Sneaky stepped out of the carrier and darted into the woods.
Thea sniffled. “I’ll miss him,” she admitted. Her eyes lit up. “We should get a rabbit! A pet one this time.”
