I accepted the white lie and handed him his coat. "Life is all about the timing, isn't it?"
Chapter Twenty-Three
Landon
As soon as our feet touched the sand, Riley slipped her arms around my waist and hugged me tight. "I'm so sorry for springing all of that on you. It shouldn't affect us, but I wanted you to know the truth."
I buried my face in her wild-blown hair. "You know that I, of all people, understand how the conditions of an inheritance can box a person in."
Riley pressed her cheek against my chest and I could feel her smile. "Oh, thank god. I'm so glad you understand. My trust fund has been the farthest thing from my mind until we started traveling together. I was thinking about a trip you suggested and how much it would cost."
I pulled her back so she could see my face. "Riley, money should never be an issue between us. If it is, I would rather have none at all."
"So, you understand how I want to earn my own way?" she asked with shining eyes.
"But I don't understand why you want to wait two years to do that. The money from your trust fund won't directly affect your life, so why force yourself to fulfill the terms?" My fingers flexed on her shoulders.
She winced. "What I want to do is going to take time anyway."
"Well, there's no reason why you can't keep going to school and working part-time until you graduate your program." I tipped her chin so she could see how serious I felt. "Remember that stretch of Highway 1 just north of Michel's Beach? The place you thought would be great for growing grapes? I looked into it and there's property there that already has a cabin you could use as a tasting room."
Riley stepped away and traced a line in the sand with the toe of her shoe. "And what about you? Do you still want to earn your own way?"
I caught her hand and studied the delicate lines of her fingers. "Actually, yes. I've been thinking more and more about moving to the cabin at High Camp. I can live there and open Golden Bluff as a museum and event space. I know it works well for galas and cocktail parties, plus lots of people are interested in seeing inside."
"And there's so much history there for you to share," she added.
I brought her fingers to my lips and kissed them. "Exactly."
"Can you actually do that?" she asked.
The hypnotic ocean horizon was nothing compared to Riley's soft brown eyes. She saw past all the complications, all the outrageous side effects of my fortune, and looked right into me. I couldn't lose that feeling, that certainty that someone else finally saw me, not just my fortune.
"I've been working on a more manageable schedule and adjusting the future ambitions of the Michel Fund to a more reasonable pace."
Riley gave me a guarded glance. "How does Lyla feel about that?"
My cousin's name ate away the pleasant daydream like acid. "She knows I'm planning to make decisions she won't agree with when I take over."
"It bothers you that she's not on your side," Riley said.
The quiet words kicked me in the chest. Only Riley would boil away all the outside drama and get down to the heart of the matter.
I shook my head. "I still think I might walk away from it all. It seems like a crazy thing to say, but all my money is ruining my life."
Riley hooked her arm through mine, and we walked along the edge of where the waves smoothed the sand. She stopped now and then to toe interesting rocks and pick up sea glass. I loved how she always saw the smallest things as treasures.
"Don't you think your father worked for that fortune because he knew it would go to you?" she asked.
I stopped and feigned interest in half a mussel shell. "My father worked that hard because he loved work. My inheritance was just an inevitability."
"True, but your parents had to think about it like my grandfather thought about my trust fund. I mean, I know the amounts are staggeringly different, but the intent is the same. Grandpa wanted to leave me something that would improve my life. Don't you think your parents wanted the same for you?"
I snorted. "Apparently all my parents thought about was me being settled down and married by my thirty-fifth birthday."
"What?" Riley turned around to face me, but I caught her arm and started us walking again.
My mind raced over everything again and I walked too fast. Riley had to know something was bothering me. She trailed along next to me with patient, worried glances.
"I'm so sorry that Lyla insulted you," I blurted. "She says she's trying to protect me, but all these years she was doing it for selfish reasons. She might be like my father, all work and nothing else inside."
"What selfish reasons?"
I dug into my pocket and squeezed the ring box. "She wants the Michel Fund and all the business off-shoots. She wants everything."
"What do you want?" Riley asked.
"I don't want Lyla to win." I knew it was the wrong thing to say as soon as I heard my own voice, but it was also true. If I walked away from everything, then Lyla would win.
I forced myself to let go of the ring box and take a deep breath. There had to be another way.
"Riley, what would you say if I offered to give you the same amount as your trust fund? You could give it to charity, use it any way you want. It would be yours, just so you don't have to put your life on hold for the next two years."
Riley stumbled back and shook her head. She spun and headed to the water's edge. My heart leaped, thinking she might really consider my offer until I joined her and saw the tears streaking down her cheeks. She swiped them away and looked out over the ocean, not caring as a wave tumbled toward us.
I pulled her back out of the surf and turned her to face me. "Please, Riley, it's a small price for the freedom to live at your own pace."
She shook her head. "My grandfather loved me —he wasn't trying to imprison me or limit my options. He wanted what was best for me. Getting married too soon broke my mother's heart. Grandpa is trying to look out for me even though he's no longer here."
"Don't you think he'd want you to be happy?" I asked. The stiff wind from the water was stealing my voice, but I couldn't speak any louder. My throat constricted around every word.
"Landon, I can't turn my back on Grandpa’s wishes. I just can't," she said.
I dropped my hands from her sides and clenched my fingers into fists. "How can people think it's good to force people to live a certain way? How are they so sure they know what's right for us? Doesn't that bother you? A piece of paper is telling you how your life is going to be for another two years. And all that money is just hanging over your head."
Riley pushed past me and kept walking. "That might be how you feel about your money, but that's not me. I'm thankful that Grandpa built me a trust fund. I’ll do what it takes to honor his memory because that's how much I loved him."
"But is that what you really want?" I caught her arm and tugged her back to me.
Riley's eyes flashed. "Why do you think you know what I want?"
"I know you, Riley, and I want to know you better, every day," I said.
She shook her wild, streaming hair. "Then you should know how much I loved my grandfather. Not just loved him, but respected him, too. He worked hard every day of his life to build up that trust fund. How can I just dismiss that? I can't and I won't."
She wrenched free of my grip, and I had to dodge around to stop her.
“Please,” I said. "You can take the money I give you, the exact same amount your grandfather saved for you, and donate it to charity in his name. You'll honor him and be free of the arbitrary timetable."
"You're not listening," Riley yelled. The ocean breeze whipped her voice away, but she took a deep breath and made sure I heard what she said next. "It's not arbitrary to me. It's meant to protect me from getting swept up. It's meant to protect me from making a mistake."
I stepped aside but Riley didn't move. Her shoulders dropped and fresh tears fell down her cheeks.
"Landon, I'm sorry. The timing's all off. I had no idea we w
ere in such different places."
I captured her lips, wanting to erase what she said. All my frustration and anger fueled the kiss, but it was gone the instant we touched. I dove into the passion, desperate to stay there where the world faded away and things finally made sense.
Riley answered by pushing up on her tiptoes. She met each searching shift of my lips with her own. I felt the anguish of that kiss sink me into the sand.
"The timing is what I'm trying to fix," I whispered against her.
She pulled back and looked up at me with deep, quicksand eyes. "We have time, Landon. Plenty of time."
I caught her face in both hands and felt the hot sting of tears in my own eyes. "What if we don't?"
She stepped back and I had to let her go. "I'm not worth waiting for?"
"No, that's not what I meant."
She turned and ran back to her apartment, stumbling and scattering wet sand. I followed her footsteps and watched as the tide washed them away.
It didn't matter if Lyla and the Board of Trustees left me with nothing. I had already lost everything.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Riley
I beat Anna back to our apartment and was surprised I hadn't seen her or Owen on the beach. Thank god she’d kept Owen from spying on me and Landon. He would have seen me run away and leave Landon on the shore.
I had ruined everything.
Burying my head under a couch cushion did not erase the image of the ring box from my mind. Landon had a ring in his pocket and he’d intended to ask me to marry him. I knew I shouldn't assume such things, but why else would he be so intense about waiting another two years?
I sat up and sniffled. If he really loved me, then two years wouldn't make a difference. Landon could have proposed to me and we could have been engaged for two years. God knows, some couples extended their engagements longer than that.
Instead, he’d offered to pay away the memory of what Grandpa had done for me. And he hadn't proposed.
"Couldn't get sand on his fancy pants," I muttered to myself and swiped my nose. I shook my head—Landon wasn't like that and even though I was upset, I had to be fair.
Still, what I had said to him rang true. Why wasn't he willing to wait for me?
Anna peeked in the door and crinkled her brow when she didn't see Landon. "You alone?"
All I could do was nod, and tears streamed down my cheeks again.
She waved over her shoulder and then came inside and shut the door behind her. Her cheeks were pink from the beach breezes and her eyes were bright. "Good. There's something I need to talk to you about."
She shook off her coat and smiled to herself. Then she looked up and caught sight of my blotchy face.
"Is Owen with you?" I asked.
"No, but—"
I flopped back on the sofa. "Good. I don't think I could deal with another man right now. One overbearing asshole is enough for today." The flash of anger brought on another wave of tears.
Anna sat down next to me with extreme caution. "Since when is Landon Michel an overbearing asshole?"
"Since I fell in love with him."
"Oh, Riley, why isn't that wonderful? Have you been worrying about your trust fund stuff again?" She turned to face me and sat cross-legged. "I think your grandpa would have approved of Landon one hundred percent."
Another wave of tears threatened to fall. I fought for air and told Anna what had happened. "Landon offered to give me the same amount that's in my trust fund so I don't have to adhere to the conditions."
Anna laughed and shook her head. "Then I really must be missing something because that is wonderful news." She pressed her hands to her cheeks and squealed. "Oh my god! Does that mean Landon proposed to you?"
Sobs rocked me harder than ocean surf. Anna's hands moved to cover her mouth in horror. Then she gently reached out to brush my hair out of my face and hug me.
"Oh god, Riley. How do I keep managing to say the wrong thing?" she asked. "What on earth happened between you two?"
I gulped a deep breath. "I found a ring box in his coat pocket, right after I told him about having to wait until I turned twenty-eight. Then we walked on the beach and instead of proposing, he offered to pay off my trust fund. I turned him down so he didn't propose. He can't wait that long. I'm not worth waiting for."
Anna sat back. The thought that I was not worth waiting for settled onto my shoulders like a weight. Anna kept me company until I murmured that I should go to bed. I lay there all night, my thoughts in never-ending loops.
In the morning, I slumped into my seat at the dining room table and could hardly lift my head.
"Here, hon, I made you coffee and some eggs. You need to eat something today," Anna said.
"Thanks." I toyed with the eggs and thought about the omelets Landon had made in our tiny kitchen. I laid down my fork and sighed.
"Your phone is ringing again," Anna said. "That's the tenth time Landon's called since I woke up."
"What am I supposed to say to him?" I asked. "Should I tell him it's totally okay to buy off the memory of my grandfather? Or should I tell him I get why he can't wait two years? Apparently, our relationship has an expiration date that I didn't know about."
"Nothing's expired. Just talk to him." Anna put my phone down next to my unused fork.
I shook my head. "I gotta go to class."
I left my phone behind. I didn't want to see Landon's name popping up on the screen every ten minutes or so, but it didn't matter because he was on my mind every ten seconds. Every detail and discussion in class led my thoughts to him. Every cooperative action in the botany lab reminded me of him.
When Anna got back to the apartment, she found me at the dining table again, slumped over a cup of tea. She poured the remaining hot water into a mug for herself and sat down across from me.
"All right. Tell me what's on your mind," Anna said.
"Grapevines remind me of the time Landon and I tried to go hiking but got caught in the rain. The smell of rosemary reminds me of the first time Landon came here."
"I thought Owen gave us that rosemary?" Anna asked.
I shook my head. "It doesn't matter. Walking on the beach, there's Landon. Driving my silly junk car down the coast, there's Landon."
Anna leaned her elbow on the table and propped her cheek in her hand. "I love that every time you think of Landon it has nothing to do with billions of dollars, a palatial family home, or flying off in his private jet. Have you told him that? If he can't wait two years, he's going to spend the next one hundred years looking for another woman who can do that."
I sipped my tea and felt the warmth ignite me. Scalding anger rose up and I couldn't swallow it anymore. "How dare he put his money issues on me? He’s all twisted up over my trust fund conditions because he hates his own inheritance. Why am I being punished for the crap his parents saddled him with?"
"Maybe one of these hundred messages can explain that because I can't." Anna pushed my phone across the table, then got up and went to her room.
I looked at the list of messages. One by one, I erased them all.
My classes passed in the same blur until I came home again the next day. I kicked open the door and spotted movement on the couch —two forms. "Sorry, Anna, I didn't know you had someone over, oh! Hi, Owen."
They were sitting close together but turned their attention to me right away. "I told Owen all about it, Riley. I thought you might like another old friend on your side," Anna said.
"Even if I am a guy," Owen joked.
"Sorry, Owen,” I said, “but I just want to be left alone."
Anna stood up and tripped over Owen's extended legs as she came to join me in the kitchen. "Owen wants to talk to you alone. He overheard some things to do with Landon. He hasn't told me anything —we've been waiting for you."
I dropped my voice to a whisper. "Are you kidding me? Do you really think I need to be alone with my ex-boyfriend right now? Who knows what he really wants to say to me?"
"Come on, Riley," Anna said, her voice sharp. "Owen is one of our oldest friends. Besides, I didn't want to tell you this now, but Owen is over you. He's seeing someone else. So, can you just listen to what he's got to say?"
She turned to wave at Owen, who smiled patiently. Relief washed over me.
"Okay, if you're sure," I said.
"I'm sure. Why don't you two have a beer on the balcony?" Anna called to Owen. She grabbed two beers and shoved them at us.
He chuckled as Anna pushed him out onto the balcony, then he peeked in the window and smiled again. "Anna can't stand to see you this way. When she loves you she’ll do anything to make you happy."
I took a big swig of my beer. "So what is this all about, Owen?"
He leaned on the balcony and turned his smile on me. "I gotta thank you, Riley. I know you were the catalyst that got me to California. Not the easy way, but everything's been working out for me out here."
"You're welcome. I wish I could say the same for myself."
Owen's smile faded and he sat down next to me. "Landon really is a good guy, you know."
I refused to answer and looked out over the ocean as I took another deep drink of beer. "Did he really get you a job?"
"Yes, and I love it," Owen said. "I'm one of the project managers for his affordable housing contractors. It's sort of a catchall job, but that's what I like. Lots of variety and no set schedule."
"Good, I'm glad." I noticed the rote tone of voice I was using and took a deep breath. More sincerely, I said, "I'm really happy for you, Owen. You've changed over the past few months, and it looks good on you."
He grinned and glanced through the window again. "Thanks. Now as much as I want to talk about that, Anna will kill me if I don't tell you what I overheard."
I gripped my beer bottle with both hands. "I have the feeling I'm not going to like this."
Owen gave me an apologetic look. "I overheard Landon arguing with his business manager, Lyla. She was reminding him about his inheritance. Apparently, it comes with lots of strings attached."
"Tell me about it," I muttered.
Torn_An Alpha Billionaire Romance Page 48
