get me to stand still.
“Did something happen this weekend? I thought you enjoyed yourself.”
“No,” I lie. “And I did.”
His eyes flash, incredulous, challenging. “I don’t understand what changed …”
“It’s hard to explain.”
“Try me.”
“My mind’s made up. I’m so sorry.” I pull away from him and go to the suitcase I haphazardly packed while he was showering. I can’t look at him or else it’ll burn. It’ll slice right through my soul and convince me to stay, and that’s not an option. So I stifle my emotions.
I’m an expert at that. Practiced and proficient.
“Can’t we talk about this?” he asks, watching me roll the bag to the door. “I know we’re moving fast … we can slow it down. You want to delay the wedding? Say the word.”
“I’m sorry.” I keep it simple, wishing more than anything I could tell him that staying with me is the only thing standing between him securing Nolan’s company.
“Let me worry about that.”
He deserves the truth. But my hands are tied.
Trey captures my wrists, pulling me against his warm skin. His heart beats in my ear, frenzied. He doesn’t want to lose me. But everything will work out for him once he does.
“I know how you get when your mind is made up, Sophie,” he says. “But you changed it for me once. You can change it again.”
I say nothing because there’s nothing that can be said to soothe the pain of this breakup.
“We’re two sides of the same coin,” he adds. “I realize we never saw this coming, but it doesn’t make it meaningless. It doesn’t mean less to me. We belong together.”
I kiss him long, hard, pressing this moment into my memory like a flower between the pages of a book. And then I slide the trillion-cut diamond from my finger, placing it into his palm.
“Goodbye, Trey,” I say.
And then I walk out of his life.
Forever.
Fifty-One
Trey
Present
“I’m so sorry to hear about you and Sophie,” Anabelle pouts from across the table at The Black Lotus. For some reason, Ames decided he wanted to close the deal in person, over lunch, opting to come to Chicago for some unknown reason. “Nolan and I just feel terrible for you. I can’t say we saw it coming. You two seemed too perfect together. Anyway, I’m sure there’s someone else out there for you.”
There isn’t. But I nod. “Yes, I’m sure there is.”
I haven’t heard nor seen Sophie in over a week. She’s called into work every day. And she refuses to take my calls. I thought giving her time to cool off was the right protocol, but now I’m not sure.
Nolan clears his throat. “Shall we sign? I’m not getting any younger over here.”
Anabelle taps his hand, head cocked yet offering a gentle smile. “Nolan, the poor man just got his heart broken. Let’s show a little sympathy, yes?”
“It’s fine,” I say, retrieving a pen from the inside of my suit coat. “I think we’re all ready to move on with this.”
“From your lips to God’s ears.” Anabelle lifts her champagne. “You have no idea how long I’ve been waiting for this man to retire.”
Nolan doesn’t smile or acknowledge his wife’s teasing tone. His lips press flat as he readies his fountain pen. He hasn’t touched his two fingers of whiskey and he’s hardly touched his salmon plate.
He claimed he was moving forward with this deal because the board—and his wife—were pressuring him. And after spending a couple of days with me, he decided he could trust that Ames Oil and Steel would be in good hands. That and he was impressed with the way I’ve been running my parents’ company for the past fifteen years, claiming my growth was unparalleled (as if I didn’t know). He’d decided he wanted his legacy to be a part of that after all, family man or no.
I sign on my line.
He signs on his.
Broderick, who has been sitting here in utter silence, watching our exchange, notarizes the document.
“So you think you and Sophie might make amends?” Nolan asks out of the blue.
“I’m still holding out, yes,” I say.
He draws in a breath that expands his chest, and he releases it slow, gaze fixed on me. “I have to confess. That morning you found us sitting by the pool … she’d confided in me that she was having some doubts, that things were moving too fast, and she was scared.”
I sit straight, jaw tight. There’s no reason Sophie would confide in Ames. No reason at all. And she knew what was