“MY GOODNESS, HONEY, are you all right?” Laina’s mother, Beverly, asked her over the phone. “I can’t say as I’ve ever heard you this upset before.”
“You’ve never heard me upset, period!” Laina couldn’t help shouting back. She was sitting in the windowless bathroom of her cottage with the door closed against the noise of the ongoing party.
“I really don’t think—”
“It’s true, Mom! Everything is always so—perfect in our family. When do we ever communicate like normal people?”
“I don’t think there is such a thing as normal, dear.”
“Yeah, but still!” Laina took a deep breath, forcing herself to calm down. She’d reached out to her mother for two reasons, and calling her out on thirty-two years of repressed emotions wasn’t one of them. “Listen, I don’t want to argue, okay? I just want to know—” She took a deep breath. “You and Dad would never sell Hibiscus Heights, would you?”
There was a beat of silence. “What gave you that idea?”
“Long story. Would you?”
Beverly sighed. “I’ve been trying to get in touch with you all week. I wanted you to know that your father and I have an appointment with an interested party on Tuesday.”
Laina inhaled sharply. “But...why?”
“Why, darling?” Her mother gave a humorless laugh. “More like why not? We hardly go there anymore. Paul and Wesley use it every now and then, but it’s a family home, meant to be enjoyed together. And ever since you stopped going, that’s all fallen apart.”
Laina felt her blood pressure rise. “So it’s my fault?”
“That’s not what I meant at all,” Beverly said. “I meant that you were the one who held us together.”
Laina was sure she hadn’t heard right. How could she, the black sheep who’d always wanted to be different from everyone in her family, be the person who kept them unified?
Her mother continued. “When you were around, you forced everyone to look at the world around them. To enjoy the little things and see what was really important. You were the grounding force. Without that, we’ve all floated off into our separate universes.”
Laina’s head was spinning. Was it possible she’d been seeing things the wrong way this entire time? And why was her mother suddenly engaging her in the deepest conversation of their lives right now?
Okay, but you can’t do it. You can’t sell to him, she wanted to say to her now. But she had no right to. After over a decade of making sure her parents understood she wanted nothing to do with their estate and little to do with them, she couldn’t just step in now and dictate what they should do because she’d had a sudden change of heart. It was their property, and they could do what they wanted with it.
But she still needed something else that she’d never asked for before. She took a deep breath. “I need a favor.”
James stared at the vodka soda sitting at his elbow on the bar. He picked up the drink, took a small sip and set it down again with a sigh. Even if his body might feel like getting completely obliterated, his brain—or some other vital organ—apparently did not. The alcohol sat at the top of his stomach, making him feel nauseous and solving nothing. He’d been working on this same drink for over an hour, ever since he’d walked away from Laina, and his mind was in hell. He wondered when he could gracefully exit the reception, knowing his goodbye to Kiki would almost surely invite questions he didn’t feel like answering. He wondered if he should try going after Laina again, even if it was obvious she was done with him. He wondered what he could possibly do to win her back.
The only thing that was keeping him sane was the thought that he still had one more chance. Both he and Laina were due to fly out Monday morning, which meant he still had tomorrow—and he was certain she wouldn’t be able to avoid him all day. He would keep a clear head tonight and figure it out, just like he always did, and tomorrow he’d find a way to win her back.
His cell phone rang in his pants pocket. He fished it out and looked at the screen. Jennifer Liu. Shit—he may as well end the second most miserable day of his life on an even lower low. “Jennifer, I’m glad you called,” he said when he picked up.
“Really?”
“Yeah. I’m sorry I took so long to get back to you.” He walked across the lawn, leaving the sound of the band and the partiers behind. He stopped around the corner of the main house and took a deep breath. “Listen, it’s not good news. I haven’t been completely upfront with you—I hit a snag with the Moretta project a year ago, and I haven’t been able to resolve it.”
“What kind of problem?”
“I can’t secure the location I promised. Part of it is on public land, and I thought I could sway the council, but they aren’t budging.”
A beat of silence, and then, “Anything else?”
He hesitated. “Yes. One of the homeowners doesn’t want to sell.”
Jennifer sighed. “This isn’t good, James.”
He scrubbed a hand over his face. “I know.”
“But these things happen.”
His hand stopped. These things happen? It wasn’t exactly the ream-out he’d been expecting. “You mean you still want to go ahead with it?”
“Without a doubt,” she replied, and then lowered her voice slightly. “As long as you’re onboard with me, that is.”
James felt his heart sink. Christ. Was she saying she wanted to continue the business deal because she wanted him? He couldn’t be sure. Asking her to clarify would be monumentally awkward. The easiest thing would be to go along with it, claiming to have missed her double meaning if and when it ever came up again. By then the project would likely be well underway, leaving her no choice but to see it through.
It was exactly what the pre-Laina James would have done.
He squeezed his eyes shut. “Jennifer, listen. You’re a beautiful woman, but if we move forward together it’s going to be as business partners only. I made a mistake by letting us get personal a few weeks ago, and it’s not going to happen again. I apologize if what I did gave you the idea that we might have any kind of future together.” He finally stopped and opened his eyes, preparing himself for the worst. Far across the grounds by the dance floor, he could see Kiki breaking away from the crowd and heading toward him. Shit. “Jennifer, are you there?” he asked quickly.
“I’ll take your statements under consideration and get back to you,” she said flatly, and then the phone went dead in his hand. He shoved it back into his pocket as Kiki marched up to him. She’d changed into a cocktail-length orchid-pink dress that matched the angry flush in her cheeks. Once more, James braced himself.
Kiki fixed him with a square look and placed her tiny fists on her hips. “So here’s the deal, cuz. Since I’ve just gotten married, I’m having the best day of my life, I’m a little drunk, and I think you’ve had enough for one day, I’m going to spare your life. But make no mistake about it—tomorrow over a hangover breakfast, you are going to explain to me exactly why my best friend just left on the last private plane off the island.”
James gaped at her. “What?”
“You heard me. She said goodbye to me twenty minutes ago, and I’ve been hunting you down ever since.”
“Jesus.” He raked a hand through his hair and shook his head wildly. So much for his chance to turn things around tomorrow. “I’m sorry Kiki, but I have to go.”
He turned and jogged toward Laina’s cottage, but he could already tell by the darkened windows that he was too late. When a knock on the door went unanswered, his gaze settled on a golf cart parked nearby. He ran over to it and, seeing the key in the ignition, started it up and drove toward the main road. Had he noticed a plane fly overhead earlier? He hadn’t been looking for one, and the reception had been noisy enough to mask the sound. Maybe he wasn’t too late.
“Fuck!” he roared into the darkness, pounding a fist on the steering wheel.