by Louise Bay
I nodded, trying to be encouraging. She was clearly just trying to do the best for her sister. “I’m sure she gets it now.”
“I hope. She still brings it up every now and then.” Her voice rose an octave as she said, “It was hard because my parents took her side. I wanted to cave in so many times but I knew that guy would end up dumping her and she’d end up dropping out and she’d have lost her place at Oregon State . . . but I couldn’t say that to her.” She pulled the next dress from the rail. “That red one was really pretty,” she said, sounding like her dog had just been run over.
I didn’t know how to make her feel better. I knew a pretty dress wasn’t going to cut it. “What can I do? I hate to see you sad.”
She sucked in a breath and unhooked the final dress from the rail. “It’s fine. I was looking out for her, trying to do the best I could by her. So, I have to live with that. And this is really pretty,” she said, holding up a long black one.
I chuckled. “It is pretty. But I think I like the Tom Ford one best.”
“Tom freaking Ford? Are you serious? That’s ridiculous, Dexter. I don’t belong in a Tom Ford dress.”
I’d never bought a woman a dress before, but if I had, I couldn’t think that any one of them would belong in these dresses more than Hollie did. “Then take the Valentino,” I said, grinning at her.
She turned to me. “Valent—You need to take this back. I’m fine with Zara.”
“I think you should keep all four.”
“You’re just saying that because I’m upset about Autumn. But nothing’s going to stop the hurt of her thinking I wasn’t trying to do my best for her. I hope she knows by now I’d do anything to make her happy.”
“That’s why you’re such a great sister,” I said, pulling her toward me and kissing the top of her head. “I wish my brother had the same instinct to protect me that you have for Autumn.”
She sighed against my chest. “You said you haven’t spoken since your parents died.”
“No, not since I found out what he’d done.”
“Maybe he’s sorry.” She slid her arms around my waist.
“Doesn’t undo what he did.”
“True. But if he regrets it, wouldn’t it make it easier? Or if he had a reason? Don’t you want to ask him to justify what he did?”
After my parents’ death, it was as if I’d been sucked into a black hole of despair. I couldn’t remember the details; I just remembered finding out he’d sold my parents’ business and feeling as if I’d lost them all over again. “He was always the back-office guy—all about the money and profits. He never got the beauty of the jewelry. Never felt it in his soul like I did. I guess he saw the chance to get a pile of cash for not doing much and he took it.”
“But he didn’t say that to you, did he? He didn’t tell you that was the reason why.”
I sighed. I understood that Hollie would see it from David’s perspective but it was different. “I was always the one interested in the gems and spent my summers working in the shop. He wasn’t ever going to be that guy. He was always the one at the till, counting the coins. We’re not made the same way.”
“But you don’t know whether that’s the reason he sold the business,” she said, gazing up at me with those hypnotizing eyes.
“What other reason could there possibly be?”
“The only person who knows that is your brother.”
Or Primrose, I thought. But she’d honored her word and never mentioned my brother or the sale of the business. No doubt they’d talked about it. “I don’t want to dredge it all up again. They say the definition of madness is to keep doing the same thing and expecting a different result.”
“It’s not worth a conversation? He’s your only family, Dexter.”
My body went rigid. Beck, Gabriel, Joshua, Andrew and Tristan were my family. They were more my brothers than David had ever been. “He is not.” I twisted to pull away from Hollie but she locked her arms around me.
“I’m sorry,” she said. “I know you have a very close circle of friends, and I know your brother upset you deeply.”
“Hollie,” I said. “You have no idea. After my parents died, my friends showed me it’s not your DNA or your blood that counts, it’s who you’re prepared to bleed for. If it hadn’t been for those guys, I might not have survived. I couldn’t function. I was driven half mad by guilt and grief and anger. I didn’t sleep for weeks, couldn’t hold a conversation for much longer. Part of me died with them. You don’t know how it was.”
I sucked in a breath, trying not to be overwhelmed at the memories of that time in my life. Trying to forget the darkness that settled in me and grew and grew until it nearly took me over. At nineteen, I’d been a legal adult, but it wasn’t until my parents died that I grew up.
“You’re right. I can’t begin to imagine how awful things must have been for you, Dexter. Nothing’s going to take that away. But you’ve got nothing to lose by asking him the question. And maybe it would help in a small way if you heard it from him, and he was apologetic and regretful. Maybe it would be closure.”
“I don’t need closure. I don’t need David. I need a time machine that will let me go back and change history.”
“Well, if I could, I would build you one with my bare hands. But take it from an older sister who has to parent a younger sister—it’s freaking hard. And you get it wrong all the time. All I can hope for is that she forgives me my mistakes and gives me a chance to explain myself.”
Her words came out like rain, soaking through to my core. I saw Hollie’s point of view so clearly when she talked about making decisions that impacted her sister’s life. That was because I knew Hollie’s heart. She was always trying to do her best.
It was exactly who I’d thought my brother was until he’d betrayed me so badly.
“It’s different,” I said, thinking back to the photograph of my brother that I’d found online. He looked older—even had a few gray hairs at his temples. A lot of time had passed since I’d last seen him.
“Is it though?” Hollie said. “You’ll never know unless you ask him.”
Hollie made it sound simple. “A conversation can’t just wash away years of pain and hurt, Hollie. That’s not how life works.”
“But it might,” she said. “Until I got the internship at Sparkle, I didn’t believe in miracles. And then meeting you and working at Daniels & Co—the strangest, most magical things can happen. What have you got to lose by picking up the phone? It might be the best thing you ever did.”
Being with Hollie made music a little sweeter, the sea air a little fresher and the sun a little brighter. And all those things added up to making my life a whole lot richer.
She was beautiful. Creative. Talented. Sweet. Funny. Caring. Innocent and wise in the same breath. But she couldn’t perform miracles. Not even she could reconcile my brother and me.
Twenty-Three
Hollie
I wasn’t the only one to gasp as Jeremy removed the velvet from the stand to reveal the Daniels & Co entry for the princess of Finland’s tiara. There was no doubt it was beautiful. Nothing created drama like diamonds. The peaks and valleys on the band, representing the mountains of Finland, were breathtaking. But despite feeling a little disloyal and a lot ridiculous, I couldn’t shake the feeling that something was missing.
What did I know? I was just the intern.
“Does everyone love it?” I turned to see Dexter scanning the faces of everyone in the conference room. We locked eyes. He frowned, looked away, then whispered to Primrose.
She nodded and turned back to the room. “It would be good to hear each of your voices. Let’s go around the room. Lauren, what’s your reaction?”
“It’s mesmerizing. Even better than the picture. And the way that emerald hangs in the center, it’s—” Lauren looked like she was about to tear up, so Primrose moved swiftly to the next person, who said similar things. Shit, what was I going to do? They were right, it was beautif
ul and amazing. There was no doubt about that. But that wasn’t my only thought. Should I be honest and risk embarrassing myself and upsetting Dexter and Primrose, who had both been so good to me?
“Hollie?” Primrose asked. How was it my turn already?
“I mean, just what they said. I’ve never seen anything like it. It’s gorgeous.”
“But?” Dexter asked. I felt all the eyes in the room slide to him before following his gaze to me.
I sucked in a breath and nodded. “I mean, I think it’s a winner.”
“But you have a comment,” Dexter said. Dexter had never spoken to me in front of the team before. Even though Primrose knew we were dating, she’d never singled me out for anything other than tasks strictly within the remit of an intern. Dexter shining the spotlight on me like this was going to make people suspicious, and he needed to quit it. “Hollie, I’ve asked everyone to speak freely.”
He could make his own dinner tonight.
“I think it’s beautiful. But I think . . . if it was my design, I would have been tempted to create some kind of link between the future and the past.”
“But that’s not the theme,” Dexter said. “The theme is the Finnish landscape.”
“I agree. I wasn’t thinking it would have to be anything particularly extreme—just a subtle hint at the link between the generations.” Every time I saw the design of this tiara, I couldn’t help being brought back to that night I’d met Dexter, the night I’d seen the tiara his parents had made for the queen of Finland.
“And how exactly,” Dexter said, “would you do that?”
I briefly glanced to my right, where the rest of the team glared back at me, horrified, as if I’d just told a convent full of nuns I didn’t believe in God.
But I believed in Dexter. If he’d been entirely happy, he wouldn’t want to hear what I had to say. “The tiara the queen wore on her wedding day was designed by your parents. That’s an advantage your competitors don’t have. If you just whispered that connection in this piece, I think it might give you the edge.” I stood and took a step toward the tiara. If I was going to tell him what I thought, I wasn’t going to half do it—I was all in. “The way your parents’ tiara links these points with the twisted rope of diamonds,” I said as I looked up at Dexter and Primrose, who had both stepped forward. “You could do something similar with these smaller peaks at the back. The rope would be too much, but a single swath of diamonds might work. I think it would give emphasis to the larger peaks, which would enhance this design while incorporating a technique from her mother’s tiara that the princess might appreciate.”
Dexter glanced at Primrose, who was looking at the tiara intently.
“It’s a sentimental touch without taking away from the theme.”
“You mean here?” Primrose asked, pointing to the sides of the tiara. I nodded. “Create that bunting feel—that was what we were trying to do when we designed the queen’s tiara—make it a celebration.”
I shrugged. “But it’s beautiful as it is, too,” I said.
Dexter chuckled. “You need to have more faith in yourself,” he said. “Thank you for sharing your thoughts. Primrose, Frank, let’s discuss in my office.” And he swept out, leaving me unsure of whether I’d embarrassed myself with my naïve ideas, or doubled my money by giving away to the entire team that Dexter and I were in a relationship.
Twenty-Four
Hollie
It had been a tough week and I was looking forward to the weekend, but I’d never thought I could enjoy a job before working at Daniels & Co. I pushed through the doors to Dexter’s apartment building to find him pacing in front of the concierge desk in the lobby.
“Hey,” I said. “What are you doing home and what are you doing down here?” He normally didn’t get back until around eight.
He beamed at me and raced over, grabbing my hand and pulling me toward the elevators. “It’s your birthday tomorrow,” he said.
“Did I tell you that?” I asked. I was sure I hadn’t mentioned it. The last thing I needed was to give Dexter an excuse to buy more expensive gifts.
“Sort of. You told me it was in a few weeks and I did some detective work.”
The doors to the elevator slid open and Dexter ushered me inside.
“Are we in a hurry?” I asked, and he grinned as wide as the ocean.
“So, I’ve been wondering what I could get you for your birthday. I realize you’re not a Chanel bag kind of girl.”
“More a pint of Rocky Road and Netflix.”
He leaned and placed a kiss on my lips. It started off as a peck before he slid his tongue between my lips and I slipped my hands up his chest. He groaned and pulled away.
Something must be wrong. Usually, I’d be half undressed by the time the elevator reached the penthouse.
“We were talking about your birthday. I’ve arranged an early gift. I hope you like it,” he said as we stepped out of the lift.
Oh gosh. I hoped he hadn’t bought me anything too extravagant. I really would have liked to just spend the day in bed, watching movies with Autumn on FaceTime. It was our long-standing birthday tradition, and while I was in no way sad to spend my birthday with Dexter, a part of me felt a pang of longing for my sister. “I’m sure whatever it is, it will be lovely,” I said.
When we got to his front door, instead of pulling out his key, he stood behind me and moved me onto the mat, so I was facing the door. Then he knocked. On his own front door.
“What are you doing?” I asked, turning my head.
He pointed ahead of me as I heard rustling at the door. Who was in there?
The door flew open and Autumn was standing opposite me. Before I had a chance to react, she leapt into my arms, circling her arms and legs around me like she used to when she was a toddler. “I’ve missed you so much.”
She slid down my body as I started to cry. I couldn’t believe she was here. I turned to Dexter to see him grinning at the pair of us.
“Dexter,” I said, standing up on tiptoes and reaching up for a kiss. “I can’t believe—how did you—”
“I can explain the logistics later. Let’s get inside.”
“It gets better,” Autumn said, linking her arm into mine as we clattered into the hallway.
How was she here? How did Dexter know that Autumn being here was the only thing I really wanted for my birthday? How was it possible that I was in London with my two favorite people in the world?
“I’m in here,” Autumn said, pointing to one of the guest bedrooms.
“But I’ve set up a little something in here,” Dexter said, showing us into another of the guest bedrooms.
I gasped as we went in. The ceiling was covered in balloons of every color, and there was a huge Happy Birthday banner stretched across one wall.
“I know it’s not until tomorrow but I thought you might want to get a head start. Seeing as Autumn is here.”
Why had he set this up in the guest bedroom? I squinted at a weird-looking piece of new furniture in the corner. “Is that a fridge?”
“Holy shit, you’re going to love this,” Autumn said. She sprang across the room and opened the door, revealing a hundred tubs of ice cream.
“I got a few flavors,” Dexter said, nodding to the window. “And the TV is set up. You can watch Netflix, the Housewives. Anything you want.”
There hadn’t been a TV in here before. He must have set this up especially. “Are you serious?” I said, sliding my arm around Dexter’s waist. “This is insane.”
“I thought this was what you’d want to do on your birthday? Stay in bed all day, eat ice cream and watch TV with your sister.”
Dexter’s thoughtfulness was off the scale. It would have been easy, and very generous for him to buy me a Chanel bag. But this? This was a thousand times better.
“Oh,” he said, pulling away from me and putting his head into the walk-in closet. “There are matching pajamas, slippers and robes in the wardrobe,” he said. “If you get sick o
f ice cream, we can order in tonight. Tomorrow, I’ve arranged a chef for the day to make you anything you want. I figured you wouldn’t want to go out if Autumn was here.”
The last thing I wanted to do was go to a fancy restaurant. But having the fancy restaurant come to me? Who was I to complain?
“You are a very special man, Dexter Daniels,” I said, grabbing his hand and kissing him.
“I’m going to leave you two to it. Gabriel’s going to stop by any minute on his way to a charity thing. He needs to borrow a bowtie.”
“Is he single and as handsome as you?” Autumn asked.
“He’s red hot,” Dexter said with a wink.
I turned to her as Dexter left us in the guest room. “I can’t believe you’re here. When did you get in?”
“Around lunchtime. Dexter arranged everything, Hollie. That man is gold, let me tell you.”
We headed into the closet and found matching silk pajamas, gorgeous robes and the most beautiful fluffy slippers.
“How did he even know how to get in contact with you?” I asked, kicking off my shoes and trying on the slippers. Of course they fit perfectly.
“He emailed me. Got my address from HR. You put me down as your emergency contact.”
“Sneaky,” I said, as I began to undress. I couldn’t wait to change into my jammies and catch up with Autumn face-to-face.
“But amazing.”
That was a good way to describe Dexter Daniels—amazing.
“How’s school?” I asked, slipping the pajamas on. Autumn was an adult, but part of me was a little concerned that once I’d taken off, she’d stop studying quite so hard or she’d get distracted by some worthless guy. Or even more likely, she’d end up spending her time sorting out Mom and Dad.
“Are these silk?” she asked. “Oh, and I made the Dean’s list this semester.”
I scrambled to grab her in a hug and ended up half falling over, tangled in lengths of silk. “Are you serious? That’s completely amazing.”