He stood, meeting her in the kitchen, and stretched out his hand to her.
She slipped her fingers in his, a hot current running up his arm, and they shook on it.
“Deal,” he said.
“You drive a hard bargain,” she joked.
“I’ve heard that,” he agreed. He picked up a piece of mail on her counter, recognizing the invitation. With a smile, he raised his eyebrows and flashed it. “I got invited to this, too.”
“I’m sure you did,” she told him, her face neutral.
“Planning to go?”
“I highly doubt it.”
He frowned but nodded. Her answer wasn’t surprising. She hadn’t attended a single social function in Boston since she’d been released from prison, including the yearly party Lori threw for Mark Charles’s birthday.
“Besides,” she added. “Lori only sends me those out of obligation.”
He was sure that was untrue. Lori was one of the nicest women he’d met that ran in the social scene. She’d tried as hard as anyone could have when Mercedes had been young and running wild. She’d done her best to love and nurture her, but Mercedes had been too far gone by then, a one-woman wrecking ball, hell-bent on destroying everyone in her path.
Unfortunately, her trail of destruction had left a woman dead and Mercedes in jail.
3
The next morning Lincoln rolled over in bed, cracked his eye open, and checked his clock.
He was pretty sure it was Sunday so it made no sense to him that his phone was ringing so early in the morning. He blindly snatched it off the nightstand and answered it.
“Hello,” he mumbled.
There was a short silence then, “Why am I looking at the side of your face?”
Startled, he pulled the phone away and found Sadie Charles looking back at him. Her lips stretched into a smile.
“I woke you,” she concluded.
“It’s eight-thirty,” he said.
Her eyebrows lifted in surprise. “I thought you Wall Street types were early risers.”
“No,” was all he said, fighting to keep his eyes open.
“Someone wanted to say hi this morning,” Sadie said. She flipped the camera around so he could see Gordon, sitting proudly on the sofa.
“Hi.”
“I woke up this morning with him in my bed. Not sure how he got out of his crate but there he was. Head on the pillow and everything.”
Lucky dog, Lincoln thought.
“We’ve already been for a walk this morning and he played in the brook with Cocoa.”
“Okay,” he replied, his brain still firmly in the fog of sleep.
“I just wanted to keep you in the loop. I know you were worried about leaving him.”
“Okay,” he said again, rolling over and putting his phone on the pillow. “Thanks.”
“Um.” Sadie’s voice was confused. “I’m looking at the ceiling.”
“Uh huh,” he mumbled, his eyes sliding closed.
Lincoln had a vague recollection of speaking with Sadie that morning but it was hazy, at best. He’d seen that she’d video-called him and he did seem to remember Gordon sitting on a couch, but that was the extent of it. He felt a little silly, coming to the conclusion that he hadn’t properly woken up for their conversation and that he couldn’t remember it. When he’d finally woken up, he decided he’d head back out to Sadie’s to check on the dog.
Maybe see if he could prove he wasn’t an idiot that answered the phone in his sleep.
Strange, that just last week he hadn’t wanted to drive all the way out to Sadie’s place even once. Now, he was driving there for the second day in a row and it didn’t bother him a bit.
Seeing her, seeing how she’d transformed, was beyond anything he’d imagined she could be. He’d never gotten a glimpse of one single redeeming quality Mercedes possessed. She’d always been spoiled and nasty, manipulative to the fullest extent she could manage.
If he had a nickel for every time he’d asked himself back then what he saw in her.
It had been more than her looks, though that had helped. Back then, when he’d been really looking, she’d shown vulnerability and a deep well of emotions that he’d found utterly fascinating. Maybe he had a white-knight complex and had wanted to be the one to save her.
In the years since he’d seen her, years she’d spent incarcerated, she’d lost her mean streak. She came across as open and optimistic. He wasn’t sure what had happened to her in jail, what types of things she’d done to rehabilitate herself, but whatever they were, they’d worked.
She was a changed person. Kind and, in her own way, charming.
He was honest enough with himself to admit that he was interested. He was also smart enough to see how impossible it would be to act on that interest. Sadie was right—they lived in two different worlds. When she’d talked about her reputation back in the city, he’d deflected. Maybe even glazed over the truth so she didn’t feel too bad.
But she hadn’t been wrong.
They’d crucified her in the papers back when the whole scandal broke. They’d uncovered all the tiny details of her life and put them under a microscope for everyone to see. It hadn’t been pretty and it had left a deep fissure in Boston’s high society. His own parents had counseled against him going into business with Brady, and that had been years after Mercedes had gone to jail.
The ramifications of her actions had a long reach and Boston had a long memory. He was afraid no amount of time would wipe away her mistakes in their eyes.
It was nearing noon when he pulled up to Sadie’s house. It looked just as quiet and peaceful as it had the day before. Nice to see that Gordon hadn’t come in and ripped up the flowerbeds.
He stepped out of the car, waiting a minute to make sure he wouldn’t have to jump back in. No matter how gentle Sadie assured him Lola was, the big dog was intimidating. When no four-legged creatures raced up to greet him, he left the relative safety of his car and headed to the house. Before he got there, the sounds of laughter and barking came from the backyard.
He shouldn’t have been surprised. The yard was where Sadie seemed most at home, her tools scattered about, as well as the dogs. He picked his way along the stone path, past the garden, and into the backyard.
Of course, it would be Lola that spotted him first, her big body standing at attention as she let out a warning bark. The other four dogs followed suit; Aggie, Cocoa, Gordon and little Huck all wagged their tails when they saw him.
Sadie laughed as she stood on the side of the pool, her shorts and T-shirt soaked.
“Come watch this!” she yelled, waving him over.
He walked up a little hill and into the gated pool area. Cocoa, Aggie, and Gordon were soaking wet, their fur dripping all over the cement deck.
“Come on Gordon,” Sadie called.
Like he knew exactly what was coming next, the dog leaned back on his haunches. Sadie threw the ball over the water and with a quick and graceful leap, Gordon caught it. He splashed in the water and carried the ball over to the side.
“Whoa,” he said, impressed. He had no idea Gordon could swim.
Gordon bounded out of the water and was at Lincoln’s feet in a heartbeat. He jumped up in greeting and Lincoln scratched his head.
“You can’t let him jump on you like that,” Sadie said as she walked up to them. She gently grabbed Gordon’s collar and lead him so he was sitting. “Good sit, Gordon. Good boy.”
“He can swim,” Lincoln marveled.
Sadie looked beautiful as she shaded her eyes from the sun. She had a carefree smile on her lips; her long, sandy hair in a haphazard ponytail.
“You’re awake,” she said in return, her dark eyes twinkling with laughter.
“So, I really did get a call from you this morning?” He knew he had. He just wished he remembered more of it.
“You did,” she said. “You mumbled a few times and then put Gordon and I on the pillow.” She looked down at the dog. “We just s
at there, staring at the ceiling, didn’t we buddy?”
Embarrassed, Lincoln rubbed a hand across his forehead. “I’m so sorry. I’m not great in the morning.”
“I got that impression.”
The cobwebs cleared in a sudden moment of clarity. “You told me you thought Wall Street guys were all morning people.”
“I never would have said guys,” she told him. “There’s plenty of women on Wall Street.”
“Types,” he corrected. “Wall Street types.”
“Better,” she conceded. “Couldn’t stay away, huh?”
No. He really couldn’t.
“I wanted to make sure Gordon was doing okay. I brought him his favorite squeaky thing.”
She looked him up and down. “I was going to take them all on a walk later. You up for it?”
He had to stop underestimating her.
He’d thought when she said walk, she’d meant a jaunt along the road. What she’d actually meant was a hike.
It had been a short walk from her house to the entrance of a state park. Through woods, over rocks, and around fallen trees they hiked.
Lincoln thought about the last time he’d immersed himself in nature in any way, shape, or form. It had to have been back when he was a teenager. His parents had sent him to summer camp one year and he’d been ill equipped to handle the outdoors, but he’d loved every second. City kids didn’t always adapt easily to the wilds of the country. Summer camp that year had been rural and like nothing he’d ever experienced. The terrain he was on now with Sadie was completely new to him, as well.
She had Aggie and Lola attached together on one leash and Huck on another. He was in charge of Cocoa and Gordon. They both seemed content to sniff each and everything they walk by. Sometimes, they sniffed together at the same thing. Sometimes, they fought for control of the leash and pulled each other along.
Sadie was confident in where she was headed, taking each trail expertly as if she’d done it a thousand times before. Her long legs were bare, her feet tucked into hiking sneakers and she’d thrown on a baseball cap. She looked, again, casual yet stunning.
“How often do you bring them here?” he asked as his charges stopped to sniff a patch of mushrooms.
“Twice a week,” she said. “Sometimes more, depending on the weather. Lola’s not into winter exercising, so when the cold comes it’s just me, Aggie, and Cocoa. Aggie doesn’t like the rain, so if it’s wet, she doesn’t want to come.”
“And Cocoa?”
“She’s always up for anything. Much like Gordon, I imagine.” She smiled down at the dog in question. “How does he do in the city when you take him for walks?”
They set off again, the five dogs leading the way.
“He’s tireless,” Lincoln admitted. “There aren’t enough hours in the day to get him out as much as he wants, and he’s so big, he can be a little overwhelming at the dog park. A lot of people steer clear when he comes around.”
She nodded her head as if she understood. And maybe she did as he’d just described her life in the city as well as Gordon’s. People would go out of their way to avoid Mercedes if she were to make a reappearance. Oh, they’d want to see the fallout and bear witness to that, but she’d be a pariah.
“Do you think you’ll ever go back to Boston?” he asked, knowing he was overstepping.
Hell, he’d only seen her for the first time in years a day ago. They weren’t exactly friends, but the words had already been spoken and he couldn’t take them back.
He was relieved to see that she looked thoughtful as opposed to offended.
“No,” she admitted. “I don’t think so. Boston’s not a good place for me.”
He wouldn’t disagree. Not being in the city seemed to agree with her but her family was there. It seemed heavy-handed to not ever go there again.
“You mean you won’t go back, period, or go back to live?” he clarified.
“To live,” she said right away. “I’ve been back to Dad and Lori’s,” she told him. “And I’ve seen Brady’s fancy condo.”
“Oh my word, the condo.” Lincoln rolled his eyes. “He talks more about the condo than he does—” he cut himself off.
“The women he sleeps with?” she finished in question.
That probably didn’t need to be spelled out, he thought.
“He does talk an awful lot about the place. He even went so far as to show me his entire stemware collection.”
“Well,” he conceded. “In his defense, Lori was the one who made him scour catalogs for hours to find what she called the perfect goblet.”
“That doesn’t surprise me,” she said. “Perfect goblets are hard to find.”
He looked down at her to see she was holding in a laugh.
“Okay,” he chuckled along with her. “I get it. Seems stupid.”
She put a hand on his arm as they walked, but it was quickly pulled away by the leash.
“Not stupid,” she said quietly. “I know that stuff’s important when you’re there.”
“But not when you’re out here,” he surmised.
It was the only conclusion he could make from her statement. It made him feel a little defensive and he had a hard time pinpointing why. He didn’t want to be the quintessential stuck-up snob. He didn’t want to be seen as a trust-fund baby, riding the coattails of the money he was handed. He didn’t want to be so high on his horse that he couldn’t see the world around him.
“The city? Society? It’s like a bubble, Lincoln. You live in it, it surrounds you, and it’s hard to see outside. You can exist inside of it without needing anything else.” She shrugged. “Sometimes, the bubble pops and what used to seem really important, just isn’t anymore.”
He thought on that for a minute, trying to take in the seriousness of what she’d just said, and knew she was right. How many times had he thought his mother ridiculous for the pretenses she put on when she was with her peers? How many times had he listened to his father as he lectured on the importance of finding the perfect match for marriage? Not love, but match. To his father, it could have been no more than a business deal.
Lincoln knew, the real world didn’t work like that. Sadie’s reminder was like a punch to the gut that he’d sorely needed. Somehow, grinding away at the office, he’d forgotten some of things he’d always yearned for when he was younger. Things like adventure and the opportunity to explore life outside the norm his parents and peers set.
Instead, he’d put himself on the path his family steered him onto because it had been easy, and he’d lost sight of what he wanted.
Living in the bubble had worn him down.
“When Brady comes to visit I offer him the cheapest wine I can find, that comes in a box, and serve it in a plastic cup,” Sadie said, drawing his attention back to her. She was smiling, oblivious to the epiphany he’d just had, and he was grateful. “Getting back to the goblets,” she added.
“I’ve never had wine from a box before,” he admitted as the trail they were on opened up to a small stream. They both stopped close enough for the dogs to get wet and explore if they wanted.
This way they were standing face to face. She was grinning up at him, and he had to resist the urge to run his finger down her cheek and catch the strand of hair stuck to her lip. It made her look more adventurous and bold, giving the impression that she didn’t care what anyone thought about how she might look in that moment.
She just was. Sweaty and muddy, she was beyond beautiful. She was strong and fearless, something he apparently found far more attractive than simple physical beauty.
“I don’t drink it myself, but I can make sure to have some in stock when you come back.” She put a hand on his forearm, her fingers soft and hot, and winked at him. “Don’t worry. I’ll pick the finest vintage the gas station has to offer.”
Sunday night, after Lincoln left and Sadie got the dogs settled in their crates, she picked up the phone and called her brother.
He answered after the fourt
h ring, surprising her. She’d been waiting for his voicemail.
“Sadie,” he said in greeting. “How is my country bumpkin sister?”
“Why would you send Lincoln Greene out here?”
“What do you mean, why would I send him? He’s got a dog that needs to be trained. You’re a dog trainer. Seems like a natural recommendation.”
“He shouldn’t be out here and you know it. Why would you put him in the crosshairs like that?”
“No one’s going to find out,” he assured her. “Calm down.”
“No one in the history of the entire universe has ever calmed down when someone condescendingly told them to.”
Her brother laughed, which annoyed her.
“I’m trying to separate myself, Brady. I’ve been doing well. Why would you send someone here that’s just going to throw my old life back in my face?”
“Is that what he did?” Brady at least sounded like he was paying attention now.
“No,” she admitted. “He didn’t throw it in my face. He’s far too polite and refined for that. But he’ll never understand what I had to do to get to where I am and he has no reason to.”
“Not unless you tell him.”
Sadie scoffed. “Why on earth would I tell Lincoln, of all people?”
“Because you love him,” he sang.
“I was ten years old, Brady; I think it’s time to let it go now. Besides, you used to have a crush on Lori and she’s our stepmother. What does that say about you?”
“That I have excellent taste in women.”
Sadie held the phone away from her ear and shivered when a woman’s laugh echoed in the background.
“You could have just told me you were busy.”
“I’m never too busy for you, Sade. But really, I sent Lincoln because he was at the end of his rope. Oh, hold on.” There was a rustling and a few taps before he came back. “Check your email. Last time Gordon trashed the house, I got to witness the destruction. I took a video. I just sent it to you.”
Just what she didn’t need to see, the inside of Lincoln’s fancy Beacon Hill home.
No Love Left Behind (Boston Billionaire's Club Book 1) Page 4