But at least I was back to looking for an answer instead of just wallowing in empty misery.
I still remembered that cold November day when a young college grad had showed up on our doorstep, fresh with enthusiasm and the desire to do good. I’d been a child then, but over the years, my grandfather’s care worker and I had gotten close.
I never realized he’d end up taking care of me, too.
38
Elizabeth
Over a week and not even a quick text back to acknowledge that he’d received my break-up text. Cressida said that was normal. She said it was “just what guys do.” I still found it frustrating, especially when she left me alone to go to work and I had all day to sit in my pyjamas and think about it.
I’d done the stupid thing and turned down the job offer for Nikolai’s renovations. I couldn’t stand being so close to someone who was a friend of Oliver’s. It was pathetic, I know, but I was hurting.
Still.
If love was the most wonderful thing in the world when it was good, then it was also the worst thing in the world when it went bad. Cressida kept telling me to capitalize on all my feelings and write some poetry or something, but I was struggling just to write cover letters for all the jobs I was applying to.
I wanted to do more interior design, I really did, but I wasn’t ready to ask Oliver for a reference yet. And I wasn’t ready to talk through my redesign of his house with future clients, either. So that left me a bit stuck. Hence the job hunt.
The apartment was so quiet without my roommate around.
The refrigerator hummed and the fan sliced through the air, but otherwise I was left to stew in my own jagged thoughts. At least I hadn’t cried in a while. That was a plus.
I drowned out my thoughts with the clicking of the keyboard. Working in an office, I had decided, would feel too confining, like I was trapped in a box after spending months in a mansion. So I was applying to landscaping jobs and minor construction work, though I wasn’t particularly skilled at either.
Maybe Rodney would hire me.
Truth be told, I didn’t need to be working just yet. I had enough money left over from Oliver’s job to sustain myself comfortably for a couple months at least. But I was going crazy spending so much time alone, so I kept clicking, typing and applying.
I was so involved in my job search that a knock at the door nearly sent me flying out of my chair. I eyed the clock. Eleven a.m. Who the hell was knocking on my door at eleven a.m.?
“Who is it?” I called.
No answer.
I cursed under my breath and stepped over to the door. We didn’t have a peephole. I’d never wished more, in this moment, that we did. I had half a mind to go put on real clothes, instead of my grey paint-stained sweatpants and ABBA t-shirt, but that would require effort—something that I only had in short supply these days.
I opened the door and nearly screamed.
“Hey, kitten.”
I could barely see his handsome face over the top of the gigantic bouquet he was holding, but I would have recognized that floppy hair and seductive voice anywhere.
“Oliver…” I blinked, worried that I had gone full on crazy and was now hallucinating.
“Are you going to let me in?” he asked. “I can come back later if you’re expecting somebody. You look like you’re about to head out on a date.”
I laughed and stood back from the door, gesturing him in. I needed a moment before I could trust my voice.
“What are you doing here? What’s—what’s all this?” I gestured to the flowers.
Oliver handed them down to me. “The lady at the store said you’d be more likely to let me in if I brought peonies,” he said. “Apparently roses are more common, but are often overdone. Peonies, on the other hand—“
I tossed the flowers off to the side and threw myself into Oliver’s arms. His lips met mine without hesitation. Then he pulled me tight to his chest and held me there, as if he never wanted to let me go. I didn’t want him to.
“I missed you,” I murmured.
“You have no idea how much I’ve missed you,” he replied.
His growing bulge pressed against my hip and I smiled. “I think I have a little bit of an idea.”
Oliver’s rumbling laugh rolled over my skin, bringing a standing ovation of goosebumps all across my body. The heat between us burned brighter and hotter the longer we kissed, and god, did we kiss. I could taste every ounce of longing on his lips, and released all my own right back into him – as if swapping my pain for his.
We tumbled down to the floor and made love right there, in the foyer. It seemed classier to call it the foyer at that moment, and not the area we kept the shoes.
He held me close as he moved above me, as if letting me slip even one inch away would be too much. I sank into the smell of him, the heat. I tasted every inch of skin my lips could reach, anxious never to forget the flavor against my tongue. And when we came together in ecstasy, I held him tight with my legs around his hips until we both ached from lying on the floor.
“You didn’t have to buy me an apology bouquet,” I said, sometime later. “I’m not actually sure why you did.”
Oliver pressed a kiss to my forehead. I was bunched up against him on the couch, where we’d eventually relocated. I was as close to him as I could get without literally lying over top of him.
“I didn’t reply to your text,” he said. “It was rude of me.”
The bark of laughter that escaped my lips was far from ladylike. “You’re apologizing for not replying to my breakup text?” I asked. “Geez, Bentley. I never used to be able to get a sorry out of you, and now you’re throwing them around like hotcakes.”
“Don’t get used to it,” he murmured, pinching my hip.
I laughed and pressed in closer. “I’ll be honest; I was upset that you didn’t reply. But I wasn’t actually mad at you. Not as much as I was mad at myself, anyway.” I sighed. “I shouldn’t have been such a coward. I should have told you to your face.” I tilted my chin back to look at him. “I’m sorry, too, Ollie.”
His breath fanned my cheek and he pressed a warm kiss to it. “Apology accepted.”
Neither of us had acknowledged the elephant in the room, and it was beginning to make me nervous.
“But why are you here?” I asked. “Not that I’m not thrilled to see you, which I’m sure you can tell I am.”
He kissed me again. “I want to be with you, Elizabeth. I want to be by your side through every moment in this life. And the next, if you’ll have me. Wherever this crazy road takes us, I just want to be there with you.”
I turned my eyes up to meet his. My heart had never beaten so fast. Even if a heart attack was imminent, it would be worth it just to have heard those beautiful words.
“Are you saying…?”
“That I’ll give up everything to be with you?” he filled in with a wry smile. “Yes. I’d do it twice if I had to. Three times, even. Perhaps not a fourth. It depends if the sex stays as good.”
I hoped he took the sound that came from me as a laugh, instead of a sob. I wasn’t sure which one it was myself, exactly. “I want to be with you, too. So goddamn badly. It killed me to send that text. I’m scared, though. I don’t want you to end up resenting me.”
“I won’t,” he promised. “And it’s not going to be all ramen noodles and monster trucks. Damien and I came up with a plan.”
“Spit it out,” I prompted. My heart was already racing. This was too good to be true. This had to be too good to be true.
“He’s going to lend me the money to get through law school and help set me up at a practice when I’m finished,” Oliver said. “If I’m any good, that is.” He chuckled. “Though after reading dozens of contracts for hours a day, I’m nearly fluent in legal-ese.”
“You can’t just give up everything, though.” As much as I wanted this, I couldn’t just accept what he was offering. His sacrifice. It was too much to ask. “Your whole life, Oliver. You
’ll be giving up your whole life.”
“No.” His eyes were bright, as if lit up from behind by an eerie green glow. “I’ll be starting my life. I can’t stagnate alone in that mansion for the rest of my years, Liz. My grandfather made a mistake when he drew up that will, but I’d be making a mistake if I lived by it.”
My eyes stung. I tried to blink back the tears, but a few managed to sneak out anyway.
“Don’t cry,” he cooed. “It’ll be okay. We’ll make it work.”
I sniffed. “I’m not crying because of that.”
His eyes softened, arms tightening ever more.
“I just love you so much, you asshole.” My arms tightened around him as well.
“I love you too, kitten.” He lowered his mouth to mine, whispering against my lips. “And I’d choose you and that filthy mouth of yours every single time.”
39
Oliver
“Oliver,” Cressida chastised. “You didn’t eat your muffin.”
I craned my neck toward Elizabeth’s bedroom. How long did it take to select an outfit to go to a lawyer’s office?
“I appreciate the gesture, Cress, but I’m not hungry.”
She glared at me, arms crossed over her chest. She could be quite intimidating when she tried. “You’re always hungry.”
I’ve been spending way too much time here.
“Elizabeth?” I called. “Get out here before she force-feeds me.”
“She does that!” came Liz’s muffled reply. “She’s not very fast though. You can outrun her.”
It was tempting.
“I’m just trying to make sure you’ve got enough energy to get through your meeting,” she clucked, looking me up and down like a disapproving mother. “What if you get hungry in the middle of it and get distracted?”
I scoffed. “All I’m doing is signing a forfeit,” I replied. “Maybe being distracted from giving up everything I own wouldn’t be such a bad thing?”
She sighed, evidently giving up. “Fine. But when you’re all grumpy later because you have low blood sugar, don’t come barking at me.”
“Duly noted.”
Elizabeth emerged from her room wearing a black pencil skirt and a matching black blazer. She looked like a sexy librarian, which was yet another possibility for distraction.
“You’re not going for a job interview, Liz,” her friend pointed out.
Liz sauntered up to me, reading in my eyes how much I loved the outfit.
Saucy minx. She did this on purpose.
“Isn’t it you who says to always dress to impress?” Elizabeth directed her question at Cressida, but she only had eyes for me.
“Yeah, when you’re going to the bar,” Cress replied. “Not when you’re only going to be in a room with stuffy old white guys.”
I gave Cress a flat look.
“Okay, and one less stuffy, less old white guy.” She threw her hands in the air. “You crazy kids do whatever feels good for you,” she said. “I’m just going to stay here and clean.”
“The place is spotless,” Liz pointed out.
“Nuh-uh.” Cress pointed to my abandoned muffin. “There’s garbage all over the counters.”
“We should go.” Liz grabbed my hand and pulled me through the door. “Bye, Cress!”
Once we were in the hall, Liz squeezed my hand and smiled apologetically. “She gets frustrated when there’s a problem she can’t fix with food.”
“She must get frustrated a lot,” I observed.
“Less so than you’d think.” Elizabeth laughed. “You should’ve eaten the muffin, though. She made them special for you.”
I glanced back at the door, as if Cressida would be standing outside, watching us go. Guilt settled into my stomach at the same time as a strange warmth. Gratitude.
“She shouldn’t have done that,” was all I said.
“Cressida stress bakes. Better get used to it until we find our own place.”
Our own place.
The thought of moving in with Elizabeth should have been frightening. After all, I’d actively campaigned against getting that close to anyone for so long. Even before I was aware of my grandfather’s will, I hadn’t been ready to get serious and then after I wasn’t willing to even give the thought a chance.
Now I couldn’t imagine things any other way. I needed her close to me always.
We’d woken up in my mansion together this morning, after spending an exhausting night trying to have sex in as many of the rooms as possible for the final time. Tonight we would fall asleep together on her queen mattress, which she claimed was the most comfortable bed in the world. She was wrong.
But I was still excited about it. I would sleep on a bed of nails if it meant getting to be beside Elizabeth.
Damien had offered to drive us to the law office, but I wanted to take my car out for a spin one last time. The forfeiture of the will meant that all of my assets would be seized at midnight tonight. Granddad hadn’t been fucking around. We’d put it off as long as possible, but fall had crept up on us. As soon as I started school, I’d be breaching the conditions of the will anyway.
Better just to get it over with.
As we walked up the steps to the office, Elizabeth stopped me with a hand on my arm. “Are you sure you want to do this?” she asked. “Last chance.”
I pulled her toward me, resting my forehead against hers. “I’m surer than sure,” I said. “I’m super sure.”
She giggled. “Them’s the good words that are going to get you through law school.”
“Don’t you doubt it.”
“I’m serious though, Oliver.” She reached for my face, resting soft fingers along my chin. “I love you. I love you enough to let you go if you have any doubts.”
“I’m serious too, Liz.” I captured her hand in mine. “I’ve never been this serious about anything in my life. Believe me when I say I love you, and that you’re everything I want in this world.”
She blinked, and I knew her eyes were threatening to fill with tears again. I held her hand and gave it a squeeze. I’d come to realize that what we were about to do sounded more difficult than it really was. The truth was that it was simply the last roadblock left between me and the next stage of my life, and I was completely ready for that stage to begin.
Anxious for it, in fact.
That night on her couch, when I told her I loved her and I’d always choose her, I’d meant it. Even if there ever came a day when her love for me withered, giving everything else up would still be worth it, just to have the time with her now. To have this. There would be no regrets.
I could no longer even imagine turning away to spend my life without her. All the money in the world couldn’t fill the hole that would be left in my heart.
The lawyer didn’t make us wait for long. Apparently, the nature of the will had caused quite a stir in the office, and my granddad’s lawyer was waiting excitedly for us in the conference room.
“Could he look any more eager?” Elizabeth whispered into my ear.
I shrugged. “It’s not every day you get to make a man poor with just a couple signatures.”
“Good afternoon!” Fred Gurnsted greeted. He reached for my hand, shaking it with gusto. “Please, please, come in.”
I took the seat at the head of the conference table. Liz sat on one side, Gurnsted on the other. For a man of advanced age, he was practically buzzing with energy. I wouldn’t have been surprised to see him start to vibrate. I may have made peace with what we were about to do, but his eagerness still made me want to punch him.
“I understand you’ve come to undertake the forfeiture clause of your grandfather’s will,” he began.
“I have.”
“And you’re sure this is what you want to do?”
“I am.”
With shaky, liver spotted hands, Gurnsted reached into the manila envelope in front of him. On the front of it, there was a label with my grandfather’s full name, followed by the words “will�
�� and “forfeit”.
“Has that envelope just been sitting in Oliver’s file since his grandfather’s death?” Elizabeth asked. “That’s kind of discouraging.”
Gurnsted laughed, revealing impossibly straight and white teeth. Pretending that it was simply a nervous laugh was all that kept my growing desire to punch him in check.
“As a matter of fact, yes,” he replied, eyes wide as he nodded emphatically. “It was sealed, however. I only opened it for the first time last night.”
And released all the cocaine inside of it?
“Shall we begin?” Gurnsted asked.
I nodded.
My stomach churned, but I forced myself to take the paper and pen he handed me.
“I’ve marked the two areas you need to sign and date,” Gurnsted explained. “Please take a moment to read through the text before you do so.”
I did as he said, but there was nothing unexpected or surprising. It was short but clear—by signing the document, I was forfeiting all the assets my grandfather had granted me in his will. Forever.
The pen hovered over the signature line. Despite how much I’d convinced myself that I’d made peace with this moment, I still felt ill at the thought of finally going through with it. But I mentally shook it off and put pen to paper. I signed once, then twice, and then I dated both the lines. In less time than it took to put on my shoes in the morning, I’d signed my entire life away.
My old life, anyway.
I looked over at Elizabeth, who gazed at me through pink-rimmed eyes. She knew how hard this was for me, but I wanted to make sure she understood that it was completely worth it. I had no doubts about that anymore. I grabbed her hand and gave it a squeeze.
“All signed then?” Gurnsted asked. His voice was almost so high now that it squeaked.
“Yep.” I slid the paper back across the table. “What now?”
His face split into a smile. “Now, Mr. Bentley, I would like to congratulate you on still being a billionaire.”
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