by Staci Hart
“Or Georgie and I will leave, and you will never see us again. Who will you leave the company to when we’re gone? Caroline?”
Her chest rose and fell. She said nothing.
“Regarding the Bennets—you will call off your dogs. Effective now, they are officially off-limits.”
“You can’t ask me to do that.”
“I’m not asking. If you don’t, I’ll drum up enough evidence to deliver to the Bennets. They should at least be able to sue, if not press charges.”
“You wouldn’t,” she breathed.
“Wouldn’t I? I’ve suspected you’d done something, but this is beyond the pale. I didn’t want to believe Laney when she told me. I didn’t want to look. But I knew exactly where to find what I needed. If Caroline hadn’t ratted you out, you might have been able to explain it all away. But know that I won’t hesitate to take proof to the Bennets to do what they will. The threat of Georgie and I leaving might not be enough, but what about the threat of your sharing a cell with Evelyn Bower? I’m sure she wouldn’t mind after all you’ve done for her.”
“You would betray me?” It was a furious, disbelieving whisper.
“You would betray me. And I won’t make another decision on your wishes. I’ll make them for mine.”
A noisy breath. A hard swallow.
“You will remove yourself from Georgie’s relationships, and you will never, ever threaten and intimidate a woman connected to me by even the loosest terms. Our choices are just that—ours. Not yours, not any more than Georgie’s choices are mine.”
She sank into her seat, her back straight and her nose in the air. “And you insist?”
“I demand.”
The color rose brighter in her cheeks. “You’ve left me no choice. Everything you see here, everything we have built, is yours and Georgiana’s. We have no one else, the three of us, and giving our company away would be blasphemy. I am displeased. I am greatly displeased.” Her voice quivered with anger. “I will ask one thing of you, a point I will not bend on. Don’t ever bring a Bennet into this office again. Do not bring them to dinner or holidays. I will … refrain from interfering on the condition that we never speak of them and that I never have to lay eyes on their kind again.”
“I think that can be arranged.”
“Then leave me now. Your Bennets will be safe, from me, at least. But make no mistake—you’ve vandalized our relationship, and washing that away will take effort and time. And until we’ve cooled off, we should avoid each other.”
“I couldn’t agree more.”
With a shared nod, I turned and walked out of her office, counting all the ways I was wrong, the truth struck clear by Catherine. Was I so horrible, so manipulative as her? I had wrecked and ruined so much in my quest for control, in my desire to protect. And that desire had turned me into a monster equal to Catherine.
I had wrongs to make right.
And it was about time.
30
Everything
LANEY
Georgie and I walked in silence through the Mall in Central Park, coffees in hand and leaves crunching under our boots as I processed what she’d just said.
Which was exactly what Liam had said about Wickham.
The gambling. The debt Liam paid. The prenup and his exit from their lives. Even confirmation that he’d been texting her while courting me.
I’d been fooled, just as she had.
“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you,” she said softly. “But I thought you knew enough of the truth when we talked about it. I should have known he’d lied to you.”
“It’s not your fault, Georgie. He’s just so …”
“Charming? Handsome? He has this way of making you feel like the only girl on the planet, like every word he says is biblical in importance. Don’t feel bad about being tricked by him. You weren’t the first, and I doubt you’ll be the last.”
The question I’d been considering since I read the letter was finally asked. “Why did Liam pay Wickham’s debt?”
“Because he still loved Wyatt despite it all. His anger isn’t just over me—he lost someone he loved too.”
The knowledge shook me.
She shrugged, her shoulders weighted with sadness. “Wyatt needed the money so badly, he was willing to go to these lengths, to cause so much damage. He was desperate. But his brand of love consumes without giving. I’m better without him—he would have ruined me. And Liam was the only one who saw it, the only one brave enough to stop him.”
Humbled, I was quiet for a few steps.
“He’s not what you think he is,” she said. “When we got back yesterday, Caroline told him Catherine’s been sabotaging your family’s business. He confronted Catherine, threatened to expose her if she didn’t leave Longbourne and your family alone.”
I stopped dead, nearly dropping my coffee. “Wh-what?”
She turned to me, her eyes as soft as her smile. “She won’t be bothering you again—Liam made sure of it. He uses his powers for good far more often than evil. Really, all he wants is to keep the people he loves safe. I’ve always thought it was because we lost our parents so young, so unexpectedly. He was always protective, but after they died …” Her gaze shifted to the ground. “He doesn’t want to lose anything else. It’s easy to believe him unfeeling, but the truth is that he feels too much. So desperately, so intensely, that he clings to what he loves with all he has. I think he believes if he loses us, he’ll lose himself.”
I dashed a tear from my cheek and started walking again. Georgie fell in step beside me. “I’m afraid I was very wrong about him.”
“It’s easy to do. He makes it hard to see beyond what he chooses to show. He’s designed himself to keep people away, because less people to love means less opportunities for heartache when they’re gone.”
It was all too much, too fast. As plagued as I’d been by my misjudgment of him, Georgie’s testimony overwhelmed me completely—I was swept under the surface and carried away by the current. Everything I’d believed about him was wrong. Everything. The truth once again sent me tumbling in its wake.
The only true moments were the moments I’d been in his arms, blessed by his smile.
He’d done this for my family without asking for anything in return. Selflessly, he’d put himself between Catherine and my family, stopping the sabotage with a single conversation.
Everything that had passed between us flipped through my mind like slides. I hadn’t realized the bulb had burned out, and now that it was on, everything was illuminated.
Liam was so much more than I’d thought him to be.
“I need to see him,” I said, swallowing back tears. “I owe him an apology. Do you think he’ll speak to me? After everything … I can’t be sure. I can’t be sure of anything.”
Georgie smiled. “I think he’ll see you. He’s at the house now—unless you’d like to set something up instead?”
“Now is good. The sooner, the better. I don’t think I can walk around with my guilt much longer before I crumble.”
She took my arm. “Well, we can’t have that. And the timing couldn’t be better. He texted, asking me to come home for a minute, and if I know him, he’s already worrying over how long it’s taken to get to him.”
I frowned. “Did he know we were together?”
“He knew I was planning to see you, but no—I didn’t tell him where I was going today. I didn’t think it would bring him any peace of mind to know I was with you.”
“Does anything about me bring him peace of mind?” I asked on a laugh.
But her smile widened. “Oh, you’d be surprised.”
The walk was only ten minutes, but it felt like a lifetime.
Georgie talked about their trip, and I listened—or tried to. My mind was busy with the anxiety of seeing him. What could I possibly say to express my regret? Would he hate me? Would he reject the apology and show me spite? I’d deserve it if he did.
But I really hoped he wouldn’t.
Ten m
inutes—just enough time to worry, not enough time to consider what would happen after. When we stepped into the lobby and walked to the elevators, we fell silent. But she never let go of my arm, and I was grateful for that. It made me feel so much less miserable.
My heart rate doubled when we stepped off the elevator and walked through the door.
For a moment, there was no space to be nervous—I was struck with awe at the sight of their home. It wasn’t just beautiful. It was astonishing. The space somehow managed to feel both modern and timeless. Mid-century furniture with clean, tidy lines was Liam. Touches of softness in sheepskin and lux textures were Georgie. Just like them, it was dark and light, from the floors to the upholstery to the sunlight bathing the room and the shadows that light made. I found it both familiar and foreign, a manifestation of something I’d only known in my heart.
“Hello?” Georgie called from the entryway as I wandered into the living room.
But when I saw the dark figure by the window, I stopped mid-stride.
My head cocked. “Jett?”
He smiled in brilliant exaltation, his eyes quirked in curiosity. “What are you doing here?”
“I could ask you the same thing.”
But before he could answer, his gaze shifted behind me, and I ceased to exist.
Jett floated to where Georgie stood, stunned and flushed and hopeful.
“What … how …” she breathed.
“Liam,” he said, cradling her face in his hands. “He brought me here.”
“I was wrong,” came a rumbling voice from behind me, the timbre sending a shock of electricity down my spine.
I turned to find Liam, his eyes touched with both sorrow and joy. His eyes met mine—how had everything about him changed?—and he smiled before turning his attention back to them.
“I was wrong about many things, most of which lie in my lack of defense in the matter of you two. I should have fought for you sooner, but until yesterday, I’d convinced myself that I was doing what was right. Catherine won’t stand in your way, and neither will I.”
Georgie’s face broke open like the sun from the clouds, her eyes glittering with tears and her cheeks flushed with emotion as she looked up at Jett. He pressed his forehead to hers, and when her eyes closed, Jett kissed her with such tenderness, the room was filled to the brim with it.
Liam’s fingertips on the back of my arm stole my attention. With a small smile, he jerked his head toward the other end of the house. And with a nod, I followed.
We made our way through the kitchen, then down a hallway before he turned into a library.
Again, I found myself in a state of wonder as I took in the room. The only wall not covered in brimming bookshelves was the one made of windows that overlooked Central Park, which was on fire with shades of fall. Overstuffed chairs, a couch, and a few end tables were the only furniture, the space designed for comfort and a singular purpose—to read. I approached one of the bookcases to trace my finger along the spines, reading the titles. This shelf seemed to be all science fiction, with old copies of everything from Jules Verne to Kurt Vonnegut. The next was comics and graphic novels. There was a fantasy shelf and two filled with classic fiction, as well as nonfiction and trade reference books. I even caught half a shelf packed with bodice-rippers and shot him a smile.
“These are yours, aren’t they?”
A little shrug. “You caught me.”
“Which one’s your favorite?”
“Georgie made me read one once about a pirate and the girl he kidnapped. It was a little rapey, if I’m honest.”
“The old ones often were,” I said on a chuckle, but my smile faded when he moved for the shelf.
“They were my mom’s. Sometimes I wonder how many times she read them.” He took one from its place and turned it over in his hand. “The creases in the spine, the curl of the pages. She dog-eared pages too—Georgie comes in here sometimes and just reads the ones Mom marked.” He slid it back where it belonged but said nothing more.
“I owe you an apology.”
“You don’t owe me anything, Laney.”
“But I do. Because I have been selfish and vain and wrong—not just about Wickham, but about you. I was so convinced that you were a monster, I twisted everything you’d said and done to fit the mold I made. But you’re not a monster at all. A monster wouldn’t have saved my family from Catherine. A monster wouldn’t have made a way for Jett and Georgie to be together.”
He stared at me, stunned. “Georgie told you? About Catherine?”
I nodded. “We were together this afternoon. It’s why I’m here—to thank you for what you’ve done on behalf of my family.”
“Your family doesn’t owe me anything,” he said softly. “I thought only of you.”
All words left me, slipped out of me and to the floor. He couldn’t have said what I thought he’d said. Confusion and shock locked me where I stood, clamped my lungs shut.
“I only ever think of you. I tried to leave, to forget you. To forget what I’ve done and how I’ve treated you. That night, when we kissed …” He paused, his gaze snagging mine as he rifled through memories. “I pushed you away when you were all I wanted. I hurt you when I wanted your happiness. Rather than own my feelings and stand up for them, I insulted you by suggesting you weren’t worthy of more than an affair. But that wasn’t what I wanted. If nothing else, I hope you know that. I wanted you, and I believed it was the only way to have you. It’s me who’s unworthy, Laney. What I should have said that night was that wishes for your affection have kept my hope burning. Every time hatred burns in you over me, it carves another line on my heart. I won’t ask for your forgiveness when I can’t forgive myself. But I … I need you to know that my feelings haven’t changed—I don’t know that they ever will. I’ve held out hope that yours would. But one word from you will silence me forever.”
I reeled, searching his eyes, searching my heart. All this time, I believed he thought me inferior. That he loathed me to the point of obsession. That I was some sort of game to him or an itch he wanted to scratch.
A handful of sentences changed everything. His words washed away the last of what I’d thought I knew, leaving things clear for the first time since I’d met him.
“Your feelings haven’t changed, but mine have,” I admitted with my heart in a twist. “I thought I hated you.”
“I know.” Regret hung on the words.
“I thought you were cruel. But you weren’t. You let me think what I would without ever correcting my mistake. Why?”
At that, a smile tugged at one corner of his lips. “Would I have been able to change your mind?”
“I like to think you would’ve, but I can’t blame you for not trying. I can be pretty scary when I’m mad.”
He laughed broadly enough that I caught a rare glimpse of his teeth. He was even more beautiful when he truly smiled.
“I wish you’d tried,” I said. “I wish we could go back to that first night and start again.”
“So do I.”
“Just like I wished we’d never danced or touched or kissed so I didn’t have to remember how it felt. I wished not to care for you or think about you, convinced it was only anger I felt for you. But it wasn’t. Beneath it all, I was angry because I wanted you too. Only you didn’t make it easy.”
“I rarely do.” His voice was tight, his brows bent, as if he were struggling to keep something in him tethered.
“So I suppose my feelings have changed. My misjudgment blinded me to the truth of who you are. Can … can we start again with that truth between us? Do you still want me after all that’s passed?”
“I do. I think I always will, whether you refuse me again or not.”
“I don’t think I could refuse you again. Assuming you’re not still suggesting I be your side piece,” I teased.
His eyes were bright with hope as he stepped closer, slipping his fingertips into my hair, my jaw resting in his palm. “No. You’ll be my everything.”
Starlings fluttered from my belly up in a whirl. “And what will your aunt say?”
“Nothing—she’s said all I’ll hear.”
“I’m sorry, Liam.”
“Catherine offended you, and me by proxy. It’s me who’s sorry—I should have listened to Georgie, to myself first. But one good thing came out of it.”
“Oh?”
“It taught me to hope. The truth as I knew it was that you despised me. That we would never be because you couldn’t stand to be near me. You told me plainly I was the last man on earth you’d ever choose, but if you hated me as much as I believed, you would have answered Catherine with the truth without hesitating.”
When he thumbed my cheek, I leaned into his hand, smiling. “That’s fair—I’d abused you so badly to your face, I probably wouldn’t have spared you for Catherine’s sake.”
“What did you say that I didn’t deserve? You might have been misinformed, but I earned every word on my own merit. When I think about what I said to you, I hate myself. I’ve spent the last weeks regretting every word I spoke in anger. How could I ever win you after that? I haven’t said anything to convince you to accept me.”
“Until now.”
“Until now.” The adoration on his face struck a match in me—I could have basked in its glow forever. “I’m sorry it took me so long.”
“I’ll forgive you on one condition.”
“Anything.”
“Kiss me.”
Smiling, he leaned in and said against my lips, “Always.”
One word, and I was his. One kiss, and I was gone.
He’d marked me the first time our lips met, but this time, I was claimed. I had no choice as I melted in his arms, our lips a seam and our hearts thundering.
But if I did, I’d choose him.
The surprise of the last few minutes dissipated with every sweep of our tongues, every shared breath. He breathed me in, and I let him. I was through fighting, past resisting, and the comfort I found in his arms shocked and soothed me. Because with that kiss came a certainty, an unnamed feeling of rightness.