the _ The real estate agent sends me updates every thirty minutes about the house. According to him, we have three buyers who are currently engaged in a bidding war for the property. He knew that could happen if he set the price low enough to attract buyers, but hearing it from the real estate agent makes the entire home-selling process very real.
I resist the temptation to go there and check to see if Cal showed up. Instead, Violet, Delilah, Wyatt, and I decided to stay at the guest house and on our private dock out back. I want to take advantage of the last few times I’ll be able to enjoy the lake with my friends before summer ends and the house is sold.
No one has mentioned Cal since last night’s trip to the bar.
Cami and Wyatt play in the water while Delilah, Violet and I sit on the dock, soaking up the sun.
“Aren’t you a little curious about the bidding war?” Delilah nudges me with her shoulder.
“Not really.” I put my phone away. In the end, who buys the house will be inconsequential.
“I would be.” Violet reapplies sunscreen to her face.
My phone vibrates with a new text. I hope it’s the real estate agent with another update, but Cal’s name appears on the screen.
Do you still want to consult the buyer interested in purchasing the house and see if they are legitimate?
No. You can handle it.
I consider it When I told Cal that I wanted to find someone who loved the house as much as I did, I thought I could stand the thought of talking to them. But the more I think about it, the less I feel able to do it.
A text appears from the real estate agent before I lock my phone, letting me know that he’s asked everyone to give him their best offers.
Already? How is that possible? I’ll call him right away. “Alana! You will not believe. “That?”
“We had someone make an offer for two million dollars.” “Two?” I reach for Violet’s shoulder to steady myself. When I lowered the price to a million, I expected to receive just over the asking price, but for someone to offer twice as much?
I could faint.
I can feel the real estate agent’s excitement through the phone. “Yes! I have asked the other buyers who are interested in the property to submit their final offers within the next hour.” “But-“
“This is the best case scenario.”
For him or for me? Based on how much you’re charging, the agent will walk away with a pretty penny once all the paperwork is done, especially if buyers are increasing the price.
My phone vibrates with a new message from Cal.
I just overheard one of the buyers mention how they plan to tear the house down to the ground and completely rebuild it because they prefer a modern open floor plan. Are you sure you don’t want to meet them?
leap
Hell no. I refuse to let anyone who wants to buy the house tear it down. Violet looks at me. “What happen?”
“Can everyone look at Cami for a while? I need to fix something in the house with a buyer.
Wyatt waves me away like it’s no big deal. “We’re going to have an ice cream race in a moment if that’s okay with you.”
“Yeah, sure. He has a clean set of clothes on his bed,” I reply over my shoulder before stomping toward the main house.
Over my dead body someone will buy the house to demolish it. Cal and I didn’t go through the process of renovating everything just to have someone erase all the history and charm we worked so hard to maintain.
I’d rather go with the person with the cheapest offer who might really love the place than give it to someone who won’t appreciate the property.
I enter the house expecting to find people wandering around the property. Except when I arrive through the back door, the only person around is the real estate agent, who is standing at the kitchen counter with his phone pressed to his ear and a folder of sheets spread out in front of him.
“What’s going on?” I stop to catch my breath after walking here.
Hang up the phone with a smile. “We just got another offer.” “Actually?”
“Yeah.”
Yuck. “So, there are four in total?”
“Correct.” Her joyful applause grates on my nerves. “Where are they?”
“Two had to go see another house that was on display at the same time, but the other two are waiting in the living room for our final decision.”
“Perfect.” He walked past the real estate agent, ignoring his shouts.
I follow the long hallway toward the low murmurs of two people talking, although I can’t understand what they’re saying.
I enter the living room. “California? Where did the other buyer go?” He turns at the sound of my voice. “You came.”
“Of course I came. There’s no way I’m letting some asshole tear down the house.
A tall man, almost the same height as Cal, walks around him. He wears an expensive-looking suit with an equally elegant watch, looking out of place compared to Cal’s relaxed appearance of jeans and a linen shirt.
“And who are you?”
“The asshole who wants to tear down the house.” He extends his hand. His fingers are long like a pianist’s, without any calluses that suggest hard work. “However, I prefer to go for Lorenzo Vittori.”
Lorenzo Vittorio. The name sounds familiar, but I can’t place it. He doesn’t look like anyone I know, but there’s something about his dark gaze and the shape of his eyes that sparks recognition.
“Vittori?” I grab her hand and give it a quick squeeze. “Yeah.”
“Was your mother the one who used to work at the Hawthorn house by any chance?”
His jaw ticks. “She was.”
“Do you two know each other?” Cal’s head tilts.
“Our mothers were friends before my family had to move,” Lorenzo answers.
“How is she?” I ask out of courtesy.
“Dead.” His voice is flat and empty of any emotion. Cal’s eyes widen as she looks at me.
“I’m sorry to hear that,” I offer.
Lorenzo doesn’t even blink. “Have you considered my offer, Mrs. Castillo?”
Well then. It’s safe to assume that Lorenzo likes to get to the point.
“Not really, since you want to destroy my house.”
“I prefer to describe it as harnessing the true potential of a property.” He smiles in a way that seems well practiced, as if he has trained himself to charm others. If it weren’t for his lifeless eyes, he would have believed it.
“I’ll have to pass.”
His eyebrows furrow for a second before softening. “What happens if I match the highest offer?”
“Which is it?”
“Three million.” Cal puts his hands in his pockets.
Wait. That? The last time I spoke to the agent, he said two million. Lorenzo blinks twice in the most human display of emotion I have ever seen. “Are you kidding”.
Cal smiles. “Unless you want to counter, it looks like mine is the best and last offer.”
Is mine the best and last offer?
Mine?
Mine?!
Did Cal make an offer on his own house? Why would I do that?
The room spins around me as I try to figure out what the hell is going on.
Lorenzo’s eye twitches. “You’re crazy to pay so much for a place like this.”
Cal lifts a shoulder. “We do crazy things for the people we love.”
Lorenzo’s upper lip curls. “Let us pray that he never finds out.” He tilts his head in my direction. “Good morning, Mrs. Castillo. “I wish you both the best of luck with this endeavor because you are going to need it.”
He waltzes out of the room, taking his air of superiority with him.
“Bastard,” I say.
“I couldn’t agree more,” Cal complains. “I never thought he’d leave.” I turn to face him. “What the hell is going on and why are you putting an offer on a house you own?”
Cal’s smile falters. “Because I’m not the one who buys the house.” “That?”
“I’m speaking on behalf of a trust.” “What confidence?”
“The one I made for our future children.”
The air leaves me. “Did you open a trust for our future children ?” I choke on the last two words.
“Yeah.”
I reach for the fireplace mantle to avoid collapsing. “But why?” “Because I wanted to show you that inheritance means nothing to me personally.”
Oh. My. God.
“How much is in the trust, Cal?” He hesitates. “Does it matter?”
I shoot him a look.
He doesn’t hesitate when he says, “Twenty-six billion once we sell the house.”
“To Cami and the hypothetical children you think we are going to have one day.”
“To your trust . It’s quite a complicated loophole, but it works. “Grandpa’s lawyer and I fixed everything.”
My knees give way, but Cal puts an arm around me before I crash to the ground.
“Twenty. Six. billion. dollars.” I pinch my arm, wincing at the pain, before repeating the same motion again.
Cal pulls my hand away and rubs the red spot. “They won’t have access to everything at once.”
“Well, that’s a relief. “I was worried about what would happen if kids felt the need to spend twenty-six billion dollars on a whim.”
His eyes narrow. “I can’t get a good read on how you feel about all of this.”
“I’m not even sure of myself.” “Are you happy?”
“Yeah.” My eyes blur.
So damn happy. Not because of the money, there’s no way I’d let Cal give up his entire inheritance, but because we got the house.
His arms tighten around me. “So it was worth it.” “How is this possible?”
“You wanted the house, so I found a way to keep it.” Iris was right.
His head tilts. “About?”
“She said if I wanted something, you would find a way to make it happen.” He smiles. “You should know by now that she would do anything for you.”
My heart tightens. “Anything?”
He grabs my chin. “Absolutely anything. I can’t take all the credit for this plan though. Without my grandfather’s lawyer leaving a cryptic clue, I would never have thought about opening a trust.”
“I’m still thinking about it.” “What’s up with that?”
“Why would you give someone that amount of money in the first place?” “It’s not just anyone. It’s our family. Her smile reaches her eyes.
My legs threaten to give way, but Cal holds me up.
Shit. I never stood a chance against him once he was sober. Hell, I barely had a chance when he was still drinking, which just proves how screwed he was from the start.
He brushes his knuckles on my cheek. “I told you that selling the house never had anything to do with an inheritance.”
“So, you decided to give up everything to prove a point?”
“Without you agreeing to sell the house, there would be no inheritance to give in the first place.”
“Are we really keeping the house?” I ask again to confirm. Her smile grows. “Only if you accept my final offer.”
I look around the room. “Where are the other buyers?” “I scared them.”
” Tah?” A laugh erupts from me, making Cal’s smile widen. “Did you bribe them?”
he denies with the head. “Threaten them?” I probe “No. I’m not Declan.
I bite back a laugh. “And?”
“I explained my situation and how I was trying to get the woman I love back.”
A warmth blooms in my chest, just above my heart. “So, what happened to Lorenzo?”
“The idiot refused to back down. He said he didn’t know what was more disappointing: me making bad life decisions for something. as fickle as love, or everyone else left after I confessed that he was madly in love with you and that he desperately needed to buy the house.”
“Desperately in love with me, you say?”
The butterflies in my stomach flutter when he cups my chin. “I have always loved you, although at first it was platonic and innocent. But love grew as we did, transforming into something more mature. Something strong enough to stand the test of time and distance every year. A love built on memories of the past and a hope for the future.” He tucks a wave of hair behind my head. “A future I can’t see with anyone but you.”
My heart beats furiously against my chest as if it wants to be heard. It continues as she clings to my trembling chin. “Buying the house is not about buying your love or trust or anything like that. I know that will only come with hard work and showing them that I am committed to being the best version of myself for both of us. The only reason I want to buy the house is because I want to buy the future that you want, whether with me or with someone else.” Her voice breaks.
Although I desperately hope that you want that future with me. The one with the children and the dock and all those model boats that you want to build every summer. I want to spend my life challenging you to do things that scare you,
while you push me to do the same. Just like I want to become the man you always dreamed I could be once he gets my life together.”
My heart swells with his words. “I thought you hated this place.”
he denies with the head. “I hated being reminded of the person I could have been if she had gotten better sooner.”
I reach up and cup his cheek. “And now?”
“I see it through your eyes, and now I can’t imagine being anywhere else but by your side, whether you’re on the lake or on the other side of the world. Wherever you go, I want to follow you. Whatever you accomplish, I want to be there to congratulate you. And every time you struggle, I want to be there to pick up the pieces and hold you together until you’re strong enough to stand on your own.”
A tear slides down my cheek. “What changed?”
“I did.” She grabs the back of my neck and pulls me forward. “Staying sober is going to be a process. Thirty days in rehab is a good start, but it is not an instant cure for a lifelong addiction. I will have to work and commit to improving every day. I just hope you’re willing to share the journey with me, because God, I want you to. I know I don’t deserve another chance, but I beg you to give me one anyway. Just give me one last chance to show you that I can be the man you want to spend the rest of your life with. That I can be the one to turn your dreams into reality.”
I consider the man I have loved since before I even understood
what the word meant. “One last chance?” He nods.
I cup his face and press my lips against his. “Break my heart again and I’ll put a real bullet in you this time.”
He smiles against my mouth. “Make sure you aim for the heart then, because that’s the only way you’ll keep me away.”
I wrap my arms around the back of his neck and rise on the tips of my toes, so our lips are just inches apart. “Negotiate.”
