el _ The dull pounding in my chest hasn’t eased since Cal left two weeks ago. If anything, it only gets worse as the days go by. My attempts to stay busy only last so long. With Cami at her friend’s house and Violet and Delilah busy with work, I have no one to distract me.
Even the real estate agent and general contractor have remained silent about the house. When I expressed concern about the lack of interested buyers, they both assured me that everything was going as planned.
The silence in the guesthouse quickly becomes unbearable, leaving me to my own thoughts. My head is a pathetic place to be these days. A sad, miserable place that reminds me of a fact I hate to admit to myself.
I miss lime.
It’s impossible not to when everything reminds me of him. Grocery shopping. Driving around town with my tires screeching. Spending thirty minutes scrolling in search of something new to watch only to settle for watching a competitive baking show we’ve both watched hundreds of times.
Every day progresses at a snail’s pace. Since I’m not working, my days mostly consist of taking Cami to camp and sitting around the house in case Ryder and the team need anything from me.
Part of me wishes Cal would show up again, if only to get mad at him again. It’s a selfish thought that I dismiss in a matter of seconds, knowing that he is exactly where he needs to be. Still, I consider what it must be like to go through the process.
Are you struggling with any withdrawal symptoms?
Are you wishing you never went in the first place?
Are you talking about your problems and finding out why you are having difficulty staying sober?
The more I think about everything he said before he left, the more I wonder if he was telling the truth. Calling the lawyer to find out would put the inheritance at risk, so I settle for the second option: Iris and Zahra. We exchanged numbers before I left the night of Cal’s birthday dinner, but I hadn’t taken advantage of it until now.
Hey.
Before I chicken out, I text them.
Their answers come at the same time.
Iris
What’s happening?
Zahra
Hello!
I was wondering if any of you could help me clarify some things.
about the will.
I let out a shaky breath as I press send on my next message, which I spent ten minutes pondering.
Iris’s response is instantaneous.
Iris
I can be there in forty minutes.
Forty minutes? How is that possible from your home in Chicago?
Zahra
Yuck. I wish I could be there!
I get busy cleaning the house, which is already spotless, while I wait for Iris. The loud clatter of the propellers interrupts me in the middle of scrubbing the stove and I run outside to see a helicopter land in my backyard.
“What the fuck?” I closed the door behind me.
I didn’t know it was legal to land in someone’s backyard.
Are you really surprised? This is Lake Wisteria. Anyone can be bought at the right price.
The moment the blades stop spinning, Iris runs out of the helicopter. She runs towards the nearest set of bushes as she puts a hand to her mouth.
“Oh my god. Are you okay?”
She gasps once in horrible response. I shudder as I help gather her braids in my hand to keep them from falling in front of her face.
He vomits twice before he can stand up. “Well, that was a lot worse than I expected.”
“I have 7 Up and Alka-Seltzer in it.”
“Sounds lovely.” He wipes his mouth with a frown.
I dragged her into the house and found her a spare toothbrush. While she brushes her teeth, I take out some snacks that my mom always said helped with her sour stomach.
“You are a lifesaver.” Iris plops down on the stool and pops a pretzel into her mouth.
“Do you feel better?”
“A lot. I wanted to drive, but Declan insisted I fly.” “Why did he do that?”
She lifts a shoulder. “He thought it was safer.” “More than driving?”
His eyes roll. “I know. He’s a little overbearing these days.
I shoot him a look. “I hate to break it to you, but it’s always been that way.” She laughs. “I see why Cal loves you.”
I tense.
His eyes narrow. “He loves you, you know it.” I love my manicure. “I know.”
“But you don’t trust him,” he says.
“He hasn’t given me much reason to do it.”
His soft smile reaches his eyes. “Although she was in a different position than you with the will, I can see where you’re coming from.”
“Were you?”
“Do you really think Declan and I got married because we love each other?”
My eyebrows rise so high I’m afraid they’ll get permanently stuck that way.
She snorts. “I married Declan because of the will. Falling in love with him was a convenient outcome that I hadn’t anticipated happening.”
My mouth opens. “Did you marry him because of the inheritance?”
“Among other things.” She absentmindedly runs a hand over her stomach with a small smile.
It’s her…
Don’t you dare ask that.
I bite my cheek to keep from blurting out the question burning in the back of my mind.
She looks at me, as if remembering that I’m still here. “I know it sounds crazy…”
“Because it is!”
She laughs. “Well, I married Declan because I cared about him and I didn’t want to see him lose to his idiotic father.”
“What does your father have to do with all this?”
“Well, that’s where it all gets a little complicated. If the brothers do not complete their individual tasks, his father keeps his shares in the company.”
“That because?”
She shrugs her shoulders. “His grandfather made it that way.”
Shit. “So, if Cal doesn’t sell the house…”
His father would earn eighteen percent of the company, plus the six percent that has not yet been claimed.
“Do you think his father owns six percent?”
“Not yet at least. Whatever Brady has asked him to do is not complete yet.”
“And what about Declan?”
A small smile teases his lips. “She’s close to getting hers, but whatever happens with Cal and his assignment puts Declan’s stock at risk.”
My eyes close. Cal never mentioned that.
Probably because you didn’t give him a chance to explain himself.
Guilt replaces some of the anger I’ve held on to since finding out about the inheritance.
“He didn’t have a choice before. But now that everything is out in the open…” “I haven’t told anyone.”
She laughs. She didn’t expect you to. You care about Cal as much as he cares about you, no matter how angry you are at him.
“Am I that predictable?” There is a harsh bite to my question. She raises her hands in mock surrender. “Love makes people do selfless things.”
I pull out a stool next to him and sit down before my legs hurt. “How to sell my house?”
She nudges her shoulder with mine. Cal will figure it out. My hands stopped moving. “How do you know?”
“Because if you want it, he will stop at nothing to make it happen.” “So?”
She snaps her fingers. “So.”
 |
“What do you think, Mrs. Castillo?”
I look up from the wooden floor that looks new after Ryder refinished it. The memory of Cami taking her first steps near the stairs fades when I get the news that the house will be ready in a couple of weeks to show to potential buyers.
I’m sure Cal will be impressed with how the remodel is turning out. The interior designer Ryder hired is doing a phenomenal job making the house look exactly like our Pinterest boards. Although there are still some last minute finishes that need to be added, everything looks the way I wanted.
“Millisecond. Castle?” the real estate agent repeats while looking at me as if I had lost my mind.
Maybe I have. The lack of sleep, worry about Cal, and the upcoming open house have done a splendid job of keeping me up late into the night to the point of delirium.
“Yeah?” I shake my head. “Did you hear anything I said?”
Heat rushes to my cheeks. “No. I’m sorry about that. Would you mind repeating that?”
He snorts as he pushes his thick-rimmed glasses up the bridge of his nose. “I was just mentioning that we have a lot of people interested in the property, and we haven’t had an open house yet.”
“Wow. That’s great.” My voice couldn’t sound stiffer if I tried.
The real estate agent raises a fuzzy eyebrow. “So he knows, when we have multiple offers, that usually increases the price.” “Fantastic.” I rock in my sneakers.
He frowns. “Everything’s fine?” “Of course. Why wouldn’t it be like that?”
Close your folder. “If you are hesitating to sell the house…”
“No!” I raise my hand. “I’m overwhelmed that we have so many people interested in the property.”
Yes, overcome with nausea.
His strained smile doesn’t calm my queasy stomach. “If things go as planned, you and Mr. Kane will sell the property to the highest bidder during the open house.”
“Great.” The hollow pit in my stomach widens at the thought.
“I figured as much. There’s no way this house will last until the end of the open house.”
I take a breath. “Let’s start with the open house and go from there.”
The real estate agent goes over the details he’s planned, all while I weave in and out of the conversation with a confirming nod here and there.
“Would you like to be present when buyers come to view the property?”
I give my head a hard shake. “No.”
I’d rather jump off the dock in a pair of cement slippers than sit for hours with people gawking at the house I love while
I sit idle, letting my heart break knowing that one of them will buy it for me.
Screw that.
Just because I’m selling the house to help Cal and his family doesn’t mean I have to like it.
|
The shrill sound of my ringtone wakes me up. I thought sleeping in Cal’s bed might help cure my insomnia, but Rowan’s call shattered my theory before I had a chance to test it. I go to bed and answer my phone. “Hello?”
“Alana.” Rowan’s hoarse voice fills my ear. “How are you?” “Wonderful, especially now that you woke me up.”
He lets out a breath of air. “I’m sorry about that. I didn’t think you’d be asleep at nine at night.”
Nine p.m?!
Shit. I probably knocked out as soon as Cami did.
I grab the pillow that no longer smells so strongly of Cal and place it under my head. “I haven’t been sleeping as well as possible lately.” “How are you?”
“As good as one would expect after discovering that your grandfather was hell-bent on making me suffer for some reason, although I’m not sure why. I was good to him. I even listened to his stories about Ireland as if I hadn’t heard the same ones a hundred times before.”
His laugh is soft and calm, making me smile. “He was a manipulative bastard, wasn’t he?”
“Yuck. The worst. What did he make you do?”
“Run and renovate Dreamland for six months.”
I scoff “And here I thought we were on equal terms.” “It wasn’t as easy as it seems, especially for someone like me.” “What is that supposed to mean?”
“That I was an idiot who needed a good kick in the butt.”
My smile widens. “Zahra mentioned that she helped talk some sense into you.”
“She did a lot more than that.”
I can practically hear the smile in his voice. Bitterness rises, ready to exploit my insecurities about my own relationship, but I push it down.
I guess you didn’t call me to talk about your girlfriend.
“No, but who says I needed a reason to call?”
You’re a Kane. “You don’t make phone calls unless there’s something you want.”
He laughs harder this time, making me smile. “I was hoping to talk to you about the tres leches recipe.”
“Oh really?” I thought you would call to find out about the sale of the house or to ask me a question about Cal.
” Seriously ,” he repeats in my tone, making me bite my tongue to keep from laughing. “I was hoping we could come to a reasonable agreement.” “Why do you want it so much?”
“Because I know talent when I see it, and you are the real deal.” Heat creeps up my neck before spreading to my cheeks. “Actually?”
“Yes. Cal mentioned that you’re interested in opening your own bakery and I respect that kind of ambition. I’m sure you’ll go far with your skills. My phone slips from my grip because of how sweaty my hand becomes. I’m not breathing, and much less do I interrupt him while he continues.
“But I’m interested in developing a new piece of land that has Princess Marianna and a few other characters that I can’t share much about yet unless you agree to help.”
“Are any of these characters from Colombia?” “Would that convince you to say yes?”
“Depends. Are you still offering me a million dollars for the recipe? “Let’s make it five.”
” Five million?”
“ Cal was right when he challenged me to offer just one million. He just wanted to see if he pays more attention than he lets on, and he agreed with me.”
My mouth opens. “Did you do it on purpose?” He laughs. “Yeah.”
“What’s the matter?”
“Zahra is still trying to figure that out, although compared to Declan, I’m the good one.”
I close my eyes to focus. “This is a lot to understand.” “So I shouldn’t mention work?”
“What work?”
“I’d like to hire you as a kind of bakery consultant.” “A baking consultant?” I scream
“I see that you and Zahra share the affectionate habit of repeating everything I say.”
“That says more about you than it does about us.”
His deep laugh makes my phone speaker crackle. “Are you open to work?”
“Do I have to work in Dreamland?”
“Only for a minority of the time. We can fly the jet one weekend every month if that works.
No. I’m not going to comment on the private jet, no matter how much I want to.
Once a month sounds doable, especially if it’s just a part-time job.
“How much are you offering?” He asked with a serious tone. “Give me a few more recipes and you will retire tomorrow.”
Fuck retirement. I could open my own bakery and travel the world, getting the best of both worlds.
My answer is easy. “You know what? Of course. Why not?” “I was hoping you were up to the challenge.”
I smile “When do I start?” “Does it work next month?”
When faced with the choice of sitting at home all weekend or going to Dreamland, I make the same reasonable decision that anyone else would make in my position.
“Sure, as long as Cami can come with me.”
“Of course. My assistant will send you all the details and trip information.”
I stare at the ceiling long after Rowan hung up the call and process what just happened. Working for the Kanes might not be what I expected for me, but an experience like this would help me grow and give me the opportunity to learn from other people. I can make it the adventure I always wanted.
And you achieved it all on your own.
Maybe dreams do come true after all.
