They crossed paths in a Moroccan souk in the early eighties. Legend had it, she was perusing caftans, the sheer, vibrant patterns blowing in the wind, and he spotted her from across the way, instantly smitten the moment they exchanged smiles. When he discovered they were both from the States, he invited her to dine with him that evening. They stayed up all night talking and he declared his affections for her before the sun had a chance to rise the next morning.
Their love was the thing fairytales are made of, or so I’m told by former staffers who adored them. I knew my parents for fifteen years of my life, but those memories have faded with time.
They’ve also made me the man I am today, a man who doesn’t dwell on the past, a man who only moves forward.
At eighteen, I inherited my parents’ massive estate.
By twenty-eight, I’d turned the Westcott fortune into over a billion dollars, becoming one of the youngest billionaires in the world.
Two years ago, my net worth topped a trillion.
There isn’t a man in the world who needs nor deserves that kind of money, but building wealth, breaking ground, and conquering industries is the only thing I know how to do—and I’m fucking amazing at it.
“Can I get you anything else, Mr. Westcott?” My server stops by once more.
“I’ll take the check,” I say, refusing to remove my stare from the twinkling skyline.
Somewhere out there, Sophie is drinking dessert wine and binge watching some God-awful show—alone.
I get the sense that maybe she likes to be alone.
Perhaps we have that in common.
If we’re going to be alone in this life, perhaps we should be alone … together.
Ten
Sophie
Past
He grins wide when I climb into his car. “Long time, no see, beautiful.”
He hasn’t been to the café in the three weeks that have passed since the party, and for a while, I thought I’d never see him again, but he texted me a week ago, reminding me that we were going to celebrate my eighteenth birthday together.
I almost said no.
I was certain he’d forgotten about me, that all those things he said in the car that first night were in an attempt to appease a broken heart.
Curiosity got the best of me.
That and I missed the way I felt when I was with him—euphoric.
Everything’s been gray since that night.
“Happy birthday.” Nolan hands me a box the color of robins’ eggs wrapped in a white satin ribbon.
“You didn’t have to do this,” I say.
His eyes light in the dark interior of his coupe. “Of course I did.”
My heart thumps hard in my ribcage. For a moment, I wonder if I wore too much perfume tonight. If the lip gloss I nervously slicked on will keep him from wanting to kiss me. If he thinks I look just as pretty in jeans and a sweater as I did in that vintage dress.
“Open it,” he says.
I tug the ribbon loose and gently pry the lid off.
A sparkling diamond pendant rests on a white silk pillow. In the movies, women gasp when presented with jewelry, but all the air seems to have been sucked from my lungs.
I don’t know what to say.
No one’s ever given me something like this before, not even close.
“Do you like it?” he asks.
What kind of question is that? Who wouldn’t like a diamond necklace?
I swallow the stunned lump in my throat and force myself to nod. Of course I like it. It’s beautiful. Almost too beautiful to wear.
“Try it on.” He takes the box and carefully removes the necklace. A moment later, it’s fastened around my neck.
I flip down the passenger visor and inspect the way it shimmers against the backdrop of my fuzzy brown sweater like a sharp juxtaposition of my humble life against his, my eighteen years against his forty-some. My nervous hope against his impeccable confidence.
“I love it,” I tell him. I’d lean across the console and kiss him, but I doubt he wants to be covered in sticky vanilla lip gloss.
“Three flawless carats,” he adds. “I’ve always loved the number three. Signifies past, present, and future.”
Is he saying he has a future with me?
I don’t ask.
“You ready?” He gives my hand a squeeze before lifting it to his lips and depositing a kiss that sends butterflies twirling in my middle.
“Where are we going?” I fasten my seatbelt as he pulls out of our apartment complex. I told my mother I was seeing him again tonight. She protested with what little energy she had, and I promptly reminded her I was eighteen.
I rarely pull the sassy teenager card on her, but tonight I had no choice.
I wanted to see Nolan.
I needed to see Nolan.
“There’s a little place just outside the city,” he says. “We should be able to see the stars from there, once we’re farther away from the lights. Thought maybe we could get to know each other a little better.”
He takes my hand in his, holding it the way you would a boyfriend or girlfriend, and a blanket of warmth envelopes every inch of me, head to toe.
“Sound good?” he asks, peering at me before checking his rearview.
The fact that he wants to get to know me is a good sign. I’m an adult. We can date. Maybe something’s going to come of this after all?
I nod, whispering a quiet “yes” as I gaze from behind the pristine glass of his lightning-fast sports car. We weave through traffic, the engine growling at times and purring at others, the ride as smooth as ice. It’s quite a change from my Honda that picks up every bump and crack in the road and overheats every time the temperature hits the nineties.
I think of the cash hidden under my mattress. The price tag on this sports car. The diamond dangling from my neck.
According to Google, his father is a steel magnate and his mother is sole heir to an oil fortune. The internet listed their family’s net worth in the hundreds of millions of dollars. A few images showed Nolan with various beautiful women on his arm, all of them clearly in their twenties. All of them worldlier than me. Their hair and makeup professionally done. Their outfits impeccably styled.
With his vast wealth and the entire world at his fingertips, I can’t help but wonder: why me?
“Did you quit your job yet?” he asks. In the blink of an eye, the scenery changes from city to suburban sprawl.
I shake my head. “I can’t.”
“Of course you can.” He removes his hand from mine as he changes lanes.
“I like my job.”
He shoots me a quick smirk and then he chuckles. “Nobody likes being a waitress, Soph.”
I do.
“My family needs the extra money,” I say. “My mom’s not able to work right now and my sister has muscular dystrophy. We have a lot of expenses.”
In fact, we’re drowning in them …
“I told you, I’m going to take care of you,” he says.
“I know. But I take care of my family, so …”
“Let me know what you need. I’ll help you any way I can.”
I don’t know what to say other than it sounds too good to be true. “I don’t want to be a burden.”
I just want him to love me …