I was momentarily stunned. She never planned to walk down that aisle today? “So you aren’t in love with Stuart anymore?” I questioned cautiously.
“No,” she confirmed in a sad tone. “I don’t know if I was ever in love with him. I think I’m still trying to figure all that out. I just spent over a year turning myself inside out to try to be the woman he wanted to marry, and I don’t even understand why.”
She sounded so lost and confused that I reached out and took her hand in mine. “We’ll figure it out together, Lia. Maybe your heart isn’t broken, but the bastard did mess with your head. You were still reeling from Esther’s death when you met Stuart. You were vulnerable. Don’t blame yourself.”
Hell, she could blame me instead. I should have been there for her, but I wasn’t. I’d been too busy feeling sorry for myself because she’d seemed happy with another guy.
She nodded and squeezed my hand. “I need to find myself again, Zeke. I’m not even sure I know who I am anymore.”
Fuck! I hated the exposed defenselessness in her tone.
I’d walked away from this woman once when I should have stuck to her like glue because she’d been unguarded and grieving.
That was never going to happen again.
“You’re still the same Lia Harper,” I informed her. “Gorgeous, fearless, blonde bombshell with the shapeliest ass on the planet. A connoisseur of coffee, and a lover of jelly beans. You’re the kindest, bravest person I’ve ever known. You talk about my accomplishments? You’re not even twenty-eight years old yet, Lia, and you already own a very successful business that you’re working on expanding for an even greater success. None of those things ever changed. All you need is some time to make yourself a priority again, and I’m going to be right here to make sure that you do.”
I heard her head flop back against the headrest as she said, “God, I missed you so much, Zeke. I know we talk, and we see each other at the shop, but we were never the same after Stuart came into the picture. What happened to us?”
I wasn’t even going to pretend that I didn’t know what she was talking about. I knew what it was like to miss Lia with every fiber of my being. “It wasn’t your fault,” I said huskily. “I hated Stuart’s guts, so I was the one who stepped back when I should have been there for you. I never thought the bastard was good enough for you, but I wanted you to be happy. I thought you were, even though I felt like the two of you never quite…fit. It always seemed like you were the only one who compromised, but I’m starting to think you did a hell of a lot more than just cater to his needs. I should have been paying more attention. I’m sorry I wasn’t there when you needed someone to be looking out for your best interests, Jellybean.”
“You’re my best friend, Zeke, not my father,” she said drily. “It wasn’t your responsibility to recognize my dysfunctional relationship. And I stepped back, too. I knew you didn’t like Stuart, but I think I was so caught up in that relationship that I’m not sure I would have listened to any of your objections when I wasn’t being rational myself. I’m a big girl, Zeke. I made some bad choices, and that’s on me.” She took a deep breath before she added, “But I’m so damn grateful that you’re here to help me figure everything out.”
“I’m not going anywhere, Lia. We have all the time in the world to figure it out.”
Maybe she didn’t know it yet, but if things went my way, when all of this was over, she’d be mine, and I’d make damn sure that nobody ever hurt her again.
Lia
Zeke had made a few detours on the way back to his penthouse, and one of those errands had been to pick up food from our favorite Chinese place. We were both foodies, but we hadn’t shared a meal from our favorite spots in a long time.
I’d changed out of my dress and into a pair of jeans and a loose, tie-dyed shirt, clothing that I’d left over at Zeke’s place a long time ago. My jeans fit a lot looser since I’d dropped some weight, but I didn’t care because I was comfortable, and I felt a little more like myself again.
He’d changed into a pair of jeans, too, and a button-down baby-blue shirt that made his eyes look even bluer than normal.
The TV was on low in the background as we ate, but I was pretty sure neither one of us was paying attention to the news as we relaxed in Zeke’s living room.
I finally dropped my fork on my plate and reached for the glass of white wine he’d poured me before he’d seated himself on the couch. I took a long sip and swallowed before I said, “I don’t know what I’m going to do about my grandma’s will. If I’m not married by my birthday, I’m screwed.”
I’d loved the grandparent who had raised me like her own after my parents had died, but I still didn’t get why she’d put the condition in her will that I couldn’t inherit unless I was married before my twenty-eighth birthday. If I didn’t meet that condition, everything went to distant relatives we’d never even met, and charities she supported.
Not that Grandma Esther owed me anything. She’d raised me when nobody else would have taken me in. But it stung more than a little that, in some ways, she’d been trying to change me, too.
Nevertheless, since I’d planned on being married by my birthday, the condition had never really made all that much difference. It had just halted my ability to inherit until Stuart and I were married.
“I reviewed all the documents like you asked me to do after Esther passed away,” Zeke answered. “The estate attorney is right. If challenged, you could very well lose. It was written so well that it could be upheld by a judge. I have no idea what she was thinking when she wrote it, Lia, but you know damn well that she loved you like a daughter, and she’d want everything she had to go to you.”
Zeke’s expression was grim, but I didn’t doubt his opinion since my best friend was a high-powered defense attorney. Even though he didn’t specialize in wills and trusts, Zeke was a Harvard Law graduate, and he had a good grasp on what could be challenged according to the law.
“Unfortunately, I don’t exactly have time to find another groom,” I said wistfully. I was turning twenty-eight in exactly one week from today. “I can deal with losing the monetary assets, but it’s going to kill me to see all of the things that have so much sentimental value go, too, since she included everything in her estate. I’ll have to up my installment payments to you.”
I felt like a failure because I couldn’t pay off the money I owed to him. I’d planned on buying Zeke out of my shop completely once my grandma’s estate had gotten settled, and then putting the rest of the money into starting a second store. I knew damn well that our agreement had been more of a favor from him, even though he’d claimed he was making a good investment. “I don’t know how else to get you bought out. And the second Indulgent Brews will have to wait.”