He’s right. Because if that happens, it won’t matter what Dick the Prick wants me to do—I’ll have to do it no matter how abhorrent, vile, or illegal it is. A deal is a deal in the Stone family.
9
Chapter Nine
Isla
After the run-in with Garrin on Tuesday night, I was happy to get a text from Everly Brookes wanting to catch up. Everly and I used to be best friends back at Forest View Academy, but I haven’t seen or spoken to her since I left.
I have no idea what she’s been doing with her life, but since I’m here for the foreseeable future, it’d be nice to reconnect with someone who’s presumably happy to have me back. So we made plans to meet up at Coppersmith’s, a restaurant that specializes in a variety of steaks, for dinner and drinks.
I’m already seated at our table when she arrives, standing in the front of the room, glancing around the restaurant. I wave to grab her attention, and when she spots me, a large smile transforms her face and she rushes over. I pop up out of my seat, a huge smile on my face as well. At least one person from high school besides Ford is happy to see me.
“You look phenomenal! I can’t believe you’re back!” She envelops me in a big hug, which I return wholeheartedly. She squeezes me for a minute, and when she lets me go, I lean back to take her in.
Everly still looks like a porcelain doll. I remember being jealous of her in high school because while the rest of us were dealing with the usual teenage skin problems, hers was always perfection. Her hair rests at her chin and is no longer a medium brown but a white-blonde color that seems to set off her blue eyes and pert nose.
“Look at you! Perfection as always,” I say, meaning every word.
She waves me off. “You always were too sweet for your own good.”
The host appears by our side. “May I take your coat from you?” he asks.
“Of course. Sorry, I was in such a hurry to see my friend that I skipped past the coat check.” She grins widely at me, and I remember suddenly how fun she always was. Everly could turn even the most mundane days into a good time.
She removes her camel-colored coat to reveal a pair of tight leather pants and a fitted sheer black blouse that shows off a beautifully detailed tank bra beneath.
“Jeez, you look like you just glided in off the runway and I look like a politician’s wife.” I sit down.
“You don’t look like any politician’s wife I’ve ever seen.” She passes her coat to the host and thanks him, then sits down opposite me. “It would make sense, though, what with you working on Ford Masterson’s campaign.” Her perfectly arched eyebrows rise in question.
“How did you know about that?” I reach for my water glass.
“Please. You can’t keep anything a secret in this town.” She smiles and it’s so genuine that tears prick my eyes.
With everything going on with my dad and having to face my past by returning here, I can’t believe how comforting it is to be in the company of my old friend.
A crease forms between her eyes. “What is it? What’s wrong?”
Now I’m waving her off. “Nothing. It’s just good to see you again. I missed you.” Even if I didn’t realize how much until this moment.
She reaches across the table and squeezes my hand. “I missed you too. You left town so fast after everything happened… I wanted to reach out to you, but you didn’t say goodbye, so I figured…”
“Can I start you ladies off with a drink?” the waiter interrupts.
“Sure, I’ll have your house red,” I say.
Everly takes her hand back to reach for the drink menu, then seems to think better of it. “You know what? I’ll have the same as her. Thanks.”
“Wonderful. I’ll be right back.”
“What were you going to say?” I ask.
“Just that I wanted to reach out to you a bunch of times over the years, but I always stopped myself because I thought you must have been mad at me for that night.”
I frown. “Why would I have been mad at you?”
“I’m the one who encouraged you to sleep with Asher. If I hadn’t, the sex tape never would have happened.”
My shoulders slump. Has she been blaming herself all these years?
I always thought that I was the only one who was affected by what happened, but I realize now that by avoiding facing this for so many years, I may have been stopping other people from healing as well.
“Everly, I never blamed you for what happened. I was the one who chose to sleep with Asher. The only one to blame is the person who filmed us and released the tape.”
“Do you really mean that?”
She looks like she’s been waiting to hear me say that for years.
“Yes, I mean it.” I reach over and grab her hand.
A large breath leaves her lungs. “Oh, thank God. I was nervous to meet you here tonight, but when you smiled at me when I came in, I got so excited thinking you had forgiven me after so much time had passed.”
“There’s nothing to forgive.” I squeeze her hand and then release it.
“I’m sorry that happened to you. I never got to tell you that.”
“Thank you. I’m finally at the point where I can deal with it.”
The waiter appears again with two glasses of red wine. After taking a quick look at the menu he takes our orders and leaves.
“So, what are you doing back? I assume you’re staying since you took a job working for Ford?” she asks.
I sip my wine.
I haven’t told anyone about my father’s illness. My parents are notoriously private, so I wouldn’t say anything to most people, but I need to confide in someone. It’s been difficult handling this without anyone to lean on. Plus, Everly understands family secrecy.
“My dad is sick, but we’re not telling anyone.” I suck back the tears and straighten my back. “He was diagnosed with lung cancer last month and is undergoing treatment. I’m here to help him get healthy again.”
Everly’s hand flies up to cover her mouth. “I’m so sorry. I know how close you are with your dad. How is your mom handling it?”
“She seems to prefer to pretend everything is normal. Doesn’t talk about it much, still carries on with all her charity work. It’s almost as if she thinks if she ignores it, it’ll just take care of itself.” I take another healthy sip from my glass.
The concern in Everly’s eyes is overwhelming, and I know I’ve done the right thing by telling her. “Maybe she just can’t handle it emotionally.”
“That’s a big part of it.”
“What’s his prognosis?”
“The doctors are optimistic. They caught it fairly early, stage two, so between radiation and chemotherapy, they seem to think they can get him into remission.”
Her hand reaches over and covers mine. “That’s great. Your dad is a tough man. He’s got this.”
God, I hope more than anything that she’s right.
“I think so, too. Please don’t say anything to anyone. But to answer your question, I don’t know how long I’ll be here. Right now, I’m here as long as my dad needs me for. Once he’s better, we’ll see what life has in store for me.”