Page 49 of Keeping Mr. Sweet

“I get it.” I slump further into my seat. Things between us aren’t getting better, and I don’t know how to change that. All I can do is wait and hope he’ll give me just a smidge of a chance to explain myself.

“It’s weird, isn’t it?” she asks. “I’ve only just found out my brother and my best friend have all this history. Years and years and years of history. They practically got engaged. I can’t even begin to comprehend…” She makes a motion near her ears as though her brain is exploding. “Where was I all this time that you and Sam were falling in love? Or together?”

“I’m sorry,” I say. “I’m sorry I didn’t know how to tell you. I was so ashamed of so many things. So scared of hurting the only people who were really part of my life.”

“What happened anyway?” she asks. “Between you and him the other night? He hasn’t spoken your name since it happened. He ignores me when I try to bring you up. Says he’s exhausted. I know he’s recovering, but it’s more than that, isn’t it?”

“It’s hard to explain,” I say, staring at the thick rail attached to the opposite wall. I’m not feeling very well. It’s a combination of being run off my feet at the restaurant, not being able to sleep when Sam’s scent clings to everything and I can’t stop thinking about him, and worry that he won’t forgive me this time.

“Try me.”

“Luca happened,” I whisper. “The video was only the tip of the iceberg. He dated me because he worked out who my father was. The whole thing was an effort to get money from Robert.”

“You’re kidding?” Her eyes bug out. “How did he even know?”

“Turns out his dad was an employee at Durum Tech some years ago.” He’d said something about Robert owing his father money for unfair dismissal and emotional damages that night at Mayhem, which had piqued my curiosity, and since Durum Tech’s history is all public record—unlike my father’s family life—I’d found the connection fairly easily. I have no idea if my father was in the right or wrong, or if perhaps my mother’s death sent him off the rails at the time since it was only a few months after I was born when Luca’s dad left the company. “Between Luca and his dad, they put two and two together. Didn’t help that I apparently look like my mother. They decided they could use it to their benefit. I assume Luca and the other pilot must have come to some financial agreement too.”

“Holy shit.”

“He messaged me that night.” Back when I thought we were seeing each other, I must have told him about Summer and my trips to Reverence. Maybe even told him it was like my second home because she lived here. I guess that’s how he figured out where I was since no one else knew. “When he told me to meet him at Mayhem with the cash, I was surprised, but not shocked. If anything I was relieved that he found me, even if all I could do was try to reason with him or tell him to stick it. But Robert paid him off.”

By the time I met Luca at Mayhem, less than twenty minutes after I read his message, he’d heard from Robert’s lawyers and a non-disclosure agreement had been signed. The money he wanted had also been electronically transferred. I was a little apprehensive of taking Luca’s word at face value, but an email from the lawyers backed up his story. And twenty-four hours after that the video disappeared from the internet.

It feels almost like a parting gift. One last almost fatherly act when I think we both know our relationship is over.

Or he just needed to save himself the embarrassment.

“I should have told Sam before that, but I didn’t. He’s always had my back, Sum. With my dad. With Talon. With everything. I didn’t want to disappoint him again. I didn’t want him to have to rescue me. Or give up his restaurant for me.” I swallow hard, fighting the urge to fall apart. “We both know he would have done whatever it took, and I couldn’t let him.”

“That’s our Sam,” she agrees. “But surely he would have come up with a better plan. Or at least we would have known you were safe. What were you thinking meeting that creep alone?”

“I wasn’t thinking about that.” I sigh. “I just wanted Sam to know that I’m not here because I need him to look after me. I’m here because I love him.”

“Come here.” She hugs me sideways.

“He found me talking to Luca. The bastard was trying to intimidate me, but maybe that’s not what it looked like. You should have seen Sam’s face when he saw us. Now he won’t look at me. He won’t talk to me. I don’t know what to do.”

“It’ll be okay,” she says.

“I hope so,” I whisper. “I fought so hard for so long against my feelings. Everyone talked about how my father became a shadow of himself after my mom…I didn’t want to hurt Sam like that. I didn’t want him to regret me. I didn’t want him to hate me too.”

“That’s not who Sam is.” She shakes her head, her own eyes as watery as mine. “You know him better than that.”

“I was just so scared,” I admit. “And now…”

“It really will be okay.” She tightens her hold on me. “I promise.”

***

“The boss is doing all right today,” Ru says, hanging up his coat as he scrubs his hands together to warm them. “Itching to get back to work.”

“Has Summer decided when she’s going to let him out of her care?” We’re in between the breakfast and lunch shift, and I’m trying to finalize the order for tomorrow morning. These past two weeks have been a crash course in restaurant management, but I’ve gotten the swing of it. Mandy pressed her boyfriend into coming and helping us out as well so that’s made a difference. But work is the only thing I can do right now. There’s not much else to keep me from moping in between visits to see him. Especially since when I’m there we sit in silence. The unspoken between us is almost too painful to stand. And Summer doesn’t let me talk about the restaurant. So we sit on opposite sides in the same room, and my tongue grows fat and awkward in my mouth until I can’t even swallow. Occasionally I catch him looking at me though, like maybe there’s hope.

Even now my pulse races at the idea he might not hate me completely.

Ru chuckles dryly. Summer’s a little overprotective perhaps, but that’s to be expected after their dad died. Sam’s the only family she gets along with now. “She’s driving him nuts with all the pandering. Not as much as Sasha managed to with her show of support. The woman sent him a dietician and a personal trainer to help him get on his feet. Said she wanted to come but couldn’t get out of some charity event.”

“At least she cares, even if she has a weird way of showing it.”

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