Page 111 of Riches and Romance

“Are you sure you have to go back? I feel like you just got here.”

A familiar sting welled in the corners of my eyes. I’d been so wrapped up with Duke these past few days, I’d barely spent any time with my best friend. And now I was leaving because of him too? I hated the way he affected me so much, hated how his stupid, arrogant, beautiful face made everything feel so messy and complicated.

But I knew that if I stayed, it would only make things worse. Clearly, he wasn’t in a position to be seeing anyone new. Not if he had a kid he was just finding out about. There was only one thing left to do.

No matter how much it broke me to do it.

“You and Luke can always come to LA,” I said, rolling over onto my side.

Charlotte mirrored my position, propping her head up on her wrist.

“We were already talking about flying out to see you in the fall.”

That did me in. Tears fell freely down my cheeks, half out of love for my best friend and half out of heartbreak over Duke. I didn’t want to admit it, but I had fallen for him, whether I wanted to or not.

And that was why I knew I couldn’t stay. I had a great job at a successful law firm in California. My family was there. I had a lease on an apartment. In the real world, you didn’t just ride off into the sunset for some hot country guy. No matter how nice his biceps were.

But Charlotte was still frowning at me.

“I just think Duke is better off working it out with his ex. It looks like they have a lot to catch up on, and I don’t want to make him choose between a woman he hardly knows and the family he didn’t know he had.”

Charlotte nodded, tears welling up in her eyes as well. She pulled me in for a hug, rubbing my back like she always didwhen somependejobroke my heart. She’d always been there for me, no matter what, and in that moment more than ever, I was grateful for my friend.

Her phone chimed, and when she checked it, a nervous smile spread across her face.

“So, don’t be mad, but Molly’s here. She’s the one driving you to the airport.”

Okay, scratch what I said about being grateful for her. I knew Molly was Duke’s younger sister, even if I hadn’t formally met her yet.

I sat up, a mixture of confusion and frustration brewing between my brows.

“Why Molly? I haven’t even met her yet.”

“I know, I know! But look, she was planning to drive into the city today, and once you booked your flight for this evening, it didn’t make sense to drive you out myself if she was already going.”

“You’ve got to be kidding me.”

“Besides, she wanted to finally meet the woman with a mouth that could shut her big-mouthed brother up.”

I snorted, warmth spreading over my cheeks.Is that really what people have been saying about me?

“Ugh, fine, I’ll ride with the little sister. Is there anything I need to know before I meet her? Not that your warnings have done much good in the past.”

Charlotte rolled her eyes. “Molly’s an absolute sweetheart. She can just be a little…protective of her brothers sometimes. But it comes from a good place. She has a good heart.”

“Oh, great, so I’m about to spend the next hour in the car with someone who hates my guts.”

“Not necessarily. She just wants to meet you for herself.”

Twenty minutes, three more rounds of hugs, and a fresh batch of tears later, I was sitting shotgun in Molly’s pickup truck,desperately trying to think of something to talk about. The sky seemed to know how I was feeling, its normal perfect shade of blue quickly turning dark gray with huge, heavy-looking clouds moving right toward us. Fantastic.

“Looks like you guys have some crazy weather headed your way,” I said.Am I really resorting to talking about the weather? Fuck me.

“I bet you’re pretty happy to be on your way back to LA right about now,” Molly replied. Her voice was light and friendly, but I could smell a gossip from a mile away. She was testing me, trying to suss out how I felt about her brother.Game on. Bring it, baby.

“It’ll be nice to stop living out of a suitcase, but I enjoyed Shady Grove more than I expected to.”

“Oh?” Molly’s ears practically perked up, ready for me to spill something about Duke.

---