Page 37 of The Arrangement
After saying good-bye to the rest of the group following the performance and shooting Simon a congratulatory text, Liam and I slipped outside to take a little walk. Directly across from Music Hall, Washington Park started with a large green space, which they used for summer outdoor concerts. Beyond that, there was a splash park for the kids, a dog park for the furry family members, and a gazebo.
“Did you enjoy the performance?” I inquired after we walked a bit, though not quite in the direction of the car. The air was stillcomfortable, and I wasn’t ready to be enclosed in a small space with Liam until I worked out the last of these weird jitters.
“I did!” Liam’s voice jumped, and I couldn’t tell if he was simply excited or if I’d surprised him with my question. “Your friend Simon was amazing. When you talk to him next, could you tell him I thought he did a spectacular job, and I’m very glad he’s with the Cincinnati Symphony?”
“I will. I will.” With my hands shoved into my pockets, we wove our way through the silent water park. “Do you mind if we walk for a while? It’s nice out.”
“No, that’s fine.”
My head popped up. “We’re in OTR. Would you rather grab a drink? There are a lot of great places up the block.” I was already turning my body in that direction as I spoke.
“Nah. I’m good. That was a lot of people, and I’m enjoying the quiet. This park is nice.”
I grunted in agreement and resumed my aimless walk.
“Those people. Your friends I met tonight. You went to college with all of them?”
Chuckling, I shook my head. “Not all of them. Pierce, Sebastian, and Declan were all friends from college.”
“Plus, Simon’s brother, right?”
“Mn. I met Pierce and Sawyer, Simon’s brother, first. We hung out for a while. Pierce, Sawyer, and I had a bunch of those freshman intro classes together. Sebastian and Declan, we met later that first year. Those two actually knew each other from high school. Sebastian has always looked out for Declan because the guy is so damn quiet.” A sigh escaped me. Now Declan had Parker to do that for him. Something I’d experienced firsthand. Those two were ridiculously protective of each other. It was as though they took turns going into Mama Bear mode.
Liam turned toward the gazebo as if he wanted a closer look at the old structure. “But how did you all end up here?”
“Oh, that’s all Sebastian’s fault. His family is from this area, and he took over his father’s business. He always knew he’d have to live here. And because Declan does whatever Sebastian does, he decided to be the CFO for Sebastian.”
“Sebastian…Courtland…shit! Do you mean he’s the head of Courtland Enterprises? I’ve heard of that. They’re a big company here.”
“Yep. After undergraduate college, Pierce had to finish law school, but he knew he didn’t want to work in his dad’s firm. I…” I drifted off and threw up my hands. “Well, I didn’t much care what I did at the time. Sebastian convinced us to move here so we could all still hang out and be stupid together. Not that it took all that much convincing.”
Liam leaned his hip on the black metal railing that connected the white columns supporting the roof of the gazebo. “What about Sawyer? Didn’t he want to move here too?”
I didn’t know why, but that question felt like a physical punch to the gut. Why hadn’t I expected that? He didn’t know about Sawyer.
“Sawyer died before the start of our senior year in college.”
Liam straightened from the railing, one of his hands flying up to his mouth as his eyes widened. “Oh, shit! Man…I’m so sorry.”
“It’s okay. You didn’t know. And it was a long time ago.” I quickly did the math in my head and flinched. About twelve years. How could it feel longer than that? “It was an accident. His parents had his huge cabin up in the woods on a lake. We went up the last week ahead of the beginning of classes. Just swimming, fishing, boating, and goofing off one last time. All my friends were planning to head off to graduate school. One afternoon, we were going swimming. There was this spot where we dove off into the water. Over the years, we’d probably dove off that spot a thousand times.” I tried to swallow against the sudden tightness in my throat. “Sawyer jumped, but he must nothave dove into the regular spot. He hit his head. Coroner…” I stopped to clear my throat. “Coroner said he died instantly.”
“Fuck. Rome.” Liam moved closer and put his hand on my shoulder, squeezing lightly. “I’m sorry. Really.”
I forced a weak smile on my lips. “Thanks. I’m kind of glad Simon wasn’t there at the time. Sawyer’s parents and little brother had planned to head up to the cabin the next day for one big family cookout. Simon idolized his brother. It would have crushed him if he’d been there…”
“I’m sure he was crushed, regardless.”
Sucking in a deep, cleansing breath, I held it for a count of five and pushed it out, trying to release all these heavy feelings. “Yeah. Because we were close with Sawyer, we all decided to look out for Simon as he grew up. Be there if he needed someone. Sebastian, Declan, Pierce, and I flew to Massachusetts to be there for Simon’s high school graduation. I also wouldn’t be surprised if Sebastian had a hand in convincing Simon to accept the offer from the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra.”
“So, Sebastian is the meddler out of all of you.”
A loud bark of laughter escaped, and the last of the tension rolled out of my frame. I leaned on the railing facing Liam, while he rested his back on a column. “Total fucking meddler. He’s the reason Kaylan and Arden are dating.”
“Yeah, he mentioned something about that.”
“Well, I mean, I’m sure they’re dating because they love each other. I’d forgotten earlier that Sebastian got Kaylan set up on a blind date using this app. They’ve been together since Valentine’s Day. Sebastian wants to start a betting pool for when they’ll get engaged, but Byron keeps shutting him down.”
“Didn’t your friends say something about Byron being his assistant?”
