Page 40 of The Last Date

hat made me truly happy.

Just because I’ve never had to truly take care of myself didn’t mean that I couldn’t do it. I was organized and resourceful at work. I could apply that to the rest of my life if I needed to. Or at least, I was pretty sure that I could.

The thought of my parents cutting me off completely was terrifying. Sure, I disagreed with them about a lot of things, one of which was their snotty, classist nature.

I loved Oakley. But could I give up absolutely everything for him? Should I?

And did he love me enough to make it worth the sacrifice?

CHAPTER TWENTY

* Oakley *

Staring into a giant pot of soup, stirring harder and harder was not relieving my anxiety. The noise of the staff rushing around me in the kitchen usually brought me peace, but not today.

Sasha had sent me a text saying that she was home safe, but then I hadn’t heard another word from her.

My text this morning apologizing for not being able to bring coffee again went unanswered. I had to assume that the shit had hit the proverbial fan.

I didn’t know Sasha’s dad Carter very well. I had only met him once before his barbecue, when I was Caspian’s last-minute plus one to a fundraiser. My brother always thought that we made a dashing pair, and that it made it easier for him to pick up if there were two of us.

I just wanted to know what was going on with the people who ran large events so that I could have my staff properly pitch catering gigs.

That had been the reason I joined him at Carter’s for a drink in the first place. I knew that several of the men there had wives on various charity committees, and had been able to drop some hints smoothly into the conversation.

Carter struck me as an extremely reserved man. He took no chances. I looked into his investment companies a little, and they were well known for only dealing with banks, respected Fortune 500 companies, and very old family corporations.

He was not a gambler in the slightest. He also seemed slightly obsessed with what people thought of him. It was hard not to notice that his corporate headshot had been taken several years ago, and was clearly retouched quite a bit.

I knew I would have to find a way to win him over, but didn’t have time to think about that today.

Taking the soup off the heat, I set it aside and looked around at what I had to get done in the next three minutes, then the next ten minutes. In the kitchen, timing is everything.

I raced around the kitchen, training the new staff on every tiny detail of the new late summer menu. By the time I got through the shift, I could feel those twitchy pin pricks of stress down the back of my shoulders and spine.

Leaving the rest of the team to clean and lock up, I grabbed my jacket and took off out the back door.

In the olden days, I would have headed straight to a bar. Actually, that was a lie. I would’ve had a flask in my locker, and several more hidden around the kitchen. Once they were empty, I’d hit the bar.

Until I met Sasha, I had transferred my addiction to great coffee, and the gym. Now my gorgeous girl was what I craved.

I called her the second I was sitting in my car.

“Hello?”

“Hey, angel. How are you?”

She paused. Her silence was so long that it gave me chills. “I...found some things about you online,” she finally said in a tiny voice.

“I was going to tell you everything,” I said softly. “I needed to make sure that you knew this version of me before you learned about the very old, very outdated version.”

“It’s a lot to take in,” she said.

“I know. I wish I could have been there with you when you found out. I’d planned to curl up with you on my couch and go through absolutely everything together.”

“A friend of my mother’s was at the tasting.” Her voice was unsteady, as if she were trying not to cry.

“Dammit. Baby, I’m so sorry.”

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