Total pages in book: 171
Estimated words: 162003 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 810(@200wpm)___ 648(@250wpm)___ 540(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 162003 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 810(@200wpm)___ 648(@250wpm)___ 540(@300wpm)
“What’s going on?”
“What do you mean?” she blinked.
Now that I was closer, I could see that her eyes were swollen and puffy, but she had a smile on her face that was the polar opposite.
“Nicole… I can see you’ve been crying,” I said carefully. “Tell me what’s going on.”
“Sheesh, I can’t get anything past you,” she muttered as she stood up and leaned against the counter.
“Blame it on the men in my life,” I retorted.
“I planned to tell you all of this after dinner,” she said. “But I met Ryland for coffee today.”
“You did?”
That familiar space in my chest hollowed a little more at the thought of him. I’d been doing so good at keeping him off my mind, but the simple mention of his name was enough to almost topple my resolve again.
“He’s been messaging me for a while about it,” she said. “And I decided to go see what he wanted. Despite everything that’s happened, he’s still like a brother to me…”
“You don’t have to justify why you went,” I assured her. “I know you care about him, Nicole. I want you two to be friends, nothing would make me happier.”
“Well honestly, I was pretty much expecting the entire conversation to be about you,” she said. “I thought he was going to try to get me to talk to you or something. But it wasn’t about that at all.”
“What was it about?” I asked curiously.
“It was about Jackson.” She leaned against the counter and stared off into the distance for a moment. “Ryland told me that it was time for me to live my life. To be happy.”
Warmth filled my heart when I realized what she was saying. Ryland had finally absolved her of her guilt over moving on.
“That’s really amazing, Nicole.” I smiled for her. “You deserve it.”
“That isn’t all.” She rifled through her purse and pulled out a check. “He gave me this too.”
I stared at the check addressed to Nicole with more zeros than I could count, trying to understand what it meant.
“He sold the house on Belvedere Island,” she explained. “And he said that Jackson would have wanted me to have the money.”
“He sold it?” I repeated, tears brimming my eyes. “But… that was where he grew up. It was the only thing he had left…”
“That’s what I said.” Nicole shrugged. “But Ryland said it wasn’t home anymore. That without his family, it doesn’t feel right, and it never will.”
Shock resonated through my entire body at his decision. I could only imagine how difficult that must have been for him, and I wondered how he was handling it.
“Did he…” I cleared my throat and tried to wash away my emotion. “Did he look okay?”
“He looked… different,” she answered.
“Different, how?”
“I don’t know, he seemed kind of… defeated.”
“Oh.”
“He asked me to give you something too.” She pulled another envelope from her purse.
I took it between my shaky hands and tore off the seal, hoping it was a letter. Some kind of communication from him other than a text. I hoped he was getting better and that his anger really was gone. But did that mean he was moving on from me too?
I was disappointed when I shook out the contents and found another check. It was for twenty million dollars, and it was addressed to Sophia’s Shoes. My legs wobbled a bit, and I had to grip the counter to keep from falling over as I read through the paperwork.
It was a donation to the charity which stipulated that 50% of the monies would be deposited into my own personal account in order for me to run the foundation full time.
Nicole peeked over my shoulder and gasped as she saw the amount.
“Oh my God,” she whispered. “That’s…”
“Crazy?” I finished for her, setting the check down on the counter. “I can’t accept that.”
“Why not?” she asked. “It’s for the foundation. He obviously wants you to run it. And he probably wants you to feel like you have a steady income, Brighton. You’re having a baby.”
“Do you think that’s why?” I blinked up at her. “He’s paying me off?”
“What?” Her eyes widened. “Of course not. Where would you get that idea?”
I didn’t get to answer because there was a knock at the door. Nicole almost looked embarrassed as she moved to open it.
“I hope you don’t mind, but I invited Matt.”
I smiled at the blush on her cheeks. “Of course not.”
“Hey, Brighton.” He gave me a hug as he sauntered inside. “Nice to see you again. I can see the baby’s getting bigger.”
“It is.” I smiled and patted my bump.
“Well, I don’t know about you ladies, but I’m starving.”
“C’mon, grab a plate,” Nicole urged. “You’re eating for two now.”
***
We were sitting on the sofa watching TV, and I couldn’t help but notice that Matt and Nicole were getting closer and closer as the evening went on.