“Damn. Well…I’m happy for you. I can’t believe that guy is gonna be my brother-in-law. Weird.”
“It doesn’t have to be weird if you both make an effort.”
Joseph was quiet for a long time. “He’s got a lot of resources and a great reputation. So I guess I can make it work.”
“I’m sure he feels the same.”
“So, when’s the wedding?”
“We’ll have a small ceremony soon. Then we’ll have the big royal one in about a year.”
“Do I have to go to the big royal one?” he asked with a groan.
“No. But there’ll probably be a lot of beautiful women there…”
“Ooh…maybe I’ll go after all.”
I rolled my eyes. “I’ll let you know when we do the small ceremony. It’ll be in Fair Isle.”
“I’ll definitely make it to that. I’m gonna give you away, right?”
I smiled. “I assumed so.”
“Alright. I’ll get my finest suit. And I’ll even be nice to you all day.”
“Whoa, that’s a serious wedding gift.”
“Yep. A one-time thing.”
I chuckled. “Well, I guess I’ll talk to you later.”
“What are you guys gonna do about Ariel?”
“What do you mean?”
“She’s just gone? Like off the map?”
“Sounds like Crewe fired her.”
“You said they were really close, so I guess I’m surprised.”
Crewe had been in a good mood since he picked me up in New York. It didn’t seem like he missed her, not like before. But her actions probably erased any affection he had for her.
“I’m not saying what she did was okay—by any means. I’ll always think she’s a cunt. But I saw the way Crewe was protective of her. She’s really important to him. You betrayed him, I shot him…maybe she should get a second chance too.”
After what she did, I wasn’t so inclined. But I shouldn’t lose sight to why I went to New York in the first place. I wanted Ariel to be in his life. She was what Joseph was to me. Without her, all Crewe had was me. I tried to make it work with Ariel, but she refused to meet me halfway. That said, my prejudice shouldn’t stop me from doing what was best for Crewe. “I’ve never heard you be so wise.”
“I’m not just a pretty face.”
I chuckled. “We have very different definitions of pretty.”
“Are you gonna do anything about her?”
“I don’t know…I’ll think about it.”
“Well, let me know what happens. It’s unfortunate she’s a lesbian because she’s pretty sexy.”
“Don’t be gross, Joseph.”
“I’m wise and gross. Deal with it.” He hung up.
I opened Crewe’s contacts and saw Ariel at the top of his favorites list. She was by far the person he called the most. He hadn’t deleted her from his phone book, so she wasn’t completely wiped from his existence.
I pressed the number and held the phone to my ear.
It rang four times before she answered. With her voice so weak, I hardly recognized her when she spoke. “Crewe?”
“Actually, it’s London.” I felt a wave of anger once our conversation was engaged. She’d caused me a lot of unnecessary pain. For an instant, I forgot why I was even bothering to do this.
“Oh…”
I sat on the phone in silence, unable to form words. I chewed on my inner cheek and cleared the anger from my blood. “I’m back in Scotland. Crewe asked me to marry him.”
“Congratulations…” She still sounded frail. “I know you don’t believe me and that’s perfectly fine, but I’m sorry for everything. I shouldn’t have overstepped my boundaries. I shouldn’t have done any of the things I did. Please take care of Crewe. He’s a good man.”
I shouldn’t pity her, but I did. “Crewe told me you told him the truth.”
“He went through a hard time when you left. Got blood poisoning from drinking too much. Lost his way…it was bad. I realized I made a terrible mistake, and I had to make it right. But telling him the truth doesn’t erase what I did. I understand that.”
When I pictured Crewe drinking himself into a coma, I wanted to burst into tears. When we were face-to-face, he took my departure calmly. But I should have known how disturbed he would have been once I was gone.
“Thank you for giving me the chance to apologize,” she said. “I’ll let you go now.”
“Wait, Ariel.”
“Yes?”
No one would judge me if I never spoke to her again. No one would think less of me if I let Crewe lose her. But I didn’t want Crewe to lose someone he cared so much about because of me. If I’d never come into the picture, none of this would have happened. “Can you come to the castle today? I want the three of us to talk.”
“London, he doesn’t want to see me. I accept that.”
“I’ve never wanted him to lose you. I know you’re important to him, even now. There’s no reason it can’t be the three of us. You were always loyal to him until I came around. I want the two of you to have that relationship again.”
Ariel was quiet.
“Can you come to the castle?”
“I want to work it out with Crewe more than anything, but I don’t think I can watch him kick me out again. It broke my heart enough the first time.”
“We have to try. Crewe is stubborn, but if you give him enough time, he’ll come around.”
“I can be there in twenty minutes.”
“Perfect. I’ll tell Dunbar to put you in the office, and I’ll come down with Crewe.”
She sighed over the phone. “I hope this goes well, but my expectations are low.”
“My expectations are high.”
21
Crewe
“We need to get out of this room.” After I got dressed, London pulled me by the hand into the hallway.
“Do we?” I asked seriously. “Food is delivered to us whenever we want. We get plenty of exercise. And we’re naked all the time.”
“We have all night. Come on.” Hand in hand, we took the stairs together to the ground floor. Dunbar looked at me, but he didn’t wear a look of contempt for London. After my misery and blackout, he obviously thought London’s presence was essential.
London headed for my office.
I didn’t care about work right now. The business could wait until I started to care again. Without Ariel, the work was seriously piling up. It was so overwhelming I didn’t even want to bother. I’d need to get a replacement for her, but I didn’t want to deal with that either. “I hope the only reason we’re going in there is to fuck on my desk.”
“We’ll see.” She walked inside first then shut the door once I was inside.
I saw Ariel sitting on the leather sofa, in her jeans and t-shirt. Her glasses were gone because she was wearing contacts. When she looked at me, she wore the same expression of sadness that she did the last time we spoke. I distinctly told her I never wanted to see her again, so she must be here because of London.
I glared at Ariel, just as pissed off as I was the last time I saw her.
“Crewe.” London grabbed my hand. “Let’s sit down.”
“I told you I never wanted to see you again. You thought that was a joke?” My fury burned right through my skin.
Ariel looked down.
“Crewe, calm down.” London pulled me to the couch and sat down. She patted the cushion beside her. “Take a seat.”
Furious, all I could was stare at her.