“Stop, Jessa.”
“No, I refuse to—”
“Why the fuck won’t you let it go, little woman?” his voice booms. His fist rears back before launching forward, punching the porch railing loose and causing me to flinch.
I feel so small around him, and I still can’t muster the good sense to walk away. “Because I want people to know the truth about you,” I grind out through a clenched jaw.
An exasperated sound leaves Eli’s lips. His shoulders fall. “Why the fuck does it matter to you?” He throws up his hands, sounding more depleted than ever.
I face him head-on, feeling as tired as he looks. “Because I love you, Eli. I'm in love with you, and I think I have been ever since I received your very first letter.” My eyes search his. “You are good. You’re a good man, and I want everyone else to see you the way Callie sees you, the way I do. You deserve that.” On those words, my throat closes up completely.
His mouth opens for a moment, but then he hesitates and clamps it shut again. He stares at me so long, I think he’s going to close this awful distance between us and kiss me. I can almost taste his gorgeous lips. I can almost feel his stubble tickle my chin.
But the words that leave his mouth steal my last shards of hope. “Stay away from me. Stay away from Callie.”
In two large steps, he’s yanking open his door and storming into the house. The sound of that door slamming in my face echoes through my heart on the long drive home.
55 Eli
I’m at the office, but my head is twelve miles away. Mindlessly, I stare at the live nanny cam footage, watching Callie pour her energy into another alphabet sheet. I guess the nanny isn’t too impressed by her kindergarten readiness and has her working several hours a day from a workbook. I can’t decide if I approve or not.
I’m all for building up Callie’s penmanship skills, but I miss seeing the carefree girl running through the fields and chasing frogs down by the river. Childhood is too fleeting to not be outside playing and laughing.
I haven’t seen or heard from Jessa since I kicked her off my porch the other day, but that hasn’t stopped me from wondering what she’s doing.
Cannon ‘casually’ mentioned that she’s been staying in one of his guest bedrooms. That just feels wrong because she belongs with me. In my house. In my room. In my bed. Every time her big eyes flash through my mind, my gut clenches so tight I can’t fucking eat. That’s probably not the worst thing to come out of this, considering the new nanny ‘doesn’t do meals’.
I’m fucking miserable here.
Whenever I close my eyes, I see her gorgeous tear-stained gaze staring up at me. I hear those words fall from her lips. Because I love you, Eli.
She has no idea how badly I wanted to break down and say it back. The hardest thing I’ve ever done was to turn her away. I think that decision was even harder than the one I made to take the fall for Gabby’s crimes.
Yes, I’m still pissed about the whole Monica bullshit. I hate that Jessa deceived me and made me look like a damn idiot. I hate that she pulled one over on me. But at the same time, now that I’ve had the time to step back and merge the two women in my head, now that I see the full, complete package—fuck—I think I love Jessa even more.
Still, I have to do what I think is best for me and my daughter. And that means, just focusing on us, leaving Jessa behind.
I glance up from my computer screen and look out my open office door. I catch Cannon and his secretary, Sally, both staring at me. They’re huddled over her desk, talking quietly, and both of them dart their eyes away the moment I bust them.
I watch with annoyance as Cannon drags his feet in my direction. Great. What did I do now?
“We need to talk,” my brother mutters, welcoming himself inside, closing my door and dropping down in an empty chair on the opposite side of my desk.
I prop my elbows on my tabletop, rest my chin in my hands and wait.
“The acquisition analysis we talked about the other day?” he starts. “As I said before, something wasn’t adding up. Sally and I see several concerning…discrepancies.”
“By concerning discrepancies, you mean missing money,” I clarify.
Cannon gives a curt nod. My brother honestly looks like he’s going to be sick. “Yes. Missing money.”
“And you both think I’m behind it. That I gave into my lawless ways and stole from the company,” I deadpan.
I can’t say I’m surprised. It’s disappointing, of course, but your brand is everything and I knew I was giving up my reputation when I pled guilty to fraud. So I can’t say I blame my brother for jumping to conclusions but I sure wish he’d give me the benefit of the doubt.
“I don’t want to, Eli. But no one else has been working on this. No one else is in on this deal. My hands are tied, brother.”
I stare him down, a thousand resentful thoughts buzzing through my head at warp-speed.
When I don’t speak, Cannon leans forward. “Tell me you didn’t do this. Defend yourself. Say something. Anything, man.”
I shrug, knowing my denials won’t make much difference. “I didn’t do it,” I say simply. “But I don’t know what to tell you to make you believe me, Cannon.”
I don’t need money. The house is paid off, and even if it wasn’t, I could pop up a tent next to the river or, at worst, move into our parents’ guest house. Besides, between Callie and all the nanny drama I’m dealing with, does he really think I have time to mastermind some grand scheme to steal from the family business?
I’m so tired of having to prove myself to everybody.
Brows
