The wrinkle of her nose promised me a scolding later. I looked forward to getting out of trouble. After one last glance, I turned to face Edward again. "What did you need?"
"Walk with me?"
"Sure," I agreed and fell into step with him. Why not? Anything to get him farther away from Frankie. He'd mentioned speaking to both of us, but frankly, I'd rather vet anything he wanted to say to her through me first. We followed the sidewalk along the side of the event center. The place was bordered by a park and a greenbelt with shade trees. The heat rose off the pavement in waves.
"I honestly don't know where to begin," Edward admitted after we'd walked in absolute silence for several yards.
"If it's about the company, my answer hasn't changed. My shares will vote with Grandpa for now."
"I expected that," Edward said. "Where you vote, Frankie will."
I shrugged. Honestly, Frankie and I hadn't discussed what her shares meant. We were due for a meeting with the accountants in the next week or so, because I wanted her to understand the state of her finances. Particularly in light of the decisions the Graysons had made with regard to her trust and how much money was actually in it.
That said, I wouldn't tell Frankie how to vote. She was more than capable of reading the reports just like I was, and after her brief internship and the light in her eyes when business came up? I had a feeling, she was going to be telling me how to vote and I was okay with that too. I liked the idea of having someone who could share the passion of the business.
Such as it was.
Edward sighed. "About Maddy..."
I paused and faced him. "What about her?" The last thing I wanted to discuss was Maddy fucking Curtis unless it involved a restraining order or a psychiatric commitment. For now, putting several states between Frankie and that bitch would have to do.
"You were right to bring up your concerns about her," Edward admitted. "I know she's troubled."
"Is that a polite way of saying psychotic?"
He exhaled a long sigh and tilted his head back. "Archie, you have every right to be pissed at me and to be dismissive. I deserve it. That said, if Frankie was the one who was troubled, would you want to call her psychotic or get her help?"
"Then why aren't you getting her help?" Also, fuck that noise. "Frankie was in trouble. She was isolated and alone. A manipulative bitch was using her to achieve her own ends and you fell for it hook, line, and sinker."
"I did. And I hurt you in the process." He actually looked upset by the prospect.
The snort escaped me before I could stop it. Not that I would have bothered. Not really. "Edward, you haven't given a solid damn about me ever. To be honest, the last time you hurt me, I was nine. I've long since gotten over it. You're you. I just lowered my expectations."
Brows gathering together, Edward ducked his head. "Fair."
"It is what it is." Except... "You know she threatened to kill Frankie once?"
The reticence and unease fled Edward's expression as he focused on me. "She couldn't have meant that. She loves her."
"Does she?" I challenged. "Or does she love how Frankie makes her look? For more than a year, she's neglected her. Vanished for days at a time on 'business' trips. Worse, when Frankie was hurt and in the hospital, no one could get ahold of her or you. Not really feeling the love there, Edward, what about you?"
Because the fact it took me hours to even track down where they were had been irksome enough. That they hadn't responded to messages and chose to appear days later? Yeah. Fuck that.
Edward sighed heavily, and he seemed much older. A part of me felt for him. A distant, uncynical part of me that wondered why I'd had to compete with the ghost of a woman he'd loved for attention. At the same time, I wasn’t willing to ask him for that explanation or anything really.
Not anymore.
"I will do what I can to keep her calm," Edward admitted. "Though today made it clear the fractures in our relationship may be irreparable."
"Well, maybe next time don't bang your secretary. Fidelity seems to be a sticking point for her." That he'd continued getting his rocks off at the office hadn't been lost on me during my last visit. The fact he had the woman of his dreams back and still couldn't keep it in his pants? "You know, there's counseling for that."
Edward laughed.
It wasn't harsh or brittle or even empty. It was a genuine laugh that seemed to work its way up from his chest. He raked a hand through his hair and for a moment, the unruffled, undisturbed poise of Edward Archibald Standish Jr disappeared.
Maybe for the first time, I saw "Eddie."
"Counseling. That's never been my strong suit. Problems are not something we share with the world."
"Weaknesses can be exploited," I said, repeating the advice both Edward and Grandpa had often repeated over the years. "Having a weakness isn't the problem. Revealing the weakness is."
"When you say it like that, I sound like an asshole."
It was my turn to chuckle. "You are an asshole. Doesn't make the advice any less useful, but it shouldn't be applied in all things. Flaws. Weaknesses. Imperfections. We all have them. It's the people who stick with you despite all of them, who have your back when others would have walked away or already had, they are worth keeping. More than worth it. In fact, you fight to keep them. I'm not afraid of my flaws."
Edward studied me for a moment. "If I asked, would you tell me if you're in counseling?"
"Yes," I admitted.
