“The fact that you consider access to Pen a privilege like she’s a credit card or bank account is exactly why you’re not fit to parent her,” I said, my voice quiet with fury.

“Oh, get off your sanctimonious high horse,” Caroline sneered. “If I weren’t ‘fit to parent her,’ I wouldn’t be talking to you right now. Trust me, I have better uses of my time than chatting up my ex-stepdaughter in a restaurant bathroom.” She took a deep breath before saying more calmly, “As I mentioned, Penelope has been acting up. She’s also been asking for you. Incessantly. And contrary to what you think, I’m not a heartless monster. She’s my only daughter. I do care about her wants and needs.”

I didn’t buy the sudden loving mother act. Maybe Caroline cared a bit about Pen’s wants and needs, but she cared about herself much more.

“So much so that you’ve ignored her since she was diagnosed with CFS,” I said. I couldn’t help it; I’d been dying to read Caroline the riot act for ages, and now that I had the chance, it was impossible for me to let it go.

I must’ve hit a nerve, because her face instantly flushed red. “I haven’t ignored her,” she snapped. “I kept her at home to protect her. I hardly think she should be gallivanting around town with her condition, and you of all people should know how our world treats anyone they deem ‘different’ or ‘not good enough.’” Her mouth twisted. “Lord knows I had a difficult time after I married George. They wouldn’t let me onto any good charity boards for years.”

“My condolences. I can’t believe you survived such a terrible hardship.”

“Make all the wisecracks you want, but this isn’t about me or you,” Caroline said through gritted teeth. “The only reason I’m even talking to you is because we’ve tried everything else to help Penelope, and it didn’t work. We even had Georgia talk to her.”

“Asking Georgia to make someone feel better is like asking a scorpion for a hug.”

To my surprise, my stepmother snorted in agreement. “I’ve never liked your sister. She always thought she was better than me.” “She thinks she’s better than everyone, and you never liked me either.”

“No, but you’re the only one who can get through to Penelope.

This is more than your typical child’s tantrum. If she continues acting the way she has, it’ll have a serious impact on her health.” Caroline’s gaze flitted around the bathroom. “George doesn’t know I’m doing this yet, but I’m willing to make a deal. Penelope says she wants to see you, and I can make that happen if she gives up her hunger strike.”

My heart stumbled at the possibility of seeing Pen again without having to sneak around, but a part of me remained wary. “What’s the catch?”

Caroline wasn’t altruistic enough to do this solely for Pen’s benefit.

“So young yet so cynical.” My stepmother produced a humorless smile. “There’s no catch. Believe it or not, not everyone is out to get you all the time. Keep an eye out for a message once I’ve talked to George. Until then, tell no one about this conversation.”

The echo of her offer followed me back to the table, where my friends were finishing up their lunch.

“Is everything okay?” Vivian asked as I retook my seat. “You were gone for a while.”

“Yes.” I reached for my glass, desperate to alleviate the uncertainty clogging my throat. Xavier, Caroline, Pen…it was too much all at once, and my head throbbed with an impending migraine. “Everything’s fine.”

CHAPTER 43

Sloane

When it rained, it poured.

Apparently, bad news didn’t observe the holidays, because after I returned to the office, I’d gotten slammed with crisis after crisis. Jillian had checked into Perry’s parting warning about Asher and found a video of Asher and Vincent DuBois getting into a fistfight. It hadn’t hit the wider internet yet, and I’d spent a good two hours ensuring it never would.

Once I put out that fire, I’d had to deal with panicked calls from a CEO who’d been caught banging a restaurant hostess in a bathroom stall, a movie star who’d been arrested for attacking a paparazzo, and a socialite who’d left her limited-edition Dior bag somewhere between Paris and New York (I’d redirected her to her assistant. I didn’t get paid enough to hunt down transatlantic luxury bag losses).

It was my busiest workday of the year, and by the time I caught my breath, it was ten at night. I’d sent Jillian home hours ago, so it was just me, a sad dinner of instant ramen, and the ominous countdown to midnight.

Two hours.

I swallowed a mouthful of greasy noodles. My migraine had worsened since lunch, but that didn’t stop me from doom scrolling on social media to avoid thinking about Xavier.

Yesterday, his presence had filled the room. Today, the office felt empty without him, like a film stripped of its soul.

One hour and forty-five minutes.

I gave up eating and tossed the remaining cold noodles in the trash. I’d finished my work, so why was I here instead of at home, enjoying a nice movie with a glass of wine?

Because the Empire State Building is a twenty-minute walk away.

Because going home means you’ve made your choice.

Because this is the last place you saw him, and you feel closer to him here than anywhere else.

I groaned and dug the heels of my palms against my eyes.

If only I had a magic eight ball to tell me what to do. I’d always prided myself on my decisive nature, but when it came to Xavier, I was a mess.

He drove me up the wall sometimes, but he challenged me like no one else did. He pushed me outside my comfort zone while making me feel safe enough to do so, and he’d made me laugh, cry, and feel more than anyone else I’d ever met.

Younger me had been convinced that what I’d had with Bentley was love, but it wasn’t until Xavier that I realized Bentley had been a mere prologue to the real story.

Me and Xavier, the most unlikely of couples. Opposites in so many ways, yet similar in so many others. He knew every part of me intimately—mind, body, and heart—and he loved me not despite but because of my flaws.

We’d seen each other at our worst, yet we’d fallen in love anyway.

A marble fist grabbed my chest and squeezed.

There’s no catch. Believe it or not, not everyone is out to get you all the time. Caroline’s voice wormed its way into my consciousness.

I never thought there’d be a day when she said anything helpful, but sitting there alone, in my dark office, while the man I loved waited for me minutes away, her words struck hard.

There’s no catch.

I was afraid it’d hurt more if Xavier and I broke up down the road, after I’d gotten more attached, but I was already in love with him, and it already hurt so much I couldn’t think straight. I’d cried for the first time in my life, and I was eating instant ramen alone in my office at night, for Christ’s sake.

The same office where we’d met.

The same office where he’d given me the ultimatum.

The same office where I’d told Georgia the truth about Bentley. I thought I’d broken free of the hold Bentley’s betrayal had on my decisions, but clearly I hadn’t. I was still so afraid of getting hurt that I was willing to let a hypothetical scenario drive away the one man that I could see myself having a future with.

Don’t run away from what could be because you’re afraid of what might be.

If I were honest with myself, I knew we could work. Xavier was the only one who got me, who fit into my life seamlessly yet somehow made it better, and without him, all my days would be like this.

Lonely, alone, and aching for something I could’ve had but let slip through my fingers.

“God, I’m an idiot,” I breathed.