Chapter Twenty-Four
Riley
I beat Anna back to our apartment and was surprised I hadn't seen her or Owen on the beach. Thank god she’d kept Owen from spying on me and Landon. He would have seen me run away and leave Landon on the shore.
I had ruined everything.
Burying my head under a couch cushion did not erase the image of the ring box from my mind. Landon had a ring in his pocket and he’d intended to ask me to marry him. I knew I shouldn't assume such things, but why else would he be so intense about waiting another two years?
I sat up and sniffled. If he really loved me, then two years wouldn't make a difference. Landon could have proposed to me and we could have been engaged for two years. God knows, some couples extended their engagements longer than that.
Instead, he’d offered to pay away the memory of what Grandpa had done for me. And he hadn't proposed.
"Couldn't get sand on his fancy pants," I muttered to myself and swiped my nose. I shook my head—Landon wasn't like that and even though I was upset, I had to be fair.
Still, what I had said to him rang true. Why wasn't he willing to wait for me?
Anna peeked in the door and crinkled her brow when she didn't see Landon. "You alone?"
All I could do was nod, and tears streamed down my cheeks again.
She waved over her shoulder and then came inside and shut the door behind her. Her cheeks were pink from the beach breezes and her eyes were bright. "Good. There's something I need to talk to you about."
She shook off her coat and smiled to herself. Then she looked up and caught sight of my blotchy face.
"Is Owen with you?" I asked.
"No, but—"
I flopped back on the sofa. "Good. I don't think I could deal with another man right now. One overbearing asshole is enough for today." The flash of anger brought on another wave of tears.
Anna sat down next to me with extreme caution. "Since when is Landon Michel an overbearing asshole?"
"Since I fell in love with him."
"Oh, Riley, why isn't that wonderful? Have you been worrying about your trust fund stuff again?" She turned to face me and sat cross-legged. "I think your grandpa would have approved of Landon one hundred percent."
Another wave of tears threatened to fall. I fought for air and told Anna what had happened. "Landon offered to give me the same amount that's in my trust fund so I don't have to adhere to the conditions."
Anna laughed and shook her head. "Then I really must be missing something because that is wonderful news." She pressed her hands to her cheeks and squealed. "Oh my god! Does that mean Landon proposed to you?"
Sobs rocked me harder than ocean surf. Anna's hands moved to cover her mouth in horror. Then she gently reached out to brush my hair out of my face and hug me.
"Oh god, Riley. How do I keep managing to say the wrong thing?" she asked. "What on earth happened between you two?"
I gulped a deep breath. "I found a ring box in his coat pocket, right after I told him about having to wait until I turned twenty-eight. Then we walked on the beach and instead of proposing, he offered to pay off my trust fund. I turned him down so he didn't propose. He can't wait that long. I'm not worth waiting for."
Anna sat back. The thought that I was not worth waiting for settled onto my shoulders like a weight. Anna kept me company until I murmured that I should go to bed. I lay there all night, my thoughts in never-ending loops.
In the morning, I slumped into my seat at the dining room table and could hardly lift my head.
"Here, hon, I made you coffee and some eggs. You need to eat something today," Anna said.
"Thanks." I toyed with the eggs and thought about the omelets Landon had made in our tiny kitchen. I laid down my fork and sighed.
"Your phone is ringing again," Anna said. "That's the tenth time Landon's called since I woke up."
"What am I supposed to say to him?" I asked. "Should I tell him it's totally okay to buy off the memory of my grandfather? Or should I tell him I get why he can't wait two years? Apparently, our relationship has an expiration date that I didn't know about."
"Nothing's expired. Just talk to him." Anna put my phone down next to my unused fork.
I shook my head. "I gotta go to class."
I left my phone behind. I didn't want to see Landon's name popping up on the screen every ten minutes or so, but it didn't matter because he was on my mind every ten seconds. Every detail and discussion in class led my thoughts to him. Every cooperative action in the botany lab reminded me of him.
When Anna got back to the apartment, she found me at the dining table again, slumped over a cup of tea. She poured the remaining hot water into a mug for herself and sat down across from me.
"All right. Tell me what's on your mind," Anna said.
"Grapevines remind me of the time Landon and I tried to go hiking but got caught in the rain. The smell of rosemary reminds me of the first time Landon came here."
"I thought Owen gave us that rosemary?" Anna asked.
I shook my head. "It doesn't matter. Walking on the beach, there's Landon. Driving my silly junk car down the coast, there's Landon."
Anna leaned her elbow on the table and propped her cheek in her hand. "I love that every time you think of Landon it has nothing to do with billions of dollars, a palatial family home, or flying off in his private jet. Have you told him that? If he can't wait two years, he's going to spend the next one hundred years looking for another woman who can do that."
I sipped my tea and felt the warmth ignite me. Scalding anger rose up and I couldn't swallow it anymore. "How dare he put his money issues on me? He’s all twisted up over my trust fund conditions because he hates his own inheritance. Why am I being punished for the crap his parents saddled him with?"
"Maybe one of these hundred messages can explain that because I can't." Anna pushed my phone across the table, then got up and went to her room.
I looked at the list of messages. One by one, I erased them all.
My classes passed in the same blur until I came home again the next day. I kicked open the door and spotted movement on the couch —two forms. "Sorry, Anna, I didn't know you had someone over, oh! Hi, Owen."
They were sitting close together but turned their attention to me right away. "I told Owen all about it, Riley. I thought you might like another old friend on your side," Anna said.
"Even if I am a guy," Owen joked.
"Sorry, Owen,” I said, “but I just want to be left alone."
Anna stood up and tripped over Owen's extended legs as she came to join me in the kitchen. "Owen wants to talk to you alone. He overheard some things to do with Landon. He hasn't told me anything —we've been waiting for you."
I dropped my voice to a whisper. "Are you kidding me? Do you really think I need to be alone with my ex-boyfriend right now? Who knows what he really wants to say to me?"
"Come on, Riley," Anna said, her voice sharp. "Owen is one of our oldest friends. Besides, I didn't want to tell you this now, but Owen is over you. He's seeing someone else. So, can you just listen to what he's got to say?"
She turned to wave at Owen, who smiled patiently. Relief washed over me.
"Okay, if you're sure," I said.
"I'm sure. Why don't you two have a beer on the balcony?" Anna called to Owen. She grabbed two beers and shoved them at us.
He chuckled as Anna pushed him out onto the balcony, then he peeked in the window and smiled again. "Anna can't stand to see you this way. When she loves you she’ll do anything to make you happy."
I took a big swig of my beer. "So what is this all about, Owen?"
He leaned on the balcony and turned his smile on me. "I gotta thank you, Riley. I know you were the catalyst that got me to California. Not the easy way, but everything's been working out for me out here."
"You're welcome. I wish I could say the same for myself."
Owen's smile faded and he sat down next to me. "Landon really is a good guy, you know."
I refused to answer and looked out over the ocean as I took another deep drink of beer. "Did he really get you a job?"
"Yes, and I love it," Owen said. "I'm one of the project managers for his affordable housing contractors. It's sort of a catchall job, but that's what I like. Lots of variety and no set schedule."
"Good, I'm glad." I noticed the rote tone of voice I was using and took a deep breath. More sincerely, I said, "I'm really happy for you, Owen. You've changed over the past few months, and it looks good on you."
He grinned and glanced through the window again. "Thanks. Now as much as I want to talk about that, Anna will kill me if I don't tell you what I overheard."
I gripped my beer bottle with both hands. "I have the feeling I'm not going to like this."
Owen gave me an apologetic look. "I overheard Landon arguing with his business manager, Lyla. She was reminding him about his inheritance. Apparently, it comes with lots of strings attached."
"Tell me about it," I muttered.
"But he's not hung up on the money," Owen said. "He’s all about his neighbors and the local businesses. He's more focused on his roots and how everyone along the coast has contributed to his family legacy. I know I'm not a great judge of maturity, but that seems to be a wise outlook for someone who’s only thirty-four."
I sat up. "What is it with men and ages? Landon was all caught up on the fact that I'm only twenty-six, and I have to wait two years to meet the terms of my trust fund."
Owen sat back as if he'd been kicked in the chest. "Shit. That explains it. Oh, Riley, you need to give him a chance."
"What are you talking about?" I snapped.
"I'm talking about how Landon will lose everything if he's not married by the age of thirty-five." Owen flinched as if I might explode.
I couldn't think. I couldn't even get the horizon to stay still. Everything reeled around me. "When?" I asked, still dizzy. "When did you overhear this?"
"The same day he came here. Landon came to see you right away, Riley. Doesn't that mean something?"
The air in my lungs burned, but I heaved in great gulps of it. Landon had found out the strict conditions of his own inheritance and the first thing he did was come running to my door with a ring in his pocket.
"It means he loves you, Riley. Landon's first thought was you," Owen said.
"Why are you doing this to me?" I jumped up and waved my half-empty beer bottle wildly. "Why are you pretending like that is good news?"
Anna flew out the balcony door. "What's wrong?"
"Landon doesn’t want me," I spat at my friends. "He just wants to get his inheritance."