Chapter Twenty-Eight
Riley
My whole body was numb but I still felt his kiss. Landon pressed trembling lips to my cheek and whispered those heart-stopping words again.
"I'll wait for you."
Then he was gone, striding out of our small apartment and down the rickety steps to the parking lot. He left the door open in his wake and I stepped toward it, then panicked. I heard his sports car rev to life and I spun to search for my car keys. Then I realized I was only wearing the oversized t-shirt I’d slept in. I spun toward my bedroom and was too dizzy to move.
In the blur around me, I saw Anna peek out of her bedroom door. She saw me stumbling around in circles and ran over to give me a steadying hug.
"Oh, Riley, I can't believe it. I heard everything," Anna said.
"Me too." Owen appeared from the bathroom, his face pale.
I brushed back hot tears and gave my friends a crooked smile. "I'm glad you heard everything because I'm not sure what just happened."
Owen flung the lumpy blanket off the sofa and patted the place next to him so I would sit down. Anna helped me over and perched on the arm next to me.
Owen took my hand and squeezed. "He's giving it all up for you. Can you even imagine how much money he's walking away from? More than most people would see in ten lifetimes, and he's turning his back on it to wait for you."
Anna nudged me. "Why didn't you go after him? You didn't say anything. You just let him leave. Are you sure you want to let him lose his whole legacy?"
I yanked free from Owen and buried my face in my hands. "How am I supposed to know what I want? This is all totally insane. What just happened?"
Anna knelt down in front of me and laughed. "Honey, you're not dreaming. Landon just marched in here and chose you over his entire family fortune."
"He told me he'd wait for me. All so I can fulfill my grandfather's wishes and earn my own tiny trust fund." The room reeled around me again. "How can he do that?"
Owen wrapped an arm around me but smiled at Anna. "Come on, Riley, wake up. Landon Michel loves you."
I rocketed off the couch and paced around our tiny, messy apartment. "I need to get ready. I need to make a phone call. Oh, shit! I've got class in an hour. What am I going to do?"
Anna stood up and held out both arms as if taming an animal. "Don't worry about classes for today. You're skipping them. I'm skipping work, too, and we're all going to figure this out."
"Oh no, not me,” Owen said. “I’m going to work."
Anna whacked him on the shoulder.
"You're not going anywhere," I said, "because first, you owe me a favor."
* * * * *
Owen had his orders and was on his way. I had showered, dressed, and untangled my hair in a flurry. Anna put out my favorite outfit to give me courage, and next to it was a hot cup of coffee spiked with whiskey.
"I thought you might need it," she called from the kitchen. "Now drink it and get in here. I found the phone number."
I pulled on my favorite jeans and the perfect white blouse Anna had given me. Underneath was a necklace that Anna had unearthed and laid out. I clasped it around my neck and pressed it to my heart. Grandpa had given this necklace to Mom on the day I was born.
"Okay, I can do this," I said and joined Anna in the kitchen.
"I'm dialing." Anna punched in the numbers, waited for the phone to ring, and then handed it to me. "Good luck."
Lyla answered on the third ring and her crisp voice sent an avalanche of anxiety down my spine. "Lyla Townsend, and who might this be?"
"Riley. Riley Cullen. We've met a few times at, um, Golden Bluff. Your cousin Landon is, uh—"
"I know who you are, Ms. Cullen. What on earth are you doing calling me this early?" Her voice had a sharp edge to it.
"I thought you should know that Landon was just here," I said.
Lyla sucked in air between her teeth. "This morning? That's impossible. He would have had to leave right after dawn."
Her cold dismissal boiled my blood. "Do you want to know what he told me or not?"
There was a long pause before she responded. "I think I can assume what made him race to your apartment this morning. Why are you calling me, Ms. Cullen? You must be aware that this is the biggest mistake Landon will ever make."
"You have no idea what has happened between us," I snapped. Anna squeezed my arm and reminded me of the plan. "I'm calling you because, like it or not, we both care for Landon, and it's time we cleared the air."
"I have nothing more to say to you," Lyla said.
"Then shut up and let me tell you about my trust fund."
Anna blew me a kiss and retreated to her bedroom to give me privacy.
"Your trust fund?" Lyla's voice was shaken.
"I'm not the penniless gold-digger you think I am. In fact, Ms. Townsend, I'm the only one who has ever defended your actions. I know you’re trying to protect your family, but you're doing it all wrong."
She sniffled. "I don't understand."
I took a deep breath. "My grandfather left me a healthy trust fund, but like Landon’s, my inheritance has certain conditions. See, I know about family trying to protect each other because my trust fund requires me to wait until at least age twenty-eight before I get married. To save me from the mistakes my mother made."
"And how old are you?" Lyla asked in a choked voice.
"Twenty-six. Do you see the problem? Do you finally see what you've done?"
She cleared her throat. "This is ridiculous. Landon's worth more than whatever your trust fund could be. Hundreds of times over."
"But I told him it was important to me to honor my grandfather's wishes," I said.
Two long beats later, the tears were apparent in Lyla's voice. "You refused Landon. Oh god, Landon."
"I didn't even give him the chance to propose. How could I, when all my grandfather ever wanted was what was best for me? Family's like that, Ms. Townsend —we make hard choices because we don't want to disappoint each other."
"So you and Landon are not engaged to be married?" Her voice was choked with sadness.
The full wave of emotions came crashing over me. The whole time we had talked I had felt dry and calm, but now I knew that was only the undertow gathering a tsunami.
"I told the only man I've ever truly loved that my grandfather's wishes were more important than his timetable." My voice rose above the waves of heartache. "I would have said 'yes,' but I thought he was only using me to secure his fortune. You put that awful thought in my head. Landon's not like you —he wasn't even thinking about the money! He tried to propose to me days ago, but that's when I told him about my own trust fund."
Lyla cried into the phone. "He tried to propose to you the day I told him about the conditions of his inheritance, didn't he?"
"Except I screwed it all up. I didn't know about any of that, and I told him I was going to wait. Now, what do you think of that, Ms. Townsend? He's giving up everything his family ever worked for to wait for me. He's giving it all to you because he thinks that's what you want."
"That's not what I want," she whispered.
"From what I've seen, that's all you've ever wanted. You chased everyone away that ever loved you because it got in the way of business. So, as one last piece of business, I thought you should know that I told Landon 'no.' That should tie up all the loose ends and make you happy."
She pulled herself together with one brittle breath. "I'm sorry, Ms. Cullen, but I'm a very busy person. If that's all the business we have to discuss, I must be going."
The phone went dead and all my hope and energy emptied out of me.
Anna edged down the hallway and met my overflowing eyes. "Did it go as planned?"
I collapsed on the saggy sofa. "I have no idea. Either it worked, or I just made everything so much worse."