Tessa had crawled into my head and made a little nest there long ago. In college, during those early morning bus rides with my teammates, I’d shut my eyes and pretend I was back in her truck. That led to thinking about her more than I should have. Normally, I could swat it away and ignore its existence, but this time, she seemed to be the only thing I could think about. Maybe it was because today was the first time in forever that I’d gotten to actually talk to her, but the only thing I seemed to be able to think about was the next time I could see her. If she didn’t accept my dinner invitation, I wasn’t even sure how I would see her again, short of me showing up at her house, but if that was what it took, I’d do it. That was the thing about Tessa. Once I caught a whiff of her, I seemed to crave her beyond comprehension. To this day, I couldn’t explain it.

I sighed as I walked into the little restaurant I was set to have lunch with my mother in, which was not something I was looking forward to. Ever since my parents announced their split to us back in the spring, it had felt as if the world had turned upside down and I was left clinging on to anything that could withstand the storm brewing. Sam didn’t know how good he had it, sitting back on the sidelines and getting to follow his creative passions. The whole giving-no-fucks vibe definitely had him at an even steeper advantage.

I spotted her dark brown hair almost immediately. Mom always had the same hairstyle—a sophisticated bun that kept the hair from her face. I cursed when I noticed the blonde sitting beside her and then wished I had been paying closer attention. Had I noticed sooner, I would have turned around and walked right out. I took a breath and kept my anger in check.

Camryn was always weaseling her way into my life. It wasn’t enough that our parents were lifelong friends and we’d spent the majority of our childhoods and teen years in the same social circle. Nope, she had heard the rumors of my parent’s divorce and how I was next in line to head the company, pulled her claws out of the Wall Street guy she was fucking in New York, and showed up here. It wasn’t by chance. Nothing she did was. I knew it as surly as I knew my mother was happy about it.

Camryn smiled brighter when I came forward. “You look dashing today.”

I ignored her compliment and kissed my mother on both cheeks before leaning in to do the same to her. Before I could pull away, she caught my jaw and gave me a peck on the lips. Mom raised her eyebrows as if to say, something you want to tell me? I shook my head and fought not to roll my eyes. She always got that look when Camryn was around, her barely masked approval was enough to make me uncomfortable.

I glared at my mother, who stifled a smile behind her mimosa.

Truth be told, Camryn and my mom weren’t that different. I glanced at Camryn.

“What are you doing here?”

“Oh, I had a long layover on my way to San Fran and decided to make a day of it. I tried calling you, but it was going straight to voicemail. I figured you didn’t have any reception out here in the country.” I rolled my eyes. We were hardly in the country. “Anyway, I had lunch with a few friends and ran into your mom on my way out. Of course, I had to sit and keep her company while she waited for you.”

“Well, I’m here now.” Her smile dropped.

“I guess I’ll leave you to discuss your private matters.” She gathered her purse slowly, probably waiting to see if we were going to invite her to stay. Neither of us said a word as she stood and plastered another fake smile on her face. “Well, it was great chatting with you Mildred. I have a flight to catch.”

“Always a pleasure, Camryn. Have a safe flight. Say hello to your mother.”

“Of course. I’m sure she’ll want to get together with you when you’re in Paris next month. She’s been missing everyone since moving away last year. I’ll set something up, and maybe we can all grab dinner together.” She smiled at me as she said it. I tore my gaze from her green eyes and looked at Mom.

“Sure, dear.”

When she walked away, I felt the lead weight drop off my shoulders.

“She’s dying for you to give her a chance.”

“A chance to do what exactly? She manhandles me every opportunity she gets.”

“And you let her.”

“It’s harmless.” I shrugged. Sure, she’d caused trouble in the past, but that was then. I wasn’t tied down to anybody now and the moment it came to that I knew how to deal with her.

“Sweetheart.” Mom placed her hand over mine, beckoning me to meet her gaze. I did. “Women are never harmless. The faster you learn that, the better off you’ll be.”

I swallowed a mouthful of the mimosa the waiter just served me and tried to wash away the uneasiness her words brought. Mom had ordered a pitcher, and from the looks of it, she was either halfway to an afternoon nap or ready to party.

“I’ve never given her reason to believe I’d ever be interested in getting serious.” I picked up the menu even though I knew I’d order my go-to steak and potatoes.

“Only serious enough to spend the night in her bed.” Mom raised an eyebrow.

“I never spend the night in anyone’s bed.” It was the truth. Camryn and I had hooked up in high school and then again once in college, but it never went beyond that.

Mom rolled her eyes and took a long sip of her mimosa. “That’s what your dad said about his mistress, and look at how that turned out. I ordered your usual for you, by the way.”

I put the menu down and met her pained blue eyes. “You can’t compare Dad’s . . . affair to this.”

“You’re right. I’m sorry.” She dabbed at her eyes with her napkin.

It was so weird to see my mom cry. She’d always shown so little emotion while we were growing up. The news of Dad’s long-running affair with his secretary, a woman who had come to our house almost every day, had gone on family trips with us growing up, and had stopped by on holidays seemed to rip my mom open. Suddenly, she was crying and talking about feelings and asking about ours. I felt awful for her, but the selfish side of me liked this more emotionally available version of her. I just wish it’d come sooner, before her aloofness and Dad’s absence and their combined loveless marriage scarred me irrevocably.

“Your brother still isn’t answering my phone calls,” she said. “Is he okay?”

My jaw clenched as I thought about Tessa with Sam.

“Why do you have that look on your face?” Her question made me blink out of my red haze.

“Sam’s dating Tessa now. Maybe you should ask her how he’s doing.”

“Oh.” Mom raised her eyebrows slightly. “They’re good together.” I shot her a glare. She shrugged. “She isn’t good for you, Rowan. She never was. She’s too young and naïve. You don’t need a girl like that in your life.”

“She’s a woman now, Mom.”

“Just as well. Anyhow, I was hoping to speak to both of you together before my trip,” she said. “Your father and I are keeping this divorce private until everything is finalized with the company, but I wanted to fill you in on the basics. We’re talking about splitting Hawthorne Fabrics down the middle.”

My eyes widened. “What? What is there to split? Won’t that cause friction with the accounts we currently have?”

“It’ll be a quiet split,” she said, shooting me an irritated look. Mom hated interruptions. “It’ll be divided between the States and Europe accounts.”

“What about South America? Asia?” That earned me another look.

“I’m getting to that, Rowan.” I swallowed and sat back. Waited. My knee started to bounce underneath the table. “Asia and South America will also be split between both companies. We’re bidding for those.”

“Bidding? You’re going to get into a bidding war?” Unbelievable. She blinked prettily, the way she often did in front of my father in order to get her way. I ignored it. “Do we have a say in this?”

“No. Your father and I will discuss it and get back to you. I just want you to understand what’s happening.”

I pushed out a deep breath, shook my head, and dug into the steak and potatoes the waiter placed in front of me. A part of me hoped she’d say that my brother and I would have to hash it out, leave the decision to us. Maybe if we were forced to work together, we could salvage the friendship we once had, the one where we put each other over everything and everyone.

When Mom spoke again, it was about family, about marriage and kids, and about building something of my own. I’d heard the story a million times, but listening to it right then made a sick feeling twist in my stomach. My grandparents had opened the textiles company in the basement of their two-bedroom townhouse. The moment my parents were married, they became a project to my grandparents. A way to expand the brand. Eventually, they let Dad run the company and while he’d made good business decisions. He decided to buy out Monte Industries, something I would’ve done given the chance. If Tessa’s father had been business-minded and hadn’t thought of Monte as more of a passion project, they’d be the ones owning us and not the other way around. They’d had the factories and labor workers, the room to grow. They just didn’t act on it. Mr. Monte was always too focused on the creative aspect of the company, not the business side of things.

The only place I could see that Dad went wrong was not buying out the company from my grandparents. Whether it be because the growth wasn’t as fast as he’d originally intended or he didn’t want to do that to his old man, I’d never know. It would be one of the first things I would do if I ever had a chance though. Sam didn’t care about our inheritance or his role in the company. Whereas, I’d been primed for this from age seven when Dad started taking me to work with him every summer. Sam would go sometimes, but he wasn’t required to the way I was. When he did go, it was for an allowance.

We weren’t the spoiled rich guys outsiders may have thought we were. We’d been raised to work for our money. We had allowances growing up, had worked for our first cars, and had paid for our own car insurance. Even though we lived in a nice house and went to top-notch schools, we hadn’t been spoiled the way a lot of our friends had been. Nowadays, I was grateful for that. I was also grateful for the work ethic my father had instilled in me. It was probably the one thing I could say I learned from him.

“I know your hearts aren’t in this—”

“Samson’s heart isn’t in it, but mine is. Otherwise, why would I even entertain this conversation?”

“Contracts are important to abide by,” she said. “Marriage being one of them.”

I blinked. I knew where marriage fit into Hawthorne. I just hadn’t put much thought into it in regard to myself and the company. As far as I was concerned, marriage was a business transaction. On occasion, when Tessa’s limbs were wrapped around mine, I’d had fleeting thoughts about marriage, but I ended our relationship before any of that could be a serious notion. Even if I hadn’t, even if I genuinely believed in the sanctity of those vows, my parents’ divorce would have changed that. Love was an illusion. An idea that society tried to sell to you. I believed in respect and honesty, but love? Love had never been on my radar.