Chapter Twenty-Three
Landon
As soon as our feet touched the sand, Riley slipped her arms around my waist and hugged me tight. "I'm so sorry for springing all of that on you. It shouldn't affect us, but I wanted you to know the truth."
I buried my face in her wild-blown hair. "You know that I, of all people, understand how the conditions of an inheritance can box a person in."
Riley pressed her cheek against my chest and I could feel her smile. "Oh, thank god. I'm so glad you understand. My trust fund has been the farthest thing from my mind until we started traveling together. I was thinking about a trip you suggested and how much it would cost."
I pulled her back so she could see my face. "Riley, money should never be an issue between us. If it is, I would rather have none at all."
"So, you understand how I want to earn my own way?" she asked with shining eyes.
"But I don't understand why you want to wait two years to do that. The money from your trust fund won't directly affect your life, so why force yourself to fulfill the terms?" My fingers flexed on her shoulders.
She winced. "What I want to do is going to take time anyway."
"Well, there's no reason why you can't keep going to school and working part-time until you graduate your program." I tipped her chin so she could see how serious I felt. "Remember that stretch of Highway 1 just north of Michel's Beach? The place you thought would be great for growing grapes? I looked into it and there's property there that already has a cabin you could use as a tasting room."
Riley stepped away and traced a line in the sand with the toe of her shoe. "And what about you? Do you still want to earn your own way?"
I caught her hand and studied the delicate lines of her fingers. "Actually, yes. I've been thinking more and more about moving to the cabin at High Camp. I can live there and open Golden Bluff as a museum and event space. I know it works well for galas and cocktail parties, plus lots of people are interested in seeing inside."
"And there's so much history there for you to share," she added.
I brought her fingers to my lips and kissed them. "Exactly."
"Can you actually do that?" she asked.
The hypnotic ocean horizon was nothing compared to Riley's soft brown eyes. She saw past all the complications, all the outrageous side effects of my fortune, and looked right into me. I couldn't lose that feeling, that certainty that someone else finally saw me, not just my fortune.
"I've been working on a more manageable schedule and adjusting the future ambitions of the Michel Fund to a more reasonable pace."
Riley gave me a guarded glance. "How does Lyla feel about that?"
My cousin's name ate away the pleasant daydream like acid. "She knows I'm planning to make decisions she won't agree with when I take over."
"It bothers you that she's not on your side," Riley said.
The quiet words kicked me in the chest. Only Riley would boil away all the outside drama and get down to the heart of the matter.
I shook my head. "I still think I might walk away from it all. It seems like a crazy thing to say, but all my money is ruining my life."
Riley hooked her arm through mine, and we walked along the edge of where the waves smoothed the sand. She stopped now and then to toe interesting rocks and pick up sea glass. I loved how she always saw the smallest things as treasures.
"Don't you think your father worked for that fortune because he knew it would go to you?" she asked.
I stopped and feigned interest in half a mussel shell. "My father worked that hard because he loved work. My inheritance was just an inevitability."
"True, but your parents had to think about it like my grandfather thought about my trust fund. I mean, I know the amounts are staggeringly different, but the intent is the same. Grandpa wanted to leave me something that would improve my life. Don't you think your parents wanted the same for you?"
I snorted. "Apparently all my parents thought about was me being settled down and married by my thirty-fifth birthday."
"What?" Riley turned around to face me, but I caught her arm and started us walking again.
My mind raced over everything again and I walked too fast. Riley had to know something was bothering me. She trailed along next to me with patient, worried glances.
"I'm so sorry that Lyla insulted you," I blurted. "She says she's trying to protect me, but all these years she was doing it for selfish reasons. She might be like my father, all work and nothing else inside."
"What selfish reasons?"
I dug into my pocket and squeezed the ring box. "She wants the Michel Fund and all the business off-shoots. She wants everything."
"What do you want?" Riley asked.
"I don't want Lyla to win." I knew it was the wrong thing to say as soon as I heard my own voice, but it was also true. If I walked away from everything, then Lyla would win.
I forced myself to let go of the ring box and take a deep breath. There had to be another way.
"Riley, what would you say if I offered to give you the same amount as your trust fund? You could give it to charity, use it any way you want. It would be yours, just so you don't have to put your life on hold for the next two years."
Riley stumbled back and shook her head. She spun and headed to the water's edge. My heart leaped, thinking she might really consider my offer until I joined her and saw the tears streaking down her cheeks. She swiped them away and looked out over the ocean, not caring as a wave tumbled toward us.
I pulled her back out of the surf and turned her to face me. "Please, Riley, it's a small price for the freedom to live at your own pace."
She shook her head. "My grandfather loved me —he wasn't trying to imprison me or limit my options. He wanted what was best for me. Getting married too soon broke my mother's heart. Grandpa is trying to look out for me even though he's no longer here."
"Don't you think he'd want you to be happy?" I asked. The stiff wind from the water was stealing my voice, but I couldn't speak any louder. My throat constricted around every word.
"Landon, I can't turn my back on Grandpa’s wishes. I just can't," she said.
I dropped my hands from her sides and clenched my fingers into fists. "How can people think it's good to force people to live a certain way? How are they so sure they know what's right for us? Doesn't that bother you? A piece of paper is telling you how your life is going to be for another two years. And all that money is just hanging over your head."
Riley pushed past me and kept walking. "That might be how you feel about your money, but that's not me. I'm thankful that Grandpa built me a trust fund. I’ll do what it takes to honor his memory because that's how much I loved him."
"But is that what you really want?" I caught her arm and tugged her back to me.
Riley's eyes flashed. "Why do you think you know what I want?"
"I know you, Riley, and I want to know you better, every day," I said.
She shook her wild, streaming hair. "Then you should know how much I loved my grandfather. Not just loved him, but respected him, too. He worked hard every day of his life to build up that trust fund. How can I just dismiss that? I can't and I won't."
She wrenched free of my grip, and I had to dodge around to stop her.
“Please,” I said. "You can take the money I give you, the exact same amount your grandfather saved for you, and donate it to charity in his name. You'll honor him and be free of the arbitrary timetable."
"You're not listening," Riley yelled. The ocean breeze whipped her voice away, but she took a deep breath and made sure I heard what she said next. "It's not arbitrary to me. It's meant to protect me from getting swept up. It's meant to protect me from making a mistake."
I stepped aside but Riley didn't move. Her shoulders dropped and fresh tears fell down her cheeks.
"Landon, I'm sorry. The timing's all off. I had no idea we were in such different places."
I captured her lips, wanting to erase what she said. All my frustration and anger fueled the kiss, but it was gone the instant we touched. I dove into the passion, desperate to stay there where the world faded away and things finally made sense.
Riley answered by pushing up on her tiptoes. She met each searching shift of my lips with her own. I felt the anguish of that kiss sink me into the sand.
"The timing is what I'm trying to fix," I whispered against her.
She pulled back and looked up at me with deep, quicksand eyes. "We have time, Landon. Plenty of time."
I caught her face in both hands and felt the hot sting of tears in my own eyes. "What if we don't?"
She stepped back and I had to let her go. "I'm not worth waiting for?"
"No, that's not what I meant."
She turned and ran back to her apartment, stumbling and scattering wet sand. I followed her footsteps and watched as the tide washed them away.
It didn't matter if Lyla and the Board of Trustees left me with nothing. I had already lost everything.