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I nod at Sydney before turning back to Adrian. “All right. But she leaves town tomorrow and doesn’t come back for a long, long time. And when she does, she makes no attempt to contact me. I’m done. I never want to see her again unless it’s at your wedding, and we’re on opposite sides of the church.”
Adrian’s shoulders slump a little, but I stand firm. Angela’s put us both through too much. If he still wants a relationship with his mother, I can’t blame him, but she’s pushed me too far.
“All right,” he says. “I’ll let her know. Thanks for keeping this between us. She crossed way too many lines tonight but…she’s still my mother.”
“I understand,” I say. “And I’m sorry you had to find out about Sydney and me this way. I hope this won’t set us back in our relationship. I’ve really enjoyed spending time with you lately. I love you, Adrian. All I’ve ever wanted was to be close to you, to be a real part of your life.”
He swallows again. “Nah, we’re good, old man. I’ll see you for lunch on Friday.” He arches a brow Sydney’s way. “But if you become my stepmom someday, I’m never calling you mommy. That’s not anywhere on the table.”
Sydney makes a gagging sound. “God, no. Ew. I feel sick just thinking about it.”
Adrian grins. “Good. And let me know if you get tired of dating an old guy. I have loads of interesting friends I could set you up with. All of them closer to thirty than forty.”
“Or not,” I grumble, scowling.
Adrian laughs and Sydney crosses her arms. “You’re a mess,” she mutters. “Speaking of messes, you should get out of here before we put you to work cleaning up shattered glass.”
Adrian’s smile fades. “I can help. Sorry, I was just so fucking angry. I saw them and…snapped.”
“I get it, don’t worry about it,” I tell him. “It’s more important you get to your mother and take care of the footage. I’ll clean up the mess. And I’ll set aside those butterflies somewhere safe in case I need evidence that I was being filmed without my knowledge or consent. Be sure to mention that to your mother.”
“Will do,” Adrian says soberly. “I’ll make sure she gets how serious this is, and…I’m sorry, too. You guys didn’t deserve this. Not even close. You’re actually both really good people.” He holds my gaze. “Especially Sydney, so don’t hurt her.”
“Wouldn’t even think about it,” I promise. “I’d cut off my own hands first.”
“I’m not worried,” Sydney says, “but thank you, Adrian. I know this mess with Gigi has been so hard, but you’ve come a long way lately. You should be proud of who you’re becoming.”
He rolls his eyes good naturedly and mutters, “Yeah, yeah, stepmom.”
“Call me that again and I’m putting ex-lax in your cocoa the next time you come over to my place with Ben,” Sydney says, making him laugh.
“I’ll walk you to the door.” I cross around the opposite side of the couch to avoid the mess. When Adrian and I reach the hallway, I put a hand on his shoulder. Thankfully, he doesn’t pull away. “Talk more about Gigi and the baby on Friday at lunch? I’d love to see if there’s anything I can do to help.”
“Yeah, sure,” he says. “Sounds good.” He pauses at the door, dropping his voice as he adds, “You should offer Sydney a job. She’s miserable working for her father, but I know she’d fit in perfectly at G.P.G. Green. She’s a big hippy, just like you and the rest of the Vermont office. And if things between you don’t work out in the romance department, you’re both grown-ups. You’d figure it out. Or she could transfer to the New York office if it was weird. I just hate to see her throwing her life away for a man who could give two shits about anything beyond his bottom line. Including his daughter’s happiness.”
“You’re a good friend,” I murmur.
“I’m getting there,” he says. “And I’m serious. Think about it. She’s fucking brilliant and the hardest worker I know. You’d be lucky to have her.”
I know I would, and I absolutely intend to try to win Sydney around to the idea of working together eventually. But for now, we have other priorities.
“We should tell my dad,” Sydney says when I return to the main room, proving we’re on the same page. “Get all the hard things over at once and then we’ll be free to wander around the city together all we want.”
“Agreed,” I say, fetching the dustpan from beneath the kitchen sink. “Should we order food and make a plan?”
“Yes.” She runs a hand through her hair with a sigh. “And open a bottle of wine. I know we already had an old-fashioned, but I need a glass of pinot after all that…excitement.”
“I’m so sorry,” I say, anger burning in my gut as I pluck the butterflies out of the scattered flowers first. I have no idea if they’re still recording after being smashed against a wall and covered in water, but I’m not taking any chances.
“It’s not your fault,” Sydney says, appearing beside me, her palm extended. “I can take care of those.”
I set them in her hand. “Just make sure to wrap them up in something before you put them away. Just in case they’re still working.”
Sydney smiles. “Don’t worry. I have an idea.”
She steps into the kitchen, collecting a plastic freezer bag before moving back into the bedroom. I hear her voice a moment later and can’t resist following her.
When I reach the bathroom, Sydney’s holding the butterflies up to the mirror as she says, “You hear me? Leave him alone. He’s a good, kind man, who deserves a chance to be happy. And if you ever pull something like this again, I will bring the full power of my considerable fortune and connections to bear and sue you so deep into the ground, you’ll never see sky again. I hope we’re clear.”
