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And maybe I was being unfair. Perhaps I’d misjudged entirely, but I had a feeling this man didn’t recognize that.
“You lied to the people in that room,” he said.
Shame washed over me and I felt the heat creeping up my neck. I wanted nothing but this man’s respect and I’d destroyed all possibility of that. He felt only contempt for me, as did his wife and at least a few of the people out in that room. And the rest of them would in short order, once word had spread that the new “art appraiser” was a phony. “I had a reason, Mr. Buchanan,” was all I could offer, and even I knew it was woefully inadequate. Selfish. I’d hurt people. But I’d hurt myself most of all.
“I imagine you did. But some things can’t be repaired.”
I nodded, a mass of emotion filling my chest, the hope I’d clutched as I’d entered this house dissipating like smoke.
“Gage is quite taken with you, it seems.”
I cleared my throat and clasped my hands in front of me so he couldn’t see I was shaking. Quite taken with you. What did that even mean? “I care for him too, Mr. Buchanan.” I love him in fact.
“If that’s true, Ms. Casteel, you’ll leave this party and return home to where you belong.” Where you belong. Not here. Not with his son.
I pushed my shoulders back. “I am returning home. I just wanted to see Gage one last time. I have something to tell him.”
“I’m sure whatever you have to tell him can be emailed or texted. Give him this party, this closure with his family and friends and business associates before he sets off on his new endeavor in London. He’s worked for many years toward the life that lay before him. First London, then possibly Paris, Madrid. The sky’s the limit for my son. If you’re here to thwart that, or hold him back in any way, then you can’t really care for him at all.”
A breath gusted from my mouth, heart clenching painfully.
“He won’t get these opportunities back, Aurora. Many people are depending on him. He’s been…highly agitated…not himself since he met you and I can’t have a momentary distraction destroy his entire future. You’re not the right woman for him.”
I gave a slow nod. In a way, I wanted to dislike this man, but in a way he was right. He was depending on Gage to grow his empire. But also, an entire company of employees were depending on him, not just here in Calliope, but in Europe as well. His current position had already been filled, and there was no way he wasn’t going to London.
I’d lied to myself. I’d donned this dress, a gift from Gage, and come here not only to tell him I knew who my father was, but with the small secret hope that there was a chance for us. That he’d have a solution. Or that maybe he’d ask me to stay. What a fool I was. Not only that, I was unfair. Mr. Buchanan was right. I was only making this more difficult.
I was not part of this community—I never was. I’d always believed I was part of two worlds, but that had never been true. I was glad I was no part of these people because most of them, at least, were awful and self-involved.
But these people mattered to Gage, personally and professionally. And I would only hurt him if I stayed. I lifted my chin. My only choice now was to leave with my dignity at least semi-intact. I would leave and they would forgive him, believing I was just a random woman who’d cast some spell on him that he wasn’t responsible for.
“I appreciate you setting me straight, Mr. Buchanan. I’ll leave now.”
He appeared almost surprised but stepped aside as I moved to the door. “Ms. Casteel.”
I stopped, my hand on the knob, but didn’t turn his way.
“I’m sure you’re a nice girl if my son took an interest in you. I hope you realize that sometimes things are simply not meant to be.”
A platitude. What he meant was, sometimes it didn’t matter what people wanted. There were too many barriers, too many mistakes…too much water under the bridge. I hesitated, but then simply gave a nod before opening the door and exiting. What did it matter what I said? Mr. Buchanan thought of me, not as an individual, but as the girl who’d gotten in the way of his son’s future and caused him to act like a person other than the easy, agreeable man he’d been all his life. But more than that, it wasn’t Mr. Buchanan who was going to London. It was Gage. Regardless of the circumstances, or the pressure, or anything else, Gage had decided to take the reins of his father’s company and begin a new life overseas. And Gage was a grown man. Whatever Gage felt deep inside, whether he’d admitted it to himself or not, it was Gage who had to live his life in the way he thought best.
And Mr. Buchanan was right, if I really cared for him, and I did, I did, I wouldn’t make that any harder.
“Thank you all so much for being here.” I looked up, toward the voice coming over the microphone as the crowd grew quieter and turned toward the opposite end of the large, open room that had been cleared of furniture to make room for a dance floor and a band. Mrs. Buchanan was standing on the platform and holding a microphone in her hand, beautiful in a shimmery pale pink gown. I stopped behind an older man in a gray suit as it would be easy to spot me as the only one moving toward the door in a sea of still guests. “This party is bittersweet,” Mrs. Buchanan said. “After all, we’re saying goodbye to our Gage, and I know we’ll all miss him terribly, but it’s also a celebration of the immense success my son has achieved, and the pride we feel in him.”
Another woman in her fifties wearing a silvery-blue dress stepped up on the stage and Mrs. Buchanan looked her way.
“Cheryl. Everyone, you know Cheryl Wingate. Did you want to say a few words?”
Cheryl Wingate took the microphone from Mrs. Buchanan and smiled broadly at the audience and then Blakely Wingate stepped up next to her, stunning in a strapless yellow gown that clung to her curves. She was even more beautiful in person than on her Instagram profile. “As Lana said,” Mrs. Wingate began, “this is a bittersweet moment. But I hope to add to the sweetness by being the first to congratulate my daughter, Blakely, and Gage on their engagement! They’ll be traveling to London and planning their wedding while abroad!”
Next to her mother, Blakely grinned and the crowd gasped and then began clapping, my heart dropping into my feet. She’d managed to convince him, despite that he’d told me he made the decision not to entertain the idea?
Did you tell her tonight?
No. It wasn’t the time.
I suppose I wasn’t surprised.
