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“I’m sorry.”
“This is… this is insane. We all know I can’t afford to buy him out of the Estate. I can’t afford a lawyer, never mind countless court fees. This can’t be real.”
“I’m sorry,” Matt said, and he sounded genuine. “Toby was very adamant in his demands as soon as I presented the results. They do help you in terms of your claim, but it does then mean he can use this against you.”
“I don’t understand.” Tears stung like pinpricks behind my eyes as much as I tried to fight them. “I just want my home. I don’t care about anything else. I’d leave, I’d give the rest up and just go back to my town and he’d never hear from me again. Why is this becoming such a huge disaster?”
“I wish I had an answer for your Scarlett. You are entitled to your house, I agree with you there but Toby…” Matt paused and sighed deeply, dragging on the silence. “Toby was unwavering.”
“That’s all I want. My cottage is my home, it means more to me than anything else because it’s all I have. The only thing I have of my mothers. If-If I could just get him to understand that. Is there anything you can do?”
“I… I can try and talk to him again,” Matt decided finally, and my heart lifted slightly. “But I can’t promise you anything. He took his father’s death really hard; it was very sudden, and I suspect part of his anger toward you is simply grief to the loss. But it does mean that I don’t know if he will even listen to me.”
“Please,” I begged. “I know what grief can do to a person and I understand that. Losing a parent is… it’s a unique pain, believe me, I’ve felt it. If you could get him to agree to meet me? So, I could talk to him, just the two of us?”
“I will try,” Matt agreed. “But no promises.”
“Thank you.”
Silence fell as the call ended, and I let my phone drop into my lap, then I rubbed both hands over my face to chase away the tears. Grief, I understood. Ever the empath, it was almost too easy to imagine why Toby was so hostile right now.
Watching my mother waste away had done nothing to prepare me for the pain of losing her completely. It was a pain that still rose, even to this day, so I understood how hard it was to deal with.
If I could just get the chance to explain it to him, then maybe I could get him to understand how important the cottage was. The only way to do that was with a one-on-one, no Gala, and no crowd watching every move.
I slumped back down into my pillows with a groan and grabbed my phone, sending a text to Lily updating her on everything that had happened with Shane and Matt.
Lily’s reply was instant and while she had her sympathies, she also had a solution for me to engage in before I was kicked out of New York by Toby and his army of lawyers.
Retail therapy.
13
DANNY
Stalking wasn’t something I had ever thought I would sink to, but with Toby on my back to find something on Scarlett, going directly to the source seemed like the best option.
I didn’t pry into how Toby knew where Scarlett was at four in the afternoon; that was an argument I was not prepared for.
So, hearing that Scarlett had been hopping in and out of shops along the Boulevard, I took myself down there in the hopes of running into her. There was a tiny, quiet part of me that was looking forward to it since I hadn’t been able to get her out of my head since the Gala. Lucas had talked about her with such lightness in his voice and seeing her looking absolutely stunning that night had cemented her into my mind.
I just had to ignore the sourness of Toby.
As luck would have it, I spotted Scarlett walking out of a florist with a potted plant in one hand and several bags in the other. Despite the lack of glamor around her like when we had first met, she was still beautiful. I was mostly distracted by the flowers decorating the white tights on her legs and how the short, flowing skirt draped around her wide hips like a gentle touch. Her stunning green eyes stuck out like two sparkling gems in a sea of stones, and for a moment, I was enthralled.
So enthralled that I misjudged my speed and ended up walking slap bang into her.
“Oh!” Scarlett squeaked in surprise and tripped forward, desperately trying to save her bags and plant over herself. Knocked back to reality, I was just as quick and gently grasped her arm with my other arm encircling her waist before she fell.
“I’m sorry!” I gasped out. “I’m so sorry. Are you okay? I was miles away.”
Scarlett stumbled a few steps, but her fall was successfully averted by my grip and a nervous laugh escaped her flushed lips.
“Yes, yes I’m okay. My life flashed before my eyes for a second but I’m okay, thank you.”
Scarlett was warm in my arms, wrapped up in a tan coat that had two missing buttons; I noticed as she steadied herself and when she turned to face me, her eyes widened.
“Oh! I know you!” Scarlett flipped her head, working to get strands of her brown hair out of her face. I chuckled and reached up, grasping the stray strands and gently tucking them behind her ear.
