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Chapter Twenty-Eight
For the past week, Vance had been skulking around his townhouse and his yard. Also darkening the halls of Tyndall, Soames, and Yardley but Nikki and Arthur seemed to understand he wasn’t in a mood to be lectured and didn’t give him too much of a hard time. Also seemed to have warned the associates, paralegals, and admins to keep out of his way because he was in an unusually foul mood.
At least he had work to distract him when he was in the office. At home, the house that he’d spent so much time and money crafting to luxurious and inoffensive perfection seemed like a box that was at once empty and filled with useless things. It seemed tailor-made to remind him of his spinelessness and gaffes.
What the fuck was the point of all this without Lilith? Who cared if his life looked like a spread from Town and Country if he didn’t have someone he adored to share it with?
He could buy whatever he wanted, but he couldn’t buy back his little Hell Child and everything that came with her. Except maybe he could?
Not bribe her to come back and shower her with expensive gifts as long as she’d fit into the box he’d painted for her. No, that wasn’t fair. Even if she agreed—which he couldn’t see her doing—she’d be like one of those animals who wilted and died in captivity. She’d be miserable in resort-bright tunic dresses, a navy blazer, pastel pearl-studded headbands, a leopard cardigan.
He’d have to make it very clear that he loved her and wanted her back without conditions, without reservation. She could do whatever she wanted to this house, to him, if only she’d come back.
Saying it might not be enough though. He’d hurt her, badly, and he wouldn’t blame her if words weren’t enough. Which is where his numerous credit cards with sky-high limits would come in, with a little help from some little friends.
Vance dug his phone out of his pocket and clicked on a contact.
“Hey man, what’s up?”
He was glad Gunnar had answered. Yes, there were more people he needed to reach out to but there was one friend of his in particular he wanted on Team Win Lilith Back.
“If Twyla is free, could I speak to her? I’ve got a big project I’m going to need her help on.”
* * *
“Have a great night and I hope you enjoy your stay at the Aster Family Resort.”
Lilith gave the departing family a tight-lipped smile and hoped it didn’t look like she was scowling. Her new boss had already chastised her for not being friendly enough but it was hard to be friendly when your heart was broken.
Yeah, she still wanted to shove Vance off the top of Mount Lorraine for being so amazing in so many ways and then completely letting her down. But she also missed him like crazy. His warmth, his praise, his care for her.
And it was a special kind of stabby agony that in order to get this job, the hiring manager had demanded that she “tone down her look.” So she was willing to do that for money but not for the man she loved? Blech, that was gross. It wasn’t quite so simple though.
She didn’t mind resenting her employer. She could turn up her music and rage against the machine, swear at the man while she stomped around the cabin in her platform boots. She didn’t want to resent Vance. Didn’t want a condition of being with him to be that she had to not fully be herself. So he could go get fucked. By someone else.
Which he was probably already doing and that was fine and didn’t make her jealous at all. She definitely wouldn’t want to scratch out the eyes of the tennis-playing, twin-set wearing, yacht-sailing, pearls-sporting socialite he was probably dating now. Maybe she’d file her nails just in case.
Scanning for her boss before she did, Lilith reached under the check-in desk for her bag. There was a text from Carey, and she decided that even though it was against resort policy to check your phone while you were on the clock that she’d risk it. Could be something wrong with the kids, after all. At least that’s what she told herself and not just that she needed some of her big sister’s words in her eyeballs stat because she was miserable.
When do you get off?
Feeling cheeky, she replied:
Usually within five minutes of breaking out the hitachi.
Her sister sent back a row of eye-roll emojis and Lilith smothered a laugh behind her hand. And another one when Carey sent back:
Lucy says, “Auntie Lil, that’s gross!” I told her it was her own fault for reading over my shoulder. Anyway, what time does your shift end or is that some pervy euphemism I don’t know about?
Lilith shook her head.
Not that I know of. And I’m out of here at 5:30. Why?
I thought we might go out. You’ve been such a killjoy lately, we need to cheer you up.
With the kids, or…?
Not that she and Carey never went out just the two of them but it was usually after Carey had brow-beaten Doug into staying home with the children because it was a special occasion like once, maybe twice a year. Lilith didn’t think her being sad counted as a special occasion. She would, in fact, probably be sad for a very long time.
