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She shrugged. “He had second thoughts, I guess. So we went back to his place.”
Scott held up a hand to keep her from saying more. “Okay. I got it. But I don’t understand. He made you drive yourself home?”
She shook her head. “Unfortunately, I had to tell him about Black Crescent. Things went really well there yesterday and I don’t think it’s going to be a onetime job. Joshua Lowell is putting in a good word for me, and he’s put me on retainer for the next month. I was going to tell you yesterday, but I never had the chance.”
Scott drew in a deep breath through his nose, the gears in his head clearly turning. “What did Zane say? Did he hit the roof?”
“He did. But then it snowballed from there and he just sort of shut down. That’s when he asked me to leave. That’s why I have his car.”
“So what now? Is it over?”
Allison froze as a single tear rolled down her cheek. As upset as she’d been last night, she hadn’t cried. But something about those three words—is it over?—made the dam break. “I don’t know. I don’t want to think that last night was the end, but I just don’t know. He has such a grudge when it comes to Black Crescent and the Lowells. It’s so frustrating.”
“Well, of course it is, but it’s not like there isn’t a good reason for it. The scars you get as a young person are always the ones that feel the deepest. It’s just the way life is.”
Allison had never thought of it that way. She’d never seen a parallel between her life and Zane’s. Until now. Her brother was right. The pain she had from years of Zane being her unrequited love was very real. And there was something about it that had always felt especially raw. She hadn’t been able to start exploring it until the kiss at Scott’s party, but it hit her hardest at Rose Cove. A single “no” from Zane was far more devastating than any rejection she’d ever experienced. “Yeah. I suppose you’re right.”
“And as the person with a front-row seat when his family fell apart, I can tell you that it was incredibly difficult for him. The number of nights we sat up with him talking and me listening? I couldn’t begin to count. I don’t really know that I was equipped to help him through it. All I could do was listen and be his friend. I’m guessing the guy needs some therapy.”
“You’re probably right, but that doesn’t help at the moment. I don’t know what to do to make any of this better, and I hate feeling so helpless. I feel like screaming. Isn’t love more important than any of this? Isn’t it supposed to conquer all?”
Now it was Scott’s turn to remain perfectly still. “Do you love him?”
She nodded, her sadness morphing into conviction to put it all out there with her brother. She had to make this declaration to somebody, even if nothing ever came of it. “I do. The big dumb jerk. I love him. And I don’t know what to say or do to help him get past this.”
Scott sat back down on the bed and took her hands. “This is why I didn’t want you to get involved with him. I never want to see you get hurt.”
Allison saw her chance to finally sort this out with brother, hopefully once and for all. “Scott, life hurts. Love hurts. I don’t want to sit on the sidelines and be an observer. I can take care of myself, and if I get hurt, I’ll be okay. Even now, with my heart in twenty pieces, I know that I’ll be okay. I have a good career and great friends and an amazing family I love more than anything. I know you still look at me and see that sick little girl in the hospital bed, but that isn’t me anymore, and it hasn’t been me for a long time.”
Scott’s eyes misted. He was a tough-as-nails guy, but this got to him. “I realize that I was just a kid when it happened, but I’ve never been as scared as I was when you were sick. Never.”
Allison felt like her heart was going to break every time she listened to Scott or one of her parents talk about this. She hated that it was still so raw for them, but they’d all understood that it was a matter of life and death. She’d been too young to understand, but she wanted to believe that she did now. “I know, honey. But I’m fine. I’m here. And you need to let it go.”
He cleared his throat and collected himself. “Just like Zane needs to let Black Crescent go?”
Apparently they all had things they needed to let go of. “Yes. If you can figure out how to make him do that, I’d love to hear your suggestions.” From the bedside table, her phone beeped with a text. Her brain flew to the thought that it might be Zane, but when she consulted the screen, her heart sank with disappointment. It wasn’t him. “Speak of the devil. It’s Joshua Lowell. He wants me to come in to the BC offices this morning.”
“A little early for a work text, isn’t it?”
“Apparently he’s like you. He doesn’t like to sleep in, either.”
Zane hadn’t slept at all. Not a damn minute. And he couldn’t begin to process what he was feeling. Every time he followed one line of thought, he got distracted by another. He’d start to think about Black Crescent, familiar anger and pain welling up inside him. The fact that his feelings about BC were now tied to Allison made it even more difficult to sort any of it out. Her betrayal ran deep, registering in the center of his chest and causing him physical pain. Allison knew how he felt about Black Crescent. She’d not only witnessed the initial fallout all those years ago, he’d told her everything he was still feeling when they were in the Bahamas. And she hadn’t said a thing. Not a peep. That hurt most of all. They’d made love, and she’d known that what she was doing would hurt him. She’d known it all along.
There was no telling how any of this would work out. When he tried to see his future—the days and weeks beyond now—he still saw Allison there. He’d seen her there last night before everything fell apart, and now in the light of day, she was still there. He didn’t want to imagine tomorrow, the next day or the day after that without her. She’d opened something up in him on the island. She’d done it again last night. It didn’t feel as though he could shut the door on that, even if he wanted to. So how was he going to get past this?
One thing Allison had said last night kept bubbling to the surface—how every black cloud had a silver lining. How BC had ruined one thing, but it had brought them together. It wasn’t all bad, as much as he’d always seen it as such. And Allison in particular was easily the best thing that had happened to him ever. He couldn’t fathom walking away from that. From her. It made no sense.
The realization made his end of the conversation from last night sting. He’d said some horrible things. He’d stupidly let his anger take control, as was so often the case with BC. If he was ever going to move forward in his life, he had to force himself to stop allowing what had happened with BC to define him. He was stronger than that. He knew that. He’d simply let his anger get the best of him.
He had to talk this out with Allison. He had to explain himself to Scott. He had to open himself up to the fact that he’d been wrong about more than a few things. His own mother had proved him wrong yesterday. Allison had done the same with everything she’d said about silver linings. And now he had to talk to her. To find a way through the mess he’d created from years of clinging to anger and resentment. This was about more than making amends. This was about making a future. He had to find Allison. Luckily, he knew exactly where to look.
He jumped in the shower, hoping a little hot water and soap might help to reset his head. He couldn’t begin to figure out where to start with Allison. There was a part of him that wanted to confess his feelings and hope that would be enough to make her step away from Black Crescent. There was another part of him that wanted an apology. There was yet another piece of his soul that knew he should be the one to say he was sorry. He hated that his feelings were so jumbled out of control. He hated that he couldn’t let everything go after all these years.
Freshly shaven and dressed for work, he drove his Porsche over to Scott’s house. When he arrived, his BMW was parked out front, but Allison’s zippy silver rental was noticeably absent from the driveway. Hopefully Scott had let her put it in the garage. He wasn’t worried that she’d left town. Black Crescent was keeping her here for the foreseeable future. But he was concerned that she might not be home. He wasn’t eager to chase her all over Falling Brook, but he would if that was his only option. He had to sort this out, and the only logical path started and ended with Allison.
He rang the doorbell, then stuffed his hands in his pockets. He’d never before been nervous to arrive at his best friend’s house, and the feeling was unsettling.
Scott flung the door open, sweating profusely and wiping it from his forehead with a towel. “Looking for your car keys, I take it?” Scott’s voice had a cutting edge. His best friend had never before taken that tone with him. He disliked it greatly.
