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“Of course—” Benitez begins, but I cut him off.
“Get out. Now!”
He rolls his eyes. “Good luck,” he says as he exits, leaving Hayden and me alone.
“Is your last name Shea?” I ask again, hearing the shakiness in my voice. “Is your dad…” I swallow thickly, not wanting to finish my question but knowing I have to. “Is your dad Joseph Shea?”
“Bree,” he breathes, a pained expression on his face. “Please let me explain.”
“Answer my question.”
“Please—”
“Answer it!”
“Yes, that’s my last name, and yes, Joseph is my dad, but it’s not what you think.”
Oh, my God. My heart cracks behind my rib cage as I think about the past few weeks, how we met… When he came in here and asked if I was the owner.
“When were you going to tell me?” I ask, getting choked up at the thought that everything between us has been a damn lie. From the moment we met, he had an agenda, and it wasn’t to date me.
“Can we sit down and talk, please?” he asks slowly like I’m a rabid animal he has to be cautious around.
“I don’t need to sit. I need you to answer me. Did you know your dad is trying to get rid of my coffeehouse so he can build a freaking spa here?”
He nods, and my stomach roils.
“And when you came in here the first time, was it to convince me to sell out?”
Another nod, and it takes everything in me not to throw up.
“Get out.”
“Bree, please.” His eyes, now glassy with emotion, beg, but I can’t hear him. I don’t want to hear him. I’m too hurt. I feel too betrayed. And then it hits me.
“Does Brody know?”
“Bree, please.”
His non-answer tells me everything I need to know—they both know.
“Get out, right now. We’re done.”
“Bree—”
“Out! Now!” I yell, stalking toward the door and swinging it open.
His gaze darts back and forth between me and the door, debating whether he should listen. Thankfully, he does, and with a sigh—and a piece of my heart—he walks out the door and out of my life.
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
HAYDEN
“I fucked up. Bad,” I tell Brody when he answers the phone. “She found out about my original motives and demanded I leave, saying it’s over.”
Brody curses under his breath but thankfully doesn’t pull an ‘I told you so.’ “What are you going to do?” he asks, raw emotion seeping through every word. We might’ve agreed that we would walk away if Bree only wanted to be with one of us, but we both know that this lie by omission will be the reason we lose her if I don’t fix it. We both knew about the situation. And based on her question regarding Brody, Bree knows too.
“There’s only one thing I can do. I’m going to tell my father once and for all that it’s not happening. Then I’m going to beg Bree for forgiveness.” I pull into the underground garage where my parents live and turn off the engine. “I’ll let you know how it goes.”
We hang up, and I head up to my parents’ place, already learning from Carly that he’s working from home this afternoon. I ring the doorbell, and a minute later, my mom opens the door with a glass of white wine in her hand. The woman always has a damn drink in her hand.
“Hayden,” she coos, opening the door and kissing my cheek as I walk in. “To what do we owe this pleasure?”
“I’m here to speak to Dad. Is he in his office?”
She nods. “Since you’re here, you should stay for dinner.”
I nod noncommittedly since I have no idea how this conversation will go.
I find my dad in his office, typing vigorously on his laptop. When I walk in, he glances up, then does a double take. “Son, I heard you took the day off. Everything okay?”
“Yeah, I need to talk to you, though.” He removes his glasses and sits back, giving me his attention. “Aubree Heart isn’t going to let you buy her out of her lease. She’s emotionally attached to it, and no amount of money you can offer will change her mind. I have a list of other properties that I would like to present, and I’d like your support on this—”
My dad holds up his hand. “Benitez said he saw you there a little while ago. Said it looked personal. Is there something you want to tell me?”
I was afraid that asshole would run to my dad. “We’re dating. Well, we were before she found out my part in all of this.” Though, technically, since I never once spoke to her about selling out, I don’t really have much of a part in any of it… But that doesn’t matter since I knew and kept it from her.
Dad nods. “Everyone has momentary lapses in judgment. You’re young and still have a lot to learn. Starting with not choosing pussy over business. But now that it’s over, and I’m assuming you’ve learned your lesson the hard way, you need to handle this.”
