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“But why?”
“Because he promised to take care of my mom.”
“Your mom?” She swallowed, her throat tight. After all Jacob had said about Finn’s parents, why would Finn want to take care of them?
“Judging by that expression, you must know she was never parent-of-the-year material, but she tried, Blythe. She really did. When she was sober. When she wasn’t getting the crap beaten out of her by my old man.”
“So, you signed away your life to protect your parents? Just like that?”
“Not just like that. It took some convincing. But I was loyal to Asher. He’d saved my life. If it weren’t for him, I may not have even had a life to sign away.”
“If it weren’t for him, you wouldn’t have been in that situation in the first place.”
“Maybe so,” he admitted. “But it is what it is.”
“And Asher was okay with that? He just let you go away for what he’d done?”
“Jack hired the best possible lawyer. He fought for me. I don’t know what Asher knew. Jack told me he was going to send him out of state for college, that he’d tell him he was taking care of everything. He thought Asher may try to stop him if he knew the truth.”
“Do you think he would’ve?” At least there was a speck of goodness in the man she’d almost married.
“I don’t know,” he admitted. “I honestly don’t. I’d like to think so.”
“But…why wouldn’t you warn me about him? Why would you let me marry him?”
“I didn’t want you to think I was telling you not to be with him for selfish reasons. There was no way I could tell you to leave him, tell you any of this, and not have you thinking it was because I wanted you for myself. I wanted you to want to be with me because I was who you liked, not because I’d painted Asher in a bad light and aired out his secrets. And, besides, as far as I knew, Asher had turned his life around. I kept in contact with Jacob over the years. Getting out of New York was supposed to have really worked well for Asher. He’d been out of trouble all this time. I chose to believe that night changed him.”
“I can’t believe this,” she said, the weight of the story hitting her. How on earth could anyone hide this much of who they were? How could Asher have held onto this secret for so long? She could see the weight Finn still carried—the guilt. “It’s not your fault, you know. He saved you because he put you in a horrible situation. He’s not a good person, Finn. He’s not. If not for him, think about how different your life could’ve been.”
“I don’t know,” he said, the slyness to his voice back. “I kind of like my life now. Besides, if not for him, I’d never have met you.”
She grimaced at the thought but looked down at the necklace. She couldn’t thank Asher for bringing Finn into her life, but she could thank her mother. Her mother who had led her to New York, had brought Finn into her life the day the necklace had been torn from her grasp, and her mother who, on the day she was set to make the biggest mistake of her life, had shown up one last time to reveal the truth. She raised the necklace to her chest, hugging it and wishing she could feel her mother’s arms around her neck once more.Thank you, Mama.
“Speaking of,” she said, going back to his last words, “were you just planning to hang around outside in case I changed my mind?”
“A guy can hope, can’t he?” He smiled sadly, reaching for her hand. “Are you okay?” he asked, his tone serious.
She felt a small tear trickle down her cheek. She wasn’t okay. Of course she wasn’t. The plan she had for her life just an hour ago, had been ripped to shreds in front of her eyes. But at least she knew the truth. At least she knew before it was too late. “I will be,” she promised. “Thanks to you.”
“Me?”
“My getaway driver,” she said with a half laugh. “And the man I can always seem to count on.”
“Hey, as long as I don’t have to ride in on a white horse or anything.”
She snorted, spying the wink he offered. “I think a black Hyundai works just as well.”
“Well, this is just a rental, so enjoy it while it lasts.”
She smirked, though everything that had happened was still darkening the corners of her mind. How would she ever survive this? Still, at seeing the hopeful grin on his face, she tried to make light of a horrible day. “Until the stroke of midnight. Sounds familiar.”
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Back in the city, the couple returned the car and headed back toward Blythe’s apartment. Before they arrived, Finn stopped on the sidewalk. He glanced around, looking up to the sky.
“Hey, I have an idea.”
“What kind of idea?” she asked.
