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She chugged some more water.
“You’re looking for excuses because you like him,” her mom annoyingly observed. “So it’s not about the money then.”
“It’s notnotabout the money. How would you feel if some billionaire turned up in your life and claimed to love you?”
Her mom’s eyes widened. “Aidan told you he loved you? Lily, that’s huge.”
And more water.
“He has daddy issues.” She waved her hand around.
“I’m confused,” her aunt said, darting her eyes between them.
“Honey, is this about him having money? Then perhaps this is a good time to have a talk. I was going to wait until after the funeral.”
Lily waved her hand in front of her face, fanning herself and glancing at the snow outside on the front lawn.
“Is it hot in here?”
God, maybe she had a stomach bug.
“Yes, tell her,” Sherie prompted.
“Your father had life insurance. We never stopped paying it despite how tight things were after we learned he was sick,” Angela said. “You can never be sure how these things will turn out, so we decided not to tell you.”
What?
Lily stared at her mom and completely blanked out.
“I talked to your dad about this before he died. We talked in depth about it, in fact.”
Lots of swallowing.
“Mom, I—”
“No, let me get this out. I know it’s crude to discuss money when he’s not in the ground yet, but under the circumstances, I think you need to know.”
Lily stood and puffed air over her face, wiping her forehead.
“Honey, the insurance people are paying out two million dollars. Your dad and I want you to have half of it.”
Shit.
Her stomach lurched.
“Excuse me,” Lily said and bolted to the bathroom.
––––––––
TWENTY MINUTES LATER, Lily finally came out holding a towel to her face. Her mom was standing on the other side of the door, and she walked straight into her arms.
One million dollars.
She had one million bloody dollars.
It was a far cry from Aidan’s billions, but she was now an independently rich woman.
“If you pushed him away because you felt inferior, now you are going to have to think up a new excuse,” her mom said, smiling down at her. “I saw you two together. You reminded me of your father and I.”
