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He turns back to me before he bolts out the door. “It used to be my sister Susan’s room,” he says.
Right. His sister Susan, who now works with his sister-in-law, my best friend, Grace, who is at home snuggling her new baby.
“Wait,” I say. “Is this the house you grew up in?”
He nods. “Yep. Mom and Dad downsized to a condo, and I always said I wanted to keep my childhood home in the family. Buck always wanted something bigger to raise a family in, so our parents sold this house to me for next to nothing.”
I barely have time to process my surroundings and plan my escape when Wade returns with a glass of water and a prescription bottle.
“This is the pain med the doctor prescribed,” he says, handing me a glass of water and the tiny white pill.
I shake my head, remembering how loopy a pill just like that made my mom that one time. “I don’t need it, but thanks.”
“It will lessen the pain and help you rest,” Wade insists.
As deflection is my entire personality, I ask him, “How do I know you didn’t slip some Rohypnol into the water?”
Wade sets the glass on the nightstand and sits on the bed beside me, looking thoughtful.
In his hand, he cups the tiny pill. Finally, he blows out a breath. “Did anyone ever tell you you’re a terrible patient?”
“Did anyone ever tell you you’re a terrible fiancé?”
This makes him laugh, and it pleases me more than it should.
“I didn’t ask for any of this,” I say. “You shouldn’t keep me here. You’ll get into trouble with…” With who, exactly? It’s not like Wood Brothers Construction has a human resources department where I can file a complaint for an overbearing boss. Does it? Heck if I know.
“I mean, you’re supposed to oversee the business while Buck is on family leave, right? You can’t be here fussing over me day and night.”
“Harley and Nick can handle things just fine without me.”
“Sure they can. I’m sure they’re super competent at hiring crew members who don’t wear proper footwear and drop bricks when they get lightheaded from hunger.”
Wade’s jaw tics. Then, he picks up the glass, drinks half of it, and hands it to me.
“There. If there was Rohypnol in it, then I’m just as fucked as you are.”
My throbbing foot begs me to take the pill, so I hold out my hand grudgingly.
Wade’s rough fingers brush against my palm as he carefully places the pill in it. He then watches me drink the water.
“Are you going to make me show you that I swallowed it?” I ask with a smirk.
“No, but I will ask you to tell me what the hell is going on with you. Who are you running from? Who the hell is looking for you and why?”
This is a lot of information to dump on someone brand new.
“I assume you’re going to harass me until I tell you everything.”
“Pretty much.”
I exhale heavily and say, “My parents were professional scammers. My whole life, I thought we were wealthy. We lived in a spacious apartment on Central Park West. We had maids and nannies, and I went to the best schools. It turns out that my parents bankrolled our lives by conning global elites out of their money with investment schemes, catfishing scams on dating apps, the list goes on. You name it, they’ve done it.
“One day, they scammed the wrong guy. Some Russian oligarch; Ivan something. Arms dealer, I think. They met him on one of their trips to Croatia and convinced the man to invest money in their pretend startup. Hacking software. Dark web shit. My dad was under federal investigation shortly after getting the Russian money. Mom saw the writing on the wall and ran off to France. Last I heard, she’s some financier’s side piece, but honestly, I could not care less.
“Once my dad ended up in prison, the Russian oligarch wanted his money back, but it was all spent on lawyers and fines. I’ve tried paying in installments, but I can’t keep a job down because I lack skills. These people are not the most patient in the world. Furthering my problems, my parents never showed me how to do anything. I have no life skills, no education beyond high school. I had a good counselor in high school who helped me apply to college, but I was too stressed out to focus on that.
“So I lived on the cash that my parents had stashed around the apartment and got odd jobs here and there.
