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“I don’t think I can go to the police, Cross. I don’t want everyone to know what happened to me.” Hiccups rack her tiny body as another sob breaks from her lips.
My heart constricts at the sound of my girl breaking in front of me. “You don’t have to do anything you don’t want, Everly. Never again. I promise. I won’t push.”
She grips me like a lifeline holding her head above water. Like I’m the only thing keeping her together, and I swear to whatever fucked up thing in this universe that allowed this to happen to her that I’ll make it right.
I scoop her up in my arms and carry her inside, then walk us upstairs and turn the hot water on in the shower before putting us both inside, fully clothed.
“Cross,” she sputters.
“You’re freezing cold, baby. Let me take care of you. Please...”
Her eyes soften, and she nods silently.
I carefully strip her out of her clothes, then do the same to myself.
There’s nothing sexual about it. This is me taking care of her.
Everly goes through the motions, lifting her arms and turning to let me wash her hair.
She doesn’t speak. Doesn’t cry.
After, I wrap her in a towel and lay her down in our bed. She curls around me and closes her eyes instantly. My gorgeous girl is safe and asleep and wrapped in my arms, where I’ll never let anything hurt her again. Not even me.
That’s when I start to plan.
And it’s not until I hear Ares, hours later, that I put it in motion.
Never say you can’t do something.
Say you haven’t done it yet.
That yet is important.
EVERLY
Two days later, I meet Lindy and a realtor in front of an old two-story white Victorian-inspired storefront on the corner of Main Street. It’s a few storefronts down from Le Désir and one block down from my Mom’s studio. I asked Lindy to meet me here because her family owns the building. It’s been empty for a few months, and Lindy mentioned before that it was under contract for a high-end architect, but the contract fell through.
She’s got Griffin in some kind of crazy-looking wrap thing strapped to her chest, and the little man is kicking his feet, thrilled with life. It makes my heart pang for Jaxon, who I left with Mrs. Ashburn this morning while Cross is at physical therapy with Brynn. His head seems fine. But his vision is still giving him problems.
Once the realtor gets the door open, we walk inside, and I’m struck immediately by the natural lighting and beautiful shapes of the building. The rounded pointed turret on the end of the building would make the perfect place to highlight whatever design I wanted spotlighted. The windows are huge boxes. And the bones of the building are stunning. Wide plank hardwood floors and soaring ten-foot ceilings.
“This is one of the few remaining original mansions from when Kroydon Hills was incorporated, nearly 150 years ago,” the realtor tells us, and I link my fingers with Lindy’s and drag her around behind me.
We walk through the whole first floor in awe, then go upstairs, and I stop and stare. “Lindy... please tell me your family will sell me this building.”
My best friend smiles. “Listen, I’ll make you a deal. I’ll get King Corp. to sell you the building if you’ll let me work for you. I can’t stand not working, and I haven’t figured out what I want to do. But Evie... this. This, I could do. Let me handle the business side of things while you handle the designs. We don’t need to be partners. I’ll work for you. But give me a chance to show you how I can help.”
“Are you serious?” I ask in shock that she’d even consider working with me.
She’s an heiress. A literal billionaire.
“I have so much to learn, Linds,” I tell her, then practically hold my breath. “I’d rather have a partner than an employee.”
“Really?” she screeches. “I don’t bring a ton of experience to the table, but my contribution can be the building.”
“Lindy, I can’t let you do that.”
“Yes, you can. It’s my investment.” She drags me to one of the upstairs bedrooms. “Look. This can be your office, with the big windows overlooking the park. And the one back there can be mine. Maybe we could even turn one of these rooms into a kids’ room, so I could get a nanny and have her come here a few days a week.”
