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Kyle squinted his eyes for a moment, registering his words. Most people in Ethan’s situation would not make that decision. “Are you sure I can’t convince you to stay? I can be very generous.”
“I know. But for the longest time money was a big thing… still is, but not the only thing anymore.”
“Understandable. Well, then count me as your number one client.”
Ethan smiled. He knew what the old man was doing—he’d choose Ethan to help him over a new hire, after all he trusted Ethan and knew what he brought to the table. Minus the recent scandal, of course. And as for Ethan, he’d finally have his freedom. He’d bend to no one. “That will be a pleasure.”
“Poppy, you need to eat something,” Billie said, handing her a cup of chicken noodle soup.
“I don’t want to,” she said. A lie. She was hungry in fact, but she didn’t feel like cooking, and Billie’s cooking skills were subpar at best. She was pretty sure that soup had come from a can, and a copious amount of preservatives were involved. Still, this wasn’t the right time to snark on her dear cousin who had been coddling her all day.
Though after she’d packed her stuff and said goodbye to the kids, the only thing she felt was a huge weight sitting in her heart.
She’d miss those two so much. During their goodbyes, they’d asked her to come by and visit, and she promised she would. Now, she felt sad. She’d have to do so when their father was away, and the housekeeper let her in. What if Ethan prohibited her? He had every right to do so.
A tear fell down her cheek. Two months prior, she had no idea her life would change so much. “He told me he loved me and all I said was thanks,” she said, more to herself than to Billie.
Billie widened her eyes. “What? And you’ve been crying because that hot man loves you? Doesn’t make any sense.”
“I can’t do it. I mean, I can, I could, but things are complicated,” she said.
“Why?”
She worried her bottom lip. “Because I had to love my brothers. I mean, I love them, I do. But I wasn’t given a choice when I became their caretaker. And now, I have that choice,” she said.
Billie looked down at the sad soup and lifted the spoon, starting to eat it herself. “Yet if that choice made you happy you wouldn’t be miserable.”
“I don’t know…”
Billie put the bowl aside, and scooted close to her cousin. “Remember what Kira said? About keeping an open mind?”
“Yes. But also, he almost lost his job because of me. I don’t want him to resent me later on,” she said. She still had no idea if he’d lost his bonus or not, having just read a little on social media. But all the news revolved around Roy’s bad reputation with women—apparently, also the cause for his recent divorce. But she didn’t know enough about Ethan. Sure, his reputation wasn’t ruined, at least it seemed. Though what that meant for his career goals she had no idea.
“He won’t resent you.” Billie held her hand, making her look at her. “Do you love him?”
“Yes.”
With a small smile, Billie squeezed her hand. A wave of warm comfort washed over her. “Your situation with your family… I know since we were kids. Here’s my take. You didn’t have the choice, you had to take care of them, yes. But now you have the choice. And what scares you is making the wrong choice. Am I right?”
“Yes. Not because I don’t love them all, but because what if I screw up? Just because I did okay for two months doesn’t mean I’m a keeper for life.”
“Why not?”
“Because I don’t want to hurt them. Him or the kids.”
“And what do you think you do by staying away? I bet they miss you. And you know what? Probably wasn’t easy for a guy like him to say he loves you and hear thanks. But he did it.”
Poppy let go of Billie’s hand and exhaled, falling down on the couch. “God, I suck,” she said under her breath. Billie had a point—probably hadn’t been easy for him to declare his love for her, but he took a risk. What had she done in response? She’d cowered. She’d done the opposite of what she had her entire life.
“No, you don’t. But you need to allow yourself this, Poppy. You did when you guys had the deal, because at the back of your mind you knew it’d come to an end. But you were happy. You can be happy again even without the deal.”
“I agree, but I doubt he’ll take me back now. I hurt his pride. He punched someone because of me, and I sent him away.”
Billie shook her head, waving her off. “Oh please. You were overwhelmed.”
“He had his assistant call me to say I should organize my podcasts,” she said. God, he was still taking care of her and keeping his word. He did love her—that she could not deny.
“Sort your heart out while you’re at it.”
