“I think Olivia’s upset she couldn’t go with Lachlan to his conference,” Hattie suggested. “This is a significant weekend for him, and it’s hard not to be there to support him, right?”
“Right.” I had initially wanted to go, but work had made that impossible. And when that ring came out, something shifted inside me. I had feelings so deep for Lachlan, I could swim toward the bottom and never touch ground. But we had an impending separation date, and everything was just all messed up, now more than ever. What would Lachlan say when I told him about the new job? If he even wanted to stay together in the first place, would he still, knowing we’d see each other about as often as Old Lachlan shaved?
For the second time in my life, I had a promotion dangling, and yet I was considering throwing it all away for a man. Shouldn’t I learn from past mistakes? Celeste’s voice took up a significant amount of space in my head, and I could hear her now telling me there was only one answer here. I knew whatshewould choose.
“I love Olivia’s face in this photo from TMZ.” Rosie held up her phone. “Look at that smile. And, admit it, Olivia. Those are tears in your eyes, aren’t they?”
“Our stoic sister showing big emotions in public,” Hattie said. “It’s been such a long time since she’s opened her heart to love.” She put down her bowl of dessert to focus on me. “It’s like Lachlan knew he’d have to handle you with care, and he has. Classic slow burn, right?”
Sylvie rested her hand on mine. “Sometimes when you’ve been hurt in the past, the old memories see opportunities to whisper lies in your ear.”
“Yeah,” said Frannie. “Last week a memory told me I could wear an old miniskirt. Lies.”
“Olivia knows what I mean, don’t you?” my grandmother asked.
There was no point in denying it. “Right now my relationship with Lachlan is just very…complicated.”
“Then uncomplicate it,” Sylvie said. “At the end of the day it’s about do you love him and does he love you. The rest can fall away.”
“It’s not that easy,” I told her, aware I had the entire room confused, myself included. “I have so many competing forces in my head.”
Sylvie’s fingers curled around mine, and her own wedding ring sparkled beneath the dim lights. “It’s as easy as you want it to be.”
It was on the tip of my tongue to tell my family everything—from the disastrous Vegas wedding, my promotion, to the possibly lovesick woman that I had become. But in a moment of restraint I settled on, “Things have become confusing with Lachlan.”
“Does he want you do to role-play?” Frannie’s eyes lit with interest. “I have some costumes you can borrow. My Madame Supreme Court justice outfit is newly back from the dry cleaners. It’s a fave.”
“Not what I meant.” At all.
Hattie stood and grabbed her bowl. “How about another round of dessert, then we break out some wine and help you process some things on your mind?”
It would be so good to tell my family everything, to have at least one burden lifted, and to gain their insight into what I should do with my life.
“Hattie, maybe you should bring back the whole pan of cobbler.” This was it. I was ready to stop living the lies in front of my family. I, Olivia Sutton, needed help. “I have something I need to tell you all.”
Just as I was about to spill every salacious detail, my phone dinged with the unmistakable sounds of five different breaking news notifications.
“Don’t pick up that phone!” Rosie yelled.
“Resist the temptation!” Frannie made a grab for my cell, but I moved quicker.
I snatched my phone and checked the screen. “Oh, no.” I clicked the first notification, a news blast fromWall Street Journal,and felt my jaw go slack.
This was bad. Very bad.
“What is it?” Sylvie asked. “Did your boss forget the name of her first born again?”
“No, worse.” I scrolled, scrolled, scrolled, speed-reading each article. “Lachlan’s CFO was just arrested in San Francisco on fraud charges.”
Sylvie scooted next to me on the couch and leaned over to get a look while I clicked on a second article. She read the headline out loud. “Maxwell Barclay, CFO of Star Gazer Corporation, arrested in the lobby of Ritz-Carlton on multiple charges of fraud.” She gave a low whistle. “That’s a lot of FBI agents in that photo for white collar crime. Must beverybig.”
I read the rest and felt my stomach sink. Maxwell was suspected of defrauding a large list of investors in an elaborate crypto scheme. According to the headlines, he’d created a private fund for digital investments that never existed, bilking people out of millions.
“Star Gazer stock is going to plummet,” I said. “Investor confidence will totally nosedive. Lachlan has to be a wreck.”
“Like in this photo?” Sylvie handed me her phone where another photo showed a different angle of the arrest. The FBI escorted Maxwell out with Lachlan in the background, his forehead pinched taut in anger.
When my phone rang, I didn’t even bother checking to see who it was. “Hi, Celeste.”
