“No, you should do what’s right for yourself first. I’ve always told you that. You have so much incredible talent, and he’s smothering you.”
She was right again. Creativity was my driving nature, and he’d done all he could to insult me and belittle my skills.
“I should have never moved in with him; he’s not going to make leaving easy. He’s spent so much money on the wedding venue and everything else. I hope it’s still early enough for him to get refunds, but I know I can’t go through with it. He doesn’t even want children.”
“You mean you got him to have the children talk?” Kayla’s eyes lit with surprise.
“Yeah, and the reason he never wanted to talk to me about it was he knew I wanted a child, that I had even considered having a baby all by myself after mother’s death, but then I’d met him.”
It had been a half-baked idea, but I had always known I wanted children and thought maybe a baby would fill the void my mom’s death had left. I figured she’d done it on her own, why couldn’t I? I’ve always adored children. Maybe it had something to do with me being an only child growing up and having memories of begging my mother to have more babies. Who knows.
“Aren’t you thankful you didn’t do that?” Kayla let out a long breath and stared at the ceiling. She’d been against me looking into the single-mom life, and she was only looking out for what she thought was my best interest. It wasn’t the right time for me to become a mother, but I couldn’t wait for the day to finally come.
“Yeah, and I’m glad I didn’t go out and get a pet like you recommended.” She’d tried to get me to get a puppy. Instead, I’d changed jobs from working at a probations office to working for a company that did estate sale auctions. It was a little less money, but a hell of a lot more interesting. Gavin had hated that decision too.
“Big difference.” She looked in the mirror and smoothed her hair.
“I think I’m at the point in my life where I just want time to myself,” I said.
“Well, don’t become a nun either. We can go out and just have fun together. I’ll introduce you to some hot singles.” She grinned and winked at me in the mirror. “It’s been a while since you’ve had a real man in your life, Bella. Now’s the time.”
“I’m going to take a month, get my things in order, save up some money, and then I’m out. I’ll need that much time to find a new place anyway,” I told her.
“Good. I can’t tell you how excited I am for you. And don’t forget
I leave in a month to go see Rick, so I won’t be around to help you move.”
“You’re going to meet him?” My mouth hung slack, and my internal warning bells started going off. I wasn’t sure I liked where this was going.
“Yes, I know you think it’s crazy, but I video chat with him daily, so it’s like we’ve already met. I know all about him, and he’s amazing. It’s not like there will be any surprises.” She put her finger to her mouth and bit her long nail. “I’ve got an idea. Instead of you sticking around here, why not pack your things, move them to my house for a while, and then you can come with me when I go to meet Rick. He has tons of friends, and I’m sure he won’t mind you coming along. I talk about you all the damn time anyway; he practically knows you! We’re going to the rodeo in Dallas. Maybe you’ll meet a handsome cowboy who will whisk you away.”
I looked in the mirror and caught the redness around my light hazel eyes, and then I smoothed out my wavy brown hair and stood up tall. I looked how I felt inside, like a damn mess, but I considered her offer.
Work would be no problem since I could pretty much make my own schedule. I was due two weeks off and had saved up some time for an extended honeymoon, which I clearly wouldn’t be needing now.
It would be nice to have a place to go. It would give me the space I’d need and enough time that Gavin wouldn’t have a chance to come around trying to beg me back like all the other times he’d been an asshole. Not that it would change my mind this time. I had drawn a line in the sand and my decision was final. I felt liberated by the thought of it, and I was finally excited about what the future had in store.
With all that said, I was also scared shitless about the unknown.
Fuck it. We only live once.
“Sounds good. Count me in.”
I took a deep breath as Kayla squealed and hugged me.
CHAPTER TWO - REED
I’d been waiting in my lawyer’s office for over twenty minutes before he came into the room. His wrinkled suit looked as if he’d slept in it the night before, and he fidgeted with his tie and tucked his shirt in his pants a bit before taking a seat. He offered me his hand, but seeing that it had been down his pants moments before, I simply curled my lip and jumped right into business.
“Let’s get down to it. I’ve got a meeting after I leave here.” He didn’t need to know that my meeting was with my best friend and that it was to talk about our plans to go out to the rodeo. We’d had the same yearly event planned since we were kids and hadn’t missed a year yet, not even when my father had died when I was twenty-two. The old man would have done the same if it were one of his lavish weekend destinations with his wealthy big-boy crew. The rotten apple didn’t fall far from the tree.
“Yes, well, I’m afraid you won’t be pleased, Mr. Harrington.” He flipped through a file that had my name, along with my father’s, marked on it, and breathed through his mouth making an annoying sound.
“You said you found something. Does that mean you overlooked something in the past?” I’d tried to wrap my head around how they could have missed something that seemed so cut and dry, not to mention important. I’d waited years for my thirtieth birthday, the day I’d inherit my father’s fortune, the day I’d no longer have to deal with my uncle, to whom my father had left the company.
It was finally time for me to inherit my billions and figure out what I wanted to do with the rest of my life, out from under my father’s shadow.
“It seems there was an oversight,” the lawyer said, shifting uncomfortably in his chair. He cleared his throat nervously and continued. “I’m afraid that to gain your inheritance, you must produce an heir by your thirtieth birthday.”