It's About Time (Blossom Peak #4)(101)
“I understand that entirely. The right woman changes everything, doesn’t she?”
He nods. “Abso-fucking-lutely.”
On my drive home from Rhonan’s house, something dawns on me, so I make a phone call that might help me put more pieces of my life together.
“Elliot?” Tori answers after the first ring.
“Yeah. It’s me.”
“Um, hi. What…how…”
“I’m ready to talk, Tori,” I say, knowing that I can’t talk to my father yet, but perhaps his accomplice has some information that will help me make sense of this entire situation.
Chapter 28
Elliot
Confessions of the Wicked Witch of the West
“Anything else I can get you right now?” Sally asks as she sets down two glasses of water where I wait in the back room of Blossom Brews for Tori to show up.
The last time I was here was the night Dilynne and I talked about our arrangement. I laugh to myself, thinking of how far we’ve come since then, myself especially.
“Is something funny?” Tori says as she approaches me, pulling me from my internal thoughts.
“Still debatable,” I reply as she takes a seat on the opposite side of the booth.
“I didn’t know what to expect coming in here, but it sure as hell wasn’t you laughing.”
“You have a lot of nerve even having an ounce of an attitude sitting across from me right now, Tori.”
She whips her long blond hair over her shoulder and straightens her spine. “Fine. You’re right.” Blowing out a breath, she continues, “Sorry, I’m just…nervous.”
“Not sure why. You’re the one that’s been wanting to talk to me for the past six weeks.”
“Yeah, and now you initiated this conversation, so I’m not sure what to expect.” Shrugging, she reaches up and tucks her hair behind her ear.
“I want to know everything,” I start, leaning back in the booth and resting my arm along the back of it, settling in for what I’m sure is going to be a long conversation. “From how we met, to the entirety of our relationship, and what happened on the day of our wedding.”
She nods slowly. “Okay.”
“And I want the fucking truth, Tori. Not some sugarcoated version.”
“I promise, I’m going to tell you everything.”
“Let’s hope so. Now start talking.”
She inhales deeply and then folds her hands together on the table in front of her. “Us meeting wasn’t an accident. It was arranged by your dad.” I remain passive in my expression, but inside, I’m already fuming. “I crossed paths with him in Nashville and he recognized me from when we were in high school together. He started asking me what brought me to Nashville and if I knew you, and he thought we would be a good fit for one another.”
“Why was he in Nashville?” I mutter more to myself, trying to wrack my brain for when my father would have made that trip but coming up blank. But Tori answers.
“I don’t know. Anyway, he said that you were going to be there the following week for a conference and that I should try to talk to you.” Her eyes dip down to her hands. “I had just broken up with my boyfri end, and figured, why not? I always thought you were cute back then, so…”
“Okay, so you knew I was going to be in Nashville, so our meeting was premeditated…”
“Yes, but our conversation was authentic, Elliot. I promise. And the night we spent together, when I admitted how much I regretted the things I did when I was younger…that was all true.”
I clear my throat from the irritation resting there. “Okay, then what?”
“Well, we started dating, right? And when you took me to your parents’ house for dinner about a month later, your dad pulled me aside and mentioned that he looked into me.”
My brows draw together. “How?”
“My entire life, Elliot. My finances, my driving record, everything. And let’s just say that I have a lot of debt—student loans, credit cards, you name it.” I nod because I already know all of this. “And he told me, in no uncertain terms, that if I could get you to marry me, that would all go away.”
Click. One piece of the puzzle has been found.
“So, he bribed you with money to get you to convince me to marry you…”
Tears build in her eyes. “I’m not proud of my decision, Elliot. I hope you can believe that.”
“Funny, I’m not even sure I can believe what you’re telling me right now, Tori, because you’ve done nothing but lie to me since we met, but…”
“Not everything between us was a lie.” She tries to reach for my hand, but I pull away.
“Just keep talking.”
She sighs. “So, I started bringing up marriage and kids, right? Trying to get you to agree that that’s where we were headed. And when we got engaged, I felt a sliver of relief that everything was going to work out, until my ex started coming back into the picture.”
“Wait.” Narrowing my eyes at her, I continue, “Your ex was your boss, wasn’t it?”
She nods. “Yes. My boss at the talent agency who I’d broken things off with just before we met,” she explains. “Trust me, it made working together the opposite of fun. But when he found out I was getting married and I had talked about leaving the agency, he started pursuing me again, begging me for a second chance.”