I exhale pure relief, thankful that something went right.
揂nywho, back to business. I抦 sorry I talked Lincoln into the fake wedding. He抯 a grown man and he makes his own decisions, but I can抰 help feeling like I might抳e been the decisive factor in his thinking. It抯 just a trope in so many movies, and you two played off each other brilliantly when I saw you together.?She dips her head and looks up at me with big, sad eyes. 揑 had no right to intervene, Dakota, even if I抦 obsessed with seeing my son happy. I just knew if he had to spend time with you梚f he let his shields down, it wouldn抰 stay fake for long.敀
揧eah, well…？I can抰 find the words to respond to that, so I shift in my seat.
揑 assure you, I didn抰 expect him to go and muck it up so dreadfully.?Again, she pauses and sighs, raw grief in her face. 揑 never knew it would trigger bad memories for him. Let alone bring him so close to making the same awful mistake twice…？
揥hat mistake??I lean forward, my mind flashing back to that last horrible conversation with Lincoln and his cryptic comments about becoming someone else.
Everyone keeps dancing around some big forbidden secret.
Tillie looks at me sadly.
揧ou know how his last relationship ended, yes??
I nod slowly. 揌e mentioned it. Cheating fianc閑。 Nasty fight. He said he caught her with her lover… It must抳e been pretty bad.?
揟hat抯 putting it mildly.?She straightens in her seat, her mouth drawn tight. 揑 suppose he never mentioned the hideous aftermath??
I shake my head, baffled at what she means.
揌e抯 an honest man, Dakota. When he goes all into something, he gives his entire heart, and it was like that with Regina, too. When he caught them together, he couldn抰 hold back, right or wrong…？
Oh, God.
What is she getting at?
Tillie holds up a hand. 揧ou didn抰 hear this from me, but that poor excuse for a man he found her with, he had the nerve to laugh in Lincoln抯 face when my boy ordered him to get out. Then he threw the first punch.?
Holy crap. I抦 getting flashbacks of what happened with Jay and the knife.
揟hat抯 awful, Mrs. Burns.?
揑t抯 Tillie,?she corrects sharply, taking a deep breath. 揂nd that impulsive little rat almost wound up in an early grave. The second after he struck first, Lincoln pushed him to the ground and beat him senseless. He didn抰 stop until half the bones in that man抯 body were fractured.?
揙h my God,?I whisper, my hand coming to my mouth.
She nods like her head weighs a ton.
揧ou can guess what came next,?Tillie says. 揂 criminal report. Lots of accusations and lawyers. Lincoln was lucky he wasn抰 arrested, and luckier still when the man agreed to drop all charges for an appalling settlement. My son came an inch away from losing his reputation, his job, his entire life…？
When it clicks in my head, it twists like a knife.
Especially when Tillie says, 揌e knew how narrowly he dodged a cannonball. He worked hard to never put himself in that position again, to keep his anger from taking over. But regrettably, when your ex came along and tried to hurt you…？
揌e panicked,?I finish weakly. 揘o wonder he freaked.?
揑 only wish telling you could make it better, but I抦 not delusional,?Tillie says. 揌ere, this should do more than any words ever will.?
She pulls a large envelope from her pocket and pushes it toward me. I抦 so numb I can barely reach for it.
揥hat抯 this??
揙pen it,?she tells me. 揑t can抰 make up for the emotional tizzy I抳e had a hand in, but it抯 a tangible apology.?
I open the thick pink envelope and pull out梐 contract?
Huh.
She抯 offering me a 揷reative fee?of five percent net profit from the wedding line.
Wait.
That抯 a product line projected to profit at least half a billion dollars. Five percent of a conservative five hundred million is梙oly Hannah, I don抰 even know.
It抯 a crapload.
I throw the contract back at her like it抯 burning my hand.
揗rs. Burns桾illie梟o way. This so isn抰 necessary. I抦 fairly compensated for my work on the wedding line, and anything else that happened outside work is棓
揘onsense. There抯 no earthly way he could抳e paid you enough for a sham that ended in tears. I know about your ninety-day work arrangement, too, and he抣l still pay you for that since you抳e reached the deadline. I feel horrible about this whole thing. If I was even a teensy bit to blame, I must make amends.?
Her eyes flash, a hazel-brown shade lighter than her son抯。
I抳e seen that same defiant look before, too.
Now, I know where he gets it…
God, I hate this.
She抯 such a nice lady, and she抯 his mother. It抯 not her fault her son is a complicated jerkwad. Also, I don抰 want to upset her, but there抯 no point in denying the obvious.
揥ell, I did get hurt, but money can抰 fix a bad breakup. I mean, this is overkill. I don抰 need to be a freaking millionaire because Lincoln broke up with me.?
揟he ad concepts were your idea, Dakota.?
揃ut the fake marriage was Anna Patel抯！?I throw back.
揕incoln told me you wrote most of the copy, or approved it.?Her eyes are unwavering.
揑 did.?My voice is shrinking.
揂nd you were in those pictures with my son. You crafted a large part of the social media push that抯 beginning now. Help me understand why you don抰 deserve this??
I don抰 say anything, but I抦 still holding out the contract.
She doesn抰 take it.
揑 hope you realize this money is yours. I won抰 take it back, and if you refuse payment…well, I抣l be so offended I抣l never speak to you again.?
Dang.
Tillie Burns can do a supermom guilt trip so intense it could curl your hair, and she抯 not even my mom.
I drop the contract on my desk with a conflicted sigh.
So this is my life.
Forced into reluctant riches, something I used to dream of in college.
揑 wish I could turn back the clock, but money can抰 buy time. I should have stayed out of it like Lincoln told me to,?she says.
揘o, ma抋m. It抯 not your job to make me feel better. The only person in the world who can do that has made it pretty clear where he stands梐s far away from me as possible.?I pull at my collar awkwardly, wondering why it feels like a steam valve.
揟hat terrible breakup with his ex and everything that came after left him a guarded man. Even before that, he wasn抰 good at relationships, at feelings. I know my son.?
She抯 so genuine.
Unfortunately, I know men.
揟illie, he hasn抰 spoken to me since the day he ditched me in front of the hospital. Not the actions of a man who cares. It抯 fine. I always knew I wasn抰 the kind of girl handsome CEOs end up with,?I say.
揑 have no idea what you think my son抯 type is, but I抣l tell you this. If he didn抰 care, he wouldn抰 have ended it and slipped into the ether. Dear Lord, do girls not read romance novels anymore??She smiles.
揗y tastes run darker, and romance is fantasy way too often. That抯 why the fake wedding scheme didn抰 work.?
揑f he didn抰 care about you, Dakota, it wouldn抰 matter to him if you ran away with a biker. He left so you could continue on here with peace of mind. He had something to lose, so he took the loss the best way he could in his own misguided way.?
Oh my God. Is she right? I want her to be right.
Shut up, Dakota. It抯 wishful thinking and you know it.
But she抯 rubbed this wound raw again. I blink several times, my eyes stinging.