Charlie looked at me, all drama and trepidation, like he was doing something dangerous. And I guess he was. I smiled at him for what I knew would be the last time, then watched him as he descended into the darkness. His coheir bid me adieu with a nod, then followed her brother down the stairs.
It’s not that I didn’t love my husband. He had given me two beautiful children, and I would always be grateful to him for that. But I belonged with someone else. It sounds cliché, but I knew Nathan was “the one” the moment I saw him, when I was literally in the process of marrying someone else. I had just said “I do” and kissed my new husband when our eyes met and a bomb went off in my heart. The gods had tricked me into marrying my true love’s cousin, which—as long as Charlie was alive—would always make me forbidden fruit.
I had tried to forget Nathan, but he kept popping up at things—Thanksgiving at his parents’ house, a trip to San Diego, Charlie’s thirtieth birthday beach luau in Malibu. By the time the ski trip rolled around, I’d had enough waiting. I moved into my destiny.
I knew it was right from the moment his sugar lips touched mine. Our bodies fit together like tongue and groove. We were two lost pieces of a perfect puzzle. I understood why he was pushing me away—he had no choice. The family would never forgive him if he stole me away from Charlie. And of course there was the money. As Charlie’s wife I was destined to get a sizable share, but only if I stayed married to him until the old bat kicked the bucket. I understood why Nathan wanted to wait. Just like I knew he would understand why I had to seize the chance to put that wait to an end.
With both Winnie and Charlie gone, I would get everything. Winnie didn’t have kids, so I would be the only surviving heir. I could finally walk into the life I deserved with the man who deserved me.
I couldn’t lift those hundred-pound bags of cement, but that’s what the wheelbarrow was for. It was like it had been placed there just for this moment and for me. All I had to do was stand them up and tip them in, then tilt the wheelbarrow down so they could slide out.
I grabbed the trapdoor handle with both hands.
And with one swift tug, I closed it.
CHAPTER 61
* * *
NATHAN
Rain battered my windshield as I turned into Louisa’s driveway. My heart sank when I saw Marcela’s Jeep parked in front of the garage. How the hell did she beat me here? I didn’t think she would try to corner me and stick her hands down my pants, but I also hadn’t thought she would show up at my apartment wearing nothing but red lipstick and a raincoat, so I braced myself for whatever bad behavior was coming my way—not knowing it would be orders of magnitude worse than anything I could have imagined.
I parked my car next to hers, then shielded my face against the rain as I jogged to the front door and let myself in.
“Hello?” I called out, shaking the wet off my hands and hair.
“Hello, Nathan.”
I looked up to see Marcela on the second-story landing. I did not want to be alone with her, so I immediately asked, “Where is everybody?”
“Theo is sleeping,” she said as she started down the stairs. “And Zander’s in the matrix.” She pantomimed playing on an iPad, then laughed at her own joke.
“What about Charlie and Winnie?” I said, and she just shrugged. She was standing on the bottom stair now, boobs on full display in a tight, low-cut V-neck sweater with a push-up bra underneath. She was barefoot with toenails painted bright pink, and her Lycra leggings were shiny and low cut to reveal a tanned midriff and belly button pierced with a sparkly red ruby.
“I thought they were with you,” she said, and I shook my head.
“No, they asked me to come here.”
I took out my phone and group texted: Where r u guys? And in less than a second—
Ding. A phone pinged in the kitchen.
“Wait, are they here?” I asked, turning my back on her before she could answer. I got to the kitchen to find Winnie’s phone next to a nearly full pot of coffee, which smelled fresh and was still steaming hot.
“They left a while ago,” Marcela said, moving in close to me. “We’re all alone.” I took a step back away from her.
“How long ago?”
“I don’t know, I was upstairs with the boys,” she said. A strand of hair fell in front of her eye, and she swirled it around her finger, then tucked it behind her ear. I knew she was trying to flirt with me, but the gesture made me sick.
“I really need to talk to them.” I tried to move past her, but she was blocking my way. “Marcela, please, let me pass.”