She smiled at him. “Are you in shock?”
“Yes.”
“Do you need a minute?”
“More like a week, but yes.”
She rose. “I’ll leave you to consider your newfound fortune. But think about what I asked before. I really would like to discuss me buying a half acre or so.”
She couldn’t afford it right now, but after she inherited, she could sell a few of the more expensive pieces and pay cash. Even if she stayed in Florida, she liked the idea of having a little something of her own out here, on the coast.
“Ah, sure. It’s yours.” He stood and looked at her, then at the house. “I have to go.”
He walked into his room and closed the French doors behind him. Robyn smiled. Poor guy. Yes, it was only good news, but if he hadn’t been expecting to be rich, then he’d need a minute to adjust.
A big inheritance could change a person. Some people went crazy and ran through their money in months, then ended up with nothing to show for it but a fancy watch and a racehorse. Mason wouldn’t be like that. He would make smart choices. Yet another reason she enjoyed his company. He wasn’t a man who would disappoint a woman. Something, she’d recently discovered, that was getting harder to find.
twenty-one
NOT SURE HOW to apologize for being bitchy (again) and not wanting to face everyone, Harlow had begged off dinner, pleading exhaustion. She’d retreated to her room, had fallen asleep by seven and hadn’t stirred until nearly six the next morning. She woke up feeling better about herself and the world.
She moved two cats that were on her bed, then walked to the bathroom to brush her teeth. After pulling on shorts and a T-shirt, she went downstairs and started coffee. She poured a little cream and coffee into two mugs, then quietly slipped into her mom’s room.
The bed was empty, but the light was on in the bathroom. Harlow put a mug on Robyn’s nightstand, then slid into bed. Leaning against the headboard, she reached for her coffee when her mom appeared.
“Morning,” Harlow said, pointing to the mug. “I brought you coffee.”
“Which is why you’re my favorite daughter.”
Her mom, still dressed in a loose nightgown, got back in bed and stuffed pillows behind her back. When she was settled, she grabbed Harlow’s free hand and squeezed, then smiled at her.
“I love you, baby girl.”
Harlow’s eyes filled with tears. “I was horrible yesterday. You should hate me.”
“You’ll have to live with my love.”
“I don’t deserve it.”
“The love comes for free, no matter what you do. I may not always approve, but I’ll always love you.” She released her hand and picked up her coffee. “All right. Enough with the mushy stuff. Why are you here? And by here, I mean California, not my bed.”
The change in tone made Harlow smile. “You’re telling me to get to the point?”
“You came a long way for some reason. I’m curious.”
Harlow had been thinking about that herself on the drive out. The list was long, and it all needed to be said, but first she had to apologize.
“I was a bitch about the house,” she began. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have expected you to keep it just for my wedding. Especially when money’s an issue. I’m sorry about what I said before.” She glanced at her mom, tears once again blurring her vision. “I need you at my wedding.”
Robyn smiled. “I’ll be there, even if I have to hide in the bushes.”
“Why am I such a brat?”
“I don’t know. Maybe I spoiled you too much when you were sick.”
She noticed her mom didn’t say she wasn’t a brat. Harsh, but true. “So I get to blame you for being emotionally stunted?”
“You’re not stunted. We all forget to look past ourselves sometimes.”
Harlow had the feeling she did that more than most. “Kip and I checked out the wedding facilities at the club. With his mom.”
“How was that?”
“Weird. She nearly lost it at the cost. The deposit on the ballroom is fifty thousand.”
Her mom flinched. “Okay, or a car.”
“I never talked to Dad, so I have no idea what the budget is going to be.”
“That’s a good place to start. I’ll kick in some as well, but first find out what he’s willing to spend.”
Harlow tucked her leg under her, angling toward her mom. “You don’t have to pay for my wedding.”
“I’m going to help, sweetie. I want to. Right now I’m figuring out my financial future and coming up with a plan. Selling the house will help.”
Harlow nodded rather than get into it with her mom. The money from the house was going to be a big part of her mom’s income. No way she wanted to take any of it for her wedding.
“What else?”
Harlow told her about what had happened with her dad and the kayak business.
“I thought he meant it,” she admitted. “I feel so stupid. Like a kid playing dress-up. It’s just we talked about it like he really wanted to buy the business. But he made it clear he didn’t. This whole time, he was lying to me.”
Her mother put down her coffee and hugged Harlow. “Okay, that’s awful. I don’t get it. Why not tell you from the start that he wasn’t going to buy the company? Why string you along? It wasn’t as if you were thinking about going to work somewhere else. He didn’t need to bribe you into coming into the company. You two always talked about running it together. I’m sorry. I don’t know what he was thinking.”
The words and the hug made her feel better. “I put so much effort into something that was never going to happen. Plus he talked about overpaying me because I’m his daughter. I don’t know, Mom. Maybe I don’t belong there.”
Robyn’s gaze was steady. “Don’t make any sudden decisions. You’ve wanted to work with your dad since you were a little girl. Why should that change? You see how he expects things to be. Now think about what you want. I’m not sure you’d be happy working somewhere else.”
“I’ve never even tried.” She sighed and put down her coffee. “There’s more. Dad and Zafina.”
Her mother’s expression tightened. “I don’t know what to say about that.”
“Because there aren’t any words. If they get married, she could be my stepmother and sister-in-law. He could be my dad and my brother-in-law, which is even more disgusting.”