“Don’t be silly.”
“It’s not silly. I know you love me no matter what. I don’t need you to pay for everything to prove that. I was thinking of leaving after this year, but now I don’t have to. I didn’t want you to have to work so hard instead of having fun for yourself. You’re the best big sister anyone could ever have.”
I slapped my hand over my mouth to keep my choking sobs from blowing out his eardrums.
A linen towel was thrust into my hand.
I looked up at Leo. How had he done all this? “I’m so happy for you, Ty.”
The look in Leo’s eyes was part worry, and part questioning.
“It’s almost curfew. I’ll talk to you later. And thank Mr. Wilder for me. Love you.”
“I will. Love you too.”
He ended the call.
I stared down at the black screen of the phone, my reflection staring straight back.
“You did that for him.”
“He’s a great kid from everything you’ve told me, but I did it for you.”
My hands shook. This scenario had never presented itself in all my fight, flight, or freeze encounters. “Why, Leo? And how? I thought you had everything tied up and kept away from yourself. How are you going to fund him through that school and college and award this to one kid each year for the next five years?”
“There was a loophole for charitable donations and foundations as long as they were for a minimum of five years. They’ll shunt off a portion to finance the fund and invest it. It’ll grow.”
“And if it doesn’t?”
“They’ll divert the money to fund it. Giving up half of what I have to give you a chance at what you need is worth it, Zara. You’re worth it.”
I flopped down onto the milk crates stacked up by the back door. The organized chaos of the kitchen flooded in, snapping me back to reality.
Everything I’d ever wanted. And Leo had made it all come true.
“Why?” I stared up at him, trying to make sense of what he’d gone through to make this happen.
He dragged a milk crate in front of me, looking hilarious and sexy in his tux perched on an orange, beat-to-hell plastic monstrosity a foot off the ground. “You can’t tell?”
“I wouldn’t have asked, if I knew. If I knew, I wouldn’t be sitting here thinking about pinching myself hard enough to leave a bruise to make sure this is real. But if it’s not real, I’m not sure I want to recover from this head injury.”
Leo took my hand in his, threading his fingers through mine. “Since I need to be more direct, I’ll lay it all out for you. I love you, Zara. I am madly, mind-blowingly, my-life-will-never-be-the-same-again, in love with you.”
I sputtered, snapping my head up. “Why?”
He laughed. “That.” His finger swirled around in front of my face. “That face, and your determination to protect the people around you, even if it means serving a room full of people after having a corporate job, not taking shit from an asshole who makes you spill coffee all over yourself, and never letting me get away with a hint of bullshit. It’s why I love you.”
Joy burned bright in my chest, overwhelming me and bringing the tears I’d finally stifled back to my eyes.
“Why else would I have done all this? Why would I have used my fifteen minutes with the President of Waverly telling him he’d be insane not to take you for this program?”
“You what?” I shot up from my seat. “Of all the insane things…you had a chance to get into the good graces of Clinton Waverly and you spent it talking about an interior design internship? Are you insane? That’s time you could’ve spent pitching for Simply Stark. Did you think about Sam? How did he feel about you throwing away an opportunity for his company?”
He stared up at me, grinning wide.
My heart did a backflip, filling with a feeling I couldn’t have placed before this moment.
He loved me. Everything everyone else hated—or at best tolerated—he loved. He loved me. All of me. The infuriating bits I used to keep people at arm’s length. My inability to keep my mouth shut when I should. The way I stood up to him.
“I love you.”
“How could you help yourself?” He stood and pulled me against him, running his fingers under my chin.
“This was your plan all along, wasn’t it?”
“Cornering you at work where you couldn’t run away? Yes. Absolutely. Showering you in coffee and crushing your croissant? Blurting out that we’re engaged when you got Stella’s ring stuck on your finger and pretending to be your fiancé for the next month? There’s not a playbook in the world that good, but I’m certainly glad it ended up being ours.”
“Me too.”
He ducked his head, capturing my lips with his and dipping me.
A soundtrack of applause broke out around us. It was quickly broken up by the catering manager.
With his hands on his hips, he stood, tapping his toe, as everyone broke up and went back to their duties behind him. “Your break isn’t for another two hours and forty-five minutes, Ms. Logan. And what have I said about fraternizing with the guests?”
I stared up at Leo, panting, ready to peel him out of this tux and spend the rest of the night showing him how grateful I was for everything he’d done to right the wrongs in my life and take care of me. For once, someone had stood up for me. For once, I didn’t have to be the rock. He’d be my rock. I rested my head against Leo’s chest, patting my hand against the solid wall of muscle. “I quit.”
48
Leo
With a wide, probably goofy grin, I walked off the elevator with three cups of coffee. I slid one onto Phyllis’s desk and headed back to see Sam.
Zara was sleeping in. Her sleepy moans and clutching the pillow to her chest had almost diverted me from the only thing that could’ve dragged me from the bed. My plan had been to stay in the apartment with her until she got on the plane, but there was one thing I needed to decide on before then.
Her day was packed with everything that needed to be done before an international move, like getting a passport and meeting with her internship coordinator. Tomorrow I’d start our cocooning in full force.
The lights from Sam’s office were the only lights in the still office space.
I walked in and set down his coffee.
He smiled wide and popped the top off, inhaling the hazelnut scent. “What are you doing here? I thought you had plans to keep to your apartment for the next few weeks?”
“That was the plan, but I wanted to swing by.”
Sam made a noise of acknowledgment while rummaging through his drawers for extra sugar.
“What would you think about me staying on at Simply Stark?”
He looked up at me from over his glasses, tugging them off and letting them fall around his neck. “I’d think you’re crazy. I’ve had to let everyone go except Phyllis—she won’t leave, but she also hasn’t cashed a check in the past twelve years, so there’s not much I can do at this point. Why would you want to do that? I thought you had the job up in New York.”
“I know, but I want to try something new. Stick closer to my friends and see if football is all there is to me.” I rolled the glass ball from hand to hand across the top of the desk.