“You could have done that easily with a simple Internet search,” Moira cut in, red blotches of color staining her cheeks.
“I promise you, if I could have accessed any information about you and your company, I would have. Unfortunately, all of your files were—”
“No!” Moira pushed up from the chair. “I’m not going to listen to your excuses. I don’t want to hear them. It’s taken me a long time to rebuild, but I have. And I won’t let you drag me back into the past.”
“Please, if you would just let me explain. I’m so sorry for—”
“You heard Moira.” Lola stepped in front of him. “She wants you gone.” Lola’s eyes were full of pain. Anger. And deep betrayal. “I do too.”
Duncan felt like his insides were completely shredding as a knife twisted around and around. “I don’t want to hurt Moira again. And I swear I never intended to hurt her five years ago either.”
But Lola wasn’t interested in listening to his pleas as she walked barefoot to the door and held it open. “Leave. Now.”
Was there anything he could say, or do, that might convince her to let him explain? But given that even the previously docile dog seemed to be snarling at him now, he knew he wasn’t going to get that chance.
Only little Ruby was still smiling, her wide eyes innocent as she looked up at him. But he wasn’t innocent. No matter how many apologies he made, no matter what he did to make amends, he hadn’t saved Moira from Alastair’s schemes.
And Lola was right to want nothing to do with him.
The truth that he’d known all week, but had tried to shove back into the darkness, was that he didn’t deserve her love. This was exactly what he deserved—her disgust and fury.
“I’m sorry.” He said the words to Moira and to Lola’s family, but most of all to Lola. “More sorry than you’ll ever know.”
He stepped outside, and the door behind him closed with a bang, the lock slamming shut. The night had grown cold and dark, wet and windy. The perfect mirror to the way he felt inside.
Because nothing, and no one, would ever compare to the joy that he’d known—and had just lost—with Lola Sullivan.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Lola was shell-shocked. Beyond devastated.
But her broken heart didn’t matter now. All that mattered was Moira.
Beth knelt at Moira’s side, clasping her hands tightly. Ethan had his hands on her shoulders, a comforting presence behind her.
Lola’s voice was thick with regret and concern as she said, “Moira, I promise you, I had no idea who Duncan was. Are you all right?”
Moira nodded, but it was halfhearted at best. “I’ve let the Lyman brothers steal away so much time and energy and health from me already. I won’t let it happen again.”
“We won’t let it happen either,” Lola vowed. “If I could turn back time, if I had known last weekend what he and his brother had done to you, I would never have let Duncan sign up for my class, let alone spent time with him outside of it.”
Moira reached for Lola’s hand. “You have nothing to blame yourself for. How could you have known who he was, when I only just learned it myself?” Her mouth tightened and her brow furrowed even deeper. “I hadn’t realized the Lymans were behind Brilliant Funds until my assistant recently digitized my old contracts and pointed out Duncan and Alastair Lyman’s signatures buried deep in one of the many documents I signed. I know this is no excuse, but five years ago when my own lawyer said everything looked fine, I was so excited at the prospect of attracting the attention of a startup incubator, especially one willing to put half a million dollars into my brand, that I signed the contracts without reading the fine print myself.” Her expression was bleak. “Believe me, I’ve never made that mistake again. And I have a different lawyer now too.”
It wasn’t until Moira had nearly lost her business that they had found out about her deal with Brilliant Funds. Though Lola hadn’t known what startup incubators were at the time, she’d learned that they promised mentorship, connections, and manufacturing help for growing companies. Brilliant Funds had promised to match Moira’s nonrefundable hundred-thousand-dollar investment in the incubator with five times as much in six months, after she proved that there was a strong demand for her innovative handbags that incorporated a phone charger and wifi booster inside sumptuous leather fabric. Unfortunately, at the five-and-a-half-month mark, they had cut her loose, saying that though they’d done everything they could to help her, the market for her products wasn’t there. Moira had gambled her life savings on their promise to help grow her business, but that gamble had failed.
In the aftermath, Moira had blamed herself for not having a good enough product. But Lola had always suspected foul play behind the scenes. According to her research, some startup incubators were run by greedy crooks looking to take advantage of people’s desperation to succeed at their dreams. Clearly, given Moira’s reaction to coming face-to-face with Duncan, she now seemed to believe that the Lyman brothers had played a nefarious role in taking her money without ever intending to actually invest in her business.
“This is the first time I’ve ever met Duncan, though I’ve seen his picture in the Boston papers plenty of times,” Moira continued, “and I only met his brother once at a startup networking event. It was a shock to learn they weren’t simply investors in Brilliant Funds, but owned it outright. Honestly, the more I go over everything that happened during the five and a half months I worked with Brilliant Funds, and how they pressured me to put in even more money before they booted me out of the incubator, I’m more and more convinced that there was something shady going on. But,” she added quickly, “the last thing I want to do is rewind history and go back to that dark place I was in for so long afterward.” She looked exhausted. “I think it’s best if we all forget what happened tonight and just move on with our lives.”
“Why don’t I get you settled in the guest cottage with a warm drink?” Beth suggested. “I’ll bring you a plate of food.”
“I couldn’t possibly eat,” Moira said. “But a drink would be wonderful.” She looked five years older as she walked away with Beth.
Lola sank into the seat Moira had just vacated. Her father poured another glass of whiskey and handed it to her. “I’ve been such a fool,” she said. “If only I had been less trusting, less charmed. If only I’d spent five minutes digging into Duncan’s past, surely I would have put the pieces together.”
“You can’t beat yourself up, Lola,” Hudson said. “Who knows if digging into the guy’s past would have turned up anything? Even Moira said his name was buried deep in her contracts. It’s just a crazy coincidence.”
“A horrible coincidence.” Pride was all that held back her tears. Like hell she’d let Duncan make her cry! “I can’t stop thinking about the look on Moira’s face when she saw him and realized I was dancing with the enemy.”
Only in the last year or so had her friend started to be like her old self, full of energy, and enthusiasm, and positivity. If seeing Duncan tonight had taken that away from Moira, Lola would never forgive herself.