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Taylor

CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE

“Are you sure about this?” Jackie asks, seeing me dressed and ready for dinner with William.

“No, but I have to go.”

“Because of the association?”

“I could lie and say yes, Jackie, but I’m going because of him.”

“Taylor . . .”

I raise my hand, aware of what she’s about to say. I told her about my phone conversation with him. “I’m not a child. I’m trying to rebuild my life. You said that before I disappeared, I was in love with him. I don’t remember that. Seeing him at the reception was like looking at a stranger, but maybe he can give me answers about the past.”

“I doubt it. He was as much in the dark as anyone else, even me. I don’t have a good feeling about this, Taylor. William comes off as a damn proud, arrogant man. Why would he want to go out with you, knowing that?—”

“—I was involved with his father? I wasn’t involved. I don’t know what happened, but I’m certain I never kissed that man. I don’t understand why he lied to me, but he did lie, Jackie.”

“I find it hard to believe, too. You were so in love with the doctor.” She stops talking and stares at me. Even though I can’t remember how our friendship used to be, I’m slowly learning to read her silences.

“What’s wrong?”

“Don’t fall for him again.”

“I don’t plan to. He’s moved on. Just last year alone, he showed up at events with at least half a dozen women.”

“I’m not going to defend him, Taylor—this whole situation is too confusing even for me. But he cared about you, a lot. William didn’t just pay people to look for you; he did it himself, personally, with my help.”

My heart tightens with sadness. “I need answers, Jackie. I have to know what happened—how I got hurt, ended up in a coma, and also why I left.”

“William thought you’d been kidnapped. He didn’t even believe it when a message came from your phone saying goodbye.”

“Who would kidnap me?” A shiver of fear runs down my spine. If it’s true and I have no memories, I have no idea who harmed me.

“I don’t know, friend, but that story about his father finding you and then keeping you hidden in Asia is very strange. I’m not saying it was William’s dad who did something, but he knew people were looking for you and never said a thing. We only found out you were alive after pictures of you two ended up in the papers.”

“Yes, it is weird. He could’ve at least told Maryann, William’s grandmother.”

“I had some contact with your former employer after you disappeared. Apparently her son only told her the two of you were together much later, when he announced you were getting married.”

“Oh my God. No wonder she hates me now.”

“You didn’t know how she found out?”

“I didn’t know how it happened. He told me we were planning a wedding, but honestly, I never believed it. I might be a romantic fool, Jackie, but if I’d had any physical involvement with that man, my body would know.”

“Is that what happened with William?”

“Yes. The moment I saw him at the event, my heart began to pound and my palms got clammy. I don’t remember him, but my body apparently does.”

“He didn’t bring anyone to the reception.”

“I’m not looking for a romance. I just want answers.”

“Sure, keep telling yourself that. Now let’s finish getting you ready for dinner. If it all goes wrong, at least leave the restaurant with your head held high—and looking gorgeous.”

“Do you think he hates me?” I ask while she pins my hair into a low bun at the nape of my neck.

I’m wearing a tight black dress that stops above the knee. It isn’t mine—it’s Jackie’s—so it falls a bit longer on me than it does on her, since she’s taller. When I see the clothes she saved from my old apartment—jeans, T-shirts, sneakers—I can’t believe that’s what I used to wear. It looks like a teenage boy’s wardrobe, no style at all. Everything I left behind on William Senior’s yacht was lost when I ran away with “L.”

“I don’t think he hates you, just that he’s holding a grudge.”

“Then why does he want to have dinner with me?”

“Maybe he couldn’t control his desire.”

I feel my face heat, but before I can say anything, she goes on:

“Or maybe he wants revenge.”

Ice spreads through my veins. “I refuse to feel guilty when I don’t even remember what I did—if I did anything wrong at all.”

“Exactly, don’t bow your head. ‘L’ is searching for answers, Taylor. If anyone can discover the truth, it’s him.”

“Your mystery man.”

“He’s not my man.”

“But you’d like him to be?”

“I’m not answering that.”

“Why not?”

“Because it could be used against me later,” she says with a laugh, but then her face grows serious. “He’s never looked at me that way.”

“Has ‘L’ always been in your life?”

“More or less. He was my brother’s best friend. When Martin died, I think ‘L’ felt obliged to take his place.”

I don’t need to be a genius to see that she isn’t just seeking “L” for protection, but I don’t push it because she seems uncomfortable.

“Enjoy your evening. If it all goes wrong, at least get a good meal and some expensive champagne out of it. Make him spend big.”

I smile. “More than the half million he paid to have dinner with me?”

“I’m sure that sum is nothing to him.” She hugs me. “Promise you’ll be careful with your heart.”

“I’ll try.”

* * *

I get into the car, a bit disappointed not to find William inside, and a wave of déjà vu hits me as if, at some point in the past, I felt the same way toward him.

“I’ll be driving you to see Mr. Marshall, Miss Jarvis,” the driver says, before rolling up the partition. Now, I’m absolutely sure I’ve experienced something very similar before.

Surprisingly, about half an hour later, he doesn’t stop in front of a restaurant but at a parking garage of a building.

“Where are we?”

“At Mr. Marshall’s residence. The bodyguards will escort you to the penthouse,” he explains, opening the car door for me.

Only then do I notice there was a vehicle behind us with four men in black suits inside. They greet me with blank expressions and instruct me to follow. In the elevator, I stare at my own feet, because the closer I get to meeting the man Jackie says I once loved, the more anxious I feel.

Past and present are about to collide, and I can only hope that when the walls start closing in, I won’t get crushed between them.