Page 42 of Charm (Billionaire Buck Boys #7)

CHAPTER FORTY-TWO

Greer

“I brought you something.” I dig in the pocket of my jeans and tug out a small dark blue velvet bag. “I thought you should have it.”

Krista leans back slightly on the comfy red couch we’re sitting on. She purchased the piece while we were in college. Celia and I both told her she’d regret it, but she hasn’t.

When she moved into this apartment, she told Howie that his pristine white couch had to go. I was there when that conversation happened, and he didn’t hesitate for a second before telling her that he’d do everything he could to make her happy.

They sold the white couch days before Krista and this red couch moved in. Since then, the room’s décor has transformed to complement it, including two gorgeous black wingback chairs that face the couch and a distressed wood table with just a hint of red stain on it.

Their home is welcoming and exudes warmth. I always feel like family when I come over.

“What is it?” she asks, eyeing the bag as though whatever is inside it might bite her.

I drop it in her lap. The dress she’s wearing is one she took from Celia’s closet on the day we packed up her things. It was months after she died, but we both cried for hours as we tucked her life into a few cardboard boxes.

Krista’s gaze catches mine briefly, so I nod. “You’ll like it. I know you will.”

She nods in understanding. “I know I will, too. You’ve always been the most thoughtful person when it comes to gifts.”

I try.

I’ve always viewed gifts as an expression of what I feel for the receiver. I’ve been known to spend days, if not weeks, choosing birthday gifts for Martha and Bruce. The time I invested paid off. Every gift I’ve ever given either of them has brought tears to their eyes.

Her fingers make quick work of the lazy knot I tied the bag’s two woven strings in. She digs her hand in all while keeping her eyes on me.

I see the instant she touches what’s inside because a tear streams down her cheek. “Oh, Greer.”

I’m overcome with emotion, too, but I hold in my tears and smile. “It belongs to you now.”

She yanks the small silver cube from the bag. It was designed to resemble a child’s toy block, so each of the six sides contains a letter. It was a random purchase that Celia made weeks before Olive was born. The three of us promised then that whenever one of us had a baby, we’d pass it along.

It was sitting on a shelf in Olive’s room since the day she was born.

When I told her this morning that Krista and Howie are having a baby, she’s the one who ran to get the block.

She placed it in my palm and told me it was time to pass it on, since I’ve told her the story about where it came from many times.

“What about our Olive?” She smiles through a veil of tears.

“She wants you to have it.”

She nods softly. “She’s such a good girl, Greer. You’re an incredible mom.”

That’s the greatest compliment she could ever give me. “You’ll be a great mom, too.”

“I hope so.” She takes a deep breath. “I really hope so. I’m going to need you to share all your wisdom with me. I’ll need pointers every day about how to be the best mom I can be.”

I reach for her hands and cradle them in mine. “My tip for today is slather on the sunscreen. Not just on the baby but you and Howie, too. From what I hear, the California sun is brutal.”

Her gaze jumps over my face. “Greer?”

“You need to go chase your dreams,” I whisper. “I want that for you.”

She lunges at me, tugging me into a big hug. She cries with her face against my shoulder. I hold onto her tightly, sure I can feel the tension leaving her body.

“I’ll call Jameson,” she whispers. “I’ll call him and tell him the deal is a go.”

“No,” I say evenly. “Don’t.”

She moves back from our embrace to look at me. Her hand swipes her cheeks, chasing away the last of her tears. “I’m fine with you making the call, Greer.”

I rehearsed what I wanted to say to her on my way here, but all those carefully chosen words have gotten lost now.

“I’m not selling,” I start, stopping to blow out a breath. “I’d like to dissolve the agreement we had about selling the company together. I want to hold onto my half, Krista.”

Her brow furrows. “Carden will be on board for that, Greer. Jameson already mentioned the possibility of buying me out so they can partner with you.”

She’s making this harder than it needs to be.

“That can’t happen,” I tell her. “I don’t…”

“Sure, it can happen,” she interrupts me. “Once we dissolve that clause in our contract, I’ll hammer out a deal with them and then all that’s left is for you to approve it.”

I rub my hands over my thighs, smoothing out the denim of my jeans. “I won’t approve it.”

Her eyes instantly well with tears again. “What? Why not?”

I knew before I got here that I had to tell her the truth. I can’t fumble my way through a bunch of lame excuses for not agreeing to partner with one of the most successful candy conglomerates in the world.

“Are you scared they’ll force you out?” she asks, jumping to an obvious conclusion. “That’s it, isn’t it? You think they’ll make your life hell so you’ll eventually throw your hands up in the air and give in and sell to them.”

They might, but I’ll never have to worry about finding out if it happens.

“I’m not scared of that.” I thread my fingers together, anxiety driving every one of my movements. “It’s something else.”

“What is it, Greer? Please tell me.”

I glance at her face to see understanding in her expression. I hope it’s still there after I confess what I need to. “I slept with Holden Sheppard.”

Her mouth falls open. “No, you didn’t.”

I hold in a laugh. “I did.”

She jumps to her feet, still holding tightly to the silver cube. “It was sometime before the meeting, wasn’t it? That’s why you couldn’t wait to get out of there.”

Rubbing the back of my neck, I nod. “We met in East Hampton when I was there. We both used fake names, so I had no clue I spent that weekend with Holden.”

“You spent the entire weekend with him?” Her hand leaps to her mouth. “So when you walked into the meeting, was that the first time you’d seen him since you two slept together?”

“Yes.” I stand, too. “I almost fell over.”

“I saw it firsthand.” She laughs. “This explains everything, Greer. It explains so much.”

“Does it explain why I can’t agree to you selling your half of the business to him?”

She purses her lips. “Maybe, but what if it’s a good thing for you if I sell to him?”

“It’s not.”

She wraps her arm around my shoulders. “He might be the guy for you, Greer. You know what they say about how thin the line between love and hate is.”

A bubble of laughter falls from my lips. “I’ll never love him. I don’t hate him, but that doesn’t mean I’ll ever go into business with the man. That will always be a hard no.”