CHAPTER 79

"We have a problem." Eddie frowns as he looks over the side of the deck. I take in Emily's flushed face. I'm still coming down from the high, and whether or not we look like it, my body is shaking from the release. A minute later, I'm hoisting myself out of the water and up onto the boat. Emily follows, her suit back in place. I wrap her in a towel before grabbing one myself. "Don't tell me the artists from this morning have come back to say they won't sign," I say as Eddie paces the deck. "No, they're still debating. But there's another party interested in buying Wicked." My gut twists. Eddie looks between Emily and me, and Emily lifts her hands. "What exactly is going on?" Eddie grimaces. "I don't want to ruin your day with details." "You're already in my day. So, you might as well tell me." He explains that our exclusivity will expire this weekend if we don't get a deal. If that happens, Wicked can try to get another buyer, but there's no guarantee another owner wouldn't focus on proven talent and slash every other cost-including up-and-coming artists. "Who'd have the resources to bring an offer?" she asks. "I'm not sure who's spearheading it, but Zeke's involved," Eddie said. "I don't know how he heard about this. Everything's under an NDA." Emily's face goes pale. "He was at Jacob's party. I didn't tell him, but... he might have connected the dots." My stomach drops. "Shit." Eddie rubs a hand over his jaw. "Don't blame yourself," I say, taking Emily's hands, but Eddie's head falls back. "I don't. You're the one who wanted to buy a company the week of our wedding." She rounds on her father, tearing her hands from mine. "And you think you can bring your chaos and everyone just rolls with it. I'm not rolling with it." "Emily-" I reach for her, but she backs away, eyes flashing. "No. I'm sorry if I made this harder on you by letting something leak at Jacob's party. But you put me in a shitty position." To his credit, Eddie looks almost as upset as I feel at the sight of Emily on the verge of angry tears. She stares woodenly forward for a minute, ignoring both of us, before turning and marching toward the front of the boat, dropping off the side, and swimming toward the shore without a backward glance. Fuck. I've caused that, and I hate it. I hate her pain. I hate this deal. I hate the guilt roiling in my stomach. But I'm doing it for us, I remind myself for what feels like the thousandth time. I love this woman, and the fact that we're wired differently is part of that. She feels everything as if life could be over the next second. I'm the one who thinks about the what-ifs, plans for every scenario from bad to worse. Today, being that person sucks. Buying Wicked was supposed to do something meaningful for up-and-coming artists while also providing for the people I love. But as I watch Emily emerge from the water onto the shore to meet our friends, I feel as if both her and the deal are getting further away.

One day until the wedding The knock on my door cuts into the blackness in my room. I shift out of bed, straightening my pajamas. Timothy's not here. Worry floods me until I see the sheet of paper on the bed. Six, I'm sorry I missed you last night. We're going back for the final push today. I can't wait to see you for the rehearsal dinner. I love you more than anything. The worry is replaced by a dull ache that makes my limbs heavy as I pad toward the door and crack it. Sunshine streams in, burning my retinas as I squint at the silhouette. "The wedding planner told me to bring you this." Rica holds out a cup of coffee. I pull open the door and take it from her, inspecting the label. It says "Bride" with a heart drawn on it. "She wrote that too," she insists, brushing past me into the suite. "Are you ready for your last day as an unmarried woman?" "Yes and no." I scrunch up my nose, and she scans the room. "This is an interesting arrangement." All the furniture is pushed back against the walls. "There were a dozen trunks of merch in here Timothy was supposed to sign. He had them moved to some storage place." "Where is Timothy?" I rub my face. "I don't know. He didn't come home last night." Timothy and Dad skipped dinner to work on the deal. But though I waited up until after midnight, my fiancé didn't show. Regret crawls through my stomach as I think about our fight on the boat. "Come on." Rica jerks her head toward the door. "We have plans." I take a sip of the coffee, and the hot brew does something to settle my nerves. "Rica?" Her dark brows rise. "What if I was deciding to tell someone I care about some information that they might want? But it might ruin their time off?" "Normally I'd say tell him. But..." She looks past me toward the open doors, the beautiful morning beyond. I've never seen Rica look so wistful. "I know how hard it is to get a few days off. And most problems will still be there." Her gaze comes back to mine, and she rolls her eyes. "Are you going to go get your ass dressed or what?" Ten minutes later, Rica and I show up at the day spa in the main building. When I walk inside, there're friendly faces having an argument. "He'll behave," Jacob insists, gesturing to the black puff. "Ernie is all class." The spa attendant looks at him suspiciously, and the dog barks once as if to emphasize it. "You made it," Andie calls. "We were getting worried Rica was too rebel to follow simple instructions." Rica flips her off and crosses to one of the pedicure chairs.