“Did Charlie tell you?”
My dad gives me a hug and then launches into a rant. It’s not directed at me, and I understand the need for him to vent. I’ve been lying to my parents and that really hurts them.
“What have you done, Tess?” Dad asks. “Jake and I got you out of that fix last year and now this? When are you going to learn? Business is not friendship! How many times do I have to tell you that? And as for this sick deal you have going with Roscoe, I don’t know what to say. I don’t care how much his parents hate the press or if Roscoe loses the Japanese merger, this ends here, now!”
I start to cry. I feel wretched. I can’t break my promise to Roscoe. I don’t care what he said about me. And I really care about Becky and Bryson. They are sweethearts and don’t deserve to have their family name dragged through the mud like this. And Roscoe will think I’m trying to force his hand. I try telling my dad that, but he’s not having it.
“No! This ends now! The thought of my daughter sacrificing her name for a man who has no respect for her and is just using her to seal a deal just so he can stick another billion dollars in the bank! Are you mad!?”
“Mom! Talk to him! I’m going to kill Charlie for telling you guys!” I jump up and go to the bathroom. I hope Dad calms down by the time I get out of the shower. The little grooming ritual of washing and putting on some of Charlie’s mascara and body cream gives me time to think. I see she’s put fresh underwear, socks, and some sweats out for me to wear, and I forgive my friend instantly. I’m all cried out. It’s time for me to sort out my life. It will be a Roscoe-free life, but at least I have my fashion career to keep me warm at night.
My parents are still on the sofa when I come out. “Have you seen my phone?” There’s a bit of searching behind cushions and fingering the contents of my purse, but we eventually find it. I take a deep breath and turn it on.
“Here, baby,” Mom says, “I’ve made you some tea…and eat something please.” She hands me a packet of cookies she must have found in the kitchen. The phone begins to ring the second it connects to a tower. I turn my phone onto silent and drop it on the coffee table like it’s a poisonous snake.
“You can’t hide from the man forever, Tess.” My dad says, “Let me get Jake to call him. He’ll know how to handle it.”
“Mom, Dad. You know I love you both, but I’m nearly hitting my mid-twenties. You have to let me fight my own battles. This is a mess, and I never should have lied to you. It might comfort you to know I’ve been lying to myself as well.”
“It would never bring us comfort for you to take the blame, Tessa.” Mom kisses my cheek. “Tess…would you mind if I have a look at the ring? Charlie told us and I’m dying to…”
Damn! I have to give the ring back. Roscoe’s roots have sunk deep into the rich earth of my life. I just have to find a way to grow from this experience. I pull the chain over my head and hand it to my mom. She gasps and leans over to show it to my dad.
There’s a knock on the door. Everyone in the room freezes and looks at one another. Another knock, this time louder.
“Let him in. We may as well get this over and done with. He won’t leave our family alone until you two have hashed things out.” My dad has always been a straight shooter. He takes my mom by the hand and they go into the bedroom, shutting the door behind them.
I open the front door. It’s Roscoe. Of course it’s Roscoe, the architect of all my woes.
“Can I come in?” His voice is neutral, but I can tell from the way the side of his clenched jaw is jumping that he’s barely got a grip on things. I step aside and wish my heart would stop beating with joy at the sight of him.
Roscoe comes into the tiny apartment and the first thing he sees is the ring on the coffee table. “What’s going on?” he asks in a quiet, measured way. “Why have you taken off our engagement ring? Why didn’t you come to the restaurant last night? Why didn’t you come home?” He steps forward and grabs me by the shoulders. “Please don’t tell me you’re going back to Colin.”
I gape. Is this the same man who was laughing with his brothers about me? He looks wrecked. I try to feel triumphant about the worry and pain I’ve caused him, but I can’t because I feel the pain too.
“What’s going on is I’m leaving, Roscoe, and I wouldn’t go back to Colin for a billion dollars. You can take the ring with you when you go. I didn’t come to the restaurant last night because you don’t need me anymore. The merger has been signed.”
If I thought he was pale before, he’s ice-white now. “Just like that?” He’s in shock, but I don’t feel sorry for him because I sacrificed my life in fashion for the next ten years to make his family happy.
“Yes, Roscoe. Just like that. You don’t need this ‘gold-digging sugar baby’ riding your coattails to dress airheads for the Oscars anymore!” I scream the words at him. I want to claw at his face, rake my nails down his cheeks. I lost everything to keep this spoiled man smiling, and for what?
His eyes show understanding immediately. He grips my upper arms, gives me a little shake. “Your friend is right, you are a noodle! There was a ‘but’ at the end of me saying that to my two idiotjealousbrothers, and it’s this: we met under very unusual circumstances, Tess Jolliffe,butI don’t care because it made me realize how you fulfill me in every facet of my life. Tess, you were right about me all along. When you called me out in that elevator, it was like the blinders came off and I got to see what a scam of a life I was living.” His eyes soften and the adoration in them takes my breath away. “Baby, I have waited for thirty-six years to start living my life. And I have you to thank for finally making me see that no matter how productive or successful I am, I am nothing without you.” His hands go down my arms and grab mine, intertwining our fingers. I’m speechless. “I guess what I’m trying to say is I love you, Tess. And I never thought I’d ever say that in my life, but the truth is I have been falling for you ever since I heard your voice behind me that day at Sergio’s. You have consumed my every thought ever since. So, baby, fuck being my fake fiancée. Tess, will you marry me?”
“Wha…?” My knees buckle. I should have eaten some cookies. I feel lightheaded. What happened to the brave stand I wanted to make, my last kiss good night, my here’s lookin’ at you, kid moment? What’s going on?
Roscoe gets down on one knee in front of me, reaches over for the ring on the coffee table, rips it off the chain, and slides it onto the ring finger of my left hand. “I want to do this right, so…Will you marry me, Tess? I love you. This is the second time you’ve left me, you know? Please don’t run away for a third time. Let’s put striking out three times behind us forever.”
I nod frantically, because my throat has a giant knot, but I finally manage to choke out, “I love you too.” The words come out with no filter between my heart and my brain. He stands up and crushes me in a hard embrace. I never realized it before, but at the end of the day, Roscoe and I are just two people who fell in love, and nothing else matters.
Mom and dad burst out of the bedroom. “Congratulations! Now all we have to do is wait for Jake to finish sorting out this nonsense with the Sarah Blakely work contract you signed last night, and you’re free!”
Now I’m the one to go pale. “Dad! You didn’t! Sarah will go to the press!” I fumble for my phone and enter the name of the trashiest tabloid news into the search engine. My hands are shaking as I show Roscoe the heading.
“Breaking News! Playboy Billionaire, Roscoe Bridges, Settles For Wannabe Designer! Has He Finally Run Out Of Supermodels To Date?”
Mom, Dad, and I look at Roscoe, waiting for his reaction…and he bursts out laughing. “What’s all this about contracts and Sarah? Has she been giving you problems again?” He goes to shake my dad’s hand. “Thanks for taking care of it for me, James.” He moves to kiss my mom on the cheek. “I promise you will never have to worry about such things happening to your daughter again.” He takes my hand and kisses it. “As for you, baby, don’t stress it. If your dad has handled whatever this is with Sarah, we can definitely handle the press. It’s not our first rodeo. And as for the ‘wannabe designer?’ Nothing speaks louder than actions. And with what you have been doing, those bitches will swallow their words faster than you can say the words ‘suck it!’” He winks at me. “Now, let’s call my mom and dad and tell them to start planning the wedding, shall we?”
CHAPTER24