Almost everyone from town was here. I was happy to see most of my employees had started to integrate with Fairhope, too. The tower and surrounding suburbs were technically outside town limits, but the people of Fairhope hadn’t seemed to mind welcoming new faces to the mix. I saw some new relationships between my people and the people of Fairhope, including one of our receptionists who was holding onto Rusty–Lola’s weird former landlord–and looking dreamily up into his eyes.
I would’ve imagined this would all feel bittersweet. I’d walked away from the power and responsibility of running Stone Financial. Instead, I just felt content. I looked around me and saw what felt like family. My own family had always fallen short, but this felt different. Nobody here expected anything of me. It was a new kind of life I was still trying to understand, but I felt more free and loose than I’d ever felt before. It was good. Really fucking good.
I was happy to see Lola was thriving, too. She loved her work and was getting rave reviews from Trisha. She’d also patched things up with her father. It annoyed her that part of his acceptance was most likely just due to marrying me and my wealth, but she still thought something about him had changed. Her best guess was that her mom finally standing up to him had been the difference. She suspected the exchange in Manhattan she told me about was only the first, and that her mom was finally starting to speak her mind, even if it meant challenging her husband.
I didn’t know if I was done with my former life forever, but I didn’t feel any rush to get back into that world. For now, I was perfectly happy to advise Trisha and provide input when she wanted it. The rest of my time felt well spent enjoying my new life with Lola.
Hell, I even enjoyed keeping up with some of the local drama, like how Harper’s friend Lin had gotten herself tangled up with some rockstar named Kenny Mathers last year. I felt connected to these people, and for once, it wasn’t just because they were on my payroll and could impact my company’s bottom line. I cared about them just because I did.
I noticed Max with her boyfriend while I was talking to Greyson. Max’s boyfriend, Benny, was the guy she had been on and off with since before I met Lola. Once we finally set our roots down in Fairhope and got her enrolled, it seemed like everything between them had suddenly gone off without any hitches. Of course, Max was a typical teenager and barely told me shit, so I could only go by how happy they seemed to be when they were together.
I saw Benny leaning in to kiss her and had to cut my conversation with Greyson short. I jogged over toward the bridge where they were. “Hey!” I shouted.
They both pulled apart suddenly, then Max saw it was me. She shot me the middle finger and pulled Benny in by the neck, kissing him hard.
I put my hands on my hips. “I was just going to ask if either of you wanted a hotdog.”
Benny was shorter than Max with hair that was too long and a sense of style that I didn’t completely understand. Still, Lola had coached me on not being a dick to him by reminding me that he made Max happy. I was getting better, even if I had actually run over to get them to break it up. I knew they kissed. I wasn’t stupid. I just couldn’t stop myself from being a pain in their ass when they tried to do it in front of me. The little shits still needed to remember who was boss around here.
“Oh,” Max said. “Um, yeah. Thanks, Stones.”
“I don’t eat meat anymore,” Benny said. “Do they have any vegan options?”
I sighed. Remember how happy he makes Max. “I’m sure I could find you some lettuce. Or maybe a carrot or something?”
Benny grimaced. “That’s alright, Mr. Stone. I’m good.”
I pulled Lola away from the group later that night and took her to sit on a rock overlooking the river that ran through Fairhope. She rested her head on my shoulder and I kissed the top of her head. “In a few years, Lance will be out of jail. Assuming he doesn’t do something stupid before then, at least.”
“Yeah,” Lola said. “How do you think Max will react?”
“If you’re worried she’s going to forget about us, don’t be. She was never happy like this before. I love my brother, but he was always a fuckup. He thought about himself first and everyone else second. He really missed out on forming a bond with her, and he’ll have a lot of work to do to repair the damage he did with her.”