“The year-end fundraiser.”
“Yes. Lucas is helping since you can’t.” I bite my lower lip, realizing I sound almost accusatory. The last thing I need is to betray my feelings. Elizabeth witnessed me making an idiot of myself over Lucas at the opening. No need to display more of my foolishness.
“I know. Unfortunately, I am truly busy these days.” The corners of her mouth turn downward.
“It’s okay. I heard.”
She sighs. “Why do you make yourselves so miserable? All you have to do is be honest, and you’ll know what’s in your hearts.”
“You don’t know anything about it.”
“Don’t I?” She grows quiet for a moment. “I know you love Lucas.”
“You’re wrong.”
“Then why did you quit your job to come with him?”
“I didn’t quit. He maneuvered me into it.”
“You could’ve gone elsewhere. Don’t tell me you had no choice. People always have choices. You have friends…and foster parents who care deeply about you.”
My face heats. Elizabeth’s gaze is too direct, too knowing. She’s obviously dug into my background. She knows about Mia. She probably knows my shoe size, too.
“When people aren’t honest about what they want, it’s usually for two reasons. One, they don’t think they deserve it. Two, they don’t think they’ll be able to hold onto the prize. Which is it for you?”
My throat is so dry it feels like there’s a wad of sandpaper lodged inside. Finally, I rasp out, “You sound like you have a lot of experience. First hand?”
She merely smiles. “The best defense is a good offense.”
“I’m not being defensive.”
“Understand something, Ava.” She pauses for a dramatic beat. “Lucas is going to marry.”
The announcement jerks at my heart with such force, a gasp tears from me before I can control myself. “Marry?”
“Marry. Faye Belbin. He’s been busy romancing her these days. Unless I’m mistaken, he’s going to propose to her this weekend. He booked a suite and”—she makes a few circles with her finger pointed upward—“the works.”
The articles and photos. Of course. He isn’t just on a rebound. He’s… My hand fists over my churning gut. I let Lucas go. I ended it, so I don’t know why I’m reacting like this. Have I lied to myself that I was more than ready and happy to let him go to protect myself? But right now the last thing I’m feeling is safe. Elizabeth’s news is ripping my heart out, chunk by chunk. “Does she know?”
Elizabeth blinks. “Know?”
“About…you know…the thing between all of you and your father.”
“Most likely. She’s a smart girl.”
“And she’s okay with it?”
“As far as I know, she doesn’t care. She wants Lucas, and everything else is just…so much static.” Elizabeth regards me thoughtfully. “To achieve a goal, you need to be brutally honest about what you want and willing to give up everything. Everything, including your pride. Faye is more than willing to go the distance.”
“And you like it because that will get you the multimillion-dollar painting.”
“Money doesn’t motivate me. If it did, I wouldn’t be involved in charity.”
I look away. “Why are you telling me this?”
“So you aren’t caught unaware. You were, weren’t you, at the opening? I doubt think you want to have a repeat at work or elsewhere.” She looks away and sighs. “I’m the one who let Lucas know where you were. I feel responsible for how things turned out.”
“We weren’t going to work out anyway.”