Page 80 of Sealing the Deal

I press my forehead to hers.

“I promise you, Flic, you are my priority. I want to show up every damn day and prove it.”

Her fingers wrap around my neck as I cup her face in my hands and I press my lips to hers and pour all those promises and feelings into a deep kiss.

Being with Flic feels right in a way I didn’t know was possible. Like I’ve been moving forward for years on instinct alone, convincing myself I knew the route, and suddenly the lights have switched on, and I can see clearly. Not just where I’ve been, but my destination.

And then my phone rings. Of course it does.

I close my eyes briefly. “This better be life or death,” I mutter as I pull it from my pocket and answer.

It’s Helena’s voice in my ear. Everything inside me goes still. “Dad’s in the hospital,” she says. “He’s had a massive heart attack. They don’t think he’s going to make it.”

For a second, I can’t breathe. My father—the man I’ve spent my entire life fighting against. Resenting. Trying not to become—had a heart attack.

The noise of the ballroom fades, like I’ve been dropped underwater. My pulse pounds in my ears, too loud. I should feel anger. Vindication. Relief, even. Instead, I have only shock. And beneath it, the knowledge that everything has changed. For my father and for Helena. For Ashborne Holdings. For me.

I feel Flic watching me. I don’t have to look to know there’s worry in her eyes, searching my face for answers I don’t have yet. All I can do is absorb Helena’s words as they keep coming. Hospital. Surgery. Emergency. Board members already circling. Beside me, Flic reaches into her pocket for her own phone. Her mouth drops open, and she turns the screen to show me.

IZZY: My waters broke as we were driving out of the city. We’re at the hospital.

“Go,” I mouth.

She hesitates for a second. I see it in her eyes. The war between staying here with me and running toward her family. She knows something’s wrong, but I can’t find the words to tell her with Helena still talking in my ear.

Instinct wins, and Flic turns on her heels and rushes into the crowd, calling for Mama, for Jake, for Chase. And all I can do is watch her disappear into the sea of red and white.

“Grayson?” Helena’s voice cuts through my thoughts.

“I’m here.”

“Our friends on the board are planning to push him out. If he lives, they’ll call it a forced retirement for medical reasons. If he dies⁠—”

“They get what they’ve wanted for years.”

“We don’t want to miss the chance while they have it to appoint someone new. They’re planning an emergency board meeting. They want it to be you, Grayson.”

Helena’s words hit hard. It’s what I’ve wanted for so long. To take over Ashborne Holdings. To change their legacy and undo some of the damage they’ve done. And yet it’s not relief I feel. It’s dread. Because I can’t be in two places at once.

“When can you get here?” Helena asks.

I don’t hesitate. This is bigger than me. “I need to pack my things and see Flic, then I’ll be on the jet. I’ll be in New York late tonight. Make sure the board meeting doesn’t happen until tomorrow.”

The thought of telling Flic what’s happened is already carving me up. I just promised Flic she was the priority. She was my world. And all it took was bad timing and one phone call and I’m about to break that promise.

THIRTY-SIX

GRAYSON

The hospital smells like antiseptic and cafeteria food. The emotion of this moment hits me like a sucker punch as I step into the waiting room to low voices, stiff postures, and the kind of quiet that only exists when everyone is pretending they’re fine when, really, they’re hanging by a thread, waiting for news.

Instantly, I know something is wrong. The Sullivans are gathered together in a loose knot of bodies that somehow manages to look both solid and fragile at the same time. The usually playful chatter and jokes are absent. No one is talking. Every face is a mask of worry. Mama sits upright in one of the plastic chairs, Mad perched on her lap in a large dark red sweatshirt, her small hands twisted into the fabric. If I had to guess, I’d say it was her mom’s.

Harper stands nearby, arms folded tight across her chest, eyes fixed on a spot on the wall like she’s daring it to give her bad news. Chase paces a short line, back and forth, running a hand over his shaved head, restless energy bleeding off him in waves. Serena watches him with worry in her eyes. Each of them looks up with hope in their expressions as I move through the doorway. And even though it’s obvious I’m not who they were waiting for, even though they’re going through the worst time, each of them smiles a greeting at me.

My gaze fixes on Flic. She’s sitting beside Mama, worry etched into every line of her face but still breathtakingly beautiful. I swear my heart breaks a little more at the sight of her anxious and scared.

The moment she spots me, she’s moving, leaping up, crossing the gap between us. “Grayson.”