Legacy by M.A. Foster
October
_____________________________
Katie
After a hot bath, I throw on a pair of sweats and a long-sleeve tee. Curling up on the sofa with a healthy glass of wine beside me, I open my laptop to check my emails. An incoming FaceTime call from Vanessa pops up in the corner of the screen. I click Accept, and a moment later, Vanessa’s face fills the screen.
“Hey.” I smile. “Are you in the bath?”
“Yes.” She closes her eyes briefly. “It’s been a day.”
“Oh?”
“I’ll tell you in a minute. How’s London? You shag the hot English guy yet?”
“Cold, rainy, and no,” I reply with a snort. “He’s my boss, V.”
“Mmm, that just makes it even hotter.” She fans herself.
Grinning at her theatrics, I shake my head. “I need to focus on this project more than I need to get laid.”
“How’s it going?”
“It’s going great. I can’t wait for you to see it when it’s all done. How’s my little Rocky doing?”
“Pssh.” She scoffs, rolling her eyes. “That little furry asshole is off the chain. Partying all night with his squirrel friends. Completely trashed the tree house.” I laugh out loud. “Kidding.” She snickers. “He’s fine. He’s definitely aware you’re gone. I think he misses you.”
“Aww, I miss him, too.” I push out my bottom lip. “So tell me what’s happening on your side of the pond.”
She heaves a deep breath, and I can see her working to keep her emotions in check. “Liam’s home.”
“Season’s over,” I state matter-of-factly. “Have you talked to him yet?”
She closes her eyes and rubs her temple. “Yes. I need to start at the beginning for you to understand.”
I reach for my wine and hold it up. “I’m listening.”
She blows out a breath. “Do you know who Noah Riley is?”
“He plays for the Storm, right?”
“Yes. He was at the medical center yesterday, and he asked me out. I told him I wasn’t looking for a relationship. He said it was just dinner. I figured why the hell not. I’m single, and he’s cute. So I agreed to one dinner. I didn’t expect to walk around the corner and see Liam talking to Mia. I had no idea he was back. I should’ve known it was only a matter of time before I’d run into him considering I work for his father.” She pauses. “I got jealous,” she admits.
“That he was talking to Mia?” I ask.
“Yes.” She pinches the bridge of her nose. “Please don’t judge me. You know I’m not typically a jealous person, but this is Liam, Katie. The love of my fucking life. And I know I’m a hypocrite because I was engaged to Jake, so that’s why I only admit these horrible feelings to my friends.”
“I would never judge you, Vanessa. Your feelings aren’t horrible. They’re natural. You still love him.”
“I do.” She sniffs. “That’s not the worst part.”
I make a cringe face, and she nods. “Liam saw me with Noah and heard him asking for my number. He looked like he was going to rip Noah’s head off. After work, I went to see my dad. He told me Liam had been by to see him and wanted to apologize.”
“Well, that’s a start,” I add.
“Liam told my dad he wants a second chance.”
“With him or you?” I joke, and she snorts.
“I said the same thing to my dad.” Her voice turns shaky. “Katie, my dad told me that a week after I left Liam, he showed up at the house asking to see me. My dad told him to stay the hell away from me and to let me go.”
Aww, hell.My eyes well up with emotion. “I’m so sorry, V. You know your dad didn’t do that to hurt you. He was protecting you. He was being your dad.”
“I know.” She sniffles. “It still hurts that he didn’t tell me, but I understand why he did it, and I realize it wouldn’t have changed anything. I divorced Liam because he lied and cheated, not because he didn’t chase after me.”
Whether or not Liam cheated is still debatable. But no matter how many discussions Gabbi, Kennedy, and I have had with Vanessa, she won’t change her mind.
“So now what?” I ask before taking a big sip of wine.
“Liam showed up again today while I was on my lunch break. We got into an argument, and I stormed off. When I got off work, he was outside waiting for me. We talked a little, and then things got heated again. We’re just very angry with each other.”
“How did you leave it?”
“We’re going to try to be friends again. I’m still going out with Noah on Friday night.”
I give it a week before they either rip each other apart or run back to Vegas and elope again.
“What are you thinking?” she asks.
“I’m processing. What did Gabbi say?”
“In a nutshell, she said my life shouldn’t stop just because Liam’s in town, and I should keep my date with Noah.”
“Hmm.”
“What?”
“On one hand, I agree, but I’m worried for Noah. He obviously likes you, and if you go out with him, he’s going to think he has a chance with you.”
“I told him up front I wasn’t looking for a relationship.”
“Just be careful, V. I don’t have a good feeling about this.”
“I will.” She bites down on the inside of her lip. “I’m gonna keep my date with Noah.”
See? Stubborn.
* * *
I’ve just sat down in front of my laptop with my second cup of coffee when there’s a knock on the door.
Making my way over, I peek through the peephole to see Steven smiling and giving a finger wave as if he knows I’m looking at him. I snort a laugh and swing the door open. He’s dressed in dark jeans and a black V-neck sweater with a jacket hanging over his arm. “Hello, love. It’s a nice day out. Thought you might like to do a little bit of sightseeing.” His eyes drop to my scar.
“I’m working.” I cross my arm over my chest and attempt to cover the scar with my hand.
“I know. You’ve been working your arse off since you got here. It’s time for a little bit of fun.” It’s true. I’ve never felt so passionate about a project as I have this one, and so far every detail is falling into place perfectly.
Steven waves toward my room. “Go on. Get dressed.”
“Where are we going?”
“It’s a surprise, but we’ll need to get there early before it gets too crowded.”
I bite down on my lip as I consider him. “Fine.” It’s been raining almost every day since I arrived in London. I should get out while the weather is nice.
Stepping back, I open the door wider and gesture for him to come in. “Have a seat. I’ll be ready in about ten minutes.”
* * *
Steven was right. It’s a beautiful day, cold but the sun is shining. I tuck my hands inside the pockets of my coat and dip my face down into my scarf.
“Cold?” Steven asks.
“Dude, I’m from Florida. Anything below seventy degrees is cold.”
He chuckles. “So tell me more about you, Kate.”
I pretend to ponder his inquisition. “Hmm. Well, as I said, I’m from Florida, and I design nightclubs.” I snicker.
“Cheeky girl.” He bumps his shoulder against mine. “Tell me something I don’t already know.” His eyes fall to my arm as if he can see it through my clothes. A shiver runs through me, and not from the cold. “How did you get the scar?”
I take a cleansing breath when I start to feel the prickling of anxiety in my chest. “I was in a car accident.”
“Oh. I’m so sorry, love. Glad you made it out in one piece.”
He couldn’t be more wrong. On the outside, I appear to be put together. My hair. My makeup. My clothing. My mannerisms. My professionalism. The packaging is pretty, but strip it all away and you’ll find that I’m damaged. Shattered into a million pieces. Truthfully, I don’t think I’ll ever be whole again.
“Thank you.”
“Tell me something else. What do you like to do for fun when you’re not working?”
“I’m actually pretty boring.”
He grins. “Not possible.”
“I’m a bit of an introvert,” I admit, dropping my gaze briefly. “I’m content with being home in my own space. Sometimes I meet my friends for dinner and drinks, but if I’m being honest, I’d rather be home, curled up on my sofa with a glass of wine and a romance book.”
“That’s not boring. That’s called being an adult.”
We round the corner to find a crowd forming on the sidewalk. “Wow. You weren’t kidding about getting here early. This place is packed.” Our first stop: Buckingham Palace to witness the changing of the guard. “So, explain to me what this means exactly. I read something about the guards ‘presenting arms’ before the captains by handing over the palace keys.”
“It’s symbolic. It represents the transfer of responsibility.”
“How many times a day does this happen?” I gesture to the band.
Steven chuckles. “Only once. Three times a week, weather permitting. The days vary depending on the time of year.”
I shake my head. “I couldn’t imagine standing guard for hours in the cold weather. Even worse while it’s snowing.”
“Don’t let the fuzzy hats fool you, love. They’re soldiers. They’ve experienced worse conditions.”
* * *
Our second destination is the London Eye.
“I don’t think I can do this.” I tilt my head back and take in the massive Ferris wheel.
“You said this was at the top of your list.” He tilts his head and considers me for a moment. “Are you afraid of heights?”
“I might be. I mean… I have no problem driving over a bridge or riding the Ferris wheel at the fair, but I’ve never been that high.” I gesture to the top of the Eye.
“Come on.” He nudges me toward the entrance. “It’s thirty minutes. Then lunch is on me.”
Taking a deep breath, I pray I don’t have a panic attack four hundred feet in the air. “I’m gonna hold you to that. And it better be somewhere expensive,” I add as I step inside the capsule.
“So tell me something about you,” I hedge. “Something not on Google.”
A smile curls up one side of his mouth. “I’m getting engaged,” he says flatly.
My brows furrow in confusion at his lack of enthusiasm. “Congratulations?”
He leans a shoulder against the glass and crosses his arms over his chest. “She’s a family friend. Our grandfathers are old mates, and it's sort of arranged.”
My mouth falls open in shock. I roll my hand, gesturing for him to keep going.
He tilts his head. “You find this intriguing?”
“I find it romantic,” I admit. “This is the kind of shit I read about in my books. A modern-day arranged marriage between two families. The hero has no romantic interest in the heroine but marries her in order to gain access to his trust fund or take over the family business. The more time the hero and heroine spend together, the more she grows on him. The hero eventually falls for her, and after some groveling—because of course he fucked up somewhere along the way—they get their happily ever after.” I clasp my hands to my chest. “I’m literally swooning right now. Tell me more.”
His lips pull into an amused grin. “What else do you want to know?”
I tap my finger to my chin. “What’s her name? How old is she? How old are you? Wait, am I allowed to ask you that?”
“You’re loving this.” He laughs. “Her name is Amelia. She’s twenty-two, and I just turned thirty-five.”
“Oh jeez.” I fan myself. “Age gap. You’re checking all the boxes of my favorite tropes.”
“Sounds like your literary box was in need of checking.” He winks, and I snort a laugh.
Afterward, we stop for a late lunch at this little Italian restaurant just past Trafalgar Square.
“I don’t know if I can do much more sightseeing today.” I lean back in my chair and pat my full belly. “I might be ready for a nap.”
He smiles. “But you’ve had a good day?”
“I’ve had the best day. Thank you for being my tour guide.”
“It’s been my pleasure, Kate.”