Undeniable (Cloverleigh Farms #2)(128)

“Not at all.” I watched as she removed her shorts and shirt and bra, slipping the white dress over her head. My blood warmed a little at the sight of her breasts, but I couldn’t bring myself to go over and touch her. I didn’t deserve it.

“I hope this isn’t too wrinkled. Shouldn’t you change?” she asked me, tying the drawstring at her waist. “We only have a few more minutes.”

Fuck!

“I have to tell you something,” I blurted.

“Okay.” She pulled her sandals from her bag, dropped them to the floor, and dug around in her bag some more. “Where’s my hairbrush? Did I stick it in here? I hope I didn’t leave it at the hotel.”

“It has to do with my inheritance,” I went on, feeling a sweat break out on my back. I could’ve sworn I heard the tick of a clock somewhere in the room.

“Oh, there it is.” She pulled a brush from her bag and came over to use the mirror above the dresser, standing next to me. “What about your inheritance?”

I swallowed hard. My throat was dry as the fucking desert. “Uh, as you know, I was granted partial access to my trust fund after I finished graduate school, when I was twenty-five. Right before I ran into you in Chicago.”

“Right. I remember.” She pulled the brush through her long, dark hair in rhythmic strokes.

“And the thing is … I sort of … um, blew it.”

She paused with the brush in the air. In the mirror, she met my eyes and blinked. “You blew it? All of it?”

“Pretty much.”

“On what?”

The knots in my stomach tightened. “Uh, partying. Playing. Being irresponsible.”

“Jesus Christ, Oliver. That had to be a lot of money.”

“It was.”

“What possessed you?”

“I was running away. From family, from responsibility.” I swallowed again. “From you.”

She didn’t say anything.

“I knew I was making a huge mistake, but I didn’t want to face it. I just thought, fuck it, if I’m going to mess up my life, I might as well have a good time doing it. I was looking to numb the guilt I felt. It was idiotic and immature, and I’ll always regret it.”

“So how did you start Brown Eyed Girl?” she asked, turning around and leaning back against the dresser.

“When I finally came to my senses, I returned home and scraped up just enough to get going. The distillery does well, and I think with the expansion it will do even better, but it’s going to take some serious cash to implement the plans we’ve been discussing.”

“The land.” Chloe came off the dresser, her eyes going wide as she started to panic. “Oh my God, Oliver—if you don’t have the money, how are we going to buy the land on South Manitou? How are we supposed to build a facility at Cloverleigh?”

“Don’t worry. I have a plan.”

It might have sounded more convincing if my voice hadn’t cracked on the word plan.

“A plan? Oliver, everything hinges on your capital. I don’t have anything to invest, and Cloverleigh doesn’t have any liquid assets.”

I tried to stand taller and speak more confidently. “It’s going to be okay, Chloe.”

“But we promised the Feldmanns cash up front! Those were our exact words to them. If we have to go through a bank and get a loan, they’ll take that other guy’s offer, and there goes our land. There goes our story. There goes our hope.” She bit her lip. “I wish you would have told me this before.”

I took her by the shoulders, forcing her to face me. “Do you still want to do this with me?”

She looked torn. “Well—yes. I mean, I’m not happy you didn’t tell me about the money, but …”

Relief rushed through me. Maybe there was still hope. Maybe she’d even think I was a genius for thinking up this idea. “But if I can come up with a way to get it, you’re still in?”

She thought for a second, and then she nodded. “Yes, I’m still in. You were an idiot, and you should have told me, but we all make mistakes.”

“Thank God.” I hugged her tightly. “Leave everything to me. It’s going to be fine.”

“But how?” she asked. “I still don’t understand what we’re going to—”

A knock on the door interrupted her, and we moved apart.

“Yes?” I called.

The door opened and my mother appeared in a flowered dress with a sweater around her shoulders and a drink in her hand. “Sorry to bother you. But Oliver, I wondered if you might escort Gran down the stairs into the library?”

Dammit!

“Oh. Sure.” Gut churning, I went over to my bag and began rifling through it, trying to think straight, but couldn’t. I hadn’t gotten to the most critical part of the story yet, and it looked like I might not be able to. “I just need to change.”

“All right. She’s ready when you are. And she is just beside herself,” my mother bubbled. “You’ve made her the happiest woman alive. She told me you’re giving her the only birthday gift she wants.”

“You are?” Chloe was giving me a strange look as she pulled on her shoes. “What is it?”

“It’s nothing,” I said quickly, grabbing a shirt from my bag without even looking at it. “Mom, can you go tell her I’ll just be a minute?”