Chapter 2: The Call He Didn't Have to Make
Adrian didn't answer right away.
He looked at her the way people look at something broken that they already knew was going to break.
"Because going up there right now won't help you," he said.
"It will only help him."
Emma stared at him.
"What does that mean?"
"It means Cole has been making choices for a long time that I couldn't stop." He paused.
"But there are other things I can stop."
She didn't know what to say to that.
Adrian pulled out his phone and made a single call.
Three words.
No explanation.
Then he ended it.
"What did you just do?" Emma asked.
"The wedding venue, the catering, the photographer — everything booked under the Marston name." He looked at her steadily.
"I've just put all of it on hold."
Emma felt the cold go deeper.
"Cole will be furious."
"Yes."
"Tessa will tell him you did it."
"Yes."
"And you don't care?"
Adrian looked toward the harbor.
Something moved behind his eyes that Emma couldn't read.
"There's something you don't know about your sister yet, Emma.
Something I should have told you three months ago."
He stopped.
His phone lit up.
It was Cole.
May you like
Adrian looked at the screen, then at Emma.
"Do you want to hear it before or after I answer this?"
