LITMIR.BIZ

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Flynn wasn’t. Or that Isabella wasn’t leaving and no one had spoken to Ezekiel. Helena knew that sooner or later this all had to blow up in their faces, but she was happy to ignore the fact for as long as possible.

      Until, in fact, Isabella decided she wanted to throw a party.

      ‘It can be a welcome home party for Thomas, to celebrate his...well...’

      ‘Survival?’ Zeke suggested when his mother trailed off. ‘Continued health? Heart attack?’

      ‘His life,’ Isabella said firmly. ‘We could make it an engagement party for you and Thea too, perhaps,’ she added with a sideways look at them.

      Thea and Zeke exchanged a glance that only lasted a moment, but appeared to convey a whole conversation.

      ‘Actually,’ Zeke said, ‘it’s a bit late for that.’

      ‘A bit...late?’ Isabella’s eyebrows rose.

      ‘After we left Italy...we took a flight to Vegas,’ Thea explained, and Helena clapped a hand to her mouth to hold in a whoop of laughter.

      ‘Las Vegas,’ Isabella said for clarification, in the tone that Helena imagined she’d probably use to say ‘a brothel’.

      ‘Please tell me you were married by an Elvis impersonator!’ Helena thumped her brother-in-law on the arm. ‘And I can’t believe you didn’t tell me immediately!’

      ‘She nixed the idea of Elvis, unfortunately,’ Zeke said. ‘But yes, we got married.’

      ‘Well.’ Isabella appeared at a loss for words, which Helena thought might be a first. It also didn’t last very long. ‘In that case, we’ll have to make it a rather larger affair. We’ll have it out at the estate, rather than here in town. I’ll go and call the planner right now.’ She started to head for the door, then paused and turned back to face the three of them. ‘I know I...well, I might not have always showed this, but I think you did the right thing. All of you. Sometimes love is bigger than propriety and gossip. And sometimes you don’t know how long you have... Anyway, I would like to celebrate the marriages of my sons.’

      Thea stepped up and kissed Isabella on the cheek. ‘Thank you. That means a lot.’

      ‘When are you going to tell Dad you’re leaving?’ Zeke asked.

      Isabella gave him a sad smile. ‘If he hasn’t noticed that I’ve gone by now, he probably never will. But yes, I have a meeting with him and my solicitor tomorrow. We’ll keep everything civil and low-key. We all owe each other that much.’

      It was hard to imagine, Helena thought, after all these years, that Isabella would officially step into the role and life she’d been living secretly for so long. Maybe it was a good thing, maybe not—but she wouldn’t wish her father on anyone else so maybe it was just inevitable.

      Isabella had always loved Thomas more than her sons, or his daughters. But until now she’d valued her social standing and reputation more than love. That shift alone...could it be the making of a new Isabella?

      ‘Helena,’ Isabella said, breaking her out of her musings. ‘You did the right thing too. It might not feel like it yet, but I believe that it will.’

      Helena tried to smile but the sadness within her wouldn’t let her. Flynn hadn’t called in the days since she’d left him in the library of what was supposed to be their home. The truth hadn’t made a difference in the end. So even if marrying Flynn had been the right thing, for him it was still outweighed by all the wrong things she’d done before.

      And no fancy party was going to change that.

      * * *

      ‘Your mother has left me.’ Ezekiel entered Flynn’s office without knocking and dropped into the visitor’s chair. ‘I just met with her and a divorce solicitor.’

      Flynn wondered if this was really news to his father, whether he’d honestly thought that Isabella would come back once Thomas had recovered. ‘I’m...sorry?’

      Ezekiel waved a hand to dismiss Flynn’s apology, as if the dissolution of his marriage was nothing but a mere inconvenience. ‘It shouldn’t affect things here. Thomas and I have been business partners too long to let something like this tear down everything we worked so hard to build up.’

      Of course that was his concern. Business before everything else, just the same as always.

      ‘I’m glad things will be...amicable.’ What else could he say?

      ‘In fact, she’s throwing a party this weekend. You should have an invite somewhere in there.’ He pointed to Flynn’s in-tray. ‘Celebrating your brother’s quickie wedding in some Vegas casino, apparently.’

      Flynn smiled as he flicked through the stack of papers. Of course Zeke and Thea had got married, and as irreverently as possible. Finding the envelope, he ripped it open and read the invitation.

       Isabella and Thomas invite you to celebrate life and love with them.

      

      They certainly weren’t wasting any time at all. And apparently his mother had given up worrying what other people thought. He approved, he thought.

      Even more, he approved of this party—because Helena would be there. He’d done as she asked. He’d listened, he’d thought and he’d spent a lot of time considering her manifesto.

      His mother’s party would be the perfect time to show her how well he’d learned, and listened. And to tell her his new plan for their future.

      As Ezekiel ambled back out of the office, Henry rapped on the door.

      ‘You got a moment?’ Henry asked.

      ‘Of course.’ Flynn gestured to the seat across the desk. ‘What’s up?’

      Henry sat, holding a brown file tightly between two hands. ‘I have the information you asked me to find. Are you sure you still want it?’

      Flynn’s chest tightened. ‘I’m sure,’ he said, even though he wasn’t. ‘Thank you for doing this for me.’

      Henry shrugged as he handed the file across. ‘I’m just grateful you decided to look up your birth mother, rather than asking me to find the monsters who hurt Helena. After that first phone call...let’s just say I had visions of having to defend you in court if you’d found them.’

      ‘I’m trying to look to the future, not the past. And, you know, not get arrested.’ Flynn held the file lightly between his fingers but didn’t open it. Did he really want to know? And did it matter? Was it enough to just acknowledge that perhaps his real mother had reason to believe that he would have a better life without her, whatever happened next?

      ‘If you want me to make contact, I can,’ Henry said, nodding at the file. ‘When you’re ready.’

      ‘Maybe.’ He’d thought this was what he needed, to prove to Helena that he’d moved on. But the more he’d studied her manifesto, the more he’d realised this wasn’t about adoption—his, or her daughter’s. It was about them finally allowing themselves to be happy.

      He opened his bottom desk drawer and slipped the file inside. ‘Not just yet,’ he said. ‘But soon, I think.’

      ‘Okay.’ Henry shrugged. ‘Anything you want me to do in the meantime?’

      Flynn smiled. ‘How would you like to come out to the family estate for a party this weekend?’

      ‘Sounds good,’ Henry said. ‘What’s the catch?’

      ‘I need you to go and pick something up for me first. From Italy.’

       CHAPTER THIRTEEN

      ‘YOU

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