And I was grateful for it. For her.

Mother, for her part, managed to hold it together. She put on a tight smile and ripped her sunglasses off. “Lilly, dear, did you forget you’re supposed to be at our house for brunch with Derek…and his parents?”

Lilly didn’t keep her chill. “I—oh, God. I’m going to—”

She bolted up the stairs, and the next thing we heard was the shower go on and her bedroom door open. She’d been caught with me, and the first thing she did was go to wash me away. My chest got a hollow ache to it, one I couldn’t deny or ignore. “Shit.”

I headed for the stairs, but Mom stepped in my way. “How could you? How could you do that to that poor, innocent girl? How could you defile her?”

That was taking it a bit far, even for her. I wasn’t some dirty thing to wash off afterward, or a horrible guy. I loved Lilly, and I wanted her to be happy. That was more than she or Walt could say. “I thought you were mad at me for coming home without telling you? Weren’t we still going over that?”

“I don’t care about that anymore,” she snapped. “If Walt found out…this is horrible. Just horrible.”

Tearing my gaze off the stairs, I met my mother’s eyes. “I didn’t do anything wrong. We just—”

“Priceless. Typical Jackson behavior. Deny all wrongdoing till you’re blue in the face, and run away, leaving a mess behind. Only this time, that mess is Lilly.” She covered her face. “How could you come home for just a few weeks, and still manage to interfere with this? You cause problems the second you step foot back in town, like you always have, until it makes me wish you never came home at all. That you stayed over there.”

I lifted my chin, trying my damnedest not to let her words affect me, but failing. “Don’t worry. I won’t be sticking around much longer, anyway, and this time I won’t come back. You’ll get to go back to pretending you have a son who isn’t a disappointment in every way soon enough.”

“If people found out, the merger would be off.” As expected, she didn’t even comment on my impending exit from her life. She had one concern. How this would affect Walt’s plans. “She’s engaged to be married. Why, Jackson, why?”

But she wasn’t. Not yet. I shrugged, as if I didn’t care that she didn’t even blink when I told her I’d be gone from her life soon. “It wasn’t planned. It just happened.”

Mom was easily two seconds from turning into a dragon. “It just—”

“I’m sorry,” Lilly whispered from the stairs. “We didn’t mean to…to…harm anyone. Or ruin anything. I’m so sorry. So very sorry.”

I stiffened, because she was apologizing for something that was the best decision I ever made. Taking a chance on her had shown me the world I could live in. The life I could lead. And I wasn’t sorry for that. “Lilly—”

“No one can ever know. Not about this. Not about Jackson living here, or…” Mother broke off. “Ever.”

Lilly paled. “We know. We’re sorry. We really are.”

No. We were not sorry.

But apparently she was.

“The wedding with Derek will continue to move forward, yes?” Mother asked. “Hastings International is depending on you.”

“Y-yes.” Lilly wrung her hands in front of her. “Of course it will.”

It was what we’d said all along. Our agreement.

But hearing her say it, when everything had changed for me, hurt.

All those pretty words about wanting me, about never letting me go, were just that. Words. I couldn’t say I hadn’t been warned. “Lilly…”

“See?” Lilly said, forcing a smile, not meeting my eyes. “Everyone still gets what they want, and the wedding will move forward. I…I promise. Everyone will be happy.”

Except her. And me.

And the fact that she promised to marry Derek? Yeah, that meant it was happening. After all, she didn’t break promises. Just hearts.

Mother seemed appeased. “Are you able to come to brunch? They’re all waiting for you, as is the photographer. Your father tried to call, but there was no answer. So I offered to come fetch you.”

Lilly nodded. “Of course, yes. Give me a few minutes. I’ll be right down.”

I watched as she flew up the stairs without another glance at me, unable to believe Lilly had decided to do it. She was marrying Derek. I loved her, and she was choosing another man over me. “Jesus. How do you do that? Make her jump at your command with a single word?”

“Stop looking at her like that,” Mother snapped, smacking my arm. “She’s your stepsister. Do you have any idea of the scandal this could cause?”

I pinched the bridge of my nose. She was marrying Derek. “Do you have any idea how much of a damn I don’t give? Because it’s a pretty big damn.”

“Jackson.”

“She doesn’t belong with Derek,” I ground out. “Never has, and never will. This marriage will kill her spirit. Snuff out her light.”

Mother snorted. “Since when do you recite poetry? This is highly inappropriate, and neither of you should have let it go this far. It ends. Now. If Derek knew you were living—”

“He knows.” I crossed my arms. “Spoke with him several times.”

She staggered back again. “Oh, dear. We have to fix this.”

“There’s nothing to fix,” I snapped.

“Yes. There is. He has to see you in a public setting, giving your approval. It has to be done,” she said, more to herself than to me. “I’m going to go home and act as if I didn’t see you here, and you’re going to stay out of sight until told otherwise. I’ll keep your secret for you. But when I call you and tell you to come to the event next week? You’ll come. You owe me that.”

I cocked a brow. “And if I refuse?”

“Then Lilly will end up getting ruined in the process. Not you. Not me. Her.” She crossed her arms. “And it’ll be because of you.”

No. That wasn’t true. Was it? I shrugged and glowered at the stairs. “Whatever. You want me to show up at some dumbass party, I’ll do it. But it’s the only favor I’ll give you before I go.”

“Fine,” she said stiffly. “And leave Lilly alone from now on. She’s not for you, and you both know it.”

“You already won, Mother. You snapped your fingers, and she fell into place.”

“That’s because she understands the importance of what’s at stake here.” My mother quickly uncrossed her arms. “You, however, continue to think about yourself—and only yourself.”

Her words struck deep. Was she right? Was I being selfish in wanting Lilly to be free of her bondage? For wanting her to have a real chance at happiness…

With me?

It didn’t matter, anyway, because she was marrying Derek.

As if she could read my thoughts, Mom struck even deeper. “What kind of life can you give her? Not the kind she’s accustomed to. Not the life Derek could give her. If you stayed here, everyone would whisper behind your backs. The scandal of you falling in love with your sister might even follow you. What kind of life is that to give to a girl like Lilly?”

She wasn’t saying anything I hadn’t already thought. I growled low in my throat. “She’s not my sister.”

“They won’t care.” She shook her head. “No one will. Lilly will be ostracized from her life, her peers, all because she chose to be with you. You are asking her to choose between you and the company, her family’s company. If she chooses you and the company goes under, how do you think she will feel? Will you actually be able to make it up to her? Would you be enough?”

The thing was…I didn’t know.

I was saved from answering when Lilly came running down the stairs, dressed in casual slacks and a silk blouse. A strand of pearls rested around her neck, and her slightly damp hair was pulled back into a severe bun. She appeared to be every inch the lady…

And nothing like my Lilly.

“Ready?” Mother asked, ignoring me.

“Yes.” Lilly grabbed her purse and hesitated. “Sorry to run.”