Chapter 54

fifty-four

LUKE

“You can’t keep me from speaking to my client.” Charlotte demands. “As soon as I learned what kind of deceit Ella was up to, I came right away.”

I can see how people are swayed by Charlotte. She’s confident and unblinking in her storytelling. But because I know her, and because I know Ella, I’m not letting her ruin Holly’s wedding.

“This is my farm, and you’re not setting foot near that ceremony.”

She narrows her eyes at me, sending a chill spreading across my skin. “It won’t be your farm for long. Your fiancée breached our contract.”

“We’ll see about that,” I growl.

Behind her, Ella and Sam slip into the group. My hand subconsciously goes to my heart in relief before I act like I’m picking invisible lint off my shirt. I want Ella by my side before Charlotte knows she got out of the barn.

“I’ll get a lawyer,” she snarls.

I open my mouth to remind her that’s she’s trespassing on private land, but stop the moment I see another unexpected guest.

“Threaten all you like, but it would be a waste of money. For someone who enjoys the fine print, you’re overlooking a pretty important clause.”

All eyes move to Sebastian as he walks toward us, the picture of casual dominance. We’re just far enough away from the wedding site that I’m hoping it’s still going off without a hitch behind us. I hate to be missing it, but my family is standing guard.

And Ella and I are fighting for our future.

Charlotte narrows her eyes. “This has nothing to do with you.”

“Ah ah ah.” He waves a finger, a cruel smile on his lips. “Any deal made with the Gold family most definitely has something to do with me. I think you’ve forgotten your place here.”

“Please leave,” she says, her voice losing a few ounces of conviction.

Sebastian showing up isn’t good news. Or maybe it is? I suppose it depends on where you stand regarding the Gold family. At the moment, our situation seems so entangled, I’m not sure.

“Mind who you’re speaking to,” he says, straightening his shoulders and looking more intimidating than usual. His entire demeanor softens as he shifts his attention to us. “Ella, you look lovely this evening.”

I reach for her at the same time she steps into me, our hands fumbling to find each other. The world I thought I knew is suddenly a wild card. Holding tight to her isn’t enough, but it’s the best I can offer in our current situation.

“Thank you,” she whispers. To him? To me?

Sebastian turns back to Charlotte. “What was it you said to Ella? Business is business? ”

The only sign he’s hit a nerve is her skin blanching slightly. “She breached our contract. It’s not personal.”

“I think we all know that’s not really true. If ‘business were business’, you’d have left Ella alone years ago. But that’s not what we’re talking about here. May I?” He stops in front of us, extending a hand.

Fear strikes deep in my chest. We rose above all odds, fighting our way to each other through the magic and the betrayals. I feel grossly outmatched, but I won’t let her go without a fight.

“I won’t let you have her.”

“So noble.” Sebastian chuckles. “But I want the contract.” He wiggles his fingers expectantly.

The paper crinkles as it brushes my sleeve, passing from Ella’s hand to his. I’ve got no idea where it came from, but with the way things are going, it could be entirely possible that it appeared from thin air.

“What do you expect to find in there?” I ask.

Sebastian winks. “Have a little faith, would you?”

“You’re just as dramatic as your father.” Charlotte rolls her eyes and crosses her arms. “If you have something to say, would you just get on with it?”

“Pot meet kettle.” He takes the contract and runs his finger along the words. Whether he’s actually reading them, I’m not sure. I suspect he’s toying with Charlotte simply because he can. The Golds are always multiple steps ahead of everyone.

He wouldn’t be here unless he knew there was something important on that piece of paper.

“Do you think this is good news or bad news?” Ella asks quietly in my ear. “I’ve never seen Charlotte so uneasy.”

“Then it’s safe to assume it’s good for you, bad for her.” At least that’s what I’m hoping for .

“I see. If the wedding is disrupted blah blah blah. Ella, may I ask you a question?”

“Sure,” she squeaks out.

“Did you or anyone assisting you in planning the wedding contact the press? Your step-sister? Your fiancé?”

“ Absolutely not,” she says, her voice firmer now. “Holly and Cade wanted an intimate wedding, and we did everything in our power to give that to them.”

“I wonder who tipped the press off, then?”

“It was my mother,” Laila replies. I’ve got no clue where she came from, but I hook an arm around Ella all the same, moving her behind me.

All at once, the noise level is almost unbearable. Charlotte is shouting at Laila, Laila is shouting back, Ella is begging Laila to stay out of it…

Sebastian, on the other hand, looks downright pleased. He shoves one hand in a pocket, the other hanging at his side while still clutching the contract in question.

“You have no proof!” Charlotte cries. “Why would I bother with the press?”

“I’m bored and you’re making me miss a wedding. Enough,” Sebastian replies, loudly enough that it catches everyone’s attention. “There’s a clause—right about here—that says that Ella must have caused the disruption in order for her to be in breach of contract. Since she wasn’t, well. You can connect the dots, I think.”

My mind whirs, latching onto one key piece of information. “Ella keeps her parents’ farm, then. And we keep ours.”

Sebastian ushers us further from the ruckus, away from Charlotte and Laila.

“It wasn’t hers to give away in the first place,” Sebastian replies, slanting a glance backward. “But I needed to get Ella back here, for reasons. It was important to let Charlotte think she was still in control of the game.”

“These are people’s lives.” My jaw hurts from clenching it so hard.

All these years.

Ella never had to leave. She could’ve always been here, where she belongs. Everything happens for a reason, but it’s much harder to accept when things happen because of someone else’s cruelty.

A whole chunk of her life lived through manipulation.

“It was you,” Ella says, stepping shoulder to shoulder with me. Her breaths are more even than my own shuddered ones. “From the moment Charlotte gave me this wedding, I questioned why.”

“How else was I going to get you here so you two could fall in love? You’re the second piece of the puzzle, after all.”

I swallow a groan and clench the fist that’s not gripping Ella’s hand. This entire exchange is further solidifying my beef with magic and relationships.

“You could’ve asked.” She says simply. “I was planning on coming here, anyway.”

“Ah, but a little push doesn’t hurt anyone.” He shrugs, like playing chess with people’s lives is an everyday thing.

Maybe it is and I don’t have a clue how intricate the magical web in this town actually is. The more information we come across, the more I believe this to be true.

“It could have, though,” I reply, fury sizzling in my veins. “Do I need to remind you about the fountain incident?”

Sebastian’s face softens then. “I’m sorry about that. Understand that I’m not my siblings or my parents. Their reputations precede me. Sabrina has a bit of a temper. I was unaware of the decision Charlotte made years ago to remove you from this town. Eventually, a few things came to light, and I intervened as carefully as I could.”

“I’m just supposed to accept that?”

“You can accept whatever you want,” Ella says, letting go of my hand. She searches my face before she turns to Sebastian. “But I think he’s telling the truth. I know a thing or two about not quite belonging to a family. I think we need to trust him, at least a little bit.”

She tentatively takes one step, then two, before she leans forward and embraces him. The surprise on Sebastian’s face is something I wish I could capture in a photo.

“I’m not sure what to do here,” he says, his hands frozen in the air like he’s in a bank heist.

“You hug her.” I shake my head. “Does your family really not do hugs?”

His eyes cut to mine and my heart clenches. Furrowed brows cover a pained gaze. Further proof that I’ve judged Sebastian for a lot of things that don’t seem to be true. He lowers his arms slowly, almost like it’s painful.

“Thank you,” Ella says. “Thank you for giving me back my home.”

Some of the tension rolls out of Sebastian’s shoulders, revealing a more vulnerable version than I’ve ever seen of him. His hands finally come to rest on her back, and he emits a heavy sigh.

“I’m not used to being a good guy in a situation,” he says.

“I wouldn’t completely call you a good guy . You’ve been complicit in a lot of not so great situations lately.” I’m not ready to let him off the hook so easily.

He pulls away from Ella and steps in front of me so that we’re almost toe to toe. He’s a smidge taller than I am, so I have to look up just slightly.

“I have never put Ella in harm’s way.” He says firmly. “You can judge me however harshly you want about everything else, but I have tried to protect her.”

“This isn’t necessary, y’all.” She puts a hand on each of our arms.

Her green eyes plead with me to leave it alone. And I want to.

But the emotions warring inside me are making me struggle.

Ella is my past, my present, and my future all rolled up into one beautiful ball. I denied it for so long I almost lost the chance with her, and I should be grateful that Sebastian intervened. He brought her back here so I could have another chance to stop being an idiot. So Lucy could see what two adults in a healthy relationship look like, and have a mother figure that is present. Encouraging. Loves with no bounds.

Sure, there’s the hurdle with the farm, too.

Her farm. Our farm.

The ring I gave her for our fake engagement glistens on her ring finger and it hits me like a lightning bolt.

I want movie nights on a chilly evening. Warm coffee after an all-nighter taking care of a sick kid. Kisses snuck under metal bleachers and wishes at the wishing well. I want to create traditions for our family that we remember from ours.

I want stolen moments all over this farm and the next one over.

“I love you.”

She blinks quickly. “What?”

I take her arm and move her a few steps away—I don’t have any desire to bare my heart with Sebastian hovering over me.

“I love you. I think I’ve loved you for a long time now, but I’ve been really stupid about it. When I found out you were the one sending the letters…” I loosely grip her biceps, squeezing in reassurance .

“I know, I feel the same,” she whispers. “Like the biggest wish come true.”

I press my lips to hers. “Haven’t we had enough magic for a little while?”

“No such thing. Love is the greatest magic of all. Did you forget?”

My heart trips. “Love?”

She smiles so big it splits her face. “I love you, too.”

Whirlwind romances aren’t uncommon around here. I just never imagined I’d be part of one.

“I have something I need to show you.”