“Yeah?” Coco said. “I did.”
“Why?”
“I did it because you’re my sister and I love you more than words, and I want you to be happy,” she said. “You deserve to be happy, Addison. You should be with Wilder.”
“Have I told you how much I love you lately?” My mind whirred and whizzed in fifty different ecstatic directions. The second I had a chance, I was going to find Wilder, wherever the hell he was, and jump into his arms. “Did Mom tell you she was leaving Vince?”
“She mentioned it, yes. But she wanted to be the one to tell you, so I didn’t say anything. You know, after everything Mom put us through when we were younger, I figured it was her turn to make a sacrifice so that one of us could be happy.”
“That’s one way to look at it.”
“I knew you were too nice to say anything, so I had to intervene. I couldn’t stand her prancing around like Betty Crocker on Vince’s arm while you were crying yourself to sleep every night.”
“Thanks, Co. I mean it. Thank you.”
“Just doing my job,” she laughed. “That’s what big sisters are for, right? To get in everyone’s business and right the wrongs.”
“You’re the glue, you know that? You’ve always been the glue in our little family.”
“All right, enough of this sentimental bullshit. Hang up with me so you can go find him.” Coco couldn’t help being bossy. It was just the way she was made.
* * *
“Call me as soon as you get this.” I left a quick voicemail on Wilder’s phone. He didn’t answer when I called. I drummed my fingers against my desk. I was as good as useless the rest of the day.
I gathered my things and told Skylar I was headed out to meet a client, though really I was headed to Wilder’s office. I’d only been there once before, when we first started seeing each other. He had to stop by and grab a document, but it was after hours and we decided to get frisky on his desk, only to be interrupted by the cleaning lady.
I smiled as my heels pounded the pavement toward his work.
“I’m here to see Wilder Van Cleef,” I said to his assistant when I checked in a short while later.
“He’s on a conference call right now,” she said, clicking around on her computer screen. “It looks like he’ll be free in an hour. You can wait here, if you’d like?”
“This is extremely urgent,” I said with a kind smile. “Can I just go in? I won’t interrupt his call. I just need to—I need to see him.”
“I’m very sorry. I can’t let you go in there,” she said.
“I’m his girlfriend,” I said.
Her lips curled into a smile. “Mr. Van Cleef doesn’t date. Nice try.”
I drew in a sharp breath, telling myself she was just doing her job. “I promise you will not get in trouble if you just let me go in there.”
“Mr. Van Cleef is very particular about—”
“Trust me, honey, I know how particular he can be.” I didn’t feel like standing around arguing with his pit bull any more. Clenching onto my purse, I turned on my heels and headed straight for his office.
“You can’t go in there!” she yelled from her desk.
I barged into his office, where he was leaning back in his chair while a man on the other end droned on about beginning market values and a potential bidding war.
“Addison?” he mouthed. His brows met in the middle and he cocked his head to the side.
I jumped up and down like a giddy school girl, flapping my hands and smiling like a damn idiot. I didn’t care though. I was about to deliver the best news of my life to my favorite person in the whole world.
“Hey, Darryl, can I call you back in a bit?” Wilder interrupted him. “Something urgent came up that I need to deal with. Just give me a few minutes, okay?”
Darryl grunted into the phone. “I don’t have all day, Wilder.”
“I know, I know. Give me a few.”
Wilder ended the call and replaced the receiver as I climbed into his lap and straddled him.
“You going to tell me what’s going on?” he asked, slipping his hands around my waist.
I smirked. “It’s happening. Vince and Tammy Lynn are divorcing.”
“Are you kidding me?” He cupped my face and brought it toward his, pressing his lips hard onto mine. “So, what does this mean?”
“Everything, Wilder. It means everything.”
He stood up, cupping my ass as he sat me on his desk and pressed his hips into mine. “So, this is it? We can finally be together?”
“Mmhm.” I nuzzled into his neck, inhaling the clean scent of his aftershave as he buried his fingers into my golden waves.
He gently gathered my hair into his fist, guiding my head away from his neck until ours eyes met. “There’s something you should know about me right now.”
My eyes squinted as I silently prayed he wasn’t about to drop a bomb on me. Not now. Not when everything was going so well. “What’s that?”
“I’m never letting you go, no matter what.”
“Ladies and gentleman, may I have your attention please?” Brenda Bliss stood up at the podium in front of a gathering of thousands of Manhattan real estate agents. It was the annual end-of-year gala for the Manhattan Association of Listing Professionals; the time of year when the top ten agents in the city were announced. Brenda was the secretary of the association, but she loved to have all eyes on her, so she volunteered to emcee that year. At least that was what she’d told me when she made it clear my attendance was required.