“Because of Oz?”
“Yes. Among other things.” She plucked the umbrella out of his drink and leaned her elbows on the bar, twirling it in her fingers.
“Like what?”
She sighed, more relaxed and happy than he’d ever seen her. “I can’t even tell you how amazing it is to be free.”
“Free?”
“Free,” she said, nudging him with her shoulder. “From all the Debusshere insanity. What happened with Mom and Dad earlier?”
“Nothing.”
“Are you really going to try to lie to me?”
Elliot rubbed his hand over his eyes, suddenly exhausted. “I pitched them an idea for expanding the charity into a more focused foundation.”
“I’m guessing they grudgingly listened and then crapped all over it.”
“Something like that,” he said, taking another drink.
“And Lena?”
Elliot looked up, startled. He thought about denying it. But there really wasn’t any point. Cher could always tell when he was lying. “They do not approve.”
“Yeah,” Cher said with a sigh. “I know how that goes.”
“They saw her coming out of my room.”
Cher’s eyebrows disappeared into her hairline. “Oh, really.”
“Yeah.” He gave her a sheepish smile, more embarrassed at her finding out than he had been about his parents. Then again, he cared about Cher’s opinion more. “They know she was helping me on the proposal for the foundation. It makes me wonder what they would have said if she hadn’t been a part of it. But it doesn’t matter whose idea it was. It’s a good idea, worth doing. It shouldn’t matter where it came from.”
“It probably doesn’t. You know them. They don’t like change. And they really don’t like their children branching out on their own. You rocking the boat would have been enough for them to say no.”
“True. But…when they came to my room, after they saw her leaving… They said the most horrible things about her. She doesn’t deserve that kind of crap from anyone. Lena’s smart, Cher. She’s amazing.”
Cher grinned. “Yes, she is.”
“They’d be lucky to have someone like her on the payroll. But because she’s not running in their circles, they think she’s…”
Cher patted her brother’s arm. “Yeah. Been there.”
“Yeah. They weren’t too thrilled with Oz, either,” Elliot said.
“It wasn’t quite as bad for us. I was on my own, in another state, working at a job that I loved and they hated. They could hate my life all they wanted. It’s a lot easier to deal with from a thousand miles away.”
Elliot laughed. “Yeah, I guess it would be.”
“I’m doing what I love now. I’ve got my shop up and running. Every day I get to help women set up for being out on their own, in a good job. I’m happy. You have no idea what it’s like to make a decision and not have to wonder how it will make Mom react or if you’ll get that look from Dad. I know they love us and want the best for us, but the way they go about showing it…”
“Sucks.”
Cher nodded. “Yes, it does. You can’t let them keep doing it to you, Elliot. It’s your life. You aren’t ever going to be happy until you start living it the way you want to.”
Elliot shook his head. “I don’t even know where to start.”
“I think you do,” Cher said, smiling.
He kept his gaze firmly on his coconut. He didn’t like to admit that he was afraid, but the hard knot in the pit of his stomach was a pretty strong reminder. Maybe his parents weren’t the only ones who didn’t like change. Change was hard.
“I don’t think I could have done it without Oz,” Cher said, her attention back on the twirling umbrella in her fingers.
“Done what?”
“Broken free. One thirteen hour car ride with him and my life was changed.”
“He encouraged you to get out on your own?”
Cher laughed. “Encouraged? Hell, he flat-out dared me to quit being a baby and do what I really wanted to do with my life. I’d started in the right direction, but I don’t know if I ever would have gone all the way without him there with me.”
Elliot nodded. “He’s a great guy.”
Cher looked at him, her gaze raking over his face. “Lena is a lot like him.”
“Is she?”
She nodded. “I don’t know what it is about those two. I wish I could have met their parents. Oz and Lena are…strong. Full of life. There’s just something about them…”
Elliot pictured Lena’s softly smiling face, her quiet strength, the inner beauty and goodness she exuded without even trying. “I know what you mean.”
“She’s something, isn’t she? The first time I met her, she hugged me so tight I thought she’d crack my back.” Cher laughed. “That’s just how she is. I always wondered how she could have so many doubts about herself because when it comes to those she loves, she’s fierce. I’ve never met anyone more loving and fun to be around. And the way her brain works downright scares me sometimes.”
Elliot snorted. “Yeah. It was fun to watch how she can take one little nugget of a thought and turn it into this amazing idea. If she had the right resources, she could take over the world.”
“Sounds like someone else I know.”
“Who?”
“You.”
Elliot stared at her, pride filling him that she had that kind of faith in him. Pride tinged with fear. And doubt.
“I wouldn’t ever want to let them down,” he said quietly, finally giving voice to the real fear that had been tearing at his gut since he realized he might want something more substantial with Lena.
“Lena and Tyler?”
Elliot nodded. “Tyler…” He laughed. “That kid is something else.”
“He’s pretty great, isn’t he?”
“Yeah. He is. I’m glad Oz has always been there for him. He needs a good dad in his life.”
“And you don’t think you can be that for him?”
Elliot’s hand clenched his coconut, the knot in his gut twisting tighter. “I’d like to be, I think. I want to try. But I don’t know how. I guess I never really thought of myself as dad material.”
“And now?”
Elliot stared into his drink for a minute, seeing flashes of Tyler’s face laughing up at him, shouting for joy when he beat him at a game, resting like an angel while he slept.
Elliot looked at Cher, a smile spreading across his face.
She leaned over and kissed his cheek. “I think you’ve got your answer.”
She stood up and slapped a couple twenties onto the bar. “The coconuts are on me. Now, I’m going to get some beauty sleep. I’ve got an important date tomorrow.”
Elliot stood and wrapped his arms around his sister. “I love you, Cher-Bear.”
“Love you, too, Smelliot. Now go get some sleep.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
The knot in Elliot’s gut loosened a bit as he watched his sister walk away. He didn’t know what the future held. He didn’t know if he and Lena could make it work or not. He didn’t know if he’d be able to make a foundation run without his parents’ backing.
But he did know if he didn’t try, he’d regret it the rest of his life.
Chapter Seventeen
“Tyler, hold still for one more second. I need to fasten your bow tie.”
Tyler pouted but managed to contain himself long enough for Lena to get his tie on. She didn’t blame him for being antsy. There was a palpable tension in the air as everyone got ready for the wedding. An excitement that everyone was having a hard time containing. Except for Cher’s parents, of course. Then again, they were always cool as ice and would probably be thrilled if their daughter changed her mind.
The only child of theirs who didn’t disappoint them was Lilah. But she hadn’t been able to attend the wedding, since she had an emergency with a patient who she couldn’t leave. Cher was the black sheep who was cementing that reputation by marrying Oz in a few short minutes.