Chapter 37

Alex and I were waiting in the drawing room when William and his parents arrived. William and I exchanged nervous smiles before Alex shook hands with him and his father.

Benson made sure everyone was comfortable before serving cocktails, and then he discreetly left the room.

I was happy to see Alex get along well with Mr. and Mrs. James. Everyone was relaxed by the time we made our way to the dining room to eat a delicious meal that the cook had prepared.

During dessert, Mr. James began to talk about Alex's illness.

"I am glad to see you looking healthy as usual. We are also constantly searching for new methods of treatment for you," Mr. James said.

"I will follow the fate that the Moon Goddess has planned for me. I am already grateful enough to find my daughter and have her back," Alex said while patting my shoulder.

"Will Daisy take over your business one day?" Mr. James asked.

"I hope she will, but she doesn’t seem that interested in business, and she barely has any time to try anything yet," Alex said with a sigh. "I will make sure my trusted assistants can run these companies without me before I...leave. "

"Don't say that, Alex," I gave him a hug, almost tearing up in front of everyone.

"Don't worry, Alex. You are such a good leader and the Moon Goddess will guide you to a better place," Mr. James signed. “I’m also grooming William to be more than capable of running any business. It was a lot for him to learn too."

“I’m sure he will do well,” Alex said. “He reminds me a little of myself at his age.”

Mr. and Mrs. James preened at the praise of their son. But William seemed uncomfortable.

William’s face flushed, and his hands shook slightly as he spoke. “I told you, Father, running a business isn’t how I want to spend my life.”

“Son, please, not the football nonsense again,“ Mr. James said. His face was turning redder than William’s.

“There is no guarantee you’ll make it to the pros,” Mr. James continued. “It’s a much rougher road than you’re expecting.”

Alex nodded in agreement.

“He plans to attend college and earn a business degree,” Mr. James said firmly. “After that, he will take a position with my company to gain experience.”

“Didn’t we discuss William taking an internship with the company over the summer too?” Mrs. James asked.

“Yes, his future is settled,” Mr. James announced. “William will be coming to work with me to begin learning how a business is run the day after his high school graduation.”

“But…” William began to speak.

“No buts,“ Mr. James declared. “We spoke about this many times, William.”

From across the table, I could see a look of frustration in his eyes.

I pushed away my dessert and flashed William a smile. “Would you like to see more of the house and the gardens?”

“That would be great,” William replied.

I folded my napkin and placed it on the table. “Follow me,” I said with another smile.

“Thank you for getting me out of there, Daisy,” William said after we left the dining room and started up the main staircase.

“No problem. Your father is really stubborn. Are you going to do all those things he said?”

“I guess I’ll have to work with him this summer,” William replied with a shrug.

“And I will study to get my business degree, but he’s not going to stop me from trying to land a spot on a pro team,” William insisted.

“Come on. I want you to see my favorite room in this whole house,” I said.

I took his arm and led him down the hall and to the library. “Never give up on your dreams,” I told him, thinking of how Victor said those exact words to me.

“Wow. There must be thousands of books in here.“ William walked to a shelf and picked up a heavy leather-bound book. “This one must be hundreds of years old.”

“Isn’t it wonderful,“ I agreed. “I love spending time here. Benson let me have the bedroom next door so I would be close to all these books.”

I realized I just told William where my bedroom was, and I blushed.

But William was busy examining a row of history books.

“Sometimes, when I can’t sleep, I come in here,” I said. “It’s so peaceful to curl up on the sofa with a book that I often fall asleep and spend the night here.”

“I don’t blame you. This is a fabulous collection and an inviting place to spend your time.”

“Would you like to see the ballroom? It was closed after my mother’s death, but it’s been reopened for my ball.”

“Sure,“ William replied and shelved the book he was holding.

We made our way back downstairs and to the ballroom's double doors. I let William inside and turned on the lights.

The room was even more stunning at night. The chandeliers reflected off the long rows of windows, and tiny twinkle lights embedded in the molding gave the room an enchanted look.

“This place is fantastic,” William said as he did a slow circle of the room.

I walked to the patio doors facing east and flipped on the switch for the garden lights.

“Come on,“ I beckoned to William. “I’ll show you my mother’s gardens. I don’t spend as much time there as I should, but the garden is beautiful.”

William followed me outside, and we followed the path down a rose-filled knoll to a pavilion situated in the middle of a small pond.

The pavilion was covered with fairy lights and pots of delicate, colorful flowers. It was a magical place.

We crossed a small wooden bridge that spanned the water and gave access to the pavilion, and we looked at the beauty around us.

We didn’t speak for several minutes and just stood together, listening to the tree frogs singing in the pond.

It felt like one of those moments I would remember all my life.

But then William moved to the other side of the pavilion and looked out over the topiary garden.

“Your home is fantastic,“ he said. “Do you plan to live here for the rest of your life?”

“I love it here,“ I replied. “But there are some things I need to do first.”

“When I make it on a pro team, will you come and see me play?” William asked.

I liked hearing the positive tone in his voice.

“I’ll be there to watch you play no matter where it is,” I promised. “Unless I’m in law school.”

“Law school, huh?“ William asked with a raised eyebrow. “No running a business for you either?”

“Nope,“ I replied. “I hope to become a lawyer and help Beta and Omega‘s. I want to help them gain and keep their rights.”

“That would be awesome!” William exclaimed. “I love how you don’t let anyone change who you are.”

It was my turn to blush. But before I could say anything, I thought, I heard a voice calling in the distance.

“Come on,” I said. “I think somebody is looking for us, but I hope we have time for a peek at our home theater room before you go home.”

I started to hurry across the bridge, but I only got a few steps when I slipped and began falling into the pond.

I was sure I would be underwater again, but before I landed in the water, William grabbed my arm and swung me back onto the bridge and into his arms.

I clung to him as my heart raced.

“Thanks. That was close,” I said with a shaky laugh.

William tightened his arms around me. “I need to keep you away from water.”

“How about it,“ I agreed.

Then I gasped. I could sense someone standing at the pond's edge near the Damask roses.

A figure stepped forward, and I saw it was Victor. The look on his face made me back away from William.

Without a word, Victor turned away from us and disappeared into the rose trellises.

I took a deep breath to calm my racing heart. Why did I feel like I’d done something wrong?