Chapter 9
GRANT
G rant tossed and turned in his bed, unable to sleep after the day.
Each time he closed his eyes, images of the easiness between Julia and Luke floated by.
From the way they looked at each other when they’d first met on the docks to the picture of them hanging on the restaurant’s wall, it haunted him.
He tried to shove it away. He’d had a past, too. In fact, he’d had one that had been the bane of their existence since they’d married. He’d had four wives before her. He had no right to expect she hadn’t had relationships.
But it wasn’t her former relationship that bothered him. It was the way she still looked at the man. That look in her eyes when she’d fallen into his arms on the dance floor twisted his stomach and his heart into knots.
He hated to think of it, but he couldn’t stop from dwelling on it. Had she ever looked at him like that? Had they ever shared one of those easy moments? Had she ever looked that comfortable in his arms?
He searched his memory, finding many moments he’d cherished. He spent the night tearing them apart, comparing, contrasting, and searching for the spark he desperately wanted them to have. Had her smile when they’d danced in Paris been as full as hers was with Luke?
But as the morning’s first light crept over the horizon, he resigned himself to the realization that he didn’t know what feelings, if any, she had for him.
He stared at the ring box in the morning’s dim light, now more unsure than ever about asking her to stay with him.
As he rose from his bed, one thought permeated his mind. He wished they’d never have come to Harbor Cove.
Maybe this morning’s breakfast would bring him more clarity. He planned to ask Julia for a few tips for handling her sister. Maybe soon, he could get on the woman’s good side and this crusade to push him as far from Julia as possible would end.
He shuffled downstairs after he’d showered and dressed, finding Kyle in the kitchen frowning into his coffee. “Anyone else up yet?”
“Julia is,” he answered.
“I hope that’s not because you banged down her door to talk to her,” Grant said as he poured a cup of the steaming liquid and took a sip.
“Nope,” Kyle said, poking a finger at the refrigerator.
Grant spotted a piece of paper poking from under a magnet. He crossed to it and yanked it free. Gone for a hike. See you at lunch. J
She added a smiley face underneath her initial. He heaved a sigh. So much for tips and tricks on her sister.
“I think we really need to talk,” Kyle said.
“About?”
“What did Julia say to you last night when you checked on her after the dinner debacle?”
Grant sipped his coffee as he stared out the panoramic windows at the cotton candy sky, his jaw clenching at the question. “Why?”
“Because, Dad , I think we need to be taking this situation a little more seriously than we are.”
Grant heaved a sigh, trying to stop himself from being reactionary. He’d been through enough in business to know that when emotions ran high, decisions should be carefully calculated. “I don’t know what you’re talking about Kyle.”
“Don’t you?” Kyle asked, joining him at the window. “Are you saying you’re not perceptive enough to have noticed the way Julia looks at Captain Luke Sparrow?”
Grant clicked his tongue. “Of course not. They have a past.”
“A past? The way she’s looking at him, they have a future, too.
The words made his stomach clench.
“Tell me you didn’t see this,” Kyle said. “Or do you just not care at all?”
“You know that’s not true. Well, maybe you don’t. You’re constantly accusing me of treating Julia like property.”
“And I’m not the only one. Alicia seems pretty insistent on painting you in a similar light. That’s Julia’s own sister. Do you think she’s going to dismiss her opinion easily?”
“Maybe the lunch with her today will help.”
“Fat chance,” Kyle said. “The woman is obviously in desperation mode to keep her sister here. So, that’s two strikes against us.”
Grant shook his head. “I don’t know what you want from me.”
Kyle shrugged. “Look, either way, you’ve got a stake in this. Whether you care or you don’t, I don’t think you’re ready to let her walk away. That may be contractually motivated, or it may be motivated by something else, I don’t really care at this moment. What I do care about is losing Julia.”
He hated that his son was right. He wouldn’t ever be ready to let her walk away.
Not the woman who had unexpectedly grown to mean so much to him.
He’d meant the words when he’d told Lydia this was the best relationship he’d ever had.
But he wasn’t ready to confess his feelings to Kyle. “What’s your point?”
“My point is we are in very real danger of that exact thing happening. She’s not over him. She told me as much last night. I cannot believe the great Grant Harrington can’t see that.”
Grant shifted his weight, uncomfortable with the conversation. He’d worried about the same thing for most of the night. And that fact that Kyle picked up on it, too, made his uneasiness grow. “She told you she’s not over him?”
“She said a part of her would always love him, and that he’s the reason she left Harbor Cove.”
The words gutted him.
“And with her sister pushing her to see us, well, you, in particular, in the worst light, I’m afraid we may be taking the jet back to New Orleans minus one passenger.”
“What do you suggest I do about that? Drag her back to the plane kicking and screaming, then lock her in Harrington House when we get home?”
Kyle turned the corners of his lips down as he shook his head. “Maybe something a little more…creative.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Oh, come on, Dad, if this was a business deal, what would you do?”
As Kyle pressed the issue, Grant couldn’t help but wonder if there was more to Kyle’s urgency than familial concern. Was this a strategic move? “Kyle, for the umpteenth time, Julia is not a business deal. She is a person–”
Kyle waved a hand in the air. “Fine, fine, she’s not a business deal. But if she was, would you stand by and let a rival company steal her right out from under you?”
“No,” Grant answered, still not understanding what he suggested.
“No. You would destroy the rival in a full-court press.”
Grant screwed up his face. “Are you suggesting that I somehow destroy Luke?”
Kyle lifted his shoulders in a shrug.
“You’re out of your mind,” Grant said with a shake of his head.
“Am I? Okay. We’ll let it ride, but don’t say I didn’t warn you.”
“Let’s just hope the lunch helps.”
Kyle shook his head, an annoyed expression creasing his features. “Right. Let’s pin all our hopes on this lunch.”
“I’m going to…do something else until lunch,” Grant said as he strode from the kitchen with his coffee cup. He wandered outside, the thick scent of Balsam filling the air as he skirted the house to stare out over the ocean.
Kyle’s words stung him. But he couldn’t stoop as low as his son would, could he? Part of him wanted to–wanted to crush the other man like a bug.
He’d already sized up the competition. As Sierra had pointed out, they were nothing alike. The worry that he couldn’t compete even if he tried raced through him.
She’d chosen Luke once, a man who was the antithesis of him. Luke was dark to his light, laid back to his formal, familiar to his foreign. Would Julia ever choose him over her former flame?
The thoughts haunted his morning until he finally glanced at this watch, realizing they needed to leave for lunch.
He passed his now long-empty coffee cup to Worthington as Sierra exited the house, a frown and massive sunglasses on her face.
“Let’s go, Daddy, we’re late for another day in Hell’s Cove.”
“Next time, maybe you’ll check with people before you book a vacation, Sierra,” Kyle said as he trailed behind her.
“Maybe it won’t be so bad,” Grant said as they climbed into the car. “Alicia said she wanted to get to know us.”
“Not so bad?” Sierra said, never removing her sunglasses. “They hate outsiders here, apparently. And they hate us because we love Julia.”
“And we’re from the city,” Kyle added.
“I have never known you two to be so defeatist. I’m sure we can win Julia’s sister over with that Harrington charm. We’ll kill her with kindness.”
Sierra slammed her head against the headrest behind her as the scenery rolled by until they pulled up to a large restaurant sitting at the edge of a lake. A sprawling lawn dotted with tables overlooked the tranquil waters.
Alicia and Ethan approached as they climbed from the car. “Hi, so glad you could make it,” Alicia said.
“Thank you for inviting us. Now that we share a common interest, it would be nice to get to know you better.”
Alicia gave him a less-than-genuine smile that bordered on a smirk.
Grant kept the smile plastered on his features. “Uh, Julia went hiking and said she’d meet us here.”
“Oh, I’m sure she’ll find her way. Our table’s ready, we can get settled in and wait for her there.
” Alicia led them to a square table with eight chairs.
She and Ethan took two together. Grant left a seat next to her as he settled into a chair on the adjacent side, figuring Julia could take the seat next to her sister.
Grant cleared his throat as Kyle and Sierra danced around, trying to pick seats. Finally, Sierra settled into one next to her half-brother to avoid the sun.
“Why don’t you move over there?”
“Why don’t you?” Kyle asked.
“You can’t sit by Julia, so what does it matter where you sit?”
“Will you two stop bickering?” Grant hissed before he smiled at Alicia. “Sorry, siblings.”
“Uh, only half, thanks. I’m not claiming full sibling-ship with him .”
“Half?” Alicia asked. “You had different mothers?”
“Yes, obviously . If you actually think I’m fully related to Crazy Kyle, you’re a terrible cop.” Sierra crossed her arms and pouted.
“O-okay. Uh…” She shifted her eyes back to Grant.
“Sierra’s a little dramatic,” Grant said with a smile. “We’re just…normal folks. Very family oriented.”