Chapter 13
GRANT
G rant’s heart thumped harder with every step that Julia took away from him in the waning afternoon’s light. Julia’s sister had put him in an almost impossible situation, and he’d struggled not to insist they go or Julia stay with them.
At every turn, Alicia tainted her sister against him, and now she’d have the entire evening to fill her head with nonsense about how much better she’d be with Luke in Harbor Cove.
Maybe he should have gone with her, but her sister would have used that the first chance she got to paint him as controlling. A sentiment his son also shared. Kyle’s assessment was bad enough, but coming from her sister, it could ruin everything.
“This is stupid,” Kyle said with a shake of his head. His thoughts mirrored Grant’s concern but with a youthful impatience. “We should go with them.”
“I hate to say this, but…Crazy Kyle has a point,” Sierra said with her arms crossed.
Grant’s mind raced with conflicting thoughts. Was he being too passive letting her slip away? His heart ached as he considered losing her. Or was he merely giving her space to show her the trust he had in her? The fear of making the wrong choice gnawed at him.
Grant forced himself into the best version of a father he could. “It’s not stupid. That’s her sister, and I think we should let them spend some time together.”
“With Luke,” Kyle said. “She’s going with Luke.”
“If we don’t let her go with them, we risk her resenting us for it.”
“I’d rather she resent us than spend the rest of her life with him.” Kyle shook his head as the others disappeared from their view.
“We should go with them,” Sierra said as she took a step toward them.
Grant grabbed her. “No, Sierra.”
“Daddy!” She stamped her foot on the ground, but he recognized the tantrum as far more than being spoiled and more closely aligned with her growing attachment to Julia.
“Sierra, honey, let’s go home. She’ll come back.”
Sierra crinkled her brow, shooting a pleading glance at Kyle. He slid his arm around her shoulders. “Come on, Sierra, maybe we can come up with a plan at home.”
“A plan? We just should go with her. That’s the plan.”
“Don’t start, Kyle,” Grant said as they walked toward the restaurant’s parking lot.
“Don’t start with what?” Sierra asked. “What plan?”
“Don’t,” Grant said, a tone of authority in his voice as the driver opened the car’s door.
“This isn’t fair. First, my step-mommy is off with some other guy on our family vacation and now no one will tell me the plan.”
“There isn’t a plan, Sierra. The plan is to let Julia have some time with her family while we’re here.”
“But Daddy–”
“Sierra, stop. We’ll only make things worse if we chase her. Alicia hates us. We don’t need to give her an excuse to hate us more.”
“But Julia doesn’t…yet.”
“And we’re not going to give her any reason to believe Alicia, right? So no chasing Julia to her dinner.”
“Who’s chasing her? She asked us to go,” Kyle argued.
“Julia is too nice for her own good. If we would have taken her up on that, Alicia would have painted it as wrong on our part. Now, let’s just head home for a quiet dinner and plan to spend some time with her tomorrow.
” Grant flicked his gaze out the window, a sinking feeling filling him.
What if the dinner changed everything? The possibility loomed over him like a dark cloud. Was he making a huge mistake?
His mind sifted through every tender memory of her, seeking out genuine affection. It settled on their wedding photo. They looked so happy, but was their happiness real or just a fleeting moment?
The car slid to a stop outside of the rented house. They shuffled inside, silence still stretching. The house seemed far too quiet without Julia here.
“Mr. Harrington, back so soon?” Worthington asked.
“Yes. I think we’ll order in tonight,” he said.
“And Mrs. Harrington?” Worthington asked. “Are we waiting for her to return?”
“No, ah, Julia’s having dinner with her sister,” Grant answered.
“And Luke,” Sierra said, her voice raw with emotion. “I don’t want any dinner. I’ll be in my room.”
“Sierra…” Grant called after her as she stomped up the stairs. With a sigh, he shook his head. “Order her something, too, please, Worthington.”
“Of course, sir.”
Grant stalked to the living room and poured himself a drink.
“Me too,” Kyle said as he shuffled into the room.
Grant slid his eyes closed before he poured another bourbon for his son and handed it off. “If you’re going to lecture me about how I should race off after Julia, I’d suggest you stomp your way up to your room like Sierra.”
“Fine, I’ll sit here and not say what we’re both thinking.”
Grant eased into the sofa, sipping the bourbon and allowing the burn to make its best attempt at soothing him. “I highly doubt we’re thinking the same thing, Kyle. My mind isn’t as twisted as yours.”
“Isn’t it? So, just to be clear, you’re not wondering if you’re making the biggest mistake of your life by letting her go to dinner alone with them?”
Grant heaved a sigh, hating the way the words sounded coming from Kyle’s mouth.
Kyle perched on the edge of the armchair across the room. “At least answer me this: does she mean anything to you outside of this contract?”
Grant slid his eyes closed as his fingers tightened around the glass. He had no desire to discuss his feelings for Julia with Kyle, a man who had already expressed his interest in Julia.
Kyle took another sip of his drink before he slouched back in the seat. “Well, I guess that explains how you so easily let her walk away.”
Grant centered his icy gaze on his son. “Nothing I say to you is going to mean anything.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“You’re not going to believe me one way or the other,” Grant said before another sip of his bourbon.
“Look, I’m willing to put our personal differences aside before we both lose Julia.”
Grant heaved a sigh. “Yes, I know. You want to work together to destroy Luke.”
“I want to do something before she stays here.”
“I don’t think destroying the man she once loved–”
“Once loved?” Kyle said with a harsh laugh. “Did you pay attention at all today?”
Alicia’s words echoed in his brain. They just need each other. “Kyle, I am not going to sit here while you lecture me on my behavior after everything you’ve done.”
“At least I’ve done everything I could in terms of Julia.”
Grant stared down into the reflective surface of his bourbon, noting the worry etched in his own face. “Right, I should have followed her. So the minute we get home you could have told her how controlling I am, how I hovered over her, didn’t allow her time with her sister.”
Kyle’s jaw tightened as he leaned forward again, his grasp tight on his glass. ”But–“
“No buts, Kyle. Have you or have you not said these things to Julia? She can’t do anything I don’t monitor.”
“You do monitor her. But you picked a hell of a time to stop.”
“I do not monitor Julia. Make sure she’s okay? Yes. Worry about her? Yes. Stop her from living her life? No.”
“Well, you should have this time, Dad. Because this time, her living her life may cost us.”
He heaved a sigh as Kyle downed the rest of his drink. He hated that his son had a point. Was the faith he put into his connection to Julia misplaced? Should he be fighting for her harder?
He tugged his phone from his pocket, wrestling with the urge to call Julia, his pride clashing with his fear of losing Julia. Each throb of his heart was a reminder of what was at stake, yet his ego, scarred by past betrayals, held him back.
“I think I will eat in my room. Let me know if Julia comes home.”
The way he made his last statement made Grant uncomfortable. He shifted in his seat as his son strode from the room.
As he sat alone, he pondered if Julia was laughing right at this moment. Were her eyes lighting up in a way they hadn’t around him? Did she find something in Luke’s presence that he couldn’t offer?
His thoughts were interrupted as Worthington entered. “Would you prefer your meal in here, sir?”
Grant stared down into the amber liquid again. “I’ve lost my appetite.”
“Is it Mrs. Harrington’s absence bothering you, sir?”
“I’m trying to give her some space with her family,” he answered.
“But, sir?”
Grant snapped his eyes to his always perceptive butler. “But I’m worried it will cost us Julia.”
“Is her connection to the other man that strong?”
Grant’s jaw tightened as he recalled the look she’d given him when they danced. “It just might be.”
“Perhaps…you would feel better taking a more proactive approach, sir?”
Grant frowned. “I’m trying not to smother her. I’m afraid that’ll push her straight into his arms.”
“What will doing nothing do, sir?”
Grant groaned as he set the glass down on the coffee table. “Why do you always make sense, Worthington?”
“That’s what I’m paid for, sir. Would you like me to call the driver?”
“Yes,” Grant said. “And tell him to hurry, please?”
“I will, sir,” Worthington said as he strode from the room.
Grant dug the ring box out of his pocket and popped it open. The ring he’d hoped to give her seemed to have lost its luster in the face of her strong emotions for Luke. Would she even accept it?
He snapped the box shut as the driver entered the foyer, grabbing the key from the table. “Mr. Harrington? You wanted to go out.”
“Yes, The Hungry Pelican.”
“Absolutely, sir,” the man said as he pulled the front door open and motioned for Grant to precede him. He hurried around him, opening the door for Grant to slide inside.
He drummed his fingers on the soft leather as the car’s engine roared to life, and they pulled away from the house. What would he find when he got there?
Likely an angry Alicia who would paint this as yet another one of his sins. He shifted in his seat as the dark trees sped past his window. The warm lights of the restaurant finally appeared. He had the door open before the driver shifted into park.