Chapter 29
GRANT
T he cold metal in his hand reminded him of the results of his actions. Yet another failure. And this time one he couldn’t bear to admit.
How had things gone so terribly wrong?
She never loved you to begin with, he reminded himself. The minute his contracted wife had come face to face with the man she hadn’t gotten over, any hopes for transitioning the best relationship he’d ever had from fake to real went up in smoke.
But he hadn’t counted on this. He’d thought at least they would be amicable. Maybe she’d even spend the last eight months of her contract with them, giving him time to grieve the end of the relationship. Or change her mind.
Now, he’d lost everything.
His mind reeled as his heart ached. How would he tell Sierra? How would they get back on a plane tomorrow and go home without her?
How would it feel to walk into her room and know she was never coming back?
The car slid to a stop outside of their rented house. As he shuffled inside, even this foreign place felt cold, empty, and lonely, mirroring the hollow emptiness he felt inside. He couldn’t imagine how Harrington House would feel without her.
Worthington awaited him as they stepped inside. “And how is Mrs. Harrington, sir?”
The words stung him, and he shook his head as he cleared his throat, trying desperately to find the words.
“Physically, she’s probably fine, but we wouldn’t know,” Kyle answered, his voice sharp and cutting. “We can’t see her.”
“Keep your voice down. I don’t want Sierra to overhear this,” Grant hissed at him.
“Is Mrs. Harrington’s family still restricting her visitors?”
Kyle wagged a finger at the man. “Wait a minute, Worthington. Worthington can go see her.”
“They are not going to let that happen,” Grant said.
“Why not? Surely, she didn’t file a restraining order against Worthington.”
“Mrs. Harrington filed a restraining order against you?”
Grant heaved a sigh as the words cut through him for the second time today.
The reality sank in, constricting his chest as though an invisible hand squeezed his heart.
His palms turned sweaty, and a cold shiver ran down his spine.
“Yes. We were informed of it when we went to the hospital. Both me and Kyle.”
“That doesn’t sound like Mrs. Harrington.”
Grant scoffed at the words. “Well, whether it does or doesn’t, it happened. And they’re never going to let Worthington in there, either. He’s not family.”
“Good point. So, we’re back to the sneaking in in scrubs option.”
“No, we’re not,” Grant said with a shake of his head, defeat coursing through him. “I’m not going to force Julia into seeing us if she doesn’t want to.”
“But, Dad–“
“Don’t,” Grant said with a shake of his head. “I’m going up to check on Sierra.”
“Well, don’t be too long. We need a plan here.”
“There are no plans, Kyle. Julia doesn’t want to see us. What part of that don’t you understand?”
Kyle scrunched his features. “The part where she doesn’t want to see us. It makes no sense.”
“I think it makes perfect sense. This trip has been a disaster. In your estimation, she’s spent sixteen months trapped in hell with me. And then we came back to all the warmth and familiarity of her hometown–and her ex that she never got over. And now, she wants nothing to do with us.”
“But, see, that doesn’t add up. I kidnapped her…ish. And she still talked to me. She was actually really nice about it. And then, I kissed her, and you threw me out. And she still talked to me. And then–“
“I remember, Kyle. I remember. But that’s not the case now.”
“That makes no sense. The turning point was seeing her ex-boyfriend? That’s what turned her against me?”
Grant let his eyes slide closed as he shook his head. “She doesn’t want to be part of this family anymore. And her sister probably convinced her to extend that to you and Julia agreed because she knew you’d do something crazy.”
“Well, someone needs to do something crazy right now.”
Grant waved his hands in the air in defeat. “I’m not having this conversation with you. I’m going up to spend time with Sierra. At least that worked out.” He twisted to face Worthington, holding the rings out to the man. “Can you handle these?”
Worthington held them in his palm as Grant strode past him, unable to deal with the situation. He didn’t care what the man did with them as long as he never saw them again. He wanted no reminders of this relationship. None. He couldn’t bear it.
Kyle’s insistent voice called after him. “We can’t give up!”
But he felt like a man adrift in a sea of despair, unable to see the shore, let alone reach it.
He pondered sending Worthington home early to scrub the house of memories of Julia: the wedding photo on his desk, the massive picture in the living room, anything from her bedroom.
He supposed he needed to face it, but he couldn’t. And he couldn’t stand the crazy desperation Kyle continued to spew. The man thought he could turn the tides with some daring scheme or by discrediting Julia’s family, but that wouldn’t work.
The fire in Julia’s eyes as she’d told him they shouldn’t be married had been enough to stop him from a desperate attempt to salvage their relationship only to have his heart broken again.
She’d meant what she’d said. That was evidenced by the restraining order she’d filed.
She didn’t even want to give him the chance to make things right. She was finished.
His hand trembled as he reached for the door handle, the cold metal seemed to burn his skin. He paused, taking a deep breath to steady himself, his eyes momentarily closing as he tried to fortify his resolve.
He pushed into Sierra’s room, hoping his face masked the turmoil brewing inside him.
She glanced up from her phone as she lounged against six pillows. “Daddy, why are you here?”
“I wanted to check on you.”
“Umm, why aren’t you with Julia?”
“Oh, she’s, uh, she’s fine. But they’re still keeping her in the hospital. She insisted I come home to be with you since there was nothing I could do for her there.”
“That’s ridiculous. I’m texting her.”
“Sierra, don’t…” His daughter’s swift fingers beat him to it. “Bother her. Never mind.”
“Who’s bothering? I’m keeping her company.” Sierra crinkled her nose a second later. “Ugh, she’s not answering.”
“She’s probably busy with her sister and resting.”
Sierra rolled her eyes as she dropped the phone on the duvet. “You should just go back there. I’m fine.”
“I have a better idea. Why don’t we spend some time together? This trip was about family bonding, and we haven’t done much of that. Maybe we can sneak some in before we leave tomorrow.”
Sierra offered him an unimpressed stare. “Fine. Let’s bond. Oh, but if you’re inviting Kyle, it’s a hard pass.”
“I’m not,” Grant said as he dragged a chair closer to her bed and sank into it. “Pick a movie.”
Sierra aimed the remote at the television and navigated to a film. His heart clenched as she pressed play. It was the first movie he and Julia ever watched together. It made him heartsick for happier times.
He managed to get through it and a few others before Sierra started to nod off as the sun descended below the horizon. He kissed her forehead, turned off the television, and headed for his own room.
He tossed and turned in his bed, unable to settle his mind. Should he make one last attempt to talk to Julia? Maybe he could say something that would change her mind.
Conflicting voices battled in his head for dominance. One urged him to call Julia and fight for their relationship, the other whispered warnings of further heartache and rejection.
He recalled the misunderstanding with his temporary secretary, Bianca, how she’d clammed up, gone cold. No, it wouldn’t do any good. When Julia made her mind up, there was no changing it.
Visions of her shaking her head and saying, “No, Grant, I’m sorry, but I don’t belong with you,” tormented him until the sun rose over the gentle ocean.
The calm waves contrasted the storm that raged inside him as he rose from his bed, still weary, but needing to move. He’d have to come up with some way to tell Sierra that Julia was not coming back with them later today. He didn’t know how. Maybe coffee would help.
After a shower, he pulled on clothes and made his way downstairs to the kitchen. He froze, hovering in the doorway as he stared across the room. His heart pounded against his ribs, and he blinked a few times to be sure he wasn’t imagining things.
Julia leaned against the counter, eating ice cream from the container as she watched the sunrise.
“Julia?” he said as he staggered a step closer, his voice barely above a whisper.
She twisted to face him, offering a slight smile. Was he imagining this? “Good morning.”
“Hi. What are you doing here?” He slid his eyes closed as the question escaped his lips. Great way to sound like he didn’t want her here.
“Last day, right?” she answered after another bite of the ice cream.
“Yeah,” he said, still uncertain.
She nodded as she snapped the lid back on the ice cream container and stowed it in the freezer before dumping her spoon in the sink. “I think we need to talk.”
His heart skipped a beat, and he swallowed hard. So, she wasn’t going to just leave it unfinished. He was surprised she had yesterday, but maybe she needed the time to figure out what she was going to say to him. Whatever it was, he braced himself for the letdown of a lifetime. “Julia–“
“Are you up for a walk?”
She didn’t want Sierra to overhear. She wanted to break ties with him without his daughter hearing her. Maybe that was for the best though. “Okay,” he managed.
She smiled up at him again as she nodded her head toward the foyer. “Let’s go.”
He followed her outside to her Jeep, every step felt like he was on his way to his doom.
He hated the look of that car that represented her freedom.
He pictured her driving away after she dropped him off later, happily heading back to her old life while he scraped up the broken pieces of his own to carry back to New Orleans.
The morning sun painted the trees around them vivid reds and golds as they wound around the quiet back roads. She pulled the car off the road, easing it to a stop before she hopped out.
As they trekked through the woods, he wondered what specific significance the place they were going meant to her. Was it where Luke proposed? The thought nauseated him as the trees started to give way.
A pebble beach spread out in front of them. The morning sun painted the waves that lapped at the stones. Julia picked her way across it and settled on a large rock overlooking the cove.
The sun made her face glow as she smiled into it. “Pretty, right?”
Her mood made him all the sadder. She was so excited to move on without them. He struggled to stop his hands from trembling as he forced a hoarse, “Yeah,” from his mouth.
He swallowed hard, suddenly wanting the conversation to be over. “I guess you have lots of nice memories here.”
“Mmm, I do, yep,” she said, her eyes never leaving the horizon. She sucked in a deep breath. “This is my favorite place on Earth.”
He pictured her here with Luke, him down on one knee, her eyes glistening with tears as she accepted his ring. Had they already gotten re-engaged? He’d forgotten to check her hand for another ring, and he couldn’t see her ring finger now.
“Lots of memories of Luke, I guess,” he said, bitterly, immediately wishing the words hadn’t slipped out of his mouth.
“No. None with Luke here. I’ve never come here with Luke. I’ve never come here with anyone, actually. Well, until now.” She offered him that soft smile that he’d grown to love so much. It would be hard to hear this news from her.
“So…you’ve only come here…”
“Alone,” she said, nodding. “Yeah. This was my special place to think.”
He wondered if she’d come here after their argument. At least she hadn’t gotten engaged to Luke here. That might make the news coming a tiny bit more bearable.
He flicked his gaze around the beach. He could appreciate the beauty so much more if he wasn’t about to get the worst news of his life.
And she was dragging it out. She probably felt bad, knowing Julia. After everything that happened, she likely was trying to figure out the way to say it nicely. After all, she’d forgiven Kyle after he’d put her through a harrowing experience. She was too nice for her own good.
With a deep sigh, she finally pulled her eyes away from the horizon and centered them on him. He still couldn’t see her ring finger, but he was certain what was coming.
She tugged her lips back into a momentary wince as she studied him. He braced himself for the words to come tumbling out of her mouth any second.
“I thought you may appreciate a Luke-free zone on the last day. Especially since what we need to talk about…” She paused as she huffed out a tiny sigh before she centered her gaze on him again. “You’re not going to like it.”
As Julia’s words hung in the air, Grant’s heart pounded in his ears. The world seemed to pause around him, the moment stretching into an eternity as he braced for the inevitable heartbreak.
His heart tumbled as he studied the emotion in her eyes. Was it guilt or something else? He couldn’t tell, but either way, he firmed his jaw as he prepared to be left by the one woman he hoped would never walk away from him.