Chapter 17
Seventeen
Blair
I’m out in the garden when it happens. It’s my third day living on Gallant Mountain, married to a man who proves time and again that I’ve made the right choice. My phone buzzes in my pocket, and I pull it out to see an incoming text from Adrian.
This is a new phone with a new number. Adrian doesn’t want me stressing all the time about who might reach out from my family, so he set me up with a new phone that only has his family members’ contact details in it. When it vibrates or rings, I don’t instantly panic. It can’t be my mom or dad.
Hey, baby. There’s an SUV headed this way. It will be here in a few minutes.
I glance at Rebekah and Hannah, who have both stopped to watch me. Everyone knows we’re expecting someone to show up. We’re all on pins and needles.
Rebekah tosses her long red braid over her shoulder and reaches for my hand to give it a squeeze. “It’s going to be okay.” She has such a sweet disposition. I adore her.
The sisters have brought me out to their garden—which is so large it’s more like a farm—to take my mind off things and show me what they’ve been growing. The sun is shining. There’s a nice breeze. The air is so clean that I feel like I’m getting more oxygen up in the mountains.
I’m happy. Or I was. Now I’m panicked.
Hannah nods over her shoulder. “We’ll come with you.” They don’t even ask about the text. They know.
I wipe my hands on my jeans and take a deep breath.
I’ve been on my knees, so my jeans are a bit muddy, and so are my forearms. I’m wearing a yellow tank top, but it, too, is dirty.
I don’t care. It’s nice not to have to worry about impressing anyone.
I don’t have any makeup on. My hair is in two braids behind my ears. I feel like a prairie wife; it’s fun.
The SUV pulls up to the main house and stops as we approach. I can’t tell who’s inside. The windows are tinted, of course. Whoever it is would have rented a fancy car with tinted windows if they had come on my parents’ behalf.
I’m already embarrassed because I’m certain this confrontation is going to show my parents’ true colors, and I hate my new family knowing how I’ve been living for twenty-six years. Now, it seems ludicrous that I didn’t leave New York sooner.
In addition, whoever steps out of that car is going to be stuffy and condescending. The thought of me having been that way for all these years makes me cringe.
Adrian has approached the SUV and stands several yards away, hands on his hips.
When he glances over his shoulder and sees me, he reaches out, takes my dirty hand in his, and pulls me to his side.
He kisses my forehead. It’s more than anyone has ever done to support me.
I feel like I can walk on water next to him.
I gasp when the door opens because the person who steps out of the SUV is the last person I expected to see. He wasn’t on my short list of visitors.
William Sanford.
He’s wearing dark sunglasses, and he looks around the growing crowd until he spots me. Every member of the Gallant family has joined us in the clearing. Moral support that I greatly appreciate.
William takes off his sunglasses, lets his gaze roam up my body, and then shifts his attention to my husband. He only pauses for a moment before returning his narrowed gaze to me. “Blair?” It’s as if he’s not sure it’s me.
Ha. That in and of itself is comical. The man has never paid much attention to me. I’m still shocked he was the one chosen to come collect the wayward daughter.
I shouldn’t be. It makes sense now that I think about it. He stands a lot to gain from the merger of our companies. Financially, that is.
“What are you doing here, William?” I ask, intentionally using his name so Adrian knows who we’re dealing with.
Adrian’s fingers stiffen against my side, but I’m certain no one but me is aware of his reaction.
“The better question is, what are you doing here, Blair?” William takes a step closer but hesitates after a glance toward the man who is holding me against his side. He stands as tall as he can and sets his hands on his hips. Does he think he looks tough?
William is about five-ten. He has dirty-blond hair, which has recently been cut. He’s clean-shaven. His skin is pale. He’s dressed like he’s about to go into a board meeting, and he looks completely out of place here.
The man is skinny. He belongs to the country club and goes to the gym, but I realize now it’s all just part of his social calendar. He jogs on a treadmill with the rest of the well-bred boys, lifts weights that aren’t heavy enough, and schmoozes with the rich and famous. He’s not buff.
Adrian is a solid presence beside me. He could take William on one-handed while blindfolded. It’s almost comical. Except I’m not pleased that this man is here to disrupt my life, or that he thinks that’s even possible.
“I live here now, William. I’m done with the rat race. This is my home.” I tip my head back and inhale deeply. Even with this fool standing on Gallant property, I still feel calmer than I have in years. The stress of being the heir to a huge company is gone.
William chuckles. “You can’t be serious, Blair.
” His voice is condescending, and he lifts his nose as he glances around at everyone.
The irony is that the Gallants have more money than the Sanfords or the Snyders.
He must realize that. We aren’t surrounded by shacks.
The word cabin is an understatement with regard to the homes these men have built.
And the main house is state-of-the-art. The technology in the offices underground could run the world.
William is nothing but a pharmacist.
I school my face, not showing the tiniest bit of humor, while he’s the only one laughing.
Finally, he sobers a bit. “It’s time to come home. Your little vacation is over.”
“This isn’t a vacation, William. I sent my parents a resignation letter. I’m sure they’ve received it. I’ve moved here permanently.”
He rolls his eyes. “You can’t just run away from your life, Blair. You have obligations. One of them is to me. We have a wedding to plan.”
“A wedding?” My voice rises. “Who’s getting married, William?”
“You and me, of course.”
“Are you listening to yourself? We’ve never even been on a date, and you’ve certainly never asked me to marry you. Why would we want to do such a thing?”
Adrian grabs my hips and moves me in front of him, keeping one arm around my waist, holding me close. He hasn’t interrupted. Neither has anyone else. They’re letting me handle this. So far.
“Don’t be glib, Blair. We’ve always been destined to be together.”
My face heats. I’m trying to control my reactions. How did it take me so long to realize how ridiculous that plan was? It’s like I was buried in my old life. I didn’t particularly like it, but I didn’t question it either.
Merging our companies has been a given for years. A plan set in place by people who were not me or William. I don’t know what jolted me out of the fog, but I’m glad it happened. Everything that has happened since the moment I made the decision to leave New York has been refreshing.
The storm may have been fucking scary, but it brought me to Gallant Mountain and the man behind me, who is now my husband. Bless him for letting me deal with this. He’s not the one treating me like I’m too stupid to make my own decisions. William is.
“William, it’s not going to happen. Marriage should be for love. A partnership. Someone you can come home to at night who holds you in their arms and makes you feel special.”
He rolls his eyes. “You sound like a Hallmark movie, Blair. Have you been reading romance novels?”
How dare he diss romance novels. It’s almost comical now that I know an author.
I’m oddly calm. I didn’t expect things to go like this. I thought my father would have sent one of his men to argue with me. This is better. William sounds like a moron. He’s not even ruffling my feathers.
“I’m sorry you expect your life to be so boring, William. I wish you luck. I truly hope you find love along the way.”
Adrian gives me a squeeze and kisses my neck.
William ignores him as if he’s not standing at my back, wrapped around me.
I don’t think William cares. “Love? Who cares about love? The world doesn’t revolve around such nonsense.
The merger of our families is a wise business decision.
It’s worth billions. You can’t honestly say you’re planning to throw all that away to work on a potato farm in the mountains. ”
I laugh. That’s how he sees my life from where he’s standing? “Go home, William.”
He steps closer, but he looks a bit less confident. His gaze shifts around to everyone and then lands on me again. “No, Blair. It would seem you’re having a mental breakdown. Perhaps the stress from working long hours has gotten to you. You need help.”
I shake my head. “I don’t need help, William. I’m perfectly healthy and sane. I’m happy for the first time in my life. I’m where I want to be.”
“Be reasonable. Your parents will cut you out of their will if you don’t get in the car and come home with me.”
“That’s fine. Let them cut me out. In fact, I love that idea. Tell them to please do so. Then I won’t have the family business hanging over my head for the rest of my life.”
William’s jaw drops. “You don’t mean that, Blair.”
“Oh, but I do.”
“Your paltry inheritance from your grandparents isn’t going to last forever.”
I narrow my gaze at him. He’s so fucking pretentious. How did I not see this sooner? Not from him. I barely know him, but this is the attitude of everyone I know in my parents’ high-society circles.
For one thing, entire families could live comfortably on my inheritance. It’s substantial. But not snobby assholes who want to own a personal jet and driver. Not people who think roughing it is spending a week on Martha’s Vineyard with only six staff members instead of ten.