Book 4 Falling for Love #3
She tells him the whole story of what happened to Charlie—and her.
Charlie saved her from her mother beating her and paid for that with imprisonment.
Her mother overdosed six weeks later without ever telling the truth that she was the one who’d beaten Stephanie, not Charlie.
He mentions his friend, Dan Torrington, a lawyer who specializes in getting innocent people out of prison.
She can’t believe Grant knows him. Grant offers to call him the next day.
“I’m afraid to hope.”
“Don’t be afraid. Whatever happens, you’re not alone in this anymore.”
“It’s not just Charlie and the case. It’s you, too.” She reaches up to comb her fingers through his hair. “You make me want things I’ve never wanted before.”
“Don’t be afraid of that either.”
Her brows knit with aggravation. “What about Abby?”
“Who?” he asks, kissing her again.
“Grant…”
“I’m not thinking of anyone but you, Stephanie. Only you.”
As they have sex again, Stephanie realizes she’s fallen in love with Grant.
Owen and Laura spend the day together, playing Monopoly and passing the time while the storm rages on.
They talk and flirt and he makes her feel better about what happened with her husband.
Adam and Evan show up with beer, looking for fun.
They tell Laura and Owen about Grant being shacked up with Stephanie.
Evan, Adam and Owen swear they’ll never let a woman get her hooks into them while Laura laughs.
A phone call from his mother wakes Grant the next day.
The storm is over, the sun is out, and everyone is going to the ferry landing to see off Joe and Janey.
Stephanie needs to get to the marina to open the restaurant.
Grant doesn’t want her to go yet. After she leaves for work, Grant’s agent calls with a big new offer.
They want him back in LA in a week. He asks for some time to think about it.
When Grant goes to say goodbye to Janey, he asks if it was different with Joe than with David.
No comparison, she says. “When it’s the right person, it’s earth-shattering.
” Grant is shocked to realize that’s how it is with Stephanie, and maybe he was with the wrong person for all the years he spent with Abby.
Grant has one more week before he’ll have to return to reality in LA.
He has a nice moment with Abby and gains closure there.
She reminds him that he can write anywhere.
Cal’s mom is not doing well and may not survive the stroke.
Dr. David Lawrence is staying for a few weeks to cover at the clinic while Cal is away.
Ned offers Grant a ride to the marina, tells him he knows what Stephanie is dealing with, and says she can come to him if she needs money.
Ned advises him not to let Stephanie get away.
Grant hears Stephanie arguing with someone on the phone, realizes it’s her lawyer, and tells her to fire him.
She has stomach pains after firing her new lawyer.
Grant will have someone better for her before the end of the day.
She tells him she’s on the pill, and they have sex without a condom in her room at the marina.
After she goes back to work, he leaves a message for Dan Torrington.
When he emerges from the marina, Big Mac and the other guys tease him about what he’s been doing.
Dan calls back, and Grant tells him Stephanie’s situation.
He offers to come to Gansett to help. Grant runs back to the marina restaurant, scoops up Stephanie in front of everyone, and shares the news.
She can’t believe Dan is coming there. There’s nothing Grant won’t do for her.
Owen finds Laura getting sick. He picks her up off the floor, and she tells him she was married just long enough to get pregnant.
Ned goes into Gold’s, where Francine works, and buys a truckload of condoms to mess with her.
He meets up with Luke and Sydney at the ferry landing, who are leaving for the mainland to get an MRI on Luke’s ankle.
A man asks for Francine, and Ned realizes Bobby Chester has come back to Gansett.
When he goes back to Gold’s to ask Francine why Bobby is there, she faints.
Grant wants to read Charlie’s case files.
Because Stephanie expects nothing of him, he wants to give her everything.
Linda tunes into Stephanie’s feelings for Grant, reminding her of Big Mac at the same age.
She appreciates the way Stephanie challenges Grant.
She invites them to dinner. Stephanie will never love anyone the way she loves Grant.
She’s storing memories for when it ends.
Ned takes Francine home, Bobby shows up, Francine confronts him and says she wants to marry Ned but needs a divorce. Bobby wants to see his daughters before he’ll give her a divorce. Francine is outraged. Tiffany shows up, sees Bobby, and is upset. Ned loves Francine—always has, always will.
When Grant’s uncle Frank returns his call, he tells her about Charlie’s case and Stephanie’s efforts to free her stepfather.
Frank looks up the case and sees that the assigned judge had Alzheimer’s and that there were irregularities in some of his cases.
Grant plans to meet his uncle next Friday, the day Stephanie visits Charlie at the state prison.
Grant is torn between the LA offer and staying with Stephanie. He’s in love with her.
Grant tells Stephanie that Luke needs surgery on his ankle, and that his Uncle Frank called.
They’re meeting with him on Friday. They go to dinner at Grant’s parents’ home.
Linda tells them Laura is staying to manage the Sand & Surf, and her new marriage is already over.
Linda suggests that Stephanie talk to Laura about the restaurant at the Surf.
Grant encourages Stephanie to tell his parents about Charlie.
They want to help. Cal has resigned from the clinic to stay home in Texas with his mother, and David Lawrence is taking the job.
Grant asks about how Cal’s decision affects Abby, which upsets Stephanie. He tells her he wants only her.
Laura is leaving for the mainland to take care of some things before she moves permanently to Gansett. Owen walks her to the ferry and tells her he’ll miss her while she’s gone.
Ned and Francine sleep together, and he goes with her to tell Maddie that her deadbeat father has resurfaced.
She hates dropping this news on her daughter just days after the baby was born.
He’s here on the island and wants to see Maddie before he’ll give her mother a divorce.
Mac says no way. Maddie says, “Take me to him right now so we can get this over with, and I can dance at your wedding.” Maddie confronts Bobby and says, “Now you’ve seen me.
Give my mother a divorce.” When she gets home, she collapses in tears in Mac’s arms.
When they pack to go to the mainland on Friday, Stephanie asks why he’s taking so much for one night.
He says it’s because he’s going to LA for a couple of days.
She’s upset he didn’t tell her about his big new offer.
He’s not sure what he’s going to do and didn’t want to upset her.
They talk about whether their relationship would work outside the bubble they’ve been in on the island.
After Charlie is chilly to Grant and they have dinner with Frank, Grant takes her to a nice hotel for the night.
They get Charlie to agree to let Dan represent him.
Stephanie says it feels like it’s their last night together.
Grant says it is not. “Everything is different now. When I said I’ll be back, I meant it. I’ll be back for you. I promise.”
Minutes after Stephanie drops Grant at the airport and leaves to head back to the island, he realizes he’s made a huge mistake letting her go.
He grabs a cab to the ferry landing. Stephanie is crying on the ferry when Grant takes the seat across from her.
Before he tells her what he’s doing there, he says his uncle Frank called, and a new hearing will be held in Charlie’s case on Halloween.
Grant wants to write her story—her story and Charlie’s—and she’ll be getting a call from his agent with an offer in the next couple of days.
He’s taking a chance on her and her story.
She thinks he’s making the offer, so she’ll be okay without him.
“I really buried the lead here. I love you. I’m in love with you.
” This kind of thing doesn’t happen to her, but she loves him, too.