“Mom.”
She quieted, and I squeezed her hand.
“It’s not healthy. Not for any of us.”
My mom’s eyes began filling with tears.
That sight had always cowed me in the past. Her grief was the thing that had me staying in a situation that had become beyond destructive. But I couldn’t do it anymore.
“I’ve tried so hard to fix things,” I said. “Put up with Dad’s cruelty because I knew we were all dealing with the pain of losing Clara in our own ways. I didn’t want to hurt you by walking away from a company your family built. Didn’t want to betray Clara by leaving her most beloved place in the hands of people who didn’t truly care about it.”
Mom’s breath hitched as tears tracked down her cheeks. “You could never betray your sister. She loved you more than anyone else in the world.”
“I see that now. Clara would want us all to be happy. And we’re the furthest thing from it. This is toxic, and it’s slowly killing all of us. I can’t sit by and watch it happen anymore.”
My mom’s tears came harder. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t realize it had gotten so bad.” She shook her head. “No. I didn’twantto see, so I looked the other way.”
I squeezed her hand again. “I love you. I’ll always be here for you. But I can’t have Gabe and Dad in my life anymore. Maybe one day, with some distance and perspective, and if things truly change.”
“But they’re your family,” she said between hiccupped cries.
“Maybe by blood. But Grae has shown me what family and love are truly supposed to be. And it’s not this.”
My mom stared at me for a moment, taking in my words, my expression, and reading my truth. She pulled me into a hard hug. “You deserve to be happy. You’ve always had the best heart I’ve ever known.”
“Thank you.” My voice cracked as relief spread through me.
Mom released me. “You love her.”
“It scares the hell out of me, but I do.”
She smiled. “If it scares you, it just means it’s important.”
Something about that shifted the way I thought about my fear. “I like thinking about it that way.”
My mom pushed to her feet. “Hold on.”
She crossed to her antique rolltop desk. As a kid, I’d played on the floor while she wrote countless letters at that desk. She fished a key out of the top drawer, unlocked the bottom one, then dug around for something.
A few seconds later, my mom walked back toward me. She placed a small, navy velvet box in front of me. “This was my grandmother’s. She and my grandfather had the kind of love story that could fill the pages of one of these books. Maybe it would be a good start to your and Grae’s love story.”
I slowly picked up the box and opened it. The ring gleamed in the afternoon sunlight. It was a large oval diamond surrounded by an intricate antique setting.
I waited for the panic to hit, but it didn’t come. And it was then that I realized a part of me had always known I’d marry Grae Hartley someday. But I was ready for that day to be now.
38
GRAE
Wren letout a low whistle as Jalen opened the door to a massive suite. “Grae, I think you dating a guy who owns a fancy-ass resort might have its perks.”
Maddie grinned as she hurried inside. “I was Team Caden the moment he got us a spa day.”
“Good to know you’re both easily bought,” I said, following them into the suite.
Jalen chuckled as he motioned my police detail inside. “A late lunch will be delivered any moment now, along with some champagne.”
I took in the space around us and stilled. There were flowers everywhere. Countless bouquets of…wildflowers. I swallowed hard. “Did Caden do this?” I whispered.
