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And then I’d worked even harder to prove myself at both of the internships it had provided.

“You’re mad I won,” I said, trying to determine whether I felt guilty or not. “You didn’t think I deserved it.”

Vaughn turned to meet my eyes. “When I heard Daniel Hawthorne was the senior partner of Hawthorne and Howe, who just happens to represent Southern Consolidated Development Group, the largest commercial land developer in North Georgia, whose projects happen to depend heavily on federal transportation and zoning approvals? The kind of shit that benefits from having a friend on the Senate Transportation Committee? Yeah, I maybe thought that had something to do with you being picked.”

I didn’t bother correcting him that it was the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation. And yes, my father was on it. He was famous for having secured a giant government contract for improvements to Atlanta’s airport infrastructure.

I pulled up my legs and ducked my face into my knees. His accusation of nepotism wasn’t a surprise. I’d known at the time what some people would think when I won a fellowship endowed by a friend of my father’s.

But… I’d worked my ass off for the academic success I had. I’d thought I’d earned it fair and square. What if he was right?

“Sorry.” My voice was muffled by my legs.

“Hey, look at me.”

I turned my head to face him, resting the side of my face on my knees. There was a little divot between his eyebrows, so I focused on it to keep from seeing the disappointment—or worse, disgust—in his eyes.

“Grace said you wrote a killer essay,” he admitted.

My eyes flashed to his. “What?”

“I had coffee with my sister this morning.” His eyes held mine. “She asked if you were okay. I guess you worried her the other day or some shit.”

“Oh.” I blinked. That was really nice of her. “Did you tell her I’m okay?”

“No.” Vaughn snorted. “I made a comment about how the guy who stole her fellowship didn’t deserve her sympathy. She, ah…” He rubbed the back of his neck. “She yelled at me and called me an asshole.”

A bubble of anxious laughter escaped. “Grace? The sweetest person at Demere?”

“You don’t know my sister,” he said, all gruff pride. “Sweet, yeah, but she has a spine of fucking steel.” He took a deep breath. “She couldn’t believe I’d been holding a grudge against you for years.” His eyes met mine. “And then she told me she’d read your fellowship essay.”

“She did?” I knew they’d published it the summer after the prize was awarded, but I hadn’t imagined anyone would go looking for it.

“She did,” he confirmed. “She said as soon as she read it, she realized you deserved the fellowship and that she needed to up her game if she wanted to compete. She actually said…” He winced. “She said you inspired her. Because you work hard and have kick-ass grades.”

I was surprised to hear this, but Vaughn… Vaughn looked guilty. Like he’d been called out on something he’d done wrong, and he was actually feeling terrible about it. Wrong. It was clear that admitting it wasn’t easy for him. The fact that he was still willing to meant something.

“She said you were the right choice,” he finished. “And that I was an asshole for being angry.”

“I don’t know if that’s true,” I mused.

“About which part?”

“The fellowship.” I grinned. “You’re definitely an asshole.”

He rolled his eyes, and I quickly sobered.

“I guess maybe I see it more clearly now after two years’ experience. I didn’t need the scholarship, only the internship opportunities. But I worried…”

Vaughn was patient while I gathered my words and continued.

“I worried that if something happened to me and I couldn’t play football anymore, I’d lose my scholarship. And then I’d be at the mercy of my dad’s fickle ego.” I paused. “My dad is a manipulative asshole. He uses money to control me. All the fucking time. I guess I thought… if I had the Hawthorne, he wouldn’t be able to take my time here away from me, no matter what happened.”

It was embarrassing as fuck to admit just how far under my father’s thumb I was.

But Vaughn surprised me by nodding and saying, “Yeah, I know that feeling.”

“You do?”