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“Don’t.”
She’d offered him this. She’d opened her heart and presented him with a ready-made family who loved him and he’d made it clear he had no intention of moving their romantic relationship forward. He wanted everything the way he wanted it and she wasn’t okay with that.
“Harley...”
Panic enveloped her at his melancholy tone. She shook her head to stop him, afraid he might say something that would sway her treacherous heart. She had to hold herself apart from him and maintain a clear head if she intended to navigate what could become a tricky custody situation.
“We’re fine. I’m fine. Everything’s fine.”
Desperate to flee, she started to go past him, but he caught her arm, long fingers encircling her bare skin. Longing shot from the point of contact to her aching heart. She was poised halfway between throwing her arms around his neck and yanking free of his grip when he spoke again.
“I missed this.” His husky murmur battered at the wall she’d raised to hold back her misery. “I miss us.”
So do I.
“I think it’s pretty obvious that Daniel does, too,” she said and nearly swooned with gratitude as his hand fell away.
She hardened her heart against his dazed expression. He looked nearly as shell-shocked as when she declared her intention to return to Thailand. She kept telling herself that there had to be some way to make all of them happy. But at the moment, she couldn’t figure out how. Either she stayed in Texas and gave up her dream of expanding Zest’s good works to other countries. Or she gave up partial custody of her son. She no longer feared that Grant would demand full custody, but even half of Daniel was too much of a sacrifice. It wasn’t fair.
After Grant escorted Daniel out the front door, Harley and Piper cleaned up the dishes and put the kitchen back to its former pristine condition. As the dishwasher began to hum, Piper turned to her niece with bright eyes.
“You two are—”
“Oh, please don’t tell me we’re acting like idiots.”
Piper snorted. “Well, that, too, but what I was going to say is that you two are crazy in love with each other.”
Harley put her hand on her chest as her heart gave a sickening lurch. Anguish stopped her breath for a beat. “I’m in love with Grant, but the feeling is not mutual.”
“Don’t be so sure. That man’s in pain.”
“Because he’s afraid I’m going to take Daniel back to Thailand before he can sue me for partial custody.” The tightness in her throat eased. “I’ve decided I won’t.”
“Won’t go back to Thailand or not before you give Grant partial custody?”
“I love them both too much to separate them. Although it’s not going to be easy to keep Zest going from halfway around the world, I’ve decided to stay in Texas. But not in Royal. I don’t think I could face running into him all the time. And I want to avoid as much Wingate family drama as possible. Maybe Dallas.”
“I know how much your nonprofit means to you,” Piper said. “That’s quite a sacrifice you’re making.”
“It’s only fair since I was responsible for Grant missing out on the first four years of Daniel’s life.”
Piper studied her niece for several seconds before enveloping her in a warm hug. “You have developed into an outstanding woman. I’m so proud of you.”
Harley put her arms around Piper and hugged back. “You have no idea how much that means to me. I’ve been so miserable without you.”
“We both let our stubbornness get in the way.” Piper pushed Harley to arm’s length and gave her a little shake. “Use that same bullheaded determination when it comes to Grant. That man loves you, but he’ll never admit it if you give up on him.”
Harley sagged in defeat. “I’ve said and done all I can. Grant is going to have to figure out what he wants on his own.”
Twelve
When Piper called and invited Grant to her gallery for an opening, he almost begged off, but decided a weekend in Dallas to clear his head might be just what he needed. Even though he wasn’t scheduled to see Daniel until Monday, he shot Harley a text to let her know he’d be out of town for the next few days. She responded with a neutral, Have a fun weekend, and he left Royal early Saturday morning, feeling like his entire world was falling apart.
With nearly the whole day to kill before the opening, he met a friend from medical school for lunch. He hadn’t seen Josh since the birth of his third child and found he had a whole new appreciation for the pride with which his friend showed off pictures of his beautiful family. Grant whipped out his own smartphone and flashed all the photos he’d taken of Daniel and Harley. His heart ached at how happy they all looked.
“I can’t believe you have a son,” Josh said, eyeing a particularly charming picture of Harley and Daniel nose to nose, grinning at each other. “Where has he been all this time?”
“Thailand.” Grant noticed the acute pang in his chest at the thought of his son being halfway around the world. “He was born there.”
