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“I was afraid she wouldn’t want to keep me otherwise,” Violet whispered.
Ashley reached across the table and squeezed her hand. “And when your grandmother died, and Edith stepped in, you became what she wanted. Heck, I swear sometimes you even try to be what I want, even though I love all versions of you.”
“You’re not wrong,” Violet said slowly. “But Cain’s not like me. He’s practically the opposite, going out of his way to be what people don’t want him to be.”
“Are you sure?” Ashley asked softly. “Put yourself in his shoes. One day he’s just going about his life, the next his long-lost relative shows up and wants to hand him the keys to the castle. But only if he changes the way he looks, thinks, acts, dresses… If you were Cain, wouldn’t you be wondering just a little bit which version the beautifully elegant Violet Townsend really wanted?”
Violet squeezed her eyes in regret, because her friend was right. Cain had all but called her out for as much, though he’d been more crude about it.
“Oh, God,” Violet muttered. “I literally took him shopping our first day together. The things I’ve said to him… What do I do?”
“I know you’re trying to give him his space, and that’s generally a good plan. But in this case? Maybe you should let Cain know how you feel about him before the results of that vote. Let him know you love him. Just as he is.”
Twenty-Six
Violet entered the Rhodes International lobby, as she had hundreds of times in the past to see either Edith or Keith.
She tried very hard not to think about the fact that if this didn’t go the way that she hoped, it could very well be the last time she would be in this building. Once Edith retired, she’d have no reason to come to this part of town to see her. And if the board voted in Cain…
Well, that was another worry for another day.
For now, Violet focused on the mission at hand.
Since she was on the security desk’s approved list, they let her through without question, probably assuming she was expected.
Only when Violet stepped off the elevator to the executive floor did she realize she had no idea which office they’d given Cain, which meant she’d have to hunt him down. But Keith had mentioned it was a corner office, and one was Edith’s, which at least narrowed her options down to three.
After waving hello to the longtime receptionist, Violet made her way around the office, greeting familiar faces by name, asking after kids and spouses. Dan Bogan was in the northeastern corner office, and Violet was on her way to check the southeastern one when she realized her mistake.
She had to walk right past another office:
Keith’s.
Whose door was open. Who was staring directly at her in surprise.
“Violet?” he called through the open door, his confusion plain. “What are you doing here?”
Ugh. She hadn’t seen or spoken to him since he’d groveled at Jenny and Mike’s party, and she was slightly ashamed of how little she’d missed him, how seldom she even thought of him.
But since she had no way to avoid conversation without being horribly rude in front of the Rhodes employees who were pretending not to watch the interaction, Violet pasted a smile on her face and stepped inside his familiar, sterile office.
“Hi, Keith. How are you?”
“Good, good. Been busy. You’re looking great. Are you here to see Edith?”
“I—” Hmm. As she quickly debated whether a little white lie would be in order to save his feelings, she felt eyes on her and realized Keith wasn’t alone.
“Oh, I’m so sorry,” she said, turning toward the tall, dark-haired man standing off to her right. “I hadn’t realized Keith was in a meeting—”
Her mouth dropped open when the man’s brown eyes met hers. “Cain?”
His jaw ticked. “Duchess.”
She could only stare at him. He was the same, but… not.
“You—your hair… your beard…”
“Thought the interviews might go better if I wasn’t looking like, a…” He glanced at Keith. “Lumberjack, was it?”
Keith held up his hands. “Nothing personal, Cain. No hard feelings.”
“Of course not,” Cain said, equally affable, almost charming.
Violet frowned.
When had he learned that tone. It sounded nothing like the man she knew.
And then the truth hit her, uncomfortable and sharp: her. He’d learned it from her. That placid, modulated, reveal-nothing voice was hers.
Guilt and regret made her stomach churn. Where was the refreshing bluntness? The unabashed honesty? Had the Cain she’d fallen for disappeared along with his beard?
Unable to sort out her thoughts, she could only stare at Cain, struggling to reconcile this clean-cut man with her man.
“Violet,” Keith said with a little laugh. “You’re gawking at the man like he’s an animal in the zoo.”
“Isn’t that what this has been all along?” Cain asked, spreading his arms wide. “Getting me ready for display, making sure I’m worth the price of admission?”
