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He shook his head, his mouth tightening. “I hate that she’s upset by all this, but unfortunately, she was part of the problem. She wanted me to work for Intellix, of course, and she still wants me back in the fold, married to the right girl, attending all her parties and events. Another good son she can show off.”
“Sounds like a lot of pressure.”
“Yeah.” He cracked open a bottle of Jack Daniel’s from the minibar and sloshed the liquor into two glasses. He handed her one, his fingers brushing hers. “It’s one of the reasons I ended up striking out on my own. I’ve been working in kitchens since college, but about eight years ago, I found a job at a restaurant in San Francisco. So I was living close to my parents again, and I figured I’d make my mother happy by going to parties and whatnot. Couldn’t hurt. At a museum benefit dinner, I met Vivian. We dated for a while and eventually I asked her to marry me.”
Rory lifted her eyebrow. “You were engaged?”
He downed a swallow of his drink. “Until I found out that my mother had set us up. She’d known Vivian and her family well and she wanted us to get married. A family connection thing, like joining dynasties. Vivian knew exactly what was going on. I was the idiot who thought we were in love.”
Though his tone was self-deprecating, it contained a hint of embarrassment. Indignation filled her.
“She was using you,” she said flatly.
“Wasn’t the first time.” Grant shrugged. “I’d been dealing with that my whole life. Nathan too, though he handled it better. The thing was…when I came back to work at the Golden Fork and tried to make amends with my parents, I thought I’d figured it out. I was cooking at this great restaurant, my mother was happy because I was socializing the way she wanted me to, I got to hang out with Nathan a lot, and for a while my father didn’t even mention me working for Intellix. Seemed like I’d found a way to fix everything that was wrong.”
A band constricted around Rory’s heart. She swirled the liquor in her glass. “But you didn’t.”
“No.” He pulled at his tie, his mouth compressing. “Vivian, her mother, and my mother had set up our meeting, and she was a great actress. Every time I sensed something was off, I talked myself out of my suspicions. I wanted it to work. I also wanted to be married for love, family, building a life together…all that sappy stuff.”
“When did you realize Vivian didn’t want the same thing?”
“When I found her texts to another man.” He swallowed the last of the whiskey and set the glass back on the table. “She made it abundantly clear why she had to be with me and not him, even though he was the one she loved. Needless to say, that was the end of our engagement. My mother tried to talk me out of the break-up, too. She still wanted her plan to work. She’s a master at interfering in other people’s lives, consequences be damned.”
The tightness around her heart intensified. Rory didn’t want to embarrass him or make him think she was pitying him by sayingI’m sorry.
Truth be told, she was sorry he’d been hurt, but she wasn’t sorry that he’d escaped Vivian before they’d actually gotten married. She wasn’t sorry that he’d fought back against his mother’s manipulations.
She rose, rubbing a slight ache in her lower back. “Vivian is going to be at the wedding, isn’t she?”
“Yeah.” He yanked his tie off, the silk rustling against his tailored shirt. “I don’t care about her anymore, obviously, but I’m not setting myself up for a repeat of the whole disaster either. My mother won’t be over the break-up until I’m married and settled down. Having you here will get her off my case so she can focus on what’s really important, which is Nathan’s wedding.”
“Well, I’m glad I can help.”
“You’re doing more than helping.” He indicated the minibar. “Do you want another drink?”
“No, I should get some sleep.” Rory bent to pick up her shoes. “I need to rest up for a morning of facials and mud baths.”
“I meant what I said.” He walked her to the door adjoining their rooms. “You’re a lifesaver.”
She lifted an eyebrow. “What flavor?”
“Pork rinds.”
She laughed. Grant’s eyes crinkled in responding amusement. He lifted a hand as if he were going to touch her—and her entire body went electric with anticipation—but then he dropped his hand back to his side.
“Get a good night’s sleep,” he said.
“You too.” Her voice came out breathless.
She walked to her room and closed the door behind her. She didn’t know whether to be pleased or worried about the fact that she and Grant appeared to have more in common than she’d ever realized before.
