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Rory paled. “Youcreatedthe position just for me?”
His parents didn’t respond. Grant got to his feet and paced to the other side of the room, his hands flexing. “Mom, none of this excuses what you did.”
“I didn’t do it to be excused.” Joanna flung her hand toward Rory. “I did it to help get Rory out of a terrible situation and into a safe one. Do you think for one second that she would be exposed to that kind of treatmentanywhereat Intellix?”
“No, of course not.” Grant pulled a heavy breath into his lungs. “But if Rory had wanted your help or my help, she’d have asked for it. She’s been in this business for over ten years on her own, and she doesn’t need you interfering. No one does.”
“One would think thatyouwould be appreciative as well.” Edward pierced Grant with a glare. “You couldn’t do anything about Rory’s situation, could you? If you’d been working for me and knew what the hell was—”
“Dad, don’t you get it?” Grant spun to confront his father. “If I’d been working for you, I’d never have met Rory. I wouldn’t have the life I want. I wouldn’t have the woman I love. Did it fucking kill me that I couldn’t do anything to help her? Yeah, but you know what? She’s smart. Hell, she’s brilliant. She’s strong. Even if you hadn’t made the offer, she’d have figured out whatshewas going to do. And I guarantee it wouldn’t have involved her coming to you.”
“Well, then, it’s a good thing I stepped in, isn’t it?” Joanna lifted her chin in defiance. “Your father is giving Rory an excellent opportunity, and while I acknowledge I could have handled the situation differently, I won’t apologize for taking action.”
“It wasn’t your situation to handle,” Grant snapped.
“You’ve never wanted our help.” Edward set his glass on a table with a hard thunk. “That was one of the reasons you moved away, isn’t it? Now, you can’t stand that your mother and I can rectify a problem where you have no power whatsoever.”
“Excuse me.” Rory stood, her hands fisting at her sides. “My issues at Digicore have nothing to do with your relationship with your son. I meant it when I said I appreciate the offer and your efforts to help, but I have to say no.”
“No?” Joanna looked as if she’d never heard that word before. “No to what?”
“To working at Intellix.” Rory turned to Edward. “I’m not diminishing the extent of what you’re doing to try and help me, but I can’t justify working for Intellix under these circumstances. I can’t pretend that I earned the position legitimately when I didn’t. And not for anything will I cause more trouble between you and Grant.”
Her eyes glittered. “Grant is thebestman I know. The best man all of Bliss Cove knows. Even if he doesn’t want people to recognize it, he’s smart, talented, loyal to a fault, andsoincredibly kind. He knows how to treat people the way they deserve to be treated. He would do anything for anyone. He doesn’t even realize how much power he has.”
Grant’s heart hammered so hard he could hear it in his head. His mother opened and closed her mouth.
Edward cleared his throat. “I will admit, Rory, that Grant is right in saying he wouldn’t have met you if he hadn’t made the choices he did. And it has become abundantly clear that he couldn’t have made a better choice than you.”
A tight part of Grant unlocked, like a door opening a crack to let in fresh air and light. Rory wiped her eyes with the back of her hand.
“Thank you,” she told his father. “I chose him, too.”
She picked up her handbag and looked at Joanna. “I know you did what you thought was right, but I really wish you’d talked to me about it first.”
Joanna pressed her lips together, her eyes shiny. “I’m sorry, Rory.”
Rory hesitated for a second before she turned and hurried out the door. Grant started after her.
“Grant, I was just trying to help.” A plea colored his mother’s voice.
“I know, Mom.” He dragged his hands over his face. “But you can’t keep doing this. When you go too far, you push people away. Now you might end up losing Rory. If you lose her…you’ll lose me, too.”
He left the room and went outside, where Rory was halfway down the porch steps. He caught up with her at the bottom of the steps and reached for her hand. She stopped to face him, but pulled away from his touch.
Unease cut through him. The spotlights cast an eerie glow on her face. She zipped up her coat. Her hand trembled slightly.
“I love you.” His voice came out rough. “Don’t turn the job down because of me.”
“He offered me the job because of you.” She twisted the strap of her handbag around her fingers. “But that’s not the only reason I’m turning it down. I didn’t earn the job legitimately, and I meant it when I said I won’t pretend anymore.”
“You wouldn’t be. You’ve already proven yourself a thousand times over.”
“And you? You’d be okay with me working for your father?”
The wordyespushed up into his throat and stopped. He would be okay with it because he knew she would be respected at Intellix. But—
“I once told you that you can do anything.” He reached out to tuck a lock of hair behind her ear. “That you canbeanything. I’ll always believe that. I want you to believe it, too.”
