I wasn’t supposed to visit my father until next week, but after what happened earlier, I had to see him. For strength, for support, for answers.
I’ve just arrived at the home where I spent my happiest years. It still holds that scent of love and warmth, and Mom’s cinnamon spice she’d use for baking in the fall.
The scent means home and memories of what used to be.
I’ve retreated to the living room, where I’m slumped against the armchair with a fluffy cushion in my arms. Dad is in the kitchen making me chamomile tea. He took one look at me when I walked in, saw the lost look in my eyes and probably my soul, then headed off to make me tea.
Mom used to say chamomile could relax the mind and comfort your soul, putting you in a better position to think.
Right now, I would take any of those.
From the disheveled look of the photo albums and documents scattered on the coffee table before me, I can see I’ve interrupted whatever plans my father had for them. I just hope he hasn’t sunken into that despair again, where he’d spend hours looking through the photo albums of him and Mom. That’s all he did in the weeks that followed her death.
Today is his half day at work. These days used to be reserved for date nights. It never changed even after Mom died.
Dad walks in carrying a tray. On it is the cup of chamomile tea and a plate with all my favorite pastries and what I know is sliced pumpkin pie. That explains the cinnamon smell.
He makes a space on the coffee table and sets the tray down.
“You baked?” I look from him to the pie.
The corners of his eyes crinkle with a touch of pride when he smiles. “I did my best. I was going to drop it off at Knight’s house later, but as you’re here, you can have a slice now and take the rest home.”
I want to tell him that this is home and nowhere else has felt like it since I left and started adulting, but I hold back the words.
“Thank you.”
He pulls in a slow breath and sits in the chair opposite me.
I glance at the albums on the table, then back at him. “What were you doing, Dad?”
“Don’t worry, it’s not like before.” He nods, giving me added assurance. “But as I took the whole day off and it is still date day, I thought I’d sort out some pictures and other things. Things to do with Conrad and Nathan.”
My heart shies away. Dad never takes unplanned days off. Never. “What things?”
“It’s not anything for you to worry about.” The way he says that makes me believe otherwise.
I think of the feeling I got when the truth was unearthed. That there was more to what had happened with his debts than he explained, and he’s keeping the full truth from me.
“I heard Nathan has been released?” I ask the question hoping he’ll be open with me.
“Yes. He came by to see me. He’s hoping I’ll take him under my wings. And he still wants to marry you.”
Asshole.
“Clearly, that’s not going to happen now. What did you tell him?”
“I explained the situation with Knight. Of course, Nathan wasn’t too happy about that, but he still wants to work with me. I know he needs a job, but I’m no fool. I’m aware he has hopes of maintaining connections with you, so after we’re done with Knight, you might consider him.” He nods when I frown. “You are my heir. I don’t have as much as his father had, but I have something, which means it’s not just Sunset Cove you own. With my debts cleared, you will still get the assets I have lined up for you when you turn twenty-five. And of course, you will inherit everything I own. Nathan knows that.”
Great. Just great. Is there any point wondering if I’ll ever be with a guy who will just want me because they actually want me?
“I’m not interested in that.”
“Well, don’t be surprised if you see him at some point. He was an asshole, but he had some feelings for you. The worst thing for a man, no matter the situation, is to lose a woman to another. Particularly if he wants something from her.”
“It’s best he stays away from me.” That is one problem I really don’t need.
“I think so, too, but he looked such a wreck I didn’t have the heart to warn him away. Given the circumstances with his father, he’s laying low at the moment and heading to Europe. So, you might not have to worry about seeing him for a while.”
That’s some relief, but I still have to prepare myself for whenever it happens.
“Are you going to work with him? I don’t think you should. The connotations with his name alone could ruin your business.”
“I know, but… he’s innocent, Aurora. I can’t shoot a man down when he’s innocent. Losing everything has given him a rude awakening. As I’ve known him all his life, it’s natural for him to turn to me. I’m probably the only person in the industry who can help him. That said, I’ve told him I’ll think about it. He’s not my worry right now. You are.”
Those words soften the angst in my heart, as does the tremble in his hands.
He looks away from me and stares out the window at the rose garden Mom created. His eyes become glassy, and he looks weak.
“Dad, don’t worry about me. I will be okay.”
He looks back at me and smiles without humor. “I’m happy to see you. I wasn’t sure how we’d be after everything that’s happened.”
I shake my head, realizing he thought I’d be angry at him again. I was, but the moment he told me why we were in this mess, I couldn’t be. I would have done the same thing he did to save Mom. He knows, even though she’s not with us anymore, that he tried everything.
“I love you.” I sound like a child again saying those words for the first time.
Dad rubs a hand over his face, and that aged look he’s been sporting for the last few years intensifies. “I love you too, but I have failed you.”
“Dad—”
“No.” He holds up a hand to stop me from continuing, then folds it into a fist and places it at his heart with a thump. “Don’t try to make this into something it’s not. Everything that has happened is my fault. I would try to save your mother again in a heartbeat, so I won’t apologize for that, but I failed you the moment I made the marriage arrangements with Conrad and Nathan.”
“I understand why you did it. Arranged marriages are common in our circles.”
“Maybe so, but I wanted you to have the real thing. With the amount of debt I was in, my back was against the wall, and I stopped thinking. After losing your mother, I didn’t want us to lose everything else. I told myself you’d be okay because we knew Nathan. I also hoped his fondness for you would turn to love. None of that mattered, though, because everything went to hell when Knight came on the scene.”
“Yeah, they did.” There’s no way I can refute that.
“I assume he did something to upset you.”
I nod slowly and take small sips of the tea.
Knight hasn’t just done one something to send me here. It’s everything.
“What did he do, sweet girl? He hasn’t hurt you, has he?” Dad straightens, fire flashing in his eyes, as if suddenly realizing that could be a possibility.
“He hasn’t hurt me. Not like that. But I just found out he’s going to be renovating Sunset Cove without me, so I have to forget Mom’s plans.”
Dad’s expression dissolves, melting from his face like ice in the heat. “What?” He sounds as empty as I feel. “I didn’t know that was going to happen.”
“Well… that answers my main question.”
“Sweetheart, I would have told you if I’d known. Especially knowing your plans to fulfill your mother’s wishes.”
“Is there really nothing we can do? How can he overrule me and start these renovations if we aren’t even married yet?”
Dad’s shoulder’s drop. “The terms and conditions of the contract allow him to do so. He holds the ruling shares, so it’s like he already has ownership, but after six months of marriage, he’ll get the official document listing him on the title deeds. It’s not a common practice, but people like him can find a way. They find loopholes, no matter how small, they can slither into.”
Jesus. This just shows me how dangerous Knight Grayson is.
“There’s nothing either of us can do.”
My heart hurts even more to hear that. I set the cup back down on the tray and hang my head. Dad moves closer and slips and arm around me.
“Aurora. I know what Sunset Cove means to you. You wanted to keep the place alive because of your mother. I think it’s admirable you wanted to fulfill her wishes, but don’t be like me. This isn’t a fight I want you to get sucked into because it’s not your path.”
I understand what he’s saying, but I can’t accept it. “It’s all I own from her. She loved that place so much.”
“I know, but you are a writer. You were born to write. That is your path. In the grand scheme of things, you might not even know Knight Grayson in seven months’ time, but writing is who you are and who you will be forever. That is what you should be focusing on.”
How do I explain that it’s not as easy as he thinks with that evil bitch, Rachel, trying to ruin me? How do I tell him that being Cordelia Harris, and writing about forbidden men and fantasies is probably the closest I’ll get to fulfilling my writing dreams?
I’m older now, and things have changed, so he might not be so prudish. He would most likely want me to live some element of my dream, but it’s not where my heart lies. I know other romance authors who make millions writing novels. If I tried hard enough, I might be able to do that, too. But my heart is still set on working for a lifestyle magazine. I would never drop writing novels, but I wouldn’t feel complete if this were it.
The truth is, I don’t know what’s going to happen to me. Time is passing with every year and my chances are fading.
Dad takes my hand and gives it a gentle squeeze. “Promise me you will, sweet girl. Promise me.”
“I promise I will.”
“Good. That means a lot to me.” He places my hand to his lips and kisses my knuckles. “Your promise gives me hope that you will have the life you’ve always wanted.”
My promise isn’t empty, even though my chances are slim. I will never stop trying to get to where I want to go in the writing world.
But… I also feel the same way about Sunset Cove. It is the only other thing in this world that means anything to me.
Earlier, when Madison said the place was for me too, I felt that connection.
The same connection Mom must have felt the day she started working there.
The two of us came from nothing. I still remember those days when the future looked so uncertain, I couldn’t see one.
Dad gave us a good life, but Sunset Cove was something Mom achieved on her own. She always wanted to own a hotel. She was so happy when she got the job there, her goal was to save and buy something just like it. But she loved the place so much, I don’t think she would ever have parted with it. Dad offered to get her something many times, but her heart was always with Sunset Cove.
When the owner saw how much Mom loved it, she gave it to her.
Mom gave it to me because she knew I would cherish it the same way she did.
That’s why I can’t let it go.
I can’t allow Knight Grayson to overrule me because he’s an asshole who thinks he owns the world and people inside it.
He might own ninety percent of Sunset Cove, but I still own ten. It means I still have a chance, and I have to fight for this one thing.
But with men like him, you can’t fight with your fists or with your words.
You have to beat them at their own game by playing the game.
When I was in Knight’s office, I saw a copy of Sun Tzu’s The Art of War.
I’ve read that book too, Knight.
It has many phenomenal quotes, but my favorite is this:
“In the midst of chaos, there is also opportunity.”
I just have to look for an opening and take it.
Beauty tamed the Beast, and Persephone, Hades.
So, I can do this.
