by Cat Schield
“The thing is,” she whispered, barely able to speak past the raw tightness in her throat. “There’s also this issue with my grandfather being a thief and a liar. He’s a terrible person and because we’re related everyone will think I’m a terrible person, too. Even though I’ve never met him.”
Lia paused to gulp in air, unable to believe she’d blurted out the truth about her grandfather on top of all the other revelations.
“And since I’m confessing everything... I’m in love with Paul and he doesn’t love me, so it’s too painful for me to stay.” Lia pushed to her feet and dropped a fleeting kiss on Grady’s cheek. “I want you to know that being a part of your family was the best thing that ever happened to me.”
Eleven
Paul barely slept and was on his third cup of coffee when his phone chimed, letting him know he’d received a text. His stomach muscles clenched in reaction. Had Lia finally replied to his messages from the previous night? Her lack of response from the first one had prompted him to send another apology late in the night, asking if they could talk. That she hadn’t acknowledged that one either was eating him alive.
A hundred times since last night he’d pledged if she gave him another chance, he would never doubt her again. But as the hours ticked by, he grew less confident that she would give him a hearing.
Glancing at the screen, he discovered the text was from Dallas and not Lia. With the bleak landscape of his future stretched before him, he cued up his messaging app and read his cousin’s text.
I did something terrible and now Lia’s gone.
Before he could reach out to Dallas about her ominous message, a call from Ethan lit up his smartphone.
“I just talked to Lia,” Ethan said, sounding grim.
“She called you?” The words tasted like sawdust. Could he blame her for choosing the brother who’d had her back the night before? “Is she okay? I just got a text from Dallas saying that Lia is gone. Did she say where?”
The night before, he and Ethan had discussed how to handle the revelation that Lia wasn’t Ava’s daughter and decided to stick to their original story about the testing service getting things wrong instead of telling Grady the truth. She’d been a reluctant coconspirator and shouldn’t have to face Grady’s anger.
“She’s at her camper,” Ethan said.
“What’s she doing there?”
“I don’t think she felt comfortable staying at the estate any longer,” Ethan said. “She told Grady the whole story last night.”
Paul cursed, remembering how she’d pushed for the truth to come out. “How did he take it? Is he okay?”
“She said he was shocked, but okay when she left. I’m heading over there now.”
“Why did she do that?” Paul mused. “We had it handled.”
“Maybe because she has more integrity than both of us put together.”
Ethan’s ironic tone recalled all the accusations Paul had lobbed at her. He knew his brother was right. While they’d all lied, Lia had been the only one who’d done so without selfish motives. She’d declared time and again that she only wanted to help. And that’s what she’d done.
Whereas he’d been inspired to sacrifice his own integrity by the desperate need to keep his grandfather alive and the return of Grady’s approval. When had guilt stopped eating at him? Somewhere around the first time he’d kissed Lia. After that, he’d been less conflicted about lying to his grandfather and more disturbed by how she affected him.
“Here’s the other thing,” Ethan continued. “The reason she’s at her camper is because she’s preparing to leave Charleston.”
“Leave?” Paul’s chest tightened, robbing him of breath. “When?”
Ethan’s tone was hoarse with sympathy as he answered. “She might already be gone.”
Blind panic rose at the thought, and after arranging to meet Ethan at the estate in an hour, Paul hung up on his brother. With clumsy fingers he immediately dialed Lia’s number, praying that this time she’d answer.
“Ethan says you’re leaving,” he declared the instant she engaged the call.
“Yes.” She sounded shaken, but determined. “I have to.”
“No, you don’t.”
“Grady knows I’m not Ava’s daughter.”
“I’ll make him understand that none of this was your fault.”
“But it was my fault. I never should’ve pretended to be something I’m not.” The catch in her voice tore at Paul’s heart. “It’ll be better once I’m gone. Your family can put it behind you,” she finished.
“Don’t worry about my family,” he said, feeling ragged and unsteady. “Ethan and I will sort everything out. Please don’t go. I know Grady won’t want you to leave town. He loves you.”
Even as he spoke the words, Paul winced. Why hadn’t he told her how miserable he would be if she left? Using Grady as an excuse was cowardly.
“Not me. He loves his granddaughter.” Her bleak tones told him any attempt to convince her was wasted breath. “I’m really sorry if I created trouble for you and Ethan by telling Grady the truth,” Lia said, a somber warble in her voice.
“Don’t worry about Ethan and me. We can take a punch.” He stripped all humor out of his voice before saying, “I’m heading to the estate now. Afterward I think you and I need to talk.”
“There’s nothing more to say.”
Oh, there was plenty to say. It just depended on whether he had the guts to declare how he felt about her. “Please don’t leave Charleston.”
“I have to go,” she declared, her urgent need to run coming through loud and clear. “Don’t you understand?”
Paul shook his head. He did, but that didn’t mean he’d stop trying to persuade her to stay. “Promise me you won’t leave town without seeing me first.”
“I’ll only promise I won’t leave today.”
That didn’t leave him much time. “I’ll come by after I see Grady. Where can I find you?”
“I’ll be at my camper.”
Disconnecting the call with things so unresolved between them was one of the hardest things Paul had ever done, but he trusted her when she promised to stick around until he could get there.
When he arrived at the estate, Paul met his brother near the pool and together they found their grandfather in the library on the first floor. The room was at the back of the house with dual access to the outside terraces. White bookshelves, trim and wainscoting offset the red walls, giving the room a lived-in, cozy feel. Little had changed since his grandmother’s death nearly fifty years earlier except for the addition of children’s books and thrillers beside the classic novels Delilah Watts had loved.
As soon as they entered the room, Grady spoke. “You lied to me.”
“It was all my idea,” Ethan explained. “Don’t be mad at Paul or Lia. We just wanted you to get better, and from the moment you believed that Lia was your granddaughter, you did.”
“It wasn’t just Ethan,” Paul chimed in, refusing to let his brother shoulder the full blame. “I went along with the ruse, as well. We really did believe it was for your own good.”
Grady scowled. “I changed my will.”
“We didn’t expect that,” Ethan admitted, speaking before Paul could. “Our plan had been to tell you this week that the testing service had made a mistake.”
“But then you put Lia in your will and everything blew up,” Paul added.
“And just so you know, none of this was her idea,” Ethan said. “I tricked her that day at the hospital.”
“She only went along with it because she wanted to help you.” Awash in misery, Paul willed his grandfather to believe that Lia was genuine. “That’s all she’s ever done.”
“I know,” Grady said, his words coming with slow, deliberate care. “I don’t blame her.”
“Does she know tha
t?” Paul asked. “Because she’s leaving town. Running away from Charleston. From us.” From me.
“I told her.” Grady shook his head. “She’s afraid.”
“Of what?”
“Of you.”
Paul recoiled from Grady’s censure. “I’d never do anything to hurt her.”
“Last night—” Ethan began.
“I screwed up.” Paul interrupted, glaring at his brother. “And then I made it worse because I got mad when you jumped to her rescue.” His irritation faded as he realized how stupid his defense sounded. “I’m an idiot for not believing in her. And she’s leaving town because of it.” Paul dropped into a chair and let his head fall into his hands. “How do I convince her to stay?”
“Have you told her you’re in love with her?” Ethan asked in exasperated tones. “From what I’ve heard women really go for that.”
“I’m not...” he began instinctively, shocked at his brother’s revelation. Paul glanced from him to Grady and saw curiosity rather than surprise on his grandfather’s lean face.
“Not what?” Ethan demanded. “Not in love? Not sure she’d trust you with her heart? I don’t know that I’d blame her.”
Paul struggled to wrap his head around what truth lay in his heart. Is this what love felt like? An obsessive hunger to be around her all the time? To revel in blazing joy and suffer terrifying despair in the space of minutes?
And while Lia’s generous spirit and upbeat sincerity had gotten beneath his skin, Paul didn’t know how to surrender to a relationship that challenged his black-and-white views. Lia’s belief in all things metaphysical, her flighty, impulsive need to live a nomadic existence, her lack of substantial ties to people and place ran contrary to what was important to him.
“You’re right,” Paul said, aching at the thought that she intended to leave him. What could he say or do to convince her to give up her nomadic ways and stay in one place? With him. “I love her, but I messed up big time. She won’t stay for me.”
Grady shook his head. “She loves you.”
For a second Paul couldn’t breathe. He shifted his gaze from his grandfather’s fond smile to Ethan’s exasperated expression. Hope rose.
“Are you sure?” The level of desperation in his voice shook him.
“She’s been falling in love with you from the first,” his brother said. “I have no idea why. You’ve been a complete jerk.”
“The whole time,” Paul agreed, unable to imagine how she’d managed to see something of value in him.
When he wasn’t pummeling her with distrust, he’d been battling the unsettling emotions that turned him inside out. He wasn’t the least bit lovable. And then he realized the familiar path down which his thoughts had taken him. Damn it. He was still questioning her judgment. Maybe the time had come for him to accept that he had much to learn from her.
“How do I fix this?” he asked the room at large.
“You could start by telling her that you can’t live without her,” his brother said. “And that you have her back. Then remind her that we all love her and everyone believes she only had Grady’s best interests at heart.”
“What if I can’t convince her?”
Ethan ejected a curse. “When did you become the guy who gives up? Is that what you do when your clients have a data breech?”
“No.”
“So why with something that is so much more important than all the hackers you chase put together are you just quitting?”
The question, combined with Grady’s disgusted expression, caused Paul’s gut to twist in shame. He hated that Ethan was right. Was he really going to let her go? Without a fight? What was wrong with him?
All at once everything became so clear to him. He loved her. She loved him. He just needed to figure out a way to convince her they were meant for each other. In a flash he knew exactly what it would take to convince Lia that he was the man for her. The brilliance of it made him grin.
“I have to go.”
“Wait.” The single word came from Grady. He pulled something out of his pocket and held it out to Paul. “Give this to Lia.”
Feeling slightly light-headed, Paul opened the small box and saw a familiar diamond ring tucked into the black velvet. “This is Grandma’s ring,” he murmured in awe.
Grady’s lopsided smile bloomed as he nodded. “Make her my granddaughter.”
Clutching the small box, Paul left the library and raced downstairs.
* * *
The trip from the estate to where Lia was keeping her camper felt as if it took forever, but it was only a forty-minute drive. He took advantage of the time to rehearse what he intended to say to her. He started with I love you and ended with Will you spend the rest of your life with me? What came in between would be all the reasons why she made his life better. Her laugh. Her giving nature. Her sweetness. Her free-spirited ways. Her beauty.
He didn’t deserve her. But from now on, he’d work damn hard to.
When he reached the spot where her camper had last been parked, he saw it was gone. He gripped the steering wheel in dismay, unable to believe she’d leave after promising to wait for him. Several seconds ticked by while he brought his doubts back under control.
Lia hadn’t left. She’d given her word and she was the type of woman who kept her promises. He turned around and headed toward the shop to find out where the camper had been moved to. To his relief, as he rounded the final corner, he spied it near the water station. She was filling the tanks with water in preparation for starting out.
He parked his SUV so that it blocked her truck and hopped out. Finding himself oddly out of breath, he strode toward her. There was wariness, not welcome, in her hazel eyes as he stopped before her.
“You can’t leave,” he began, suddenly awkward. Incapacitated by growing panic, he stood looking at her with a pounding heart.
“You have to be kidding,” she said, shutting off the water and replacing the hose. “Now that this whole ridiculous scheme is over and everyone knows I’m not Ava’s daughter, no one will want me to stay.”
“I do.” He came over and took her hands in his. “Stay in Charleston with me.”
She shook her head and wouldn’t meet his gaze. “Why?”
“Because I love you.”
* * *
Her conversation with Ethan hadn’t prepared her for Paul’s actual declaration. His open and earnest manner as much as the words he spoke stunned her. Paul loved her. Her heart sang with joy. For days she’d been arguing with herself, seeking ways to make her relationship with Paul work.
If she was too quirky for Charleston society, she could dress differently and learn to discuss what was important to Paul’s friends. Giving up the road wouldn’t be a hardship if it meant waking up every morning beside the sexy cybersecurity specialist. Already he’d had a grounding influence on her. She’d even imagined herself going to school and becoming an occupational therapist, helping others the way she had Grady.
But then she remembered all that stood between them. She’d deceived his family. Her grandfather had swindled investors out of millions. Their vastly different natures. Any one of those things would create challenges. All three together were insurmountable.
“I don’t know...”
“You don’t know?” Paul’s outrage clearly indicated he was under the misguided assumption that all he had to do was declare himself and she’d fall at his feet in gratitude. Lia’s annoyance gave her the fortitude to resist the romantic longing building in her.
“Ethan said that you’ve never been in love before,” she explained, determined to do the smart thing. “And that you’re conflicted.”
“Maybe I was before. But that’s not how I feel anymore.”
“And tomorrow?” she persisted. “When something comes up about my past that triggers your suspicions again?”
He frowned. “What’s going to come up?”
“I don’t know.” She waved her hands around. “My mother could show up and shock you with her passion for taking nude photos of herself. Or you could judge me because I have no idea who my father is.” She sucked in a shaky breath and braced herself for his reaction. “Or maybe the fact that my grandfather is Peter Thompson.”
His obvious shock at the familiar name confirmed what he’d thought about her all along and sparked her greatest fear. He’d always perceived her as the fruit of a poisonous tree. Still, she couldn’t deny a certain amount of relief at getting everything out in the open.
“That’s right,” she continued. “I’m the granddaughter of one of the country’s most notorious swindlers. His Ponzi scheme defrauded investors of hundreds of millions of dollars. The scandal rocked Seattle and devastated my family. It’s why my mother changed her name and lives off the grid. It’s why I do what I can to help people. I’m related to a liar and a thief who harmed thousands. You were right about me all along.”
Paul captured her hands and squeezed gently. “I wasn’t right about you at all. That was the problem. I judged you before I knew what a kind, loving, selfless person you are.”
“My grandfather is a criminal,” Lia said, compelled to point out the obvious.
“A fact that has nothing to do with who you are.”
As tempting as it was to accept his breezy dismissal of her background, Lia couldn’t believe he’d just let it go. “But it’s a scandal that could come to light. I can’t imagine your family will appreciate that.”
“If it does, we’ll deal with it,” Paul declared. “You are exactly what I need in my life. Someone to remind me to laugh and to stop working and to enjoy myself. You’ve made me feel again. Or for the first time. And now that you’ve opened me up, I need you so I will stay this way.”
