“Don’t compare Chelsie to Deidre,” Griff said, taking offense at how his friend had lumped Chelsie with the most selfish woman he’d met. Next to his mother, of course.
Ryan shrugged. “Why the hell not? You have.” Ryan started towards the house, stopping to add, “I’m going to visit with my favorite squirt. I’ll see you when you’re feeling human again.”
“Watch her temper. It’s lethal.”
“Takes after her uncle,” he called over his shoulder.
Griff hefted himself up onto the hood of his car. The weather was rapidly changing. Fall would turn to winter. Griff would go back to being a solo practitioner. Cold and lonely. He wondered if he was referring to the season or to himself.
A light breeze blew cold air through his cotton shirt. His skin felt chilled, especially where the milk had settled. A few months ago, he would have been riding in his convertible, top down and probably heading to work, even on Sunday. He’d have been wearing at least a sport jacket, if not a suit and tie. One thing for sure, milk stains wouldn’t be anywhere near his designer clothing.
When had he stopped missing his old lifestyle? The days of living for money and the luxuries it brought no longer appealed to him, and he knew for certain it wouldn’t have appealed to Chelsie. Time with her had taught him that she was like her sister. Neither valued things above people. Shannon had left her parents’ wealthy lifestyle behind to marry his brother.
Chelsie, too, had chosen her own way, just as he had. After his brother’s death, Griff had automatically assumed the role of guardian without thought to how his life would change. But it had.
Some changes he’d always regret The absence of his brother and sister-in-law, for one. Though the pain hadn’t subsided completely, he was learning to live with the loss. Hopefully, as he dealt with his grief, he would teach Alix how to live with hers.
Just as Chelsie had done. He couldn’t fault her for attempting to bridge the gap with her parents. She had little enough family in her life.
He pressed a hand to his temple and thought of their common bond. Of Alix. Griff had lost his brother, but gained a daughter. He really didn’t consider Alix anything less. How could he regret the little girl who had changed his life? She made him more human. She made him have fun. She made him capable of love.
Alix was a part of him. And so was Chelsie.
Griff could no longer remember the man he was before Alix entered his life on a permanent basis. Chelsie had known that other man only by reputation—the one who lived for his work, who didn’t care much about anyone or anything other than having fun and making money.
She’d been a part of his transformation. They’d practically raised the little girl together these last few months. If his own life and feelings were forever intertwined with his niece, why did he expect Chelsie to feel different?
She said she loved Alix, and not just as the little girl’s aunt. She also said she loved him. How could she separate the two? Love one and not the other? The answer was simple. She couldn’t.
Chelsie had accused him of running scared. That much had been true. He had been afraid she’d abandon him. Then, when she pledged her love and promised to stay, he questioned the depth of her feelings. If he continued to lump her in the category of Deidre and his mother, he would always have an excuse to push her away. The old Griff would have done that. The man Alix had taught how to open his heart would not.
So which Griffin Stuart would control his future? The answer was just a start. He had joined the list of men in Chelsie’s life to shatter her trust and let her down. Would she believe anything he had to say?
Even if she accepted his words, after watching the scene with her ex-husband, Griff had his doubts about whether she’d put the past behind her completely. She still had one more hurdle to face, though he doubted she was aware of it yet. Considering he had done all the taking so far—her help with Alix, the partnership and the clients she brought in—he could offer this one thing in return. More than an apology was necessary to make Chelsie believe in him. He only hoped he didn’t destroy their future in the process.
* * *
Heat and humidity hit her as she exited the West Palm Beach airport. Chelsie turned her face toward the sun, grabbing a minute’s reprieve before climbing into her rental car and heading for her parents’ home. She began her drive with fists clenched tight around the steering wheel, her tension mounting with each passing mile.
They expected her arrival, but she had no idea what to expect from them
. Having gone most of her childhood without strong support on the home front, she knew she didn’t need anything from them in order to survive. But her self-imposed exile, combined with her sister’s death, had taken its toll. She might not need anything, but she wanted more than she’d received so far.
With Griff all but out of her life in the ways that mattered most, her heart was fragile, her nerves near to breaking. She desperately needed the warmth and understanding only loving parents could provide. Hers had rarely come through. She was here to change things between them before it was too late.
Life’s lessons had been hard won for Chelsie. Family was important. She had let hers disintegrate, but she wanted to pick up the pieces. Once she and Griff officially dissolved their partnership, her time with her niece would be more limited than before. She had to make it count. She couldn’t offer Alix much, but she could give the child the benefit of relatives who cared and the warmth of family. Mending the ties that remained was also the one thing she could do for herself.
When her parents’ exit came up on the turnpike, Chelsie was surprised. She’d passed half an hour lost in thought. She turned into the gated community, slowing as she approached the guardhouse on the left.
“Name?” an older man dressed in white asked.
“Russell.”
He checked his clipboard, then raised the electronic gate and waved her through. She was expected, but was she wanted?
She drove down the tree-lined peripheral road that circled the golf course and adjoining homes. Her parents’ new sedan sat parked in their driveway. Chelsie’s stomach rolled in nervous reaction, reminding her of the day she’d tried her first case. She hoped this experience would turn out better.
She grabbed her bag and stood by the car, glancing at the large, patio-styled home her parents had purchased last year.