Summer Escape with the Tycoon

“I’m willing to try,” she protested, swiping her fingers under her eyes.

He let out a heavy sigh, wanting to give her what she wanted, terribly afraid he’d mess it up just like he’d messed up this morning with his knee-jerk reaction. “We were fooling ourselves into thinking this could somehow work. We had a fling. That’s all. Trying to pretend otherwise was bound to fail. This morning just made it clear.”

They got out of the plane and he started to walk away, his heart hurting.

Molly reached out and grabbed his arm. “You think this makes it easier?” He heard her sob and closed his eyes again, not wanting to do this on a dock in the middle of the day.

“Don’t make it worse than it is,” he murmured. “Let me go, Molly. It’s for the best.”

“You think I used you...well, fine. You go on thinking that, if it makes you sleep better at night. I won’t lie to you or to myself. I fell for you and I’m not going to pretend I didn’t. And it’s not going to be easy to get over you. I shared things I’ve never shared with anyone else—do you get that? So fine. Let this be your excuse if you want it to be, but let’s not lie to ourselves, okay? You—you coward!”

She let go of his arm and rushed by him, her sandals making thudding sounds on the platform. For a moment he considered going after her. But she’d hurt him, too. For a week and a half he’d believed that she had no motives whatsoever. That he could have been an ordinary guy off the street and she would have felt the same, that his money didn’t matter.

But maybe there would always be that little bit of doubt. Maybe it was impossible to separate him from the balance sheet, and it would always be this way. It had been for Murielle, who’d hopped on a rising star and demanded his love, but in the end settled for his money. And it had been for each of his dates since the divorce. He’d worked hard for his success, but there was a surprising downside to having the word billionaire after your name.

It made trusting impossible. He’d trusted her, though. And that was what hurt the most.

In the end he walked around for a while, then arranged for his bags to be delivered to the airport while he caught a cab. His flight was on time and he stretched out in first class, making the first leg of his trip.

The adventure was over, and it was more bittersweet than he’d ever thought possible.

CHAPTER TWELVE

MOLLY STEPPED INSIDE the brick colonial that had been her childhood home and called out. “Mom? Dad? Are you in?”

Her mother stepped out from the room that had always served as her dad’s home office. “We’re in here, but just getting ready for a cocktail before dinner. Would you like one?”

God, yes. Tonight’s conversation wasn’t going to be an easy one and her nerves were jumping all over the place. “A glass of wine, maybe,” she replied, thinking it was a better choice than hard liquor. Something to soften the edges of her anxiety, not hit it with a hammer.

She went into the living room while her mother went to get the wine, and wandered around looking at the various pictures on the walls. There was an original from someone her mom liked, and a few prints, but only two framed photos on the top of the piano. One of her on the day she’d graduated from Harvard, and one of her as a little girl, with her brother, Jack, on a first day of school the September before he died. A month after he’d snagged her from the waves and dragged her to safety.

The sign above the office door had two Quinns on it. She was here to tell her dad that it would now be just one. There was no question that he’d be disappointed.

Olivia returned with two glasses of white wine, cold enough that condensation was already starting to bead on the bowls of the glasses. Molly grinned. “You know I like my white very cold,” she said and leaned forward to kiss her mom’s cheek. “Thank you.”

“When you said you wanted to come over and talk to us, you sounded serious. Is everything okay?”

Molly sighed, confusion taking over again. “Yes?”

“Yes with a question mark? That doesn’t sound too promising.”

“I’ll wait for Dad to come in. It’s something I should talk to you about together.”

“All right. So tell me, how was your trip?”

“Amazing. I kayaked with whales and went zip-lining and snorkeled with salmon.”

“It sounds very...rustic.”

Molly laughed. “It was, and I was out of my comfort zone a lot, but that was kind of the point. I learned a lot about myself, and don’t worry—I also made sure to enjoy some great food and wine, spa treatments, and...”

Her voice faltered. She cleared her throat. “And I met some really great people. I give the trip a ten out of ten for sure.”

Olivia merely shook her head. “As long as you’re happy.”

Molly looked into her mother’s eyes. “Do you really mean that, Mom?”

“Of course. That’s all we’ve ever wanted for you.”