Summer Escape with the Tycoon

Silence dropped over them for a few moments, but then Charles straightened and put his hand over hers on the sofa. “You’re not crushing mine. I wanted to raise a daughter who was smart and successful and strong. You’re all of those things. I’ve been selfish for too long, Molly. You shouldn’t stay because of me. That being said, there will always be an office for you. Always.”

“Dad,” she whispered, incredibly touched. “I thought you were going to be mad. You said on the phone you wanted me to come to my senses.”

“And so I did. I would love nothing more than to have you work beside me, but I can’t make that choice for you. It sounds as if you already made too many choices based on what you thought we wanted.”

Olivia leaned forward. “Sweetie, we never wanted you to try to fill Jack’s shoes. The only person you ever have to be is you.”

Tears clogged Molly’s throat as she tried not to cry—again. The most “her” she’d ever been was on that trip, and that was the woman Eric had fallen in love with. That was the woman who’d fallen in love with him. And she’d played right into his insecurities. She’d known that people saw the money first and not the man, and she’d done exactly the same thing by asking him to abandon a business deal just because she’d asked him to.

No wonder he’d been hurt. She’d taken their relationship and reduced it to dollars and cents and favors, all because she’d been all full of herself and her dreams.

Tears spilled over her lashes and she gave a big sniff, chagrined at crying during before-dinner drinks. This wasn’t a delicate sniffle, but tears she couldn’t control that just kept coming.

Charles got up and found some tissues somewhere and pressed them into her hand. “Don’t cry, sweetie. It’s fine now.”

Olivia stood up and came to the sofa. “Charles, you’re a smart man, but this isn’t about a job. This is a broken-heart sort of cry, so maybe you can check on dinner.”

Molly laughed even as she was crying. Olivia didn’t always speak up, but when she did it was with a dry, practical tone that bordered on sarcastic. Molly blew her nose in the tissues as Charles made a hasty exit and her mother sat down beside her.

“So you met someone on the trip.”

She nodded. “And I blew it. I mean, it was going to be hard anyway, but...yeah.”

“Oh, I doubt you blew it all by yourself. Just about everything takes two. You should know that in your line of work.”

It was true. There was the odd case where clearly one partner was entirely innocent in the breakdown of a marriage, but more often it was failures on both sides. She’d been blaming herself, but Eric hadn’t even given her a chance. She remembered what he’d said...something about leaving being hard but their fight making it a lot easier.

Maybe she’d been foolish, but he’d been a coward.

“It’s okay. It wouldn’t have worked out anyway. He’s based out of Montreal and I’m here.”

“Here and unemployed. Still, you knew each other a week and a half, right? And there would be immigration things to work out. Big step for a relationship that young.”

“Yeah.”

“What’s he like?”

For a moment, the words unreachable and stubborn came to mind, but then she remembered their long talks and the way he held her in his arms when he slept, tucked in against his body, as if afraid she’d somehow slip away.

“He’s successful and confident on the outside, and gentle and funny on the inside,” she murmured, dabbing her eyes with the tissues. “His dad abandoned them when he was a little boy, so he and his brothers grew up looking after their mom. He used to help her through panic attacks, and worked to help with the family finances.”

“And what does he do now?”

“He’s got his own company and a bazillion dollars.”

Olivia snorted. “Good Lord. We told you to aim high, but wow.”

“That’s the problem.” The worst of the tears were over now, and she straightened a bit and gave another sniff. “I asked him for a favor because he has the money and power to grant it.”

“And he gets asked that all the time and thought you were different?”

Molly nodded. “How’d you know?”

Olivia put her arm around Molly’s shoulders. “You know my mom and dad are old money. Your dad was working his way through law school. I was used to boys wanting to date me because I was the right kind of girl to take home to their mamas. I studied English and history and dressed the right way and my daddy had connections. Your dad didn’t know who I was and didn’t give a damn if I had money or not. I married him. Against your grandparents’ wishes, by the way. I didn’t bring any of the money with me, but I didn’t care.”

“I never knew that about you guys.”

She shrugged. “We fell in love. That was just it.”