Page 23 of Escorting the CEO
I nodded. “Thank you, Philips.”
“Of course.”
Once he’d gone, I grabbed my coffee, filled it with cream, and greedily sucked it down. It was delicious. Next, I took a bite of what appeared to be a blueberry-cornmeal scone (to die for) and a coconut-raspberry muffin that literally melted in my mouth.
“Oh, my God. So good.” I tasted everything, polishing off four items, moaning when my stomach got too full.
My phone buzzed, and I grabbed it off the nightstand. It was my grandmother.
Heart pounding, I answered. “Hi, Grammy!” My voice was unnaturally bright.
“I got a call from the bank this morning.” She sounded upset. ‘They said the mortgage was paid off!”
“That’s right,” I said, unsure why she sounded so upset. “Remember I told you about that internship? I’m making way more than I thought.”
“Rory Geraldine Harris. I might not know much, but I know nointernshippays two hundred thousand dollars up front!” She started crying. “Why don’t you tell me what it is you’re really doing, huh? Is it drugs? I never thought you’d turn out like your mother… You’ve always been such a good girl…”
“Grammy,no. Please, listen to me!” I waited until she stopped crying so hard. My heart was breaking—I’d never heard my grandmother cry like that. “It’s nothing like that. I’m not my mother. You know that. You knowme.”
I took a deep breath. Since I’d signed the contract, I knew there was no backing out. I’d have to tell my family the truth, at least part of it. “The thing is—Grammy, I lied about the internship.”
“I knew it!” she wailed.
“It’s not anything bad,” I said, quickly cobbling together a narrative. I’d never been a good liar; it was best to stick as close to the truth as possible. “I met someone, Grammy. He’s really great.”
“Then why didn’t you tell me? Why hide it?”
“I didn’t know if it was going to work out. I didn’t want to say anything.”
“It’s not like you to keep secrets,” she said. “I don’t like this. And I don’t understand what you having a new boyfriend has to do with my mortgage.”
“He’s rich,” I blurted out. “Really rich. I told him about the trouble we’ve been having, and he insisted on paying the bank off.”
“Rory…” My grandmother sighed. “You’re a good girl. I’m sorry about what I said before. You’re nothing like your mother.”
She sighed again.
“But?” I asked.
“Butyou’re too trusting. You haven’t been allowed to live your own life. I feel so guilty about that. You’ve been taking care of the kids, you’ve been taking care of me?—”
“I love you, and I love Josie and Bo,” I interrupted.
“I know, honey, but it hasn’t been fair to you. You haven’t lived your own life. You don’t know what the world’s like. How people can be. Howmencan be, especially with a beautiful, young, sweet girl like you.”
“It’s not like that. He—Rhodes, that’s his name—he’s serious about me.” I took a deep breath. “We’re engaged, Grammy. We’re getting married.”
“What?”
“I know it sounds crazy, but he asked me to marry him, and I said yes. He’s going to take care of us. Me, you, Josie, Bo—we can get the farm fixed up, I can pay for college, I can buy you a new car—we won’t have to worry about money ever again. I promise.”
“Oh, Rory.” She sounded like her heart was broken. “Do not throw your life away because of something some man is promising you. We don’t need the money. We can live without it. What we need is each other!”
My eyes pricked with tears. It was too late to turn back. I’d signed the contract, and Rhodes had paid the mortgage. My fate was sealed.
“We still have each other,” I said, biting back my tears. “You can come visit all the time, and I’ll come see you. I promise you this is for the best.”
“No, it’s not.” She paused before asking, “Can you please just come home?”
