‘Suppose not.’ Addicted to work and the need to prove herself, perhaps. She stared down at the contents of her mug. ‘Hamish is trying to talk me into leaving the city. Setting up here.’ What was with this new need to seek external validation?
‘In Settlers? Jamie Stokes shut up shop a few months back because he couldn’t scrape together enough business,’ Dad cautioned.
‘Stokes isn’tme. Besides, Hamish said it was because no one knew Jamie Stokes from a bar of soap; he’d just make the odd sally down the main street to grab something from the CWA trading table. I’ve looked into the figures and there’s definitely demand for legal representation. Forexcellentlegal representation, that is,’ she amended.
‘You’d throw in your career to move out here for a farmer you met a couple of months ago?’
‘Hey!’ Sam said. ‘Do you want me to spell out what’s wrong with that?’
Jemma had thought her father’s partner meek and perhaps a little insecure, but she was fast changing her mind.
‘Hamish is a decent guy from a good family,’ Sam continued.
Dad patted the air, reminding Jemma of her grandfather trying to keep the peace with Nonna. ‘That’s not what I was getting at. It’s just that Jemma’s always been so driven; I doubt a small town is big enough to handle her.’
Sam stood, her fingertips clutching the edge of the table. ‘Jemma is thirty-two years old, has a successful career and, unlike either of us,does nothave a failed marriage behind her. I’d say that, at some stage, you have to give her the benefit of knowing her own mind.’
‘Ouch. Point taken,’ Dad said. ‘It’s just Jemma is smart, but not wise.’
As Nonna said, neither of them ever knew when to step away—but Jemma wasn’t about to let her father have the last word. ‘I’m hardly throwing in my career by moving here as a partner in GB&A,’ she said icily.
‘Perhaps we need to make our own mistakes in order to grow,’ Sam offered, as though her platitude would help end the argument.
‘I’m not planning on making a mistake,’ Jemma said. ‘Anything I do will be part of a long-term strategy.’
‘I know that, Jemma,’ Dad replied. ‘It’s what you’ve always done. I just don’t want you hurt.’
Sam gave a laughing huff. ‘I’d say you don’t need to worry, Pierce. Hamish MacKenzie would be very wary of crossing you.’
‘Yeah. But I do. You and Jemma, you’re all I’ve got.’
‘Jemma is talking about living in Settlers Bridge,’ Sam pointed out gently, as though that fact should allay any concern. ‘In any case, you know the old adage about if you love something.’
‘Let her go?’ Dad gave a snort. ‘It’s not like I ever had her contained. You’ve always done exactly what you planned, haven’t you, Jemma?’
A few weeks ago, she would have heard the words as praise—acknowledgement of her acumen and drive—but now she sensed a brittle judgement beneath her father’s statement.
‘Anyway,’ he continued, ‘I’ve got to head over to the inn to talk through the weekend’s menu with Gabrielle. I’ll catch you two later.’
As her father left, Jemma put a hand over her mug to prevent a refill. ‘Pierce has a point. I’ve put everything into getting where I am. I’m driven and overly passionate about my work—’
Sam snorted and Jemma chuckled mirthlessly. ‘Yeah, the di Angelis curse. The thing is, would I be giving up all that for Hamish?’
‘Giving it up how? By pursuing your career here? Does that somehow require less of you?’
‘No, it’ll be a challenge. But what guarantee do I have that it won’t all go to shit?’
‘You mean Hamish, don’t you, not the career side? The one part that you can’t control.’
Sam’s unexpected perceptiveness was simultaneously shocking and a relief. Jemma nodded. Insecurity was unfamiliar territory, and she didn’t know how to navigate it.
Sam set aside her mug with a thump. ‘Jemma, thingsdidgo to shit in my life—but you know what? I don’t regret a second of it, because it led me here. To Pierce. The thing is, ifyou don’t hand the reins over to fate once in a while, let destiny take control, then, sure, your life stays safe. Predictable.’ She leaned forward, her gaze locking on Jemma’s. ‘Because you’re stuck. Right where you are. Forever.’
Jemma forced a laugh. ‘You’re making that sound pretty bleak. But I need to work through all the different ways this could play out first.’
Sam sat back with a smile. ‘Tell me you’ve never been in love before without telling me, Jem. Lovers don’t need a plan or sense or reason. Lovers charge in.’
‘Rohan is on indefinite leave,’ Gerard said, observing Jemma across the expanse of his desk. ‘You’ll remain on the Wilkins criminal case and Tien will take over the divorce proceedings, under your direction.’
