“Thank you,” Brody gives him a polite nod and he takes our entrée orders. I go for the salmon, too nervous to think about eating anything heavy.
“A chef, huh?” My dad comments to me as soon as the waiter heads back to the kitchen. “I guess for you, that’s like a dream come true.”
I swallow the pang of hurt at his condescending tone. “Honestly, it really is. It gives me the chance to reset and think about what I want moving forward.”
“A café maybe,” Brody gives me a teasing smile, nudging my arm with his.
My dad grunts. “Not a great business to start. Most struggle to get off the ground and can’t keep the doors open for long. You probably wouldn’t even be able to pay your bills.”
I shrug, desperate to let his words roll off my shoulders. “That’s not always the story.”
“Oh, right,” My dad snorts. “Because you’ll have your rich boyfriend to float you, if the bills pile up too high. What do you even know about running a business, Georgia?”
“I know enough…” I purse my lips together, fighting the urge to break down in tears right then and there.Why is he being such an asshole about this?
“You could always ask Brody for business advice,” my dad says, shifting his attention to Brody. “And maybe he’d help you out since you’re sleeping with him.”
“Lay off, Robert,” Brody shoots back at him. “It’s not like we killed someone. We’re just exploring the connection that we have. There’s nothing wrong with that. Please just consider it.”
“But Georgia,” he shifts his gaze to me, “doesn’t seem to see the problem with acting like a slut to get ahead in life. I thought I raised you better than that. I really did.”
Hedid notjust say that.
My jaw nearly drops, but I hold back my reaction, not wanting to give him the satisfaction. I shove back from the table and jump to my feet.
“Take me back to the boat,” I demand to Brody, my voice shaking. “I’m done with this dinner.”
And everything else, too.
Chapter 17
Emmett
“Hey, wait,” I jump to my feet, catching sight of Georgia, toting her suitcases behind her. “Where are you going?”
“Why are you awake?” She shakes her head at me, answering my question with another question.
“I always like to catch the sunrise,” I say quickly, reaching out and grabbing Georgia’s wrist before she can step off the back of the yacht. “Why are you trying to slip out of here? Is this because of the dinner last night? Because you stormed in here and then just disappeared?—”
She glares up at me. “Yeah, because my dad thinks I’m a slut, just using Brody so that I canlevel upin the world. It’s fucking disgusting. That’s not who I am, and I can’t have him thinking that.”
I furrow my brow. “You shouldn’t let the asshole get to you like that. Your dad has always been a hothead. He probably just needs time to come around.”
“So you want me to, what, exactly?” She drops her bag with a thud, her eyes rimmed with tears. “Wait it out? Because the way I see it, Brody tried everything last night to make himunderstand, but within five minutes, he was throwing insults at me and making me feel stupid!”
Anger boils in my chest—at both RobertandGeorgia. “Right, okay. So, you’re just going to bend to daddy and slip right out of here without even telling us? That doesn’t seem very mature.”
“Well, first off, I wrote you a letter, and second, I’m not rich and well-off like you,” she spits back, glaring up at me as a tear rolls down her cheek. “If my dad cuts me off… if this doesn’t work out… I could,” she pauses before completely breaking down into tears. “I could loseeverything. I could end up worse off than I ever was before.”
“I won’t let that happen, no matter what happens.” I pull her into my arms, and she gives in, burying her face in my chest. Her body racks with a sob, and she clings to me. I hold her tightly, just as the door from the main lounge opens up.
Miles appears at the threshold, concern written all over his face. He eyes the suitcases and then looks back up at me. I give him a shrug, and he nods, disappearing back inside the lounge.
I hold Georgia for a little longer, and soon, Brody is with Miles on the deck as well. He looks like he just woke up, his hair a total mess.
“Why don’t we go inside and talk?” I offer gently, kissing the top of Georgia’s head as her crying begin to diminish to just sniffles. “I think we have some things we need to discuss.”
“Okay,” she clings to me as I walk with her back toward the lounge.
