Ugh…
“But I want you to hear what I have to say,” she went on, undeterred. “Now, you don’t have to like it, or understand it, or even approve of it, but Connor and I love each other and we are going to have the life we should have started years ago. And I love not only your son, but I love your granddaughter, too. There isn’t anything I wouldn’t do for that little girl. She deserves to have a mother who wants to be there for her because she’s awesome, not because of her father’s bank account.”
For a moment, she swore they looked…ashamed? No. No, that wasn’t possible.
“From this day forward, Annabeth is my daughter. This morning when I heard she was missing, I was scared to death. Jonah and I immediately joined the search for her, and thankfully my son knew all the places she liked to hide.” Letting out a long breath, she shook her head. “But it never should have happened. Do you understand that? Connor’s a grown man and doesn’t need the two of you interfering in his life. I think it’s wonderful that you’re concerned for your granddaughter, but threatening to take her away from her father crosses every line there is.”
Was she done? Was that all?
No, wait, she still had a little something left.
“And just so you know, it was never about your wealth or your last name. I fell in love with Connor because he is a good and decent human being. Which surprises the hell out of me considering who raised him,” she spat. “If you ever even tried to look at all that he’s accomplished—as a restaurateur, a resort owner, and a father—maybe you’d see how proud of him you should be. I always knew Connor was destined for great things. I believed in him. It’s a shame you don’t.” Another break for breath, before she ended with, “If you really want to do what’s best for Annabeth, you should ask for her forgiveness and then leave her alone for a while. She loves you both, but not right now. Don’t punish her because you did a shitty thing.”
And now she was done.
In her head, she thought she’d wait to see what they had to say, but now she realized she didn’t need to. Nothing they were going to say was going to change anything. Years ago, they had the last word, and it tore her world apart, hopefully this returned the favor.
She left the room, letting the door slam shut behind her. And as she strolled to the elevator, she tried to gauge how she felt.
Happy?
Satisfied?
Vindicated?
Unfortunately, it was none of those things. All she truly felt was sad that the Winslowes didn’t realize how lucky they were. They had this amazing son, who was the father of the most incredible little girl, and they were too consumed with their own wealth and power to appreciate it.
“Note to self, call Mom and Dad today and tell them how much I love them,” she murmured, because it had been over a week since she’d spoken to them. Although she had sent them pictures from the water park, it wasn’t the same as getting on the phone and having an actual conversation. With that decision, she hit the down button and waited for the elevator.
Now she could focus on her work. Slater was going to be gone for a few days, and Nora was handling all the big activities for guests. They had hired an entire activities crew to interact directly with the guests, but most of them were starting at the grand opening. Lexi’s job was coordinating all the schedules and just overseeing everything and looking for new and exciting projects and entertainment as well.
That was something she was going to follow up on today—some musicians and stand-up comedians for weekend concerts.
The elevator chimed its arrival, and she was smiling and feeling great, ready to tackle all the tasks. But when the doors slid open, she found Connor standing there looking more than a little ticked off.
Uh-oh…
Chapter Twelve
“Lexi? What are you…?” The words died away because he knew exactly what she was doing.
The same thing he was coming up here to do.
She’d just beaten him to it.
He tugged her into the elevator and waited for the doors to close. “I thought we talked about this,” he said evenly.
“We did, and you said I didn’t have to fight your battles for you, or something like that, but this was my battle and I fought it,” she said almost defiantly.
“Wait…do you think I’m mad about it?”
“Well…you look mad…”
“I am, but not at you! I’m mad at my parents and needed to come and speak my mind so I could get all this rage out. I can’t seem to relax. I’ve been pacing in the cabin, and when Maisie showed up to see how Annabeth was, I asked if she could hang out until Ruth got there. I hope that’s alright.”
“Of course it is! Why wouldn’t it be?”
“Because Jonah’s there too.”
