Page 16 of Save Me the Trouble (Country Love Collection #12)

Chapter Twelve

Grace

I ’ve got you.

My fingers skated over the mattress next to me, settling into the depression where Killian had slept.

The whole night he’d held me, and I’d woken to warm lips pressed to my neck.

My shoulders. My back. My hip. Between my thighs.

I shivered, still sore from even the gentlest way he’d claimed me this morning—still frightened by how powerfully I felt the words I love you ricochet between the wild beats of my heart.

I pulled the towel off my wet hair, listening to the stream of the shower still running in the bathroom, Killian inside.

Last night, we’d crossed a line. A very big no trespassing line. And I couldn’t go back.

But neither could I let Killian rescue me forward.

I’m not the type of person who would put herself and her future at the mercy of a man.

Those were my exact words to Darcy. My exact words about this exact man…who my heart was now at the mercy of.

But I refused to be at the mercy of his generosity.

What happened last night was unprofessional. Even if he was no longer a client, it wasn’t official, and the way things had been building was one hundred percent against company policy. I knew that when I asked him to stay, and I knew the consequences I’d have to face.

Consequences that filled my phone screen with missed calls, voicemails, and text messages from Diane demanding I meet her in the office this morning.

I didn’t know how she knew, but I couldn’t say I was surprised.

With how big Killian’s profile was and what securing the contract meant for Embers, I’d expected my every move to be watched.

I hadn’t expected my heart to veer off course.

I thought about waiting. I thought about everything Killian had said—everything he’d confessed last night—and I considered waiting until he was done showering to talk to him about what happened next.

But the last time this happened—though admittedly a much different scenario—I let my future be determined by someone else.

I let it be altered by my professor’s choices.

His wants. His selfish needs. Even though Killian would do the exact opposite—try to save me rather than punish me—I didn’t want to be saved from the choice I’d made and the consequence that came with it.

It was one thing to accept Killian as my downfall. It was another to let him become my salvation.

So, I bundled my hair into a knot and pulled together an outfit from my closet. A deep green-and-yellow plaid skirt and a white blouse. And then left the apartment before Killian was done showering.

Embers had always been a temporary fix, a Band-Aid over deeper wounds. And now it was time for the Band-Aid to come off.

The sleek facade of Embers reflected the morning sun like the blade of a knife. Or maybe a guillotine. But as the elevator climbed, I wasn’t afraid.

I barely stepped through the opening doors before Molly was in front of me, a giant smirk on her face.

“Diane’s waiting for you.” Her voice rang out with that you’re in trouble singsong tone.

It didn’t bother me at all, and I found myself smiling back at her just as our boss appeared.

“Grace.” My name fell like that proverbial guillotine from Diane’s lips. “My office.”

She strode through the door, expecting me to follow but not holding the door.

I bottled air in my lungs, just in case she decided to cut my throat.

“Ms. Close?—”

“You assured me, Miss Johnson. Assured me that you would be the last woman on the planet to be attracted to Killian Crown, is that correct?”

I winced. “Yes.” There was no point in trying to say more. She wanted her pound of flesh for what my heart had just cost her company.

“And yet, after creating a profile for him and acquiring a statistically ideal match, he decides to terminate his contract with us because of you. Because he wants you.”

Her phone buzzed. “ She’s here,” the receptionist said.

“Yes, bring her in.”

Who was here? Alicia? Maybe she was the one who’d told Diane.

I turned just as the door opened, but it wasn’t the beautiful businesswoman from the event last night. It was an elderly woman dressed in a deep purple pinstripe pantsuit, her white hair molded into perfect curls and studded with jeweled pins. Her designer loafers tapped on the hardwood.

“Mrs. Crown.”

“Diane,” she addressed and then swung her large, white-framed eyes to me. Killian’s eyes were the same color. “And you must be Miss Johnson.”

I stood. “Yes, I’m?—”

“Miss Johnson, this is Mrs. Loretta Crown,” Diane interrupted again, like she didn’t even want me to speak in the woman’s presence for the offense I’d caused by falling in love with her grandson.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you,” I said anyway, watching those crystal-studded glasses give me a good, long once-over like she was inspecting a gem for cut, quality, and clarity.

Part of me wondered how I’d measured up compared to the women Killian’s profile was matching with. The other part of me—still sore from the way he’d irreparably marked my body and my heart last night—didn’t care.

“Mrs. Crown, I was just about to make it very clear how I and Embers feel about her actions toward your grandson and the necessary measures we will take?—”

“Please, let me spare you the measures.” This time, I interrupted her. “I came here to resign. I’m grateful for the opportunity I had here, but if there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s that love can’t be…calculated or predicted. No matter how hard I tried.”

Diane let out a loud scoff of disbelief, but I felt it roll right off my shoulders and the promise Killian had made me.

I’ve got you.

“I’m sorry for letting you down, Ms. Close.” I turned. “Mrs. Crown. I went into this job fully prepared to find someone to fall in love with your grandson. I just wasn’t prepared for that person to be me.”

I spun and headed for the door, stopping when Mrs. Crown’s voice rang out, “Wait.”

I turned slowly, for the first time feeling my heart start to thud in the middle of my throat. Again, she looked me over like she was preparing to dismember me, and I tried to reconcile that with the woman who’d given Killian a second chance when he’d almost lost everything.

“Miss Johnson.” She slid an envelope from her purse. “I looked into you. Your family. Your past.”

My eyes widened.

“In this envelope, you’ll find a check in the amount of double what you still owe in student loans.”

Double? But that was ? —

Hopefully, I was the only one who heard my jaw hit the floor.

Mrs. Crown extended the envelope to me to take, so I did, but my hands were shaking too badly to open it.

“I don’t understand,” I stammered and looked to Diane, but she seemed just as surprised as I did. “Why are you doing this—giving me this?”

“It’s not a gift, it’s an offer,” she clarified sharply. “You’ll be free of your loans and able to complete your program. On me.”

“And what do you want in return?”

Her chin lifted. “I want you to never see my grandson again.”

Suddenly, the weight of the paper envelope felt as heavy as a two-ton stone.

“You’ll be debt-free. You’ll be able to get your degree—get whatever job you want with no financial strain hanging over you.”

But without Killian.

“Everything you’d dreamed of and more before you took this position. It’ll be like this blip never happened.”

Never happened.

Like dancing the YMCA in Killian’s office never happened. Like jogging through Seattle never happened. Like talking into the midnight hours never happened. Like last night…like falling in love had never happened.

I lifted my gaze to her shrewd one. “Someone once told me that to the caterpillar, building his cocoon must, in that moment, feel like he or she is digging her own grave. That it’s the end.

” I swallowed, watching the old woman’s eyes turn wide as I returned her own tale to her.

“Eventually, she sees that the cocoon wasn’t the end, but the path to a new beginning. ”

I thought about giving the envelope back, but it wasn’t enough. I didn’t want to reject the offer, I wanted her to know it wasn’t even something to consider. So, instead, I ripped the envelope into several smaller pieces, Diane’s gasp melding with the sound of tearing paper.

“Thank you for the…offer, but this isn’t my dream anymore.” And it had nothing to do with the money or the degree. I still wanted those things for myself, but before, my dream was to get them at any cost—any sacrifice to myself.

Setting the torn pieces on the edge of Diane’s desk, I went and stopped in front of Loretta.

“When I interviewed Killian, I told him my ideal partner was someone who would make me want to risk everything to be with him but also make me feel like there was no risk at all.” I smiled, my chest feeling impossibly light. “This was no risk at all.”

I wasn’t sure how I left the two women in that office—shocked, angry, gaping—but I found I didn’t really care. The only thing I cared about was getting back to Killian. And as it turned out, I didn’t have to go very far to do that.

“Killian.” I stopped just outside the building’s entrance.

My heart skipped a beat, and for a moment, I wondered if I was dreaming that Killian was here and getting out of his car. As soon as he spoke, I knew it wasn’t a dream.

“Grace.” He sounded tortured, and it was my fault.

I swallowed hard, trying to steady my voice. “What are you doing here?”

His gaze softened, and he took a step closer, the distance between us shrinking to mere inches. “I came for you.”

“I’m sorry for leaving this morning.” I swallowed hard, and then the space was gone, his hands framing the side of my face with their warmth.

“What did you do?”

My tongue slid over my lips. “I quit. Or maybe I was fired. I’m not really sure who technically ended things.”

“Why didn’t you tell me?” he demanded, his jaw hard as his eyes roamed my face.

“I just…I had to do this on my own.”

He blew out a slow breath, about to say something when he stilled, and I realized we were no longer alone.

“Grandma,” Killian greeted, uncertainty settling in his gaze.

“Killian.”

I turned as Loretta approached, not even realizing just how much I needed his support until I felt Killian’s arm slide around my waist.

“What are you doing here?”

She layered her hands in front of her and looked from Killian to me. “I came here to meet Grace.”

“Grandma.” He didn’t growl; he respected his grandmother too much to growl at her, but he certainly came close. “I told you I would introduce you to her.”

I inhaled sharply. “You told her about me?”

Killian looked at me and nodded. “Last night when I left the gallery, I called her and told her the profile was done, the dating schemes were done. I told her I’d found the woman I wanted to marry.”

My throat tightened. He’d said he was ending the contract with Embers. I hadn’t realized he’d gone so far as to tell his grandmother about it on his way to me. Loretta must’ve been the one to alert Diane.

Killian pulled me tighter and turned back to his grandmother. “So, what did you come here for?”

“I wanted to meet the woman who stole your heart.” Loretta took a step closer. “And I wanted to make sure she deserved it.”

Killian’s eyes narrowed. “What did you do?”

“I offered her everything she wanted. Money. Her degree. Her freedom.” Loretta’s eyes slipped to mine. “And she turned me down.”

It wasn’t an offer, it was a ? —

“You tested her?” Now, he was growling.

“I won’t apologize for not wanting to see you hurt again,” the old woman retorted staunchly. “But I will apologize to you, Grace, for making it seem like you didn’t do exactly what I wanted. Exactly what I hoped.”

“Grandma—”

“Which is why I’ve already paid off your student loans and secured you a spot in two different master’s programs for you to choose from.”

Thank God Killian was holding me because I definitely would’ve tipped over then.

“Grandma—”

“It’s an investment, Killian, just like I did for you,” she hushed him and addressed me. “You wouldn’t leave him for the money, Grace, but knowing my grandson, this would’ve been his next move, and I don’t want you to stay with him for his money either.”

“I wouldn’t do that.”

“No.” Her eyes twinkled. “I don’t think you would.”

“Thank you.”

“No, thank you.” Loretta gave me one last warm smile and turned to her grandson. “This was all I ever wanted for you, Killian.”

He stared at her for a long second, holding his resolve before it finally cracked with a slight dip of his chin. He didn’t appreciate her interference, but he would forgive her for it. Knowing what I did about his past, I didn’t blame her for what she’d done either.

We listened as her small steps clacked on the sidewalk to her waiting car.

“I’m sorry about that—about her,” Killian murmured when we were alone again.

“Don’t—”

“I should’ve waited to tell her, but I needed you to know I was serious. That all I want is you, no matter what happened.”

Tears pricked in the corners of my eyes as I looped my arms around his neck. “All I want is you, too.”

He captured my lips, silencing every last sliver of doubt. In that moment, everything else faded away, leaving only the two of us.

“I love you, Grace Johnson. From the moment you first fell for me.”

I smiled up at him. “I love you, too, Killian Crown. From the moment you danced the YMCA in your office window.”

His head dipped by my ear as he pulled me toward him and backed us both to his waiting car.

“There’s a few other things I’d like to do with you in my office window right now…”

“I have a few questions first,” I said, laughing, as he drew me into the car.

“And I’ll be happy to answer them on my knees,” he replied and covered my mouth with his.

The End