59
Adam
I couldn’t help but miss Bailey from the moment that I left Las Vegas. I wanted to look back and get one last good look at her as I walked into the airport, but I knew that if I did that, I would be tempted to never leave. Could I get rebooked on a later flight? Just to spend a little more time with her?
But the logical part of me knew that that extra time would only make it more difficult to leave. And anyway, I had responsibilities back in Utah that I needed to get back to. I had work at the resort the next morning, and I wanted to spend a little more time with Ethan before he went back to school the next day. I shouldn’t have taken off and left him for a whole weekend anyway.
I felt kind of guilty about that, I had to admit. Of course, I was sure that he had had fun spending the weekend with his grandfather. It wasn’t like I had dumped him on a stranger or forgotten about him. But I did try to spend a lot of time with him, and I felt like I had been shorting him lately, spending more time at work and now not even being around on the weekends at all.
That wasn’t fair to him. That wasn’t the way that I wanted to parent.
That said, it had been good to spend the weekend with Bailey. Really good, in fact. And it wasn’t just because we had had fun around the casinos. In fact, that was the least of it. But it felt like Bailey and I had talked about some of the things that had been bothering me since she had left Park City before. It felt like we were on the same page and ready to move forward with our relationship.
Not that things were going to be easy, with her here in Vegas for another few weeks to supervise Ian. And even though she had mentioned that she might try to talk to the board of directors again about leaving a little sooner than they had originally wanted her to, I knew Bailey’s work ethic as well as she knew mine. If she thought that they needed her there, then she was going to stay there and support her brother, no questions asked.
I wanted to call her the moment that I landed in Utah, just to hear her voice. But I didn’t want to seem too over-the-top. We might have admitted that we had feelings for one another but it seemed like admitting something more to call her now. I did shoot her a quick text to let her know that I had landed safely and was on my way back home.
When I got to the house, Ethan and Dad were in the kitchen just sitting down to dinner. Dad got up to make me a plate as well. “How was your trip?” he asked.
“Really good,” I admitted, unable to keep the smile from spreading across my face.
Dad raised an eyebrow at me, looking surprised. But he covered it with a smooth nod. “I’m happy for you,” he said. Fortunately, he didn’t talk to me about it more while Ethan was in the room.
I still wasn’t sure how to approach that conversation with my son. Originally, I hadn’t wanted him to get too close to Bailey because I hadn’t been sure what she was looking for. I didn’t want Ethan to get too attached to her if she wasn’t going to stick around.
But it was hard to keep Ethan from getting to know her, since it was impossible to keep Ethan away from the mountain, and since Bailey had proven, in the time since she had become owner of the resort, that she wanted to be as involved in everything on the mountain as possible. And what’s more, Bailey had proven that she was great with Ethan. Even though Ethan didn’t know that she and I were in a relationship with one another, he was getting attached to her, wanting to spend more time with her and wanting to go skiing with her.
Now that it was clear that Bailey was going to be in my life, at least for the time being, if not long-term, I had to think about what I wanted to do about what I wanted to tell Ethan. It wasn’t something that I’d ever had to think about before. Beth and I had been married before Ethan was born, and I hadn’t dated anyone since I had lost her. I had never expected to date anyone again, even though Beth had told me before she died that she wanted me to be with someone who made me happy, someone that I could share the rest of my life with.
Instead, I had tried to close myself away and deny the fact that I needed anyone. And I supposed when it really came down to it, part of what I loved about Bailey was that I didn’t need her, and she didn’t need me. She was independent, and she let me do things my own way. But somehow, our lives just seemed to fit together as perfectly as our bodies did.
It was a strange and heady feeling, and I was powerless to stop it.
Something of that must have shown on my face when Dad asked about Bailey, because after dinner, while Ethan was getting his things ready for school and ski club the next day, Dad caught my arm. “You’re getting serious with her, aren’t you?” he asked in a low voice. But he didn’t seem worried about it, just curious.
I nodded slowly. “I really like her. Love her, actually,” I admitted, shrugging my shoulders. “I don’t know how to describe it. She’s definitely not Beth, but I guess I don’t need another Beth in my life now.” I paused, scuffing a foot on the floor. “This sounds really bad, but if I met Beth again now, I’m not even sure that we would be together. I’m just not the person that I was back then.”
“Death can change a person,” Dad said sagely, nodding at me. “I’m not the same person I was when I met your mother either, remember. And sometimes, I do wonder if it would be better if that’s who I was now. But at the same time, you can’t hang on to the past forever. Humans are born to change.”
“Yeah, I guess so,” I said, nodding. I wasn’t sure what else to say, though. Sometimes I forgot that Dad’s loss of my mother would have affected him in some of the same ways as my loss of Beth. Granted, he hadn’t had to watch his loving wife get sicker and sicker until the end came for her. But despite Dad’s gruff exterior, I knew that he wasn’t made of stone either. He had loved my mom once. He still did, I was pretty sure.
So if there was anyone who even kind of knew what I was going through, it was probably him.
“Is she coming back to Utah now?” Dad asked.
I sighed and shook my head. “I wish,” I said. “Apparently the board of directors at her family’s company wants her to stick around Vegas for a little while to keep her brother in check. They don’t like what Ian’s done with the company since his father’s death.” I made a face. “And you know Bailey, she just can’t tell them no. Especially not when it’s Ian’s job that’s on the line.”
Dad grimaced. “Have you talked to her about how difficult it is for you, not knowing when she’s coming back?”
I nodded. “Yeah, we’ve talked about it. And I do believe that she’s going to come back. I just wish it were sooner.” I paused. “And I’m still kind of worried that I’m going to go back to the mountain tomorrow and Kayla or someone is going to say something about her not coming back again and I’m just going to…lose it. Lose my faith in her return or something. I know that’s not fair.”
Dad shrugged. “It’s easier to believe that she’s not coming back,” he pointed out. “Harder for you to trust her. But you know that you have to trust her, if you want things to work between the two of you.”
“You’re right. And I know it. I know I can’t let anyone get in my head, but like you said, it’s just hard for me to trust her. Especially after everything with Beth.” I paused. “And that in itself isn’t fair. First of all, Bailey isn’t Beth. And second of all, it’s not like Beth ever lied to me or anything. I just feel like we promised one another forever and I didn’t get that.”
There was nothing that Beth had been able to do about it, of course. I knew that if she had had her way, she would have gotten better. She never would have gotten sick in the first place, even. But I couldn’t help feeling like towards the end, she had kind of given up. And I knew that she had been in a lot of pain. That the only reason she hadn’t wanted Ethan there in the hospital with her was because she didn’t want him to remember her like that. That she couldn’t handle our tears and so it was too hard to have us there with her.
But at the same time, it felt like that forever had been cut short. And what if that happened again, this ti
me with Bailey? What if it didn’t matter what she wanted, if the company and the universe and whatever else conspired to keep her there in Vegas while Ethan and I stayed here in Park City?
I had told Bailey that we would figure out a way to work things out. That maybe I would move to Nevada just to be with her. But could I really do that, if it came down to it? It would mean pulling Ethan away from his school and his friends, from his favorite sport and his favorite season. I had a responsibility to the boy. Even more than the responsibility that I had to myself or to Bailey.
I just had to hope that Bailey would come back. That she would figure out things with the casino business. Ian had told me that he could tell that Bailey wasn’t happy there in Nevada. And she had reminded me that she had quit working for the casino business even before she had hatched the idea of moving to Utah and buying a ski resort. She didn’t want to be there.
But she wasn’t there now because she wanted to be there. She was there because she had responsibilities as well. And maybe our different responsibilities would keep us from putting together lives that could mesh with one another’s.
“My stuff’s all ready!” Ethan announced as he skidded into the kitchen in socked feet. He was already dressed in his pajamas and ready to go to bed.
Dad looked like he wanted to say something more on the Bailey subject, but I just gave him a small shrug. “Thanks again for looking after Ethan while I was gone,” I said. “I guess I should get his stuff double-checked and get him into bed.”
Dad nodded slowly. “Don’t worry about it,” he said. He knelt down in front of Ethan, giving him a little fist bump. “See you Tuesday,” he said.
“Uh huh!” Ethan chirped.
Dad let himself out while I led Ethan upstairs.
“Is Bailey back yet? Will she be at the mountain tomorrow?” Ethan asked as I checked through his ski gear.
I glanced over at him and sighed. “No, she’s not back just yet,” I told him.
Ethan frowned. “Doesn’t she want to come back?” he asked.
“Of course she does,” I said. I tried to think of some way to explain things to him. “Her brother still needs her help in Nevada. Because she’s so good with business.” That was sort of the truth, at least.
“I can’t wait until she comes back,” Ethan continued. “I want to go skiing with her!”
“I know you do, buddy,” I said. But it wasn’t like I could promise him that we would definitely get to ski with her this winter. What if Bailey didn’t make it back until the spring? The business would keep on running without her. As much as she seemed like she wanted to get back, there was no real pressing reason for her to need to come back as soon as possible. And maybe the longer she stayed in Nevada, the more she would realize that that really was where she belonged.
I hated the thought of that. But I knew that if she never did come back, then I couldn’t exactly hold it against her.
As I came back downstairs, though, I couldn’t help thinking about how quiet it was in the house. I found myself imagining what it would be like to have Bailey there with me, maybe curled up on the couch in the living room even now, a blanket over her lap and a book in her hands.
I shook the thought out of my head. She wasn’t even back in Utah yet. I couldn’t let myself get too attached to a future with her. Who knew if I would ever get the forever that I was promising myself.
60
Bailey
When I got to the casino on Monday morning, I was surprised to see that Ian was already there. Not only that, but he was actually working, chatting with a couple of the shareholders and sharing a laugh with them. As I walked over, William beamed at me. “Ian’s got some really great ideas for this place, you know,” he said, clapping my brother on the shoulder. “Ideas that are a lot more solid than the last ones.” He turned back to Ian. “Get that proposal written up and I’ll approach the board with it,” he promised.
“I’ll do that,” Ian said gravely, nodding his head.
I fought the urge to groan as the two other men walked away. “Already back to making changes to the place?” I asked, trying not to sound too accusing. But it was hard not to be frustrated with him. The whole reason that I was still stuck here was to make sure that Ian wasn’t making too many changes to the company and digging it down into a deep hole again. It had taken enough work to undo everything that he had done wrong before. If the board of directors continued to mistrust my brother, I wasn’t sure that I could keep Ian’s job safe for him.
And more than that, I wasn’t sure that the board would ever agree to let me go back to Utah.
Of course, at the end of the day, I was a grown woman and capable of making my own decisions. If I really wanted to go back to Utah, then I could do that. Hell, I could leave right now if I wanted to. But Dad had worked hard to build this empire before he died. I couldn’t live with myself if I just let it crumble now that he was gone. This was his legacy. This was the family business.
Besides, the business connections that I had made here were pretty powerful. What if I let all of them down and it impacted my new business with Brooks Mountain? I didn’t want to ruin the family name or turn away the types of investors that could really help out with the resort in the future. That was just bad business.
But Ian looked excited. “I think this one could really be a good one,” he said. “I don’t want to give away the surprise just yet, but trust me, I think you’re going to agree with me.” He paused, looking abashed. “Anyway, I’m going through the proper channels this time. Michael has promised to put the idea in front of the board. Just to be on the safe side, we think it’s better if I’m not the one introducing another change. But we’re going to vote on it, and I’ve agreed that if everyone isn’t on board with it, then we won’t make any changes.”
I blinked at him in surprise. “Wow,” I said, grinning at him. “Sounds like you’ve actually learned your lesson.”
Ian rolled his eyes at me, but the fond smile remained on his face. “I’m trying,” he agreed, nodding. “I know that I didn’t do things the right way before. But I’m not going to screw things up again. I promise.”
“Sounds like I’ll be back to Utah in no time,” I joked.
Ian laughed, but I could see in his eyes that he wasn’t super happy about that prospect. “I’m going to miss you,” he sighed. “But I guess you have to go back, don’t you?”
“My business is there,” I reminded him.
“And Adam,” Ian agreed, nodding.
“And Adam.” I paused. “Thank you again for flying him out here this weekend.” I couldn’t help how tentative the words were. I knew that Ian had taken pains to show me that he was okay with my relationship with Adam. That he accepted that we wanted to be together. It was a big change from before. I knew he still, in his heart, probably thought that I deserved better. He had always been too protective of me.
But at the end of the day, I was with Adam, and I wanted Ian to know just how much I appreciated the fact that my brother had flown Adam out to visit me that weekend. I just wasn’t sure how much to share with him.
“Did you have a good weekend?” Ian asked, and I slowly smiled.
“Yeah,” I said. “He’d never been to Vegas before. To be honest, I kind of forgot how fun it can be to go to the casinos and not think about work for a little while. To just have fun and kind of experience the glamor of it all.”
Ian snorted. “So you ready to start working here for real, then?” he asked, but I could tell that he was just teasing. It was such a change from how he had been before.
I shook my head. “I’ve got business back in Utah,” I reminded him. I grinned. “Actually, I think the sooner I get back, the less likely Adam is to quit. I don’t think he really likes being in charge of everything. I wish there was someone else that I could trust to handle things, but he’s doing better than he knows, I think. I keep getting glowing reviews from the other employees. He’s apparently doing an amazing job.”
> I trailed off, blushing. I couldn’t help waiting for Ian to make some disparaging comment about how Adam couldn’t possibly be doing that well since he was just a tradesman. Or something like that.
“I bet he’s great at it,” Ian said, to my surprise. “He’s always been charismatic.”
I bumped my shoulder against his. “Not unlike a certain someone else that I know,” I said.
Ian grinned and then paused. “You really like him, don’t you?” he asked quietly.
“I love him,” I corrected quietly, unable to keep the challenge from my voice.
Ian nodded but didn’t say anything more about it. He glanced at his watch. “I’m happy for you,” he said, sounding distracted. He smiled apologetically at me. “Actually, I have a meeting that I need to step into, if that’s okay?”
I raised an eyebrow at him, thinking through the shared calendar that we had put together. “Who with?” I asked, not remembering seeing anything on the schedule for the morning. But the board of directors wanted me to be there with Ian while he talked to most of our important clients, just in case, so I supposed I was going to have to accompany Ian now.
“It’s with the board of directors,” Ian said, and I blinked in surprise. A secret meeting with the board? What did they want to talk to Ian about? Had they purposefully tried to exclude me?
They weren’t going to fire him, were they? They had to know that I would protest the idea of firing him. He was doing a lot better. Maybe they were trying to keep me from making a scene.
Ian grinned as though he knew just what I was thinking. “Don’t worry,” he said. “I’m the one who asked for the meeting. They kind of scheduled it last minute, so that’s why it’s not on the calendar.”
One Shot At Love: A Billionaire Single Father Romance Page 34