Page 66 of Meet Me at the Grand

Liam’s eyes widened slightly, but he didn’t say anything more.

“When Dad found out about the affair, they separated. All of my siblings were old enough to be living on their own. A few had already gone off to college. Others were here, working at the hotel. I was forced to go back and forth between Mom and Dad’s houses. Mom eventually married Ryan. That was the last straw for Dad.”

She was quiet for so long that Liam finally asked in that gentle way of his, “What happened?”

Dani fiddled with the small ring on the first knuckle of her forefinger. “One night, I found him drunk, walking up and down the lower balcony of the hotel—a huge bottle of vodka in one hand, a lighter in the other. Dad always smoked when he got stressed, and this particular night…”

She inhaled sharply at the memory of his bloodshot eyes. Of the utter despondency in them. At his words, repeated over and over. “He just kept saying, ‘She left me, she left me.’ I don’t know. Maybe he expected her to come back to him. But then she got remarried. That must have been the thing he needed to realize it was never happening, even though they’d been separated for four years.” Dani cleared her throat. “That night, he set that bottle on the floor and reached into his pocket, pulled out his pack of cigarettes, and stumbled into his vodka. It spilled everywhere. Soaked the old wooden floor. And when he lit the cigarette and accidentally dropped it…”

“Oh, no,” Liam breathed.

“Oh, yes. Thankfully he wasn’t standing right over the puddle, but then it caught fire right in front of him. I shouted at Dad to stomp it out, but it was too late. It was the perfect storm. Didn’t help that the wind blew that night, but thankfully we got everyone out. Afterward, the insurance company had assumed it was an accident. Had been ready to pay. Nobody else saw what had happened. Nobody except me.”

“That must have been a huge burden.”

“You have no idea.” She sniffed. “I was so upset in the following weeks, and in a moment of weakness, Mom finally got me to open up. She held me. I thought she cared. And when I told her Dad had done it…”

“She told someone?”

Dani nodded. “Ryan. And he told the insurance company, who then refused to pay for the damages. Dad couldn’t afford to rebuild. Uncle Seb offered to pay him what the hotel was worth—which wasn’t much, in the shape it was in—but Dad refused, saying he’d rather see the property rot then allow Uncle Seb to demolish it and rebuild something else on the property my uncle and Mom rightfully owned. He was just so angry with my mom.”

“I can’t imagine how tough that must have been to be in the middle like that.”

“Don’t you get it? I wasn’t just in the middle. I am thereasonmy siblings all left. Why Dad left—found investors in Florida and started over with a new hotel.” She straightened. “If I’d just kept my mouth shut, they’d all still be here right now. We might have figured out a way to make this rebuild happen much sooner. I might not be so…” She held back another sob.

“Alone?”

Her eyes watered again. Oh, nonsense. When had crying ever helped? And yet, finally sharing this load with someone—with Liam—somehow did.

“The thing you’re not realizing here is that you told the truth. If you hadn’t, your dad might have gone to jail for insurance fraud.”

“I mean, maybe.”

“There’s no maybe about it. You did the right thing and probably saved your family even more heartache in the end.” Liam reached for her again and pulled her close. She went willingly, and oh, how safe she felt, tucked in his embrace. “And I’m sorry that you feel so alone, but you’re actually not. I’m here.”

Oh, her heart. “Thank you, Liam.”

“Always.” His breath fanned against her cheek. “But wait. Your brother blames you for all of this? That’s ridiculous.”

She opened her mouth to protest.

But Liam only held her tighter. “No, Dani. Listen. You were just a kid torn between two warring sides. You trusted your mom to have your best interests at heart, and she failed you. That’s not on you. It’s on her. And it’s on your dad, who let himself get so far gone that he burned down the place he loved best. The placeyouloved best.”

“He was hurting.”

“And it’s understandable. But what’s not understandable is how all of them left you alone here to pick up the pieces.”

She knew they all had their reasons. But his words still hurt. Rather, the truth in them did.

“You know, one of the things I love most about you is your passion for this place. Your forgiving heart. The way you really see people and their faults and love them anyway. But you can’t control what other people do, and you can’t keep them from hurting you again, no matter how hard you try to protect your heart by taking the blame on yourself.”

Her breath shuddered in and out. “Is that really what I’m doing?”

“I just want you to see how amazing you are. And if your family doesn’t see it, that’s on them.”

“You’re good for my ego, you know that?” She snuggled up against him, her arms tangled in his.

He chuckled, and the sound rumbled in his chest. “Hey, I’ve got an idea. The last two days have been really exhausting. How about we take a breather tomorrow? You could show me more of the island.”

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