Page 8 of One Golden Ring
“From basically nothing to almost nothing,” Michael says quietly. “And all I have to do is become a human pincushion. No thanks. I’ve lived my life. I’m ready to go out on my own terms.”
My boss is as still as a statue, but I canfeelthe hurt that’s radiating through him.
“Besides, I miss your grandmother,” Michael says with a gentle smile. “It’s time.”
My chest aches, and I’m trying so hard not to cry, but I’m not sure I’ll be able to manage that.
Derek of all people should understand. I know he misses his wife too.
“But I’m really glad you’re here to spend a little time with me,” Michael says, brightening up. “How long can you stay?”
I practically cringe at the answer. Surely we can stay a little longer than Sunday night?
“We’re here for the weekend,” Derek says.
“Let’s make the most of it then,” Michael says with sparkling eyes. “Bronson,let’s get those dessert menus.”
“Oh, we don’t need—” my boss begins.
But this timeIcut him off—something I wouldn’t have dreamed of just five minutes ago, but his grandfather must be rubbing off on me.
“That sounds great,” I tell Michael.
“She’s a girl after my own heart,” he declares, winking at me. “Now I’ve got to warn you two, I do have to work tomorrow. But maybe I’ll knock off early if Margo can spare me.”
“Grandpa, you don’t have to work,” Derek puts in. “You haven’t had to for a long time. Come to the city with me, and let me spoil you after all the years you’ve put in. My staff would wait on you hand and foot.”
He’s not wrong. Derek Lockwood has enough money for people to attend to his family’s needs even if they all lived to be two hundred.
“This is my home,” Michael says simply.
There’s something about the way his voice rings when he says it that makes me know that he’s right. And as I look around at the crackling fire and the glow of the moonlight on the snowy trees out the window, I wonder if there’s anyone in the world who wouldn’t want this place to be their home.
I’m glad we’re getting some dessert—even more than usual. It will give us more time to spend with this sweet man.
And it will also give me more time before I have to go back to thehoneymoon cabinwith my boss.
3
DEREK
Inever thought I’d wind up where I am right now.
I’ve had some version of that same thought so many times over the past five years since losing my wife.
I never thought I’d be a single dad.
I never thought I’d hire nannies and tutors.
I never thought I’d let my daughter out of my sight, let alone go off to boarding school.
I never thought I’d lose my soul to the business that used to bring me so much pleasure.
I never thought my grandfather would get sick and I’d fly out of the city on a wing and a prayer to get to him.
And I never, ever thought I’d let my wild fantasies about Darcy Keller find their way out of my imagination and into my grandfather’s head.
But somewhere along the line in my talks with him I must have let the cat out of the bag somehow. And now he thinks we’re an item. When I saw how happy the idea made him, I just didn’t have the heart to correct him.
