Page 53 of On His Knees

Granddad laughs some more, and I can hear him slapping his leg, like he always does when he’s victorious about something. “Summer is my doctor. Didn’t she tell you?”

So, Summer is a doctor.

“No.” My mind spins out of control and I shut my eyes to let my thoughts catch up. Summer is a doctor. I think about the clues. They were all there, I just hadn’t put it together but now everything makes sense. Except for why neither Granddad nor Summer told me.

“I knew you’d go after her. I wasn’t kidding when I said I wanted to bring her into the family. I knew you two would be perfect for each other. Do I hear wedding bells, son? And I still plan to sign half the estate over to her, and the other half over to you as my wedding gift. I’m not going to live forever, you know. I’ll be going in the ground someday.”

It might be sooner than you think.

I work to rein in my anger, reminding myself this is my ninety-year-old granddad, who only has my best interests at heart, but he’s gone too far this time. Way too far.

“Why didn’t you just tell me about her, see if I might want to go on a date like normal people do, instead of setting up this elaborate story, and forcing me to fly to St. Moritz when I have work to do?”

“Would you have listened to me? Asked her out on a date?”

“Probably not, but—”

“Exactly.” He claps his hands loudly and hoots. “Summer wouldn’t have let me set her up either, without a little push. Probably too concerned about mixing business and pleasure. I knew that if I wanted you two to get together, I’d have to force you into it. But I also knew it’d all work out in the end. You’ve fallen for her, I can tell. I can hear it in your voice.”

“Granddad,” I say slowly. “I might have fallen for her, but now everything is all messed up.”

“Then go fix it, James.”

The phone clicks dead and I stare straight ahead, not realizing the driver has stopped in front of Raydolins.

I stare at the lobby and realize I have two choices here. One, I can leave without her ever knowing who I am, because the last thing I want to do is hurt her with the truth; or two, come clean and find a way to make her mine...forever.

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

Summer

CARA CALLED THE HOSPITAL, got the latest information on Henry, and I’m relieved to know he’s going to be okay. What I’m not relieved about is the way Tate found out I’m a doctor. Is he going to hate me for keeping that from him? Or will we just laugh it off? I’m not sure, but I do know we need to talk, which is why I’m heading to the lobby of my hotel, hoping he’s back at the bar by now.

The elevator stops and I step out. From across the wide expanse of marble, I catch sight of Tate rushing inside, dressed only in his work shirt, jeans and shoes. He took off so fast with Henry, he had no time to grab his winter gear. Our glances collide, and we hurry toward one another, but suddenly someone else gets to him first.

“Tate? Tate Carson—it is you. I knew I recognized you from the bar earlier. Hell of a thing to happen to that man, I hope he’s all right.” Tate looks at me over the man’s shoulders, and his face has gone pale. “How have you been? How is James? Still as sharp as ever at ninety, I bet.”

My feet stop moving, and my breath catches in my throat.

Tate Carson...is James’s grandson?

Wait, James told me his grandson was also a James, and that he’s a powerhouse lawyer. If that’s the case, why is he going by Tate, and bartending at the resort? The room spins before my eyes, and I grab the edge of a chair to hold on for the ride.

Since he didn’t go by James, or tell me he was a lawyer, there was no way I could’ve put this together. And yet, the signs were all there. Everything from the way Tate knew his way around my suite, knew how to open the latch, to the way he smoothed his hand over his tie, whether he was wearing one or not. Those things should have tipped me off, and in a sense they did, but it was too ludicrous to think they’d be related. But now, when I really look at him, the resemblance between him and James as a young man is crystal clear.

So why didn’t Tate tell me who he was? Was he slumming it with some random girl, having a little fun on his vacation? Is he even on vacation if he’s taking shifts at the bar? I am so confused.

He finally excuses himself from the man and stalks toward me. “Summer, it’s not what you think,” he says quickly.

I shake my head. Honestly, I have no idea what to think.

“I never knew you were my grandfather’s doctor when I came here looking for you.”

I falter a little at that. “You came here looking for me?”

He reaches for me, but I jerk my arm free. “Yes, let me explain—”

My mind trips back. “When you picked me up and spun me that first day, it was me you were really looking for?”

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