His 2nd Chance by Lori Ryan & Kay Manis

Author:Lori Ryan & Kay Manis [Ryan, Lori & Manis, Kay]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: contemporary romance, Women's Fiction, Forever Love, Bachelor, Single Woman, Sensual, Hearts Desire, Lifetime Love, Life-Changes, second chances, Honesty & Trust, Home & Family, Romantic Schemes, Beautiful & Feisty, Love-Family & Forever, Small Town & Rural Area, Romantic Comedy, The Sumner Family & Siblings, Canyon Creek, Co., The Sumner Brothers, Marriage Reconciliation, Love-Healing & Hope, Destroyed Career-Marriage & Fortune, Family Saga
ISBN: 9781732719521
Publisher: RMI Publishing LLC
Published: 2018-11-17T05:00:00+00:00

Chapter Nineteen

Sophie’s words rang through Grant’s mind.

You could utterly destroy me.

Didn’t she know that she’d already destroyed him?

“I didn’t mean it like it sounded,” she said.

He picked up the oars and began rowing them back to shore.

“Grant,” she called softly.

“What did you mean, something you can’t have?”

She shook her head. “Nothing.”

“Now who’s being passive-aggressive?”

She laughed. “That’s not really passive-aggressive.”

“No,” he said, “but it’s not the truth.”

She pulled at the straps on her life vest, avoiding his gaze.

“I’m seeing a therapist,” he blurted out.

Her head snapped up and she stared at him wide-eyed. “Really?”

“Yeah.”

“Why?”

“Because.” He paused, trying to let his thoughts catch up with his mouth, something he hadn’t been able to do until he’d met Dr. Colleen Lampkin, his therapist. “Because I hit rock bottom and I realized I needed help.”

“Were you drinking?” she asked, as if afraid of the answer.

“No. I mean, not drinking to ease the pain or numb myself for long periods of time if that’s what you mean. I mean, yeah, there were a few nights I got shitfaced but…no.”

“Was it for anger management?”

Grant laughed. “Do you think I have anger issues, Soph?”

“Well, no,” she shook her head, “but you did beat your manager almost unconscious.”

“He had it coming. Anyone in my shoes would have done the same thing.”

“Are you going to tell me what he did?”

“I already told you, he threatened something important to me.”

“Something or someone?” she asked.

“Does it matter?”

“No, I guess not.”

“He was trying to blackmail me.” That was at least part of the truth. Grant didn’t want to tell her that she was part of his manager’s twisted scheme.

“Is that why you lost all your money?”

He stared at her, not surprised at her knowledge, hell the entire world knew how far he’d fallen. All for her.

“Partly,” he said quietly as he continued to row.

She nodded and smiled as if grateful for that small bit of truth.

The real truth was, he didn’t want to win Sophie back by telling her he’d saved her from scandal and humiliation. If he won her back, he wanted it to be solely because she loved him and believed in him.

He drew a lung full of cool air and released a sigh before admitting what he never had before. “When you hit bottom the only place you can go is up, and the only person you can blame for not making it out is yourself. I guess all of that forced me to look at myself, really look at myself.”

“And what did you see?”

“A selfish, immature prick who needed the approval and attention of everyone.”

He finally let his gaze meet hers. She stared at him with no judgment in her eyes, only encouragement, as if she wanted to know more. So he gave it to her.

“I realized that I actually have low self-esteem. Acting was a way for me to become someone else, someone I was…proud of. Someone my family could be proud of. Instead, I disappointed everyone.”

“You weren’t proud of yourself before?”

“Not really, I guess. I was prideful but not proud.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.