“What am I going to do now, Rico? He hates my mother—”
“Ah, excuse me, most people do, so what’s the diff?”
“How can I ignore that or everything he’s done?”
“Listen, you don’t want him, then I’ll take him off your hands.”
She swatted his arm. “I’m trying to be serious here.”
“I am being serious.” He smiled.
Priscilla chuckled. “Quit, will you? I have a dilemma here.”
Rico shrugged. “Only if you want it to be a dilemma.”
Frowning, she asked, “What does that mean?”
He tapped the screen. “Take a note from your hubby. It’s all in the way you see things. Missions or dreams? You choose.”
Griff’s words came back to her now. Lady’s choice.
Chapter 23
Priscilla trembled as she sat beside Charlie and Alex in the back of the town car later that night. Edward drove and Dolly sat up front. “What’s this all about?” she wondered out loud. “What is Griff up to, asking all of us to come to his house?” When he called and asked her at work earlier, she’d been too stunned to think. Now questions tumbled in her mind as her heart stuck in her throat.
She hadn’t planned to go back there, to his house, to the house she’d poured her heart and soul into. He wasn’t the only one who’d been transformed. She had—by making each little decision on the decor, selecting each piece with him in mind, finding just the right item for his taste, taking risks, gaining confidence, and earning her right to be a King.
Never before had she had that much freedom to do as she pleased, follow her dreams. He’d done that for her. Given her a blank canvas and told her to soar. His Pixie, he called her. She smiled at that thought.
“Francie and Marcus are meeting us there,” Charlie said, patting her hand.
“Family meeting,” Alex said. “I’m sure he has the best intentions…now.”
That statement sat heavy on her. “I think he always did,” she said softly. “At least when it came to us, Daddy’s girls.”
“I can’t imagine a young child going through what he did and not being damaged,” Charlie said. “My heart aches for that little boy.” She blinked back tears. “Maybe it’s because I’m going to become a mother, and I can’t stand the thought of my babies in that same situation.”
Alex put his arm around her shoulder and drew her near. “The things he must have gone through. At least I had my grandparents when my parents died.”
“His daddy was such a good man, too,” Dolly piped up.
“You knew him?” Priscilla asked, stunned.
“Oh, sure, honey. He was a regular at the house. He was your daddy’s lawyer, but, more so his friend. We’d play poker together sometimes.”
“And you won, right?” Edward asked, glancing at her with a big smile.
“Don’t you know it!” She chuckled.
“What was he like?” Priscilla wanted to hear an outsiders’ perspective.
“The best. A lot like your daddy. Quiet, easygoing, big guy, too. But he had a shyness about him, while Mr. K. was the people person. I should have spotted the likeness in Mr. G. when I met him, ’cause him and his daddy have those same eyes. But, Big Jim, his gray eyes were always dancing with a smile. The least I coulda done was figure it out when I made that surprise dinner for you, honey. Mr. G. and I got to talking about the old days…” She trailed off.
“What?” Edward asked, now frowning.
“You know, this and that—a will here, a will there.” Her voice betrayed her nerves, but Edward’s sharp look asked her unspoken questions.
“We’re here,” he announced, pulling into the driveway.
Priscilla’s middle did flip-flops as she got out of the car. She waited for the rest of her family to join her before she walked to the front entrance.
“Oh, my, this is so pretty,” Dolly said. “I like those flowers you picked, Prissy. Colorful.”
She forced a smile. Ringing the doorbell felt foreign to her since over the last weeks she came and went as she pleased.
When he opened the door, she began to doubt the saneness of this meeting. His gaze, hot and searing, made her tremble. An ache shot through her.
He ushered them in without a word.
Dolly and Charlie oohed and ahhed over the decor. “Prissy, this looks even better than the pictures,” Charlie said.
The men shook hands, easing right back into that old familiar men talk.
Dolly took charge of the coats, hanging them up on the nearby coat rack. Then she asked if she could do anything, make coffee or refreshments.