"But Ethan still had money. He could help her."Jesus fuck, tell me someone helped her.Not that she wasn’t capable of taking care of herself, but she had to feel abandoned and alone.
Harper rolled her eyes. "Do you think Kate would accept handouts, even from her brother?"
She had a point. Kate was fiercely proud and independent. Even more so now. I suppose this explained why.
"Not that Ethan didn't funnel money her way. Lucy said he opened an account for her and would put money into it, but Kate very rarely used it."
"So how did she make her living?" She’d told me she opened the Sea Siren last year. What did she do before that?
"She worked at the bar that you just bought, schlepping beers. That's where she and Lucy met."
My jaw dropped. "She was a server in that shithole?"
Harper smirked at me. "That’s your shithole, now. And I hope you're not passing judgment on her for working there? She had to live, after all."
I shook my head. “I'm not passing judgment.” At least not on her.
I was pissed at Kate's grandfather for being so heartless. But I knew that I was equally to blame for her circumstances and her mistrust of anyone other than her brother and his wife.
In fact, I was more to blame. Had I stayed with her, brought her to New York, and married her like we planned, none of what her grandfather had done would have mattered.
Although I'd always known that Kate's resistance to me had to do with the terrible choice I made five years ago, her grandfather's actions compounded it. I had my work cut out for me if she were ever going to trust me again.
I’d had bouts of doubt in the past about whether I could win her back, but this time, that doubt was even bigger. I had much more working against me than I'd known.
“I can see why she doesn’t trust anyone,” I said.
“She trusts Ethan and Lucy even though they lied about their relationship. I think she sort of trusts her friends—me, Anne, Lane, and Bridget—but she’s still a bit guarded with us.”
She had forgiven Ethan and Lucy for lying, so maybe there was hope for me. Granted, my infraction was so much larger and I wasn't related to her like Ethan was. Still, she was capable of forgiveness.
"You know, it would be nice if there were someone who could break through Kate's tough exterior and help her learn to trust again. It would take a very special person to do that."
"I'm special." I suppose it was a dumb thing to say, considering what I had done to Kate, but I knew I could be that man. I had to be that man.
"Are you?" Harper slanted her gaze at me again, pursing her lips, suggesting she didn't think I was. "So far, I see a rich, entitled man who’s whining because the woman he wants won't take him back despite the fact that he left her for another woman."
My teeth ground. "It wasn't like that. I didn't love Sandra." I didn't want to go into details about the choice I'd made.
"But the result is the same, isn't it? You promised to love her forever and then left her to go make a life with someone else. I can see that you want to win her back. I imagine the first time around, your relationship was easy. This time, you're going to have to earn it.”
I looked down at the sand. "You're not telling me anything I don't know. I need to earn her trust back. I just don't know how to do it."
I was heartened by the fact that Kate and I had a nice breakfast. We chatted like friends. But her being friendly to me didn't mean she was growing to trust me.
Hell, even if she said she was open to a sexual relationship, that didn't mean she was opening herself up to the possibility of a future with me. Her heart was locked up tight like Fort Knox. How was I going to break through that?
Harper shrugged. "Unfortunately, I don't have any suggestions for you."
I wondered if Ethan might be willing to give me a few tips. The fact that he hadn’t kicked my ass, and in fact, didn't dissuade me from pursuing Kate, must mean that he wanted her to find love too. Would he help me?
I dismissed that idea as soon as it formulated. Maybe he wasn't going to stand in my way, but I doubted that he'd help.
Later that night, I was pondering the situation as I lay in bed. It was interesting to me that both Harper and my brother suggested that my life had come easily to me, so easily that I expected everything to fall into my lap. I had to concede that it was partly true, but not because I was entitled. At least, I didn't think I was.
Max was right. For most of my life, things did come easily. Even the first time with Kate, a relationship had come together easily. Did that mean I didn’t know how to work through a challenge?
No. I didn't believe that. I was ready, willing, and able to work for Kate.