Juliet hesitates in the middle of the sidewalk, her face going chalk-white at whatever’s popped up on the screen of her phone.

She mouths the word fuck and turns away from the entrance, her shoulders rising toward her ears. It takes her several tries to swipe across the screen and answer the call.

My heart thunders against my chest.

It hasn’t been exactly easy to move heaven and earth like I’ve been doing for the last few days. There were hundreds of permits and contracts to expedite, a new business wing to set up and staff, and a thousand other details of the kind that I normally don’t have to concern myself with. A corporation the size of Grant Pharmaceuticals doesn’t usually run the day-to-day by the man who owns all of it.

All except this time.

Juliet was right when she told me that I take what I want. I go after what I want, too, which is most of the reason that Grant Pharmaceuticals has become the juggernaut in the industry that it is. I’ve never settled for no. I’ve always chased the next deal, the most beautiful mergers, and it’s made me very, very successful.

Except in the most crucial of ways.

This time, I’m not in it to make money.

I will make money, but not in the way that most people will expect—my business advisers first among them.

The truth is, I don’t give a shit what those people think. I just need to show Juliet that I have more to offer her—and the world—than a company drowning in profits. 

She spins around toward the building again, her mouth open. It reminds me of the first time I stood on this sidewalk with her, after I chased her out of the “lecture” that I royally screwed up. Her face is turning that same shade of pink. 

Say that one more time. The words are clear on her lips, and she cocks her head to the side to listen to the reply. I’m dying to know for sure who’s on the other end of the line. I think I have a pretty clear idea.

It’s only another fifteen seconds or so, and then she hangs up, dropping her phone back into her purse. Juliet bites at her lip, and her forehead wrinkles. She gives a tiny shake of her head.

Then, because she is, after all, Juliet James, she lifts her chin, straightens her back, and heads straight for the door of Anderson without a backward glance.

My heart pounds so heavily against my ribs that I wouldn’t be surprised if it burst. 

This is it.

She strides confidently toward the door and pulls it open, and in the overhead lighting of the entrance hall I can see the bags under her eyes. She looks how I feel—exhausted and heartbroken.

Her eyes adjust to the light when she’s only a few steps in front of me, and then her entire face changes.

Juliet’s jaw drops open, and then she snaps her lips shut, covering them with her hand like she’s been caught in something illicit. The urge to wrap her in my arms and carry her out of here, back into the past before we had that stupid fucking argument in the retirement home, is so strong that my hands ball up into fists. I can’t touch her yet. Maybe not ever.

“Juliet James.”

“Weston—” Her voice is tight, the tension between us zinging right into my heart. “What are you doing here?”

“I came to see you.” I cross my arms over my chest and put a look of mild frustration on my face. “You wouldn’t answer my calls.”

She lets out a mortified laugh. “I—meant to.”

“But then you didn’t.”

“No.”

“I understand why.”

Her forehead wrinkles. “Do you?”

“Yes. For once in my life, I understand.”

“It wasn’t that—”

“I know why you said those things, Juliet. I know why you had to get out from under my thumb. You’re not the kind of woman who takes a deal without knowing all the consequences. And you’re not the kind of woman who wants to settle for anything but equal partnership. That’s not what I was offering.”

Two pink spots rise on her cheeks. Her mouth is curving upward in a smile, but her lower lip still trembles. “Maybe I should…” She shakes her head. “Maybe I should back off on that a little.”

I step toward her, meeting her eyes. The violet color is made more vivid by the redness there, as if she’s been crying, running on very little sleep. “No.”

One corner of her mouth rises, and her eyes crinkle at the corners. “Are you telling me what to do, Weston Grant?”

“I’m telling you that you should never back down from who you are. I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

“That’s—” She raises a hand to her mouth again, pressing her fingertips to her lips. “That’s the thing. I wouldn’t either. But the last few days have been…” Her voice trails off, choking up with emotion.

“They’ve been empty as hell. Worthless.”

She nods, tears glistening in her eyes. She refuses to let them spill over. “I moved my dad out of Overbrook, to somewhere called Belle Park.” She looks up at me, a funny expression flashing across her face. “But I think you already knew that.”

“I did know that.”

Juliet nods solemnly. “That explains the phone call I just got from my contact there.”

“Isn’t Cole a nice guy?”

“He really is. He told me something very interesting, though.”

“What was that?”

“He told me that the new parent company of Belle Park refused my request for a payment plan. In fact, he said they refused payment of any kind. All of my dad’s expenses are being covered by some mysterious fund until he’s eligible for Medicare in, oh, about six months. Some new program backed by an anonymous donor.” Her eyes are sparkling.

“That sounds lucky.”

“It sounds more than lucky. It sounds like somebody was looking out for me. I’m only frustrated by one thing.”

“Do tell,” I say, feigning innocence.

“That the donor is anonymous, so I won’t be able to pay them back.”

“Very tricky.”

Juliet crosses her arms over her chest. “You didn’t tell me you were in the business of buying retirement homes. I thought you were only in the business of fleecing people for their money in exchange for the drugs they need to survive.”

I frown at her. “I wouldn’t put it that way. I would say…I make a profit from the new discoveries my company is backing. And I’m persistent to a fault, as you know, so we’ve been taking over lots of spaces in the health care market. But this won’t be a branch of the business that looks for profit.”

“I don’t believe it.”

“In fact, it’ll be funded by profits from some of my other branches of the company. People who apply to live at one of my facilities won’t be taken for a ride. They’ll be assisted every step of the way. And they’ll never have to worry that they’re making a bad deal. They can feel comfortable getting the help they need.”

Juliet’s chin quivers again. “You didn’t have to do this.”

“I did. Because Juliet…every moment without you has been hell. There’s nothing I wouldn’t do to prove that I’m not in this to gain anything but more time with you. And if that means buying twenty-five retirement facilities in the last two days with plans for a hundred more across the country, then so be it.”

Her jaw drops again. “You’re serious about this?”

“I’m serious. And—” I take a deep breath. “That’s not all I’ve done.”

“What else?”

“I’ve started a series of new scholarships for students at Anderson who are family caretakers or need extra assistance when it comes to tuition.”

She shakes her head, smiling so wide it lights up the entire building.

“I’m only sorry to tell you that you’re not eligible for it.”