A few days after the election in early November, Claire dropped by her parents’ house once they’d returned from awaiting the returns and celebrating her father’s win in Boston. They were hosting a dinner that evening for Thomas’s DC staffers to celebrate his re-election win and to thank them for their work on his campaign. Claire had been invited to attend but had begged off.

“You must miss Gabe,” Claire’s mother said, peering into her bedroom mirror as she fastened an earring.

“A little.” Claire was grateful Gabe hadn’t been lying about not being involved in the kidnapping attempt against her. But while he hadn’t hurt her, he’d still caused harm to his investors. Some of them were ruined financially, a situation that would probably never be rectified. It was dismaying.

Eva fluffed her hair, tugging a few wisps around her face. “I wish you could join us. What was it you said you had going on tonight?”

Claire perched on the silk-covered bench at the foot of the antique poster bed. “A date.”

“With whom?”

“Grayson Matthews.”

Her mother’s brow pinched into a frown. “Who?”

“Matthews is the agent who was guarding Claire,” Claire’s father said as he entered the room, tugging on his suit coat.

Eva whirled around from the mirror, her look of surprise morphing into annoyance.

Before her mother could speak, Claire pulled her shoulders back and sat up straighter, preparing herself for the next revelation. “By the way, I’ve decided to move out of the condo.”

Eva’s mouth dropped open. “But, Claire, we bought that condo for you.”

“No, Mother, you bought the condo as an investment. It was never really mine. I appreciate your allowing me to stay there the last couple of years, but I think it’s time I went out on my own.”

Claire’s father eased onto the bench next to her. Resting his hand on her knee, he said, “Are you sure about this? How will you pay for another place to live? You’re not working yet, but once you take the bar and join a firm—”

Maybe this wasn’t the best time for Claire to bring up her decision about not pursuing law, but she’d waited long enough.

She cleared her throat. “There’s something else I need to tell you. I’m going to finish law school and take the bar, but I won’t be joining a firm. I’ll use my trust fund to support myself until I decide what exactly it is I want to do with my life.”

Eva held a hand to her throat and gasped, but Thomas’s reaction wasn’t quite as dramatic.

“I think you should at least stay in the condo until you graduate in May. After that,” he said with a resigned look, “perhaps it won’t be too long before you find your way.”

Eva stepped closer and opened her mouth to voice her opinion on the matter, but snapped it shut when Thomas glared up at her in warning.

Claire paused for a moment, then decided to give in a little in order to keep the peace. “Thank you, Daddy. That’s probably the smart thing to do. I’ll move out after graduation. But in the meantime . . .” She glanced at her mother. “I’d appreciate having some privacy.”

Thomas suppressed a smile. “Perfectly understandable. We won’t be dropping in unannounced. Right, Eva?”

Her lips pinched tight, Eva gave him a begrudging nod.

Thomas turned back to Claire. “And why won’t you be joining a firm?”

“My heart isn’t in it.”

“What about working part-time?”

Her mother recovered from her shock just in time to jump on that bandwagon. She nodded enthusiastically. “Yes. Just think of all the suitable people you’ll meet in a law firm.”

Claire closed her eyes for a moment, summoning patience. She’d known Grayson wouldn’t be acceptable in her mother’s eyes, but Eva’s reaction still hurt.

Clearly, it would take her parents time to adjust to things.

Thomas stood up, surprising Claire as he extended a hand to her with a smile. “Whatever you decide, my dear, we’ll support.”

Claire’s gaze flew to her father’s face. Relief filled her as she took in the sincerity in his expression, and she accepted his hand and allowed him to pull her into a rare hug.

“You should do something you enjoy,” he said, patting her back awkwardly. “And be with someone you love. Someone who will have your best interest at heart and support your dreams.”

She pulled back and returned his smile. “Thank you, Dad.”

Her mother was blinking rapidly at the exchange, apparently stunned once again, but Claire didn’t mind.

For once she was doing the right thing. She was following her heart.