Impulsion (Station 32 #1)(93)
“I didn’t—I didn’t travel here alone. I have friends at the hotel.”
“More Dorans?”
“No, sir. Easton Ballantine and Memphis Armstrong.”
“The racer Lucas Armstrong’s son? I’ll send a car for them. I’d love to hear the stories Memphis has about his father, and according to you I have a thank you to give Easton. Donald,” Garrison called. When Donald arrived in the doorway, Garrison said, “I need you to send the car back to Wyatt’s hotel to pick up his companions, along with their belongings.”
When Donald left, Garrison looked right at Wyatt. “Son, by no means is my home a prison. You are free to leave at any time. If you wake in the morning and find fault in our conversation, doubt that tells you that you need more time, so be it. But I will tell you this: I have found in my life that people are either mad because they have wasted time in the past or because they are currently wasting time—being mad is what we do. It’s best to not be mad, not waste time. Your first instinct is the right one. It’s natural to explore, to wonder about other options, but I would think the gap in your past would have already afforded both you and my daughter all the time you needed to explore, to be sure you’re where you want to be today.”
“I don’t doubt my path. I’ll go to Collin’s apartment right now if that’s what Harley needs to have your blessing. My only qualm is putting her on a stage that I have tried to pull her off of. I imagined asking her to marry her in every way but this…”
“Then put her in her own world when you ask her. You may want to give your mother a call as well. I’m sure she’d like to know her oldest son, the man set to oversee her legacy, is about to propose to my daughter.”
Wyatt swallowed, a bit nervously, not sure how he was going to word this to his mother. He doubted she’d find fault with it, but at the same time this room felt like a dream. Everything he wanted was given to him—that is if Harley said yes. He feared stepping back from this and finding some hidden flaw, some hidden trap. He came from a blunt, straightforward family, but according to Harley, her family was anything but.
Chapter Twenty
Harley’s mind had yet to settle. The guilt was insane, and she wasn’t sure if she felt guilty for playing this part, forcing Wyatt to stay behind and allow her to move the chess pieces so they could be together, or if she felt the guilt of playing this out for her father, knowing deep down it was both points that were making her sick to her stomach.
The fact that every time she tried to call Wyatt it went straight to voicemail was not helping her. He may have kissed her goodbye, told her he loved her, but that didn’t mean he was not furious with her.
She had made it to New York, pulled the things she had at Collin’s apartment together. What she really wanted, she set aside for him to ship. The rest was going to charity.
After that, she took her bags to her father’s house and had lunch with him, her mother, and Conrad and Silvia, Collin’s parents. Harley felt nauseous the entire time. Adrenaline would drown her every time she saw Collin try to take an opening in the conversation to hint at the announcement of this break up, and each time Conrad or Garrison would speak over him. Either that or their mothers would take over the conversation, speaking of the summer they had overseas.
After that, Harley was stuck with her mother, going over what the coordinator had set up. She went to tell her mother a thousand times about Wyatt, but she couldn’t even manage to tell the woman that she had been in a wreck; she kept cutting her off. And when she wasn’t cutting her off, she was berating her for being more tan, said she had to find her a new dress now.
Harley had been pacing in her room, the room that she and Collin were supposed to be sharing, waiting on him to come back. He had followed their fathers out to play a round of golf. She was hoping he had at least gotten through to someone. At this point, stealing a microphone and announcing this seemed to be the only way to get anyone to listen to them. She had to figure out how to warn her father this announcement was coming.
When Collin walked in with a defeated look, Harley sank down on the sofa before her. “How could you have spent almost six hours with them and gotten nowhere?”
Collin sat next to her, slid down in the seat. “I got through to my dad; yours cut me off.”
Harley looked sharply back at him, knowing that Conrad may be enough. If he had just told him, that would at least be step one.
Collin shook his head. “He told me he could have dinner with Quinn tonight, but I couldn’t, that I had to meet with your dad, tell him.”
“You told him you were going to marry her?”
“He asked me if I had the ring, and I said no, I gave it away.” Collin let a sheepish grin come to his face. “Then I told him to whom, and that was when he said that he would meet her tonight.”
“Then why are you here?”
“Well, I went to prepare Quinn—she is beyond freaked about this—then I went to meet your dad. Donald told me that I must be mistaken, that he already had dinner plans. I asked to see him anyway, and he said he would call me as soon as his guests leave.”
Harley looked at the clock; it was almost eight. Any guests would leave soon enough. Her father was not one to stay up all hours of the night anymore.
At midnight, she stopped her pacing and looked down at Collin. “I’m going to go downstairs and wake him up, tell him all of it. I can’t take this.”