Read Can't Let Go for Free Online Page B

mother?” Mitchell asked.
    Grace set her glass down very deliberately before she met his gaze. Mentioning her mother when she wasn’t in complete control was never a good idea. It roused forgotten bitterness and her only fears of parenting. Her mom encouraged Casey to have an abortion and continued to blackmail Grace’s father to punish him for never loving her in return. Her mother was the reason Grace was sick to her stomach about the thought of parenting. If Ray and Vicky were the only role models she had… wasn’t Evie better off with someone else?
    “What about her?” Grace snapped.
    “Why not ask her to take care of your niece? She doesn’t work the hours that you do.”
    He was practically daring her to admit that her mom wasn’t suitable to be around children. The last was a very deliberate dig that made her hand clench into a fist. No matter how much she despised the choices her mom made in life she refused to discuss them with a man who grew up in luxury. How could she explain to someone as successful and driven as Mitchell about her mom who blackmailed the only man she had ever loved? Grace knew it would change Mitchell’s perception of her and she was right. In society background was everything. It was why Grace never discussed her family with Mitchell in the two years they were together. Little had she known that Ray beat her to it.
    “It’s better that I take custody,” Grace said diplomatically.
    “You can’t even admit to yourself what she is,” he said scornfully.
    Her hand fisted. “My family is no concern of yours.”
    “Is that why you never brought them up? Because they’re not my concern? How long were you going to hide the fact that you were putting regular deposits into a bank account you never told me about?”
    She stiffened. “You checked my bank statements?”
    “I didn’t understand why your bank account never got bigger no matter how much profit you made. You also didn’t come home at least once or twice a week whenever I was away on business. I had to know.”
    She didn’ t respond. Objectively, she knew her actions were shady but there was nothing to say now. It didn’t matter. She stared out of the window instead of getting into an argument she knew she wouldn’t win.
    “ Stop ignoring me,” he snapped. “Doing your best impression of the ice queen isn’t going to run me off. I can take whatever you dish out. I know you’re holding everything in. You’ve been more of a mom than a sister to Casey.”
    His words sent a crack through the façade she was holding onto by sheer willpower. She sucked in a breath. “Don’t say her name.” She couldn’t hear her name without wanting to let beat her fists against the walls of the plane.
    “ If you need to cry, cry. If you need to yell at me, go ahead but you aren’t doing this alone no matter how much you think you don’t need me. Whatever you need, ask and it’s yours.”
    She couldn’t stay still. Being this close to him with no one around to distract them from each other was making her crazy. She drank her ginger ale and paced up and down the aisle. She bit her lip, thinking about taking custody of Evie. Doubt plagued her. Grace paused in her march up and down the aisle and placed a call to her mom. Vicky didn’t answer so she left a voicemail, asking her to call as soon as possible. She hadn’t talked to her mom for a year and from what little Casey said, their mom was getting deeper into drugs and alcohol but even Vicky deserved to know her daughter passed. She thumbed through her contacts, trying to think of more things she had to do to pass the time.
    Mitchell got tired of watching Grace pace and got up and pushed her down into the seat beside him. When she tried to get up he twined their hands together and anchored her in the seat. When she looked up to tell him off, the words died on her tongue.
    “ Just sit,” he said.
    His hand was warm, his grip confident and sure when she felt so lost and