Dennis Lane bit his lip, his nose twitching as tears welled up in his eyes. He looked utterly miserable, arms reaching out as he tried to hug Andrew Lane.

"Dad, please don't be like this..."

Andrew Lane merely lowered his eyes and said, "Stand up straight."

His voice was calm, but there was an authority in it that made it hard to look him in

the eye.

Dennis's arms dropped stiffly to his sides.

Isabella Austin's mother's heart ached for her grandson. “Andrew, he's just a child..."

Andrew Lane's tone stayed cold and unyielding. "That's enough. If he won't apologize, he can stay right here."

Emily Blair was a little surprised by how uncompromising Andrew was he was determined to make Dennis apologize to her. She'd thought Andrew, like Isabella's parents, spoiled Dennis and let him get away with anything.

Her mind flashed back to her previous life, to the image of Dennis, flanked by bodyguards, bullying her daughter. A shadow passed through her eyes.

Dennis clutched the hem of his shirt, sniffling as he shuffled over to stand in front of Emily. Reluctantly, he mumbled, "Sorry..."

His voice was barely a whisper, trembling so much Emily could hardly make out the words.

Before she could respond, Andrew Lane's brows snapped together and he barked, "Say it louder."

Dennis blurted out the apology, then instantly turned and ran into Isabella Austin's mother's arms. At the sound of his father's voice, he flinched, burying his face against his grandmother and crying out, "Grandma!"

Isabella Austin's mother's expression hardened as she glared at Andrew. "That's enough, Andrew! Dennis is your son—Emily Blair is an outsider! Isabella just left us, and instead of comforting Dennis, you're taking an outsider's side and bullying your own child?"

Andrew's stance didn't waver. "This isn't about anything else. When you do something wrong, you apologize."

She pushed Dennis into Isabella Austin's father's arms and marched up to Andrew. "Dennis has already apologized. What more do you want? He's my grandson. If you don't care about him, I do."

Andrew's jaw tightened, a faint crease forming between his brows.

Isabella Austin's mother shot Emily Blair a look of pure dislike.

Emily's face remained calm, but the older woman's lip curled with contempt. This was the woman who'd hurt her precious daughter, and now she was making her grandson suffer too.

She snapped, "You know perfectly well the history between Isabella and Emily Blair, and yet you're forcing Isabella's son to apologize to her? Andrew, have you lost your mind? Or is it that now Isabella's gone, you just don't care about Dennis anymore?"

Andrew's voice was low. “I'm just teaching him right from wrong.”

She cut him off sharply. “Enough. Dennis has apologized-this conversation is over."

Andrew's dark eyes were heavy with emotion, clearly unconvinced.

But Isabella Austin's mother was already bending down to scoop up the still-sobbing Dennis, patting his back as she comforted him. “That's it. I'm taking Dennis home to get cleaned up. If he stays out in this wind any longer, he'll get a fever.”

There was nothing Andrew could do but watch as she carried Dennis away and slid into the car.

He looked over at Emily Blair.

She just shrugged.

Suddenly, Andrew's gaze shifted to something behind her.

Puzzled, Emily turned and suddenly found a cup of iced tea thrust in front of her, condensation sliding down the sides.

The cup slowly lowered, revealing Tristan Davis's handsome face, his eyes sparkling with a mischievous grin.

Emily raised a brow as Tristan popped a straw into the lid and stuffed the drink into her hand. "Here, have this. I waited in line forever."

She was parched, so she took a big sip without hesitation.

Tristan kept one hand on his own drink and draped his other arm casually over

Emily's shoulder. With a teasing smile, he looked over at Andrew. "Sorry, Mr. Lane, I only bought two-none for you."

Andrew just gave him a sidelong glance, then turned back to Emily. "Your clothes are soaked."

Emily tugged at her damp jeans, unconcerned. "No big deal. I'll wash up when I get home."

Andrew's eyes seemed even darker in the night. "Thank you for saving Dennis." She shrugged again. "Don't mention it. It was nothing."