"I wouldn't blame you," Arianne said finally. "If you walked away from it. The years you've spent already don't come back, whatever you decide from here. Nobody gets to hand those back to you."
Sam nodded, like she'd expected that answer and had braced for it anyway.
"But I think you've misunderstood him." Arianne let that sit before she went on. "The hotel. What he said to you."
Sam's head came up. "He said my name. 'Because you're Samantha Pemberton.' I've had eight years to think about that sentence. I don't think there's a version I've missed."
"There is." Arianne kept her voice even. "Have you ever asked yourself why your name would stop him? Not what it meant to you. What it would have meant to him, saying it out loud, in that room, at that moment."
"I assumed he thought I was out of his league. Rich family, runway career, the Pemberton name attached to half the buildings downtown." Sam's mouth twisted. "It's not exactly a stretch."
