“You’re a smartass,” he said scowling again. “When did you decide you were in love with Lila Kate?”
Why did this matter? I wasn’t here to defend myself. I would have to do that with Grant. I shouldn’t have to do it with my father. “Does it matter?”
I gave me one sharp nod and continued to glare at me.
“When I thought I was going to lose her. That’s when.”
“Lose her? When did you have her?”
“I didn’t have her, but it was the idea that she could love someone else. Forget me. Move on. It was a slap in the face. One I needed.”
Dad stood up straight and groaned. “That’s not the answer I wanted to hear. You can’t just think you love her in order to keep her loving you. Then get bored and break her heart. That’s cruel son. Selfish. I taught you better than this.”
“I’ve loved her or a long time. Okay. I knew if I let myself I’d feel something special. But Lila Kate is . . . she’s important. I couldn’t hurt her. I was protecting her.”
I watched as he rubbed his forehead as if frustrated. This wasn’t his business. We weren’t kids who were just caught fucking in the backseat. “You wanted to meet with me about the Kipling franchise,” I reminded him.
“You’re changing the subject.”
I nodded. “Yep.”
He started to say something else and stopped. “Fine. You are both adults. If you want to do this, I can’t stop you. But Lila Kate isn’t like the women you typically spend time with. She’s fragile, sweet, unsure . . . I don’t want you to hurt her.”
I looked directly at my dad. “Nothing has ever been this serious in my life. I’ll kill anyone who hurts her.”
Dad sat there a moment then raised one of his eyebrows. “Well, son, I guess I lost that bet.”
“What?”
He walked over to his side of the desk. “I told your mother you’d be a bachelor until you were at least forty. She bet me you’d fall in love before the year was over. She said she just had a feeling.”
Annoyed at both my parents, I stood up. “I can’t believe y’all were betting on that. I hope she just emptied your fucking pockets.”
Dad chuckled. “I won’t tell you what the wager was . . . you couldn’t handle it.”
Lila Kate
THE OOLONG TEA I’d ordered was getting cold as I waited on Cruz. I’d taken a few sips but my thoughts were elsewhere, and I’d forgotten about it while I pondered this situation. I hadn’t been kidding when I had said that I would be dealing with a lot of “Shelbys.” It was just the way things were.
The problem was I immediately started comparing myself to her and finding my faults. She was taller, leggy, her hair was blonde and curly. She was confident. I couldn’t do this every time we came in contact with a female Cruz had slept with. That would eventually make me miserable. I had to build some confidence. I had to think about my good qualities and remember that Cruz had said he loved me.
I was almost positive he’d never said that to another woman. It wasn’t a Cruz-type behavior to proclaim love.
“Sorry it took so long,” Cruz’s voice startled me, causing me to jump a little. He grinned, obviously amused. As he sat down, he added, “You were in deep thought.”
I nodded. “Yeah. Just thinking.”
That wiped out his smile. “About?”
He was as unsure as I was. That helped a little bit. I wasn’t the only one feeling vulnerable. “About everything. Nothing specific.”
He leaned forward and looked at me with a serious and intense expression. “Please don’t question this or me. Give me time. I can be all those things you think I can’t.”
I slid my hand over the table and covered his. “I know. That’s not what I was thinking about.”
He seemed relieved and his thumb wrapped around my finger. “Good.”
“Hello Lila Kate, Cruz,” the interruption was from Kelsey Torrent, the head of marketing for the Kerrington Club.
Cruz’s hand slipped away from mine abruptly, and he sat up straight in his chair. No one else would notice he’d done it so smoothly. But Kelsey’s interruption had startled him. She’d been working for the club for five years now. I didn’t know her that well.
“Hello, Kelsey,” Cruz replied barely glancing up at her.
Kelsey smiled as if our greeting had been much warmer. I felt awkwardness that didn’t make sense hanging over us. “Hello,” I said trying to make up for Cruz’s response.
Kelsey barely glanced at me. “Your father wants to see you,” she said to Cruz. Her tone was annoyed. She didn’t seem to care much for him. I wondered if she felt threatened by his position at the club. I could imagine she wasn’t excited about answering to someone twenty years younger than her in the coming years.
“I just left his office,” Cruz replied.
She was trying to cover her sudden anger. But I could see it behind her fake smile. “That may be so, but he wants you to come back. I’m sure,” she glanced at me with a tight smile. “Miss Carter can finish lunch alone.”
I started to tell him I could just head back to the studio and work, but Cruz spoke first. “I’ll eat my lunch, and then see what Dad needs in his office.”
Kelsey Torrent wasn’t pleased. She was more than annoyed. When she spun around and walked away, I let out a breath I’d been holding. I thought the two of them were going to cause a scene. Which would have probably gotten her fired, and Cruz in serious trouble.
“I don’t think she likes you very much,” I said quietly once she was out of the dining room.
He shrugged as if he didn’t care, but he was tense. That had bothered him. I felt bad for him. Having to join a company like this and deal with employees who didn’t like that he’d be their boss eventually. “She’s uptight,” was all he said.
We ordered our food and Cruz tried to relax unsuccessfully. I wished he’d just find out what his father wanted instead of worrying about ignoring him or putting him off. I glanced at my phone and decided to fib to Cruz to relieve him from this lunch with me. He would worry the entire time if he didn’t answer to his father.
“Oh, that’s the decorator I need to meet with. She’s available now but won’t be again until Thursday. I need to see what she can do and get a quote. Do you mind?”
“No, that’s fine. You need to meet with her. I’ll be there later today. I need to deal with my dad first.”
“Thank you. I’m sorry. I can just ask the kitchen to pack up my food to go.”
He stood then. “I’ll get it from the kitchen. They’ll take their time otherwise.” He was being helpful, but his head was somewhere else. We were new. Our relationship and being seen in public was new. So, I didn’t feel like I could question him too much about what was distracting him. I would have to let him tell me what was going on when he was ready.
I got my purse and drank the rest of my tea before he walked back with a bag containing my lunch. It was hard to miss the eyes that followed him as he walked through the restaurant. Many spoke to him. Others watched him like he was a meal they wanted. I couldn’t blame them. He was so very easy to look at.
When he reached the table, I stood up, and he kissed me. Right there for everyone to see. It was like he was making a claim. Letting them all know. But in reality, he was showing me he was serious. I took the bag once the kiss ended and felt my cheeks turn warm.
“You’re blushing,” he smirked.
“Yes,” I whispered. “These people may not all know me, but they all know you.”
“They know you, Lila Kate Carter.”
My cheeks were flaming now.
“God, you’re cute,” he said, grinning now. His earlier tension had eased. “I’ll see you shortly.”
With a nod and a shy smile, I left with my gaze straight ahead, afraid to make eye contact with anyone. Cruz had already disappeared in the other direction.
“Lila Kate,” a female voice stopped me. I turned to see Adelle Boyd giving me a calculating look. She sat at a table with her mother and younger sister. They were all three in tennis skirts as if they’d just come inside from the courts. Which they probably had.