As his gaze focused on me, I lifted a hand. “Hello, Mr. Grayson. My name is Stella. We spoke on the phone.”
In response, he reached up and scratched his chest. He blinked and looked around, clearly searching for somebody, but finally, he focused on me and gave a short nod. “You called asking about that brat, Lukas.”
“Yes.” He hadn’t had kind things to say about him on the phone, so I wasn’t surprised by the vitriol now either. Irritated, yes, but not surprised. “Have you seen him since he left home?”
“Seen him?” Gilbert spat on the ground. “Shit, no. Why would that no-good piece of trash have any time for me? Not like I raised him, took care of him, put food in his mouth, did I?” The sarcasm was so thick it could have been cut with a knife. He curled his lip, glaring at me with rheumy eyes. “Then he goes and makes himself some money, and what does he do? Forgets the people who helped put him where he was.”
I wanted to ask what Gilbert had done to put him where he was, but that wouldn’t help, I didn’t think.
No, if anything, it would make it worse.
“Would you mind if I asked what he was like as a kid?” Part of me yearned to know as much as I could about him, but I was asking for other reasons. I didn’t know what I was looking for – some rationalization in this man’s mind for why he’d done what he’d done. Honestly, I was starting to think I’d wasted my time tracking him down, wasted my time calling him, wasted my time coming here, but now that I was here, I felt like I needed to get something.
“He was a brat, got even worse after his mother died.” Gilbert scowled, looking off into nothing. “Did he think it was easy for me, taking care of him with his mama gone? It’s not like he was my kid, anyway.”
I jerked in response to those words.
“What?”
His eyes went sly then. “What…you can’t tell?” He held out his hands. “Look at me. Then go look at him. Ain’t no way that boy is mine. His mama went and cheated on me. I always knew it. No kid of mine would have been so disrespectful, so mouthy. I had to backhand the boy just to get him to do his fucking chores. His mama spoiled him, then she left me to raise him.”
He snorted and reached for the plastic cup on the little table next to where he sat. “All the shit I put up from him, looking at him and seeing his bastard father’s eyes glaring back at me…then he goes and makes it big and forgets all about me.”
Dazed, I slumped back into the chair and gaped at him, struggling to process the information he’d given me.
“So you’re positive he isn’t your son?” I finally managed to ask.
“Ain’t you been listening?”
“Yes, sir.” Swallowing to try and find the spit to moisten my dry mouth, I looked away. “You know who the father is, then.”
“Yeah. There was this scrawny bastard…Holden Richmond. He used to chase after Penny like she was a bitch in heat.” He paused, then laughed. “Guess she was. They fucked at least once, I know it as sure as I’m sitting here.”
He continued to rant on, talking about how it was Penny’s fault he’d had to be so rough on Lukas. If she hadn’t given him a bastard, he wouldn’t have to cuff the boy just to get his attention, that maybe he would have listened like any decent kid would do.
As he spoke, his face reddened, his anger clearly growing. Abruptly, I couldn’t take anymore. Rising, I pasted a patently false smile on my face. “I’m sorry, Mr. Grayson, but I need to go. Thanks for all your help.”
I hurried out of there in the midst of him demanding to know what the hurry was. It was rude, but I didn’t care.
Out in my car, I sat there, gripping the steering wheel in my hands convulsively as Gilbert’s words tumbled through my mind over and over.
Hardly any of it made sense, but one thing did connect. Clear as day.
Gilbert wasn’t Lukas’s father.
24
Ask him, I thought.
No, another part of me argued.
It was a foolish thought.
Foolish, maybe, but with Thanksgiving bearing down on us in less than a week and my flight only two days away, if I was going to ask him, I needed to do it now.
In the back of my mind, I was spinning some fairy tale about how I’d be able to reunite him with his father. I’d managed to locate Holden Richmond. He lived in New York, not that far from the home where I’d grown up with my parents.
If I could talk to Holden, then get Lukas to talk to him…
But first I had to get Lukas to come to New York.
Sure, I had Aaron’s ticket, which he wasn’t going to be using, and sure, I could contact the airline about switching it over to Lukas. I could work something out.
However, if I waited much longer to ask him, it wouldn’t matter.
It wasn’t like the two of us had gone and become a couple or anything. We were…almost friends, I thought.
But friends sometimes spent holidays together and why wouldn’t he want to spend it with me? And it would certainly make things easier on me. The thought of traveling back home without some sort of buffer between me and my parents was enough to drive me crazy. Especially now that Aaron and I had broken up.
It was going to be worse this first time.
Not that Aaron was the only reason I wanted Lukas to come with me.
I knew I’d miss him.
That, right there, was the best reason not to invite him. We weren’t supposed to get attached. We weren’t supposed to get emotional.
But emotional and attached were apparently part of my make-up because I’d already been attached before the first time he touched me, and I knew it.
The knock at the door caught me off guard. Throwing a look at the clock, I realized it was time for Lukas to pick me up. It was our last chance to see each other before I flew out – unless I invited him along and he accepted – and I was wasting time with my head in the clouds.
Not that we were doing…well, much.
There was a movie out that I’d mentioned wanting to see the last time we’d all grabbed dinner, and he said he was interested in it too. I’d offhandedly mentioned going to see it together, and a few days ago, he’d asked if we were still going.
So…here we were.
But it wasn’t a date.
I’d offered to meet him at the movie theater, and he said it was easier to just take one car. I didn’t bother to tell him that I would have taken the bus, mostly because I wanted to spend the time alone with him.
I was a glutton for punishment.
Moving through the empty apartment to go answer, ignoring my open suitcase on the bed that reminded me I still had to pack, I hurried to the door. Breanna had left yesterday to go visit her family in Boulder. She would be spending the week with them. She’d invited me to come with her but I had told her I was expected back in New York.
She had cocked an eyebrow at me and drawled, “Expected, huh? That sounds so fun.”
Yeah, I wasn’t expecting Thanksgiving to be fun.
Things with my family rarely were. At least not for me.
Opening the door, I found Lukas on the other side and his eyes took a slow, leisurely tour down my body. I hesitated there, one hand resting on the door itself. “Do you want to come in?”
“Yes.” His lids drooped. Then he shook his head. “But I’m not going to. We’ll be late for the movie if we don’t leave now.”
* * *
After the movie was over he declined the invitation to go grab some food and escorted me back to the house.
“When do you leave for New York?” he asked as we headed up the sidewalk.
“Two days,” I said, forcing a smile. Ask him.
“It’s just as well.” His expression was distant, almost remote. “There is a lot of work I have to handle over the next week. We wouldn’t see each other much.”
Well, hell.
I glanced over at him. Lightly, I said, “And here I was debating about asking you if you wanted to come with me.”
“To
New York?” He slanted a look at me.
“Yes.” I shrugged, feeling self-conscious now and wishing I’d kept my mouth shut. “I’m going back to visit my parents and sisters for the holiday. It’s expected.”
The smile that came and went was almost identical to the one that Breanna had given me
“That sounds like fun,” he said in an eerie echo of her words.
“That’s why I was hoping I could have some company.” I made a face at him. “You workaholic.”
“Sorry.” He shook his head. “I’ve got too much going on here. I was barely able to carve out the time for the movie.”
Something about the way he said it made me feel like I should apologize, but I didn’t let myself. He was the one who said he wanted to see it. And I was tired of apologizing for things that weren’t my fault. I’d spent most of my life doing that, first with my parents, and then, although I had only started to realize it, with Aaron.
So instead of offering a fake apology, I gave a fake smile and said, “Okay.”
I unlocked the door and went to step inside, but before I could, he brushed his fingers across my shoulder. “Enjoy your trip, Stella,” he said, something almost sad in his voice.
I looked back at him, wondering what was wrong, wishing I had the right to ask, but I’d learned there were some lines I couldn’t cross in our relationship and I worried this was one of them. Even if we were almost friends now. “Is there anything about the job you’re working on that I can help with?” I offered. It was the closest I could let myself come to asking what I really wanted to ask. “I could take some work with me.” Grinning, I added, “Or better yet, it could be something super urgent and I could tell them my very important boss absolutely needs me to stay and work through the holiday.”
He gave a shake of his head, and whatever I thought I had heard in his voice didn’t show in his face. “No. This isn’t related to a client. It’s a company matter.” Eyes locked raptly on my face, he watched me as he spoke.
“Ah, I see.” I didn’t, not really, but I had no idea what it was like to run a company – and he ran any number of them. “I imagine you’ve got your hands full with all the businesses and companies you run.”
He shrugged like he didn’t do anything more than organize a couple of fundraising dinners. And that was enough to make me feel like I wanted to hurl. “Well, I guess I need to get inside. I’ve got packing to do,” I said. Lamely, I added, “Especially since you won’t save me and make me work over the holiday.”
“You don’t want to face them alone, do you?”
“Whatever makes you think that?” I pasted a bright smile on my face as I stepped inside, facing him over the threshold now.
“I’m sorry. Things are just too…complicated now.” That sad note came into his voice again and it made me think he was apologizing for more than just not being able to come with me. “Ask Breanna. I’ve heard she breathes fire. She might scare them into behaving.”
I laughed. “I would, except she’s got family stuff planned.” Gripping the door knob, oddly reluctant to let the moment end, I searched for something more to say. A thought popped into my head just as I realized I needed to say goodbye. “Hey! Do you think Gracie might come? Or did you two have plans?”
“No. We don’t have plans.” Head cocked, he considered the idea, then nodded slowly. “You should ask her.”
He leaned in then, closing the distance between us in a movement that startled me. “Try to enjoy your time off, Stella.” He kissed the corner of my mouth, then turned.
Mouth tingling from the contact, I sagged against the doorway and blinked to clear my suddenly hazed thoughts. Such a light, casual kiss…and it melted me.
I’d better be careful or he was going to look at me one day and see just what it was he did to me.
25
“So, Gracie…just was it that you do?”
I groaned and shot Gracie an apologetic look, but she just smiled. She’d told me something about her family on the flight to New York, and the two of us had decided we had a great deal more in common than just affection for Lukas, even if hers was more fraternal than mine.
Our families were almost carbon copies.
The question from my father didn’t even seem to faze her.
Edward Best sat at his seat at the head of the table, politely waiting for a response as Gracie lowered her wine glass to the table.
“I’m a photographer. I mostly work for a modeling agency in Denver, but I freelance some.” She smiled at my father, a slight incline to her head. “A few of my images of the Grand Canyon were included in an exhibit in D.C. – a tribute to the National Parks.”
“How lovely,” my mother said.
I think she actually meant it. My mother was a huge supporter of both the arts and the nation’s parks.
“It was one of the proudest moments of my life,” Gracie said honestly. She slanted a look at me. “I imagine it was about how you felt when you scored that job for the philanthropy group at the firm.”
Blinking in surprise, I fumbled with the glass of wine I’d just picked up, saved it – barely – and realized I was now the center of attention. All of my sisters were looking at me, as well as my parents.
“What job?” Farah asked.
My oldest sister, she was…perfect. She’d done everything right her entire life, from getting the right grades to marrying the guy and joining the family business. She was sweet too. Genuinely, honestly sweet. The kind of person who just cared about people, and things too.
So when she looked at me and asked, what job, I knew she really wanted to know.
Squirming uncomfortably, I took a sip of wine and wet my throat before answering. “There’s a philanthropy group in Denver that’s doing a big push on public awareness – how helping others helps us all. There were a couple of teams who put ideas together on how to tackle the job and mine was selected.”
“That’s wonderful!” Farah clapped her hands, her big blue eyes sparkling. “You’ve always wanted to focus more on helping than doing something with advertising. This sounds right up your alley.”
“You’ve only been there a few months,” Annette pointed out, her lips pursed. “Why would you have been selected to head up a team?”
“He liked my ideas on other projects I’d done,” I replied, not surprised at all by Annette’s question.
I also wasn’t surprised when she redirected the room’s attention to her husband’s upcoming campaign fundraiser. I was almost even glad for it. Shooting Gracie a look, I mouthed, I’m going to get you for that.
She grinned back.
* * *
Gracie had decided she was in the mood to go shopping, so after she climbed into a cab, I called for one myself.
We’d promised to meet for lunch – she’d been to New York and was familiar with Times Square so we were meeting close to there.
For now, I had my own plans.
I hoped I wasn’t going to make a mess of things, but I had Holden Richmond’s address, thanks to the online background check I’d run on him, and I was going to talk to him.
Hopefully, he wasn’t the ass that Gilbert Grayson had been.
Hopefully, he’s home, I thought ruefully as I climbed out of the cab some forty minutes later, looking up at the sleek skyscraper where Holden owned a penthouse.
Sunlight glinted off the glass in a dazzling, blinding display, and I blinked away the momentary blindness as I walked toward the entrance. A doorman waited, and I prepared my best I belong here smile. I wouldn’t get to the penthouse if Holden didn’t want to see me, but at least I could get inside…if I was lucky.
I was lucky. He smiled back and opened the doors for me, allowing a rush of heated air to come out and kiss my skin, chasing away the chill of the November morning.
Inside, a prim woman manned a desk, and I approached, ignoring the nervous knocking of my heart against my ribs. You’re doing this for Lukas, I reminded myself.
“May I he
lp you?”
“I’d like to speak to Holden Richmond if he’s in,” I said, offering another smile.
“Is he expecting you?” The woman reached for something out of my sight – a phone, likely.
“No.” I hesitated, then added, “Tell him it’s related to Penny Alpert.”
Although I was like 99.99% certain that I had the right guy, at least this way I’d knock that question right out before I wasted any more time. The man’s address had been listed in New York for years, but he had lived in Denver for the first part of his life – and during that time, the records indicated he’d lived on the same street as Penny.
Online records searches were amazing things.
I fiddled with the strap of my purse as the woman made the call, and to my relief, she gestured to the elevators. “He’ll meet you at the elevators. It’s the seventy-fifth floor.”
I nodded my thanks and turned to the elevator, praying I could get through the next few minutes without rambling or stuttering or tripping and falling on my face.
Holden Richmond was indeed waiting for me as the elevators opened on the seventy-fifth floor. A handsome, distinguished looking man, he looked at me with blue eyes – and I knew instantly.
Still…
Swallowing, I summoned up a smile as I stepped out of the elevator and offered my hand. “Thank you for agreeing to see me, Mr. Richmond.”
* * *
“You really think Lukas is my son,” he said.
I held my coffee cup in my hands and remained quiet. He wasn’t asking for confirmation, I didn’t think. After all, he’d said those very same words twice already.
He was just…shocked.
I’d told him my suspicions, then asked, as politely as I could, if Lukas’s birthday lined up with the time he and Penny were together. We’d both blushed.
I found it charming that a man old enough to be my father could still blush.
Of course, that was silly, because I hated the fact that I blushed – considering the things I’d done with this man’s son…and that just made my blush deepen so much more.