Carissa

Gazing at my reflection in the floor length mirror in the corner of my bedroom, I was practically bouncing from nerves. I didn’t think it was obvious from looking at me, but I was a tangled ball of anxiousness inside. I was going on my first date. With a man who was incredibly intimidating. And who’d made me want to melt into a puddle with a kiss. It was enough to make any girl a little nervous, but my parents’ anger over the situation was what had pushed me into the mess zone.

After my mother had bundled me into the car after the gala, barely a word had been exchanged during the ride home. There had only been icy silence, and the looks she and my father had sent my way made it extremely clear I was the reason for their displeasure. It wasn’t the first time I’d been the recipient of their anger. I was fairly certain it wouldn’t be the last, either. But it was the first time I had absolutely no clue why they were angry with me.

It just didn’t make any sense. I hadn’t complained about being waxed, scrubbed and buffed, none of which my mother had told me about when she’d mentioned having my hair and nails done. I wore the dress my mother had picked out for me, along with the ridiculous stiletto heels she’d selected. I’d gone up on that stage, when it was the last thing I’d wanted to do. Like always, I hadn’t asked any questions. I’d done exactly what my parents had told me to do, and all it had accomplished was to earn me their ire.

For two days, they’d had hushed conversations which ended when I walked into the room. Then this morning, my father had called me into his office to inform me that he’d been unsuccessful in his attempts to get me out of my date with Vaughn. A date I definitely wanted to go on, but nobody had bothered to ask me about it. Then again, my preferences had never seemed to matter to my parents much before.

I’d had to stifle the smile which threatened to spread across my face when my father told me Vaughn would pick me up for our night together at six o’clock. It wasn’t just because I was looking forward to my date, either. It was because I was happy my parents hadn’t managed to get their way like they usually did. The bachelorette auction had been too public, and his winning bid had drawn too much attention for my father to prevent me from going out with Vaughn.

Trying to be the perfect daughter had been a heck of a lot easier when I’d been younger. After they’d left me at school when I’d expected to finally come home, I’d lost much of my desire to earn their attention. Their love. Being reminded of how easy it was to earn their displeasure was a wake-up call. It was beyond time for me to come up with a plan for living my life without them in it—one which didn’t require me to stay under their thumb for the next two years until I received my inheritance.

All of my plotting would have to wait, though. I had a date to look forward to tonight, and I wasn’t about to let anything stand in the way of me enjoying it to the fullest. Step one of making sure that would happen was to be waiting for Vaughn before he arrived. Knowing my parents, I had no doubt they’d make him feel less than welcome if they beat me to the punch, and I didn’t want them ruining this night for me.

With a final swipe of gloss over my lips, I stepped into my strappy sandals and headed for my door. Opening it cautiously, I strained to listen for any sign my parents were around before moving into the hallway and heading for the stairs. When I reached the bottom step, I heard their voices, but the sound was muffled. A quick glance to my left confirmed the door to the study was closed, and it sounded like their conversation was drifting towards me from that direction. I knew it would anger them if I left without saying goodbye first, but I went directly to the front door anyway.

Luck must have been on my side because there was grey Lexus coming up our drive. I’d been in his office when my father had let the guy manning the gate know to expect Vaughn’s arrival this evening. If I was super lucky, they’d allowed him to drive through without calling the house first. Since the odds usually weren’t in my favor like that, I moved down the steps so I was waiting for him at the end of the sidewalk when he pulled up to the house.

I didn’t give Vaughn the chance to get out and open the door for me, opting to fling it open myself instead and hopping into the passenger seat as soon as the car rolled to a stop. It was the smart choice since the front door to the house opened as I was slamming the car door shut.

“I get that this is your first date and all, but it’s customary for a man to come to the door to pick up his date.” Vaughn glanced towards the house before shifting his gaze back on me. “And it looks like it’s what your parents were expecting, too.”

“You do not want to start this night out with a conversation with my mother and father,” I insisted.

Vaughn lifted his head to stare over my shoulder, his eyes narrowing in what looked like annoyance. “I take it your daddy’s pissed that I messed with his plan at the bachelorette auction.”

“Yes, my father”—I put a lot of emphasis on the word because he hadn’t been my daddy since the day I was shipped off to boarding school—“for some odd reason, which I’ll never understand because heaven forbid he actually have a real conversation with me, is not happy about you placing the winning bid. I have no idea how it’s even possible, but losing a date with me managed to harm one of his business relationships.”

It was impossible to miss the flare of anger in his eyes as his gaze swept over me before he shifted the car back into drive. “Screw my good intentions.”

“Pardon me?”

As we pulled out onto the street in front of my parents’ estate, he reached over to clasp my hand in his. “You may deserve more, but with the path your father is apparently going down, you’re likely to end up with a hell of a lot worse than me.”

“Umm,” I mumbled. “Was that supposed to make what you said clearer to me? Because I still have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“Nope, that was more for me than for you.”

“That’s good, because I’m still not understanding over here,” I grumbled.

“I know,” he quipped. “But that’s how I want it for now.”

“Then I guess I’ll let you get away with it,” I conceded begrudgingly, but only because I had a feeling getting Vaughn to share something he didn’t want to share was near to impossible. “For now.”

“Works for me,” he murmured, sending an approving smile my way. “I was hoping you’d be looking forward to our date enough that you’d let it pass.”

I felt my cheeks heat in embarrassment. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean for it to seem like I’m not excited. Because I am. Really.”

The squeeze he gave my hand was comforting, but the grin he flashed me had my stomach fluttering—excitement quickly replacing the irritation I’d been feeling only moments earlier. “Really, huh?

The question should have come across cocky, but it worked for him. A little too well, considering the butterflies that were taking flight inside me. “What can I say? I’m nineteen. We say things like really a lot.”

“Hmmm. I must have missed that memo,” he teased. “I guess they didn’t think to CC me because I haven’t been nineteen in quite a while.”

“I’m pretty sure there wasn’t an actual memo. Way too old school. A snapchat? Maybe,” I giggled. “But since you brought it up, how long of a while has it been?”

“Is that your clever way of asking me how old I am?”

And here I thought I’d managed to be semi-subtle about it. “More like my not-so-clever way, yeah,” I confirmed.

His fingers tightened around mine. “Does my age matter to you?”

“No, I don’t think it does.” Sure, I was curious about it, but it wasn’t as though I didn’t already know there was a considerable difference in our ages. It hadn’t stopped me from being attracted to him. With the sparks he set off in me, I was starting to think nothing would dampen my attraction to him.

“Good,” he exhaled, loosening his hold slightly. “Because it’s been almost ten years since I was a teenager.”

“Is that all?” I gasped, surprised by his response. With the way he carried himself, I would have guessed mid-thirties if he’d asked.

“Chronologically, yes. But it feels like a hell of a lot longer, probably because I spent the last two years of my teens in the Army.”

It was sobering to know he’d been off fighting for his country for a year already when he was my age. It certainly put my troubles with my parents in a whole new light, strengthening my resolve to find a way to get out from under their stifling control sooner rather than later. It also made me feel even more out of my depth with Vaughn, adding another impressive layer to an already remarkable package. One which got impossibly better when he pulled up in front of the perfect location for our date.