Chapter 13

Greer

I slide one of Lawson’s sweatshirts over my head and zip my bag before setting it by the front door. My phone rings, and without looking, I know it’s him.

“Did you miss me already?” I ask in greeting.

“Every minute we’re not together, I miss you.”

“We hung up less than twenty minutes ago.”

“I wanted to check if you’d left yet.”

“No, the driver should be here shortly.”

“I wish I could be there to tell you goodbye.”

“You make it sound so final. I’m only going to my dad’s for the weekend. I’ll be back after work on Monday.”

“I’m unsettled when you’re that far away.”

“It’s across town, not across the country.”

“Remember that whole cherish and adore thing? Or do I need to remind you?”

I smile to myself, a flurry of happiness flowing through me. In the two weeks we’ve been back from the Hamptons, Lawson has taken every opportunity to show me how important I am to him. He hasn’t said he loves me, but I feel it with every action, every word, and every touch between us. True to his word, he hasn’t let my wealth come between us.

“You can remind me anytime you want, but I still stick with the theory that you’ve gone insane.”

“To a man like me, a weekend seems like a lifetime.”

“I’m going to tell my dad about you tonight. Be prepared to have dinner soon. He’ll want to meet you.”

There’s a silence on the line, and when he speaks, it’s obvious his mood has shifted. “You’re telling your dad about me?”

“It’s going to be hard to hide when I show up in your sweatshirt that smells like you and hangs almost to my knees. He’ll know something immediately.”

“Maybe you should wait. Let me make the first move. I can call him and introduce myself or something.”

“This isn’t the historic ages, Lawson, and he isn’t a king or royalty. He’s just a man who has a daughter, and his daughter happens to have a boyfriend.”

“Yeah, but I’d like to do it right, make a good first impression.”

“That’s really debonair of you, but I’m going to tell him. Besides, Jenny and Bessie are dying for him to know.”

“Jenny and Bessie are going to be there?”

Shit, Greer! Why can’t you keep your mouth shut?

“Um, yeah. I thought I’d mentioned that.”

“No, I thought you were working on a project with your dad.”

“I am. Actually, we all are.”

“All? Including Jonas and Enrique?” There’s a sharpness to his voice, and I can almost feel the jealousy pouring through the phone line.

“Yes, but don’t go caveman. I told you we’re doing a special assignment for him.”

“This requires all five of you spending the weekend at your dad’s?”

“You know I can’t talk about it yet. It’s a huge surprise. Even you will have to wait to see what we’ve come up with.”

“Why the secrecy?”

“Because Dad asked us to keep this quiet.”

“Is this a trivia thing? A Nerd Herd pow-wow and I’m the outsider?” His question is brash and coarse, anger seeping into his tone.

“Why are you getting upset? Thirty seconds ago, you didn’t want me to even tell my father I had a boyfriend because you wanted to do it the old-fashioned way. Now, you want to be invited to his place? And what’s with the Nerd Herd diss?”

“I’m a little confused here, Greer. I was under the impression you were going to spend the weekend with your dad for some bonding time. When you mentioned a project, I thought it was for charity or some ritzy ordeal that rich people do. Maybe even something to do with your personal shopping business.”

My blood spikes at his statement. “Excuse me? Was that a crack about wealth?”

“Don’t put words in my mouth. I’m looking for an explanation why you five are holed up at your dad’s for the next few days. It doesn’t make sense.”

I inhale a few times, trying to calm my own growing anger. It doesn’t work. “First of all, I don’t owe you any explanations. Ever. When I tell you I’m going somewhere to work on something important, that should be enough. Secondly, what doesn’t make sense?”

“I get the trivia thing. I even get the bond you all have. But four lab rats and a personal shopper working on a top-secret project feels off. And if you can’t tell your boyfriend about it, then it leads me to believe you’re hiding something.”

My vision grows spotty, and a film of red hazes over my eyes. “Did you just refer to my friends as lab rats!? And did you also insinuate that because I’m a personal shopper I don’t have a brain?”

“That’s not at all what I said.”

“For your information, my friends are incredibly smart.”

“I know, I’ve seen them in action.”

“Well, then you know having their insight can be very valuable.”

“Insight into what exactly?”

“I can’t tell you yet. Give me some time.”

“Once again, your evasiveness leads me to believe you’re hiding something.”

He’s right, I am hiding something. Privacy and anonymity have been my MO for a long time. This is a layer of my life I have held close for a reason. Lawson deserves to know why I’m going to Dad’s and why my crew is such a sacred resource to his business, but now is not the time to have this discussion.

“Lawson, I don’t know what’s gotten into you or why you’re acting like this, but maybe we should talk on Monday when I get home from work.”

There’s a knock at the door, alerting me that our family driver is here.

“I have to go.”

“I have to go, too.”

“Are we fighting?”

“I don’t know, Greer. Are you going to tell me what’s going on?”

“There’s nothing going on.”

“Have a nice time this weekend. We’ll catch up when you get home.”

He disconnects before I can argue. The warmth from a few minutes ago disappears and is swiftly replaced with an icy chill.

There’s another knock at the door, and I drop the phone into my purse feeling defeated. How in the hell did our conversation go from one extreme to another so quickly?

Defeat turns to aggravation as I replay the conversation in my head. I may not be skilled at relationships, but I think Lawson Hall proved that even the sweetest guy can be an asshole.

•∞•∞•

I survey the room and groan. The mess is going to take forever to clean up. Empty Chinese, Italian, and Thai food containers litter every surface of Dad’s living and dining room. Jonas’s energy drink cans are piled high on the kitchen island, and sometime between three and four a.m., we finished an entire stash of ice cream.

What isn’t covered with trash is cluttered with papers, notebooks, small whiteboards, calculators, pencils, and everything else we needed to help make our assessment.

It’s a disaster, to say the least.

Dad walks in from the hall and stops dead, surveying the room until his eyes land on mine. “Have any of you slept?”

“No,” we all moan exhaustedly. My brain hurts to the point of throbbing, and I rub my temple to try to ease the pressure.

“I went to bed at two. Thought you were going to call it a night.” He sounds worried. “Did something happen?”

“Yeah, Dr. Jenny pulled a fast one on us. We have to restructure the whole lab.” Enrique shoots Jenny a dirty look.

“It wasn’t all my fault. Bessie and Jonas agreed.” Her defense has absolutely no energy.

“Guys, go to bed.” Dad comes to stand in front of me, offering his hands to help me.

“I’m too tired to even take your hands.” I scrub my eyes. “But the good news is we have it. We’ve all come to an agreement.”

“We’ll talk about it this afternoon when the five of you don’t look like the walking dead.” He leans over and takes my elbows, forcing me to stand.

“I’m going to clean up before we lay down.”

“The housekeeper is coming. I asked her to slot me in on Saturday, Sunday, and Monday this week. I expected this.”

A sense of panic sets in. “She can’t touch anything, Dad. We have everything organized by project and explanation. If she moves even one document, we’ll be screwed.”

“She won’t do anything but clean the food mess. Otherwise, this place can look like a warzone until we go over every note.”

Everyone lets out an appreciative sigh, and I sink into his chest, closing my eyes. “Thanks.”

“Not my first time at the rodeo, Greer. I just didn’t know you’d stay up all night.”

“Big project requires a lot of brain power. We couldn’t shut it down.”

“I appreciate you all,” he says to everyone, kissing the top of my head.

“If you appreciate me, can I get one of those hugs?” Jenny comes to our side.

“Me too.” Bessie steps in, and Dad wraps his arms around the three of us.

“Go to sleep.” He twists, urging our herd to my old room.

“Don’t wake me before three,” Enrique instructs, and a few seconds later, a bedroom door shuts.

“I don’t have the will to move. I’m crashing here for a bit,” Jonas mumbles, burrowing into the sofa and closing his eyes.

Jenny and Bessie disengage, leaving my dad to hold only me. “Greer, can you muster enough energy to talk to me for a second before passing out?”

“Yes, but I can’t promise coherency.”

“I want to talk about this Lawson guy.”

I stiffen in his arms, exhaustion fleeting as I prepare for a possible lecture.

“Dad—”

“No, I’ll do the talking and you do the listening.”

I lift my face to his and see the stormy confliction in his eyes that match mine. Everyone has always said I’m a spitting image of my mom, except for my eyes. They are identical to his.

“He wasn’t a surprise. I’ve been patiently waiting for you to tell me about him.”

“You have?”

“Yes, I could tell for weeks now there was someone special in your life. I may not have a mother’s instinct, but I’m a very intuitive man.”

“I wasn’t hiding him or our relationship, but you can be a little intimidating.”

“I understand your discretion. You came home tonight looking like a heartbroken woman. Even though you tried to be strong, I could tell this argument with him was weighing on you. Usually, I would threaten to kill any man that put that look of sadness on your face, but I felt a little sorry for him.”

“You felt sorry for him?” I whisper in disbelief.

“I remember meeting your mom. She was so sweet, so pure, and the most beautiful woman I’d ever laid eyes on. I fell like a puppy at her feet, worshipping everything about her. She waited four months to tell your grandparents about us. It drove me nuts. By the time I finally met them, I was ready to propose. If at anytime during our relationship she would have told me she was spending the weekend away from me, and I found out two guys were going with her, I would have lost my shit. There’s no way I would have been okay with it. She would have found herself handcuffed to me. I was a very jealous boyfriend.”

“I remember the stories.” I giggle at the memories and the thought of my dad being such a sap.

“She kept things from me, too. Nothing major, but I was determined to know everything about her. I was a madman with my pursuit, to the point of craziness.”

“Lawson does get a little jealous. He has a possessive streak.”

“When I saw you tonight, the sadness on your face, I admit it wasn’t a good first impression. But then it hit me in the gut, when you shared with us about his aggravation. My male instinct kicked in. Maybe I’ve been too protective of you. If you really like this guy, and you trust him, I think you should open up.”

“Me too. I don’t care what people think about me, but I can’t believe his stupid ass thinks I’m a lab rat,” Jonas groans from the sofa.

“I agree, lab rats resemble geeks.” Enrique comes back into the room, wearing sleep pants with calculators, a matching black tee, and his glasses. He’s a poster card for a geek. Albeit, a very handsome, Latin geek.

I try to muffle my laugh but fail, falling into Dad’s chest and howling out loud. “You guys are awful!”

“We chatted today when you girls weren’t paying attention. Kevin has a point. How hasn’t Lawson clued in?” Enrique asks.

“Because I never told him about my upbringing. I’ve skimmed over the details. As for the four of you, we’ve avoided any major conversations about our schooling and accomplishments,” I tell him.

“Isn’t that part of the ‘getting to know you’ stage? Every woman I’ve ever dated wants my pedigree before dinner is over.”

“I wasn’t aware you actually dated. Taking a girl home from the bar isn’t exactly my definition of relationship building.”

“HEY!” He waves his hand down his body. “I’m not just some piece of meat. I have standards.”

“Since when?” Jonas and I ask at the same time, and my dad’s chest vibrates against my cheek.

“What are we missing in here?” Jenny and Bessie join us again, dressed for bed.

“Enrique was enlightening me with his dating advice.” I wink at them.

“Oh lord, that should take about three seconds,” Bessie taunts.

“Laugh all you want, but I can promise you there’s a reason I’m called Latin Lover.”

“More like Latin love ‘em and leave ‘em.” Jenny cracks up at her own joke.

“Let’s get back to the subject at hand. We were discussing why Little G has kept Lawson in the dark about her life.”

“I wouldn’t say I’ve kept him in the dark. I’ve chosen to leave out some details.”

“Like how you graduated from one of the top universities in the country with honors?”

“Or how you’re brilliant and are courted by headhunters all over the world because of your knowledge of Urban and Environmental Engineering?”

“Or that you are on first name basis with Bill Gates and Kate Middleton?”

“That you have an island named after you off the coast of Belize?”

They fire off questions, one after the other until I’ve had enough. “You all can stop now. Don’t you hear yourselves? I sound like a spoiled, rich, princess. I didn’t want to scare him off,” I defend.

“I have to admit, it is a little much. Maybe you should start with small details.” Dad rubs his hands up and down my back reassuringly. “But you should at least start the conversation. And, for the record, I want him to think you’re a princess.”

“Daddy.” His eyes soften and start to shine at my term of endearment.

“Greer, it’s times like these I wish your mom would have given me pointers.”

“You don’t need advice. You’re doing perfectly.”

“That’s so sweet.” Jenny sniffs with moisture building in her eyes.

“Stop that. We’re all too exhausted to start with tears.” Bessie nudges her elbow.

“Why are you all out here? I thought everyone was going to bed.”

“I’m out here because I knew Kevin was going to talk to you and I wanted to provide moral support.” Enrique grins at Dad.

“I’m here because I’m crashing on the sofa and you fools decided to have a heart to heart at seven in the morning.” Jonas groans.

“We’re here because your phone is going berserk. Dinging like crazy. They’re all from Lawson. Thought you may want to know,” Jenny informs me.

I glance at my watch and realize it’s been thirteen hours since he abruptly hung up on me. Before getting started on our brainstorming session, I intentionally left my phone in my bag. The temptation to check it every two minutes would be too easy and I needed to focus.

“I’ll turn it off.”

“He scores a point with me for persistence.” Dad kisses my head and steps away. “The sap in me says to go call him back, but the father in me says to let him wallow in his misery a little longer.”

“I’ll see what his messages say and make my decision.” I half-wave to everyone and head to my room. Bessie and Jenny follow behind me.

My phone shows a dozen missed calls and the same amount of texts. I scroll through them, my heart swelling at each apology. The last one came in a few minutes ago.

I acted like an asshole. There’s no excuse for my behavior. I decided to work through the night. My bed was empty and cold without you. You’re probably still asleep, but please call me when you wake up. I need to hear your voice.

“We’re going to sleep in another guest room. You need some privacy to call him back.” Jenny squeezes my shoulder, and they leave me alone.

I quickly change into pajamas, wash my face, brush my teeth, then crawl into bed and call him back.

“Greer,” he answers before it fully rings.

“Hi, Lawson.”

“Tell me you forgive me. I flipped out on you for no reason.”

“You had your reasons. My friends and Dad brought some clarity to our situation.”

“What exactly is our situation? What kind of clarity?”

“Monday night, I’ll explain everything.”

“Not sure this was the best way to make a first impression with your dad.”

“I think you may have a lot in common. He has a jealous streak, too.”

“You’re his daughter. I’m sure he understands exactly where I’m coming from.”

“There are endless stories I could tell you about him and my mom.”

“I’d like to hear these stories. I want to hear everything that has to do with you.”

“Monday night.”

“I can’t wait.”

“I’m going to go now.”

“One more question before you do. Where are Enrique and Jonas sleeping?”

“One’s on the sofa and one’s in a guest room.”

“That’s acceptable.”

“Lawson!”

“What?”

“You’re ridiculous.”

“I’m a lovesick fool that fucked up when his girlfriend left him for three days. That’s not ridiculous.”

At the mention of ‘lovesick fool’, I smile to myself. “Goodbye, Lawson. I’ll call you this afternoon.”

“I’ll be waiting.”

I disconnect and tuck my phone under my pillow. My last conscious thought is that I am lovesick, too.