CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
Talen
I followed my father out of the kitchen, leaving Dani alone with my mother. I wasn’t worried. My mom was always sweet, and I knew Dani would be fine with her. On the drive over, I was rude to Dani. I found myself overcome with anger and anxiety. Without thinking, I took it out on her. It wasn’t right or fair, but I couldn’t help it. As I followed my father, I knew I should feel guilty about abandoning Dani moments after we arrived, but I didn’t. Right then, my concern was only for myself.
My father’s face was slightly flushed when he turned to face me. I stopped walking abruptly, adrenaline flooding my veins. As much as I tried to stand up to him, my father still had an intense hold over me. It had been that way since I was a small boy and that physical reaction was hard to break. When he was angry, I was terrified. When he was disappointed, I was broken. Try as I might, I couldn’t free myself from his grasp. When he fixed his eyes on me, everything else disappeared. He and I were the only two people in the world. I watched him silently, waiting for him to speak.
“So.” His tongue worked in his mouth like he was tasting the word. “Dani.”
“Yes. Dani Brooks.”
“Brooks?” he asked with raised eyebrows.
“You wouldn’t know her family.” I knew that look on my father’s face. He was trying to figure out if Dani was of wealthy birth.
“How did you meet?” His tone was steady, but I could feel the suspicion oozing off him.
“An art show.”
“When?” he asked with a small smile. It was a challenge. “Where?”
“Here in town. A couple years ago.”
“You’ve known this girl for years?”
“Yes.” I nodded. “We’ve been friends for a while.”
His eyes narrowed. “And how exactly did you go from friends to lovers?”
“It happened slowly,” I said with a shrug. “The romance is new, but once we started dating, everything just fell into place. We fell in love quickly.”
“In love?” he scoffed.
“Yes.” My hands tightened into fists at his reaction.
My father turned around and walked a few steps toward the bar cart. He poured himself a glass of scotch before turning back to me. His eyes never left mine as he raised his glass to his lips and took a sip. I watched him just as closely, unable to look away. If he didn’t believe my story, that was fine. He didn’t have to, but the investors did. The least my father could do was get on board with the lie. He, after all, was the one who forced it.
“Just tell me one thing.” He cleared his throat. “Is this marriage legitimate?”
“Of course.”
He pointed a finger in my direction. “In love or not, I don’t care. What I care about is knowing you aren’t playing me for a fool, Talen. Dani seems like a fine girl. She’ll look good on your arm. However, if this marriage isn’t real, if you can’t pull this off, then everything will fall apart. Do you understand me?”
I lifted my chin. “I do. Everything will be fine.”
“I hope so,” he shot back. “You’ll need to keep her in check.”
My hands clenched harder. “In check?”
“Especially when she’s at the office,” he continued. “I’ll expect her to behave like a member of this family. She now has a responsibility to uphold the Gaston name. I trust you to ensure she does exactly that.”
“Dani won’t be a problem,” I said, and I meant it. I’d already seen how wonderful Dani was when placed in the public eye. “Most days, she’s more poised than I am.”
His gaze flicked down me. Assessing me. “That’s not a difficult task to achieve.” I inwardly flinched at the verbal punch. He had a habit of using the most casual insults to hurt me. Where my father was concerned, it didn’t take much.
“We should get back,” I said softly. “The women will be wondering what’s keeping us.”
Without permission, I turned around and walked toward the kitchen with my hands clenched at my sides. Our conversation went exactly as I planned. He threatened, and I stood my ground. Still, I felt shaky and unstable as I stepped back into the kitchen. I didn’t even look back to see if Dad followed.
“There you are,” my mother cooed. “I was just about to call you for dinner.”
“Can I help?” Dani jumped up from the kitchen table.
“No, dear. If you’d like to wash up, there’s a powder room just down the hall.”
Dani looked down at her hands, like she was trying to see if they were visibly dirty. The gesture made me smile. She was adorable. “I’ll be right back,” she said and fled the kitchen.
“She’s lovely,” my mom said, turning to face me.
“I think so.” Mom’s smile was radiant and contagious. As I looked at her, I couldn’t help but smile too.
“I’m glad you’ve found her,” she said. “I know this hasn’t been easy for you, but Dani seems like the right kind of girl.”
“She is,” I agreed. “I’m glad you like her.”
“My only question is…” She stood up and walked slowly over to me. “Do you like her?”
“What?” I asked, taken aback. Why would she ask such a question? “Of course. She’s my wife.”
“Talen, I’m your mother,” she said, softly scolding. “Please don’t treat me like your father. I know the situation you’re in right now, and I know the pressure you’re under. Tell me the truth. Is Dani a woman you can be friends with? A woman you may, one day, be able to love?”
I watched my mother’s face, unsure of how to answer. In such a short time, she managed to deduce the entire situation. She knew the mandate my father laid down, and she wasn’t stupid. No matter what story we fed her, she would know the truth.
“I like her,” I promised. “And that’s the best I can hope for right now, isn’t it?”
Mom just nodded and touched my cheek with her palm. Her hand was warm and comforting on my skin. I leaned into her, letting my eyes fall closed. The comfort I felt in that moment was enough to get me through dinner.
Dani reappeared to grab the forks and knives, and Mom dropped her hand from my face and turned to her daughter-in-law with a smile.
“Shall we eat before dinner turns cold?” Her smile grew stiff. “Just let me fetch your father and we’ll begin.”
Without my mother’s warm presence in the kitchen, the atmosphere turned awkward between Dani and me. I knew I’d treated her poorly during the car ride, but I didn’t know how to apologize. I did know I needed to try.
“Dani—”
“Your mom is great,” she said at the same time, and we both laughed.
“She is,” I agreed, feeling less awkward now. “She’s really great.”
“So…” Dani took a step toward me. “Do you want to tell me what’s going on with you?”
I sighed and pushed a hand through my hair. “I know I was an ass on the way here. I just…” I didn’t know how to finish.
“Freaked out?” Dani offered.
It wasn’t an insult. It was soft and understanding, and I felt a part of the iceberg that had surrounded my heart for so long begin to thaw. “Yeah. I did.”
Dani nodded and grabbed two of the glasses off the counter. Without another word, she turned and went into the dining room, then stopped abruptly at the door. I immediately knew why. The table there was enormous, seating twenty-four. With a gentle smile, I took her arm and led her to where the housekeeper had already set four settings. My father, as usual, would be on the end, my mother to his right. I’d be to his left with Dani beside me. With the rest of the long table stretching beyond us, I was immediately uncomfortable.
My mother called for dinner to be served, and our housekeeper brought in the first course. We served our plates and ate in silence. I kept waiting for someone to speak, but it seemed that no one wanted to. With a glance at my father, I saw that he wasn’t paying much attention to any of us. His phone was on the table beside him, and his eyes were glued to the screen.
“How’s work going, Mr. Gaston?” Dani asked, finally breaking the silence. My mother and I stared at her with wide eyes.
“Well…” He eyed Dani with suspicion. “It’s going fine. Thank you.”
“You seem to be working hard,” Dani said with a nod to his phone. “I can’t imagine how demanding your job must be.”
Her words were innocent enough, but the look in her eyes said something else. There was an angry glint that I’d never seen before. Even when she was livid with me, she never looked like that.
My father chuckled. “I am the boss.”
“That you are,” Dani said, smiling. It didn’t reach her eyes, but she quickly turned her attention to my mother. “So, tell me. What was Talen like as a boy?”
Mom grinned widely and launched into the story of how I broke my arm when I was ten. That story led to a few others, and soon, she was telling Dani everything about me. I half-listened to everything that was said, but my attention mostly focused on my father. His phone was still out on the table, but he looked at it less than normal. After her challenging question, my father seemed to take a new interest in Dani. He watched her closely throughout dinner.
Dani, on the other hand, barely looked at him. She listened attentively to my mother and smiled affectionately at me. If she was still upset with how I treated her earlier, she wasn’t showing it. As we said good night a couple hours later, she even wrapped her arm around my waist and nuzzled close to me. I didn’t know if she was just putting on a good show or if she simply wanted to touch me. Either way, it felt nice. It felt right.
“So, that was fun,” Dani said, laughing once we were finally back on the highway, heading toward my place. “Your mother is so sweet. And your dad is—”
“Let’s not talk about him.”
“We could always talk about your lack of girlfriends,” she teased.
I shot her a glance. “My what?”
“Your mom informed me that you haven’t had a girlfriend before,” she explained. “Shocking for someone with your history.”
I grinned at her teasing tone. “It’s precisely because of my history that I’ve never had a girlfriend.”
“I see,” she said, nodding. “Never cared enough?”
“Exactly.”
My voice was hard, but I turned to her with a smile. It was playful and suggestive. I still felt angry and on edge from the evening, but I was glad to have Dani beside me. When we arrived back at my place, I pulled her onto the couch without a word.
“We shouldn’t,” she whispered against my lips before kissing me hard again.
“You’re right,” I agreed, licking her neck as I untied the halter and pulled the one-piece silky jumpsuit down her body.
She moaned as my teeth found her nipple. “We really should stop.”
I tongued her belly button. “Yes, we should.”
We didn’t have sex that night. Instead, I made up for my behavior with my tongue. I slid her panties off, listening to her heavy breathing. My lips traced a light trail along her thighs before I found her clit. My tongue went to work, forming an unspoken apology. Dani writhed beneath me and wrapped her legs tightly around my head.
With my fingers and tongue, I pushed her closer and closer to the edge. She tasted so good, smelled so good. Felt so good. The little sounds she made, the way her thighs closed around my head. Her fingers in my hair. Everything about her was perfect.
When she screamed my name, I wanted to hear it again… and again… and again. I took her back to the edge. Felt her fly. She was sobbing by the time I kissed up her stomach and took her mouth again.
“Good night,” I said against her lips and picked her up, carrying her to the guest room.
She was still shattered, so I tucked her in the bed naked. As I was about to turn away, her hand came around my wrist. I stopped and looked down into those incredible eyes.
So much was said and not said as we looked at each other, and the iceberg thawed a little bit more.
She sighed. “Good night, Talen.”
Needing to feel her once more, I leaned down and pressed my lips to her forehead. “Sleep well.”
And with more willpower than I believed I possessed, I walked to my room, closing the door softly behind me.