IT WAS THE day after I’d been “smacked the hell down,” as I was now referring to it, and as I drove past downtown South Haven on the way back to my hotel, the town was already up and about, clearing the debris from yesterday’s storm from the roads and sidewalks. Other than the scattered remnants of trees and small branches, it didn’t seem like there’d been much damage. Quite the opposite from what had happened between Lucas and me yesterday. He never came back down the rest of the night, so I’d passed out on the couch while waiting for the storm to roll on by. And this morning my keys were on the coffee table, and Lucas’s truck was gone.

He was avoiding me, and I had no idea what had happened. Well, other than the most head-exploding blow job I’d ever had, but I couldn’t even enjoy that memory anymore without thinking of Lucas’s inscrutable expression afterward.

What had I been thinking going over there in the first place? I should’ve left as soon as I realized whose house I was at. Being on Lucas’s turf, in his home, a place that was familiar to me and held so many memories as it was, and then having to be in such close proximity to the man himself? It had been a recipe for disaster, long-dormant desire I hadn’t even known was there. Lucas probably thought I’d gone there specifically to seduce him or something. Jesus. Had that been what I was doing? God knew it hadn’t been my plan upon coming back to Georgia to even see the guy, but one second of being in Lucas’s presence and all bets were off. I couldn’t explain it. I didn’t understand it. And I’d stayed up half the night replaying what had happened between us over and over, trying to rationalize the turn of events, because it all happened so quickly.

One thing that had come tumbling out and shocked me to my core—the fact that my father had purposely separated and kept us apart. That information changed everything. It was like the solid, stable ground of what I had always known to be true had suddenly cracked beneath my feet, and how did I trust anything anymore? What else had he lied to me about?

And how would things have been different with Lucas? Would I have stayed in Connecticut? Gone back to him? I already knew the answer to that. I’d been ready to hop a flight to South Haven until I’d gotten the photos of him with someone else. Photos my father had engineered to keep me under his thumb.

My stomach lurched as I turned into the self-parking garage at my hotel, and then—speak of the devil—my cell rang, the caller ID displaying my father’s direct office line. I hit the reject button and waited as the boom gate lifted.

Not the person I want to talk to right now. If ever.

I drove around searching for a free spot as the phone rang again, only this time I let it go to voicemail.

How could my father have been so vindictive and cruel? I’d given up so much of what I wanted to please him, and mostly because I tried to overcompensate for losing Mom. He’d taken her death hard, and being the only family he had left, the responsibility to carry on the family name and the family business and make him proud landed on my shoulders. But why had I even bothered when he’d been manipulating me my entire life to do what he wanted?

After pulling into an open space, I shut off the engine, just as his number lit up my cell yet again. Frustrated, I slammed my fists against the wheel and took a couple of deep breaths. I couldn’t keep ignoring his call, but fuck if I wanted to fake the small talk when I was so pissed. Now wasn’t the time to bring it up, though, so I bit down on the inside of my cheek and hit accept.

“Do we have a problem?” my father said in lieu of greeting when I brought the phone to my ear.

I could taste the blood from my teeth piercing my skin, and I unclenched my jaw. “Good morning to you, too.”

“You think it’s a good idea to send me to voicemail?”

Yes. Yes, I do. “I was in the middle of an important call.”

“With Vogel?”

“Of course,” I lied.

“I hear there’s a holdup.”

Thank you, Sydney. “Minor. It’s just taken a bit longer than planned to sync our schedules.”

He scoffed. “Do I need to remind you how important this acquisition is to the company? I trusted you to knock this one out, so if—”

“It’ll happen. I’ve got a meeting with Vogel on Thursday, and that’ll get the ball rolling. Don’t worry.”

“‘Don’t worry,’” my father mimicked. “‘Don’t worry,’ he says.”

“Have I ever let you down before?”

The silence that followed spoke volumes. He knew as well as I did the answer to that one, just as he knew I’d land this acquisition with my hands tied behind my back. I never let him down. Not ever. And that only fueled my anger.

“Wrap things up as soon as you can and get back here,” he said finally. “Your fiancée’s getting antsy to start the wedding plans.”

Those words were a gut punch back to reality, the one I’d been avoiding since coming down here. “I haven’t proposed,” I said through my teeth.

“Which is why you’d better get a move on before Sydney wises up and marries me instead.”

There’s more chance of that happening than with me. Especially now. “I’ll be back soon enough.”

“You do that. And son? I’m counting on you. Don’t let me down.”

My jaw was clamped shut so tight I could’ve spit molars. “Yes, sir.”

As the line went dead, I cursed and threw the phone into the passenger seat. Damn him. I’d never resented my father as much as I did in that moment, and I’d never wanted to call him out for something so much. It wasn’t the right time to confront my father about the past with Lucas, though, not over the phone, as much as I wanted to. But if I was honest with myself, I didn’t know if I ever would. Not because I was scared to, but if Lucas never talked to me again, never wanted to see me, what would it be worth to bring up the past? It wouldn’t solve anything. Wouldn’t fix what had happened. It would only serve to sever the relationship with the only family I had. And even if thinking about what he did made me want to bash the shit out of something, he was still my father—and my boss.

Almost immediately, my phone lit up with Sydney’s number, and I was reminded yet again that there were other, bigger issues to deal with than Lucas Sullivan. Even the limited amount of interaction we’d had since I’d been in town made the thought of never seeing Lucas again settle in my stomach like sour milk—but what could I do? I couldn’t force the guy to spend time with me. Hell, I’d already shown up at his house uninvited, and that had gone about as well as a mugging. The truth was that I was leaving in a few days anyway. I couldn’t blame him for having a life…without me in it.

As I hit the decline button on my phone to reject Sydney’s call and stepped out of the car, I resolved not to seek out Lucas again while I was here.

That didn’t mean I didn’t hope he wouldn’t find me.