Chapter Sixteen

The week flew by, and Cole knew that his plan was a wreck. Not only did he not get any alone time with Kathryn, but he also chose to spend more time with Dana than he’d ever imagined. They were on the last night of the cruise, and he finally managed to get some time alone with Dawson while Kathryn and Dana went to see a show.

The older man was sitting alone and enjoying his lunch. He didn’t seem surprised when Cole sat down and joined him. “Have you been enjoying your cruise?” Dawson asked in his gravelly voice.

“It’s given me some time to think. It’s not often that I have so much time on my hands,” Cole muttered.

“You don’t like it.” Dawson narrowed his eyes as he observed Cole. “You’re too young to throw your life away from Parker Industries, you know. At least your father had your mother for a little while. What do you have?”

Cole frowned. “My girlfriend…”

“I’ve been watching you,” Dawson interrupted. “At first, you looked at her much like a handler would watch his spy. You seemed particularly interested in her interactions with the Wellington girl. Then, when you are alone with her, there is usually anger or frustration on your face. It’s changed a bit, though. Now you look at her like a lover. I take it to mean that whatever plan you had in place has gone sideways.”

There was nothing to say to that. Dawson was too shrewd of a man to buy a lie, and Cole was tired of lying. “It’s not my doing. Wellington wanted someone in Kathryn’s life. In order to appear less threatening, I needed a girlfriend to do it.”

Dawson snorted. “That man has really got to stop interfering with his daughter’s life. I’ll wager she hasn’t genuinely smiled since college. You chose well with the redhead. She’s lovely. You know I sent one of my men to seduce her.”

“What?” Cole blinked. “Why the hell would you do that?”

“You deserve a good woman. I wanted to make sure that she was one. He assured me that even if you hadn’t interrupted them, he had a feeling that he would have never seduced her. She’s loyal.”

“She’s paid to be loyal,” Cole snapped. “Why have you been watching me so closely? Are you trying to make a play for Parker Industries?”

“Please. I know all sorts of secrets when it comes to you boys. Things you don’t even know about your brothers. If I wanted to bring Parker Industries to its knees, I wouldn’t have to go through so much trouble. No, I’m afraid that I lied to your father, and now I’m trying to make things right.”

Shocked, Cole stared at him. “What are you talking about? You followed me on this cruise?”

“I did.”

“What lie did you tell my father?”

Dawson reached over and picked up his glass of wine. Swirling it, he stared out at the ocean as if he were recalling a painful memory. “A few months before your father’s death, before he changed the will, we had a meeting. It wasn’t a business arrangement. We hadn’t done business together for years. Instead, he wanted someone to talk to, someone who wouldn’t judge. I’d never had kids, so apparently he thought I was the perfect person. I listened, and then I told him that everything was going to be okay. I told him that he’d see his sons happy before he died.”

Cole gripped the edge of the table. “You’re lying to me. Robert didn’t give a damn about our happiness.”

“He didn’t give me the particulars, but I ascertained that he and your oldest brother got into an argument. Whatever it was, it made him recognize all of his mistakes, and he didn’t even begin to know how to fix them. None of you were speaking to him, and you were all ruining your lives. He was afraid it was because of him, or how he had raised you.”

Rising from the table, Cole shook his head in disgust. It was hard to believe anything that Dawson was saying, but even if he did, it was even harder to believe that Robert would do anything about it. “Nice talking to you, Dawson,” he muttered.

“He changed the will the very next day. I guess he didn’t believe me,” Dawson called out. As much as he wanted to walk away and pretend that he never heard this, Cole couldn’t help but turn around. The old man wore a cheeky grin. “I guess he knew that he would die before his three boys were happy, and he wanted to do something about it. Why do you think he chose Wiltshire? No one else would get under your skin like that. He wanted you three together, supporting each other.”

“To what end?”

“To teach you something that he never could. That family and love are more important than money and the business.”

Dawson was right about one thing. It was something that Robert Parker would have never taught them. Turning his back, he walked the rest of the way out. He had a lot on his mind, and he had no idea how to even begin sorting through it.

She was stunning. Cole couldn’t help but smile when Dana joined him back at the jazz club wearing the black dress that he’d requested she wear on the first night. It supported every curve, sheathing her in elegance. She wore it well, but it was the look on her face that sold her beauty. Even though this was the second night they’d dined in the jazz club in a week, she looked at everything with wonder and excitement.

When had he gotten so jaded that he couldn’t enjoy life anymore?

Standing, he kissed her gently on the cheek. “You look gorgeous,” he whispered as he pulled the chair out for her.

“Well, I figured that since it was the last night, I should wear it for you.” She flashed him a brilliant smile, and his gut tightened. Tomorrow they would dock, and all of this would be over. Kathryn already knew that Dana was his girlfriend, so there was no need to continue showing her off. He’d fake the breakup, go to Kathryn for comfort, and it might all be over in a matter of a week.

He wanted more.

She surveyed the table with interest. “No wine for you tonight?”

“Not tonight,” he murmured.

Dana cocked her head. “Cole, I’m not an alcoholic. If you want to drink, drink.”

“Why?” He cleared his throat. “Why don’t you drink?”

“This is the first time you asked me that.” Her voice was quiet, and for a moment, he didn’t think that she was going to answer him. Finally, she shrugged. “It’s not a big deal. I was sort of at a crossroads in my life, and I came across this article about cleaning out your space. Spring cleaning. The idea was that you hold an object, and if it doesn’t bring you joy, you should get rid of it. I wanted to apply that to my life, so I started weeding out things that didn’t make me happy. I dated someone who drank excessively, and I fell into this habit of drinking excessively, and I felt horrible the next day. Terrible hangovers, so I just cut it out completely. Drinking did not bring me joy.”

“What does bring you joy?”

The waiter stopped by and introduced himself. Cole kept his gaze trained on Dana and ignored the man as he dropped off the menus and left. “I’ll make a deal with you,” she said as she picked up the menu. “If you tell me something that makes you happy, I’ll tell you something that makes me happy.”

“You.” His answer was instant, and she wrinkled her nose.

“No. I’m not playing if you’re just going to tell me what I want to hear. I want you to be serious about this.”

He was being serious. Dana had filled him with joy this week, so much so that he didn’t want to let her go, but it was easier for them both to pretend that he was just playing around. “All right. Profitable numbers make me happy.”

She raised her eyebrows, and he thought that she might argue, but she just shrugged. “Bubble wrap makes me happy.”

“An organized calendar.”

“Kittens!”

“Well-put-together budget meetings.”

“Videos of dogs waiting at ice-cream trucks.”

“Coming back home.” He didn’t even think as the words left his mouth, and she stared at him in surprise. Taking a deep breath, he realized that it was true. “I haven’t been back to the city in a long time. It was nice to come home.”

“Small-town diners. I practically grew up in one while my mom was working.”

“Tree houses. We used to have one as a kid. I nearly broke every bone in my body on that thing, but I’d never stopped jumping off it. To this day I love unique tree homes.”

Dana’s eyes lit up. “Yes! Those are the best! I love to look at pictures of people living in tree houses! Books make me very happy.”

“What kind?”

She grimaced. “Murder mysteries. The more gruesome the better.”

He’d seen the books in her suitcase and could believe it. “Christmas.”

“Christmas?”

“One of the only memories of my mother was her reading to all of us at Christmastime. The entire house was decorated, the fireplace was roaring, and she’d let us drink some eggnog without all the good stuff we put in it now. Christmas has never been the same since she died, but I’ve always wanted to try and find that happy place again.” His voice was soft as he spoke and laced with emotions. He almost never talked about his mother, not even with his brothers, and it was difficult to talk about her now.

Dana reached over and took his hand. “Why don’t we order some dinner?”

“Are you that hungry?” he teased, but he knew that she was doing it for his benefit. He had no idea how taxing it would be to reveal so much about himself.

They chatted lightly over dinner, carefully skirting around the subject of what would happen when he took her home tomorrow. After dinner, he danced with her again, only this time he didn’t care who was watching him. He only wanted to feel her in his arms, and feel her sway to the music.

When they finally went back to the cabin, he loved her until the early hours of the morning. The sheets were drenched with sweat, and they were both gasping for air, but he didn’t let up until exhaustion set in. He knew that if he were to play the same game again, to tell someone what made him happy, he’d have to admit that it was being in Dana’s arms.