CHAPTER TWENTY SIX

Trevor

I was exhausted from not sleeping the night before. And any thoughts of taking a nap went out the door once I arrived home and saw all of the catering trucks and experienced the general buzz around the house. It had been years since I’d seen this kind of chaos. Back when my mom had been alive, she and my father would host annual Christmas parties for Dad’s employees and our neighbors and friends. Now the guests would mostly be people who could influence or contribute towards my father’s bid for mayor.

Not that I held the change of guest list to potential campaign donors against him. He was a well-liked guy, had good morals, and could do a lot of positive things for the city of Houston. But I hoped his expectations of me wouldn’t escalate if he got the job.

It wasn’t as if I’d started out completely averse to the idea of taking over his company. But over time, I’d realized it was a failing proposition. Not only did I have other interests, but also I’d feel constantly criticized. My dad cast a large shadow, and I didn’t wish to live in it. Considering his father had been a teacher, you’d think he could appreciate a son not following in his parent’s footsteps.

I sighed, walking into the pool house and smiling at my dog. He was taking up residence there since my father was home and wouldn’t chance a pooparoomba repeat, especially before the party.

If anything could perk you up, it was a dog’s face. “Come on, boy. Let’s go outside.”

I didn’t bother to change out of my suit before taking him out to the yard to relieve himself and get some exercise. Luckily, my sister had otherwise been taking him for walks this week.

“Please tell me you’ll be picking up after him.”

My father’s voice, which seemed perpetually critical, rang behind me.

As always, I deflected with sarcasm, turning to face him. “Nah. I figured the guests might enjoy playing a game of avoid-the-dog-shit after a few drinks.”

He shook his head, long accustomed to my humor. “Cute.”

My dad already looked the part of a politician. Gray at the temples of a full head of dark hair, light blue eyes, and features which had aged gracefully. He stood at the same height as me at six foot two and kept himself in good shape with both golf and tennis.

He came closer, clasping a hand on my shoulder in a fatherly gesture. “So, Phillip tells me y’all failed with this latest potential sale.”

And there it was. That poke implying I’d botched something. “The only thing that failed was the owner neglecting to inform us about a patent infringement case against him, something he’ll probably lose. And since he was an asshole hoping to let go most of his staff, I was happy we didn’t make the deal.”

My father might be blinded sometimes by his obsession over his company and politics, but he was a good man. One from whom I’d learned my values. “Problem is there are plenty more out there. A lot of men get to the top by stomping on the people who helped get them there.”

Wasn’t that the truth. At least my father hadn’t done it that way. No, he’d worked hard and treated people well along the way. “True.”

“How’s your sister holding up with this whole breakup?”

I quirked a brow that he’d be questioning me. “You could ask her yourself.”

He expelled a breath. “You know I don’t do well with tears. I worry about her. At least when she had Edward, I didn’t have to.”

I chuckled and threw the ball for Rufus. “He turned out to be a cheating, lying bastard, so perhaps there was more worry there than we thought.”

“You have a point. I didn’t see that coming. Not saying I want her to take him back. Quite the opposite. He may come from a good family, but the last thing I want is for my little girl to be disrespected by a cheater, especially one who cheated with her best friend.”

At least we could agree on something. “She’s stronger than she realizes. She’ll get there.”

He nodded. “Just like your mother was.”

There was an awkward pause as he looked out over his estate, apparently wistful and thinking about her now. So many of my friends’ fathers were on the 2.0 younger model wife. Most via divorce. But not even my mother’s death had spurred my father in that direction. I could say without a doubt he’d loved her. But unfortunately, her departure left something broken in him. Something that caused his wanderlust away from our childhood home and his narrow-minded focus on business. I suppose it was his way of coping. But for me, the very last thing I wanted was a life only fulfilled by my job.

“I have some people I’d like you to meet tonight. Please tell me you have a less wrinkled suit to wear.”

And bam. The spell was broken, and my father was back to all business. And I was back to making jokes.

“Yeah, I’m sure I can throw something in the dryer to look presentable.”

***

I watched the door like a stalker, waiting for Emma to arrive. After replaying our conversation from yesterday and thinking about her intentions, I was anxious to speak with her. I owed her an apology. It worried me that she might have already spun it up as a reason to break things off.

The moment Emma stepped through the massive double front doors of my house, I moved towards the foyer to intercept her. My eyes drank in the sight of her in a dark blue dress that hugged her curves and with her hair left soft and long. It was all I could do not to take her hand and lead her upstairs to my bedroom. Thankfully, Simon’s presence standing beside her kept me from acting on the impulse.

“Good evening,” I greeted, taking Simon’s hand first.

“You have a lovely home,” he remarked, glancing around.

“Thank you.” I turned my gaze to Emma, trying not to get hard over the shade of red her perfect, pouty lips were tonight. “You look lovely tonight. Appreciate you coming.”

“Thanks for having us.” She seemed on edge.

“Let’s get you both some drinks and—”

My father’s voice came up from the side of us. “Ah, you must be Simon Granger. Trevor has told me so much about you. I’m Charles Newhall.”

It was a lie that I’d said anything about Simon, but I figured my dad had gleaned plenty of information about Simon from Phillip.

“I am indeed Simon. A pleasure, Mr. Newhall.”

My father’s gaze landed on Emma as I introduced her. Although she was smiling, I could tell it was forced. If I wasn’t mistaken, she was nervous. I wondered why. “This is Ms. Emma Brown. She also works on the team for Stone Group.”

“Nice to meet you.” My dad took her hand with a smile.

“You as well, Mr. Newhall.”

I noticed her eyes barely met mine.

But luckily, my dad gave me the opportunity I’d been hoping for, speaking to Simon. “If you don’t mind, I have a few people here I’d love to introduce you to.”

“Of course I don’t mind.”

“Terrific. If you’ll excuse us?” The two men moved on into the ever-increasing crowd of people and left us alone.

“Hi,” I greeted, feeling breathless at the vision in front me and the fact I hadn’t touched her in days.

Her face heated a sexy shade of pink. “Hi.”

“Any chance I can steal you for a few minutes to talk?” I wanted to apologize for losing my temper with her yesterday.

Her brow rose. “Talk?”

I smirked. “Yes. Although after missing you this week, I wouldn’t object to taking care of what’s on your mind later.”

Crap. I instantly saw her panic and replayed what I’d said. Missing her. Clearly a trigger. But I wouldn’t let it deter me. I knew she had to have missed me, too, even if she wasn’t able to admit it yet.

“We don’t need to talk, Trevor. That’s the whole beauty of this situation. Not having to worry about stuff like that.”

My eyes narrowed. “I see.”

Just then, my sister’s words cut through, interrupting our conversation and calming my irritation. “Hi, Emma. I’m so glad you could make it.”

Emma turned, appearing relieved to have my sister as an excuse to table our discussion. But then I saw her stiffen and realized why. Next to Avery was Adrienne. The overly aggressive, commercial-property-manager-who-thought-Emma’s-accent-was-adorbs Adrienne.

“Trevor. How great to see you again.”

She came in for the hug, which I awkwardly returned with a what the fuck look towards my sister. “Um, you, too.”

Adrienne was dressed in what could only be described as the tightest dress known to man. Her hair, as my momma would’ve said, was high enough to be acquainted with Jesus.

“You two know each other?” Avery glanced between the two of us.

I could smell a setup.

Adrienne batted her lashes. “Well, I didn’t want to mention it when I called you, but I met him earlier this week. Isn’t it a small world?”

My little sister, although sometimes naïve, didn’t miss a beat with this one. “That you called me up after seeing him in order to invite yourself to this party so we could catch up? That kind of small world?”

Adrienne swatted her arm. “Don’t be silly. It has been forever, and like I said, we have plans tonight after this for a girls’ night. Just a happy coincidence I get to see your brother again. Any chance you want to come out tonight to the club, Trevor? Could use a bodyguard to keep a close eye on all of us girls. Plus I heard it was your last night in town. Boo.” She gave me a pouty face.

That was the very last thing I wanted to do. “No. Thank you. I already have plans.” I looked deliberately toward Emma to drive the point home that my plans were with her.

“Emma, will you come out with us, then? We’ll probably leave here in an hour or so.” Avery posed the question.

“Uh, maybe,” Emma replied, making my sister extremely happy and me quite annoyed.

The last time Emma had gone club hopping, she’d trolled for a one-night stand and left with a stranger while I watched, so I was less than thrilled with the idea of her going out. Especially since she’d dodged my request to talk and things were up in the air with us at the moment.