Chapter Six – Nevis

“It’s simple,” Chrysi stated.

“There is nothing simple about my father,” Nevis said.

“You are very alike, I think.”

“No.” Nevis shook his head.

“Are you so sure?” Chrysi asked.

“Yes. But I am open to persuasion.” Nevis was open to hearing anything that might help him heal the rift between father and son.

“You are both adventurers.”

“No. My father has not strayed from his daily commute for the past fifteen years.”

“He started his own business. If that is not a trait of a good adventurer, what is?” Chrysi began.

“Perhaps,” Nevis conceded.

“And then there is your name.”

“My name.”

“Yes. Nevis.”

He grinned. “You read a lot into a little.”

“Is that a challenge?” Chrysi asked.

“I think it is.” He leaned forward, looking deep into her eyes. “Tell me what my name has to do with it all.”

“Nevis. I assume you are named after Ben Nevis, the highest peak in Britain.”

“It’s where my parents met. My dad was climbing the mountain.” Nevis was struck by the thought that he had met his mate in the same way his parents had met. On a mountain.

“An adventurer who likes mountains.” Chrysi raised her eyebrow at him. “Does that remind us of anyone?”

“I see where this is leading.”

“So your mom is Scottish? Or your dad?”

“Why not both?”

“Because you only have a slight lilt to your voice. If both your parents were Scottish, it would be more pronounced.”

“You are good. I take it back.”

“There’s more.” She leaned forward too, caught up in his eyes. “Now, they could have called you Ben. Instead they chose the more unusual Nevis. Which means they, or your father, wanted you to be different. Add to that Nevis can mean head in the clouds, he also wanted you to be a great thinker or dreamer.”

Nevis shook his head and tore his eyes away from hers. “I think you have taught me more about the relationship between me and my father than I have learned myself in the thirty years I’ve been his son.”

“We don’t always see what is in front of us. My guess is your father raised you to be an independent thinker, to take on challenges and strive to conquer. But you took it in a different direction. That is likely where your mother comes into it.”

“She lived in the wilds of Scotland. She raised me on stories of the forests and glens. Open moors filled with heather, and lochs filled with deep dark water, so still it reflected the heavens above on their surface.”

Chrysi placed her hand on his back. He visibly jumped, as if she had shocked him, but she didn’t pull back. “You are your own person, Nevis. But hiding up on a mountain helps no one.”

He turned to look at her. “You make me sound like a coward.”

“That was not my intention.”

“I’m not a man of confrontation. I get that from my mother too. My father wants to push me into taking full control of his business… And we are not talking about a corner store.” He shifted his weight, and turned his body to face her. “He is a rich man, with hundreds of people working for him. Those jobs, those livelihoods. I don’t know if I am the best man to take that responsibility on. Give me a mountain to climb and I can do it, and capture the essence of it with my camera. But give me a board room, and I…”

“And who will do it if you don’t?” Chrysi asked.

“Oh, don’t give me the speech about the greater good.” His face shifted, a smile lingering there. “I am not the last best hope for the business. Oh no, I have a sister. She is the rightful heir to everything my father has built. But he’s so stuck in some old-fashioned tradition that he can’t see her true worth.”

“Ahh, now I see the problem.”

“Do you have any brothers or sisters?” Nevis asked.

“Nope. At least, none that I know of. I’m adopted.” Chrysi shrugged. “My parents were killed in an accident. I was placed in foster care until Harlan came along and adopted me.”

“Harlan. Just Harlan?” Nevis asked.

“If you are asking did a man adopt a girl on his own, the answer would be yes. Although he did have to fight to prove he could cope on his own and he wasn’t some pervert who was trying to get control of a little girl… Well, you get the picture.”

“That must have been tough for him,” Nevis said.

“It was, but eventually social services let him adopt me. It’s why I have a complex about the money side of things. It took me a while to go from being a child who had nothing, to a child who had the richest parent. School was tough.”

“He sounds like a cool guy,” Nevis said.

“I’m not sure about cool. And I really don’t know why he adopted. He’s an eligible man, he could have had any woman he wanted to, but when I was younger, when I asked him, he used to say it was because the right woman hadn’t come along.”

“The right woman?” Nevis asked, wondering if Harlan Remington was a shifter of some kind.

“Yes. My dad believes in love at first sight. That the right person is out there for you…” She smiled shyly. “The old fool.”

“And you don’t?” Nevis asked.

“No. I believe it takes work to form a lasting relationship. But then I fell for Ross, so what do I know?” She drank more of her coffee. “Anyway, back to you.”

“Back to me? I think we’ve covered me enough.”

“No, we haven’t decided what you are going to do about your dad, and your future.” She blushed, a deep pink flush covering her pale skin. “Not that it is any of my business, but since we are here, and neither of us is going anywhere, I figured we could reason out your best plan of action.”

“Or, we could talk about you,” Nevis suggested, not wanting to spend a day thinking about his father when he had his mate here right next to him. Her scent assailed his senses, making his mouth water. His bacon and egg sandwich was nothing compared to the scent of his mate.

“Not a lot to tell. As I said, I was adopted. Struggled through high school with an identity crisis, and came out the other side knowing I had to make my own way in the world before I went to work with Harlan.”

“And how did that turn out? You said you had a subsidiary company.” Nevis placed his cup down on the small coffee table, leaned back into the corner of the sofa, and turned his body to face her.

“It sounds much more important than it is. I recycle plastics and make them into new products. Things like planters for flowers. It’s not terribly exciting, and it’s fairly hands-off right now.” She looked away from him, her eyes wistful. “I always wanted a family of my own, so I made the business self-sufficient. They don’t need me. But I still have the final say in big decisions. I hoped that I would have the chance to have a family, and watch them grow up, before Harlan needed me to take over. If he ever does.”

“And you thought you had what you wanted when you met Ross?” Nevis asked tenderly, sensing her acute disappointment.

“He promised me it all. Said he would never leave. Never leave my money, more like.” She pressed her lips together, and Nevis wondered what she was leaving unsaid.

“He must be the biggest asshole in the world,” Nevis told her.

“Thanks. You are probably right, but it doesn’t mean it is easy to deal with.” The fingers of her right hand slipped down the back of her left hand and touched the engagement ring she still wore. “He promised me the world. I thought we would settle down and have a couple of kids. That’s what he said he wanted. He said money didn’t matter, he would marry me even if I didn’t have a penny to my name.”

“I’m sure he meant it at the time,” Nevis said gently.

“No, he didn’t,” she scoffed. “I don’t think he had any intention of marrying me. The worst thing is, I think my dad knew that, but he kept out of my business.”

“Is that what he usually does? Keep out of your business?”

“Yes. He is the greatest reader of people I have ever known. But he has always insisted I made up my own mind about people. But he knew about Ross, I’m sure. It was Harlan who suggested this hike through the mountain. He might not have known the storm would hit, but he knew it would break our relationship. I feel like such a failure.”

“Don’t be too hard on yourself, or your dad,” Nevis said.

“I won’t. And neither should you be on yours.”

He held out his hand and she slipped hers into it. “It sounds as if Harlan cares about you a great deal.”

“He does. But no more than yours cares about you, I’m sure.” Nevis ran his thumb back and forth of her hand, feeling her shiver in anticipation, her eyes captured by his as he licked his lips. He wanted nothing more than to lean forward and kiss her, but then his thumb caught the ring on her finger. Technically, she still belonged to someone else.

“What are you going to do with this?” His thumb rubbed the ring, as if he might erase it.

“I am going to give it back to Ross first chance I get.” She looked down at it. “It’s going to take me some time to ever trust a man again.”

“I hope not,” Nevis said.

“Oh, present company excluded. I am very grateful for what you have done for me.” She reached out and touched his cheek, stroking it briefly before pulling her hand away. “But Ross has hurt my confidence in myself. How can a person fool another person into thinking they are in love?”

“You would be surprised.” He sighed. “Now it’s my turn to give some advice.”

“OK, am I going to want to hear it?”

“Whether you want to hear it, or not, I’m going to give it.”

She sat up straight. “I’m ready. Don’t hold back.”

“Don’t let Ross spoil your chance at happiness and having the family you want. Maybe he could tell you were open to his suggestions. He might have the same gift as your father. He could have known exactly what you wanted, and that was what he gave you.”

“You mean I wear my heart on my sleeve?” Chrysi asked.

“Maybe it was in the way you spoke, the looks you gave.”

“You mean I invited him to take advantage of me?” she asked, her voice rising in defense.

“No. Not at all. But look how you read me, or at least my father, from two sentences. When you met Ross, he likely asked you just the right questions for him to figure out how he could manipulate you.”

She was quiet, thinking it over. “I never saw it. But yes, he told me about his family. And I told him I was adopted. It’s not something I’ve ever hidden.”

“And likely he realized you were ready to fall in love with him and the dream he offered you.”

“I’m such a stupid fool.” Chrysi put her face in her hands as if to hide her shame.

“No, you are just hopeful. I’ve met so many people who live in hope. Rich or poor, and they are the happiest of people.” Nevis reached out and pulled her close. He thought she might fight him, but she didn’t. “You will get over this. You will find love again.” Then he took a risk. “Maybe it’s nearer than you think.”

“Thank you.” She leaned her head on his shoulder. “You walked into my life at the right time. I would have been lost in more ways than one if you hadn’t found me yesterday.”

“So you admit I did find you?” he asked with a grin.

“The bear found me first…”

“About that…” Where did he even begin?