Only if you put yours up my dress first.
Chuckling, I strolled out with Baird asking me what I was laughing at. I didn’t answer. I felt the ache of loving someone this much fill my chest. And then promised myself not to fuck it up.
One of the things I loved most about Beth was that she “got it.” We didn’t have to have a big, long discussion about what had been bothering me lately. When I got home, I said, “This is a lot. I’m adjusting. Sorry if I seemed off. But I do love you.”
That’s all it took. She kissed me tenderly and told me she understood. And I did my best to not shut down on her again.
Monday came around fast. Our game yesterday didn’t go our way, but we were still strong contenders, so we tried not to let it get the better of us. We knew Kingston would be tough; we’d just let our win against Dalmarnock go to our heads a bit. Gaffer clearly thought so, too, with the amount of f-ing and c-ing he did in the locker room after the game. That only fired us uptoo. Disappointing the gaffer was like disappointing a parent you gave a shit about.
Baird and I had to put the game to the back of our minds. We had our other business to focus on. Because of our sports careers, we had a full-time manager. He looked after all the properties we’d bought and rented out and dealt with our contracts with maintenance companies, repair services, all that. Usually he’d be the one taking any meetings for us, but this was different.
Blantyre Castle was a whole other story. It was our real retirement plan. And it was not without risk. The fact that we’d waited months to have this meeting with Carmichael messed with both of our heads. I could sense Baird’s nerves as well as my own.
“You dating Beth better not fuck with this, buddy,” Baird muttered as we waited in the reception area of Braden Carmichael’s offices in Leith at Commercial Quay. It was as swanky as I thought it would be. Lots of glass. Industrial touches. Luxury hardwood flooring. Expensive computer equipment. We could see Braden standing in his office, looking out the window, talking on his phone.
“We’ll be fine.”
Two seconds later, Braden hung up and strode out of his office, his gaze fixed on us.
“Tall bloke, ay?” Baird said under his breath. “Doesnae look his age.”
It was true. I didn’t know what age Beth’s dad was, but he had to be older than he appeared. His build was that of a man who worked out, and he moved with predatory ease that said he could take us, despite the age difference.
We stood as Braden gestured to his receptionist that he’d see to us personally. Beth’s dad’s gaze moved between me and Bairdbefore settling on yours truly. Indignation rolled over me at his assessing study, but I curbed it. For Beth, I’d let him inspect me.
I held out my hand. “Mr. Carmichael, I’m Callan Keen. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”
Braden shook my hand, grip strong. “Thanks for coming on such short notice.” He turned to Baird, who already held his hand out.
“Baird McMillan, Mr. Carmichael.”
They shook hands and Braden gestured for us to follow him into his office. “Take a seat.”
We did.
He leaned on his desk, arms crossed over his chest.
Defensive body language. Great.
“Before we go any further, I need to hear from the horse’s mouth about your relationship with your biological father, Mr. Keen.”
Renewed irritation agitated my nerve endings. I flexed my hands on top of the arms of the chair to stretch it out. “Call me Callan. And I don’t have a relationship with Gavin. Anyone who knows me,” I said, gesturing to Baird, “can attest to that.”
Beth’s dad sighed. “Contrary to what you might believe, I really didn’t know about your inquiry about Blantyre Castle. My assistant who deals with all incoming inquiries has a few names on a list who I refuse to deal with. She’s a football fan, and she knows who your father is. She’s apologized for keeping your inquiry from me, although, to be honest, she was only doing what I told her to do when it comes to Gavin Urquhart. For multiple reasons, I want nothing to do with him. One of those reasons being that a few years ago, your father?—”
“He’s not my father,” I cut in, probably too harshly. “He’s a sperm donor.”
Baird patted me on the arm, and I knew he was telling me to be cool.
Braden watched all this and pushed up off the desk to round it. He sat down and continued, “Gavin tried to start up his own gym a few years ago with a business partner. The building they wanted was one of mine, and he tried to hide his involvement from me. When I found out, I stopped the contract, and when his business partner found out I had issues with Gavin, he dissolved their partnership. Gavin blamed me and tried to sue me for breach of contract. That didn’t turn out so well for him.”
“I didn’t know any of that.” I really didn’t. “Like I said, I have nothing to do with him.”
“Good. Because word has it, he’s fallen on very hard times and is probably feeling quite spiteful toward me. I don’t want him insinuating himself into my family’s life. Into Beth’s life. Iwon’thave him in her life.”
Dread made me feel a bit nauseated. “He’s not a problem.”
Braden looked at Baird for confirmation. My mate nodded. “They’ve no relationship. Gavin’s scum.”
