Like we’re on a date in Central Park among gentle snow, not that he’s kind of my hostage. Then again… what would I know? I’ve had some hookups, but I’ve never been on adate. Isn’t this exactly what someone would say is romantic? We’re having coffees, watching the far-off skyscrapers, my hand is in his pocket.
“My father’s bodyguard. I had many very… explicit fantasies about him when I was a teenager,” I admit as my head drifts to Dalton’s shoulder. “He was built a bit like you. But you’re taller.”
Dalton’s grin widens and he has another sip of coffee. “Okay. Now I know what job I want in the future. It’s so obvious now that I think about it.”
“My father’s dead. He doesn’t need a bodyguard,” I say, shaking my head, but my heart leaps even though this isn’t appropriate.
“There you are! I knew it!” My mother’s screech pulls me off the cozy cloud I’m on, and I jump to my feet so fast my sandwich rolls to the ground, falling apart at my feet.
“What… Mother? What are you doing here?”
Chapter 17
Dalton
Igetup,followingCorvus’s lead, to spot his mother heading our way like a rocket about to explode. She’s dressed in an off-white coat with fur trims, and strands of blonde hair dance around her uncannily young face where they’d escaped from underneath a woolen hat.
Her gaze scrapes over me, but her attention is instantly back on her son. “What amIdoing here? I wouldn’t be here if you had the decency to answer my calls! Mrs. Patton told me there was a fire in your house! I’ve just come back from Aspen, and you didn’t even tell me any of this? Why am I getting this wall of silence? I don’t deserve that. You think you can evade me? Your mother? I know you jog here, and my instincts led me straight to you,” she claims, pointing her nose toward the sky.
Corvus’s hands are clasped behind him, and I see them twist as he chews on her words.
“I wanted to give you the attention you need. I couldn’t do that while I was running errands,” he finally tells her, even though the errands consisted of spending time with me.
“It’s nice to meet you under better circumstances Mrs. Van der Horn,” I say and hold my hand out to shake hers. “It’s all probably my fault. I ended up in the hospital yesterday, so Corvus was a bit frantic.”
I want to be ahead of the game and show myself to her from a good side. She’ll be my mother-in-law after all, as strange as that is. I’ve barely had time to adjust to the idea that I’m getting married soon, so these are uncharted waters. I’ve never had a boyfriend who’d want to introduce me to his parents.
I’m relieved when she does squeeze my hand. “It’s about time I get to meet you as well. I couldn’t believe Corvus kept such a big part of his life secret from me.”
Corvus shakes his head. “I wasn’t ready—”
“Excuses!” she says in a dramatic voice and looks away as she holds her arms under her bust. “Your cousin married a man last year, and I cheered for him! Wasn’t that the perfect time to tell me the truth in confidence? I will have you know I amexcellentat keeping secrets.”
I smile and stroke Corvus’s shoulder. “Guess it runs in the family?”
She squints at me and prods my chest with her finger.Uh-oh. “Andyouare another matter altogether. A gambler, Corvus? Really? He doesn’t even have his own money to lose.”
A painful reminder of the wealth gap between us that’s more like a canyon. I’m the one who was pushed into this relationship, gagged and bound, yet here I am, worried if I’m good enough for Corvus. And pretty sure I’m not. I might be a good time, but when push comes to shove, will I be good enough to marry?
My mouth is so dry I can’t defend myself with confidence, but Corvus steps forward, stretching his arm to the side, as if he fears hismother might bite off my face if I say the wrong thing. “That is for me to worry about.”
She scoffs, releasing a puff of vapor, and stomps her high-heeled boot deeper into the snow. “Just typical! You never want any of my advice. Even when you were younger, only your father’s opinion mattered, but I’ve got years of experience, so why leave me in the dark? I’m your mother!”
“Because this is how you act when you disagree,” Corvus responds, calm as if he’d faced this blonde storm many times before.
“I will repay the debt, Mrs. Van der Horn,” I say quickly, but Corvus cuts in, his hand drifting to my shoulder.
“You are now free of debt. I will make sure you learn to manage your finances better from now on.”
I smile and nod, finding it hard to believe a million bucks can be wiped away just like that. I’m not worth that kind of money. Corvus would have never dated me if he wasn’t forced by the circumstances. After all, what he intended was to smuggle me out of the hunting grounds and then keep me as his dirty secret.
Knowing this, however, doesn’t make my chest flutter any less.
His mother looks between us, but I can’t read her blue eyes, which are so much like Corvus’s own. “So… just like that? After telling me nothing for years, you will marry a bouncer you met at a club—or where did you even meet?”
Oh, God. We’ve not talked about any of that or how we will handle his family. Hell, until yesterday, he kept me in a cage in the basement, so I’m desperate to show him I’m not completely useless.
“Oh, no. We met at… the florist’s.”
