FOUR
LUKE PULLED HIS CAR INTO the church parking lot and parked near the back. He’d taken the Jag instead of the Veyron. The last thing he wanted to do was call attention to himself at the funeral and as much as he loved the car, it was flashy as fuck. He wanted to be there for Claire and then get her back to his place. Hell, if it hadn’t been for her, he probably wouldn’t have gone to the funeral. It made him feel callous, but the reality was he didn’t know Pete, and until the police investigation was over and there was no way Masters Enterprises could be held liable for the accident, his lawyers would rather he stayed as far away as possible from the family.
He glanced at his watch. Half past. She should be here by now. He didn’t want to go in without her. She’d gone to pick up her father to bring him to the funeral. Luke offered to go with her, but he could tell she was nervous about how her father would react to being out and around all the people. She seemed almost grateful when he agreed to meet her at the church, but he couldn’t tell if she was just trying to eliminate variables or if she wasn’t comfortable with him meeting her father. He had managed to convince her to take his car and driver and to let him hire her dad’s normal nurse for the day.
Glancing at his watch again, he climbed out of the car. He hated being late for anything and if he waited at the front of the church he wouldn’t have to worry about finding them inside. The lot was already full with more people arriving. Apparently there were a lot of people who wanted to pay their respects to the Lester family. Since he doubted the lead electrician was a big philanthropist or something, the people showing up must have loved him or at least liked him enough to take off most of the day to spend it in church.
He wondered for a moment what his funeral would be like. He gave money all over the place and was an honorary member of countless boards. When he died, they’d probably all come crawling out of the woodwork, but would any of them care he was dead? Eric would. They’d been friends forever, and he knew the chef would genuinely mourn for him. So would Claire. They’d been seeing each other for a ridiculously short time, but she’d already gotten closer to him than he ever intended.
It was supposed to be sex. Mind blowing, screaming, fucking multi-orgasmic sex but just sex. Somehow things had gotten out of hand, and he knew without a doubt that if something happened to him, Claire would mourn for him. His phone vibrated, and he reached into his suit coat, grateful for the interruption. He had to get off the train of thought his mind was on and quick.
Claire’s text said they were almost there. He sent a quick one back telling her he’d meet her at the front of the church and picked up his pace to make sure he was at the steps before they arrived. There was a group of men, milling around in front of the church, and Luke recognized the young man Claire hugged the night of Pete’s accident. He was pretty sure most of the others were members of her crew as well. The group fell silent when they saw him, but before they’d had a chance to do more than nod in greeting and things got awkward, Claire’s car pulled to the front of the church.
He didn’t wait for the driver, hurrying to help Claire from the passenger’s side himself. He knew she was nervous about taking their relationship public in front of her crew, but since they’d shown up together the night of the accident everyone had pretty much figured out on their own that there was something going on between them. He didn’t see any reason to hide today.
Twining his fingers with hers, he let his other hand rest on the small of her back. Through the thin silk of her black blouse, he felt the hollow at the base of her spine. He’d had his lips there when he woke her up that morning. It had rapidly turned into one of his favorite places on her delicious body, right next to the dimples at the top of her ass. He flexed and relaxed his hand giving himself mental shit. How fucked up must he be to be thinking of sex with Claire at another man’s funeral. He really was a heartless monster.
When she saw her crew, she started to tug her hand free but he tightened his grip.
“They already know, sweetheart.” She drew in a deep breath but stopped struggling against him.
She offered the gathered men a sad smile before turning her attention back to the car and the middle aged black woman helping Claire’s father from the car. He looked much older than Luke expected, and it had been some time since the suit he was wearing fit him. The dark gray jacket hung off his bent shoulders, but his face lit, taking away some of the years when he saw Claire waiting for him.
“Mr. English,” said one of the men Luke didn’t recognize.
Claire’s father turned to the men and was met with a chorus of Franks and Mr. English depending on the age of the man calling out to him. He looked momentarily confused, and Luke felt Claire freeze beside him. The nurse bent to say something to Claire’s father, and his face smoothed out.
“It’s a lot for him,” she said to the men gathered behind her. “He loved Pete and wanted to pay his respects, but I can’t guarantee that he’ll recognize anyone, including me sometimes.” Her voice caught, and Luke pulled her in closer, sheltering her under his arm.
If her men thought it was strange that the client developer was holding their boss, they hid it well. Mostly they looked like they were waiting for her to tell them what to do, and Luke was struck by the fact that the petite woman tucked against him was the undisputed leader of the gathered men. It was an extraordinary accomplishment at any age, but especially so young and one she’d had to earn. Even taking over the business from her father wouldn’t grant her that kind of power. If anything it could have made things harder for her if she hadn’t worked balls to the wall beside them.
“Maybe one at a time if you want to say hello,” she said to her guys.
A few of the men fell in line beside her while the rest made their way into the church. Claire’s father’s nurse, Becky he thought her name was, led her charge past the men who greeted him with a mixture of respect and sadness. The men who had worked with him obviously cared for her father as much as they did Claire. Mr. English nodded and murmured greetings, but Luke couldn’t tell if he recognized the men or not.
He gave Claire an extra squeeze before she followed her father up the stairs. He couldn’t imagine how hard it must be on her to watch the man she so obviously loved and admired slip away from her. He’d lost plenty of people, but he’d never loved anyone enough for it to matter.
By the time they made it into the church most of the other people attending were seated. Without thinking, Luke paused to dip his fingertips into the Holy Water and make the sign of the cross. Claire noticed and cocked her head to the side with a smile.
“I didn’t know you were Catholic, Masters.”
“I’m not. I haven’t been for a very long time.” He hadn’t been to mass in decades, but old patterns were hard to break. His mother had been Catholic, and after she left his father continued to take Luke until the hypocrisy got to be too much for Luke, and he had to get out. It didn’t do any good to sit in church on Saturday night when you were an asshole the rest of the week.
They walked into the sanctuary and the scent of incense hit him, taking him right back to his childhood. The memory was so strong; if it hadn’t been for Claire, he would have bolted. Time spent remembering anything before he left home was time fucking wasted.
He stayed a step behind Claire as she and the nurse helped her father to the front of the sanctuary where the family sat. He tried unsuccessfully to ignore the closed casket sitting on its stand in the front. Part of him still couldn’t believe she’d gotten him to a funeral and into a church. He still wasn’t sure exactly how it happened. It wasn’t a choice exactly. He just knew he had to be there for her.
Pete’s widow looked up as they approached, her eyes glistening with tears. Claire murmured something in her father’s ear, and he turned to face the woman, reaching for her hands.
“I’m so sorry, Maria,” he said, his voice surprisingly clear and strong. “So very sorry. Pete was like a brother to me. I know how hard it is to lose the person you love most. I hate that it’s happened to you and like this.”
Claire’s breath caught in a sob, and Luke stepped in behind her, not thinking, simply needing her to know he was there. He couldn’t stand to see her in pain, and fuck it all but the tears in the old man’s eyes were doing a number on him. He didn’t know how she stood it.
“Thank you, Frank,” said Maria, taking his hand in both of hers. “Pete felt the same about you.”
Claire wrapped her arm around her father, gently guiding him away. As soon as they moved forward. Maria Lester saw Luke with his hand on Claire’s back, and her eyes widened.
“Mr. Masters,” she said and the rest of her family’s attention shifted to the pair. “This is unexpected, but thank you for coming.”
