My mother made a small noise of agreement that she probably thought was subtle, but it wasn’t. Dad looked like he’d rather eat gravel, but after a long moment, he shifted in his seat and looked in the rearview mirror.
“Nate,” he said gruffly. “I may have spoken out of turn and I apologize.”
May have.I narrowed my eyes, but he hadn’t been talking to me, so I left it to my dearest amused husband to deal with.
There was a pause, but then Nate, who apparently had a death wish, gently spoke up. “Thank you, sir.”
Sir.Oh, he’s enjoying this way too freaking much.I twisted around to glare at him, but he just batted his lashes at me, feigning innocence.
Shaking my head, I turned back around and nodded at the road. “Good. Now drive.”
Dad frowned. “Drive?”
“Yes,drive,” I said. “Because we have a company to save and Nate’s reputation to repair, and sitting on the side of the road is not accomplishing either of those things.”
He hesitated for only another second before pulling back onto the road. The rest of the drive passed in a much quieter sort of tension. My mother kept sneaking glances at me like she wasn’t entirely sure who I’d become in the last ten minutes while my father drove with rigid focus, not looking away from the road at all.
Meanwhile, I stared straight ahead, trying to prepare myself for the moment we’d get to my godfather’s house. We wouldhave a hell of a fight ahead of us once we arrived, trying to convince him that the truth was, in fact, the truth, but for now, there was only one thing that I kept turning over in my head.
I love Nate Westwood.
I believed him, too. That he would’ve chosen me, but I wasn’t naive enough to think it would be blue skies and roses from here on out. Ultimately, what I’d learned from all this was that we still had a ton of shit to work through.
Knots of feelings and emotions to untangle. Heaps of questions that had to be asked before they broke us apart later on.
In a way, the bomb that had exploded on Sunday had only been the beginning, the sign that it was time for us to actually sit down and talk, no matter how many meetings we had to reschedule to do it.
When Abram’s long driveway finally came into view, winding through tall trees toward the estate, I exhaled slowly.
Showtime.
Thiswas what we’d come here for, but when my gaze drifted to the rearview mirror to meet Nate’s gaze, I found him and my father locked in silent conversation. They were looking at each other, but not talking, scowling, or moving.
Just some quiet, almost knowing conversation passing between them like they’d formed some kind of alliance in the last thirty seconds.Absolutely not.
Nate had the audacity to look amused when he caught me watching them. Dad looked suspiciously calm.Traitors.
The car rolled to a stop in front of the house and I unbuckled my seatbelt with sharp, efficient movements, snarling at them before I opened my door. “Shut up. Both of you. I wasn’t being dramatic. I was simply setting the record straight in a way that brooked no argument. Now, are you coming or what?”
Then I shoved the door open and stepped out, fully prepared to march inside and fix the disaster all three of them had been part of creating.
CHAPTER 47
NATE
Kate didn’t wait for anyone. Hell, she didn’t look back, just marched straight up to the front door like a woman on a mission. When she reached it, she started pounding on the wood with the flat of her hand, definitely not a polite knock.
“Kate,” her mother called weakly from behind us, but Kate didn’t even flinch.
The door swung open a few seconds later and the poor maid on the other side barely had time to register what was happening before Kate swept past her in a blur of righteous fury and dogged determination.
“I need to speak to Mr. Hinds,” she announced, already halfway down the entry hall. “We have a meeting.”
The maid looked startled, maybe even a little alarmed.Honestly, same.
Pete came up beside me, and together, we watched Kate disappear into the house like a small but extremely determined hurricane. He exhaled slowly. “Well, there she goes.”
I glanced at him, figuring that we might as well use the opportunity to clear the air between us. It certainly hadn’t looked like she needed or expected immediate backup. “I’m sorry.”
