Alex exhaled slowly. “Just don’t be late.”
“I won’t.”
After the call ended, I remained standing behind my desk for a moment, still seeing Emma’s words even though the laptop was now closed. I needed to talk to her. Soon. Before decisions started getting made for me. I was going to lose her. The best I could hope for was that I could do it on my own terms.
When I finally arrived at my dad’s house, my brothers, Kate, and her parents were already there. Dad was holding court at the head of the table, Kate sitting across from her parents beside him. I’d braced myself for negotiations disguised as small talk and Kate sharpening verbal knives beneath polite smiles, but her parents disarmed me within minutes.
“Nathaniel,” Dad said magnanimously, waving me into the vacant seat beside Kate’s. “Come meet Pete and Courtney Vanderhaul.”
Both of them stood up, and I instantly knew where Kate had gotten her unique flavor of hazel eyes, that dark, whiskey-hued amber I’d spent too much time looking into this week. Her mom had passed that down while her father had given her the rich red color of her hair.
“Nate,” I said as I shook hands with them both. Then I sat down where I’d been told to and quickly fell into a conversation with them.
Pete Vanderhaul spoke quietly, every sentence measured like he’d already evaluated three possible outcomes before he’d even opened his mouth. He listened more than he talked, which I respected immediately.
When he did speak, it was thoughtful, deliberate, and layered with intelligence that didn’t need volume to command attention. We drifted into conversation about market volatility and the subtle psychology behind long-term investments, and I found myself genuinely engaged.
He asked questions that made me think instead of defend, which was rare in this industry. Beside him, Courtney wasformidable in her own right. She smiled easily and laughed often, but there was calculation beneath it.
Quick wit with razor-sharp instincts. Every time she spoke, I caught flashes of Kate. They had the same timing and that same ability to read a room in seconds. It explained a lot.
Kate hadn’t become this relentless force in a vacuum.
As my conversation with Pete fell into a comfortable lull, Courtney suddenly leaned forward, her eyes sparkling as they met mine. “Kate mentioned you and she have a spirited working relationship.”
She said it lightly and then took a sip of her wine, but Kate stiffened. Since I was being tortured with the faint citrus and vanilla scent of her hair on every inhale, I decided against simply shrugging off her mom’s comment and smirked instead. “That’s one way to describe it.”
Kate shot me a warning glance, but Pete let out a quiet, amused chuckle. “Competition can be healthy.”
“That depends on who’s winning,” I said.
Kate nudged my ankle under the table and I slid my foot against hers in response, pressing just enough to signalcareful. She paused before reaching for her water glass, clearly registering the message.
“Who would you say is winning?” Courtney asked, interest glinting in her eyes.
“Both of them,” Alex cut in smoothly. “They’ve done incredible work together this week. Both our families stand to make a fortune off this deal.”
“I’d say so,” my dad agreed with a satisfied smile spreading across his lips. He turned to Kate. “The boys tell me you’ve been tremendously helpful.”
“Helpful?” she asked sweetly. “I’d say I’ve been the key to achieving what we have, but I’m too modest for that.”
“Is that what you’d say?” I asked, my voice even but not snide. “I thought there was noIinteam,Katie.”
Everyone else chuckled, but her heel slammed into my shin with surgical precision. Pain exploded up my leg and I grunted before I could stop the sound from coming out. Alex glanced over at me, a slight frown creasing his brow. “Are you okay?”
Without breaking eye contact with Kate, I pressed my shoe down onto her toes beneath the table. Her inhale was sharp but quiet enough that I was sure no one else had noticed it.
“I’m fine,” I said calmly. “Swallowed wrong.”
Kate jerked her foot back, glaring daggers at me while reaching for her napkin like she was plotting murder. The rest of dinner unfolded with merciful civility, though.
Conversation shifted to travel, architecture, and the upcoming events on the social calendar both here and in New York. All safe territory, but every time Kate moved beside me, I felt hyper-aware of it. The brush of her elbow. The faint scent of her perfume. The controlled way she laughed with her parents, softer than I’d ever heard it.
After dessert, Dad rose and gestured toward the study. “Pete, Courtney, would you join me for a nightcap?”
They followed him out, Courtney tossing Kate a look that felt suspiciously like maternal approval before disappearing down the hallway. Alex lingered beside me where we stood near the drinks cart, both of us watching Jane and Kate drift toward the far corner of the room, already deep in conversation.
Jane gestured animatedly and Kate leaned in, her expression open and bright. It was disarming to see her so relaxed and friendly. I shook it off when Alex pulled me aside.
