She threw her hands up in a wild shrug. “Well, I can’t talk sense into you. And I certainly can’t discuss this with my boss. I guess you’ve both got to do what you think is right … even if I think you’re utterly crazy for not jumping at a chance at love.”
No. I couldn’t think aboutthatword and Henry. It made my insides somersault. “I don’t?—”
A commotion on the stairs had me jumping up, grabbing for my T-shirt to cover my bare chest. Parker came careening into the room. He noticed my state of undress and gasped, covering his eyes.
“Uh … Lucian is out on the jetty, there’s a crazy man at the gate demanding to see you, Irina.”
My chest constricted, and I turned my back, fumbling my way into my bra and T-shirt, tugging on my yoga pants. “He’s not wearing an Eastern Sydney Cockerels cap, is he?”
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
Another Spanner in the Works
IRINA
It wasn’t Cockerels Cap.
“Whoisthat?” Liv asked as we squinted through the window of the wheelhouse. Josie, the yacht’s captain, and Parker stood beside us, equally invested in the showdown happening on the jetty. Lucian stood on one side of the barred gate that kept the non-owners off the marina, his stance immovable, his arms folded. I could just imagine the surly expression he’d be wearing.
Lucian’s mouth moved, and the man on the other side took a step back. I gasped, recognition dawning.
“That’s Henry’s dad!”
Liv groaned. “Not him! I can’t stand that bloke! He’s another one who calls all the time expecting a piece of Henry.”
“He threatened to turn me in to the authorities if Henry didn’t help him out last time,” I whispered, straightening. “I should go down there.”
“Are you insane?” Liv hissed, grabbing me by the arm. “The last thing you should do is go anywhere near him! Let Lucian deal with it.”
I shook my head, tugging out of her grasp. “He has no proof of anything. Maybe me going down there and shaking him up a bit might get him to back off.”
I strode for the gangplank, Liv on my heels. “Fucking Eastern Europeans and their stubborn streak!” she muttered. I chuckled, picking my way barefoot along the jetty. Despite the autumn weather, the sun was still hot enough to have me hopping on my toes, wincing as the soles of my feet prickled with heat.
“Here she comes!” Warren crowed as we approached. “And who’s the pretty little thing with her?”
Lucian turned, fuming in our direction before glaring back at Warren. “None of your fucking business. Now leave, or I’ll have my team escort you back to the street,” Lucian snarled. Warren ignored him, swaying on the spot as he peered through the bars at us.
“Oh, but I’ve been hoping to meet my daughter-in-law for weeks! You know, since they got marriedsosecretly that no one knew about it for months …” he tapped the side of his nose, winking hideously in my direction, as if sharing a little secret joke with me.
My stomach roiled. How had this decrepit slob of a man had anything to do with my beautiful, kind Henry? I could see no family resemblance, in looks or in behaviour.
My mouth lifted into a sneer. “Oh, Warren, no need to be bitter. We kept our wedding very private, so of courseyouweren’t aware. Only those closest to our hearts were in attendance.”
Warren’s face twisted. “Any of your family fly out for the happy day?” he asked. “Or are you an ungrateful little brat just like my son? That boy happily mooched off his old man until he was old enough to leave, and then abandoned the man he owes for his very existence.”
Lucian slammed a hand against the gate, making a godawful clang. “You lying piece of?—”
“Don’t bother, Lucian,” I interrupted, heart hammering with rage against my ribs. “Men like him will never learn. I’ve dealt with enough of them to know.”
I eyed Warren with intense dislike. “You know, children don’t go no-contact with their parents for no reason. You might want to think about that for a bit, maybe take a good, long look at your own belly button while you’re at it. You know, self-reflection, or whatever the smart people like to call it. Maybe then you might work out what it is aboutyouthat’s so repulsive to him that he chose to protect himself over forcing a relationship with you.”
“Men likeme?” Warren snapped, spit flying from his mouth. “Women likeyou, more like it! You don’t want me to have a relationship with my son because you want to hoard all the money for yourself. Anyone who so much as blinks at you can see that you’re a filthy gold digger—no one who looks likeyoumarries my son for anything but his money!”
Lucian growled, stepping closer, but Liv gripped his arm, holding him back. Meanwhile, I blinked to clear some of the red rage from my vision.
“I married your son,” I began coldly, “because I have never known a sweeter, funnier, smarter man. Like I said, I’ve known your type my whole life, and Henry is like a breath of fresh air. Clearly, every single thing I love about him is something that grew in him in spite of, not because of you. Now, kindly fuck off our property, and don’t come back.”
I turned to leave.
