I shove the thought aside and focus back on the call.
“I miss you all too,” I say gently. “But I’m not abandoning my company over some empty threats.”
“That explosion looked more than just threats…”
“Mostly smoke, nothing serious. The FBI and my team are on it. We’ll be fine.”
“Still stubborn as ever,” he says with affection.
Takes one to know one. I’ve seen the man stall a parliamentary address just because his speech wasn’t formatted up to his standards.
“I know you don’t like surprises, so heads up, Will is flying to New York next week. He has some meetings, but I have the feeling he wants to have a cuppa with you.”
The laugh fizzles in my throat as I imagine what that would look like. The heat creeps back across my chest. “How wonderful,” I croak. “Can’t wait.”
“I hope you know you’ll always have a place with us, my dear. Call you soon.”
Cecil’s brand of paternal affection always manages to choke me up a bit. Three years in London, and my mom called constantly. But Dad? I had to chase him for every half-hearted conversation. I was trying to tell him how well I was doing, everything I’d learned, but he acted like my career was a phase I’d get over at some point.
I sink into the plush armchair, the remote dangling between my fingers, the room dark around me. Will is coming to New York. I’m caught between a flicker of excitement and the uneasy sense that falling back into old habits would be a mistake.
But he’s the type of man I never had to worry about. Serious and reliable. Never made me question where I stood or if I could trust him.
Shouldn’t that be enough?
Chapter Three
ADAM
Soft music drifts through the empty restaurant entryway. The two guards standing by the tall columns, and a kind-looking woman who takes our jackets, are the only souls in sight. My hand goes rigid on Alexandra’s back as I guide her toward the main dining room. I should’ve guessed Jackie would book out the entire place to give Carter and Eliza some privacy.
Heat builds behind my ribs. It’s the first time I’ll be in the same room with her since the tent. The odd mix of anticipation and something I don’t want to name pushed me into one or two glasses of hard liquor on my way out.
My date slips her arm through mine, smiling up at me, unaware of the direction of my thoughts.
If I had any kind of appetite, my mouth would water at the long table in the middle of the room, already filled with appetizers and drinks.
Besides the family and their guests, the only other people in the round room are the waitstaff and the security guards who follow the Rawlings everywhere, posted near every door.
Heads turn the second my date’s stilettos click on the hardwood floor. Too many curious eyes are on us. I shove the hesitation down and force a grin.
“I was beginning to have my doubts, but you’re actually doing this.” I hug Carter and pat him on the back. I don’t miss the raised eyebrow in Alexandra’s direction.
His voice is low, nodding toward his sister. “Didn’t want to make a big deal out of it, considering what Jackie’s beenthrough. But she insisted, and Eliza deserves to celebrate with our families.”
“So do you. A year ago, we didn’t know if you’d make it.”
The reminder is sobering.
I don’t know any other two people more deserving of their happy ending. I’m lucky to be here and witness it all.
Carter straightens and turns his full attention to my date. “Aren’t you going to introduce us?”
“Oh, sure.” Alexandra’s been hovering behind me, flashing a polite smile at all the people sizing her up more or less openly.
Clara Rawlings wears her perfect socialite smile when I bring Alexandra over to greet her. Robertson and his son, Logan, are not as subtle, their scrunched eyebrows comically identical.
“How lovely,” Carter’s mom says sweetly. “We finally get to meet one of Adam’s lady friends.”
