I shrugged. "That's okay, honey. We have years ahead of us."
She snuggled closer to me. "Yes, we do."
I scribbled a bid five thousand dollars higher than the last one noted on the sheet. Juliet protested, but there was no force behind it. As I took her hand to lead her away, her gaze lingered on the painting. Something in it spoke to her; that was obvious.
We returned to our table, and I poured Juliet another glass of the Zinfandel we'd been drinking most of the night. It was decent but lacked depth. Laurel Crest may have been the preeminent winery in the region, but I had no doubt Mist Hollow would soon catch up.
Scanning the room, I couldn't locate Kane. Perhaps he'd slunk off back to the city, but I doubted it. By eleven thirty, he hadn't returned, and I was ready to leave. We'd made our point anyway. Juliet and I were together, and she wasn't afraid of him. I only hoped he'd got the message.
Before we left, I checked the silent auction table and discovered I'd been outbid. I added another, obscenely inflated bid that nobody in their right mind would counter. Then Juliet and I found our hosts for the evening, thanked them for a lovely night, and headed out to the parking lot.
Outside the air was cold and sharp. Only a few vehicles remained in the lot. Most people had left by now. As I'd instructed, Collins waited in his car at the far end. We walked toward it, Juliet's hand in mine. Realizing she was cold, I shrugged off my jacket and draped it over her shoulders.
We were within twenty feet of the car when Kane approached us, emerging from his limousine. Juliet's fingers tightened around mine.
"You've made a mistake," Kane hissed. "Both of you."
"Is that so?" I asked.
Ignoring me, he stepped toward Juliet. I blocked his path, pushing her behind me.
"You think you can dig into my life without consequences?" he sneered. "You imagine I can't bring you to your knees, the way I ruined your father?"
I didn't move, didn't speak. Shocked to my core, I just stood there in the cold of the parking lot and stared at him.
"What?"
"Leeds Hillside Investments ring a bell?" he taunted. "Your daddy sank everything into that venture, didn't he?"
My fists clenched at my sides as his words hit deep. Juliet squeezed my arm, a reminder both that she was there and that I couldn't lose it, not when we were so close to bringing him down.
I'd planned for this confrontation, but this was not how I'd expected it to go. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw my security team gathering around us. Kane noticed them too. Like the coward he was, he slunk away, back to the safety of his limo.
As I watched his car pull away, I stood there, frozen to the spot, until Juliet stepped in front of me. She rubbed my arm in a soothing motion as if trying to calm a wild animal.
"Come on, Nate. It's cold out."
Nodding numbly, I walked her to the car, got in beside her, and said nothing the whole way home. Juliet didn't try to coax me into conversation. She'd heard what Kane said, same as I did, and gave me space to come to terms with that revelation.
She pressed herself against my side and hummed quietly, a tune I knew but couldn't place. I kept my arm around her, stared out at the dark road, and considered what I'd learned.My father had told me he'd lost everything because of a business partner who turned out to be dishonest. He'd never named him. It never occurred to me for one minute that it had been Kane. I didn't even realize he'd done business in England. He must have hidden it well, otherwise Scott would have uncovered it by now.
When Collins pulled up at the house, it was quiet. Juliet stopped in the hallway and turned to face me, my jacket still over her shoulders, watching me carefully as if she feared I was about to crack.
"Go up," I said. "I'll be there shortly."
She curved her hand around my cheek, her palm soft and warm.
"Don't be long."
"I won't."
While she headed upstairs, I went to find Eileen. She was in the sitting room, legs curled up under her on her favorite armchair, reading a book. A cup of tea sat on the table next to her. She looked up and frowned when she saw my expression. She closed her book.
"Did something happen?" she asked. "Is Juliet…?"
"Juliet is fine." I dropped onto the sofa opposite her. "Kane told me something tonight. He said he was the one who destroyed my father's business."
Eileen was quiet for a moment. "Your father has never discussed business with me, Nate. You know that."
