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14
“So this is where wild teenage Kira spent her days?” Luc asked, glancing at the lake she took him to. They’d arrived the previous day, and today she’d given him a quick tour of Hope Springs, the last sight being the calm lake surrounded by oak trees.
The wind lazily swayed the worn old tire swing hanging from a bending oak tree—one of the many that offered shade, canopying the area so much, little rays of sun barely trespassed the branches.
She’d chosen a spot away from the families sunbathing and the people kayaking. In fact, he could barely hear their voices.
“I wasn’t that wild. But yes, me and my cousins and friends usually came here, especially in the summer. We had a good time.”
They sat on the dirt, their toes dangling and almost touching the water. He’d noticed a shift in her semblance from after dinner, after she’d been talking with her mom and sister in the kitchen, but she hadn’t mentioned anything to him, so he didn’t ask.
“Are you looking forward to the party tonight?” he asked.
“Now more than before. I had a chat with my mom and Shelby last night. I was honest, and hopefully that will translate in a better relationship for us in the future,” she said, looking ahead at the water.
“I’m glad to hear it. I had to hold back from punching Andrew, and I’m not your sister’s biggest fan.”
She chuckled. “I’m not either. But we’ll be okay.”
“Good.”
Would he and she be okay? The question burned a hole in his soul. She’d said she was falling in love with him, but would she continue when she learned of his plan to take down his father’s merger? He bet she didn’t expect him to be a bitter, revengeful son-of-a-bitch. She might even feel used by him.
“What’s on your mind?” she asked, pulling him from his thoughts. “Is your mom okay?”
“Yes. I’ve gotten good feedback from her nurses. She’s eating and not pestering them too much—one of them enjoys watching TV with her.”
“Good,” she said, flashing him a warm smile. “You love your mom. Your expression changes when you talk about her. She’s lucky.”
“Thanks. I’m glad I’ve been able to give her more comfort after our childhood.”
“You don’t talk a lot about your childhood. Or even about your father.”
I tell you as much as I can. Trusting her with the truth about his father would make him vulnerable for the outcome. Besides, in general, he told her more about his life than anyone else he’d dated. “What do you want to know?”
“How do you feel about him? I’ve seen you two interact, and you barely talk about anything that’s not related to work. I thought one of the reasons why he invited you to work stateside was to get to know one another, to maybe create a bond. Isn’t that the reason you accepted to come? You’re super rich. You don’t need to work in his company.”
“Some things take time.”
“Yes, but there should be the minimum effort from both parts.”
“Since when are you an expert at relationships?” he asked, then a second later, hated how defensive he sounded. What if she kept probing him, though? He wouldn’t be able to maintain his lies for much longer. But before anything happened, he needed to move forward with Samantha.
She frowned. “I’m just trying to help.”
“Je suisdésolé,” he apologized. “I know you’re trying to help. I’ll have to think about what you said, and see if I can start making changes.”
“That’s a wonderful first step. I’ll take it.”
“Why are you so interested in being the peacemaker between my father and I?” he asked, looking her square in the eye. What could she gain from it? His cynical chip was in high alert. He didn’t want to believe that she’d declared her love for him to gain his trust and put in action whatever scheme his father had chalked up.
“Because he seems to want it. Maybe you want it too, you just don’t act like it. I mean, you moved all the way from France, leaving your mother, to come give it a chance, right? Why else would you have come?”
“Right,” he said quickly. He had to squash any rationale that could lead to her figuring out the real reason he’d moved. “I need to do better. Try harder,” he said. For the slightest moment, the idea played in the back of his head. Was his father different today than the man he’d been decades ago? Would he make the same decisions?
She kissed his cheek. “You can do it. I’m here if you need anything.”
He smiled. She was all he needed—and that was the biggest problem of all.
