Harrison agreed. “You’ll have to ask him that question.”
“Why with us then? Do you think that gives you the edge?”
Harrison quickly shook his head. “Not in the least. You never know with my father. It could be as simple as the fact that he likes my limo better than his own.”
Jayda laughed. “But it’s not even yours, is it? Yours is back in New York.”
“No, I keep one at my condo in Portland. It’s mine,” said Harrison.
Jayda wanted to shake her head. How many cars did one man need? But she held her peace. It was a different world she was in, and she had better get used to it.
Then she thought about Gweneth. “Who did she cheat on you with?” she asked him.
There was a definite pause as if he didn’t want to relive that time.
“Was it Felix?”
Harrison quickly shook his head. “For once, no, it wasn’t Felix.”
Jayda wasn’t going to let it go. “Then who was it?”
“It was my father’s second wife. My stepmother.”
Jayda frowned. “Hiswife? But . . .” Then Jayda frowned. “Gweneth is a lesbian?”
“I don’t know what that woman is. She’s a cheater. That’s all I know. And after I discovered it, I wanted no parts of her.”
“But you were in love with her at the time though, right?”
“Absolutely not. I didn’t know what love was back then.”
Jayda smiled. “I expected you to say you still don’t.”
“Oh I do now,” said Harrison with a smile. He held her hand. “I do now.”
Jayda continued smiling too. She wanted to ask more questions about Gweneth, but she didn’t go there. There were plenty ofGwenethsin his past she was certain of it. She had to get used to that as well.
And then HB arrived and got in the backseat of Harrison’s limousine, facing them. HB’s security detail was in the SUV behind them, followed by Felix’s limo that housed he, his wife, and the two couples that came with them. Followed by Carter, Archie, and Dalton in their own limo. And that entire convoy of vehicles was on its way to town.
Meanwhile Jayda was inwardly having a meltdown. Sitting across from each other like that was the nearest shehad ever gotten to Harrison’s father, and it was an unnerving experience. Especially when he couldn’t seem to take his eyes off of her. She expected him to be like all the others in that circle and ask Harrison what hole he dug her out of too. Nonsense like that.
But that wasn’t how it turned out. “What’s your name?” he asked her.
It was in that moment that Harrison felt a great need to protect her. His father could have sharp knives too. “Her name is Jayda Robin--,” Harrison started saying, but his father cut him off.
“I’m asking the young lady.”
Jayda knew she had to get her nerves together. It was something about his gaze that reminded her of the first time she saw Harrison. There was anI’m better than youarrogance to it. “My name is Jayda Robinson. That’s Jayda with a y.”
HB didn’t ask for clarification. “How old are you, Jayda?”
“Twenty-eight.”
“Harrison’s forty-one. That’s quite an age difference.”
Jayda realized that was the first time she knew Harrison’s exact age. Which was a couple years older than she had thought. “Yes sir,” was all she could say to that.
“What do you do for a living?” HB asked her.
