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“Of course,” Viv said, her mouth trembling only a tiny bit. “Nice to have met you.” She immediately left the circle, pushing past Johanna to head into the bedroom.
Damien was about to go after her, but first he took his mother by the arm and propelled her toward the door. “Go. Right now.”
She went, taking Morgan and Johanna with her. And Damien followed Viv, torn between fury and concern.
He had a moment’s panic when he walked into the bedroom and found it empty, until he noticed the bathroom door was shut tight. He walked over to it, knocked once and tried the knob.
Locked.
“Viv? Are you okay?”
“Yes.”
“Please come out.”
“I’d rather be alone for a while.”
“In the bathroom? Come on, you can talk to me.”
The lock clicked, the knob turned, the door opened. He immediately saw the tears in her blue eyes and the way her lips trembled.
Damien pulled her to him, holding her tightly. “I’m so sorry. I did warn you Mother is a dinosaur, didn’t I?”
“Dinosaur? Well, she certainly seems cold-blooded enough.”
“I have no idea what the hell she’s doing here.”
“Rescuing you from the clutches of the evil, white-trash slut who’s got her hooks in you?”
He took her chin and lifted her face so she had to meet his eye. “Don’t ever say that again.”
She took a deep breath, exhaled and said, “Sorry.”
Damien knew she was a mess, and he wanted nothing more than to crawl into bed with her and spend the whole day there. But he had to deal with his family first, or they’d just come knocking at the door again.
“I want to take a bath,” she told him. “While you go...”
“Yeah. I’ll go.” He brushed a kiss across her lips. “But I’ll be back soon. And they won’t.”
“All right,” she said, not smiling, her voice small, her mood strangely subdued. On any other day, Viv wouldn’t have let his mother hurt her. She’d have defended herself, been the feisty woman he’d fallen head over heels for. Today, though, had been the wrong day for her to have to deal with this bullshit.
He reached up and brushed a tear from her eye with the tips of his fingers.
“I’m sorry I’m so weepy,” she said. “I’m not used to being the damsel-in-distress type.”
He slid his thumb across her jaw. “I’ll be your white knight once in a while, if you’ll let me.”
Nodding, she curved her face into his hand and whispered, “That’s a deal.”
There was more to say. He wanted to tell her how he felt about her, even if he wasn’t entirely sure what to say. He could no longer try to pretend he wasn’t in love with her, but since he’d never said those words to anyone, or even known what to expect from the whole being-in-love experience, he had to consider it some more.
First, though, he had to get certain people out of his hair. Which was why he reluctantly got cleaned up, left Viv and went downstairs. Calling his mother on her cell, he told her to meet him in one of the restaurants, and was relieved to walk in and find her sitting there alone.
“Where’s Johanna?”
“She and Morgan are shopping,” his mother said, tilting her head to the side for him to kiss her cheek.
He silently declined that invitation and sat down opposite her. “What are you doing here?”
“Having brunch.”
“I meant in Virginia. Why did you come?”
She offered him a conciliatory smile and reached across the table to pat his hand, a completely unnatural gesture for her. “I was worried. I saw the stories on the news.”
“I’m fine. I wasn’t hurt.”
“Not physically.”
“Meaning?”
“Well, your reputation certainly was.” Her mask of pleasantness fell and she got to what he suspected was the real issue at hand. “Not to mention our stock.”
“Excuse me?”
“‘CEO of Black Star engaged in violent episode in one of his own hotels.’” She reached for her glass of sparkling water, her heavy gold-and-diamond bracelet clinking against the glass. “What in heaven’s name were you thinking?”
“I was thinking that a drunk, dangerous son of a bitch was attacking the woman I love.”
His mother dropped her glass. It slid from her fingertips, landing on the pristine white tablecloth, spilling water everywhere. “Don’t be ridiculous,” she hissed.
“Why is it ridiculous?”
“You can’t love her. She’s a complete nobody.”
“She’s everything to me.” Although he hadn’t entirely decided when he would ask her, or considered how she would respond, he added, “I intend to marry her.”
