Page 62 of Contentious

“Let me grab my stuff.”

Carson watched her walk away like the besotted fool he was in her presence. He had a million things he should’ve been doing, but everything else took a back seat to keeping her and Ty safe.

His phone rang with a call from his father that he ignored.

He’d worry about that mess later.

She returned with a purse on her shoulder and a briefcase in hand that reminded him that in addition to being the sexiest woman he’d ever met, she was also a smart, successful businesswoman who’d built an empire and was recognized around the world for her beauty and poise.

As he held the car door for her, he acknowledged that he was one lucky son of a bitch to be breathing the same air as her, and he’d do well to remember that.

“What’s the address?” he asked when he got into the driver’s seat.

He punched it into the GPS and waited for the results.

“I usually take the 101,” she said.

“Laurel Canyon might be quicker this time of day.”

“True.”

“The GPS agrees with me,” he said, smiling at her as he pulled out of the driveway and headed toward the Valley, where they’d pick up CA-134 East. “What goes on in Burbank?”

“My business manager is there. He’s been with me since the beginning, and we meet once a month to go over everything.”

“How’d you end up with a guy in Burbank?”

“I lived out there when I was first in LA, and he was a regular customer at the restaurant where I worked. He gave me some very good advice back then, and when I needed someone to manage my career, I asked him to do it.”

“And you’ve stayed loyal to him all this time.”

“He’s family.”

“Who else is family to you?”

“Marlene, my aunt DeeDee and a few other close girlfriends who date back to the early days in LA—and their families. Some of Ty’s friends and their parents.”

“What about your parents and siblings?”

“It was just me and my mom growing up, and she overdosed when I was twenty-two.”

“I’m so sorry, Cres.”

“That was a rough time, to say the least. She’d been doing so much better, so it came as a huge shock that she’d died that way.”

He gripped the wheel a little tighter as a tick of tension started in his cheek. What would she say when she found out he was in recovery? That’d probably be the end of it, not that he could blame her after losing her mother to drugs. “I can’t imagine how tough that must’ve been.”

“I wish she could’ve met Ty. She would’ve been crazy about him.”

“Anyone would be. He’s the best kid.”

“What’d you talk about on the way to school?”

“Surfing and wet suits and having respect for the power of the ocean. He said he’s been taking swim lessons since he was a baby.”

“He’s a very good swimmer—in the pool. He’s been a little intimidated by the ocean, but he’ll never let you see that.”

“That’s good to know. He’ll have a life vest on. Hopefully, that will make him feel more confident, and of course, I’ll be right there with him. I was a lifeguard back in the day.”