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The plane leveled off. Shortly afterward, dinner orders were taken and drinks were served.
London took a sip of her cranberry juice and nudged Ace. He lifted his head from the headrest and opened his eyes.
“I’ve been meaning to ask you something.”
“What?”
“Do you remember getting a request to put on a fashion show for charity?”
Ace thought for a minute. “Not that I can recall. Why?”
“My mom belongs to a few social organizations, one of which raises money for various causes. She said someone reached out to several designers in hopes of putting on a show to raise money for this year’s recipients.”
“When did they send it?”
“A month ago, maybe? Probably when you were in the throes of fashion week prep.”
“For sure, anything that came across my desk in the last two months, other than what pertained to the line, was placed in a file to be looked at later. I’m always down for a good cause, though. Tell me more.”
“I don’t know much, really, other than that all of the recipients are in Paradise Cove and one of them is the Drake Community Center. They have a variety of programs for kids, especially those who are at risk of falling through the cracks.” When he remained silent, she turned to find him staring. “Why are you looking at me like that?”
“The more I learn about you and your family, the more you intrigue me. Let me make sure I understand. Your enormously wealthy family runs a multimillion-dollar real estate company, operates a luxury resort and vineyard, and at the same time built a community center for at-risk kids.”
“Basically, although if you’ll remember the spa is owned by my first cousins, not us. We do have a vineyard in Paradise Cove, but it’s a small one that my rancher brother runs.”
“Wait, wait, wait. There’s a rancher, too? I can’t keep up.”
“Ha! It’s my normal, so I never think about it. I come from a big family. We have a lot going on.”
The flight attendant delivered the first course. Ace had opted for the beet and goat cheese salad, while London tasted a spoonful of her chilled asparagus soup.
“Tell me about your siblings. Are they as wild as you?”
“I’m not wild. Much. Though if asked, they’d agree with you. My sister, Teresa, is the good girl. I’ve always been the rebel.”
“No question whether or not you’re the youngest. Wreaking havoc because you got here last.”
“Ha!”
“Tell me about the others.”
“The oldest is named after our father, Ike. He heads up Drake Realty Plus and is married to Quinn, the one who met me in San Francisco and who you would have met if you weren’t so busy. The next oldest is Niko. He’s the mayor of Paradise Cove.”
Ace snickered.
“What?”
“Go on, I’m listening.”
“Don’t laugh at my family. Drakes don’t play that.”
“I’m not laughing at you, babe. It’s just that you’re mentioning all of these serious corporate and government positions. And then there’s you.”
She nudged him in the side. “Watch it.”
“Then there’s Reginald, who’s the real rebel. He married his soul mate, moved to New Orleans and became the son her father never had. He’s the only brother who doesn’t work in the family business. Warren is the rancher, who started this whole conversation. He also works at Drake Realty. Everybody does something at the company in one way or another. Well, almost everybody.”
“Except you, right.”
“Dang, hearing it out loud makes me feel bad about it. You’ve got to do the show for my mom. I’ll help. It’ll be my contribution to the good Drake name.”
They both laughed at that and took a break from the conversation to accept plates of wild Alaskan salmon and Chateaubriand.
“So now, the rancher. Is he married?”
London nodded. “Everyone is except me and Julian. He’s the youngest son and just graduated with his doctorate in psychology. Let’s see, who else. Oh, the twins, Terrell and Teresa. Terrell handles sales at the company and helps run the community center. His wife is a doctor, too. I forget which kind. Teresa worked for the company but took a leave, became a journalist, went to Alaska and met her husband. She’s back in the family biz, but from home and part-time.”
