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“Yes, sir.”
Belinda sniffed. “Have you had the chance to talk with the Fabers, Sebastian? They’re looking at property in your area.” She turned to Paula. “The Faber family founded the supermarket chain here in the city. Alex Faber married a beautiful young woman, Trisha, and now they have two beautiful girls. Very smart lady, that one. She’s heading places.” She then side-eyed Bastian with an expression Paula couldn’t decipher.
“Oh?” Paula didn’t know what else to say. Something told her she was supposed to be impressed by this Trisha person’s smarts. In the same neutral tone Bastian had used earlier, she said, “How about that.”
Belinda nodded. “She’s a pharmacist. She takes employment at Emmender’s for the social connections. It’s so important for an ambitious young person to make connections. I find the staff at Emmender’s all so charming and upwardly mobile. Trisha is serving today, as a matter of fact. Sebastian, when you see her, please talk to her about the neighborhood.”
Art said with his voice lowered, “Sell it to her. Better they move in than that other family we saw looking at it.”
“With the truck and the loud dogs,” Belinda huffed. “Promise you’ll talk to her, Sebastian. And get someone to handle your social calendar. You must remember to get yourself suitable companions when you attend these functions.”
Bastian went rigid.
Paula, who’d been trying to tune out what was to her an extremely uncomfortable conversation, was slow on the uptake until she felt Bastian’s arm settle heavily around her shoulders. Then Belinda’s words registered, and she, too stiffened.
What. The?
“Did you hear me?” Belinda’s voice was sharp.
“No,” Bastian said, sounding bored.
“I said—”
“Let’s go.” Bastian turned and started walking away with Paula.
Paula was a little breathless. It took her a minute to recover her temper. Once they were well away from Bastian’s parents it dawned on her that she’d just witnessed Bastian acting outrageously rude. In fact, it reminded her uncannily of the way he’d been with Paula before today: abrupt, abrasive, indifferent.
It dawned on her that the behavior was a defense. One he used with his parents. Because after just a few minutes in their presence, she now had to buy everything he’d implied about them. They were toxic.
Since he’d acted similarly with Paula before he knew her, but he didn’t act that way with everyone, that would imply logically that he’d put her in the threatening category.
She eyed him sideways.
He’d told her he’d been attracted to her from the first.
Why would that threaten him? Surely being attracted to someone was no biggie.
“What?” He was striding swiftly toward the opposite side of the ballroom.
“I see now why you bought that plane for them.”
His swift steps slowed and he drew to a stop, looking down at her. After a moment his gaze started flicking about. It didn’t pause anywhere, suggesting what he was seeing was in his inner eye, not in the room.
“I’m sorry,” he said abruptly.
“Sorry?” She set her glass on a tray held by a passing server.
“That I brought you here tonight. My parents...I didn’t think they’d act like that.”
“Is it because I’m black?”
He frowned. “No.”
“Really? Let me ask you something. Am I the first black woman you’ve brought to one of their parties?”
He stared at her. “I don’t know.”
“You don’t know.” She was skeptical. “Are you trying to pretend that you’re color blind right now?”
