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Her heart hammered even harder in her chest. Her brain couldn’t keep up with this.
She made herself focus when Ria smiled at her and asked, “And you, Alyssa? Did you have a good time?”
She couldn’t help it, she tapped Lee’s foot with her own as she smiled and said, “I did, thank you. I had the best time.”
She sucked in a deep breath when Lee’s hand reached for hers under the table and gave it a quick squeeze before letting go.
She felt guilty as hell when she caught her dad’s gaze on her. He looked puzzled, if not concerned. Alyssa just hoped that he hadn’t figured it out already.
She relaxed when he spoke. “Did you watch the band?”
She really didn’t want to lie to him. “I listened to them for a while before I went back upstairs.” It wasn’t a lie. The band had been playing while she and Lee walked on the beach.
She was relieved when the server came out and poured coffee for each of them and distributed menus.
She bent her head as if she were studying the menu closely, as if it mattered at this point what she ate. The only thing that mattered was getting Lee alone so that they could talk. This whole thing was a mess. She’d honestly been thinking that she was going to try to get back to her room tonight. And if she did, it would only be because she wanted to sit there waiting, hoping that Lee would knock – and they might have a repeat performance of last night.
Now, now she didn’t know what to think. She needed to figure it out, and to do that, she needed to talk to him.
~ ~ ~
Bentley was grateful that both his mom and Russ seemed to think that the awkwardness between him and Lizzie was just because they didn’t know each other. He shoveled a forkful of eggs into his mouth to stop himself from laughing. It was no laughing matter, but he couldn’t help it. His humor soon evaporated at the thought that Russ was hardly likely to beamused if he discovered just how well – how intimately – Bentley already knew his daughter.
He took a big gulp of coffee to chase the eggs down and shot his mom an apologetic look when she frowned at him. She was only worried about his table manners, he knew that. He didn’t even want to know what she’d think if she knew how he and Lizzie – no, Alyssa – had spent the night.
He knew by the way she arched one brow at him that she expected better of him. He expected better of himself. He was usually the guy who could carry the conversation, get everyone talking, and generally make sure that everyone had a good time. Right now, he appeared to be nothing more than the guy who had nothing to say for himself as he scarfed down his breakfast.
He cleared his throat and met Russ’s gaze. “How are things going at the gym?”
Russ nodded. “They’re going great, thanks. We’re staying busy. How are things back in Napa?”
Bentley shot a quick look at Alyssa. He’d told her that there had been some changes in his life recently, told her that he’d had a big promotion, but he had to wonder what she’d think when she realized that he was now the CEO of DuPont Wineries. Then again, it shouldn’t matter what she thought. It couldn’t matter; she was his stepsister. At least, she would be as soon as his mom and Russ got married, and he knew that they were planning to do that soon.
He realized that he hadn’t answered quickly enough when he saw his mom narrowing her eyes at him. Perhaps he should tell her that he had a headache or something. She was already aware that he was off his game, and he’d rather give her some excuse for that than have her possibly figure out why.
He smiled around at the three of them, easily slipping into the persona of Bentley DuPont, the face he’d presented to the world as COO of the company for the last decade. CEO for the last few months.
“Things are going very well, thank you. Of course, it’s taken me a while to find my feet.” He shot his mom a smile. “And we all know that I have a very tough act to follow. But things are going well.” He gave his mom a more genuine smile this time. He knew that she wouldn’t appreciate him talking about stepping into her shoes, but he also knew that she’d love what he had to say next.
“Willow’s doing an amazing job as the new COO. I hate to admit it, but she’s better in the position than I was.”
His mom waved a hand at him. “I wouldn’t say better, darling. I think what’s happening is that Willow has come in with a different approach – a fresh perspective, if you like – and because of that she has new ideas.” She met his gaze and held it for a moment. “I do understand how you feel. It’s the same for me. I’ve watched you step into the role of CEO and bring your own fresh ideas, and also address some problems that I wasn’t even aware I’d created.”
He smiled at her. “You didn’t create any problems, Mom. It’s just that when we implement new systems, old solutions don’t necessarily fit with them.”
She smiled back at him. “Exactly. That’s what I’m telling you is happening with your sister as COO.” She turned to Alyssa. “I’m sorry, I don’t want to bore you with talk about the company. How are things with you? Your father tells me that you’re making some changes of your own lately.”
Bentley’s head swung to look at Alyssa before he managed to stop himself. She’d told him that she was an accountant, but she hadn’t told him anything about where she worked or whatshe did. Then again, he understood now why they’d both steered clear of giving any personal information. She might not be a local, but she had connections here at the lake. She wouldn’t want anyone – namely her dad – to find out about last night any more than he did.
He loved the way she smiled at his mom. She seemed to genuinely like her, and the feeling was mutual. His mom had told him before how much she liked Russ’s daughter.
“That’s right. I told Dad at New Year that this was going to be a big year for me, and so far, it has been. I enjoyed managing the team at my old firm, and they wanted me to stay, but it’s not for me. Even though I enjoyed managing people, I didn’t enjoy it as much as I enjoy managing numbers …”
Bentley was surprised when she turned to look at him and the ghost of a smile played on her lips.
“Don’t laugh at me. But I love spreadsheets.”
He did laugh, if only to cover his embarrassment. He could feel a touch of heat in his cheeks as he remembered telling her last night that spreadsheets just did it for him. He hadn’t understood at the time just how much they, apparently, did it for her, too.
