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He rubbed his forehead. When his father had insisted on a reception, he’d made a couple of phone calls to professionals in Tulip to help them out. Lara was a busy woman and didn’t need to be saddled with responsibilities of planning a wedding reception. So hopefully after meeting the planner, both of them wouldn’t have to do much. “Oh, right, that’s today.”
“Yeah. I mean, if I have to take time off work to do this, you have to as well,” she said in an amused voice.
Her behavior quietly surprised him. She didn’t treat him differently after they slept together. She didn’t seem upset or regretful. If anything, she had an extra pep in her step, he noticed walking behind her. The sway of her hips could hypnotize him.
He entered the kitchen and grabbed the cup of coffee she’d prepared for him. Should he bring it up? Or pretend it never happened? How could he pretend though? An uproar formed in his body. He’d seen her naked and wanted to see her naked again.
“So. About last night…” she started. She flashed him a glance over the rim of the coffee cup before she took to her mouth for a quick sip. “It doesn’t have to get weird, right?”
“Not if we can help it.”
She smiled. “Okay, good. Because maybe we should try it again sometime.”
A frisson surged through him. She wanted to have sex again and he wouldn’t have to convince her? Pure male satisfaction filled his chest and he stretched to his full height. “Yeah. Though may I ask what made you change your mind? You’ve said you didn’t want things to get complicated?” he asked, needing to hear himself out loud.
After all, as much as he wanted to get her naked again, he needed both of them to know sleeping together would be temporary. As soon as he regained power of the company, he’d leave Tulip and move back to Los Angeles. Not only that, but long-term relationships were also not for him. Lara was too good a person for him to hurt or disappoint.
“I guess it got complicated the moment you took a beating for my brother.”
He frowned. “So that was charity sex?”
“Not from my part. If it had been, I would have done other things to you to show my… appreciation.” She put her cup on the table and smoothed her hand over her blouse.
A knock on the door made him glance at his watch. The housekeeper had the key, so who could it be at this time? He strode to the door, and opened it, to find his father on the other side, regarding him with interest. “Dad?” He took a step back, granting his father entry. “What are you doing here?”
His father glanced around, and he realized this was the first time Giorgio Gallucci visited him in Tulip. Without fanfare, his father walked into the living room, as if this was the most natural thing in the world, and sat in one of the sectional leather sofas. “I came to visit you.”
Lara sashayed from the kitchen. “Mr. Gallucci, hi,” she said, doing a much better at concealing her surprise than he had. She smiled, seemingly even at ease with his father—a sentiment many didn’t share. He could be overbearing and intimidating. “What brings you to our neck of the woods? Would you like some coffee?”
“Coffee would be great,” he said. “And please, call me Giorgio,” his father said.
Lara asked him a couple of details about how his father preferred his coffee and left to the kitchen to make it.
Troy sat across from his father. “We were on the way to meet a wedding planner.”
“You were, weren’t you?” His father glanced at the décor, contemplating the fireplace. “I received an interesting call from Tom O’Donnell last night.”
Pillars of ice formed in his blood, expanding the veins uncomfortably. He should have guessed Conor would raise some hell about a little brawl. The man couldn’t handle his own problems and had to run to his father. “What did he say?”
His father clenched his jaw. “He said that you visited his son and knocked him out.”
Troy didn’t move a muscle. “Did he say why?”
“He said you aren’t taking care of our properties in the area the way you were supposed to. Hiring sleazeballs to work for us, then visiting Conor and hit him in a poor attempt to show dominance.”
Troy drummed his fingers on the sofa. Sleazeballs? Seemed like Conor hadn’t told his father about what Miguel had done or his connection to Lara, unless his father hadn’t told Troy. No, his father would have questioned him.
Why were the O’Donnells hanging on to that piece of information that could potentially jeopardize Troy’s entire plan? A lump of frustration lodged in his throat. What if his father knew about it, and was testing him? Should he just tell him the truth? “We hired a couple of guys who weren’t reliable, and they’re off our list now. I went to pay Conor a friendly visit to build more rapport. I don’t want any trouble with him. But he made an inappropriate comment about my wife, and I couldn’t let him think I’d stand for that,” he said in an even tone, carefully choosing his words. “No one disrespects my woman.” He could count on his father’s old-fashioned views on relationship to agree.
His father rubbed his chin. “He kept that detail from me.”
“Of course. Listen, I’m handling things here. I didn’t even think to tell you about last night because I’m an adult. So is Conor, even though he doesn’t act like one. Couldn’t even beat me himself, had to rely on a muscle head.”
His father studied his face, probably looking at the bruise still under his eye.
Troy drew in a breath and looked away. He didn’t need his father’s pity—didn’t want it.
“Have you been talking to your brother?” his father asked.
