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“Do you want—”
“No,” he interrupts before I can even finish asking. “It’s not something I can talk about right now, but… thank you for asking.”
Wow, it’s almost like he’s making an effort to be nice. Well, as nice as can be expected after that phone call with his brother.
I like it.
And I have to give him credit for at least trying.
“Are you still coming to the planetarium with Isla and me tonight?” I ask even though I heard him tell James as much already. “Or if you need some time to, you know, decompress? We could maybe reschedule or I could see if they’ll do a later presentation for us.”
“No,” he shakes his head. “I don’t want to reschedule. That stargazing thing is all I’ve been looking forward to today.”
“You’ve been looking forward to it?”
Why does that sound so sweet? This is the man who was just yelling and cursing like a sailor two minutes ago, and now? Now he sounds sweet and vulnerable.
“Yeah, of course,” he shrugs, giving me a funny look. “Why wouldn’t I? Seeing you and Isla having so much fun out on the rooftop deck the other night made me want to do it all over again.” His lips twitch into something that could almost be called a smile. “Too bad they won’t have s’mores at the planetarium. Do you think they’d bring some in for us if I ask?”
I smirk. Who would have thought the fancy aristocrat would love such a common American snack? “Doesn’t hurt to ask. That Lord Grayrose title has to be good for something, right?”
Now he really does smile. “I like the way you think. I’ll make a phone call.”
I can’t pretend I understand the stress he’s under or the triggers that make his moods swing wildly from one end of the spectrum to the other. I’m just glad we’re good for now.
CHAPTERTHIRTY-THREE
ELLA
“This is so cool,” Isla whispers as we step inside the planetarium. “Look at all the stars on the ceiling! It’s just like what we saw the other night, but brighter. And closer!”
Keir and I exchange a smile as he directs her to the center of the large, domed room. “Tonight we’re going to have the whole place to ourselves, sweetheart,” he says as a handful of employees start carrying in supplies from a side door. “And we’ll have s’mores, too.”
“Yay, s’mores!” she cheers, her tiny voice echoing through the cavernous space.
I can only watch and shake my head. I guess it does pay to be a billionaire with a title and family connections up and down the country, huh?
“You convinced them to let us have a campfire?” I ask, my mouth falling open when I see two guys bring in what looks like a portable fire pit.
He frowns. “Not exactly. They said they don’t have the right kind of ventilation, and that an actual fire would probably set off the sprinklers and the smoke alarm. The best they could do was apparently an electric fire pit and a toaster oven as a backup.”
I laugh. Turns out all that money and those family connections only go so far after all.
“Even if we can’t melt them at all, we’ll still have chocolate and marshmallows and graham crackers at the end of the day. Can’t really complain about that.”
“You say that now,” he smirks. “I’ll let you break the news to Isla.”
“In that case, we might have to take our chances with building a fire.”
The sound of his laughter follows me as I head off after his daughter. “Hey, kiddo,” I call out. “Pretty cool setup they have here, isn’t it?”
“Yeah! That nice lady over there told me that I can have all the candy I want tonight!”
An older lady tosses me a friendly wave as she walks out of the room. I instantly hate her. “Yes, that was super nice of her.”
Whatever.
This is supposed to be a fun, slightly educational outing for Isla. I’m not going to stop her if she wants to get all hopped up on sugar.
