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“Ma’am,” I said, tipping my head to Mrs. Hunter first before offering my hand to Eve’s father. I didn’t like them, not at all, but good manners were ingrained. I wasn’t going to stoop to their level. Yet.
Vance Hunter eyed me as we shook. “I’ve heard quite a bit about you.”
“Is that so?” I asked, pulling Eve in closer. The sequins poked into my palm, but I felt her heat. This close, I breathed in her soft scent.
“Silas James?” Her mother’s voice was full of surprise. She knew me. Knewofme. “You didn’t tell me, Evelyn, that your husband is SilasJames,” she murmured, patting Eve on the arm and eyeing me in a calculated way. I was sure she was thinkinggood job. A billionaire!
“That’s right, I didn’t,” Eve commented.
Which meant her father learned it from Douglas. I’d tossed my full name at him in the coffee shop intentionally to see if he’d look into me. He’d taken the bait.
“You two should come for dinner this week,” Mrs. Hunter added.
Eve stared at her mother. “Cheney’s tie matches the dress you wanted me to wear tonight and now you want me to bring Silas to dinner?”
“Well, I–” she sputtered, but her husband cut her off.
“This marriage is a sham,” her father said.
“Don’t be so hasty, dear. I mean, he’s aJames.” Obviously, Mrs. Hunter had switched allegiance when she learned about the size of my bank account. To her, money was money.
“Mother,” Eve scolded. She grabbed my bicep, looked up at me with embarrassed and apologetic eyes.
“Your father’s right, Evelyn. Your marriage is a sham.” Douglas waved down a waiter and handed off his empty scotch glass as if owned the place. His suit was crisp, his hair was slicked back. He looked like a fucking douche. And he was wearing a velvet tie. What the fuck?
I eyed Eve’s father. “I think you’re the last one to cast stones, aren’t you, Mr. Hunter? I’d say keeping up the façade of your wealth is a sham.”
Eve didn’t say anything, just looked between us. I offered Eve a reassuring smile. “I had Bradley look into some things. I should have told you, but I take care of what’s mine.”
I half expected her to jam her high heel into the top of my foot, but she only nodded.
With that, I met her father’s narrowed gaze. He knew what was coming and probably had his ass cheeks squeezed tight waiting for me to say it. “Having Douglas here find out about your gambling debts was a big mistake on your part.”
Eve’s mother gasped and stared up at her husband in horror.
She didn’t know. That was what I figured. She was a money-grubbing bitch, but she only wanted what was financially best for her daughter. Above all else.
Vance Hunter? He was worse.
The man clenched his jaw and a vein throbbed in his temple.
“What’s Silas talking about?” Eve asked him.
When he didn’t respond, I did. “You want to tell your daughter you sold her to Cheney Douglas or do you want me to?”
57
EVE
I tookSilas’s hand like a life raft. He was what kept me sane, kept me safe. I’d known my father was up to something. Cheney, too. Except I never imagined this. In fact, it was downright crazy. And completely freaking me out.
“That’s absurd,” my father sputtered, but he was turning an unhealthy shade of purple.
“Is it?” Silas asked. He was as calm as ever. Composed. In his dark suit, he looked amazing. There were dark shadows under his eyes, as if he’d slept as badly as I had, but I was the only one who noticed.
Silas was in his element, and I was thankful for it.
“Those gambling debts were pretty hefty,” he continued. “Until Cheney paid them off.”
