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That made Daniel cackle out loud. “The well-dressed, polite, and dare I say delicate woman I met earlier today does not line up with the vision of cigar smoke filled room and the sound of chips clanking or the smell of beer and whisky.”
“Don’t let her fool you. She can drink any Marine under the table if necessary, and she remembers cards as easily as her descendant’s birthdays.”
“It’s sweet how much you love her.”
Her head tipped sideways. “Don’t you love your grandmother?”
“Very much. She’s the walking example of unconditional love.”
“Then why does it surprise you that I love my grandmother so much?”
His gaze dropped and his shoulders hefted up in a lazy shrug. “I guess I allowed myself to fall into the mindset of the typical rich stereotype.”
“And what is that?”
“Well, for new money there’s the assumption that every athlete is dumb and going to blow his income on fancy cars, big houses, and be broke in no time at all. With old money families, like the Barons, the assumption is that money matters more than family, power matters more than money, and the peasants should eat cake if they can’t afford bread.”
She couldn’t help the grimace that stretched across her face or the sharp intake of breath that accompanied it. “Ooh.”
“Yeah.” He slowly shook his head. “I’ve learned a lot in a couple of days with your family. Mostly I’ve learned there’s much to be said for the old cliché ‘don’t judge a book by its cover’.”
“Fair enough.” It wasn’t news to her that many people assumed the ultra wealthy were spoiled brats with deep pockets. But she had to admit it hurt more this time to hear it from Daniel. Which, considering she’d known him less than two days, her gut reaction made no sense.
“I probably shouldn’t have said anything at all. As a matter of fact, normally I would have kept my opinions to myself, but for whatever reason, the words just came out. Would it help any if I said I’m sorry?” The look in his eyes seemed to hold as much hurt as she felt.
Somehow, seeing the sincerity in his words, the unexpected hurt did indeed lift. “Apology accepted.”
“Tell me more about your adventures at sea.” He smiled at her.
“No. I think we need to get the captain to turn the Baroness around and get you back on dry land.”
He shook his head. This time, no grimace or second thoughts. “No. Whatever your brother gave me seems to have done the trick. We can’t change things up now. The committee and the Governor have gone to a great deal of trouble to show me what a wonderful place the Houston area is.”
“Is it working?” She couldn’t help the cheesy smile that erupted.
His grin widened, he turned away from the railing, and settling his hand on the small of her back, redirected her toward the cabin door. “I’ll let you know when I know.”
Thinking of his day on the boat brought a smile to Daniel’s face. Considering his brother had teased him most of his life over his propensity to get seasick, he knew Henry would be laughing his rear off at Daniel’s shock to discover the day in Galveston had meant a day on the family yacht. Having spent so much of their lives at each other’s hips, it wasn’t a surprise that just thinking about Henry had Daniel’s phone ringing and Henry on the other end. “Hey, bro.”
Thankfully, whatever pill Craig had given him had conquered his seasickness so he could thoroughly enjoy the day in the Gulf. Spending time on the yacht was far from a hardship, as long as he wasn’t hanging over the railing spilling his guts.
“Hey, big bro. I keep waiting to hear an update. We’re all wondering where we’re moving to. You’re in Houston now, right?
“I am.”
“How’s it going?”
That all depended on what ‘it’ was. The city, the Barons, the team, or the woman who was very quickly working her way under his skin and he had no idea why. “Houston itself is good.”
“Hmm. I detect a deflection? What’s going on?”
Daniel sank further into the oversized chair in the living area. The Houston committee, or more likely the Barons, had seen fit to set him up in not only one of the best hotels Houston had to offer. As for the chair, it was so darn comfortable he actually wondered if he could buy one just like it. “So far, Houston is going over the top to win me over.”
“Hmm. I guess you’re entitled to some perks for hauling your butt all over the country for this team. How over the top?”
“Let’s say I’m getting an unexpected view of what Houston has to offer thanks to the Barons.”
“Barons? There’s royalty in Houston?”
