AllFreeNovel
Share Us
And there was only a single reason why.
Suzannah.
CHAPTER19
Suzannah
A choker.
I fingered the piece, suddenly feeling ostentatious. However, my thoughts constantly shifted to Carlos. What had their private conversation been about?
“I’m glad to see you’re enjoying the collar,” Kendrick said.
“It’s beautiful. Ridiculously expensive but gorgeous. Is it on loan?”
“Absolutely not. I’m not that kind of man. My fiancée deserves only the best.”
“To what do I owe such generosity?”
“Well, you did buy a starving man ice cream.”
I couldn’t help but burst into laughter. “Now I know the way into your cold, black heart.”
“Ouch. That hurt.”
“Bullshit.” The expensive bobble had to set him back over a hundred grand. I wasn’t entirely certain how I felt about that. Of course the man had come from extensive wealth, but that didn’t mean I preferred diamonds to sterling silver. I was a simple girl who preferred simple things. “Well, thank you.”
“Oh, I assure you that you will be thanking me shortly. My way.” I was starting to adore his playful side, surprised he had one. Was this just a method of showing off for my parents? Of course it was. I knew the technique well.
Even when my family hadn’t been considered wealthy as sin, my mother and father had pretended we were, living large. Our first family home in Napa had been way out of their league, the riding lessons not something I’d requested. Our clothes. Our school. The furniture. Everything had been for glow and show, including the first birthday party I’d had after our big move. I’d been eight years old, school nothing but a chamber of horrors.
My mother had expected I’d easily gain dozens of friends, which was why she’d hired a baker and a caterer for the event, sending out dozens of invitations to everyone from my class.
Not a single soul came.
My mother had been devastated. I’d been hurt but also relieved. I’d known from the moment my brothers and I had stepped foot into the huge house that we were living in a ticking time bomb or perhaps the more appropriate term had been a glass house.
Nothing would stop my mother from getting what she wanted. That had included contacting every single parent. I’d overheard her and the threats she’d made. A new party date had been established, my birthday suddenly a week later. Lo and behold, ninety-five percent of the people invited had attended, the birthday presents worth thousands of dollars.
I laughed softly to myself as Kendrick pulled into the parking lot of the more low-key inn I’d selected to stay in. Of course, my father had insisted he knew where I was staying. I adored this place, the very first winery and small hotel my father had managed to purchase legitimately.
After the early success, everything had changed, my father’s income increasing exponentially. Then the real glow and show had started.
“Who is Carlos really to you? I know you said mentor, but there’s more. Isn’t there?”
He tossed me a look. “My father was a thorough man. He wanted me well trained to handle anything that came my way. Carlos is ex-Mexican military. Their ways are more brutal but effective.”
“My God. The scars. He gave them to you. Didn’t he?”
“Let’s just say I was a rebellious student at first.”
“How can you stand that kind of life? I would never want that for our children.” What in God’s name had I just said?
“Our children? I like the sound of that.”
Shuddering, I looked away, shifting my thoughts back to that party from so many years ago. Perhaps my mother hadn’t been such a bitch after all. It was funny. None of the families who’d avoided my fake birthday party remained in Napa Valley. That much I’d learned years before.
I did remember my father explaining to Steinbeck that our family would always deal with enemies in a timely fashion. No matter how powerful they were.
