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“Coffee or tea?” Mario asked immediately when they walked into the kitchen.
“Coffee,” they both said.
He turned his head when he heard a throat clear and got his first look at Caleb Connors in person.
Sure, he’d looked him up online and seen the man in his chair at events and in publications. Expensive suits or casual clothes. The man had class and presence to him even in a wheelchair.
What he didn’t expect was how huge the guy was.
His arms and chest were that of someone that worked out daily.
Laine had said her father was in very good shape and it showed. The man wanted to show his strength in any way he could.
He had to respect that.
“Dad,” she said, running over to hug her father. “I’m so happy to see you.”
“The same,” Caleb said. “You look wonderful as always. The sunshine that lights up a room. I hear you went to take a trip down memory lane.”
“I did,” she said. “Dad, this is Carson Mills. Carson, my father, Caleb Connors.”
He moved over to shake hands with his girlfriend’s father. “It’s so nice to meet you. I’ve heard wonderful things.”
“As have I,” Caleb said. His handshake was firm but not over the top. More like equals. “I met your father years ago.”
“I heard,” he said.
“You didn’t tell me that,” Laine said, putting a little pout on her face. He laughed. He’d never seen that before.
“It didn’t come up,” he said.
“It was years ago,” Caleb said. “You would have been in college is my guess. Both of you.”
“I was probably in my residency if my father remembers correctly,” he said.
“I do know other members of your family,” Caleb said.
“I’m sure,” he said. “It’s a big family with a lot of ties in business.”
His father had told him he was pretty sure Steven Bond might have been an investor in Caleb’s company at some point. If not Mitchell or Scott. Maybe all of them. He didn’t know all the businesses that everyone owned in the family. He didn’t care.
“We aren’t going to talk about business,” Laine said. “I heard Mom will be here at eleven.”
“She will,” Caleb said. “Why don’t you get your coffee and a snack and we can go into the family room and chat until then. You can fill me in on all the fun things you’ve been doing that we haven’t had a chance to talk about. I know our phone calls tend to be on the short side.”
“It’s fine,” she said. “I understand you’re busy.”
Caleb nodded and then turned to wheel off. He and Laine got their coffees and moved over to where Mario was placing muffins and cinnamon buns on a platter.
“Do you want me to carry these into where your father is?” Carson asked.
“No,” she said. “He doesn’t eat sweets. These are for me.”
“Caleb follows a very strict diet most of the time,” Mario said.
Seemed like Caleb Connors was a disciplined man. It was going to be an interesting day.
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