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His cook let Julie in, then turned to her father and said, “Everything is in the warming oven in the kitchen, Mr. Vaughn. I’ll be back in the morning. Have a good day, sir.”
Julie ambled toward her father, the famous Trevor Vaughn, who was reading something on his laptop.
When he looked up, she wondered what he saw when he looked at her because his expression sure was not one of a proud father or a caring father or even a curious father. No, he saved that for his son, but Bryce had gone back to the States a week ago and coming here to visit her dad’s London flat without her brother around made her feel desolate.
“How are you settling in at the college?” he asked. “Everything all right?”
“Yes.”
“The Maxwell girl is from a good family, titled aristocrats.”
“I know. Her dad’s an earl.”
“So, please try not to embarrass me.”
If only he knew what a hellion “the Maxwell girl” was. But Julie was not about to squeal on Gillian, who’d become her new friend. “Do you ever have anything good to say about me?”
Her father shifted and studied her a moment. “How about this? What you did with Noah Taylor was the right move. Of course, you needed me to push you, but I commend you for not putting on one of your usual tantrums. Good thing Scotty told me. That boy could have lost his scholarship or messed up his chances to be at the top of his chosen career because of you.”
“You’re saying it’s all my fault? What about his own choices?” she asked, thinking of what Noah himself said on the phone.
Trevor snorted. “Women like you can ruin a man. I know. Your mother almost ruined me.”
Julie gasped. “Ruined you? I thought you adored her.”
“I did. Too much. But she was shallow and spoiled like you.”
“I’m not—”
“Yes, you are. You are just like her. Once she was gone, I was finally free and managed to fight my way back to the top in my career.”
Julie was gobsmacked and she could not hold back. “All this time I thought you were grieving over her, diving into your work because of your loss. But it was all about you and your career, wasn’t it? Your company and your fame and your money are all that’s important to you. You didn’t really care that she died so young and you don’t give a damn about your children. You are totally self-consumed.”
Teeth bared, he barked out, “I have given you more than most kids ever dream of. You know what kind of dump I lived in when I went to college?”
“You think because you pay for everything that means you love me, but you don’t even know me or care to.”
“I got you into this college over here, didn’t I? That way you can flunk out without everybody in our circles back home knowing about it.”
“Well, pardon me. I wouldn’t want to embarrass you any more than I already did just by being born!”
He froze, staring at her, and whispered, “How did you find out?”
Find out?Julie’s breath left her lungs. She had no idea what her father was talking about, but if she let him know that, she would never learn what he meant. And by the look in his eyes and the tone of his voice, she knew it was something big. “I have my ways,” she said, tilting her head.
“You’re a manipulator, exactly like your mother. You even probably have two other guys besides that poor besotted med student.”
“How many did my mother have?” she asked, risking a guess.
“Just the one that fathered you.”
Fathered me?Her knees nearly buckled, but she was a damn good actress and kept herself steady, looking him in the eye as she said, “I was hoping you would tell me his name.”
Trevor Vaughn snickered and it was not a pretty sight. “Don’t bother trying for that. He would never acknowledge you. No one wanted you. But I got stuck with the legal responsibility for you, and for the sake of my son and my reputation, I came through. So you can thank me for that.”
His words pierced right through her, like a knife to her heart. “Or maybe I should thank Bryce. Does he know?”
“No.” His gaze turned deadly. “And if you ever breathe a word of this to him, I will cut you off without a penny. And don’t even pretend you could handle that. I’ve seen how bad you are when everything is handed to you on a platter. I can just imagine you trying to hold down a waitress job.”
