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“You mean, am I planning on leveling it to the ground or filling it with high-rise condos?” I answer with a sigh.
“Something like that, yeah.”
“Never you fear. I have no intention of turning these people out or uprooting them, people like your father who call this place home. I want to have a place away from the city that I can escape to if need be, and it seems that this town can benefit from a private benefactor anyway. It’s a win-win for me. If it puts a little more cash into my pocket as a result, then so be it,” I say with a shrug. Spoken like a true Wallstreet douchebag, but she seems to buy it. “Second question?”
She laughs, but that mischievous glint is back in her eyes. “What happened to Henry’s mother?”
“Oh, we’re done with the pleasantries then?”
She nods once.
She’s clearly fact-checking me about the rumors that she has heard. I’m sure by now she’s located and read Henry’s file. I suppose it’s only fair because I am doing the exact same thing. I had hoped that she would be a little easier to manipulate, but I like the challenge.
Out of the two of us, I am not the one with something to hide.
CHAPTERELEVEN
Helena
“She died.”
Something about Daniel’s tone tells me that his admissions should not lead to further questions.
I look down at my plate out of reflex. In the past, when Nikolai spoke to me in such a tone, it meant that something bad was going to happen soon. He could only be pushed so far before he snapped. I knew more about his temper than anybody else. Sofia shouldn’t be flinching away from questions like that. I can’t make a mistake like that again.
I knew that much about Henry’s mother from the rumors that I heard, but I wasn’t ready for him to say it so bluntly. The whole conversation up until this point has felt like he was pushingmefor information. I have to keep reminding myself that it’s normal—this is how people on first dates get to know one another. I have to stop projecting my dishonesty onto him, but it’s so hard not to.
“Oh… I’m sorry,” I say lamely, trying to think of a way to recover and get back to the conversation from earlier. I don’t like that he’s the only one who seems to be welcome to ask questions.
“As am I. However, yes. Henry’s mother was not a wife or girlfriend, if that was what you were really trying to ask me,” he supplies evenly. It wasn’t, but I’m going to pretend that it was.
“It was a pretty clumsy attempt, wasn’t it?” I blush and avert my eyes, pretending to be shy given the forwardness of my question. If he needs to change the subject, I would rather he goes ahead and gets it over with. “You don’t have to say anything more about it, if you don’t want to.”
“It’s okay,” Daniel says. “It was long enough ago that I need to learn how to talk about it. Henry still doesn’t like to speak about what happened, but someday I imagine he’s going to want to… so I might as well start practicing now. I will never be half of the parent that she was, but I try my best.”
“He’s a really, really great kid. It must mean you’re doing something right.” It’s one of the only honest statements that I have made all evening.
I think I’ve killed the mood. Which isreallyawesome… because there is still so much more that I need to learn about him. Daniel reaches over the table and places his hand atop mine comfortingly. It’s such a casual gesture, but it is also reassuring. It lets me know that maybe I haven’t totally ruined the evening after all.
“Wanna get out of here?” It’s an abrupt change but maybe the fresh air will do both of us some good. Maybe a walk or something will lighten the mood. I’ve lost my appetite as it is.
It would be only too easy to push my fingers through his, but it’s not the right moment for that.
I nod once. Daniel goes to take care of the check. I like that he did it without making us have that awkward ‘wanna go Dutch?’ conversation. I was worried for a moment that by dating a normal man like him, it might come up.
When he returns to the room, I grab my purse and step into his touch. He lightly places his hand on the small of my back. The quintessential gentleman. The valet drives around in his car with the same overjoyed grin he had when he first got to drive it. Another thing I like about Daniel is how subtly he tips the boy.
This time, Daniel holds open his car door for me and guides me inside. I get the message loud and clear. Earlier at the school, he had playfully told me that we would establish the rules of what I can and can’t do. We haven’t even gotten to cover that yet. It’s hardly even nine, so we have plenty of time to spare.
Normally, if I were on a date where we didn’t even get to finish dinner, I would consider said date a failure. But this feels more like a change of pace instead of us calling it quits. I don’t know what he has in mind. Maybe he’s going to try to cut straight to the chase and take me to his home. Where is he staying? Maybe it will be someplace nice.
I should play it coy and modest… but I want him. Even if we aren’t a match in anything other than lust and appetite, there’s no denying how attracted I am to him.
When he gets into the car, I angle myself toward him and cross my legs at the ankles. “I hope I didn’t ruin the evening by talking about something uncomfortable. I’m having a great time.”
I push softness into my voice, the sort of girl next door sweetness that uptight men like him are sure to love. He wants a woman that he can control, the sort of submissive woman that will do what she is asked and never question why. I can be that for him. At least for a little while. He will be attracted to the innocence I’m exuding. They always are.
He reaches over and places a possessive hand on my thigh. It's not the move I was hoping for, but it's close. His thumb brushes against the soft fabric of my skirt, and I anticipate him slowly inching the fabric upward, hoping to touch my bare leg... However, he does not. Normally, this is the point in the evening when the men I've been out with begin to expect something in exchange for the dinner they just bought.
