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I offer him a smile. “I’m Eva Morelli. A friend of your son’s.”
“Morelli,” he mutters, his eyes growing vague as he searches his memory.
“I think you’ve met my father,” I offer. “Bryant Morelli.”
Awareness sharpens in those light brown eyes, and for a second I have a glimpse of how Daniel Hughes must have looked during his prime. “Yes, Bryant. A bastard through and through.”
“Dad,” Finn says, his voice sharp.
“Don’t worry,” I say with a small laugh. “Even he wouldn’t deny it.”
“Shame about that sister of his.”
Sorrow washes over me. My aunt Gwen was the only girl with a bunch of competitive, arrogant brothers. They grew up strict Catholics, and when Gwen rebelled she was cast out. She ended up dying when I was very young. “I wish I’d gotten to meet her.”
“You look like her,” he says. “Beautiful.”
The words make my chest feel tight. “Thank you.”
He glances at Finn, then back at me. “Are you dating him?”
A note of tension runs through me. We’re fake dating in a pretty public way. If this man had actually been at an office recently, if he had attended a society event, if he’d glanced at some of the gossip TikTokers, he would have already known we were together.
This situation is different. That much is clear.
Then again, wasn’t tonight a real date? It felt real, even if it was only pretend.
“Yes, sir.”
He grunts. “Good. About time that boy settled down.”
“We aren’t getting married, Dad.” Finn’s voice is still taut, but there’s a note of humor underneath. An inside joke. A hint of the playful Finn I know well.
“Well, why the hell not? She’s got good child-bearing hips.”
My cheeks flame. “I’m not interested in marriage, Mr. Hughes.”
He studies me. “Had your heart broken, hmm?”
“Dad.”
“What? I know a thing or two about heartbreak.”
“There are other reasons not to get married.”
“Everyone wants love. It’s the one human constant.” Shrewd eyes study me. “No, you haven’t had your heart broken. You’ve had it shattered. That’s why you aren’t interested in marrying Finn, even though he’s a handsome, strapping young man.”
I fail to repress a smile.
“Okay, Dad. We’re really going back to bed now.”
Rather than arguing again, the elder Mr. Hughes allows himself to be led down the hallway, one of his nurses in tow. I can hear him speaking to his son. “Don’t let this one get away, Phineas. She’s better than a rascal like you deserves. Better put a ring on her finger. Soon.”
I watch them go, my smile fading, a bittersweet knot in my stomach.
Daniel Hughes has been the head of the large extended family for years. He’s also the CEO of Hughes Industries. He’s responsible for billions of dollars and the livelihood of thousands of people. But he isn’t going into the office. It doesn’t look like he can.
Which means someone else is acting as the CEO.
