Chapter Ten #2
On the drive back, he figured sooner or later she would come to that realization on her own.
However, in the meantime, while she was convinced she was not interested in a serious relationship with a man, he, unfortunately, was falling hard and fast. Since returning to Los Angeles, he had been trying to figure out what there was about Iris that could make him feel like a college student interested in the homecoming queen whenever they spent time together.
He wasn’t some randy twenty-year-old. Damn, but today he had certainly felt like one.
Whenever he had looked at her, he was captivated by everything about her, and her distinctive scent hadn’t helped matters.
He’d had thirty days to get over this and hadn’t.
That kiss had affected him in more ways than one.
Now, what was he going to do about it? The response formed in his brain quickly. Nothing. He would do nothing about it.
The one thing he knew now, if he hadn’t known it before, was that he wasn’t alone in this.
Iris wanted him just as much as he wanted her.
It would be up to her to accept they were at the age where they had more time behind them than in front of them.
He had realized that when he saw Deena carving a life of her own.
He would be included in that life, but just not as much.
Iris would see that about Garlan as well.
He had a feeling she was already seeing it, from their discussion while in Westmoreland Country.
She had begun picking up on her son pulling away, getting a life of his own that didn’t include her as much as before.
That meant it was her time to enjoy her life and let him enjoy his.
It didn’t bother him that Deena had spent more time with Alisdare than with him while in Denver.
The most important thing was that she was happy. He couldn’t ask for more than that.
Another thing he was counting on Iris seeing was that there were things you couldn’t fight, at least not for long, and intense sexual chemistry was one of them.
The two of them shared it to the umpteenth degree.
Although there was no doubt in his mind she would fight it, she was trying like hell to do so now, sooner or later she would realize some things were inevitable.
He looked up when he heard the knock on his door. “Come in.”
“Here are those files you asked for, Mr. Caulder,” Luna said, placing a bunch of folders on his desk.
“Thanks, and by the way, I took your advice. If anyone from the media or the entertainment world calls, please refer them to this person,” he said, handing her the business card Iris had given him.
Luna looked at it and smiled. “You are welcome, and I’m glad you decided to take action.”
Matt nodded, thinking, yes, he had decided to take action, all right. In more ways than one.
* * *
“Matt actually hired you, Iris?” Pam asked her from the car speakers as Iris drove home from a meeting at Pam’s acting school.
“Yes, but we have an understanding, a very clear one in fact, that we won’t be mixing business with pleasure.”
“Ha! Good luck with that, kiddo.”
The last thing Iris needed was Pam, her very best friend in all the world, doubting her capabilities.
She dared not tell Pam about the kiss she and Matt had shared that night of the hoedown.
She already suspected Matt headlined Iris’s nightly fantasies, and she was right. “Pam, I need your support on this.”
“And you have it, Iris, although I think for you it will be a losing battle. I observed you and Matt in Westmoreland Country. He wants you in a bad way. That was obvious whenever he looked at you. And do you know what I think?”
“No, what do you think, Pam?”
“I think you want him just as bad. So, what I see is a battle you won’t win.”
“I will try,” Iris said, stubbornly, knowing there was no need to deny Pam’s accusations.
“Go ahead and do that, but please remember this conversation in the end. Not that I intend to let you forget.”
“I honestly didn’t think you would.”
“We both know that Garlan—the both of them—would want you to be happy, so what are you afraid of? According to Denver, Garlan Jr. likes Matt, and I think your son has told you he wants you to have a life that isn’t always about him.”
Yes, he had said that, and she was still wondering why he was so fixated on that. “Has Garlan spoken to you about anything, Pam?”
“Anything like what?”
“Challenges he might he facing at Harvard.”
“No. If he’s having challenges, he would talk to Dillon about it, but you know that anything he might confide in Dillon won’t go any further. Don’t expect Dillon to tell you anything, but trust that if he needs to give Garlan sound advice about anything, he will.”
“Of course I know that. Garlan is coming home for Thanksgiving in a few weeks. I think I’ll ask him how things are going for him at school.”
“And are you sure you don’t want to spend Thanksgiving with us again this year?” Pam asked.
“I’m sure. I’ll be in Westmoreland Country for Christmas, and since Garlan won’t be there because of his ski trip, I want to have him all to myself for Thanksgiving. I thought we would spend the day at the beach house.”
“That sounds nice.”
“Well, let me get back to work. I told Matt I would have a statement for him to look over before the end of the week. By the way, I noticed something at the gender reveal party.”
“Oh? What did you notice?” Pam asked.
“The way Shauna was looking at Graham Ives. Is something going on that I don’t know about? Graham doesn’t seem to have a clue about her interest.”
Pam didn’t say anything for a minute. “He doesn’t. You know, Shauna. If it’s something she truly wants, she will go after it.”
Iris nodded, yes, she knew Shauna, and if she was reading Pam correctly, Graham wouldn’t know what hit him until it was too late.