20. Dane
TWENTY
Dane
I decided to get ready in the guest room, just because I didn’t want to get distracted by being undressed around Grace. I trusted her to have some discretion, but I was running low on willpower at the moment, even with Margot, a.k.a. Super Mom, in my apartment.
I made quick work of it, washing off and styling my hair. While I was knotting my new tie, someone knocked on the guest room door. There was no shouting afterward about how I was late, so I figured it wasn’t Margot.
“You can come in, gorgeous,” I said.
Grace pushed the door open and stepped inside. “Already calling me gorgeous? You don’t know how I look yet.”
I turned and smiled. “I made an educated guess.”
She had her blue dress on, her hair smoothed back into a high ponytail, and she had worn just enough makeup to accentuate her features rather than hiding them.
I whistled. “You are something else. New York City doesn’t know what it’s in for tonight.”
She rolled her eyes like she didn’t believe me. “I’m trying to decide if I should wear my glasses or not.”
I went back to knotting my tie. “Whatever you’re more comfortable with.”
“Somehow I knew you would say that. Glasses, then. I kind of hate contacts.” She lifted her chin defiantly.
I finished with my tie and walked over to her, running my hands along her sides as soon as I was close enough. “If I could have my way, you would be wearing your glasses and nothing else. But then I would really have to watch you around the other men there tonight. They’ll try to steal you from me. It’ll be tough enough as it is with you in that dress.”
“You’re absurd,” she said, but she was smiling.
“Can I kiss you? Or will you get mad about me ruining your makeup?”
She gave me a firm kiss on the lips. “I didn’t put any lipstick on yet. But Margot already gave her five-minute warning, so…”
“Hell. Then I’d better make this quick.” I pulled her to me and kissed her more thoroughly, holding nothing back this time. Getting a shot of the taste of her, because I was going to need that to get me through this party.
When I pulled away, she was breathless.
I put my hands on her bare shoulders. “Thank you for coming with me to this. I promise I’ll get us out of there as soon as I can.”
“I doubt it will be that bad.”
“Just remember that my brother and my dad have issues with me . It has nothing to do with you.”
She shrugged one shoulder. “I’m no stranger to family discord. My big brothers weren’t always nice to their baby sister. I can handle it.”
I knew she could, but I felt a sudden jolt of uncertainty. I hoped this wasn’t a mistake, subjecting Grace to this crowd. I had only been thinking of myself when I’d invited her. Selfishly wanting her beside me. I also wanted Grace to agree to keep seeing me after this. But showing her exactly how much Dad and Kip despised me might not be the best way to go about it.
“The car is waiting downstairs,” Margot called out. “Let’s go, children.”
“It’ll be fine,” Grace whispered to me.
I tucked her hair behind her ear. “I’m supposed to be spoiling you this weekend, and here you are reassuring me. You shouldn’t have to do that. But thank you.”
“I’m happy to. I’m tougher than I look.”
That was something I really liked about her.
I thought about passing on what Margot had shared about Dirk Lancaster. But there wasn’t much to tell. Things would be tense enough tonight as it was without reminding Grace of the break-in at her house.
Grace was tough, but I still wanted to shield her from the bad things. To be her safe place for as long as I could.
* * *
As we walked into the restaurant, exactly on time, I resolved to focus on Grace tonight. Which was no hardship. I kept my arm around her as we waded into the fray. Acquaintances and business associates eyed Grace curiously and asked me how I had been, making small talk about the wedding. I steered her through the gauntlet as quickly as possible.
“You’re the only interesting thing here,” I murmured. “We should sneak out the back.”
“You haven’t even seen your brother yet. Is your family that scary? You don’t want me to meet them?” She sounded like she was joking, but I saw a flicker of insecurity in her pretty face, and I felt like an ass.
I spotted my brother and his fiancée across the room. “Of course I want you to meet them.”
“If Kip isn’t nice to you, I’ll put him in a headlock. I learned it from Ashford.” Grace winked at me, and I laughed so loud that some stuffy woman in pearls took a step away from me.
“You’re my hero, gorgeous.” But if anybody said a cross word to her , my good behavior was going to be out the window, and I wasn’t kidding.
We made our way toward them. Not just Kip and Bristol, but my father and the bride’s family too. The Harcourts.
“Dad,” I said.
“Dane,” my father said stiffly. “Good to see you, son.”
Translation: It’s about time you got here, you ingrate . But too many people were looking on for him to say what he was really thinking. So I forged ahead.
“Dad, everyone, this is Grace O’Neal. Grace, my father Dennis Knightly. My brother Kip. His fiancée Bristol.” I rattled off the names of the others. Grace’s mouth tightened when I introduced her to Ainsley, the maid of honor who my father had been conspiring for me to date.
“You’re from that little town in Colorado Dane’s been hiding away in?” Bristol asked, disdain dripping from her words like the diamonds she was wearing.
Every cell in my body clenched as I frowned at my brother, warning him with my eyes that his fiancée better back the hell off.
Grace interlaced her fingers with mine. “I wouldn’t say Dane’s been hiding. He’s charmed the whole place. And trust me, coming from a little town in Colorado, I definitely know charming.”
Then my father actually cracked an almost-smile. “That does sound like Dane.” The bride’s father chuckled, and Ainsley’s laugh was genuine.
It hadn’t exactly been a compliment coming from my dad, but Grace had managed to defuse the tension in a few seconds flat. She was impressive, alright.
And thank God the introductions were over. As soon as there was a break in conversation, I pulled Grace toward the bar. We both needed a drink.
“You were right,” I said softly. “You handled my family just fine.”
“Something I learned from my brothers. Never show fear. It works well on mean girls too.”
“What about bankers and businessmen? I should bring you along next time I’m closing a deal. Bet we’d make a great team.”
She laughed. “At the very least, I could check your math.”
“Another invaluable skill. You’re a woman of many talents.”
And I was dangerously close to falling under her spell. Grace had no idea what she was doing to me.
When it was time for dinner, we sat at a long table with my family and the wedding party. Because we Knightlys had to present a united front. The best man was there too, one of Kip’s buddies from college. I tried not to engage in conversation with anyone else, which left me free to flirt with my date. I slowly teased my fingers up Grace’s thigh beneath her dress until she stopped my hand with a glare.
When dessert came, I pushed back from the table. “Be right back. Bathroom break.”
“No problem. I’m going to need to focus on this beauty, anyway.” Grace dug into the dessert, some layered thing with lots of chocolate and cream.
I leaned in and said, “Don’t eat it all until I’m back. I want to watch you enjoy it.”
She gave me the sexiest side-eye I’d ever seen.
Nobody else was in the bathroom. I zipped up just as the door swung open.
I glanced back. My brother had just walked inside. “Did you bring a date from Colorado just to piss off Dad?” Kip asked.
“Hello to you too.” I went around him to reach the sinks.
Kip appeared behind me in the mirror. “Not going to answer my question?”
I scowled. “It was a stupid question. Seems like you’re trying to pick a fight with me.”
“I’m just trying to understand the things you do. You joined the company to make Dad like you more, and yet you can’t resist defying him every chance you get.”
“Why do you care?”
“I’m wondering why you don’t just quit.”
Ah. So that was what this was about.
Grabbing a folded towel to dry my hands, I spun and faced my brother. “You’d love that, wouldn’t you? If I quit.”
My little brother crossed his arms, thinking he had me on the ropes. “You’d probably love it too. Go back to that town in Colorado that you were so insistent on investing in.”
Maybe he did have a point there. “But I didn’t join the company for Dad’s approval. I joined it for Mom. I don’t expect you to understand that.”
“Screw you. I love our mother.”
“Yeah? When’s the last time you went to visit her? Have you taken Bristol to see her, since Mom can’t come to the wedding?”
“Mom probably won’t even know who we are. What’s the point?”
I had sworn a long time ago that I’d never hit my brother, but he was really pushing me. I needed to change the subject before I lost control.
And there was something else I needed to talk to him about, anyway. I’d been planning to wait until he wasn’t in the middle of wedding stuff, but he had started this conversation. Not me.
“Dirk Lancaster,” I said, without preamble. Kip gave me the reaction I wanted. He tried to hide it, but he flinched.
“What about him?”
“I left you voicemails and messages about the man. Lancaster caused a scene at the grand-opening masquerade in Silver Ridge. He put his hand on Grace, and it pissed me the hell off.”
“Yes, and Dirk recognized you. He says you threatened him. He complained to me, and we’re lucky he’s still willing to do business with us at all.”
“Fuck him and his business. I want him to answer some questions for me.”
“What questions?”
“For starters, does he know a woman called Nina Jamison who was at the party that night? I didn’t see her, but I’m told she was very striking. Memorable. And she may have arranged to meet Lancaster there. I think Lancaster mistook Grace for her.”
Another flinch. Like Kip knew exactly who I was talking about.
“Do you know Nina?” I asked. “Or whatever her name really is.”
He snapped out of wherever his mind had gone. “I don’t have a clue what you’re talking about. Why should I care about any of this?”
“Because somebody broke into Grace’s home last week. Trashed her room and stole something. I have reason to believe Nina Jamison or Dirk Lancaster could have information about it.”
He shrugged. “All I know is that Lancaster has invested a heck of a lot of money in our developments.”
“Then give his money back. I don’t care. I want to know why someone went after Grace.”
Kip snorted. “Don’t be shortsighted just because the man offended your flavor of the week.”
My jaw clenched tight. So did my fists. “Do not speak about Grace that way.”
“You’re a joke, you know that? You go looking for authenticity in some nowhere town, but what else do you expect to bring back except a gold digger?”
I lunged, grabbing Kip by the shirt. A button popped. The bathroom door swung open at the same moment. “Dane, that’s enough,” Dad said.
Hell .
I let go, and Kip scrambled back from me, trying to smooth down his tie. “Asshole,” he muttered, then stormed out of the bathroom. Leaving just Dad and me.
Dad flipped the lock, because apparently the well-appointed men’s room of this Michelin-rated restaurant was now an extension of Knightly Global. Who knew?
“I expect you and your brother to get along,” Dad said.
“Unless Kip gets a personality transplant, I don’t see us becoming best friends.”
“You don’t have to be close. But people have been asking me why you’re not the best man in his wedding. You’re not even in the wedding party. How do you think that looks?”
“Are you kidding? Kip doesn’t want me anywhere near him. He’s up to something. I’d keep a close eye on him if I were you.”
”I don’t have a need for your advice, Dane. I just need you to act like you respect this family.”
“I don’t respect this family?” I seethed. “When’s the last time Kip visited Mom? He acts like she’s already gone.”
My father betrayed his first hint of emotion. But it disappeared fast. Whenever I’d tried to discuss her illness and prognosis with him, he shut me out. And right now was no different.
“Kip is doing what he’s supposed to. He’s found a partner in life, and believe me when I say nothing is more important. Your mother…” He cleared his throat. “Your mother is the best thing that ever happened to me. If you would do the same, you’d be far better off.”
“If you’re going to push Ainsley Harcourt on me?—”
“No, I’m not. I just remembered that you used to like her, so I thought it was a possibility. Given her family background, she would be a good match. Don’t paint me as an evil villain just because I expect you to grow up and be serious.”
Incredible that he didn’t count my military service or business success as serious . As if I’d just been wasting my time until joining his company.
“Look,” Dad said. “Kip’s marriage has business implications as well as personal ones. We’re in negotiations with Harcourt Hotels for an ownership stake in their holdings. As part of that deal, we would bring our hotel properties under their brand. Including the Silver Ridge resort. You’re part of our executive team, so they need to see you’re an asset instead of a liability.”
An inferno of fuck you raged inside me. I wanted to smash my hand against the wall like some punk teenager. The fury of the powerless.
My father and his bullshit. My mother’s illness. Problems that all the money in the world couldn’t fix. It all made me feel so damn powerless, and I couldn’t stand it.
“Sure, Dad. I’ll be a team player,” I said instead.
“Thank you. You’d better get back to your date. She seems like a pleasant girl.” He washed his hands, undid the lock, and left the bathroom.
I almost laughed. What a concession. Grace was the brightest light to appear in my life for a long time. Since Mom’s diagnosis. Maybe since before then.
Is this really what Mom would want, though? I asked myself. Me working for Knightly Global and being miserable?
I didn’t know anymore. But I’d be damned before I turned my back on her and acted like she didn’t matter anymore the way Kip had.