Chapter 13
THIRTEEN
ROXIE’S ATTENTION WENT to Carolyn. “Did you talk to Tripp about repping Lighting Darkness?”
“I don’t think he’s in the country at the moment.”
“As long as he’s on the planet, his mom is happy. That’s what he says.”
Tripp… Wait, Lola’s Liberty—ah-ha!
“You married Zairn Lomond,” Harper said, interrupting when clarity smacked her.
“Against my better judgment. I was drunk at the time,” Roxie joked. Was it a joke? “He has naked pictures and threatened to leak them to the press. What choice did I have?”
She did know this woman. Not know her, but how…?
“Crimson is the hottest ticket in town.”
“If you ever want in, give me a call.”
Ha, yeah, right. Organizing events may be her thing, but not on the level of Crimson and Zairn Lomond. Carolyn had interesting connections. Yet another reason she should tell the truth.
Bastian wouldn’t like her lying to his mother. Not in such a direct and—could be interpreted as—self-serving way. This could be exploited by some as a back door into a world she had no chance of getting a foothold in without this networking opportunity.
Carolyn was ready for her son to settle down.
He’d told her as much himself and the woman made no secret of it in person.
Leading her on was cruel. The only way to approach this without being abrupt was to play down their relationship.
Let the mother know, they weren’t serious, that they had no future.
Be vague, non-committal, subtle in her creeping retreat.
That would open a path for Bastian to reveal the truth.
“Mrs. Hunt—”
“I told you to call me Carolyn. Please,” she said, sitting back a little as servers came to pour tea. Tea? Actual tea in a pot with teacups and everything. “You look well, Harper. Are you over the worst of your injuries?”
Injuries? Oh, the mugging, the last time they’d seen each other. “Yes—”
“My Bastian looked after Harper,” Carolyn said. “After she was mugged.”
“Oh my God,” Roxie exclaimed. “You were—do you want security? You should have security. Have some of mine, I have plenty spares lying around. Did the mugger take anything important?”
“Nothing,” Carolyn said. “Harper fought back.”
“Go, you, girl.” Roxie’s nod was impressed. “You’re not from Chicago, are you?”
“No.” Was that important? “I just… what gave him the right?”
Picking up her teacup, Roxie gestured. “I like her.”
“As does my Bastian—sorry, I suppose he’s not my Bastian anymore is he,” Carolyn said, wearing a private smile. “He’s yours.”
Ouch, Harper winced. This was going to be harder than she’d hoped. “Carolyn—”
“He cares for you a great deal,” Carolyn said. “I wouldn’t want to make you uncomfortable, Harper, but…” The older woman turned her address to Roxie. “I’ve never seen him that frantic over a woman before.”
Oh, Carolyn was a wily one. These twists and turns kept her guessing. Did Carolyn know her son wasn’t really in a relationship? Was she being called out? Perhaps this was a matchmaking exercise. Either that or Carolyn really thought she was getting to know her potential future daughter-in-law.
Revealing the whole truth was out of her reach, that didn’t mean all honesty was off the table.
“He’s a good man,” Harper said.
There, that was fair. True. And shouldn’t bolster expectations. Bastian couldn’t get mad at her for that statement. Diplomacy: a balancing act.
“Yes.” This time Carolyn’s smile was all pride, nothing puzzling about that. “He is.”
“You raised him well,” Harper said, on a roll. “He’s grateful and proud of how he grew up.”
“As I am of him,” Carolyn said, raising her teacup to her lips.
“He’s proud of Keely too,” Harper said, tasting her own tea. This was easy. Just say true stuff. She had this. “He pretends she’s an inconvenience but it’s teasing, he loves her very much.”
“I actually am an inconvenience to my brother,” Roxie said, licking her spoon before placing it in the saucer under the cup. “Have been since the day I was born.”
Servers came over with their food and a fresh pot of tea. Tea was a big deal there, apparently, or it was a special request. Maybe Roxie was really into tea.
Would they move on from talking about Bastian now? Even if they did, that didn’t save her thoughts straying back to him.
When in bed, with Bastian, his veiled pride in his little sister wasn’t well disguised. So far, everyone she’d met kind of exuded a rambunctious pride in the youngest Hunt. Keely must be a joy in all their lives.
“Bastian has always looked after his sister,” Carolyn said. “You’ll see how close they are when you meet her this weekend.”
Wait…? Ease evaporated, went the same way as her smile. What…?
“I… I will?”
“Yes, you’ll be coming to the charity ball with Bastian.”
What…? A…
Had she talked herself into an invitation? Was his mom setting them up on a date? Wily didn’t cover it, she’d have to watch herself around this matriarch.
“Oh no,” Harper said. “I won’t be—we’re friends, good friends, but—”
“Things are so different now,” Carolyn said, putting her delicate cup in its saucer. “My parents were strict. That taught me I didn’t want to be an autocratic parent. I showed, or tried to show, Bastian and Keely the overt love I didn’t understand from my own parents.”
“It shows. Bastian loves you.”
Carolyn sighed. “Children these days. They have all these words for relationships that aren’t relationships.”
“Friends with benefits,” Roxie said after swallowing. “Situationships. Hook-ups. Fuck buddies.”
Oh God.
“I can’t keep track of it all. Flings and affairs were complicated enough.”
“You found your guy young though, Carolyn. And guys were much more stand up then.”
Carolyn laughed. “Yes, a long, long time ago.”
Harper stated another truth. “Bastian’s a stand-up guy.”
“Roxie didn’t think so when they first met.”
“I did… I warmed up to him.”
“You didn’t like Bastian?” Harper asked.
How could that be possible?
“You hear lots of stories about a guy and sometimes… it feels too good to be true. No guy is truly a picnic.”
“Except Zairn?” Carolyn said, still amused.
“God, no, not him. He snores and hogs the blankets, he’s no picnic.” The warmth in Roxie’s eyes said different. “Love blinds us to their faults. And, so far, everyone I’ve met loves Bastian Hunt.”
“People love Zairn too and Tripp.”
“Not in the same way, they have reputations to uphold. Bastian’s just known to be… perfect.”
No one was perfect. If that was how he’d been sold, she understood Roxie’s initial suspicions. Especially given her bunch of single friends looking for love. When friend circles merged those situationships and hookups tended to be inevitable.
“He’s responsible,” Carolyn said. “Always has been. And, Harper, please don’t be deterred.
I don’t know the specifics of your relationship with my son.
Bastian would rather I didn’t get involved.
He doesn’t like meddling, but some meddling is a mother’s right.
He cares for you. Perhaps you have a friendship, or more, maybe it’s casual.
As I said things are different now than they were in my day. ”
Which implied…
Harper frowned. “I don’t understand what—”
“All of his life he’s had women fawning around him.
He isn’t interested in the plucked and preened with their shallow intentions.
They pass the time sometimes, I suppose.
That’s not his future. I know what I saw when you two were together and no one will convince me otherwise.
You are special to him. When he heard you were in the hospital, he couldn’t get there fast enough.
The way you relate to each other, how you talk, there’s a familiarity much deeper than any friendship or shallow acquaintance. ”
And there was the proof this innocent little lunch was anything but innocent. Was the intention to push them together or scare her off?
“If you’re asking about my intentions—”
“No,” Carolyn said, holding up a hand to halt Harper’s words. “If Bastian thought I was interfering he would be livid. He’s very particular, and protective of those he cares about… You do care about him too, don’t you?”
An invisible warning light flashed behind Carolyn, conjured by her dilemma. There was no easy, honest way to back up out of this cul-de-sac.
“He’s a good man,” Harper repeated herself, searching for kind, circumspect things to say about Bastian. “He helped me when he could’ve walked away. Yes, I care about him. But I… I wouldn’t want you to make assumptions about—”
“No, of course not. I won’t assume, I promise.”
The words should provide relief. Except the whisper of a smile on Carolyn’s lips didn’t inspire confidence. The assumptions were already there.
The lunch conversation moved on to Harper’s business and Roxie’s new reality show. They got around to their charity work, something they all had in common. Though her connections were more of the professional kind than the personal.
That conversation led to the exchange of business cards. Though when she tried to give Carolyn hers, she learned Adara had already done that at the hospital.
Nice. Thanks, sis. At least that enlightened her on how Carolyn found her.
The check was paid, and, huh, lunch was over. She shouldn’t be disappointed. She’d tried to avoid coming, now she didn’t want to go back to work. Shame they’d be unlikely to ever do this again.
Roxie was waylaid by a server to sign things. One led to two and so on…
Pushing her chair away, her butt barely left the seat before Carolyn slid a rectangle of heavy, embossed paper across the table.
“What’s this?” Harper asked, flipping over what turned out to be an invitation to the charity ball.
“He won’t enjoy himself alone. He suffers through these things to support me. But if it’s not women throwing themselves at him, it’s the men trying to probe him for business advice. It would be nice if you could join him, give him a night off… He needs someone to dance with.”
Did Carolyn know those were the magic words?
Sidelining her embarrassment about sleeping on top of the man for a minute, what would be the right thing to do? He’d put his own dignity aside to join her at Adara’s engagement party for that very reason. Someone to dance with.
Saving her from being the pitied singleton, he’d granted her fairy tale wish. Not doing the same in return would be wrong. Damnit.
Only… what would Bastian think of her showing up unannounced?
She couldn’t decide. “I don’t know if—”
“What would Roxie do?” Roxie exclaimed, returning to them. “That’s what you have to ask yourself. And as Roxie…” She leaned in. “I say sex is almost guaranteed. ”
“Think about it,” Carolyn said, urging the invitation closer. “I won’t mention it to him, and if he invites you himself, we can forget this conversation ever took place. He’s proud and never wants anyone to assume he needs saving.”
The notion was familiar. “I’ll think about it.”