Chapter 33
Chapter Thirty-Three
marlowe
T he next two weeks are bliss .
Gunner leaves work early almost every day to have dinner with me. One evening when he can’t get out of a prior commitment, I surprise him the next day with a picnic lunch at his office. After instructing his assistant not to disturb us under any circumstances, he locks the door and pounces on me.
When I emerge more than an hour later with mussed hair and buttons missing from my shirt, Veronica hides a knowing smile behind her computer.
When Gunner and I aren’t feasting on each other or working out together, we have the most stimulating conversations about the economy, geopolitics, philosophy and literature. I play the piano for him, and he helps me with my class assignments. He creates and funds an investment portfolio for me, something I’ve always been too broke to accomplish. He’s even teaching me Mandarin.
On the second weekend, we attend UT’s homecoming game. Gunner and Maverick own a luxury suite with spectacular views of the football field. We’re joined by a bunch of their college friends and fraternity brothers. The guys are uniformly attractive and successful, and all but one are single. Quinn would’ve been in seventh heaven if she were here, but sadly, she had to work.
I sit between Gunner and Maverick, beer in hand, watching as the enormous marching band parades onto the field with horns blaring and drums pounding. The packed stadium is a pulsating mass of burnt orange jerseys liberally sprinkled with pretty girls in cutoff shorts and cowboy boots.
We have an absolute blast cheering on the Longhorns. Every time the team scores, the stadium explodes with one hundred thousand fans screaming “Hook ’em, Horns!”
The relaxed camaraderie between Gunner, Maverick and their friends is a pleasure to watch. They laugh raucously, crack jokes and trade insults that make me blush. It’s another side of Gunner I’ve never seen before, and I find myself thoroughly enjoying it. Equally enjoyable are the stories about their college days that the fellas regale me with.
During these conversations, I often catch Gunner silently watching me. He seems to be observing my interactions with his friends, assessing how I fit into his world. Every time our eyes meet, he smiles enigmatically before looking away, leaving me to wonder what conclusion he reached.
At halftime we’re joined by Sedonia Larson, Pantheon’s CFO. She’s a gorgeous black woman with waist-length micro braids, almond-shaped eyes and a flawless brown complexion that can’t be achieved with any skincare product. Her dimpled smile is infectious, and a form-fitting pink dress shows off her amazing curves.
She’s a stunner, but it’s the man beside her who makes me do a double take. Tall, rangy and good-looking, he’s a dead ringer for Regé-Jean Page, the swoony heartthrob from Bridgerton .
I stare at him agog, making Sedonia laugh.
“Marlowe, this is my boyfriend, Luca. Otherwise known as Simon, the Duke of Hastings.”
I laugh, shaking his hand. “You must get tired of hearing how much you look like him.”
He grins. “It was much worse during the first season. But I’ve gotten used to it.”
“Don’t let him fool you,” Sedonia says with a laugh. “He loves being mistaken for a famous actor. People stop him on the street for an autograph or picture, and he’s always getting free stuff wherever he goes. One night when we were running late to a concert, he charmed his way out of a speeding ticket because the cop couldn’t stop drooling over him. If I hadn’t been sitting right there, she probably would’ve slipped him her number—or her panties.”
Maverick grins lecherously. “Sounds like the perfect setup for a hot threesome.” He claps Luca on the shoulder. “Damn, bro, you were robbed.”
Luca cough-laughs while Sedonia smacks Maverick in the chest.
“You’re such a whore,” she hisses.
He throws back his head and laughs. A few others join in, earning Sedonia’s death glare.
I hide a grin behind my hand. Gunner just shakes his head, lips twitching.
“Anyway,” Sedonia says pointedly, “we’d better get back to our suite. Luca has relatives visiting from Phoenix, and he doesn’t want them running up our bar tab while we’re gone. I just wanted to pop over and introduce myself to you, Marlowe. I didn’t get a chance to meet you the other day at the office,” she adds with a knowing sideways grin at Gunner. “I walked my ass all the way down the hall to discuss something with your man, but Veronica said he was, ahem, indisposed.”
Heat warms my cheeks.
Gunner chuckles. “Next time, call first.”
“Duly noted, boss.” Sedonia grins at me. “It’s lovely to meet you. Gunner had the worst taste in women back in college, second only to his slutty brother.”
Maverick takes offense. “Hey?—”
She shushes him with a finger to his lips without looking away from me. “Even though we just met, I can already tell you’re a delightful upgrade.”
“Well, um, thank you.” I can’t help blushing again. “Congratulations on being featured in ForbesWomen . I loved reading about your investment club for girls, and how you help women land leadership positions in their industries. And what you said about overcoming imposter syndrome was super inspiring. The whole article was.”
“Aww, thanks, baby doll.” She tweaks my nose, her eyes twinkling warmly. “Speaking of inspiring, Gunner tells me you’re a brilliant pianist.”
I laugh. “I wouldn’t say bril?—”
“ Aht aht . Don’t do that. Don’t diminish your talent. ‘Brilliant’ is the adjective he used, and since he’s the biggest music snob I know, I’ll take his word for it. Besides,” Sedonia adds, “I’ve seen the video of you playing and I happen to agree with him. I was out of town when he threw his random dinner party, so I’m really bummed that I missed your crowd-pleasing performance. I’d love to hear more sometime.”
I beam. “Sure. Anytime.”
“We’ll schedule a date. Seriously.” She motions to my attire—an orange Longhorns jersey dress paired with cowboy boots. “Love your outfit, by the way.”
“Love yours, too.”
Maverick chuckles. “Why don’t you two just kiss already?”
Sedonia gives him a disgusted look. “You’d like that, wouldn’t you?”
He leers. “I would, actually. More than you can imagine.”
Gunner shakes his head at him. “Go hose down, bro.”
Everyone laughs.
Just before halftime ends, the president of the university shows up with his VIP entourage to say hello to Gunner and Maverick. I can’t help feeling a little dazzled in the presence of such luminaries. When Gunner draws me to his side and introduces me as his girlfriend, I’m so overjoyed at being publicly claimed by him that I practically levitate off the ground.
When he steps away to take a call during the third quarter, Maverick bumps his shoulder against mine. “It’s nice to see you and Gunn doing the whole couple thing. You’re good for each other.”
I smile shyly. “I think so, too.”
He grins at me. “Dad says you two act like lovesick teenagers when you’re together,” he teases. “You blow kisses at each other over breakfast, play footsie under the table, cuddle in front of the fire while reading Shakespeare?—”
“Not true!” I protest, blushing.
Maverick cocks an eyebrow. “You calling my old man a liar?”
“No, but he’s exaggerating. I mean, we’re not that nauseating.”
“So you weren’t reciting Shakespeare to each other?”
“It wasn’t Shakespeare!” I pause, biting my lip. “It was Keats.”
Maverick throws back his head with a shout of laughter.
Grinning, I fork my fingers through my hair, pushing it back from my face.
Maverick affectionately tweaks my nose. “Seriously though, Marlowe. I’ve never seen my brother so happy, not even when he made his first million. You’ve got him on cloud fucking nine.” His pale eyes twinkle at me. “I envy what you guys have. Almost makes me want my own special someone.”
His admission surprises me. “You do?”
“Nahhh.”
I laugh and shake my head at him. I can’t help wondering what would happen if he and my sister met. Would sparks fly between them? Would they be compatible? I wish for the umpteenth time that Ember lived here with me. Maybe someday.
“Did Gunner ever tell you about the time we got into a barroom brawl?” Maverick asks.
“A barroom brawl? Oh, I have to hear this story,” I say with an eager grin.
“We were seventeen,” he begins, humor threading his deep voice. “It was Dad’s turn to keep us that weekend, so he picked us up from school. He used to love taking us places that Mom didn’t approve of. For our sixteenth birthday, for example, he took us to a strip club and treated us to private lap dances.”
I cringe. “Yikes.”
“Not exactly Father of the Year material, I’ll admit.” Maverick chuckles, rubbing his shadowed jaw. “Anyway, on this particular day, he took us to the shooting range, which we always enjoyed. On the way home afterward, we stopped at a bar. It was a seedy hole in the wall, but Dad swore they had the best hot wings in town. There was a group of rowdy rednecks sitting near our table. While we were eating, they kept eyeballing me and Gunner. We were still wearing our prep school uniforms, and we could hear them calling us ‘rich pretty boys’ and ‘chickenshit pansies.’ We ignored them, but when they started getting handsy with our waitress, Dad told ’em to leave her alone. The greasy scumbags didn’t take kindly to him intervening, so they got up and surrounded our table.” He snorts. “Big fucking mistake.”
My eyes are wide as saucers. “What happened?”
“We kicked their asses, that’s what happened.” Maverick grins broadly. “One minute they were running their mouths, the next minute fists were flying and boots were stomping. Gunner broke a chair over one guy’s head and laid him out cold. I busted another guy’s nose and knocked out a few teeth. Dad smashed a bottle over the ringleader’s head and tossed him and another asshole over the bar counter. It was glorious,” Maverick recalls with a hoot of laughter.
“Holy crap.” I’m grinning hard. “Don’t mess with the Ransom boys, huh?”
“Damn right. See, they didn’t know that Dad was a fellow redneck who grew up brawling in bars and taught his sons how to fight. They fucked around and found out.” Maverick leans back in his chair with a contented sigh. “Good times.”
I’m still laughing when Gunner returns to his seat beside me. Glowering at his brother, he wraps an arm around my shoulders in an unmistakably possessive gesture.
Laughing that wicked laugh, Maverick unfolds his long body from his chair and saunters off to the bar.
“What were you two talking about?” Gunner asks, sounding suspicious.
I pretend to look guilty. “Oops. Busted.”
His eyes narrow. “Meaning?”
I lean close to him as if confiding a deep secret. “I wasn’t going to tell you, but Maverick and I have been plotting to run away together?—”
Gunner scowls. “Not funny.”
I laugh softly, nibbling his faint chin dimple. “Don’t be jealous. You know you’re the only man I want.”
His mouth curves. “If my brother had gotten to the bar before me that night, you would’ve met him instead of me.”
“But he didn’t.” I lift my eyes to his. “It was always meant to be you, Gunner. Only you.”
He leans in and kisses me, ignoring the catcalls and whistles from his brother and friends.