Chapter 12
DEVIN
I’m glad that Jim and Lawrence want to talk about our problem clients while skiing. It puts some distance between me and Callan.
I have no idea what she said to Laila, but my sweet baby looked stunned. No…frozen.
There have been a few times now that I’ve noticed her becoming overwhelmed and flustered, and needing a moment or two to collect herself before responding. Sometimes this can result in her spewing out a flurry of words, as if a dam has broken.
From the impression I get of her family, they’re always focused on Megan. Was Laila ignored when she was little? I’m no therapist, but if that was the case I would guess it would have left my poor baby feeling lost.
I trudge toward the chalet with the others, hoping I can find some time to talk to Laila so she’ll relax. Then I check my phone, and my heart drops.
Laila: Callan thinks I’m some sort of escort. She knows something is up. I don’t know what to do.
Laila: I’m so sorry if I’ve hurt your job in any way. Please let me know if I should call a ride and leave, if that’s easier for you.
Oh no. My poor sweetie. I could kick myself for putting her in this position.
Breathe, baby. We’ll figure it out. Be there in a few minutes.
As soon as we walk into the chalet, Callan, who has been ignoring me for the past few hours, shoots me a look that I can't quite interpret. "Jim? I think you and I should go find Laila. I’d like to finish my conversation with her. You come too, Devin."
Jim looks confused, but as always, simply follows his wife.
I hate that my sweet girl's eyes snap wide in shock as Callan leads the charge into the library. Her fingers begin to twitch as the three of us approach her leather easy chair, then she snaps her laptop shut and sets it on the coffee table.
"Laila, how long have you and Devin been together?" Callan asks. “I don’t think you’re actually married.”
There's no way I'm going to allow anyone to stress out my sweet girl, especially not when this whole weekend was my idea. Before Laila can get any more flustered, I step beside her, slipping my arm around her shoulder.
"You're right, Callan," I say gently. "Well, partially."
"What do you mean?"
"Laila and I have only been dating for a short while." My fingers gently tangle in the back of her hair. "I wanted you both to think she was my wife, so you'd know that stability is important to me. Because it is, in both my career and my home life."
"But you're not married," Jim says flatly.
"No…not yet." I keep stroking Laila's hair so she won't panic.
"I’m truly sorry, it was wrong of me to refer to her as my wife.
I just wanted you to take her seriously as my partner.
Plus, I really wanted to bring her along for this Valentine's weekend, but wasn't sure if unmarried couples would be welcome. "
Jim turns to squint at Callan. "What do you think… If he's a liar, do we skip him for the promotion?"
She ponders for a brief moment as I try to stay relaxed, slipping my hand down the back of Laila’s thin sweater and stroking her back.
Then Callan suddenly pokes Jim roughly in the shoulder.
"Oh no you don’t. I'm not going to let you pass him up for that promotion.
I know you just want any excuse to hire your old pal Gary. "
Callan glances at Laila and rolls her eyes. “The guy is a complete idiot."
"Hey now—” Jim snaps, clearly offended.
Callan pokes him again. "We're not going to risk our company just because you guys used to ride bikes together. Grow up, pumpkin.”
For several seconds, Jim glares at his wife. Then they both burst out laughing before Jim shrugs. "And this is why I keep her around,” he says to me. “She always tells it like it is. Better for every relationship, and better for every business."
Callan leans close to Laila. "I'm sorry that I implied that you weren’t in an actual relationship, my dear.” Then she turns to me.
"Your young lady is lovely. We’ll keep your secret for a bit while you figure it out.
" She waves a finger back and forth in front of my nose. “Just no more…exaggerations…okay? Clients don’t like their broker to be a liar.”
I nod. “Understood.”
"Thank you," Laila whispers. I can still feel the tension in her shoulders.
Jim hooks his arm through Callan’s. "Think it’s time for a pre-dinner cocktail?"
"Why not!"
As soon as they leave, I pull Laila out of the chair and into my arms. She instantly begins to tremble against me.
“Devin, I’m so sorry. I’ve been sitting here trying to keep notes on what we’ve told them, but then she thought I might be an escort, and—”
“Shh. It’s okay,” I murmur against her hair. “I heard through the grapevine that one of the brokers showed up with an escort as his date to the Christmas party several years ago. Callan wasn’t exactly pleased. Maybe she’s on high alert to make sure that doesn’t happen again.”
“Still,” Laila sniffles, looking up at me with tears in her eyes, “I got flustered when she said that and couldn’t answer her right away. That was how I had intended to deal with it if the question came up. Just give reasonable answers and act confident about it. And then…”
“Baby, it’s fine.” I sink into the chair, cuddling her on my lap.
“You’re not a professional actress and neither one of us is a natural liar.
Maybe this weekend was a really dumb idea on my part.
” I kiss along her cheekbone, squeezing her tightly for a second, happy when she finally smiles.
“Honestly, the risk of getting fired was totally worth it if the tradeoff was getting to know you.”
Her lovely blue eyes widen. “Really?”
“Really. Plus, we’ve spent so much time together now that it feels like we have been dating for a month or two, don’t you think?”
Her lips part, and her breath turns shaky again. “So, you’re saying we’re really dating?”
“If you’re in, I’m in.”
“And this is…a real relationship?”
“One hundred percent.” My lips drift across her temple. “That is, if you’re okay being seen with a lying jerk who upsets a sweet, gorgeous young lady for the sake of a stupid promotion.”
She rests her head on my shoulder. “How about starting Monday, we extend our bubble of extreme honesty to include everyone?”
“Done.” I lean in to kiss her gently, loving the way her entire body relaxes and her hips shift against my thighs.
Finally, I break off the kiss. “Now, since we’ve been dating for months, are we ready for a romantic Valentine’s Day dinner?”
“Yeah.” Her eyes are glowing.
“Good.” I tickle under her chin. “The only problem is, I didn’t have time to get you a present.”
Laila lifts her hand, spinning the delicate ring with her thumb. “I dunno, I think this is a lovely gift. Thank you.” She pauses for a moment, pouting. “I don’t have anything for you, though.”
“Sure you do.” My lips brush against her ear. “If you let me hold you all night long, that’s the sexiest gift I can think of.”
Her eyelashes flutter closed for a moment as she takes a slow breath. Then she opens them again and meets my gaze, smiling widely. “I’ve never snuggled with a man all night while he was totally naked. I think that would be a fabulous Valentine surprise.”
“Will you be naked too?”
Her tongue darts across her bottom lip, then she nods, grinning.
“Well then screw dinner, let’s—”
Laila jumps to her feet. “Hey now! Dinner first. We can’t be rude.”
“Grumble grumble.”