Chapter 4
FOUR
Grant
“Grant? Everything alright?” Luke asks.
I glance up at my friend, who’s waiting for me to tee off at this hole. We’ve somehow managed to keep this golf tee time together for the past decade. Once a month, we try to meet to play a round and catch up.
These days, my line of work doesn’t often interfere with it. I’m rarely gone for as long as I will be this time around.
“All good,” I answer as I line up my shot.
“Where is it you’re taking off to this time?”
“You know I can’t tell you.”
Luke chuckles behind me as I take my swing. The ball sails far, and we head into the golf cart to keep going.
“Always shrouded in mystery.”
“Part of the gig.”
I start to drive as Luke hangs on in the passenger seat.
“One day, you’ll have to tell me what it is you do.”
“One day, I’ll be retired and able to share all my tales.”
Luke grins as we slow down.
“Cara’s heading out too.”
He gets out of the cart and starts to go for a golf club before pausing.
Luke shakes his head, almost as if he’s talking himself out of whatever thought he was having. I grab my next club, too, and follow him toward the fairway.
One secret that I keep for Cara, out of professional courtesy, is that I don’t tell her father anything about our overlapping lines of work. He knows she does something in security but has no idea what his daughter is capable of. It’s for his safety that he can’t know what our cases involve.
We both take our shots and find ourselves at the hole, putting the balls in.
“I’m about ready for the 19th hole,” Luke jokes as he picks up the ball.
“Almost there. Only two more holes left.”
“You’ll be able to do a couple of drinks?”
“Wouldn’t miss it.”
“Good,” Luke answers.
“Just remember, I’m beating you out here,” I tease.
“You always do.”
We head to the next hole and find ourselves in a familiar position.
“Come on, old man. Show me what you’ve got.”
Luke gets more serious as he focuses on the ball and prepares to take his shot.
I do have an ulterior motive for making sure he and I were able to get together before Cara and I leave for Charlotte.
I’m about to marry his daughter, and he has no idea that, on paper, I’m going to be his son-in-law.
Before I marry Cara, I want a bit of insight into her before making her my wife. All for educational reasons, of course.
“You win again,” Luke says with a sigh.
In the club’s restaurant, we both look at the drink menu as we wait for a server to come by and take our orders.
“It happens from time to time,” I tease.
“If I were ten years younger like you.”
“Then I’d be in real trouble.”
A server comes by, and we place our order. The service is good at this club, so it doesn’t take long for our cocktails to arrive.
Luke smiles as he takes a sip of his gin and tonic while I take a drink of my vodka martini. A bit cliché, but it’s popular for a reason.
Luke lets out a long groan.
“Is everything good with you?”
“It is. Catherine is doing great. It’s just Cara I worry about.”
I snort in disbelief.
“You’ve raised a good one. Whatever she’s up to, she’ll be just fine.”
He hums, but I see him wrestling inside.
“Her work is her life. It’s a mystery, almost like yours,” he says.
Luke takes another sip of his cocktail and places it back down on the table.
“But I worry about everything else she’s sacrificing to chase this dream of hers. I’m not even sure if it’s a dream or a nightmare she’s trying to solve. She only shares so much, but I see the heaviness she carries.”
Interesting.
“What is she sacrificing?”
“A family of her own.”
“You want her to settle down?”
“If it’s what she wants.”
Another long sigh spills from Luke.
“The problem is that she’s never brought anyone home to her mother and me because of this job, so I have no idea if she even wants a family. I don’t even know if she knows herself.”
I take a sip of my martini and wait for my friend to continue to vent. He scrubs a hand down his face.
“I’m proud of her. We both are. Even with how cryptic it all is.”
“Good, as you should be.”
“I just hope she knows what she’s doing. Work can’t be her entire life forever. Hell, you, of all people, have to understand where I’m coming from with that.”
“You’re right. I do.”
Luke’s expression twists into one of remorse.
“Sorry. I didn’t mean it like that.”
“No, you’re right. I was Cara in my thirties and now my forties too. I’ve never settled down. Always chasing the next big adventure.”
“I just want her to be happy, and I wonder if she is.”
I wonder that, too, but I won’t admit that to him.
“Who do you think would be right for Cara as a partner?”
Luke studies me for a moment, and his mouth twists as he debates his answer. For someone who wants his daughter to be settled down, clearly, he doesn’t have anyone in mind.
“Well, I think what I do know is that the person has to be career-driven.”
“That makes sense.”
“Someone who won’t let her walk all over them.”
“Also, fair point.”
“And… someone who can peel back her layers and see she’s got the biggest damn heart of anyone I’ve ever met. She deserves someone who will be her equal and her partner. Someone who will show her she doesn’t have to go at it all alone.”
“She’ll get that. One day. She will. I’m sure she wants that too.”
“I hope so.”
“Who do you think Cara would want?”
“Someone witty, with a sense of humor. Smart, has to be smart, or she would eat that person alive.”
“Do you think she’s attracted to men?”
“Yes.”
“But you haven’t seen her bring anyone home.”
“No, but I see the types she gravitates toward. Cara wouldn’t have an issue flirting with anyone at one of our parties. She knows Catherine and I would love to meet whoever she was with.”
“Who is her type then?”
“Maybe tall,” he starts and then laughs.
“What’s funny?”
“Tall, dark, handsome, and older.”
He lets out a hearty laugh.
“That’s a good type to be.”
“Funny, I basically described you.”
Luke’s cell phone vibrates on the table. He picks it up and answers immediately. It must be Catherine.
“Hey, sweetheart,” he says.
He doesn’t catch the way I’ve frozen from his earlier comment.
Luke holds up a finger to indicate he’ll be right back and starts to leave our table. As he does, I settle into my chair.
I know Luke and Catherine just want what’s best for Cara.
Hell, I get their concerns. I am an older version of the woman— living life only interested in the next chase I’ll find myself in and always hoping I’ll get the bad guy in the end.
I wonder if I’ll be able to simply walk away once I catch my ultimate conquest.
It seems so simple, but I’m not sure I’ll be at peace after I catch the Marlin.
I take another sip of my martini and consider everything Luke said he would want for Cara. It’s everything I can provide her, at least temporarily, for our arrangement.
The way Cara does not want to marry me should hurt my feelings, but it doesn’t. We aren’t exactly friends.
Fine.
We’re the opposite of friends. Getting under her skin is one of my passions. Now, we have to be on the same team, and the thought of her becoming my wife is causing a strange feeling to stir inside. It goes beyond my pull to her. It feels almost primal.
Something about me wanting to be good for her, even under the circumstances, sounds… appealing. I want to be someone right for Cara.
I pull out my cell phone to text her to firm up our plans.
Grant
Tomorrow. Courthouse at noon.
Cara
See you then, Sinclair.
I pocket my phone, not liking the way she’s still using my last name.
“Sorry about that,” Luke says as he returns.
“It’s no problem. Tell me about how your partnerships are going.”
“Right, where do I begin?”
I flag the server for another round of drinks as my old friend tells me about his business. It’s a comfortable and safe discussion for us to have instead of me thinking about how I’m his daughter’s type after all.
After leaving the golf club with Luke, I decide to take a quick trip out to Charleston, South Carolina, for the afternoon. Well, quick isn’t exactly true, but I’ll be able to make it back in time to meet with Cara tomorrow afternoon. Flying private does have its perks.
The pull to do this somewhat right felt overwhelming as I drove home. That’s when the idea hit me of what I need to do before we meet at the courthouse.
Even if this is a marriage of convenience, I need to make sure Cara has the best experience possible.
This is why I’m currently at my favorite jeweler in downtown Charleston, picking out an engagement ring and wedding band. In my packet from the agency was a simple gold band for me to wear. I’m assuming they gave her the same.
If Cara is going to be my wife in any capacity, then I’m not going to let her wear something simple like that. Not when it’s my name on the marriage certificate with hers.
“What do you think, sir?” the jeweler, Pierre, asks.
I hold the three-and-a-half carat emerald-cut diamond ring in my hand and know it’s perfect for Cara. It’s something she would wear, not that I expect her to ever admit it.
“It’s perfect.”
“Excellent!”
“And the matching band?”
Pierre looks around his trays and finds the match to the engagement ring. It’s in platinum, too, and a thin set of diamonds surrounds it.
“Is this it?” I ask.
“Yes, sir. We can always find something else for you to compare it to.”
“No, this is wonderful. I’ll take them both.”
“Excellent news. I know you are assuming her ring finger size, but please come back, and we can adjust it at no cost to you if needed.”
I am taking a gamble, but one part of my job is being able to size people up correctly—even when it comes to their ring sizes.
“Thank you. I appreciate that.”
Pierre takes both rings and begins preparing their packaging.
Maybe it was a gamble taking it this far, but it feels like the right move.