Chapter 36
Garrett
As Micah strolls away, Lucas Hutton’s gaze locks with mine.
Angela’s father. An ex-Marine who clearly adores his only daughter and doesn’t take shit from anyone.
The look that crosses his face isn’t the easygoing, instantly-accepting-of-me bullshit Angela tried to feed me earlier.
This is a man who understands business, a father who would go to war for his daughter, his family and the hotel they built from the ground up, and he doesn’t trust my presence here.
He watches us with an intensity I respect before catching the attention of an older woman who has to be my Angel’s mother.
They have the same smile.
The same hair.
The same breath-of-fresh-air energy.
“Just a heads up.” I create a professional amount of space between Angela and me. “Your parents are heading this way.”
She glances over her shoulder. Her wide smile says she senses no danger whatsoever. She’s just…happy.
“Oh, good.” Angela clasps her hands under her chin. “I’ve been wanting you to meet my mom. You’re gonna love her. She’s strong, and sweet, and always knows the right thing to say, and before you know it, she’s taking care of you in exactly the way you didn’t know you needed.”
“Mr. Cooper.” Lucas extends a hand as he arrives. “I didn’t expect to see you here tonight.”
I translate his polite tone and watchful eyes as a warning. I don’t belong here. He knows it. I know it.
“Garrett and I spent an extra day in Bliss, looking over the new site,” Angela says, and her dad definitely notices her use of my first name. The way her eyes light up when she glances my way. The way she leans closer, obliterating that professional amount of space I so carefully created.
“We flew in today and came straight here to talk about getting those contracts signed. This deal is good. I feel it.” She puts a hand on my arm while her father frowns.
“Oh. Right. Silly me. Mom, I’d like you to meet Garrett Cooper.
Garrett, this my mother, Catherine Hutton.
I’ve been excited for you two to meet because you guys are just gonna love each other. ”
The smile I force has to look suspicious.
I know I wouldn’t trust me. Between Angela practically broadcasting that we slept together and Branson’s clock ticking over the entire evening, my nerves are cranked.
The first rule of business negotiations?
Never trust the nervous guy. And tonight, I’m the nervous guy.
Fuck my life.
“Please, call me Cat.” Angela’s mother takes my hand and for some weird reason, it feels like she’s welcoming me home.
She’s the polar opposite of her husband, warm instead of intense.
Open rather than prickly. And yet, the love they share might as well be tattooed on their foreheads.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Cooper. ”
“If you’re Cat, I’m Garrett,” I respond. “And the pleasure is mine.”
“Garrett it is.” Cat turns to her husband, and her grin falters when she sees the way he’s looking at me.
“You two have a lovely home. I’m…well I’m honored to be here.” I force yet another smile.
Damn it, I feel so fucking awkward.
I want to impress the Huttons, which leaves me feeling sleazy. I stopped worrying what anyone thought about me the day I realized people only cared about themselves. This world runs on greed and narcissism and I’m tired of participating.
But the Huttons are good. I can feel it radiating out of everyone—
The shriek of those horrible little girls fighting over the last cupcake interrupts my thoughts. Their mother dashes over to yell at Nathan—because somehow, it’s his fault her offspring don’t know how to share.
Okay…goodness radiates out of almost everyone here.
Regardless. I like the Huttons. And I want them to like me. Yes, part of it is because the deal will be more successful if we all get along, but there’s more. I want them to like me because I like their daughter. I don’t just want to fuck her; I want to be with her.
My Angel isn’t a distraction, she’s the answer to questions I didn’t know I was asking.
She elevates me. I am more with her. I am better with her.
And that leaves me standing here, salivating over her parents’ acceptance.
I’m a grown ass man. I should barely care what my parents think, let alone someone else’s.
But I do care. Jesus. When did that happen?
As if that wasn’t confusing enough, I’m supposed to get them to sign a contract within the next few days that, while I’ll do my best to make fair, also needs to land a lot of money into Vision Enterprise’s pockets over the next several years.
How could anyone believe I didn’t sleep with Angela to entice her into the deal?
I feel slimy. Which isn’t the way I operate.
And everyone’s just standing here, watching me frown.
Instead of smiling, laughing, and turning on the charm, I let out a long sigh and admit at least one truth. “Forgive me if I seem tense. My boss gave me forty-eight hours to close this deal or he’s sending another man down. And that guy? He doesn’t have your best interest at heart. I promise you.”
“And you do?” Lucas lifts a brow. “Have our best interest at heart?”
I glance at Angela, then back to her father. “I do.”
“He does.” She beams at Lucas. “I trust him.”
The words send a spike into my chest. How did we get here?
Me, feeling like this, and her, saying things like that.
I’m not supposed to want to be with someone, especially when I met that someone through business.
Nothing but trouble waits at the end of this road.
I’ve been there once and promised myself never again.
I realize I’m just glaring at Angela as these thoughts batter my brain. With a laugh, I shake my head to reorient myself. “Again, I apologize. I’m not myself tonight. All the travel and…” I sigh, refreshing my smile like the good businessman I am. “I just need a good night’s sleep.”
Lucas glances over my shoulder at someone behind me, then meets my eyes and it feels like he can see right through me. He probably can.
“I bet you’ll feel even better once things are settled between us,” he says. “Signatures. Dates. Agreements.”
“That wouldn’t hurt.”
Lucas nods, his gaze slipping over my shoulder again as he gestures someone over. “You remember my brother Wyatt,” Lucas says to me. “And this is his wife, Kara.”
Hands are shaken. Introductions made. We chat briefly before Wyatt claps a hand on my shoulder.
“I’m hearing good things, Cooper.”
Angela beams. “That’s because Garrett and I make a good team. With us working together, the future of the Hutton Hotel is set in stone.”
The brothers exchange a look before Wyatt shoves his hands in his pocket. “I like to hear that.”
“Let’s meet tomorrow,” Lucas says with a nod. “First thing in the morning. Angela said our lawyers approved the contracts. We’ll go over everything one more time. Sign some papers. Get this show on the road.”
“Well now hold on a minute.” Cat looks at her husband like he’s lost his mind. “You just heard the man say he’s worn down.”
And I’ll be less worn down the second I tell Branson everything’s taken care of here.
“I’m fine, Mrs.—”
“Cat.” She puts a hand on my arm. “You call me Cat. And ‘fine’ is a great place to start, but you’ll be even better after experiencing The Hut at its finest. He has a room with us?” she asks Angela, who nods.
“I put him in one of the bungalows with private beach access.”
“Good. Good. Now, set him up with our deluxe package. Massages. Meals. Meditation. Drinks by the pool. You spend a day letting us take care of you,” Cat says to me before turning to her husband.
“Then you guys can meet to sign those contracts and afterwards? We’ll have dinner to celebrate.
We’ll dress up and have the kitchen prepare something special. Make a whole thing out of it.”
All I hear is another delay I don’t need. A delay that’ll bring Branson one step closer to sending Jordan down. A delay that’ll keep me out of my Angel’s bed all day.
I hold up my hands. “That’s completely unnecessary. You don’t have to make a big deal out of me being here.”
“You let me decide what is and isn’t necessary. If we don’t stop to celebrate every now and then, life grows tiresome.” Cat arches a brow, looking both firm and sweet at the same time. She reminds me of my mom. Of my mother.
“I wouldn’t argue with her if I were you.” Lucas takes her hand and kisses each finger. “My wife comes across as gentle, but she’s been married to me for decades now. She’s made of stern stuff, this one.”
“And we all know how hard it is to live with you, you glowery, Robocop, son of a bitch.” Wyatt guffaws, his eyes twinkling with the same look Charlie gives me when she lands a zinger. “Cat’s the real head of the family,” he finishes with a wink.
“We all know that’s not true,” she begins, but no one seems to agree with her.
Lucas cups her face, his thumb grazing her cheekbone.
“You came into my life and set all this in motion. This wouldn’t exist if it wasn’t for a journal tucked into a booth at a coffee shop.
” He indicates the family with a sweep of his arm.
“We’ll have to tell you the story at dinner tomorrow,” he says to me.
“I’d like that.” His love for his wife reminds me of the love my dad has for Mom, and before that, for my mother. I never thought love like that was in the cards for me, but now, standing next to my Angel and her family, I wonder if I was wrong.
My jaw clamps shut.
Of course I wasn’t wrong. Love is fickle, especially when business is involved.
“Now,” Cat says to her daughter, “you take this man back to the hotel so he can get some shut eye. Stop in the office and set him up with the deluxe package, throw in any extras you see fit, and we’ll all see each other again tomorrow.”
Angela hugs her family goodbye and I shake hands with too many people to remember, then we’re finally alone. Silence wraps around us as we walk to her car. Me lost in thoughts about her. About this. About what fucking happens next.
That was a shitshow in there. I fumbled and bumbled like an intern eager to prove himself.
Lucas and Wyatt clearly don’t trust my relationship with Angela.
And Cat? She may have the best of intentions, but I don’t have time for massages.
For drinks by the pool. And meditation? That’s not my deal.
Mom tried to build it into me when I was a kid and if she couldn’t get it to stick, no one will.
Angela glances at me, looking so hopeful, so beautiful, my heart hurts. “I think that went well.”
“Your dad knows there’s something going on between us,” I respond with a laugh.
“What?” She scoffs. “No way. We played that off to perfection.”
I turn to her, certain she’s joking, but she’s not.
My Angel is so bad at being dishonest, she genuinely thinks her family didn’t notice the way she looked at me.
The way she touched me. The way she hung on my every word.
She may have the smarts for business, but I see now how the schmoes before me took advantage. She’s na?ve. Trusting. Genuine.
She’s low hanging fruit for someone like Jordan.
She needs someone to stand between her and the bad guys, the prince she swears she doesn’t want.
The prince I definitely am not.
“Is something wrong?” she asks.
“I’m just tired,” I say.
The silence that follows feels too heavy. Too filled with meaning. So I lean down to whisper, “and it’s taking everything I have not to touch you right now.”
Angela beams and practically skips to her car. I hold her hand during the drive to the hotel, kissing it lightly as we pull into the parking lot. Stars shine over the water, the moon hanging low and full. It’s been a while since I stopped to appreciate the sky. I should probably do that more.
“Promise me something,” I say as I grab my suitcase out of the trunk.
“Anything.”
“Be careful on the drive home. Please. And text me when you get there. So I know you’re safe.” The request feels like an admission. I care about what happens to you. You matter to me.
Did she take it that way?
A gentle smile lifts full lips. “I’ll be careful, and safe, and I’ll text you when I leave and then again when I get home.”
“Thank you, Angel.”
And in that moment, I’m filled with gratitude for her smile, her laughter, her naivete, her ridiculous can-do attitude.
“Don’t thank me yet. Wait until you’ve experienced our deluxe package. I’m hitting you with everything we’ve got, Garrett Cooper.” Walking backwards, she blows air off a pair of finger guns, her eyes twinkling with humor. “Prepare yourself. You’re not going to know what hit you.”
“I think that’s already true,” I murmur as Angela skips up the steps to the main entrance. I watch a moment before following.
I’ll grab my key. Fall into bed. And tomorrow, business will be taken care of.
After that? I can worry about whatever the fuck is happening between us.