52. Lyla
Chapter fifty-two
Lyla
As much as I hated getting ready to face Aaron Brooks only a few hours after arriving, part of me looked forward to the rest of our time here. After all of the experience I had with the quarterly dinners and lunches, I liked the idea of getting it over with instead of the slow dread that came with waiting it out.
Something about having to travel to be insulted made everything feel ten times worse than it was. I was glad Deacon was getting some excitement out of it. He’d never say anything, but I knew he was happy to get away for a little while. It had been nothing but school and grades and preparing for graduation these last few weeks. Deacon deserved some time to himself.
After some curling cream and a quick blow-dry, I pulled my hair back into a loose bun to run through my casual makeup routine. My dad would comment how natural I looked if I wore too little. If I wore too much, he’d ask if I had plans to go clubbing after dinner. I decided to play it safe with a pink lip, some mascara, and a thin line of eyeliner. It was too hot for foundation, so I opted for a tinted moisturizer.
No matter what I wore, Aaron Brooks would have a comment to make. It was pointless to stress about, but I couldn’t help it. There was always a sliver of me that thought this time could be different .
“Damn, girl.” Deacon leaned against the doorway of the bathroom, crossing his arms. He smiled, his shoulders pulling at his white dress shirt as he rolled the sleeves to expose his forearms. “You look beautiful.”
I smiled back. “Thank you.”
“You know I’ve got you, right?”
“I know that,” I said, a breathless laugh escaping my chest as I pulled out my hair tie to fluff my curls.
Deacon rested his forearms against the top of the doorway and leaned forward. If this man made one more move in that fucking doorway, I was going to combust.
I knew that as long as Deacon was with me, he had me. There wasn’t a part of me that doubted his words. Deacon made everything easier, and that’s when I realized the part of the trip that was eating at me. My dad’s decision about my trust fund didn’t scare me, but running out of time with Deacon did.
My phone buzzed on the counter, letting me know our car was outside. I sprayed one more round of perfume and gestured toward the front door. “Ready?”
Deacon rested his hand on mine the entire ride to the restaurant. With every stroke of his thumb, my heart rate returned to normal. I was afraid if he pulled away, I would have a full-blown panic attack before we even stepped into the restaurant.
I was a little confused when we pulled up to a hotel downtown. I knew most hotels in the area had five-star restaurants, and some even provided a gorgeous view of the ocean and the city skyline. We rode the elevator to the top floor and were greeted immediately by a hostess, who made it very clear that if we weren’t there with a reservation already, we might as well not even step onto the floor .
Since I was running out of time to formulate words, Deacon told her my dad’s name, and she led us to a table near the windows. In about an hour or so, the bright lights of Miami would illuminate from across the bay, and I secretly hoped we weren’t still at dinner to see it.
Dad stood up when he saw us crossing the room. Deacon laced his fingers with mine and extended his free hand toward my dad.
“Nice to see you again, sir.” Deacon flashed his sexy grin and brought our clasped hands to his chest. “Lyla hasn’t stopped talking about coming here since we landed.”
The squeeze of my hand dragged my brain back to the dining room and out of whatever cloud it was hanging in. I cleared my throat and delivered my most convincing smile. “It’s nice to see you, Dad.”
“I’m happy you both could come.” The corners of Dad’s mouth reached his eyes, and I did my best not to recoil against Deacon. What was it about this man’s happiness that was so sketchy?
I knew the answer to that question but hated admitting it. No daughter wanted to admit that her dad was smiling because some guy with a camera was probably hiding out among the other patrons.
My shoulders fell, and the familiar dip settled in my stomach. Deacon noticed the shift in my demeanor and pulled out my chair so I could sit. He lowered his mouth to my ear and whispered, “I’ve got you.”
I nodded, taking a long sip of water. Deacon’s arm rested on the back of my chair, and I was grateful when he asked my dad about the business. I didn’t want to talk, so when the waiter brought a bottle of wine to the table, I practically jumped him. I cupped the bottom of my glass as he poured the red and impatiently wiggled my toes. I should’ve pregamed for this shit.
“Oh, perfect!” Dad exclaimed, pausing his business conversation with Deacon. He stood up and adjusted his black suit jacket. A genuine smile appeared on his face, and his green eyes grew as bright as mine did when the wine arrived at the table.
Dad and I just happened to get excited by different reds.
A woman who couldn’t have been much younger than my dad approached the table. Her dark hair flowed in perfect waves down her back, and her lips matched the burgundy color of her dress. The fabric hugged her body, and the strapless style accentuated her petite shoulders. The way my dad’s eyes glazed over her figure made me want to toss up my wine. As the shock of another dinner guest started to resonate, a girl who could’ve passed as the woman’s younger sister walked up to my dad and hugged him.
I decided I didn’t want to be introduced to these people with my mouth hanging open, so I placed my glass on the table and kept my composure behind a closed-mouth grin. The corners of my mouth dug into my cheeks, and when Aaron Brooks fanned his hand over the table toward Deacon and me, I prepared for his next line.
“Tonya, Lily, this is my daughter Lyla and her boyfriend Deacon,” Dad said proudly, tightening his grip around Tonya’s waist. A small flash went off in the back left corner of the room, and he continued to display his pearly whites. “Tonya and I are getting married this summer, and I wanted everyone to finally meet in person.”
I wasn’t sure how many times a person could shock me in a sentence, but so far, the total was three. The first shock was Aaron Brooks officially declaring Deacon as my boyfriend and acknowledging that I was his daughter. The second shock was my horrible assumption of making Tonya out to be this wispy-haired woman who sat behind a desk in comfortable walking shoes. The third and final shock was that my dad was getting married to his assistant and that she came with a daughter who could model for Vanity Fair.
This was the Tonya who emailed me about reservations and travel arrangements? There was no fucking way this was happening.
“It’s very nice to meet you both,” Deacon answered since I was once again rendered speechless. He stood up and extended his hand to both of them.
Tonya eyed me suspiciously as she lowered herself into the seat across from me. Lily practically drooled at the sight of Deacon and took the chair at the head of the table.
“It’s so nice to meet both of you!” I exclaimed breathlessly and cleared my throat. I extended my hand toward Tonya and added, “All of the times we spoke through email, I never imagined you were . . . with my dad.”
Tonya pursed her lips in a way that pinched her cheeks.
“It took them a year to tell me they were finally dating.” Lily rolled her eyes, laughing into her water. “Anyone who saw them together could see they were completely crazy about each other.”
“How often did you see them together?” I prompted, reuniting with my wine. I sensed Dad’s nervous shift but refused to give him my attention.
“We try to go away once a month for at least a weekend, but my schedule at Yale is so crazy,” Lily said innocently. It was a genuine answer, and I saw the wheels spinning in her head. She had known about me, but she was under the impression that I also knew about her. “I was always so bummed when you couldn’t come with us, but Aaron said you’re pretty busy too with school?”
I wanted to disappear under the floorboards and take the elevator back down to the street. I desperately wanted to fast-forward the next hour of my life and spare Deacon the front-row seat to a reality show he didn’t sign up for.
“Yeah, super busy,” I offered, ignoring the stinging behind my eyes. Once dinner was over, I’d allow myself two minutes to react like I usually did after seeing my dad. Until then, the waterworks would have to subside.
Deacon’s arm returned to the back of my chair. “Lyla’s schedule is pretty hard. I don’t know how she does it all.”
“Does what , exactly?” Tonya asked, sending shivers down my spine.
Deacon’s eyebrows pulled slightly, and he cocked his head.
“What are you studying?” Lily asked before Deacon could say something. It was probably best since he was shooting daggers across the table at the happy couple.
“Business with an English minor,” I answered sweetly. Every time I said those words out loud, I plunged a knife into my dad’s perfect painting.
Lily’s eyes lit up at my response, but before she could ask her next question, we were interrupted again by the Wicked Witch of the West end of the table.
“How is the room at your hotel? I wanted to book the penthouse suite for you guys, but the last time I did that, Lyla decided to throw a frat party and sleep with the pool boy.”
I choked back my wine and placed my glass on the table to prevent it from spilling.
My dad laughed at his fiancée's comment and raised his glass of whiskey. “Deacon seems to have a good head on his shoulders. This is probably the one trip you could’ve done that, sweetie, and we would’ve gotten our deposit back.”
Tonya joined him in laughing, and the two toasted to something no one else at the table understood. I was positive it was something fucking annoying, just like this horrendous dinner that hadn’t even started. “And what are you studying, Deacon? You are in college, right?”
“Medical,” Deacon said politely. “I’m studying to be a pediatric surgeon.”
“Money, then.” Tonya shrugged disapprovingly, locking eyes with me across the table. “That isn’t shocking at all.”
“Lyla is no Lily,” Dad explained. It sounded like an apology for the daughter he never wanted. “Numbers and logic were never really her strong suits.”
Deacon’s grip on my chair tightened, and he was seconds away from lunging across the table. I placed my hand on his knee and did the one thing I knew would put his attention on something else. I trailed my fingers up his thigh until I was dangerously close to his—
His hand stopped my attempt, and his eyes met mine. His shoulders relaxed, and the pressure on my chair shifted under the weight of his arm.
“I’m going to the restroom,” Lily announced. I was glad to see I wasn’t the only one trying to escape this conversation. “Lyla, do you want to come with me?”
“S-sure,” I stammered, removing my napkin from my lap. As soon as I placed it on the table, Tonya stood across from me.
“I’ll join you, girls.” She smiled condescendingly as I caught the last second of Lily’s eye roll.
Deacon squeezed my hand one last time, and before I left him to face Aaron Brooks alone, I gave him a small kiss on his temple. At this point, I didn’t care if Lily planned on dragging me through a hallway of flames on the way to the restroom. She got me a few moments away from my dad.