"Sounds like he got what he deserved," Dad growled out with a prideful gleam in his eyes. He'd been the one to insist I learn to defend myself at an early age, long before I became a cop myself.
"Yeah, well I don't have the inclination or the time for a man in my life anyway," I added with a hard edge to my voice. I knew Dad would understand. After all, he'd been an unapologetic bachelor his whole life, but to my surprise, instead of an understanding look or comment, he frowned.
"Luisa," he said in a tired sounding voice. "Spending your life married to your job isn't all it's cracked up to be." His brow furrowed worriedly. "Especially when you don't even have that anymore and realize you never made the time for anything else to fill the void." A lost and lonely expression flashed across his eyes. "The job shouldn't be your whole life, mija. I don't want you to end up middle-aged and all alone like me."
What the?
I just stared at my father in gape-jawed shock. He'd always seemed happy with his choice to stay single all these years, unlike my hopelessly romantic mother who kept chasing after true love and only finding heartache. I was flabbergasted by his unexpected words, and I didn't even know what to say. Luckily, I was saved from formulating a reply by a text notification on my phone. I picked my phone up off my desk, grateful for the interruption. I opened my messaging app to find a text from Scott.
I want to taste you.
Attached was a graphic image of a man with his face enthusiastically buried between a woman's legs.
I was immediately taken back to Saturday night and the feel of Scott's sexy stubble rubbing deliciously on my inner thighs as he ate me out with unparalleled skill. Desire instantly throbbed between my legs. Okay, so I wasn't usually embarrassed by anything sexual, but opening this and getting aroused with my father sitting not two feet away was an entirely different story, even if he couldn't see it. I felt my face blaze with sudden heat as I quickly closed the text and put my phone down. I snatched up my sandwich and decided to pretend it had never happened. With an ex-cop for a father, I should have known better.
"Who was that from, mija?" Dad asked in very clear amusement. I looked over to see him eying me knowingly with an arched brow.
"Nobody," I denied quickly, my face feeling like it was on fire now.
"Are you sure it's not from one of those men you don't have the time for?" A smirk pulled at one corner of his mouth and irked me off.
"Dad," I said scoldingly with a baleful glare, not wanting to have this conversation with him.
He raised his hands in a placating gesture even as he continued grinning. "Okay, okay, I get it," her replied. "It's none of my business." -his face turned abruptly serious- "but I hope whoever this nobody is, that he takes care of you and treats you with respect. You deserve that in any relationship."
"It's not a relationship," I denied vehemently, uncomfortable beyond belief with that word. I ignored the little voice inside my head that reminded me of the few confusingly tender and affectionate moments Scott and I had shared while we were working the case, or how he'd been preoccupying my thoughts when we were apart. No...just no. That's not what was happening between Scott and me.
"So this nobody is a somebody then?" he asked archly.
I frowned and shot daggers at him.
Dad huffed out in exasperation as he continued giving me a dubious expression. "Mija, call it whatever you want, but I'm your dad, and I just want you to be treated right. Okay?"
I sighed, and the irritation flowed out of me. "Sorry, Dad."
"De nada, niña," he replied as he waved his hand dismissively. "It's all good."
No, it really wasn't. God, I could be such a bitch sometimes, but Dad always forgave me. We sat in silence for a few moments as my guilt ate at me. Finally, I'd had enough and decided to throw him a bone.
"He does, Dad," I said quietly.
After all, it's not like it wasn't true, even if I was implying a little white lie that Scott and I might be in a relationship. The man might piss me off and infuriate me, but he'd never treated me with anything but respect.
Dad's eyes widened in surprise at my comment, but then he merely nodded once with a pleased expression and didn't mention it again. I was relieved when we began chatting about work after that. All I could do was ignore the inkling thought that suggested I might be lying to myself.
CHAPTER
TWENTY-ONE
____________________
Scott
I climbed out of my BMW and absently thanked the valet as I rounded the hood and stepped up onto the curb I parked next to a moment ago. I stood there for a few seconds and eyed the building as my car was driven away, scowling and rolling my shoulders beneath the suit jacket that seemed to chaff against my very nerves. I didn't mind wearing a suit for Lu when we went to Désir Dangereux, but for this? Hell fucking no. I shook my head in exasperation and stalked toward the entrance, knowing the place was just as extravagant and grandiose on the inside as it was on the outside with its snooty over-the-top Victorian bullshit. I tried not to glare at the doorman who let me in. It wasn't his fault that I was here.
Lumiére Blanche was the premier five-star restaurant in town with French food my mother often said was to die for, but I usually wished I was dead long before I even set foot in the place, let alone be willing to bite the big one for the fucking food. God, I hated this place. It was so pompous and pretentious and French, and so not my speed at all. Fuck, I just wanted a goddamn cheeseburger and fries.
I approached the hostess stand, and was immediately recognized.
"Welcome back, Mr. Conrad," the attractive hostess dressed in white said politely with a gracious smile. "You're party is already here expecting you."
That was a passive-aggressive code for "you're late". Whatever. I had a meeting with a new client that ran long, and it couldn't be helped, though no doubt I'd be the recipient of a guilt trip about it anyway.
I reluctantly followed her further into the restaurant. The place had this whole Victorian parlor feel to it with its gaudy carpet, ornate velvet-upholstered chairs, matching tied-back curtains at every window, and acres of white table clothes with elegantly set tableware. Nope, this wasn't my kind of place at all. My skin itched, and my head felt jangled up inside. Part of me almost missed the old days when I showed up to these family dinners drunk or high, just so I could stomach them. Shit, if those kinds of irrational thoughts kept up, I'd need to hit an extra addiction recovery meeting this week.
My family was seated at our usual table near the back corner of the restaurant. As I approached, I realized that in addition to Mom, Dad, Ethan, his fiancée Charlotte, and Rory, there was a dark-blond woman I'd never seen before seated with them. She was sitting next to Rory. Huh. When did Rory start dating anyone? He was so wrapped in his ER residency that I didn't think he had the time to meet someone. Rory and I were pretty close, and I figured he'd have told me about it, so to be honest, it kind of stung that he didn't tell me.
"Scott, honey," Mom called out from one end of the table with a smile. "You finally managed to make it." Insert guilt trip here. "Come sit down."
She motioned to the empty chair catty-corner to her and right next to Rory's date. Ugh, I didn't want to sit there, but my only other choice was to sit next to Dad at the other end. No thanks. He was already eying me disapprovingly, and I just couldn't stomach his lectures and "advice" today.
I sat down and smiled around the table, making eye contact with my brothers. Both smiled back and greeted me welcomingly. The three of us heavily resembled our father with our strong masculine facial features and thick chestnut hair, and we each shared our mother's vivid blue eyes. Ethan and Rory had gotten their height from Mom though, since both were over six feet tall, and were more leanly built than me. I, on the other hand, was shorter and more muscular, and looked like a younger carbon copy of our father.
Sometimes I wondered if that was part of the reason Dad seemed so disappointed that I didn't follow in his footsteps and join his co
rporate world or chose what he saw as a more suitable career like my brothers did. Fortunately, even though my parents might constantly compare me to my successful older and younger siblings, Ethan and Rory had never rubbed it in my face. I loved my brothers, and they had my back as much as I had theirs, even if they fit into our parent's world more than I ever wanted to or could.
I winked at Charlotte next, who was sitting next to Ethan across from me, and she smiled and rolled her eyes as usual. She was used to my harmless and innocent flirting, and if my parents weren't here she and I would already be razing each other or ganging up on Ethan to harass him. I really liked Charlotte. She was good to my brother, and was pretty grounded and down to earth for a woman who came from money. She was gorgeous too, tall and fit with long shiny dark hair and luminous pale blue eyes. My brother was a very lucky man, even if I thought he was nuts to get hitched after witnessing our parent's joke of a marriage over the years. I hoped his worked out better.
I glanced at the lithe and willowy woman between Rory and me, who was smiling pleasantly at me.
"Hi," I said to be polite.
"Hi," she replied, her smile widening even as she blinked nervously and looked away.
She was pretty enough I guess, with her dark blond hair pulled back into an elegant knot, her large green eyes, and her fitted gray shift dress. I much preferred petite curvy women with a sexy attitude like Lu. This woman didn't look like anyone Rory would be interested in either, since he liked curvy girls too, but then again, who was I to judge. I just wanted my little brother to be happy.
I looked at Rory expectantly and flashed a quick glance at the blond, so he'd introduce his date. Instead, he merely gave me a puzzled expression in return and mouthed "what?" at me. The waiter showed up at that moment, drawing my attention away before I could even fathom Rory's confusion, and we all ordered.
"Scott, honey," Mom said after the waiter walked off. "You remember Avery Haverston, don't you?"
The name sounded vaguely familiar, but that was about it.
"No," I replied succinctly with an edge of irritation. "Should I?"
"Anna Haverston's daughter?" Mom asked with an exasperated frown. "You've seen her at a few of our social events over the years, back when you still bothered to show up for them anyway."
I clenched my teeth in irritation. Mom knew I didn't remember a lot of things from back then, thanks to the drugs and alcohol that were the only way I used to be able to get through her god-awful social events. I'd told her many times that I didn't attend very many anymore because they could sometimes be a trigger for me, but it was just another way she never really listened to me.
"I told you about her the other night," Mom continued scoldingly. "When I stopped by your penthouse."
I stared at her in total bewilderment for a second, until I suddenly remembered where I'd heard that name before. Mom had suggested her as a date for my brother's engagement party, right before I'd panicked and introduced Lu as my girlfriend to head her off. The light bulb that abruptly turned on inside my head rivaled the fucking sun.
Holy shit. This was a goddamn set up.
This chick wasn't here with Rory. She was here for me. This wasn't the first time she'd tried to fix me up with a woman. She'd been doing it for years, even though I refused to go along with it every time. I usually just brushed it off and moved on, but this was the first time she'd tricked me into it, and that was what had anger instantly flooding my body. Even if Lu wasn't really my girlfriend, what my mom had done tonight was beyond fucked up and wrong.
"You mean the night you met Lu?" I asked her with a dark and fierce scowl. "You know, the woman I introduced as my girlfriend. The one I told you I was bringing to Ethan and Charlotte's party?" I noticed Avery stiffen next to me at my words, and felt sorry for her because she'd been duped as much as I'd been.
"Please." Mom waved her hand dismissively and made a scoffing noise. "You can't possibly be serious about bringing her."
"Mom," Ethan snapped out disapprovingly with a shocked expression that Charlotte was also wearing. "Scott can bring whoever he wants."
Mom's face turned stubborn. "That woman is not an appropriate date."
"Why?" I asked Mom scathingly. "Because she's a cop, or because she's poor." -I made quotations with my fingers on the word poor, since Mom's definition of it was deeply skewed from reality- "Oh wait, I fucking know. Is it because she's Latino and beneath you?"
Mom gasped as if she'd been scandalized, and pressed a hand to her chest. Ethan and Charlotte stared at me in wide-eyed shock at my brutal honesty. I'd never talked to my mother like that before, but her judgmental attitude toward Lu really fucking pissed me off. The dark possessive caveman Lu had recently brought out in me couldn't and wouldn't let it stand.
"Scott," Dad growled out warningly.
I glanced down to the other end of the table to see angry disapproval glittering in my father's eyes, and Rory watching me with a grimace of sympathy. Poor Avery was staring down at her lap in silence with a mortified expression.
"You will apologize to your mother," Dad said sharply.
Like my father's disapproval meant anything, or I'd apologize for what I said to my mother after the fucked-up thing she'd done and the things she'd implied about Lu tonight. Besides, I lost all respect for them years ago when I learned about Dad's infidelities, and then Mom's complete denial of it, even after I told her the truth. The denial that was so vehement that it made me suspect she'd known it all along anyway.
Apologize? I don't think so. I shook my head in disgust and abruptly pushed my chair back as I stood, then turned and stormed away without another word. I was done here. Nothing I said would have mattered to my parents anyway. They'd believe whatever they wanted about me no matter what I told them.
I burst out the front door and strode to the curb, where I barked at the valet to get my car, then stood there fuming as one of them scurried away to get it. I couldn't get out of here fast enough as the familiar itch to use began skittering around in the back of my head. Fuck, I suddenly wished I knew where Lu lived so I could go see her right now, then immediately wondered where the hell that thought came from. Usually after a clusterfuck of a family dinner like this one, I went to see Calder to get my shit together. So why the fuck was I thinking about Lu instead? Why did I long for her, and miss her? Wait...what? I immediately frowned at those completely foreign and unexpected feelings over a woman.
Okay, so it was official then, I needed to get a grip on reality. This was nothing more than a case of sexual frustration since I hadn't fucked her since Saturday night. Fucking her was absolutely incredible, and since I hadn't gotten laid in four days, I was obviously in withdrawal. The filthy texts we'd been sending back and forth all week weren't helping, and knowing I wouldn't be able to meet her at the club tomorrow tonight because she had to work was only making it worse. I just needed to keep it together and suck it up until Friday night.
"Scott!" I heard my older brother's voice call out behind me.
I sighed and turned around to find Ethan and Rory hurrying toward me, not surprised they'd come after me. I was relieved it wasn't Mom or Dad because God only knew what would come out of my mouth if I saw one of them again right now.
Rory's eyes were pleading as he pushed his hair back from his face. "I swear. We didn't know what Mom was doing."
"We thought you agreed to meet that girl," Ethan added with a pained expression as he rubbed at the back of his neck.
"Otherwise, we'd have never gone along with it," Rory explained.
"I know that," I told them, "but I'm not going back in there."
"We don't expect you to," Ethan said.
"Yeah," Rory agreed. "That was all kinds of fucked up, even for Mom."
Ethan pointed a thumb back toward the restaurant. "Is Mom's reaction to your girlfriend why you didn't tell any of us you were seeing someone? Because you know Charlotte and I don't care who you bring with you. Your girlfriend is more than welcome to come.
"
"I just want to meet the woman who somehow managed to convert Scott the womanizing bachelor into an actual boyfriend," Rory added in shocked amazement. "I didn't think it was even possible. You must have it really bad for this Lu."
"Yeah, were you switched out by an alien? Where's our brother and what did you do with him?" Ethan said with a smirk. "I thought you didn't believe in relationships, and now you have a real-live girlfriend. I can't wait to meet her at the party."
Whoa, now things were getting out of hand. I wasn't anyone's boyfriend, let alone in any kind of a relationship. I didn't have it bad for Lu. We were just fucking, and that was it. I opened my mouth to tell them exactly that, but for some reason, the words wouldn't come out. I just stood there dumbly staring at my brothers with my mouth gaping open like a fish, and wondering what the hell was wrong with me.
Ethan's face turned concerned when I didn't reply with a sarcastic comment to their teasing, since it was what I would ordinarily do. "Hey," he said worriedly as he put a comforting hand on my shoulder, "if you can't come to the engagement party at all that's okay too. I don't want it to threaten your sobriety." Rory nodded in sincere agreement.
At least my brothers put in the effort to understand my struggle with addiction, and had been instrumental to the success of my ongoing recovery, even if they were completely misinterpreting my silence right now. However, I didn't correct them, even though I should, because I really needed to change the subject.
"No, no," I said with a shake of my head. "I'll be there."
"Are you sure?" Ethan asked.
"I am." I nodded. "It's too important for me to miss."
They both frowned at me dubiously as the valet pulled my car up to the curb next to us and hopped out. I couldn't blame them, after all, my addiction almost cost them their brother multiple times. I met both their gazes with as much certainty as I could muster to reassure them.
"I promise. I'll be fine," I said firmly, before Ethan and Rory finally nodded in relief and relaxed.
Tempting Calm Waters Page 18
