I looked at my own cards again and pursed my lips in thought. I tapped my mouth with my index finger a few times, then rubbed at my chin, drawing out the moment purposefully. "Hmm..." I hummed thoughtfully.
"Come on, Uncle Scott," she suddenly blurted out impatiently. "You're killing me."
"Do you have any queens?" I asked smoothly, then watched her look down at her cards and scowl. She plucked the card out reluctantly and handed it to me as she gave me the stink eye.
I took it from her with a gracious nod, then carefully spread it, and my last three remaining cards, out on the desk. She stared down at the four queens for a beat before her eyes flew wide in startled realization.
"Looks like I win again," I crowed as I grinned maniacally at her.
"Gah!" she cried out in bitter defeat as she threw her hands up and fell back into her chair, her cards fluttering down slowly around her.
I leaned back in my chair with my fingers laced behind my head, basking in my glory. "Time to pay up, kid."
Violet reached out and snatched up a bag of gummy bears off the desk top, then threw it at me. I caught it before it hit me in the face and arched a brow at her. She merely shrugged and snickered unapologetically.
"Since when did my office turn into a gambling den?" Calder suddenly asked in amusement behind me. "Because I'm pretty sure we don't have the permits for that."
I turned to find my best friend leaning against the door frame with his arms crossed, grinning at me and his adopted daughter.
"Is it technically gambling if you always win?" I asked wryly as I opened the bag of candy. I threw a wink at Violet as I shoved a wad of gummy bears in my mouth.
Her eyes hardened into a withering glare. "Mark my words, mister," she growled out warningly as she pointed at me. "I'm taking you down someday. You just wait." Then she snorted out a laugh and ruined her threat completely with a huge grin.
"I'm looking forward to it, Vi," I said with a warm smile.
"I need to talk to Uncle Scott, baby," Calder said as he walked further into the room. "Can you go bug Aunt Gwen for a bit?"
"Sure, Dad." Violet hopped up and came around the desk to give us each a quick yet enthusiastic hug. Then I grabbed another handful of candy out of the bag and handed it to her. She was already zealously beheading a gummy bear with her teeth on her way out the door.
Calder followed her a few steps and shut the door behind her as he watched her leave, wearing a dopey grin on his face. He was just as enamored with his new daughter as he was with his new wife. He turned and walked behind his desk, then slipped out of his dark-blue Tom Ford suit jacket and hung it on the back of his chair before taking a seat.
"How are things going with you and Detective Tavarez?" he asked as he began rolling up the sleeves of his pale blue dress shirt, completely unselfconscious about uncovering his old needle track scars. He'd come a long way from the man who used to wear long sleeves even in the heat of summer just to hide them.
I briefly gave him a rundown of the investigation, telling him that between the background checks, and from what we'd observed, that we eliminated three of the four suspects so far. I grinned as I told him how well Lu and I worked together, while inside thinking that we played together in the club's private rooms even better. My body ached for her, and I couldn't wait to see her again on Friday. A corner of Calder's mouth was quirked up into a small knowing smile when I finished, and he stared at me expectantly like he was waiting for me to say more.
"What?" I asked in confusion. "That's everything I've got."
His piercing blue eyes narrowed as he reached up to rub a thumb across his lips thoughtfully. "You really have no clue, do you?"
"No clue about what?" I asked, starting to get irritated.
He leaned back in his chair, still eying me closely with that damn little smile.
"You know, even after all these years I still remember the way Ella made me feel when we were first together. The warmth that would fill me up when I looked at her, touched her, or even just thought about her. How being with her made everything feel right. I'd look at her and just..." -his smile grew soft and wistful- "beam like a thousand watt bulb inside and out."
"Dude," I cut in with a smirk, even as I wondered where the hell he was going with this conversation. "You still do that every time you look at her now."
"True," he replied with a nod before continuing. "Anyway, I've been keeping a close eye on your investigation with Detective Tavarez, and I couldn't help but notice how intimate your interactions with her have become over the last few weeks."
I wasn't surprised that Calder was tracking the investigation. He had access to all the video feeds, and Pete always kept him abreast of what was going on in any of our clubs. What I didn't understand was his interest in the fact that Lu and I were fucking. We'd made sure it didn't interfere with anything involving the investigation.
"I don't see what Lu and me fucking in a private room after working on the investigation has any bearing on anything," I said with a slight edge of irritation in my tone. I wished he'd just get to whatever point he was trying to make here and clue me in.
His expression turned incredulous. "For a private investigator, you're pretty oblivious to what's going on right in front of your nose."
"What the fuck does that mean?" I asked defensively as I scowled at him.
"It means that I don't think the word fucking sounds like an accurate description for what the two of you are doing together."
"What?" I asked him, my face twisted in confusion.
He sighed and gave me a pointed look that said I was being obtuse. "Every time you're around Lu, you beam, Scott. Even when the two of you were bickering that first day in this very office, I saw it. Your face even lit up just a moment ago while you were talking about her. Somehow I think there's more going on than just fucking, don't you?"
"I...uh...um...I'm...wh...what?" I stammered out as I gaped at him like an imbecile.
"You've got it bad," he said with an amused yet sympathetic smile. "You miss her when she's not around. You think about her all the time. I bet you're not even remotely interested in any other woman. Admit it, Scott. You're falling for her."
"I'm not-" I bit off my own denial as the truth of what he'd just said fell on me like a goddamn load of bricks. I stilled and stared slack jawed at a still smiling Calder.
Fuck.
Everything he said was true. Hell, some chick hit on me in the lobby of my apartment building this morning and I didn't give a shit. I didn't even flirt like I normally would have done. I brushed her off since my only thought was that she didn't come anywhere close to competing with Lu's rocking body, gorgeous face, and all around badassness. Lu really was something else, something special. The whole goddamn package. I knew it the second I laid eyes on her that first time. And that thought clinched it. Holy shit, I did have it bad, but that didn't mean I knew what the fuck to do with that realization. This was uncharted territory for me. Falling for a woman? Me? What the fuck? I didn't think it was even possible since I was thirty-four, and it had never happened to me before.
"Do you think she feels the same?" Calder asked me.
"What?" I asked still stunned by my revelation to fully comprehend what he was saying.
"Do you think the feeling is mutual?" he clarified.
"I...I don't know," I replied as this strange panicked feeling suddenly fell over me at the very thought of Lu not feeling that way about me.
"Maybe you should find out," he suggested with a smirk.
Shit. Maybe I should. I knew I couldn't take a direct approach since it would more than likely send Lu running. She'd been a hard nut to crack just getting her to agree to our current and strictly physical relationship, let alone if I came right out and suggested it might be something more than that. Hell, I didn't even know if I was ready for that either, but there was no sense in denying it. I felt what I felt, even if it freaked me the fuck out, so I might as well embrace it. And as for finding out if L
u felt the same, well, I was a private investigator, and if I couldn't go with the direct route, I'd bide my time, and watch and wait until the truth revealed itself, just like it always did.
CHAPTER
TWENTY-NINE
____________________
Lu
I looked up at the front of the building we'd just arrived at as Scott gave me a hand up out of his sleek gray BMW. Wow, pretentious much? The old Victorian-esque building that held Lumiére Blanche was extravagant and completely out of my league, with its elaborate decorative trim and castle-like turrets. It screamed wealth and excess, and was unlike any place I'd ever been to before. I'd assumed I was going to feel out of place for the entire night, but I hadn't prepared myself for just how much I wasn't going to fit in. I sighed softly. Maybe I shouldn't have agreed to accompany Scott to his brother's engagement party.
Scott hooked my arm in his once I was standing on the sidewalk and escorted me toward the entrance. "I hate this place," he mumbled irritably beneath his breath as his hand tightened on my arm.
I glance up to see his pained and tense expression, and was hit with a pang of sympathy for him. He'd told me Lumiére Blanche was where his parents held their monthly family dinners, and I could tell just from his tone when he'd talked about it that he didn't enjoy them. I'd hate them too if I had to spend time with that horrid mother of his. I hoped the rest of his family wasn't as awful as that woman.
Scott held the door for me as we entered, and the host recognized him immediately and directed him toward the nearby stairs. Apparently, his parents reserved the entire second floor for this party. God only knew how much that cost. I glanced around as we approached the steps to see that the interior was indeed just as over-the-top and grandiose as I suspected it would be with gaudy carpets, upholstered chairs, and elegantly set tables with white table clothes. I felt like a bit player in an episode of Downton Abbey.
When we reached the top of the stairs, Scott unexpectedly pulled me to a stop on the landing before we could enter the room the party was being held. I turned to give him a questioning expression. I watched his eyes glide slowly down the length of my body in an admiring caress. I'd worn a calf-length black cocktail dress that fitted my curves with a silver belt cinched at the waist and a ruched v-neck collar that showed just enough cleavage so as not to be risque. It was tame compared to the scandalous ones I'd been wearing to Désir Dangereux, but I'd gotten the same stunned and appreciative reaction from Scott when he picked me up tonight as he had for the skimpier outfits.
"You look beautiful, Lu," he said softly as his eyes came back up to mine. They were filled with heat and something more that made my heart flutter with warmth. Even though I knew what that feeling was now, it was no less disconcerting and kind of terrifying. Did he feel it too? It seemed that way.
He wrapped his hands around the sides of my waist and pulled me closer until our bodies were pressed together. He leaned closer and lightly brushed his lips across mine, so he wouldn't smudge my lipstick.
"Thank you for this," he murmured as he nuzzled his face against mine, his freshly shaved cheek felt smooth against my soft skin. "For coming with me."
"You're welcome," I replied in a breathy voice as his heavenly scent and the close proximity of the hard body he was hiding under his sexy black suit intoxicated me. A sudden urge to melt into him fell over me, and I wished like hell that we were alone somewhere where he could show me how grateful he really was.
He leaned away, his face growing tense once again. "Time to get this over with, babe," he said with a smirk that didn't touch the unhappy resignation in his eyes. He briefly brushed his fingers through the big soft curls that I'd styled my hair into tonight, then stepped away with a sigh and turned to lead me by the hand into the party.
The second floor wasn't any better than the first, if anything it was more pretentious with all the elegantly set round tables with the same white table clothes. Each table had large floral bouquets in tall crystal vases as centerpieces, and the chairs covered in gauzy white fabric. The crowd of people milling about the tables and the nearby bar were all dressed in obviously high-end designer clothes that made me instantly self-conscious about my cheap by comparison dress. If Scott felt like he didn't belong here, then I felt it even more keenly since I wasn't born into it like he'd been. I gritted my teeth and steeled my determination not to let it get to me. Scott wanted me here, and that was all that mattered. These pretentious assholes could fuck off if they had a problem with me.
A familiar face caught my eye near the bar a few yards away from us, and I stilled as I recognized the sleazy little weasel dressed in a slim navy blue suit. Vinnie. He was conversing with an older man with similar features, who I assumed was a relative, and hadn't seen us yet. I felt Scott stiffen next to me and glanced over briefly to see that he'd spotted him too. Vinnie must have felt our eyes on him because he finally looked over to see us. His eyes widened in surprise for a beat before he gave Scott a tiny polite nod and turned his attention back to his conversation.
"What's he doing here?" I asked him in a quiet hiss as worry prickled over my skin.
"Huh," he said curiously. "His father is a business associate of Dad and Ethan, but I never expected him to be here with his dad. He never comes to anything like this." He rubbed a comforting hand over my arm. "Don't worry. He signed an NDA just like every club member. He won't say a word about the club to anyone here."
Good. The last thing I wanted was anyone I knew getting wind of my visits to Désir Dangereux, especially if it made its way to anyone from work. A vice cop hanging out in a sex club would be a huge scandal. I nodded as relief flooded my body, but it was short lived because that was when Scott's mother, Sylvia Conrad, walked up to us. She was wearing a beautiful royal blue wrap dress that made her look every bit the elegant and refined woman she was along with her expertly applied makeup and perfectly-styled long dark hair.
"Scott, honey," she announced haughtily as she hurried up to him and cupped his face in her hands. He instantly stiffened in discomfort. "You finally managed to make it," she continued with what was obviously a subtle dig about being a few minutes late.
"I had a case that took longer than I expected," Scott explained as he stepped out of her reach. "We got here as soon as we could."
She sighed in exasperation. "I knew something like this was going to happen," Scott's mother said in a put-upon tone. "That ridiculous private investigator job of yours is always a handy excuse when you don't want to join one of our family's social functions."
Scott's face tightened with anger, but not before I caught his brief hurt expression. What a bitch. A wave of protective anger hit me, and I longed to throttle her for hurting him like that.
"It's my career, Mother," he bit out acidly. "And I never said I didn't want to be here tonight."
She waved a dismissive hand in the air and turned to finally acknowledge my presence as she looked down her nose at me. "Oh," she said as if she was surprised to see me. "I see you brought the policewoman with you after all," she said loudly with an obvious edge of disapproval as she eyed me up and down. When she found me lacking, she turned her attention back to her son. I gritted my teeth to keep from calling her a few choice words in Spanish.
"She's a detective," Scott said defensively as he wrapped an arm around my shoulders and pulled me closer. "And a good one." My heart did a little happy dance at his praise and blatant protectiveness over me, even if I was still pissed at his mother.
"Well, now that you're here, we can start," she said as she purposefully turned away from Scott and went to wave down a passing drink server to tell him that she was finally ready for dinner to be served. It was yet another dig at Scott's tardiness.
He sighed deeply next to me, and I looked over to see his eyes glittering with hurt and anger, and his mouth set in a flat grim line as he watched her walk away. My God, why did he put up with that woman, regardless of whether she was his mother or not?
"Let's go s
it down," he grumbled out.
He led me to a table that had three people currently standing next to it, two men in dark suits who I surmised were Scott's brothers since they looked so strikingly similar to him, and a beautiful woman with long dark hair and pale blue eyes in a stunning gray A-line dress. The three of them smiled when they spied us approaching. My God it was relief to see a show of genuine emotion and affection from someone close to Scott.
Scott's face was finally content and relaxed for the first time since we got here, and her introduced me to his brothers, Rory and Ethan, and Ethan's fiancée Charlotte. The three of them were effusive in their greetings, seemingly glad to see me here with Scott. At least, somebody was happy that I was here.
After our introductions, Scott rounded the table until he found a place card with his name on it next to the seat his brother Rory had just taken. I checked the one next to Scott's and read the name Avery Haverston on it. I stared at it in confusion.
Scott growled angrily and reached over to snatch the place card up off the table. I watched him scowl as he crumpled it in his fist and shoved into his suit jacket pocket. He noticed my questioning expression.
"That's the name of my surprise blind date from our family dinner the other night," he told me bitterly as his eyes flashed with anger. His mother obviously put that place card there on purpose.
Now we were both scowling, but a second later his anger turned into concern.
"I'm sorry about that," Scott said apologetically. "My mother thinks she knows what's best for me, but she's..." he trailed off with a frustrated expression.
"She's a bitch, is what she is," I finished for him in a matter-of fact tone.
Rory snorted out a laugh, and I looked over to see him grinning up at me from his chair. "I like her, Scott," he said with an infuriating smirk that was eerily similar to Scott's, then he winked at me. "I like her a lot."
Tempting Calm Waters Page 24
