She had her back to me as she looked out the kitchen window toward the beach. “I’d have never fit in.”
“What are you talking about?”
She gave herself a little shake as if she was getting rid of a thought or feeling. She went to her pad of paper. “Do you have a caterer out here you prefer? We have a few we’ve worked—”
“What did you mean that you wouldn’t fit in?” I moved closer to her. I wasn’t going to let her finagle her way out of this discussion.
She sighed. “Your parents wouldn’t have accepted me.”
“How do you know?” I turned her to look at me, leaving my hands on her shoulders.
She kept her eyes down, like she was hiding. “I’m not part of your world, Devin. And your world likes to keep to itself. That’s how we met, remember?”
“I do remember. I was lamenting how shallow and boring my world could be. I wanted to experience something real.” I hooked my finger under her chin, tilting her head to look up at me. “But that doesn’t mean my parents wouldn’t like you.”
She gave me an expression that said I was feeding her bullshit. I suppose I was. The truth was, my parents probably wouldn’t have liked her. At least not as a potential wife for me. Evelyn was their pick for that spot.
“What my parents think doesn’t matter.”
“You’re fooling yourself.” She scoffed.
I shook my head. “I’m my own man now. When they summoned me home, I was clear that I’d only come if I was given free rein to make decisions.”
“In business,” she said.
I dropped my hands. “Why am I bothering?”
Her brows furrowed. “Bothering with what?”
“Trying to convince you to see me again?”
“Is that why I’m here? Is this job simply so you can get me alone?”
To be honest, it was, and yet hearing her say it pissed me off. I had to know what the hell was up. “Why didn’t you come with me five years ago?”
“I told you—”
“No, you didn’t. You gave me some excuse about it being just a fling for you—”
“And you.”
“No. Not for me.”
Her breath hitched and she looked at me in surprise.
“So why didn’t you come with me to Europe,” I pressed again.
“I was convinced not to.”
“By who?”
She stared up at me and I couldn’t decide if she was hesitant to say who or was trying to come up with a story.
Finally, she said, “My parents. They were right in that I still had school to finish and I was being impulsive on something that could change my future.”
I studied her eyes wanting to know if that was the truth. The fact that I couldn’t be sure was reason enough to give up and walk away.
“It might have changed your future. Maybe for the better. Did you think I wouldn’t let you finish school? That I wouldn’t help you pursue a career. I know you’ll think I’m being arrogant, but I have the influence to help you get whatever you want.”