“You aren’t?” he asked almost comically. “Then you’re very stupid or…just stupid. I’m a very dangerous man. Maverick obviously hasn’t told you about the things I’ve done—”
“I don’t find you dangerous. You want to know why?” I grabbed a glass of champagne from a passing waiter. “Because a dangerous man doesn’t convince me to go back to my husband. He doesn’t play cupid for his son. He doesn’t give any kind of warning before he pulls the trigger. You care about your son. You aren’t very good at expressing that and you’re clearly embarrassed by it for some reason, but it’s obvious that you do.”
His expression fell into a cold simmer.
“So, no, I’m not afraid of you. I’m afraid that you’re going to take too long to make things right with Maverick and he’ll never forgive you. That’s what I’m worried about. If you don’t want to spend this Christmas alone or every Christmas afterward, then drop this disdain. Let it go, Caspian. There’s still time to make things right… Don’t piss away your last chance.”
“So, children anytime soon?” An older gentleman holding a cocktail asked Maverick the question. With his wife beside them, they were another pair of aristocrats I hadn’t met. No matter how many parties I attended, there always seemed to be someone new to meet.
I joined their conversation as Maverick absorbed the question and considered his response. “I think we want to enjoy each other a little longer. We’re still newlyweds…even though we’ve been married almost a year.”
“Isn’t that sweet?” his wife said. “Enjoy the phase as long as you want.”
My hand gently touched Maverick’s arm, and I politely excused us both. “Let me borrow my husband for just a moment.” I guided him away so we could speak in private in the center of the crowded room.
“Thank you for rescuing me. I’m not even sure who those people are.”
“You invited them.”
He shrugged. “I’m terrible with names. Even more terrible with faces.”
“Well, I hope you never forget mine.”
“Never.” His arm moved around my waist, his fingertips gripping the fabric of my dress as he pulled me closer. His handsome face was close to mine, affection bright in his eyes. He probably wished everyone in that room would disappear so we could have a moment to ourselves.
I almost forgot the reason I wanted to talk to him. “Your father is here…”
His fingers slackened on the back of my dress as his eyes changed. They were affectionate just a second ago, but now they were steaming with hostility. He didn’t raise his gaze to scan the crowd in search of his archnemesis. “You’re certain?”
“We had a pretty hefty conversation…so, yes.”
He dropped his hand from my waist altogether. “Did he hurt you?”
“No.”
“What did he want?”
“Honestly, I’m not sure.” My eyes scanned the people around us, and I did my best to seem calm, like Maverick and I were having a lighthearted conversation instead of an extremely tense one. “I told him I wasn’t afraid of him. He didn’t appreciate that very much.”
“You should be afraid of him.”
“Why would I when you’re here?”
His eyes stayed locked on mine for several heartbeats, his face a closed curtain. His eyes remained indecipherable as he processed the situation and the appropriate response. A million thoughts sped through his mind, all traveling at the speed of light. “What’s his game?” He pulled his eyes away from my face and looked around the room as he searched for Caspian in a sea of faces.
“No idea. But I don’t think he’s as threatening as he pretends to be. If he were, he wouldn’t have persuaded me to come back to you. He would have broken my neck at the rehab center. He wouldn’t be coming to a holiday party.”
“You shouldn’t assume.”
“I don’t like your father, but I think he misses his family…and doesn’t know how to fix things.”
He shook his head. “I took a bullet for him, and it meant nothing to him.”
“Maybe he’s had a change of heart.”
“That man doesn’t have a heart to change in the first place. Stay by my side for the rest of the night. I don’t want to take any chances.” His eyes kept scanning, and he didn’t bother to pretend everything was okay for everyone else in the crowd.
Caspian was a despicable man with a maniacal sense of reality. After losing his wife, he forgot what love felt like. He forgot what his kids meant to him. I definitely didn’t like him, but I wasn’t completely convinced of his evilness. I believed there was a chance, however small, that Caspian would realize the error of his ways…and pull his head out of his ass.
14
Maverick
My father crashed my holiday party and conversed with everyone like he belonged there. A trick was up his sleeve because I could never get him to attend any of my functions when we were still allies. He was only doing this to taunt me, to remind me that my wife was still at the top of his kill list.