“My classes are done, and I tested out of all my final exams, so I decided to skip walking in the ceremony and head here.”
His brows furrowed. “Why would you skip it? It’s a big moment.”
“It’s all a big show for families to feel good about the mass amounts of money they just dumped into their kid. Since no one would be there for me, there’s no need to stick around for a performance.”
“I could have come.”
Unbidden by me, I snorted. “Yeah, okay. I’m sure you and your wife would have been on the first plane to California.”
“I’m divorced,” he explained evenly. “But I would have come.”
I stared, not bothering to hide my doubt. It was better to let that show than the shock that he wasn’t married anymore. Thinking about it, the house did seem bereft of a woman’s touch, but then again, their mansion had always seemed lacking something, so it hadn’t struck me as odd when I didn’t notice anything feminine gracing the tables and walls.
“You doubt me?”
Did I?
I scrolled my mind to find any indication that an invitation to my graduation would be wanted. Remembering the empty seats at my high school graduation was all the answer I needed, so I settled on a shrug.
“I’m a man of my word. If I said I would have been there, I would have.”
He sat taller in his chair, his jaw clenched tight as if preparing to defend his honor.
Money comes and goes, but your word stays forever. It holds more value than anything else. If someone knows you mean what you say and chooses to stand by your side through the hardest of times, then you’re richer than God himself.
Dad’s words echoed through my mind, allowing me the chance to see into the man I assumed my father had seen Corbin to be. It was that glimpse that had me letting it go. I wasn’t sure I believed him completely, but I believed him enough.
“Well, I’m here now.”
Holding my arms out to my sides, I leaned back in my seat and crossed my legs as if posing for a photo. The move caused my loose sleep shorts to ride up higher, almost to my ass cheeks. As if out of his control, his eyes flicked to the bared skin. Just as quickly, they jerked away, but still, something lingered that he couldn’t shove away fast enough.
Again, heat bloomed in my chest, sinking like lava down into my stomach. The warmth tempted me in a way I knew was morally wrong. This man was almost twice my age—my guardian. My father’s friend.
But my heart beat in a rhythm I didn’t know it knew how to play. My fingers tingled as if yearning to touch—to feel for the first time ever.
I wasn’t ready to dance away from the flame just yet, and morals could fuck off until I was.
I liked the way my body stirred to life.
Even better, the way his pupils flooded into the blue of his irises, he liked it too.
I had no plan on what to do next. No plan or skill at seduction. Only the desire to stay just where I was and memorize each new pulse bringing me to life.
Unfortunately, Corbin didn’t seem to feel the same because, in the next instant, he blinked away, draining almost half his glass before speaking. “So, what’s your plan? Do you have job prospects or interviews?”
“No,” I answered simply, hesitant of his reaction when I lay out the vision I’d imagined almost every night since before college.
“Do you know where you plan to go? Back to California? Or you could take some time off and travel. I’m sure you know Alec left plenty of money.”
“I know.”
“If you plan on staying here, I could offer a position at my company with plenty of room for growth and opportu—”
“I want The Berkshire back from Philip Downsden,” I cut in, unable to let him waste his breath.
If it wasn’t for his blinking, I would have thought he froze completely like someone hit his off switch. I knew my plans would cause some shock. I was a twenty-two-year-old woman wanting to take back her father’s escort business from whoever was entrusted with it.
Part of me wanted to rush to explain every detail, but another part enjoyed the way his jaw hung open. So, instead, I took my time, spinning my pasta around my fork and sliding it between my lips to enjoy every acidic burst of tomato and herbs on my tongue.
“You—You want to run an escort business?”
“Yes.”
More blinking, except this time, his brows pulled low, putting the perfect wrinkle between them. When he refilled his wine more than halfway and took a long pull, I rolled my eyes, done with his dramatics.
“It’s not like it’s a prostitution ring,” I scoffed.
“You do realize customers pay for sex?” he asked slowly.