“It’s no bother at all.”
The waitress arrived with their champagne and a pair of flutes. Violet appreciated the momentary distraction. She needed to stop reacting and get ahead of Preston. Why had he come? Nothing he did lacked motivation. If he knew JT was traveling, he’d shown up in Vegas to catch Violet alone. Anxiety flared, but she pushed it down. No matter how vile the man, he was powerless to do more than intimidate her.
Once the champagne was poured, Preston handed her a flute. “To wedded bliss. May your life with my son be as happy as mine was with his mother.”
More a curse than a blessing, Violet thought as she put the flute to her lips and wet them with the champagne. “Thank you.” She set the glass down. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I really have some pressing matters to attend to.” But before she could rise, Preston covered her hand with his.
“How long have you and my son been together?”
“A while.”
“You must be good at keeping secrets because your wedding caught everyone by surprise.”
“JT’s very private.” And for once she was glad. “We run rival hotels. He wanted to maintain a low profile until we were sure of our relationship.”
“You certainly managed that. No one had a clue that you and he were dating, much less falling in love.” Preston leaned forward, his eyes intense. “You are in love with my son, aren’t you?”
Violet hesitated before answering. Preston knew something was not on the up and up between her and JT. She saw the challenge in his gaze as if daring her to lie.
“JT is the most amazing man I know. How could I not be?”
That she didn’t answer the question directly wasn’t lost on Preston. His calculated smile was back.
“And I’m sure he feels the same way about you. I’m glad. I would hate for you to have married him for the wrong reasons.”
“Such as?” The instant she spoke, Violet knew she should have insisted she loved JT.
“For his money.”
Violet raised her eyebrow and glanced around her. “Do I look like I need money?”
“From what I understand, all this belongs to Fontaine Resorts and Hotels, not to you.”
“Regardless, I don’t need JT’s money.”
“That’s good.” Preston finished his glass of champagne and stood. “I’m very protective of my son. If I thought someone intended to hurt him, I would take steps to see that didn’t happen.”
She couldn’t believe what Preston was saying. He’d done more to hurt his son than the entire rest of the world combined. “I have no plans to hurt JT. Quite the opposite.”
“Good. So are you planning on giving up your suite here and moving to my son’s ranch?”
Again he’d caught her unprepared. “We haven’t decided yet.”
“Because two people living apart isn’t much of a marriage.”
“We’ll figure it out.”
“And soon, I hope. Because if you’re not living together, someone might assume that your marriage is a fake and that would lead to questions.”
The entire conversation had been charged with subtext and Violet grew more concerned with each exchange. She suspected Preston had figured out she and JT weren’t a love match. Not that there was anything he could do about it.
“Why would anyone care?”
“I care.” Preston at last dropped all pretense of being civil. “I know why he married you. To get at the stock Tiberius bought. Well, that only gives him forty-eight percent. Not enough to challenge me.”
The speed at which JT’s father had figured out what they were up to startled Violet. And yet, should it? The man was devious. He would see a game being played from a mile away. How were they going to get ahead of him if he anticipated all their moves?
“You look worried, Violet.”