She swallowed her last bite of food before answering. “His family was very close, very tight-knit. I assumed it was out of love, the same way that my parents and I are with each other. But I realized toward the end of our relationship that it was out of necessity. The Huntington family had too much dirty laundry on one another to be anything but close. It wasn’t that they loved each other at all, as much as it was that they needed everyone to keep their mouths closed. The best way to ensure that was by staying together. It was like the saying ‘keep your friends close, but keep your enemies closer’?”
I nodded.
“Well, what do you do when your enemies are related to you? I don’t think Derek ever stood a chance at being a decent human being, really, now that I look back at it. He was raised in chaos and controversy, controlled by manipulation. To him, all his crazy behavior is perfectly normal.”
Her voice completely calm and unemotional, as if she were reading the menu at Taco Bell, she said, “They have cops on their payroll, Ryan. Judges’ phone numbers on speed dial. And they use everything they have at their disposal to get whatever they want. That’s why nothing Derek does surprises me. He has the means to find out whatever he’s looking for.”
“You know this sounds like something we’d read about,” I said, “not something in real life, right?”
Actually, I couldn’t believe the similarities between Derek’s story and what my younger brother went through. I would have bet money that Nick’s story was a once-in-a-lifetime type of thing. But hearing this, I realized just how naive I was about what went on in other people’s homes.
Sofia huffed out a laugh. “I know. It’s crazy, right? I wouldn’t have believed it if I hadn’t seen it with my own eyes. And when the family found out I was pregnant, that’s when it all fell apart. Derek told me his plan was to dump me after graduation, but my pregnancy news sped up his timeline. I’d overheard his grandmother saying that I was too soft and would eventually destroy the company if Derek and I stayed together. She said I wouldn’t be able to keep their secrets if my life depended on it. But his grandfather said that having a Mexican in the family might give them more street cred.”
“What?” I stared at her, part of me horrified and the other part disbelieving. “You’re joking, right?”
“I’m not. Please picture a seventy-year-old saying the words street cred.”
“I can’t laugh about this right now. I’m too pissed off that you had to go through that.” I put my elbows on the table and fisted my ha
ir, tempted to pull the strands out one by one in my frustration. “I didn’t even know you back then, but hearing it all now really pisses me off. I don’t like it.”
“I’m not upset anymore about any of that, Ryan. Truly. The only thing I’m concerned about now is why Derek’s back after all this time. I still don’t know what he wants with Matson.”
Leaning back into my barstool, I sat quiet for a moment, letting all this soak in. I hadn’t considered before how Derek’s family history might be affecting his behavior, but I should have. You would have thought with all the insane bullshit Nick had gone through that I might have considered the possibility of a manipulative family controlling Derek, but I never had.
Reaching for my glass of water, I finished it off.
“Are you okay?”
When I saw Sofia’s concerned expression, I felt like an asshole. I should have been consoling her, not the other way around.
“Just processing. And still mad that you ever had to go through that.”
“Ryan—”
I held up my hand to stop her. “Look, I know my feelings aren’t logical or rational, okay? But I don’t like the thought of anyone hurting you. I don’t care if it happened twenty years ago or if it happened yesterday. My feelings about it are the same. Okay?”
“Okay,” she said softly. “Thanks.”
“For what? Being irrational and overreacting?” I smirked at her, totally feeling like the soft little girl my brothers always accused me of being.
“For giving a shit,” she said, staring at her plate.
Ha. Some women do like nice guys.
“By the way . . .” I paused, waiting for her to look back up at me, and almost got sidetracked by how pouty and red her bottom lip was from her biting it through our whole conversation.
“Yes?”
“I loved this. The food, the conversation, all of it. Thank you for cooking for me, and for doing this. But I want to be very clear that I plan on courting you.”
“Courting me?” She rolled her eyes. “Have you been talking to Grant again?”
“No, I haven’t been talking to Grant.” I scowled at her. “That old man wouldn’t know what to do with you if he had the chance.”
“But you do?”
“You know damn well I do. And you deserve to be romanced, okay? I want to court you properly. Like a gentleman. Be a good example for Matson.”