“Everything okay?” he asked.
“With her? Yes. It’s just that…” She pulled away from him and pushed herself to a sitting position, comfortable with her nudity around him. “I asked her why your parents left their jobs, and she knew the same story I did. She had no idea that my dad accused your mother of stealing. I swear, Derek, she didn’t know, not any more than I did.”
He blew out a long breath. “It’s in the past,” he said, because it had to be. For both their sakes.
“Well, she knows now that my father lied. That he did something awful to your parents,” she said, her eyes glistening with unshed tears. “She admitted that my father doesn’t always play by the rules, and she said you overlook a lot in a marriage or a relationship, but I don’t believe that.” She met his gaze, searching for answers.
“I don’t believe it either.” He’d been debating on whether or not to tell her he’d had her brother investigated, and she’d just answered his question for him.
If he wanted her to trust him, he couldn’t lie, not even by omission. “I had a private investigator look into your brother’s actions for the last year.”
She blinked. “What? Why?”
He rolled his shoulders. “I can honestly tell you I’m not sure. Something is bothering me. I can’t put my finger on it but I don’t like him. I don’t like how he treats you, I don’t trust him with the company you love. I wish to hell I could tell you what I’m looking for, but I can’t.”
“Wait. You did it for me?” she asked, eyes wide. Disbelieving.
Tell her the rest of it, a voice in his head said. He drew a deep breath. “I also did it for me. You see, a few months ago, before we reconnected, I made an offer to buy Storms Consolidated.”
“What?” She grabbed the pillow behind her and pressed it against her chest, covering herself. Comforting herself. “I thought the offer came from a large company.”
“A shell corp. Your father never would have sold to me. Turns out he wouldn’t have sold a
t all.”
She curled her hands into the soft fabric of the pillow. “You tried to buy my company. And now you’re having Spencer investigated so what? You can find dirt on him so you can grab the business another way?”
He reached out and tucked her hair behind her ear. “When you first showed up in my office, that was exactly my intention.”
“You’re not sitting here naked, telling me you used me.”
“No, I’m spilling my guts because, as you said, you don’t believe you should have to overlook a lot in a relationship. I don’t want to give you any reason to walk away.”
She tipped her head. “So…”
“So I wanted the company and not for the best reasons … until … you. Now I just want you happy, and if that means looking into your brother’s past and his inability to run the company instead of you, so be it.”
She opened her mouth, then closed it again. “Derek.”
He placed a finger over her lips. “Shh. Let it go. If there’s anything I think you need to know, I’ll share it. Fair enough?”
She nodded. “Thank you,” she whispered, tossed the pillow, and tackled him to the mattress, pressing kisses over his face, his neck, and moved lower.
They almost missed dinner being delivered.
Chapter Eleven
Cassie was nervous. She and Derek were on the way to meet with his mother, and butterflies had taken up residence in her stomach. Although Marie West had been a warm, wonderful woman and Cassie doubted that had changed, what she now knew about her father’s behavior made today awkward. Cassie wasn’t responsible for her dad’s choices, but she felt sick anyway.
“Hey.” Derek reached over the center console of his SUV and placed a hand on her jean-clad knee. “What’s wrong?”
“What if she blames me? She should blame me. She should hate my whole family!”
“Cass, my mother doesn’t have it in her to hate anyone. Least of all the woman who makes her son happy.” He turned toward her and winked before returning his gaze to the road.
She breathed out and tried to relax. Thirty minutes and some traffic later, he pulled off at the exit. They ended up in a nice neighborhood with an eclectic mix of homes, some old, others renovated with new windows and siding.
He pulled up and parked in the driveway of one of the newer-looking homes, with white clapboard paint and black shutters.