“Don’t you look stunning, Elizabeth,” I greeted, knowing full well that’s exactly what she wanted to hear when she entered the room. “Barrett, you’re too kind,” she said, smiling.
I was early. Intentionally, of course. I needed to see Lourde and know she was okay. I hadn't expected to be in the company of her parents, Elizabeth and Alfred Diamond, with Connor just making an appearance a few minutes ago.
“Did you close the deal in the Hamptons?” Connor walked in, right on cue.
“Yes, but it wasn't without a bit of drama,” I said.
Alfred lowered the rim of his glasses. The lines absent from his wife’s face were abundant on his. The twenty-year age gap was more obvious than ever. “How so, Barrett?”
“I secured a hotel in East Hampton, but it wasn’t smooth sailing.”
“Anything worth anything is damn hard.”
Like your daughter.
He took a sip of his whiskey. “So, did it work out?”
“Yes. After my team discovered missing dollars off the bottom line, I went for the jugular.”
“Ha! Well done.” He held up his glass, congratulating me. “Bet they were pissed.”
“You could say that.”
“What are we talking about?” Connor said, sipping his overfilled whiskey with a sour scowl on his face.
Alfred rolled his eyes. “Connor’s a bit overworked at the minute.”
“Absolutely, I am,” he said, throwing back a hefty sip.
“Darling, slow down. We can’t have you drunk before Governor Connolly arrives. Speaking of which, where did Lourde disappear to? I thought she was right behind me.”
“I’m here, Mom.” She walked into the sitting room, her beauty bowling me over like a wave. She stole the breath from my lungs. Wearing a royal blue halter neck dress, pulled in at the waist, her hair up, wispy strands framing her face, she was timeless.
Her eyes collided with mine before she tore them away. Behind them lay a pain I was all too familiar with.
Damn, these feelings are real as fuck.
“Good evening, all,” she said with a quiet and demure elegance. “Don’t you look stunning,” Alfred said, admiring his only daughter.
With my free hand, I gripped the side of the chair. A wave of nausea passed over me.
What the fuck?
“Connor, Dad...” she paused. “Barrett.”
“She does,” I said, agreeing with Alfred.
She blinked before turning and sitting next to her mother on the armchair.
“Right, well, let’s try to enjoy ourselves tonight, shall we? This is a wonderful opportunity for Lourde to meet a very handsome man who I think is perfect for her.”
I stared at Lourde, but she didn't look up. Instead, she kept her focus on the floor.
“Elizabeth, why don’t we let Lourde decide for once. I know James Connolly is a friend of mine, but that doesn't mean his son, Finigan, is perfect for our Lourde here.”
We all turned to the man of the house as he took us in. “Well, I’m not lying, am I?”
Elizabeth nearly choked on her martini. “Alfie, please.”
“She’s still young, for God’s sake.”
“She needs to be with someone who’ll be suitable for her,” Connor said, taking his mother's side.
Why couldn’t I be that someone?
“Just stop it, all of you, please,” Lourde pleaded in a whisper.
The housekeeper walked in, diverting Elizabeth's attention.” Your guests have arrived. Shall I show them into the dining room, Mrs. Diamond?”
“Yes, Estelle, please.”
Elizabeth finished her martini and hastily walked past her husband. Connor and Lourde walked out, leaving me with Alfred.
“Are you all right?” I asked.
After a moment, he lifted his head. “I feel for Lourde sometimes. I know what it feels like to be rushed into something.”
I was pretty good at reading people, and from the outset, I didn't think it was all roses and fairy dust between Alfie and Lizzy. I’d bet a million dollars he was referring to his own marriage.
“I see.”
“How was she with you in the Hamptons, Barrett?” He looked up, and the care in his eyes was something I’d never known but all I ever wanted from my father.
“She was okay. I think she feels trapped sometimes. Especially seeing she’s tried over the years to consider working, and she feels like she hasn’t been heard.”
He pressed his glasses back up the rim of his nose. “It's always been Connor and Elizabeth not wanting her to work. She is so intelligent. You know, sometimes I feel like she’d do a better job than Connor.”
His comment floored me.
“Not that you’d ever tell him that, would you, Barrett?”
“I didn’t hear it.”
“Good answer.”
“Come on, let’s go before they see us as rude.”
“After you.”
* * *