Total pages in book: 100
Estimated words: 96513 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 483(@200wpm)___ 386(@250wpm)___ 322(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 96513 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 483(@200wpm)___ 386(@250wpm)___ 322(@300wpm)
The biggest surprise was that Katherine remained silent through much of dinner. She poked around at her food and ate a measly few bites. It was a miracle that she could hold her tongue that long. Usually, she was full of quips and jabs aplenty. I didn’t know what was going through her head right now, but I was more concerned with the conversation I was going to have with my father after dinner.
I wanted to avoid it. Even more than this dinner.
If I could have caught Katherine’s eyes, I might have been able to have her fake an illness, so we could leave early. But she didn’t look up at me. Not once. I was going to have to fix that. Even if every time I tried, it backfired in my face. She and I needed to have a conversation. A real one. Not one where we screamed at each other. As it seemed to be the only way we communicated in our stalemate.
By the time dessert came and went, anxiety had settled itself into my stomach. I didn’t show it, of course. My exterior was as hard as diamonds. I would never, ever let my father see that he affected me again. But I was not looking forward to our conversation.
Finally, Katherine looked up. She hadn’t touched her dessert. I hadn’t seen her eat dessert in months. Not with her crazy diet she’d been on since getting that new trainer.
She startled when she looked at me. “Are you ready to go home?”
She asked it as if she had been living with me these last couple of months instead of in her own penthouse.
Home. With me.
“We have a big day ahead of us,” she remarked faintly with a sly smile.
“What are your Christmas plans?” Candice chimed in.
“We’re going to a private island off of Puerto Rico to test out the new St. Vincent’s Resort,” Katherine said. “It’s going to be like reliving our honeymoon.”
She made that sound like a good thing. Though fucking her on our honeymoon was one of the best things that had ever happened to me. No games. No people. Just me and her for a month.
“Honeymoon sex.” Candice all but swooned as she looked up at Lars.
Lars blushed the deepest, darkest red.
“Unfortunately, I have to steal my son for a minute,” Carlyle said, pushing his chair aside. He winked at Katherine, who retreated from that look. “It won’t be long.”
Katherine looked like she wanted to bark back at him. So, I hastily rose to my feet. No point in letting her take the brunt of his anger. It was always reserved for me anyway.
“By all means,” Katherine said.
“Don’t smoke those disgusting things in the house,” Elizabeth said, wagging a finger at my father.
Carlyle shot her a devilish grin. “Of course not, darling.”
Then he tipped his head to the side, and I followed him out of the dining room. As soon as we were away from everyone else, my father produced two cigars and a lighter. He lit them as we headed toward the library that was currently under renovation.
“Well, son,” he said as he pulled open the door, “what do you think?”
I forced my face into neutrality. I’d liked the old library. It had been a refuge for me, growing up. I had no idea what he was doing to the room with its floor-to-ceiling built-ins and thousands of books.
I stepped inside with a sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach. He’d gutted the room. No bookshelves. No books. Nothing cozy about it any longer. It used to have just one window with a cushioned bench. Now, there were enormous windows covering the entire wall. It must have cost a fortune. But the room wasn’t finished yet. It was still empty, except for the dust and construction work. I wondered how long I could hold my breath in here.
“It’s great. What are you putting in here now?” I asked, bringing the cigar to my lips.
“It’s a new studio for Elizabeth,” he explained. “She wants a design room.”
Of course. She already had a studio in Midtown and a store on Fifth Avenue. Not to mention, the upstairs room she had renovated into an enormous walk-in closet for her designs. Now, he was stripping out the one room in this place I’d ever liked to give her a studio.
“I’m sure she will like that.”
“She will,” he said. “It’s my anniversary present to her.”
I took another pull on the cigar and said nothing. I would have much preferred this was a joint. I needed to mellow the fuck out after all this shit.
“This wasn’t the real reason I brought you here though, of course,” he said, turning to face me.
Of course.
“How long will you be gone on this little jaunt to the Caribbean?”
“A week,” I said with a shrug. “Maybe longer. We’ll have the jet.”