“You’ve got it.”
Upon returning to the bar, we found Laila talking to a handful of other models. Lexi and Casey were nowhere in sight, and when I pointed this out to Laila, she frowned and looked around the venue. When she spotted them, she swore under her breath and pointed them out to me.
Both Lexi and Casey were talking to Jennika.
Laila pushed away from the bar to go get them, but as soon as she took three steps in their direction, Jennika broke away from the women, and both Lexi and Casey turned to come back to us, muttering back and forth between each other.
Laila waited for them with her hands on her hips. “What was that about?”
“Nothing,” Lexi said innocently.
“Just a friendly chat,” Casey said. “Nothing to worry about.”
Laila’s eyes narrowed. “Why don’t I believe you?”
Lexi slung an arm around Casey’s shoulders. “Let’s just say your sister and I finally found common ground, and that’s a win, isn’t it?”
Casey beamed up at her sister. “Yeah, turns out Lexi isn’t so bad. And the best part? Jennika won’t bother either you or Storm again.”
Laila groaned. “Please tell me you didn’t threaten to cut her hair off or something crazy.”
“Crazy?” Lexi mused.
“Never,” Casey finished.
Laila looked to me, exasperation in her eyes.
I shrugged. “I’m more than happy to let them take care of our Jennika problem.”
Casey nudged me in the ribs. “You’re smarter than you look.”
“Careful,” I warned. “When people pick on me, I start to get attached. If you keep going, at this rate, you’ll never get rid of me.”
Casey took a step back. “I’ll consider myself warned.”
The rest of the night went off without a hitch. Performers traded places on stage and the crowd slowly thinned out as the hours stretched well into the early morning. Around three o’clock, Bill admitted that he could hardly keep his eyes open, and after some back and forth, he accepted the ride home that I offered. I’d only had one martini at the beginning of the night, wanting to keep a clear head if anything unexpected came up. Technically, this was a work event for me.
Lexi hadn’t had much to drink either, so she and Laila said their goodbyes outside the venue before Lexi got in her car and drove off. The rest of us piled into my car, and I drove back to Bill’s house, where he and Casey gushed one last time over how well Laila did tonight before making their way up the driveway and inside.
Once they were in, I backed out of the driveway. “Where to?”
“Your house.”
She didn’t have to tell me twice.
If it hadn’t been the dead of night in a residential neighborhood, I’d have peeled out of there like hell was chasing us. Instead, I managed to keep my cool and drive calmly back to my estate, all the while shooting glances at Laila as she twirled her hair around her finger and teased me with her hand on my thigh.
Dangerous woman.
“What did you and my dad talk about when you went out on the balcony?”
I had no intention of sharing with her what I’d said to Bill tonight—not yet anyway. I wanted to wait for the moment to be right.
“We talked about the show and how proud he is of you. And we talked a bit about Casey and your family. He invited me to dinner on Sunday.”
She laughed. “Oh, he did, did he? I suppose he didn’t think it was important to ask me first?”
“I guess not. I think he likes me.”
“What’s not to like?”
I shrugged. “I don’t know, the reputation, the playboy ways, the list goes on.”
“None of that is who you are.”
“Your dad doesn’t know that. How could he possibly know that?”
As the estate came into view, Laila gave me a knowing smile. “My dad has always been an excellent judge of character. He had faith in my mom when nobody else did, and he was right. Laila strained against her seat, leaning forward to peer out the windshield as the electric gates opened, revealing the sprawling property before us. Beyond, the lights of the house winked between the tree branches, as if beckoning us to come closer. When the house was in full view, Laila shook her head. “I still can’t believe you grew up here. It looks even bigger than I remember. I could fit ten of my houses inside your house!”
“Not quite ten.”
“Fine, nine of them.”
Close enough.
I parked the car, got out, walked around to her side, and opened her door. We walked arm in arm up to the front door and I let us in. The chandelier overhead winked in greeting, and Laila moved deeper into the house, pausing to glance into my father’s study.
I found myself glad to finally have someone to share those cigars with that were still in his desk drawer.
“Do you want the official tour?” I offered. I knew she’d been curious to see every nook and cranny the old mansion had to offer the last time she was here, but we’d been rather preoccupied under the hot water exploring each other rather than the house.
Laila turned to me. “Maybe later. I had my heart set on something else.”
CHAPTER 38
LAILA
Storm stood under the glow of the chandelier above. His eyes followed me as I backed up toward the stairs, knowing his bedroom was somewhere on the second floor. I’d been up there once before, but the house was so staggering, there was a good chance I might still get lost trying to find my way. As I looked down at him, I saw two versions of the same man standing before me.
The first was the cocky Storm Thornton I’d met just weeks ago. He’d sauntered—literally—into my life and shaken it up like a snow globe. The last thing I ever wanted was his attention. Just him looking at me when we first started working together rubbed me the wrong way.
Even though he knew how to make me laugh on those early shoots, I still didn’t want to be around him. I thought he belonged here, in a house like this, in a reality far away from mine. People like Storm and me? We weren’t meant to cross paths and choose the same road. We were meant to carry on about our lives.
But as the snowflakes in the shaken-up globe settled, I saw the other Storm. The real Storm. The one who’d caught my heart and still held it close to his chest.
This man was patient, steady, and strong. He had a heart made for loving, and I’d learned over the past couple of weeks that he was kind despite the way he’d been raised. He had every reason in the book to be a hardened, angry, bitter man. But he was the opposite. Sure, he walked the walk and talked the talk of the billionaire asshole, but that was all it was.
An act.
That was all it had ever been.
What might I have missed out on had I never let myself see past his façade?
My future.
Had I changed just as much over this past month?
Perhaps I had.
I didn’t feel like the closed-off woman I’d been before he came into my life. Before Storm, I felt taken advantage of. I felt like I had to do all the caring for—I felt like I had to be everyone’s mother and that I wasn’t allowed to need people. But everyone needs someone.