“I just did.” I repeated the move even more obnoxiously. “The car is not being returned, and the money is a realistic amount based on my salary. That’s just a drop in the bucket compared to what Alivia will be receiving as my sole beneficiary once I’m dead.” As her mouth hung open, I took the opportunity to get right into her face. “Now, pull yourself together, because Alec is waiting for us downstairs… and I don’t like to keep him waiting.”
Camilla
When Alec slowed the car and angled it into a no-parking zone, I dipped my head to glance out the window. “We’re here already?”
“Yep.”
“Why didn’t we just walk?”
“Because it’s a happening area, and it’s still daylight,” he stated as if it were obvious.
The drive from his building to our current location had taken seven minutes, and that was because we’d caught the only light between the two destinations. There weren’t any restaurants or businesses on the tree-lined street, which had me even more confused.
“Where are we?”
“The Lairs.’”
“Oh no.” I slid my head from side to side repeatedly. “No way.”
“There’s a reason we’re here.” He took my hand, unbuckled my seat belt, and towed me along as he opened the door and got out.
“Trey, please don’t make me do this,” I said, leaning back and forcing our arms to stretch tightly between us.
“Do what? Meet my friends, see me in my element?” Without releasing my hand, he came closer… close enough to see the navy-blue flecks in his cornflower eyes… eyes just like my daughter’s. “If you want to know me, then this is the only way to do so.” Our gazes held, and during that short pause he skimmed his thumb back and forth over the back of my hand. Had he realized he was doing that, or was there a purpose to the move?
My guess was the latter, because as it happened, I nodded and probably would have agreed to anything he suggested. “The man on stage is only one small part of who I am,” he continued. “Watching me interact with people that I consider family is the real me.”
As his eyes continued to study mine, I could feel the fight within me dissipating. “Okay.”
“Good. They don’t bite. Besides, you met them before.” Alec appeared with a smile. “I’m good, Alec,” Trey offered while still gripping my hand. “We’ll walk back, and I’ll drive Camilla home.”
“Okay,” Alec said. “Just call me if you change your mind.”
“Will do,” Trey replied, before tugging me along into the building. I remained quiet as he greeted the doorman by name and walked us into a waiting elevator. But when he punched in the code for the penthouse, I started chewing on my bottom lip nervously.
My nerves spiked as the elevator doors opened to a fancy-schmancy foyer that was as long as my entire apartment. I had absolutely nothing in common with these people, and I was so out of my element.
“This is stunning,” I whispered.
“All Jack’s doing. Leila hates any kind of pretension, but he wore her down when it came to their homes.” Homes… of course. “As nice as their Manhattan apartment is, that is nothing compared to the beach house they have on the Jersey Shore,” Trey mentioned casually.
Oh, that makes me feel so much more comfortable.
Jack’s opening the front door just as we approached snapped me out of the trance I’d been in, and in a very ungraceful move, I hastily released Trey’s hand. The two men chuckled, making it obvious they’d caught my jerky maneuver.
“Hey, guys. Glad you came.” Jack threw me a dimpled smile that I was sure most women swooned over and added, “I wasn’t convinced he’d get you here. Did he bribe you?”
Damn he was handsome. The look Trey had going on screamed rock star, whereas Jack’s aura screamed male model. Just as tall, just as muscular, and just as cocky as Trey, but those dimples put a cherry on top of the total package.
I immediately fell under his spell and then realized I hadn’t responded. “Um… yeah, me too.” Me too? When Jack’s grin widened, I gave the back of my head a virtual smack.
Thankfully, Leila’s rushing toward us deflected from the unspoken conversation Jack and Trey seemed to be having.
“Hi,” she said before engulfing me in a warm embrace. “I am so happy you came.”
“I really wasn’t given a choice,” I blurted out and then slammed my mouth shut.
Leila’s golden-brown eyes darted to Trey. “You forced her?”
“No,” he said on a huff. But before I could argue, he added, “Forcing would suggest she knew where we were going. It was more like an abduction.”
The two men found this even funnier than my previous blunders, but I felt a bit better when Leila rolled her eyes. “Ignore them,” she said, taking me by the elbow and leading me into their apartment.
Something about her calmed my nerves a bit. She was very pretty, and she and Jack made a gorgeous couple. But her beauty didn’t intimidate me. Despite her thick chestnut-brown wavy hair, or her perfect body, she seemed approachable, real.
As we entered the apartment, my eyes bounced around the cavernous living room with its floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking Central Park. There was enough furniture to seat twenty or so comfortably. To the left, a white marble staircase climbed to a second level. To the right, a humongous kitchen featured a granite-topped island holding ten high-backed stools that would have any professional chef drooling.
“You have a gorgeous home, Leila.”
“I hate this place,” she admitted, confirming Trey’s comment from earlier. Could it even be called a place? It was more like a palace. “The only reason I stayed was, with four kids, we need six bedrooms.” A small groan forced my attention to her face before she grumbled, “God, that sounds awful, doesn’t it?”
“Camilla, if it was up to my wife…” Jack came closer, leaning over Leila’s shoulder to offer his own insights. “. . . we’d still be living in her one bedroom in Hoboken.”
“Not true…” She looked at me and winked. “But maybe a tiny cape near my dad’s house in the town I grew up in.”
Trey immediately made himself at home on one of their massive suede couches as Jack asked, “What can we get you to drink?”
“I’m fine, thank you,” I said, sitting on one of the side chairs.
His gaze then shifted to Trey. “The usual?”
“Sure.”
Leila sat closest to me and smiled. “Camilla, even though Trey gave you no choice in being here, I want you to know tonight wasn’t some sort of ambush. We really just want to get to know you, and as one mother to another, I want you to feel comfortable asking me any questions you may have.” Taking my hand in hers, she stared at me determinedly. “Our lifestyle may seem intimidating and overwhelming, but trust me when I say, it’s just a job. My kids, my husband… my family is what’s most important to me.” She looked over at Trey and smiled warmly. “And since Trey is part of my family, now so are you and Alivia.”
From anyone else, that claim would seem disingenuous. She’d known me for all of ten minutes. But at that moment, I believed her.