I start to walk away, but to my surprise, he brushes a soft kiss on my lips. I wonder what he’s trying to say with that gesture. Is it a reassurance for me, a subtle keep-away for Kendra, or simply a show for all?
“I won’t be long,” he promises.
With a nod, I leave the two of them in peace. I have no idea what Kendra wants, but she seems nervous, uneasy, anxious to talk. Has she changed her mind about wanting to get married? Is she jealous now that she sees Carson with someone else?
I pause at the bar and grab a club soda with a twist of lime, then saunter around the room, looking at all the jumbo screens designed to tear at the heartstrings and open wallets by flashing pictures of underprivileged children. It works. Those sad faces wrench at me. The misery and suffering of youngsters who should be far more innocent hits me right in the heart. I wish I could do something, but I’m flat broke. I’d give them my time and experience…if I lived here.
As I look away from a particularly adorable little girl in a threadbare dress, guilt pummels me.
“You must be Carson’s date.”
I whirl to the sound of a man’s deep voice. The resemblance between father and daughter is too great to mistake. Same narrow face. Same wide-set eyes. Same dripping-in-money aura.
Steeling my expression, I stick my hand out in his direction. “Ella Hope. I’ve heard a lot about you, Mr. Shaw. It’s nice to meet you.”
“I doubt very much you find it nice, Ella.” He gives me a tight smile. “You know, when Carson first told me he’d fallen madly for another woman back in California, I didn’t believe you even existed. You’re beautiful enough. He’s got good taste in women, I’ll give him that.”
Is he sizing me up or hitting on me? “Thank you.” I glance around the room to see if I can catch a glimpse of Carson and Kendra. “Where’s Mrs. Shaw?”
“She died six years ago. Breast cancer.”
His tone is clipped, as if the subject still causes him a great deal of pain. “I didn’t know. I’m sorry.”
He gives me a gracious nod. “It’s not something I talk about often. Neither does Kendra.” He glances down at the drink in my hand. “I see you’ve found libations.”
“Yes. I’m looking at all the good work the charity seems to be doing. It’s touching and wonderful.”
“Hmm,” he mutters in a noncommittal tone. “Where are Carson and Kendra?”
Good question. Would a guy supposedly head-over-heels for me leave me alone in a roomful of strangers and take off with another woman, especially one he’s engaged to, two minutes after hitting the door? It sounds dubious, and I don’t want to arouse Shaw’s suspicions. Nor do I want to tell him that, even now, he and Kendra might be hiding in a corner somewhere, plotting the end of their wedding.
I paste on a smile. “When we arrived, I slipped away to the ladies’ room to check my lipstick, so Carson and I got separated. I’m sure he’s here somewhere, looking for me. He’s very attentive.”
“Indeed. Were you surprised when he called and told you how he felt about you?”
We’ve discussed our cover story more than once, so I’m completely prepared. “Stunned, really. If he looked at me twice when I dated his friend, I wasn’t aware of it. But he’s a gentleman and would never have risked a friendship. I’ve known for some time that the other relationship was doomed, but I was hanging on because I didn’t want to hurt my ex-boyfriend. Eventually, we decided to call it quits. After a few months, Carson tracked me down and admitted his feelings…and here we are.”
“Uh-huh. Did you have any thoughts or feelings for him before he confessed his undying love?”
The sarcasm in his voice is hard to miss. It makes me want to put him in his place, but he’s mostly right. Carson is lying to him. I can’t speak for the man who’s capturing my heart, but I’ll definitely defend myself because the truth works in my favor.
“Actually, I did. From the moment we met, he stuck in my memory. Of course, I would never have been unfaithful to my boyfriend while we were together, and I really had no way of knowing Carson felt about me the way I did about him. After my ex and I split, I didn’t want to look like a fool and throw myself at Carson. But when he called me to say that he’d never forgotten me and wanted me to come to North Carolina to explore what might be between us… Well, I’d been unhappy in my love life, and I had wondered once or twice if he had something to do with it. I had nothing to lose by coming here. So I said yes.”
“Right,” he says skeptically. “Did he tell you that he’s engaged?”
“He told me everything. And we both agreed that with his wedding to Kendra coming up, we couldn’t afford to wait another minute to find out how we felt about each other or it would be too late.”
“So you knew that I’d challenged him to introduce you to me before you ever stepped foot on the plane? And your decision to come here had everything to do with your heart and nothing to do with helping him bilk me out of millions of dollars?”
My decision to come here had everything to do with me needing rent money…and being curious about the guy I’d never managed to forget. Carson’s rival didn’t cross my mind at all, except to wonder why he expected to control his adult daughter.
“Mr. Shaw, you don’t know me, so I’ll let that insult slide. But don’t suggest again that I’m the sort of mercenary woman who would take a job simply for the terrible motive of stealing someone’s hard-earned fortune.”
His mouth flattens into a grim line. “Then how do you explain the money he transferred into your bank account the day you left?”
I’m shocked. I didn’t know Shaw even knew my name before I introduced myself. I didn’t think he’d go so far as to invade my privacy and have me investigated. “Not that it’s any of your business, but he agreed to pay for my plane ticket and a few other expenses I incurred for dropping everything and coming to visit him so quickly.”
Which is basically true. I’m not being paid the fee we negotiated until the end of our agreement.
I don’t think he expected me to have explanations for his pointed questions, because he studies me with a dissecting stare, like he’s trying to discern the truth. “You have odd jobs and no money to your name because you’re a wannabe actress. Why shouldn’t I believe he staged some long-distance casting call, plucked you out of a crowd, and hired you?”
I try not to blanch, but he’s asked the one question I don’t have an answer for that isn’t a blatant lie.
“Because I met her before I moved here and became engaged to Kendra, and I can prove it.” Carson rescues me, wrapping his arm around my waist and flashing Shaw a picture on his phone.
I recognize it instantly. A snapshot of the night we met at Shane’s party. I vaguely remember posing for this picture, the birthday boy hanging awkwardly off my left and Carson pressed against me on the right. Some more friends crowded around us, but I swore I could feel the heat of Carson’s skin on mine for hours.
He must have had this on his phone all along, and I can’t help but hope it’s because he wanted to look at us together over the last few months, not because he was too lazy to delete it.
At Shaw’s glare, Carson hits the screen and displays the date of the photo. Suddenly, March seems like a lifetime ago.
“So you knew each other before you moved here.” Shaw shrugs Carson’s way. “It doesn’t mean you’ve ever had a thing for her.”
“Your suspicion also doesn’t mean that I haven’t,” Carson shoots back, nudging me behind his back and positioning himself between me and Shaw protectively. “If you have an accusation, say it to me. But you don’t get to badg
er and insult her. That’s a non-starter.”
His words warm me. Butterflies start dancing. Sure, his behavior might all be an act…but given what I know about this man and the way we’ve been getting close, I don’t think so.
“Daddy?” Kendra appears just outside the confrontation, grabbing his arm. “This isn’t good for the cause.”
I look around and realize that some of the attendees are watching with interest, seeming to hang on our every word.
Shaw seems to realize it, too. He pastes on a sudden smile. “Perhaps you’re right, and I’m utterly wrong.”