“Yes, Sir,” I say, and slide into the back.
The driver closes the door, and I feel a twinge of panic.
He won’t hurt me. Right?
Folding the newspaper, he turns his head to me. “Let me have a look at you.”
I sit frozen, not sure what I should do.
Meeting his eyes, my lips twitch when I see where Falcon got his intimidating look from. Falcon takes after his father.
“You don’t look like Stephanie,” he comments.
“I take after my father, Sir.”
He nods, then states, “You and my son have caused quite the stir.”
I keep quiet, just like I did with Mrs. Reyes.
“Leave my son, and I’ll transfer an amount of your choice to your bank account.”
I tilt my head, and not breaking eye contact, I stare at Mr. Reyes. There’s no malicious expression on his face, not like with Mrs. Reyes.
He’s testing me.
“No, thank you, Sir. I don’t need money.”
“That’s a first. Is there a single soul on this planet who doesn’t need money?”
“There is,” A smile stretches over my face. “My dad.”
“He’s a traveler, right?”
I nod.
“How does he manage to travel without money?”
“You’re right.” His eyes sharpen on me. “Let me rephrase myself. I don’t need your money. I have two wonderful parents who provide for all my needs.”
The corner of his mouth twitches, and it helps ease the knot in my stomach.
“What are your plans for the future?”
Thinking carefully, I answer, “I’m going to travel with my dad.”
“Sentimental but not very ambitious,” he comments.
A soft smile forms around my lips. “Have you heard the saying; Beauty is in the eye of the beholder?”
“Yes.” He turns more in his seat, showing interest.
“I believe the same principle applies to ambition. What you consider ambitious will not be the same for me.” When he nods, I continue, “You’ve spent your life creating this…” I gesture to outside, “and it’s nothing short of an empire. It brought you happiness to see it grow.”
“Right,” he agrees.
“My happiness lies in experiences. I want to stand in the place God created in anger, and experience the vastness of it. I want to stand where the Berlin wall once stood, and experience how much the world has changed.”
Mr. Reyes features soften slightly, and I take it as a good sign.
“I care for Falcon. In the past few weeks, I’ve learned a lot about him. I truly believe we have a great deal in common. I would appreciate your approval, but it’s not vital to the success of my and Falcon’s relationship.”
“I respect your opinions and outlook on life, Miss Shepard,” he says while reaching for the newspaper. Opening it, he asks, “I’m right to say you will not be accepting any funds from me?”
“Yes, Sir.”
“And you will not give up on dating my son?”
“Yes, Sir?”
“Then it’s settled. I don’t see any reason the two of you cannot date.”
“Yes… wait? What?” My eyes widen in surprise, and I’m not sure I heard him right.
“You may date my son, Miss Shepard,” he repeats, then glancing at me, the corner of his mouth lifts. “Like Stephanie said, you’re both adults.”
“Thank you, Mr. Reyes.” I suppress the urge to hug him.
“Have a good evening, Miss Shepard.”
“You too, Sir.”
I open the door and get out. “Drive safely,” I call before closing the door.
The driver nods at me, then gets back in the car. As they start to pull away, Falcon comes speeding down the road.
I pull a face and close one eye when it looks like he’s not going to stop in time. My heart begins to pound with worry. “Shit, Falcon! Stop!”
When he hits the brakes, clouds of smoke come from the screeching tires.
The Rolls Royce stops, but I couldn’t care less. I rush to where Falcon is getting out of the damn deathtrap, and bringing both my hands up, I shove at his chest. “What the hell? Have you lost your mind? Who drives like that? Give me the keys?” I hold my hand out to him, palm up.
Falcon places the keys in my hand, then looks over my shoulder. “What’s my father doing here?”
“Don’t try to change the subject!” I scold him. “You could’ve caused an accident.”
“Falcon,” I hear Mr. Reyes’ voice behind me and turning around I almost freaking curtsy.
This is really turning out to be a weird night.
“Sir,” Falcon greets his father. “Why are you here?”
“I felt like a drive down memory lane.” Mr. Reyes looks at the keys in my hand. “You’ll be holding onto those, Miss Shepard?”
“Yes, Sir.”
“Good. Make him suffer to get them back.”
“I’ll definitely do that.” I shoot a glare at Falcon before walking to Mr. Reyes side. “Let me walk you back to the car.”
“You don’t look like your mother, but you sound like her,” he comments as we walk the short distance.
“I’ll take that as a compliment,” I tease.
“You better. Your mother is one hell of a woman.”