CHAPTERTHREE
From his and June’s position near the terrace doors, Cameron spotted his grandmother headed their way. He offered her a smile and turned to tell June of her approach when he saw Gran wasn’t alone.
The expression on Pops’ face, the stony facade with glittering eyes, was familiar to Cameron. The man was a barracuda when it came to business and when it came to his family. No one, absolutely no one, messed with a Driskill.
As Velocity’s chairman of the board, Johnny might have let his son take over as CEO, but his fingers were still very much in the Velocity pie.
When his grandparents were nearly upon them, Cameron slid an arm around June’s waist as she confiscated her second glass of wine.
The warm smile she bestowed on him as she turned had his heart swelling and his protective instincts shifting to high alert.
“This is more fun than I imagined it would be,” she told him, taking a sip of the Pinot Grigio.
Hold that thought,Cameron nearly said, but Hal was already calling out to them.
“Cameron. June. There you are.” Pleasure radiated from Hal’s voice, matching the warm smile she bestowed on them both. “It’s so good to see you.”
She hugged Cameron first, then shifted to June, holding her at arm’s length. “It’s been too long.”
Cameron saw June close her eyes tight when Hal hugged her. In that moment, it struck him that his grandmother was likely the closest thing June had to a loving mother figure.
While Cameron knew that June loved her mother, he also sensed the two weren’t particularly close.
“Pops.” Knowing that June was safe in his grandmother’s embrace, Cameron stepped to his grandfather. “Good to see you.”
Johnny stared at Cameron for several long seconds. “I can’t believe you’d bring that woman into your parents’ home, knowing how we feel about her.”
Cameron didn’t shift his gaze from his grandfather’s disapproving stare. In Johnny’s world, such an action would be seen as weakness, or an admission of guilt.
Neither of which applied in this situation.
“You and I both know,” Cameron kept his tone firm, “that June did nothing wrong.”
“I don’t care what my wife—”
“Johnny.” Hal’s voice rang with an edge of steel. “Isn’t that Richard Elsner over there? He appears to be trying to get your attention.”
“Elsner made his bed with a mountain of poor decisions.” Johnny’s voice mirrored the disgust on his weathered face. “If he thinks I’m going to lie in it with him, he’s mistaken.”
“It’s good to see you again, Mr. Driskill.”
Cameron wasn’t sure who was more surprised when June extended her hand to Pops, a pleasant smile lifting her lips.
It was a bold move on her part. Or maybe she figured she had nothing to lose if he turned and walked away. If he refused to shake her hand—the likely outcome, in Cameron’s opinion—she could simply drop her hand.
Hal shot her husband a look that would have had any other person falling into line. But Johnny Driskill cowed to no man or woman. While it was evident that the two loved each other deeply, Cameron had witnessed them at odds numerous times over differences of opinion.
“Pops.” Cameron’s voice was a warning growl.
June’s hand hung in the air for another second before she let it fall to her side, a smile still firmly fixed on her lips.
Ignoring them both, Johnny turned to his wife. “We should circulate. Anson is counting on us.”
Hal turned back to June, an apology in her eyes. “I’m so—”
“I’m glad I got to see you, too.” June stopped the apology before it could fully form, as if she knew hearing it come from Hal’s lips on Johnny’s behalf would only infuriate him.
“I’ll contact you, and we’ll do lunch. If you’re free, that is.”