Back east? They were in Virginia. How much further east was she talking about?
She was lying to him, and he was losing her. Every second they spoke about her family she drifted further away, retreating into some private fortress. It was incredibly frustrating. He wanted to understand her better. He wanted to know what made her sad, learn about her family and her secret hopes and dreams. Of course, she didn’t have to say anything for him to figure out her family was full of people who’d hurt her. It was in the way her eyes darkened with old pain.
His instincts told him to find out so he could make things right and keep Kerri happy, her bruised heart protected. But intellect won out. If Natalie hadn’t been able to learn much about Kerri’s personal life, he wouldn’t either. At least not by asking her. There were other ways, though. He was certain Gavin was wrong, but he wanted to make sure he had all the facts before some idiot decided to accuse Kerri of spying for her family. He knew how damaging that could be for a relationship. In their case it would probably be fatal, given her mysterious reticence when it came to her blood relations.
“Do you mind filling out the HR paperwork, by the way?” he said. “It slipped my mind, but I need your information for taxes.”
She nodded, her face relaxing. “Sure, I can get that done tonight. You don’t want to mess with the minions of Satan.”
He laughed. “The minions of Satan?”
“The IRS.”
“Ah. Have you been audited?”
“Not yet, thank god. But that reminds me, I need to go back to finish up some work.”
“Why bother? It’s a pretty day.”
“A girl’s gotta earn her keep.”
“How about if I pay for your time off?”
“Ethan, I don’t take charity. I’m independent, a modern woman, all that jazz.” She winked.
Some tension eased from the back of his neck. The heiress to Sterling & Wilson simply couldn’t be a woman who felt this way about money. No, she’d feel entitled to whatever she wanted.
Chapter Sixteen
BY THE TIME Kerri and Ethan made it back to the penthouse, Natalie was gone. Kerri picked up a note that was stuck to her laptop: Sorry, didn’t mean to fall asleep! Have to go home to get ready for our dinner—it’s casual, so dress comfy. It was signed with a smiley face.
“Dinner?” Kerri murmured.
“Yeah. Didn’t Natalie tell you? Alex is flying back from New York to join us.”
“New York? What’s he doing there?”
“Getting caught up. He’s sparing me the trip because he knows how things are with my family right now.” Ethan regarded her. “You can come to this one, right? Or is it going to be off-limits for some reason?”
Great. He was still sore about that. “Is it a big party?” No matter what Ethan, Natalie and Alex were expecting, she couldn’t go if it was going to be a big bash with tons of guests, possibly including a Sterling or two. Her family always received invitations to all the parties.
“Just the four of us.”
“Okay, then.” She smiled. “No problem.”
“You may want to hurry. We’ve only got about an hour.”
Only an hour? Muttering to herself, she rushed to her room. She had no idea what to wear. Though Natalie had said casual, her definition of “comfy” might have changed since her marriage to Alex Damon. Kerri knew what “comfy” meant to her family. It meant elegant, understated and wealthy. Kerri could do the first two, but couldn’t afford the last. Sighing, she settled on a simple long-sleeved peach blouse, black silk trousers and a pair of ballet slippers. She’d bought them on a whim in Hong Kon
g and hadn’t found an occasion to wear them yet.
She changed quickly and smoothed her hair, looking at her reflection. Makeup could use a little freshening. A little bit more powder went on the nose, and she applied a new coat of coral pink lipstick. She frowned, then replaced her hoop earrings with a pair of discreet diamond solitaires. Much better. She wanted Alex to like her, but surprisingly enough more important was that she wanted Ethan to be proud of her.
Her hands dropped to her sides. She didn’t know why it should matter if he was proud to stand next to her and introduce her as his…what? Current fling? She pressed her lips together. Well, whatever. Until it was over, she wanted him to be crazy about her. She deserved that much, didn’t she?
And speak of the devil… Ethan was leaning against the open doorway and perusing her from ponytail to shoes. “You look beautiful.”
“Thanks.” She blushed, absurdly pleased, like she’d just won the lottery. When he looked at her like she was the only woman in the world for him, she felt beautiful and special. She’d miss this kind of moment with him when they went their separate ways. She had some pleasant memories of her exes, but none of them as precious as the ones with Ethan.