Page 70 of Late Nights

“The privilege is all mine, Rose. I’m sorry I’ve been away so much.” He took a quick sip of his wine. “I thought being retired and being on the boards of directors of some of my companies wouldn’t be as time consuming, but I think it’s worse.”

“It doesn’t help that you also keep consulting on the side,” Cannon chimed in with a pointed look, but he was smiling.

He shrugged one shoulder. “I have a hard time turning down a good opportunity, and most of the time it’s for a friend or a friend of a friend. I don’t mind.” He tipped his wine glass toward my dad. “Guys like me and Victor will never truly retire. Work is in our blood. It’s who we are. Am I right?”

“Truer words have never been spoken,” my dad agreed, lifting his glass to tap it against Kenneth’s.

Two servers came out, placing plates of chicken cordon bleu with au gratin potatoes and green beans in front of each of us. My mom’s dog, Juju, went straight to Halle’s side, knowing she would give her the most scraps.

We settled into easy conversation, mostly surrounding business. Victor updated Kenneth on what had been going on at Vanderhall Capital, and Kenneth updated us on his many travels across Europe and Asia.

Once business talk was taken care of, conversation turned to our personal lives.

“West,” Kenneth said, after hearing how West and Halle had gotten together. “I’m not sure how you got this beautiful and brilliant woman to be yours, but I’m happy for you.” He clapped West on the shoulder, a proud look on his face.

“Thank you,” West said, taking Halle’s hand that had been resting on the table. “I’m not sure how I got her either. It was probably my uncanny ability to plan and schedule.” He winked at her.

She rolled her eyes but laughed. “Something like that.”

We all chuckled. It was clear to all of us sitting at the table that they were crazy about each other.

My dad set down his fork and looked at Cannon and then Kenneth. “Has Cannon been regaling you with any stories of the women that take up his time?” I could tell by the twinkle in his eye that he was teasing Cannon.

“No, actually,” Kenneth said, swinging his attention to Cannon. “He’s been very quiet on that front as of late.”

“Tell us, Cannon,” my dad gave him a friendly tap on the arm. “Have you found a woman yet who captures your attention? I’d think by now you’d have dated most of the women in the city,” he joked.

Cannon choked on his food, hurrying to take a sip of wine to help him recover.

I couldn’t help how my stomach rolled at the reminder of all the women Cannon had dated.

“Um, actually,” he said, still working to clear his throat. “There is a woman I’m interested in.” His voice was hesitant as he kept his eyes on his plate.

The teasing moment evaporated, and a silence filled the room, a ripple of shock seeming to go through all of us.

How many dinners had we sat here together and teased Cannon about how he went from woman to woman, never dating them more than a few times? It had become a family joke over the years.

I looked around the table, and each person had a different level of shock on their face. All except Halle, who wore a mischievous grin. I gave her a quizzical look, wondering what that was about, but her eyes were still on Cannon. Everyone was still looking at Cannon. I assumed they were all waiting to see if he would expound or tell us all it was a joke, that we should have seen our faces.

But he did neither.

In the silence that remained, I tried to figure out what he’d meant when he said he’d found someone he was interested in. He was talking about me, right? Although, surely he wouldn’t bring it up at family dinner. He’d told me repeatedly that he didn’t want anything to happen between us except for friendship. And if he was changing his mind, wouldn’t he have told me first?

But it couldn’t be someone else, could it? It had been two weeks since we’d come home from Lake Tahoe, which was plenty of time for him to have met someone new. Especially with how often he went to The Bridger. I’d watched multiple women approach him over my last several shifts. He’d never seemed too interested, though, and never talked to the same girl twice.

But over the last nine days, we’d definitely gone back to our friend ways. There had been no heated moments, no almost-kisses, no confessions. My heart beat fast at the realization that there was a possibility he wasn’t talking about me. I worked to school my features, not wanting anyone to see the hurt that streaked through me at just the thought. Cannon wouldn’t be bringing up a girl to my family and his grandfather if it wasn’t something serious.

My brain raced to remember if he had ever hinted at there being a new woman in his life, but I couldn’t think of anything. I was grasping at straws, trying to understand what he could possibly be talking about.

“Well, tell us about her,” my dad said, finally finding his voice. He seemed genuinely curious and happy.

“Uh, well,” Cannon stammered, straightening his silverware.

Was he nervous? He never got nervous. He was always so confident and sure of himself. We all continued to stare, waiting for him to continue.

“She’s beautiful, smart, kind, funny.” He let out a small smile. “We get along great, but…” His voice dropped, and there was another silence.

“But what?” Kenneth asked.

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