Page 42 of Nothing to Fear

Somehow he knew exactly what she needed to hear, knew what she needed, before she did.

“Thank you, Jacob.”

“Shh, baby,” he murmured. “Go to sleep. I’m right here.”

THIRTEEN

THE NEXT NIGHT, a car took her to a broad glass restaurant flanked by flames.Blaze. Not somewhere she’d expect Alice Breckenridge to hang out. Especially given it was situated in the glittering red skyscraper of the Rouge complex, which included the famed, and often scandalous, Crimson nightclub.

Her door was opened and an usher immediately offered his arm. “Ms. Mayden.” How did he know her name? “Come this way.”

They went inside, and before the maître d podium, he guided her to the right, past a screen and into a private dining room, where Alice Breckenridge already sat. Damn, not a great first impression. Was she late? Should she have arrived earlier? Yes, probably, note to self, always arrive early.

“I’m sorry,” she said. “Were you waiting long?”

“No, I’ve been in the city all afternoon. It was nice to get off my feet. I took the liberty of ordering wine and a selection of appetizers. The boys rave about this place. I thought this might improve my chance of impressing you.”

Sitting down, the waiting wine was much needed relief. “Impressing me?”

Hilarious that anyone should think that, let alone someone like Alice Breckenridge. There had to be something else going on.

“My boys have their fingers on the pulse of the city’s social hotspots. Tripp does anyway, and he keeps his brothers in the know.”

“I don’t know how you keep track of them all.”

“Oh, they make themselves known. But enough about my family, have you had a good day?”

“Not really.”

“No? What happened?”

Honesty would be a good start to the relationship. She’d learned her lesson about lying.

“With this meeting on the horizon, it was difficult to relax. I’m not sure why we’re here.”

“You seem suspicious, on edge,” Alice said. “There’s no need to be wary, I promise this isn’t an ambush.”

“Then what is it? You tell me it’s not about Darroch, but some part of me…” The smile that warmed Alice’s cheeks only heightened her awareness. “What?”

“I fell in love with Ben the first moment I saw him. I never told him that, not until years later. From money, an only child, he was told all his life that he was destined to be in charge, to get what he wanted when he wanted it. Yet, somehow, he held onto his humility… a sliver of it anyway.”

“How old were you?”

“Sixteen,” she said. “We’d moved from California, away from the peacocking suitors my mom warned me about. I’d heard of the Breckenridges, everyone had, and our families had dealings with each other, but I’d always been protected, separate from the business. My family had money, not Breckenridge money, but enough to make me a target.”

“A target?”

“For unscrupulous men looking to cash in and skip a few decades of hard work.” And that seemed… unfathomable. “Don’t look so bemused, this was almost forty years ago. My mother taught me the world was a big place, that interests and opportunities weren’t always what they first appeared. To say she wasn’t a fan of Ben’s would be an understatement.”

“Because…?”

“Because he was young, attractive, and had the world at his feet. His father was a known philanderer.” Okay. Awkward. “I refused Ben’s every advance.”

“You believed he’d be like his father and cheat on you?”

“That would’ve been noble and logical. No, my reasons were much more selfish, I was afraid of losing his affection. Mother said men want one thing and once they get it, they move on to another challenge. We were children really, Ben’s only a couple of years older than me. So influenced by those around us, wide-eyed and naïve, perhaps. We dated, spent a lot of time together, no matter how much I resisted the physical, he kept making dates, kept showing up. We’d sneak out together in the middle of the night and…”

Alice’s wistful sigh sucked her in deep. For some reason, she was invested in the story, even though she knew how it worked out.

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