Page 25 of Scottish Seducer
Chapter 10
Charlie
At lunch,Stephanie studied the menu at the table for five minutes. I wasn’t sure what was wrong. Finally, after she ordered, she looked directly at me. Now we had time. I waited for the waiter to leave us and stretched my legs out under the table to brush hers. She blinked and I said, “Why don’t you tell me about what’s troubling you?”
She swallowed, and her lips were thin, like she hadn’t wanted to ask me. I didn’t understand this silence, so it was a relief when she finally said, “Online, it says Carter Rockson sued you.”
Ahh.Her family connections.
For some reason, Stephanie hid her kindness, and her loyalty to her family made her rare. I’m not sure I’ve ever met anyone else who is so naturally and deliberately honest. And I wasn’t sure what extinguished her desires, but she wasn’t stuffy like my brother.
She had fire in her soul, but I only smiled for now and said, “He did. We worked it out.”
She played with her necklace and asked, “What happened?”
Hopefully, she would be forgiving. I finished my water and refilled the glass before saying, “My company and his company ended up disagreeing about the fuel needed for my spaceship. To get out of the deal, lawyers were involved, but he’s a nice guy. We ended up finding an alternative solution that benefited us both.”
She held her hand over her heart and said, “Good. I was worried, because my sister really loves him, and I’d hate for any friction to come between me and my sisters over a guy.”
At least she was considering me seriously, which meant I was halfway to my goal. And unlike most women, Stephanie was under my skin. I studied her a moment before asking, “Has there ever been?”
“No,” she said as servers brought our plates. She’d ordered the chicken, but she blinked when she noticed my salmon. Once we were alone, she said, “We’ve always been close, and even more so since our parents died, even though I moved to London to find my own way.”
My brother and I weren’t like that. I ignored the food and lowered my voice. “That was brave.”
“Not really.” She picked up her fork and knife. “I think at the time I needed to lose myself in another world instead of figuring out my own life.”
Okay, that explained a little about her. While I didn’t jump into a fandom to disappear or anything, my heart whispered that we weren’t that different.
“I’ve been told I live in a dream world all my own and never come down out of the clouds, but the world can be anything we want it to be.”
For a second, she rested her hands on the table and nodded at me. “For you, it is.”
She straightened, and we both ate, but it was clear she wasn’t enjoying her chicken. This was the second time she’d ordered it and I had no idea why she continued ordering dry bird, but I teased off some of my salmon and put it on her plate as I replied, “For everyone. I don’t understand how most people miss out on doing whatever they truly want.”
“Thanks,” she said, pointing to the salmon. But while she forked off flakes of the salmon, she said, “I think it’s because most of us don’t have your bank account.”
We both ate a few bites before I replied, “When my brother said ‘no’ to my dreams, I left and didn’t speak to him for a year. At the end of that year, I returned home with more money than he has. Later, I found out he’d been funneling money into my projects through various holding companies, and he thought I’d never figure it out.”
Logan claimed the Grannds were conservative and smart about money. However, I think he picked and chose the parts of our family history that suited his beliefs, not that we ever had that discussion.
And now I had Stephanie. She made me remember, when I normally chose to ignore my past. She finished her salmon and sat back, studying me. “You’re smart, talented, and this company has your name on it for a reason. I was okay in delivery because I made enough to let me get by and enjoy my escapes into Jane Austen’s world.”
I put my silverware down and scooted closer. Her nearness set off a shot of adrenaline that I needed when I asked, “Have you had enough of escaping? Because I’d like for you to join me in my world for a while.”
She blushed as her eyes brightened. For one second, we were the only people who mattered...until she sat back and pointed behind me. “Someone’s coming over.”
I turned and saw the short-haired brunette whose hair never moved as she waved a gloved hand. I quickly said, “That’s Caroline. She’s friends with Logan, my brother. I think she’s angling to be my sister-in-law, though she’ll be disappointed, I think.” I could smell her overwhelming floral perfume behind me, and she took the chair between us as I said, “Hello, Caroline. I’d like you to meet Stephanie, my new girlfriend.”
Stephanie’s mouth quirked up, but Caroline studied her from head to toe without cracking even a polite smile. “I had no idea you were dating anyone. Rumor is you found someone who worked for you.”
“I still work for Charlie.” Stephanie interjected. “I was in delivery.”
Caroline’s “hah” conveyed her reserved shock. I’d known her long enough.
My own smile broadened, and I said, “Caroline, Stephanie is American and forthright about things.”
“I’m actually not, though.”
