Page 12 of A Family Affair: The Vow
“And Leah? What about her? Shouldn’t she have a chance to fulfill her goals, the ones she’s created and your parents support?”
Rae ignored the question, pressed him with one of her own. “Shouldn’t she have a chance to see what else is out there, past Darlington Metals and small-town life?” She thrust a hand in the air, sucked in a deep breath. “How can she possibly know what else exists if she’s only been out of Magdalena a handful of times, mostly with Josh or our parents? What do you think she experienced in Florida before a car demolished her leg?”
“Herlife is notyourlife, Rae.” The brackets around his mouth deepened, the side of his jaw twitched. “Not everybody wants to sit on the throne and count their money. There’s a whole world out there, full of people who don’t need city life to know they’re alive and aren’t interested in portfolios or promotions. They’re interested in people and finding a life they enjoy.”
She moved toward him, gripped the edge of his desk, and spat out, “She gave up. Leah could do so much more but she’s hiding in this town, protected by people like you who won’t tell her the truth.”
The scowl came first followed by the pinched brows and a harsh “Really? And what truth is that?”
Oh, he didn’t like that. Too bad. “She’s worth more than counting steel bars and scheduling deliveries. What sort of challenge is that? Where’s the creativity? She wanted to be a writer, but what’s she writing other than purchase orders?”
Those blue eyes burned her and when he spoke, she didn’t miss the ice in his words. “Too bad manufacturing people like us don’t possess your ambition or intellect. It must be awfully difficult to dumb down your speech for commonfolk.”
He was making fun of her. “All I’m saying is Leah deserves better and if anyone in this town, including my parents, had made her path a bit more difficult, she might have opened her eyes and been forced to change.” Rae thought of all the times she tried to get her sister to take college courses or consider a different career path. Anything but clocking in and out to a buzzer, following in their parents’ footsteps, accepting the next twenty to thirty years at Darlington Metals. But no, Leah hadn’t listened, had actually told Rae she was happy.
How could she possibly be happy?
Vic Tramont picked up his pen, twirled it between his fingers as though it were a monumental task requiring immense concentration. No doubt he was trying to block herandher opinions from his brain. “Well? Nothing to say?” She should be quiet but she couldn’t do it. No, she wanted to hear him admit she might be right.
Except he didn’t.
Instead, he rested his elbows on the desk, leaned toward her, and said in a soft voice, “Did you ever think maybe you’re the one who has it all wrong? You’re the one who doesn’t know what peace or happiness is because you’re chasing shadows? Leah might not have her MBA and live in a high-rise condo with stainless steel and glass, but she’s real and she doesn’t have to pretend to be somebody she isn’t.” His next words sliced her. “She can just be herself and she’s okay with that.” Pause and a final blow. “Unlike you.”
She stared at him, fists clenched. “I’m done with this conversation.” What did he know about her anyway? Nothing other than his own conclusions, which were dead wrong. She liked herself, she was okay with her achievements, she believed she was enough...
“Sure, if you say so.”
“I do, and I want you to keep your relationship with Josh strictly business. Do not advise him on whether he should clean the house, try to get along with me, or nix the sleepovers while I’m in town.”
“Got it. No advice on cleaning or relationships.”
“Correct.”
“Is that all?”
“What else could there be?” Rae was not going to bring up the night of the retirement party or what happened in his truck. No, not going there. She held his gaze, waited.
A lip twitch, a shrug, followed by a long sigh, and a stare that scorched her. “Nothing. Not a damn thing.”
Rae cleared her throat, released her grip on the edge of the desk, backed away from the heat of that stare. Had he been thinking about that night, too? Had his gaze shifted to silver because of the memories buried deep inside, memories he didn’t want to admit or acknowledge? Ugh, why couldn’t Nate Desantro be sitting in that chair instead of this man? He wouldn’t toss out accusations and assumptions. Nate might have a rough-and-tough exterior, but he’d help her, and it would be so much easier to work with him because they didn’t share a personal history. “Well, I’ll leave you to your work.” She turned and headed toward the door. Three more steps and she’d be in the hallway, away from the accusations and—
“Are we going to pretend that night never happened?”
And there it was, landing on her with a force that made her step falter. Rae swung around, spotted the dark expression, the brackets around the mouth, the frown. Did that mean he wasn’t happy about that night either or the fact that she wanted to pretend it didn’t happen? Fine, she’d deal with it and be done. “That night is a bit hazy, but I’m sorry for any distress I caused you.” Nothing. Not a word. Rae bit her bottom lip, tried again. “Anyway, I wasn’t at my best, and…”
The man she’d hoped never to see again settled back in his chair, studied her. “I thought you were pretty good. Actually, I thought you were great and if I’d taken you up on your offer, I might’ve found out just exactly how great you were.”
“Are those comments necessary? I just told you, the events are hazy.” A pause, a clearing of her throat and then she offered the only plausible reason for her uncharacteristic behavior. “I had too much to drink and was half a glass away from being drunk.”
Those blue eyes glittered with an emotion that looked a lot like anger. “Drunk? I’ve seen drunk, been drunk a time or two, and you, Rae Darlington, werenotdrunk. You were in possession of your faculties, your senses, your mouth,andyour hands when you—”
“Don’t.”
“Don’t?” His voice shifted, took on a hard edge. “Don’t remind you because it was so disgusting? Don’t make you remember what you said?” He pushed back his chair, stood, and closed the distance between them. “Is it too embarrassing or amItoo embarrassing? Maybe you don’t want to think about how you were slumming that night with someone like me?”
“No! That’s not it at all. I don’t even know how we ended up in that situation.”
The raised brow said he had an idea and the smirk said he’d be willing to share.
