Page 40 of The Bargain
“Yes. I need to go.”
He runs a tender hand down my hair. “Then I’ll be here waiting. Paul will take you. I’ll have him here in ten. If you need me to come over tonight, I can.”
“Thank you, Ethan. Thank you so much.”
“I want his business to be part of my business. So as far as I’m concerned, go broker a deal, and I’m the one who’ll be thanking you.”
I study him a moment and decide he means this. He really was impressed with my father, and he’s able to see beyond his first impression to admit he’d made a mistake. And with that, he’s officially proven to me, he’s capable of being more than the cold hard businessman I once believed him to be. He’s human. He’s real. He’s everything I could want in a man and more, it seems, and it’s as terrifying as it is exciting. But I’m back to anything too good to be true is too good to be true. We might have been destined to meet, but this thing between him and my father might be more than the defining part of our beginning. It could be the drama and turmoil that leads to the end.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Sofia
I’mabouttoexitmy house when Ethan captures my hand and pulls me around to face him. “I’m going with you.”
“What? No. No, I have to talk to him first.”
“I’ll wait in the car. The windows are tinted. Actually, we can park around the corner. If things go well and he wants to talk to me, I’ll come inside. You’ll have total control.”
“I don’t think he’s going to just invite you in, Ethan.”
“He’s in a dire situation, baby. He might surprise you.”
“I don’t know.”
“There’s no harm, no foul in me being nearby, and you’re stressed. I can feel it radiating from you. I’ll be there for you.”
He’ll be there for me. I’ve never had a man say that to me, and for it to be Ethan Dalton blows my mind. He’d been biggerthan life to me back in Hawaii. Now, he’s something different, something I can’t quite define, not yet.
“And him, Sofia. I’ll be there to put his mind at ease if he’s ready for me to get involved.”
My heart swells with his offer. “Yes. Please. You’re right. I’m stressed. I don’t want to hurt him. I don’t want to lie to him. I don’t want to see him hurt in this business deal. He’s lost too much to lose it, too.” I slip my small hand into his bigger one, his fingers readily closing around mine. “So yes, please. Come with me.”
He cups my face and kisses me soundly. “Let’s go, baby.” He laces the fingers of our hands together and opens the door, guiding me outside. And he holds onto me the entire way to the vehicle, helping me inside, his hand settling on my leg, warm with comfort, but there’s a possessiveness to this man’s touch that is forever addictive.
Paul asks for the address, and I call it out to him, but my mind is on my father. Now, even on a new and fresh basis, I know how it feels to have a partner by my side, facing challenges, living life. My father was with my mother for decades. They shared everything. They had little couple habits and favorite places and things they did together. They battled through the good and the bad as partners. And now, he faces everything alone.
The drive is short, walkable if you want to enjoy the tree-lined streets just beyond the shopping areas, but right now, I have no patience for the time it would take to make the hike. We turn onto Jackson Street, and memories of growing up here, of walking to the shops with my mother, and grabbing lunch in the process, overwhelm me. My hands settle on my belly, and I swallow hard. Ethan squeezes my leg. “You okay?” he asks softly.
I nod and find him watching me. “I grew up here,” I say. “Lots of memories, and for some reason, tonight they feel very fresh.”
“You’re worried about your father. I think it’s natural to think about her while trying to figure out how to protect him.”
I’m blown away by how well he reads me and the situation. “You really get it, don’t you?”
“I don’t know if I can say I fully get it. How can I? I was much younger than you when I lost my mother, but I get a lot of it, and I feel your struggles. Just remember, she’d want you to be happy. And she’d want him to thrive. What happened between me and him was business, and he didn’t give me the full picture. He can’t feel like this is about you, or he’ll be defensive, and his ego will get in the way. That’s human. Make it clear to him that I’m all in on this. I want to work with him.”
“I will. And I believe you. Hopefully that means I can get him to see that in you through me.” I glance up to see the house in view. “Stop here, please.”
Paul pulls the vehicle to a halt at the corner, and I turn to Ethan. “I’ll try to be fast.”
“Don’t be fast. Take your time. I spied the Starbucks at the corner. I’m going to get a coffee there and make a few business calls. Paul will stay here, and I’ll walk down there and stay as long as they let me.”
“It’s open late,” I say. “I wish you had your computer.”
“I really need to make some calls. I’m good.” He leans in and kisses me, a soft brush of his mouth over mine, his lips lingering a moment before he whispers, “Go make me a business deal.”
I laugh, nerves rumbling the depth of the breathy sound before I open the door and slip outside, the sun dipping low, the horizon gobbling up the orange and red hues. It’s getting late, and I have this sudden worry my father will have company. I mean, that would be good for him, but it would make my visit highly intrusive though still necessary. I charge forward and all but run, eager to get this over with.
