Seth took his place opposite her. “So, you’re marrying Damien. Got to say, I’m surprised he could find a woman willing to tie the knot with Mr. Eternal Bachelor.”
“Not eternal,” I said, sitting down next to Hazel and placing my hand on her thigh.
She flinched and squeezed her legs together.
“But still… it’s almost as if you pulled Hazel out of a hat. I had no idea you two were talking,” Seth said. “Last I heard you were living with your dad?”
“That’s right.” Hazel lifted her chin, pride radiating from her. “My father is my hero, but he’s been sick lately. I’m helping him out.”
“That’s really admirable, Hazel.”
“Thanks,” she said and cast a sidelong glance at me. “But, uh, I’ve had some assistance. Damien has been a great support to both of us.” That was the official party line this weekend.
“A help to you.” Mortimer set his phone aside at last.
“Oh, hi, Mortimer, didn’t see you there.”
He ignored my jab and focused his attention squarely on Hazel. “How has he helped you? Financially?”
“Mostly emotionally,” Hazel replied without shifting under my father’s gaze. Christ, that made her even more attractive. “But he did offer financial help too. He’s very kind.”
Oof, don’t take it too far there.
“Financial help.” Mortimer sniffed. “I see.”
And then quiet. My father’s favorite interrogation technique. The silence and the icy blue stare.
Hazel gave him a quizzical look. “Sorry? What do you see?”
I could swear I’d just heard the faintest hiss as the can of worms popped open.
“The reason you’re with my son,” Mortimer said. “Money.”
“Excuse me?”
“I don’t make a habit of repeating myself.”
“That’s enough,” I said. “We’re here for lunch, not wordplay and bullshit.”
“You’re here on my invitation.” Mortimer turned his gaze on me, and my blood started boiling again.
“And we’ll leave if you’re rude.” Hazel had stolen the words right out of my mouth. Shit, not verbatim—I’d have cussed more. She got up, teetering in her new Louboutins and lifted her nose. “I’m not with Damien for money. I’m with him because I love him.” She didn’t even stumble over the words. “And I have loved him since high school. If you can’t accept that and be civil, then we’ll leave.” That wasn’t part of the agreed upon history.
Loved me since high school?
I tamped down on the emotional part of my brain, the fucking neurochemicals that made a man weak.
Mortimer released a humorless laugh while Seth sat by, clearly uncomfortable as hell about being here in the first place. “You’ve got a backbone,” he said. “Not what I expected.” He raised a hand and snapped his fingers, and a waiter appeared out of nowhere. “Veuve Cliquot. The best you have.”
“Yes, Mr. Woods.” The waiter bowed himself backward and nearly fell over a potted plant.
Hazel took her seat again, and I put my arm around her, instantly. She leaned into me, just a little, and warmth spread through my chest. She’d stood up for herself and for us.
“Are we done?” I asked. “Hazel and I have places to be.”
“This is the only place you need to be,” Mortimer replied.
But I was done. I had wanted to play nice, but it was impossible with this fucker. I got up and took Hazel’s hand. “You’ve seen my fiancée, as you requested. Now, we’re going to enjoy our weekend.”
And with that, I swept her away.
18
Hazel
“I thought you didn’t want to piss him off.” I let him lead me through the resort, my heart pounding against my ribcage.
“I do want to piss him off, and I always have,” Damien replied, gruffly. “Forget what I said before. I was overreacting because—”
“Because?”
“Let’s get out of here. Outside. Fucking, anywhere.”
We walked out into the pool area at the resort, and I couldn’t help glancing back at the terrace. Mortimer and Seth were gone, and surprisingly, that was a huge tension relief for me. Gosh, I hadn’t even been around Mr. Woods for long, but my neck and shoulders hurt from holding myself stiff. What was it like to have a father like that?
Damien led me around the pool and to a cabana with lounging chairs and a private bar nearby. He signaled for the bartender to leave us alone then sat down, loosening his suit jacket’s buttons. He ripped his tie free and unbuttoned his collared shirt, providing me with a glimpse of the tattooed muscle underneath.
“Are you all right?” Damien asked.
The small, bitchier side of me want to snap at him. Why ask when he didn’t really care? This was a business agreement, nothing more, as he’d so aptly pointed out.
“I’m fine,” I said, sitting down across from him. “I mean, I wasn’t expecting to be called a gold digger by your father, but what the hell. Stranger things have happened this week.”
“He’s a prick.” Damien rested his forearms on his thighs, turning his head toward the pool.
“I can’t imagine what that must be like.”
“What do you mean?”
“Having a relationship with my father like the one you have with yours. Sorry if that’s a little blunt, but damn. That was horrible.”
Damien nodded, slowly. “You have no idea, and don’t worry about being blunt. I prefer blunt to bullshit lies.”
“We have that in common.”
His dark eyes found mine. “You know, I asked you to do this for more than one reason,” he said. “It was partly to annoy my father, partly because you needed the help, and so did I, and… fuck it, when I saw you again, Hazel. It was like I’d been fucking electrocuted or some shit. Couldn’t quit thinking about you.”
I tried to take steady even breaths. This was Damien’s specialty. Making women swoon was like a personal challenge for him, and I had to force myself not to buy into his crap. “Why’s that?”
“Shit. Probably because there’s unfinished business between us.”
“How so? I think you made your stance on me very clear.”
The corner of Damien’s lip quirked. “Complicated.”
“Huh?”
“What happened between us back then was complicated. And what came
