“No comment.”
“Look, I’m calling to apologize for last night. I wish you’d told me you were going to be attending Dick and Cerise’s anniversary. If I’d known I would have come up with an excuse not to go so I didn’t have to put you in that position. Christ,” he said regretfully, “the look on your face, sweetheart, well, it made me … I felt like shit all night.”
I felt a pang of remorse for my resentful thoughts when he’d ignored me. I understood the situation. I couldn’t start pretending I didn’t whenever it suited me. “It’s okay, Grandpa. I understand. I even introduced myself as Alexa Hall all night so people wouldn’t ask questions.”
“I know.” There was a smile in his voice. “You made quite an impression. You looked beautiful. I just wish this family wasn’t full of malicious drama queens. If they were more understanding, this could all be out in the open. Anyway, I hope you didn’t disappear because of me.”
I flushed at the real reason. “Uh, no. Caine had a work thing.”
My grandfather was silent for a few seconds. “You slept with him, didn’t you?”
“How—” I lifted my jaw back up off my duvet. “How the heck did you know that?”
“Because he ignored his date all night as he prowled around the room like a jungle cat hunting my granddaughter. I thought at one point he might actually kill Henry Lexington.”
A thrill coursed through me at the thought of Caine’s jealousy. “He was watching me all night?”
“What do you think everyone was talking about?”
“Oh my God,” I muttered as a realization hit me. I remembered that weird little triumphant smirk on Henry’s face when Caine interrupted our dance. “Henry knew. He asked me to the party to push Caine’s buttons.”
“That sounds like a Lexington.” Grandpa’s voice lowered. “So, was this part of the plan?”
“I’m not sure I’m comfortable discussing this with my grandfather.”
“I’m not sure I’m comfortable with my granddaughter dating a known womanizer.”
The ache from last night returned. “Don’t worry about that. I don’t even qualify as a date. It was a onetime thing.”
“I’m going to kill him,” Grandpa immediately growled over the phone.
There was every chance he might actually consider something stupid like that. I put on my sternest voice. “You’ll do no such thing. It was my mistake. I stupidly forgot who I was to him and I thought there was something there that wasn’t … I gave him my two weeks’ notice.”
Grandpa heaved a sigh. “Lexie, I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be. I did this to myself.”
“Well, you make sure he gives you a good recommendation.”
I smiled sadly. “I will.” I glanced at the clock. It was early yet, which meant many hours to kill. “For now I’m going to buy myself something to make me feel better before I start job-hunting.”
“Okay. You call me if you need me, sweetheart.”
For some reason that made me tear up.
I thought of how stupid I’d felt after putting myself out there to Caine and being rejected. But I also felt kind of free. For the last few weeks I’d had our attraction hanging over me and subconsciously I knew I’d been building it up in my head into something more than it was. Now, though, I had my answers and I could move on.
Being honest had been scary and it hurt, but at least I wasn’t a coward.
It was time to keep living life that way. I sucked in my breath, exhaled, and then said something I’d never said to a man since I was fourteen years old and I finally realized the truth about my dad. “I love you, Grandpa.”
Shocked silence echoed down the line.
And then came his warm, hoarse reply, “I love you too, Lexie.”
CHAPTER 11
I knew things were not going to return to a state of normality for the next two weeks when I was late into the office on Monday. A flustered mess, I’d hurried into work after sleeping past my alarm and came up short at the sight of Caine sitting behind his desk.
The desk we’d had sex on.
I flushed, remembering every second in vivid detail.
I could tell Caine knew exactly what I was thinking and he shifted uncomfortably as I handed him his latte.
The fact that he didn’t call me out on being late said it all.
I couldn’t get out of his office fast enough, and we spent the next few hours avoiding contact with each other. I knew we weren’t going to get away with that for the entire two weeks, but I could tell we were both going to try our darnedest.
“You look pensive.”
My head jerked up from the e-mail I was reading and I stared into Henry’s handsome face in surprise. “Henry? What are you doing here?”
He smiled. “It’s Monday. Lunchtime. The usual.”
“It’s that time already?”
“You really were lost in concentration, huh?”
I smiled weakly. “Doing my best.”
Henry perched on the edge of my desk. “I also wanted to check in on you after Caine hauled you away from the party on Saturday night.”
“I’m fine.”
He frowned. “That was the least-fine-sounding ‘fine’ I’ve ever heard.”
Instead of answering I called through to Caine.
“Yes?” Even this was asked quietly, cautiously.
I glowered at the phone. I never thought I’d see the day when I wished for Caine’s impatient grumpiness. “Mr. Lexington is here to see you.”
“Send him in.”