I shrugged in response. “Sir, I haven’t had a chance to meet your daughter yet. Is she here?”
“Oh yes.” He tapped one of the waiters on the arm and whispered for them to retrieve Anna before he turned back to me. “She’s spent the week settling in. You know, getting used to the time change by sleeping all day. I sincerely hope she wasn’t this lazy while she was at university.”
“She just graduated college,” I reminded him. “She deserves a break.”
He chuckled. “You’re a lot more understanding than I am. My father taught me to work around the clock as if someone else is working around the clock to take your job away from you. Wise man.”
“Very.”
His daughter joined our group a moment later, wearing a sweetheart neckline gown that was boldly gold with a subtle sequence of red. When it trailed past her hips, the red color became more prominent and took up the gown nearly to the bottom, where the gold color returned. She had dark brown hair like her father and blue eyes. She looked royal but also possessed a hint of mellowness. I could imagine her at a coffee shop with her laptop on a Sunday morning. When she smiled, it seemed genuine. “Father, you called?”
“Yes.” He introduced me. “I want you to meet Crewe Donoghue, informally known as the Scotch King.”
“Pleasure to meet you.” I grabbed her hand and kissed her on each cheek. “Your father told me you’ve been catching up on sleep.”
She pressed her lips tightly together and sighed like she was trying not to roll her eyes. “Did he also tell you I haven’t done the laundry since I’ve been home?”
“Not yet,” Vasile said. “But I was getting there.”
I chuckled. “Congratulations on your graduation. That’s a worthy accomplishment.”
“Thank you. I’m relieved my education is over, but I also miss it.”
“Did you like America?”
“Very much. Their hot dogs are out of this world.”
I laughed, picturing a lady like her eating a chili dog at a ball game. “I’ll have to try one next time I’m around.” I introduced her to Ariel and Cassandra. Anna didn’t seem bothered by the situation either, which made me like both her and her father even more.
“So, you make scotch?” she asked. “I understand how wine works, but scotch sounds complicated.”
Vasile got pulled away by another guest, and Ariel and Cassandra drifted away to grab a glass of wine.
I wasn’t sure where London was. She was taking a long time, but there could have been a line at the bathroom. If this were six months ago, I would have assumed she’d shattered the bathroom window and jumped. “It’s not too complicated. I have a few distilleries in Scotland. I opened my second warehouse not too long ago.”
“Fascinating,” she said. “I drink a lot of scotch, so that’s probably why I’m so interested.”
“You do?” I asked in surprise.
“Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy wine as well. But scotch has a great kick to it that you can’t find anywhere else.”
There was no way I could dislike a fellow scotch drinker. Not possible. “Looks like we have something in common.”
“We do,” she said. “My father told me about your parents. I know it’s not the same thing, but I was pretty devastated when Mom died. I loved her very much—still do. It’s just not the same when they’re gone. And I never really got the chance to appreciate her. I was too young.” She said everything with obvious sincerity, but she didn’t get choked up about it.
Reminded me of myself. “It’s hard. I told myself it would get easier as time went on, but it never really does.”
“I know exactly what you mean.”
I liked that she was easy to talk to, not stuffy like everyone else. It was smart of her to move away to college, to a place where no one knew about her noble background. That was probably why she was so laid-back. “Your father never remarried?”
She shook her head. “I don’t think he’s even dated anyone. My parents were really in love…”
I nodded, unsure how else to respond.
“What part of Scotland do you live in?”
While she was nice to talk to, I started to worry about London. She went to the bathroom nearly fifteen minutes ago, and she didn’t have her phone on her to communicate anything to me. I didn’t want to be rude and walk away from Anna, who turned out to be pretty good company, but if London didn’t show up in three minutes, I was going to look for her.
Even if it made me look rude.
16
London
I thought I would have more time with Crewe.
But the second I walked out of the bathroom and overheard him talking to Anna, I knew it was over.
I thought I had a year. Maybe more.
But I had just months, if that.
I wasn’t sure why I stood there and subjected myself to the torture. Not only was Anna beautiful, but she was cool. She didn’t remind me of the other stuffy noble people Crewe introduced me to. I could even see myself being her friend—if she weren’t going to take Crewe away.
I was smitten with her—so there was no way he wasn’t.
I could just break my promise to Ariel and not leave, but then she would walk away and Crewe would be miserable again. As tempting as that sounded, I knew it wouldn’t work anyway. Seeing him interact with Anna told me I was a terrible partner. With Anna, he would have everything he wanted—and he might even fall in love.
I wanted to cry—right there in the middle of the room.
Ariel swooped in out of the shadows, clinging to my sadness like she fed off it. “Crewe looks like he’s having a good time, huh?” She sipped her wine as she stood beside me, her shoulder touching mine.
I couldn’t speak.
“I’ve never met Anna before, but I’ve always heard good things. They have a great chemistry.”
I’d never hated someone so much in my life.
When I didn’t say anything, Ariel stared at me.
I ignored her look as best as I could.
“We have a deal. Remember?”
“Like you would ever let me forget…”
“I’ll find reasons to put them in the same room together. You work on your exit strategy.”
The idea of walking away made me want to hurl. “I just got him back…I thought I had more time.”
“I thought you did too. But she’s lovely. With exceptional business ties and a great title, she’s perfect for Crewe. Plus, she’s a few years younger than him so he doesn’t need to have kids right away.”
Now I really was going to throw up.
“Do we have a problem?”
“No…” I turned away, feeling the tears pool in my eyes. “If you had a heart, you would show some compassion.”