I point at the expensive-looking blue Audi he’s heading toward. “So, you have two vehicles?” This man has two perfectly nice vehicles, while I drive a junker I’m hoping will last at least another year.
He holds the passenger door open for me as I approach. “They bought this one for me when I left college.”
I frown at him. “Don’t parents usually do things like that when you graduate?”
He bobs his head. “Yes, most do. My parents thought it might be an incentive.”
“To return to law school?”
“Something like that. I tried to convince them to return it, but they refused. So, whenever I visit, I drive this.” He makes a grand gesture for me to get in.
Once I’m settled, he reaches down and lifts the bottom of my dress into the car.
“Thank you.”
His eyes twinkle at me as he smiles. “Anytime.”
Did he just wink at me? I think he winked. Nick walks around the front of the car and then slides in behind the wheel, but he doesn’t start the engine right away. He takes a deep breath and then exhales. “I should probably tell you my parents kind of have money.”
“Kind of? As in…?”
“They’re wealthy. They’ve built a very successful practice over the years.”
“I see.”
He swivels his head to look at me. “It’s their money. Not mine.”
I’m not sure why he’s telling me this, but I have a good idea. “Graham never mentioned anything about it.”
Nick drops his chin. “That’s because I asked him not to.”
And now he's told me—he had to know he would have to explain when he accepted my offer to go with him.
I rest my hand on his arm. “Hey, it’s your story to tell. Not mine.”
With a brief nod, he starts the engine. During the thirty-minute ride, we chat about Bandit’s progress and Nick’s upcoming recertification. But when he crosses a small bridge that I know goes over the Intracoastal to Castillo Key, I fall silent. I remember going on car rides with my parents through this posh neighborhood, never imagining I’d ever step into one of these ritzy houses.
Nick turns down a drive that leads to a security gate. After he puts in the code, the gates swing open, and he steers the car over a cobblestone drive that circles in front of what I would calla small mansion—small, being relative here when you compare the place to, oh, I don’t know, maybe Buckingham Palace.
Now I get why his parents aren’t that keen about his truck, which would have stood out like a sore thumb parked between a Maserati and a Porsche. Not that I would have cared. I like Nick’s pickup.
I’m acutely aware of the warmth of his hand on my lower back as I navigate the cobblestone pavers in my heels. Then he guides me to a walkway that leads to the biggest double staircase I’ve ever seen lead to a front door.
“Holy cow. You weren’t exaggerating.” I blurt this out before I can temper my reaction.
Nick snickers. “And you haven’t even seen the inside yet.”
He reaches for the doorbell, but a man dressed in a tuxedo, complete with a bow tie, opens the door and greets us before he has a chance. Aside from the gray sprinkling of his dark hair at the temples, the resemblance is uncanny. Now I know what Nick will look like in about twenty-five years, and I’m definitely not complaining.
Mr. Lawless shakes hands with Nick but then pulls him into a hug. “So glad you could make it, son.”
A woman dressed in an elegant crimson-red dress and matching heels glides over to join us. Her blonde hair is swept up into a French twist, and her smile is as perfect as the rest of her face. But it’s her eyes that grab me—the same deep blue as Nick’s.
“Nicholas, I’ve missed you.” She air kisses both of Nick’s cheeks.
“Happy anniversary.” Nick returns to his position by my side, resting his hand on my back again. “I’d like to introduce you to Hannah McCarthy. Hannah, my parents, Cecilia and Tom Lawless.”
I smile at them. “Mr. and Mrs. Lawless, it’s a pleasure to meet you both. And happy anniversary.”
