Chapter 23
“Mrs. Allen, how lovely to meet you.” I greeted Hannah’s mum at the door of my suite. “Please come in. Hannah is waiting in the salon.”
Hannah’s mum stepped through the suite, her eyes large as she scanned the ornate bar, the chandelier, and the rest of the room’s furnishings. She gave me a tight-lipped smile, and I could see she was nervous. It was like looking at a future visionof Hannah—both women were slim, blond, and attractive. But where Hannah preferred flirty dresses, Mrs. Allen wore dress slacks and a blouse. She clutched her husband’s arm in a white-knuckled grip.
I gathered that Mr. Allen wasn’t my biggest fan. He patted his wife’s hand, then gave Hannah a huge bear hug like she was a little girl and he hadn’t seen her in ages.
“Dad!” Hannah squealed as hishug lifted her off her feet. “Oh, my god! Put me down.”
“You’re looking too thin, Banana,” Mr. Allen boomed as he set Hannah down. He was a large man both in stature and voice. We were about even in height, but Mr. Allen had me by about a dozen kilos, and most of that looked to be muscle. “Have they been feeding you enough at that palace of his?”
Hannah threw me a “help me” look. But I wasn’ttouching that one with a three-meter pole. There was never a good answer when it came to women and weight. So instead I smiled and shrugged.
“They fed me occasionally. A lot better than I ate before or am able to on my own. I don’t think I’ll ever eat food as incredible as what they had in Monaco. Especially now that I’m on unemployment.”
Mr. Allen frowned. “Maybe you should’ve considered thatbefore you went running off with Romeo here. Good jobs are hard to come by.”
“Camelot stopped being a good job a long time ago, Dad. And please don’t call Luc that. You should at least say hello. You’re being rude.”
“Fine, Banana.” Mr. Allen turned to me with an outstretched hand. “Griffin Allen, but you can call me Mr. Allen.”
The grip he had on my hand made me see stars, but I didn’t winceor blink. I tried to return his handshake with a grip of my own, but I had a feeling I fell short. “It’s a pleasure, Mr. Allen. Please call me Luc.”
“Sure thing, Luke.” Mr. Allen gave my hand one last menacing squeeze, then dropped it. “So what’s next on his lordship’s itinerary?”
“Dad,” Hannah said with a warning note in her tone.
“It’s fine,mon chou. How about we all sit in the dining room?I believe the staff have set out a dinner for us.” I gave Hannah’s parents a pleasant smile that I was kilometers from feeling. Then, taking Hannah’s hand, I led the way into the dining room.
“I had no idea your suite had a dining room,” Hannah whispered.
Christ, she was so cute. So I whispered back, “Neither did I.”
Hannah’s laugh was forced but tinkled enchantingly as we entered the stuffydining room with its requisite chandelier and ostentatious table with twelve chairs. This suite was similar to the last one I’d had, just a few doors down. I much preferred the slender balcony with its narrow table, but I wasn’t keen to tempt Mr. Allen with an easy method of disposing of my body.
I grabbed a plate from the side buffet table and filled it with a selection of seafood and saladsthat I knew Hannah liked, then handed it to her.
“Luc, that’s too much. I can’t eat anything right now—my stomach’s in knots.”
“Try to eat a few bites,mon chou. You need your strength. You won’t be able to defend my honor on an empty stomach.”
Hannah laughed. “In that case, I might need an extra helping of shrimp.”
I pinched a few more pieces of shrimp onto her plate despite her laughingprotests. After preparing plates for Hannah’s parents, we turned to the table, but I stopped short at Mr. Allen’s thoughtful expression. I gave him a head tilt in acknowledgment, then placed the plates on the table. I filled a plate for myself, took a seat, and tucked into my food.
We spent the first few minutes in awkward silence with only the sound of utensils clinking on plates.
Finally,Mrs. Allen looked at Hannah with a concerned expression. “How long had things been difficult at Camelot?”
“I don’t know.” Hannah shrugged as she pushed her salad around her plate. Despite her protests, she’d managed to eat half of the portion I’d given her. “The past couple of months haven’t been the best. There had been a lot of mean-girl bullshit going on. And it was insane that I paid Kennedymoney for her abuse. So I gave my notice, and now…”
I reached over and put my hand on hers.
Mrs. Allen’s eyes narrowed on our joined hands. “You can’t make these kinds of life choices based on someone you only met a week ago, Hannah. I know you haven’t had the easiest life so far, but that’s no reason to throw everything away.”
“What am I throwing away, Mom? My job was in chaos before I metLuc. I was already looking for another salon spot, so what exactly does he have to do with my decision about work?”
“I’m just saying—”
