And no, she preferred not to dwell on that awkward, cold ride home. As soon as the sweat dried on their skin, he’d seemed eager to be rid of her. And his insistence that what had been special to her was nothing but a momentary lapse in judgment—that she was abeautiful, unwanted, sexy-as-fuck complication—had scored her deeper than it should have. Deeper than she wanted to admit.
It’d required every bit of acting ability she possessed not to loose her anger, or worse, her tears.
She’dknown.
God, she’d known that he could inflict damage on her. But she’d convinced herself that she wouldn’t lower her guard.
All the good that’d done her.
Pausing on the bottom step, she briefly closed her eyes. She wanted to rail against Cain, to accuse him of using her. But...she couldn’t. This—the hollow, gut-punched feeling weighing her down—could, and should, be laid entirely at her feet.
Donald had taught her to believe her eyes, her logic, not her heart. For hours last night, she’d stared up at her ceiling, unable to sleep, silently reprimanding herself for forgetting.
She wouldn’t forget again.
“Devon, good. You’re awake.” Her father drew to a stop at the base of the staircase, his gaze skimming over her short leather jacket, white T-shirt, jeans and ankle boots. “Where are you going so early?”
The “looking like that” remained unsaid but was heard loud and clear.
She considered lying. Confrontation did not top her list of favorite things, especially with her father. But she’d given in to her father once where her family was concerned and lost them for years. Not again.
“I’m headed downtown to meet up with Zia Angela, Zio Marco and the rest of the family for breakfast.”
Shock blanked his handsome features. But then anger poured in, mottling his cheeks and thinning his mouth. “Excuse me?”
“I said that I’m—”
“I heard you,” he snapped, slicing a hand through the air. “But I don’t want to believe it’s true. What aretheydoing here in Boston?”
She detested the derision in his voice when referring to his brothers and sisters—his wife’s family—as if they were beneath him. All because they were poor, and he now had money and a home in a certain zip code.
“They’re here because Cain invited them here, and because I wanted to see them. We all had dinner together last night, and it would’ve been wonderful if you’d been there, too. They miss you.”
“Is that why you two didn’t show up at the opening last night? Because you were entertaining them?” His lips twisted into an ugly sneer. “Cain had no business interfering in our family affairs. Your aunts and uncles don’t belong here, not in our world. And I thought you understood that, Devon.”
“Our family, Dad?” Devon shook her head, loosing a short, incredulous laugh. “I understand that I distanced myself from them to please you, even if it hurt me. Even if I missed them with every breath. Besides you, they are my last connection to Mom. They’re yours, too, but maybe that’s why you cut them out of our lives. Because you don’t want to be reminded of Mom. And because you resent them for reminding you of where we came from. Of why all these blue-blooded assholes won’t accept us into their inner circle.” She stepped down, meeting her father’s glare even though that same fear of disappointing him pumped through her veins. “Well, you can continue to deny their existence, but I’m not going to throw away this chance of getting to know them again. And if that upsets you, well...”
She shrugged and started past her father, but he grasped her elbow. “We’re not finished with this conversation. But I have more important matters to discuss with you. Come to my study.”
He released her and, pivoting sharply on his heel, stalked down the hall.
I don’t have time for this.
Pulling her cell phone from her back pocket, she peered down at the screen. If she left in ten minutes, she would just make it to the hotel on time. She glanced at the front door, then huffing out a breath, turned and followed her father. Nine minutes. That’s all she would give him.
“Close the door behind you,” he ordered as she stepped into the study.
She did as he requested and crossed the room to his desk. “Could we make this quick, Dad? I don’t want to be late.”
“It will take as long as it takes,” he snapped, his fingers drumming impatiently on the desktop. “This takes precedence over your breakfast.” He paused, studying her. “Where are you with convincing Cain to invite me to be an investor on his real estate project?”
She stared at him, disbelief and frustration seething inside her. “Really? Are you serious?” she demanded. “I told you I wouldn’t bring that up to him, and I didn’t. Cain wants nothing to do with you, and there’s nothing I could say to convince him otherwise even if I wanted to. Which I don’t.”
“We discussed this,” he persisted, waving off her response as if it were an annoying pest. “You have more influence than you believe. Where’s your confidence? And Cain bringing his future father-in-law into his business deals would only bolster the appearance of solidarity and a happy union.Think, Devon. Stop being so passive.”
Five...four...three...She inhaled a deep breath and forcibly shoved her temper down. Losing it never worked when dealing with her father.
“Cain doesn’t care about appearances. He doesn’t want—”
