I could feel my pulse rapidly increasing. "No, why?"
Tyler shrugged. "He looked a little off. Could be wedding jitters. Ask Nolan. They spent most of the night together."
My gaze went to the eldest Hawthorne sibling. And as if he could feel me staring at him, he looked up from his phone. I wassure I saw his face darken, but I couldn't be sure while he had sunglasses on. He cast his gaze back to his phone as though I didn't exist. I turned to Carey, who seemed to do his best to avoid making eye contact with me.
Tyler lightly bumped my shoulder. "Wedding jitters. Nothing to worry about."
But he was wrong, and I was about to find out why on our honeymoon.
Chapter 5
Thalia
THE CONVERSATION ATthe table was stilted, to say the least. Carey clearly didn't like his dad being there. Nolan Sr seemed to enjoy making his own son uncomfortable while I was having a hard time swallowing down food. My worst nightmare had come true. I had pushed this relationship longer than necessary now it was time to pay the pied piper. Instead of breaking it off after that night, I had continued seeing Carey. It was as though something within me didn't want to stop. I wanted to see him. I wanted to be with him. And every moment I spent with him felt as though time froze and it was only us two.
When he asked me to come here for the weekend, I knew I should have said no, but being with him these days was the only way I could find joy in my life. I should have told Nolan Sr that I was done with his deal after my first failed attempt at seducing Carey. From the side glances Nolan was giving me the entire night, he seemed to think I was still working for him. God. I wanted to throw up.
"You don't like your food?" Carey leaned in and whispered.
I gave him my best smile, but I was sure it looked weary. "The food is great. I am a little full, that's all." He took my hand under the table and squeezed. His eyes said the same thing they saidwhen he came to tell me his father was here.Sorry, you have to deal with him. It made me even more guilty.
"So, how did you two meet? Again, that is?" I whipped my head up. Nolan Sr was sitting opposite us at the table. He spoke nonchalantly as he cut his steak into bite-sized pieces. What game was he playing? If his comment was a hidden threat, it didn't read like it. He wanted to make remember why I ended up here. I had answered none of his calls since that night.
Carey answered on my behalf. "We met at a party." His response was cool and closed. Designed to shut off any further inquiry, but his father was determined to squeeze juice out of a rock.
"Oh. I've never pictured you as one for parties." He stabbed into a piece of steak with his fork and used it to point at Carey while talking to me. "He's always working. It's hard to getting out of the office. I am surprised you were able to manage that."
"It was an office party."
Nolan scoffed. "Ha! So, you're in law as well?"
I glared at him. He was trying to make me squirm, and I would not let him. He knew what my job was. It was the reason he came to me in the first place. His promise initially had been one of money. But when I refused, he came in with the second one that was much harder to turn away from.
Carey's fork and knife cluttered onto the plate. "No, she's not. Dad, cut the bullshit. If you think you're going to humiliate me or her, I am not going to let you."
Nolan turned serious. "Not at all, son. It's just that I knew her father for a long time and I'm sure he wouldn't want my son toying with his daughter's emotions."
"This is why I never introduce anyone to you," Carey muttered.
The room was feeling a little hot, and I had to cool it down someway. "I can assure you he's not toying with my emotions,Mr. Hawthorne. Carey and I found each other recently, and this relationship is still… very new."
"That's all well and good, then." Nolan smiled. "We should toast." Carey rolled his eyes as Nolan raised his glass of red wine, but followed suit nonetheless. I raised mine too, as Nolan said, "To old friends finding each other."
"To old friends," we both replied in unison.
The tension loosened after that as the topic moved onto Carey. His father seemed interested in every minutia of Carey's working life, making me wonder if he was like this with all his children. People speculated he loved his eldest, Nolan Jr, more than the others, but his attention to Carey made me doubt that.
After we finished eating, Carey's phone rang. He excused himself to take the call. However, he came back a few minutes later, his face marred by a scowl. "Did you tell the Leana Marino I am here?"
"She's a nosy neighbor, Carey, I don't need to tell her anything for her to know who's here and how many people are here."
Carey narrowed his eyes as though he didn't trust his father. He bent down to kiss my cheek. "I'll be back real soon."
"What happened?" I asked.
"Our neighbor's son had a DUI. The mother wants me to come to the station and sort it out." Carey sighed. "She's one of the firm's biggest clients. I kinda have to help her out."
"It's fine. You can go." It wasn't fine at all. Being left alone with Carey's father was the last thing I wanted. Carey leaned down again and whispered, "Don't let him unnerve you."
