My father patiently waited for a more concrete answer.
“Alright.”
He didn’t question my decision. “What are you in the mood for?”
“Something light.”
“I know just the place.”
We left the office and walked a few blocks until we found a small deli. It wasn’t a formal restaurant like it had been the first time, and the casual atmosphere made the situation less tense. We ordered our food separately then sat down.
He sat across from me at the table, eating a vegetarian sandwich with no pickles. He’d always hated pickles.
Without Titan there, it wasn’t always easy to have a conversation. She somehow defused tense situations as a moderator. It kept everyone comfortable. A lifetime of working in challenging situations had given her an incredible wealth of knowledge and intuition. “I saw Brett yesterday.”
My father opened a bag of chips and munched on a few. “How is he?”
“He’s okay. Unsure how he feels about you.”
“I don’t blame him for being hesitant. He doesn’t owe me anything.”
My father was different from how he used to be, now extremely blunt about his shortcomings. He didn’t show the stubbornness I was used to seeing. Transparent like glass, he made his thoughts easy to see. “What do you want from him?”
“Forgiveness. I thought I made that clear.”
“Ideally,” I said. “But what would you like from him?”
“Ideally…” He mulled over the word as he took a bite of his sandwich. He chewed slowly, taking his time before he finally swallowed. “If I could get my way, I would like to be on speaking terms with him. I’d like to be his friend. I’d like the opportunity to be family to him. Be something like a father to him…even though I know that would never happen.”
“Because you want that? Or because Mom would want that?”
He pulled a chip out of the bag as he contemplated it. “Both. I’d always considered myself to be a father to two sons. I should have been a father to three. When I see your mother’s eyes in his face, I should see him as mine. I know it’s late, but I feel that way now. Perhaps he’ll have the compassion to give me a chance to prove that to him…or maybe he won’t.”
When my father said things like that, I forgot about the terrible things he’d done. I forgot about the way he’d threatened me in my own office. All of that didn’t seem to matter anymore when he sounded so sincere. I didn’t see him as Vincent Hunt, but as a man who truly wanted a second chance.
I saw him as my father.
He placed another chip in his mouth and slowly chewed. “Thank you for having lunch with me. Even if we don’t talk much, I enjoy looking up and seeing your face. I enjoy seeing you look back at me.”
I hadn’t taken a bite of my food in the entire interaction because I’d been too focused on him. His words were too raw for me to handle, so I continued to sit there in silence. When it came to Titan, I could say a lot of emotional things and not think twice about it, but outside our relationship, I couldn’t digest and process emotions so easily.
My father didn’t seem affected by my silence. “Titan and Thorn are getting along?”
Titan was a subject I could discuss all day. “Yeah. She’s really happy.”
“I’m glad he’s had a change of heart.”
“Me too.” I didn’t know what made Thorn change his mind, but I was glad he came to his senses. “I know she needs him to be happy, so I don’t mind sharing her—at least, a little.”
“Good friends are hard to find. We all need a few.”
“Yeah…” I finally grabbed my sandwich and took a bite. “So, Alessia seems nice.” We always talked about my love life. Maybe we should talk about his.
“I enjoy her company,” he said bluntly. “But that’s all.” He didn’t break his stride as he continued to eat, the subject of the conversation having no effect on his appetite.
“You ever think about getting remarried?” It was a question I’d never asked before because I’d never been in the position to. I saw him with a different woman every few months. Nothing ever seemed serious.
“No.” His response was short, but he didn’t seem annoyed by the question. His body language didn’t change, and his appetite didn’t wane.
“May I ask why?”
His tone remained the same. “Don’t see the point. I’ve already had my great love. I had her for a short time, made a family with her, and now she’s gone. I already have my children, so I don’t need a wife for that. I’ll never fall in love again. Marriage doesn’t benefit me in any way. I enjoy spending time with women like Alessia because they’re young and beautiful. I lavish them with expensive gifts and trips around the world. We have a good time together. But once that fun starts to fade away, that’s it. They need to find a husband, and I make it abundantly clear I’m not that man. Some of them think they’ll change my mind if they spend enough time with me. But they never do.”
If I lost Titan, I’d probably have the exact same outlook on life. She was the only woman I would ever love my entire life. There would never be someone after her. If she ever left or passed away, I’d fall into the same type of relationships. It was what I did before her. It was what I would do after her. “I used to feel that way until I met Titan. I thought I would be alone my entire life until I met her.”
“Same thing happened to me. I met your mother, and just like that, my life completely changed. I knew I wanted to give her my entire life. So I did.”
I wanted to give Titan everything I had.
“There’s something I want to give you.” He set his sandwich down and dug into his pocket.
I hadn’t gotten a gift from him since my sixteenth birthday. Now I was a billionaire, so there was no monetary gift he could give me that would make an impact. Besides, money was the last thing I needed from him.
He pulled out a small black box and placed it on the table in front of me. There was no introduction or explanation. He watched me as he waited for me to open it.
“What is it?” I didn’t touch it.
“Open it and you’ll see.”
I didn’t like surprises, so I took my time opening it. I grabbed the sleek box and popped the lid open.
Inside was a white gold band with a solitary diamond in the center. The diamond wasn’t monstrous like the one Thorn had given Titan. It was subtle, but the quality of the diamond was unprecedented. I took the ring out of the box and stared at it harder, realizing I’d seen it before. I focused on the inside of the band and saw the engraving in the metal. It was the date of my parents’ wedding anniversary. When I understood exactly what I was holding, I shot my eyes back to my father.
His expression didn’t change despite the gift he’d just given me. “I’d always planned on giving that to whichever son got married first. Since it’s you, I’m giving it to you. This isn’t some attempt to earn your forgiveness. It’s completely genuine.”
I held my mother’s ring in my hand, feeling the weight of my past. She’d been wearing it the day she had me. She wore it for decades. She wore it every single day until it was removed from her cold hands. “I can’t take this…”
“Your mother would want you to have it.”
“I’m not getting married right now.”
He cocked an eyebrow. “Why not?”
Titan and I had just started dating each other seriously. I wanted to spend my life with her, but according to the media, it would seem too fast. Titan had already smeared her clean reputation telling the world about me. I couldn’t expect her to marry me so quickly. “It’s too soon.”
His features hardened, as if I gave the wrong answer. “When you find the woman you can’t live without, it’s never too soon. Time will pass quickly, and when she’s gone, that’s the moment when you’ll say it’s too soon. Don’t waste any time, Diesel. The clock is always ticking, and you have far less time than you think.”
I felt the band in my fingertips, feeling m
y mother’s love even though she wasn’t on this earth anymore. My father bought her a ring that wasn’t flashy or overly expensive. It wouldn’t have suited her personality if it had been. It wouldn’t have suited Titan’s personality either. She was the richest woman in the world—she didn’t need a man to buy her diamonds. “I’m not even sure if she would say yes.”
“Diesel, that woman betrayed her best friend just to be with you. She’s taken a second chance on love for you. She’s taken your word over evidence. She told the entire world that you’re her soul mate. Trust me, that woman will say yes—a million times. All you have to do is ask.”
* * *
After hitting the gym, I headed to Titan’s penthouse.
It was empty. She was nowhere in sight, and judging by the fact that her purse wasn’t hanging on the coatrack, she hadn’t come home yet. I helped myself to the shower in the meantime, assuming she would be home any minute.
When I was finished, she still hadn’t returned. I decided to call her.
She answered after a few rings. “Diesel.” She said my name in the sexiest way, like she was teasing me on purpose.
“Baby. Where are you?”
“I’m out with Thorn. We’re getting a drink at the bar.”
I was happy she had Thorn back, and I could hear her joy pour out of the phone. It was a kind of happiness I’d never heard from her. I knew it wasn’t just because of him, but because she had both of us in her life. “I just got out of the shower. Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Tell you what?”
“That you were going out.”
She immediately hardened. “I didn’t realize I had to report to you, Diesel. I can’t remember a time when I expected that from you.”
I wasn’t trying to take away her independence, and I should have known she would react that way if I tried. “That’s not how I meant it. You know that. Just wanted to know why you weren’t home.”
“Thorn and I are drinking. You want to come?”
I wasn’t jealous of Thorn, but I was jealous he was hogging all of her time lately. They seemed to be inseparable, going to lunch together or getting drinks after work. It would be selfish for me to intervene in that, but I missed having her all to myself. “It’s alright. I’ll see you when you get back.”
“Come on,” she said. “Get that hunky ass down here.”
I grinned at her choice of words. “Hunky, huh?”
“Give me the phone.” Thorn’s voice was in the distance. It got louder when he took the phone away. “Hey, it’s Thorn. Stop being a little bitch and get down here.”
“Little bitch, huh?”
“Yeah,” Thorn said. “I get you guys are an old boring couple now, but live a little. We’re at the Hotspot. Hustle.” Click.
I grabbed my jacket and left.
* * *
I slid into the booth beside Titan, my arm naturally moving around her shoulders as I leaned in to kiss her.
She kissed me back, longer than usual for a public space. “What took you so long?” Her hand reached for my thigh, and she squeezed it just the way she grabbed me when we were in bed together.
I couldn’t keep the smile off my face. “I got here in ten minutes.”
“Still too long.”
I brushed my lips along her hairline and pressed a kiss to her temple. “I’ll make it up to you later.”
“You better.”
I turned to Thorn across the table, who was drinking his beer without caring about our affection. “How’s it going, man?”
“Pretty good. The beer is just right, and we ordered a basket of cheese fries.”
“You?” I cocked an eyebrow. “And you?” I turned back to Titan. She was the pickiest eater I knew, choosing to ignore food in favor of booze. She turned down any extra calories she didn’t need just to maintain her figure. Still wasn’t sure how she did it.
“We’re living wild tonight,” she said with a chuckle. “Want to join us?”
“If you guys are gonna eat poison, then I’ll eat some poison too.”
“Good,” Thorn said. “You’re a team player. I respect that.”
My arm slid down to her waist, and I kept my hand on her opposite hip because I loved touching her. I was out in public with Titan on my arm, her old fiancé sitting across from us. We were enjoying life, not caring what anyone thought of us. It was a nice feeling, long overdue. “How are things with your parents?”
“Better,” Thorn said as he kept his hand on his glass. “Titan and I talked it over, and they were still pretty confused about the whole thing. It’s difficult to explain to your mother that you’re a manwhore and you’re always going to be a manwhore. I told her I was incapable of love, and that was something she couldn’t grasp. But that’s how mothers are…always see the best in you even when it’s not there.” He lifted the glass to his lips and downed his scotch.
“Well, that’s inaccurate.” I motioned to the bartender to give me the same drink Titan was having.
“Inaccurate?” Thorn challenged. “Trust me, it’s not.”
“You love Titan, don’t you?”
“Obviously,” Thorn said coldly. “But not in the way you love her. I’ve known her for over ten years, have been through hell with this woman, and out of all that life experience, I never fell in love with her. You don’t find that strange?” He rattled the ice cubes in his glass. “She’s the perfect woman. She’s ambitious, beautiful, funny…what more could a guy ask for? But you know what?” He shook his head. “I’ve never felt anything. Nothing. And if I haven’t felt anything for this woman, no other woman on this planet stands a chance.”
I was relieved he wasn’t in love with my woman. But I also thought things would have been different if the circumstances were changed. “If you were sleeping together, I think your feelings would have changed.”
Thorn shook his head. “I doubt that too.” He turned to Titan. “No offense.”
“None taken,” she said with a chuckle.
“And I’m not here to argue about it,” Thorn said. “But my decision is set in stone. Love isn’t for me. Never has been. Never will be. Maybe I can find another woman who would be interested in having the same arrangement, but I highly doubt it. It worked for Titan and me because we had the exact same needs. But what are the chances of that happening again?” He shook his drink and took a quick sip. “None.”
Titan massaged my muscular thigh under the table, her fingertips pressing through my jeans. “His parents don’t hate me, so that’s nice. But they were definitely disappointed when they heard the truth. I think telling them was the right thing to do because they seemed more upset by that than the actual facts.”
“Yeah,” Thorn said in agreement. “And now I don’t have to lie anymore. That’s nice.” He shifted his gaze back to me. “So you and Vincent are working things out?”
I should have assumed Titan would have told him everything by now. “We’re on speaking terms, but that’s about it.”
“He doesn’t seem like the kind of guy that takes no for an answer.” Thorn was still in his suit from earlier that afternoon, a gray one with a pink tie. “When he told me about your relationship, it seemed like he was never going to give up.”
My eyes narrowed as I processed what he said. At what occasion had Vincent and Thorn spoken to each other? Was it the gala last weekend? “When did this conversation happen?”
“Last week,” Thorn said. “He came by my office.”
My eyes narrowed further, my anger rising. My father already went to extremes to repair his relationship with me, but to go to Thorn was simply excessive. “To discuss my family drama?”
Titan released her grip on my thigh, her touch becoming soothing. “No. He actually talked to Thorn about forgiving me. Said he regretted the last ten years and didn’t want Thorn to go through the same thing.”
“He seemed sincere,” Thorn said. “Told me it would be stupid to let Titan go. Time would pass, and I would only find myself fe
eling miserable rather than vindicated. He made me realize it would be worse to look back in regret than to forgive. So that’s what I did.” His eyes shifted back to Titan. “And I’m glad I did.”
My expression didn’t change because my thoughts were still focused on the revelation he’d just made. My father never mentioned this to me, not even when I saw him the other day. He intervened in Titan’s relationship and did what he could to make Thorn forgive her. I’d never asked him to do that, and he didn’t seem to want any credit for it. Having Thorn back in Titan’s life meant more to me than I could put into words. Gratitude flooded from every organ, and I nearly forgot to breathe.
Titan studied my expression, knowing something was wrong. “Everything okay, Diesel?”
I swallowed and felt the dryness of my throat. “Yeah…I didn’t realize my father did that.”
“I meant to tell you,” Titan said. “We’ve been so busy that it kept slipping my mind.”
My hand slid from her waist as the bartender placed my glass in front of me. Immediately, I wrapped my fingers around it and took a drink. The amber liquid moistened my throat and brought a burn to my stomach. My father used to be my greatest enemy. He wanted to destroy me like he did everyone else who got in his way. But underneath all that hatred was a father aching for his son. I couldn’t see it at the time because I didn’t believe anything good could be covered in something so spiteful. But perhaps my father really meant every word he said. Maybe he really had changed. Maybe he was in far more pain than I realized.
Titan moved her hand up my arm, gently touching me. “Diesel?”
I’d forgotten Titan and Thorn were there altogether. Memories of my childhood flashed across my mind. I remembered the horrible things he did to Brett, and I could actually understand his actions. My sympathy had changed my perception, even though his actions were still unforgivable. “I’m fine.” I downed the rest of my glass in a single gulp and slid out of the booth. “I just remembered I have to be somewhere.” I ignored the concerned expression on Titan’s face and didn’t look at Thorn at all. I stepped out of the restaurant and immediately got into the first cab I saw because I didn’t want Titan to follow me.
Boss Romance: Boss #6 Page 13