Tiana (Starkis Family #3)

by Cheryl Douglas

  A soft smile was his only response.

  “What’s going on between you two?” Demi asked when we heard the outer door to my office suite close.

  “He’s a friend.” I did consider Blake a friend… and so much more.

  “You better not be seeing him behind my back.”

  I finally snapped. I couldn’t take it anymore. “Would you listen to yourself? Why the hell should I have to see anyone behind your back? I’m a grown woman capable of making my own decisions. Why can’t you see that?”

  “This is what you want?” he asked, gesturing to the closed door. “A man who has been nothing but disrespectful to your father?”

  “It goes both ways,” I said, crossing my arms. “You’ve disrespected him too.”

  Demi looked flushed. “He does not deserve my respect. He has not earned a single thing on his own. He is rich because his grandfather left him a fortune. I came to this country with nothing. I earned everything the hard way.”

  I had no idea about Blake’s inheritance, but I wouldn’t let my father know that Blake hadn’t confided in me. “Is that why you don’t like him? Because he had advantages you didn’t? You’re envious of him?”

  “He uses people.”

  “What are you talking about?”

  “He used his friendship with your brother to steal part of his business.”

  I couldn’t believe my father’s rationale sometimes. “He didn’t steal part of Alabaster’s. He invested in it.”

  “If he hadn’t put the idea for that business in your brother’s head in the first place, Deacon would be right here where he belongs, helping run the company I built,” Demi said, stabbing a finger toward the ground.

  My father’s resentment toward Blake was making more sense. He not only saw Blake as a rival, he believed he was the man who had lured my brother away from the family business.

  “Deacon has always wanted to do his own thing,” I said. “He would have found a way to do it with or without Blake’s help.”

  “Please. Where else would a college kid with no connections get that kind of money?”

  “Are you telling me if Deacon had come to you for the money, you wouldn’t have supported his dream?”

  His silence spoke volumes, and I was beginning to see my father in a completely different light. My entire life I’d heard what a self-centered egomaniac he was, but I’d convinced myself they didn’t know him the way I did. Now I was starting to wonder whether I’d been the one wearing blinders.

  “You would have preferred to have him here, under your thumb, even if it meant he was miserable?” I asked.

  “That bastard took not one of my sons but both of them!”

  I couldn’t believe the malice staring me in the face. I felt as if my father was a stranger. “You said you supported Damon’s decision to leave and venture out on his own.”

  “What was I supposed to say?” he demanded. “I’d just learned that I had a grandchild. He wouldn’t let me see her if we had a falling out.”

  “So when you wished Damon well, you weren’t being sincere? You secretly hoped he would fail so he’d have to come back here?”

  “I spent my life building this business,” he said, shaking his fist. “Do you know what it does to me that none of my children want to be a part of it?”

  Ouch. I’d set my own dreams aside to fulfill his. “I’m here. Don’t I count?”

  He rolled his eyes. “It’s different, Tiana. You are a woman. You will get married, have babies, and forget all about having a career.”

  “You don’t know me at all, do you?” I could stand there and argue with him all day, but I felt as if someone had just drained the life force out of me. The man I’d known and admired all my life was really a fraud. I slid my tablet into its leather case.

  “Where are you going?” he asked.

  “I have a meeting, then I’m heading home.” To Blake’s home. “I need to take some personal time. You’ve given me a lot to think about.”

  Chapter Ten

  Blake

  When Tiana called to let me know she was leaving work early, I offered to meet her at my place. I could tell something heavy had gone down with her old man, and I wanted to offer her a shoulder to lean on if she needed it. As soon as I opened my door, she reached for me and buried her head in my chest.

  “Hey,” I said, stroking her hair, “what happened, baby? You okay?”

  “It’s been a rough day.”

  The guilt felt like a punch in the gut. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have sent those flowers to your office, or shown up unannounced, or tried to start trouble with the new hire and your old man.” I cradled her beautiful face while using my thumbs to catch her tears before they could fall. “Forgive me?” I felt as though all I’d done lately was beg forgiveness for my stupidity.

  “You don’t have anything to apologize for, Blake.” She patted my chest. “I loved the flowers. Chris is a kiss-ass, and my father’s a jerk.”

  I smiled at her apt descriptions as I closed the door behind her. “Kick your shoes off and get in here.” I put my arm around her shoulders after she’d stepped out of her heels. “How ‘bout a glass of wine?”

  “Throw in a back massage, and I’ll be your love slave.”

  I laughed, relieved to see her smile again. “Done.”

  Kissing her hand, I linked it with mine while leading her into the kitchen. I pointed at a stool at the breakfast bar before reaching into the wine fridge for a bottle of our favorite vintage.

  She watched me open the bottle. “Do you think I’m an idiot?”

  “What? No! Why would you ask me that?”

  “All my life, people have been telling me my father got ahead by using and manipulating people.” She dropped her head into her hands. “Look at the way he treats my mother. How could I think there was an ounce of decency in that man?”

  I refrained from responding, knowing she just needed to vent right now. Handing her a glass, I opted to forgo the toast. Anything I said would seem inappropriate in light of her mood.

  “Thanks.” She took a deep swallow, followed by another, before flattening her hand on the granite countertop.

  That was when I realized her hands were shaking. She probably shouldn’t have been driving in her condition. The thought of something happening to her, of her getting into a car accident because she was upset or distracted, made my hands shake.

  “Come on,” I said, holding my hand out for hers. “Let’s go into the living room, and you can tell me all about it.”

  I’d never been much of a homebody, but I couldn’t think of anything I would rather do than curl up on the couch with Tiana. Okay, I could think of one other thing I would rather do with her, but that would have to wait until she felt better. She curled up next to me, balancing her glass on her knee, and reached for the soft throw draped over the arm of the leather sofa.

  “Are you cold?” I asked, setting the blanket over her legs. “I can adjust the air.”

  She turned her back to me so I could wrap my arms around her. “No, I don’t want you to go anywhere.”

  After a few minutes of silence, I said, “Baby, don’t let anything he said about me get to you. I know he hates me, and I don’t care.” I hadn’t cared at all. Now that Demi could be my father-in-law and the grandfather of my future children, I cared a little.

  “It’s not just that.” After a shuddering sigh, she said, “Okay, that’s part of it. I hate that he resents you because of…”

  I sifted her hair through my fingers. I got the sense she had gotten some insight into why her father despised me so much, and I couldn’t deny I was curious. “Why does he resent me so much?”

  “Why didn’t you tell me about your inheritance?”

  I should have known that would come out eventually. I wasn’t trying to hide it from her; I’d just gotten used to being tight-lipped about it. “I didn’t think it was important. I know money doesn’t matter to you, so I figured you wouldn’t care
how much I had.”

  She threaded her free hand through mine. “I’m not going to lie. I was a little hurt that I heard about it from my father instead of you.”

  I pressed my lips to her cheek. I probably would have felt the same way in her position. I wanted full disclosure from her and had to be willing to offer the same. “My mother grew up a lot like you.” I fixated on her delicate hand, thinking how much better it would look decorated with a big rock and slim diamond band. “Her family was wealthy, very wealthy.”

  “I see.”

  “But she was the most down-to-earth person you’d ever wanna meet. So were my grandparents.”

  “You were close to your grandparents?”

  “Very.” It still wasn’t easy to talk about them. Though they’d passed away years ago, I’d always miss them. “Hell, my grandfather was more of a father figure to me than my old man ever was. He taught me all the important life lessons. My father was too busy chasing the almighty dollar, trying to prove himself.”

  “You and your dad aren’t close?”

  I realized I’d never talked to her much about my father, only my mother. “We keep in touch. It’s not that I hate him—I don’t. We just don’t have much in common.”

  “So when I heard that you came from old money and your family made it big in oil—”

  “Yeah, that was mama’s family who made it big. My old man never made much of himself, truth be told. I wasn’t ashamed of him. I just didn’t have a lot of respect for him as a person. He’s always valued money over people, even his own family, and I can’t understand or relate to that. My nan passed away about five years before my mama did. Damn near broke my granddaddy’s heart to lose her.”

  Tiana kissed the back of my hand, and I held her just a little tighter.

  “My granddaddy was never the same after we lost Mama though. I thought it was hard for him to get over losin’ his soul mate, but he said there was just somethin’ about burying your only child that you never get over.”

  “I can’t even imagine,” Tiana said softly.

  “So it was just me and him until he died.”

  “What about your father?” she asked. “And you said something about your paternal grandfather. Wasn’t he in the picture?”

  “Mmm hmm.” I nodded. “He still is. They’ve got a little ranch in Fort Worth. Still tryin’ to make a go of it, last I heard.” I knew if there was any risk of them losing the old homestead, my father would come to me for the money. He didn’t ask for help often, but when he did, I always came through for him. I figured it was the least I could do for the only family I had left.

  “So your grandfather left everything to you when he passed?”

  “Yeah.” I’d never revealed this to a woman before, but I wanted Tiana to know everything about me. No more secrets. “Uh, we’re talkin’ about a lot of money, Ti. Billions.”

  “Oh wow.” She whistled under her breath. “I guess that’s what my father meant, why he sees you as such a threat. It’s not often he encounters people who can compete with him.”

  “I don’t want to compete with him. I never have.”

  I knew Demi’s posturing stemmed from his insecurity. He was a brilliant businessman, but he hadn’t gone to an Ivy League school or belonged to a country club the way I had growing up. He thought I looked down on him because he’d been born a farmer’s son, but he didn’t realize how much we had in common. I’d been born a struggling rancher’s son, and in spite of my grandparents’ wealth, I’d always thought of them as regular, hard-working people.

  She took a sip of wine. “I know that, but try convincing him of that.”

  “I don’t have to convince him of anything, sweetheart. The only person whose opinion matters to me is yours.” I hoped she believed me. I’d never been more sincere.

  “You don’t have to prove anything to me,” she said, tipping her head back to smile at me. “I know how wonderful you are. But thank you for telling me about your family. Things make a lot more sense now.”

  “I’ll take you to Fort Worth to meet them someday. My granddaddy and daddy are the only real family I have left. I’ve got a few aunts and cousins, but they’re scattered all over the country. We don’t really stay in touch.” I thought of taking her to my grandparents’ house, my home away from home when I was growing up. Now that I’d started talking about my past, I wanted to share everything. It was important to me that she know where I came from and who I was before she met me. “My granddaddy was what you might call a land baron.” I smiled, smoothing the creases of confusion from her brow with my fingertip. “He bought up nearly a million acres and—”

  “A million acres?” she whispered. “Are you serious?”

  “Actually closer to nine hundred thousand, at last count. Largest spread in the state. You see, his father was an oil man. He left my granddaddy a large inheritance, and my granddaddy parlayed that into even more by buying up land. He’d always tell me God wasn’t makin’ any more land. Eventually he started buying parcels and developing it, but he was always a rancher at heart.”

  “So you still have it? Your grandparents’ ranch?”

  “It’s a part of me,” I said. “I’d rather die than sell it. Believe me, developers have tried to get me to part with it, but there’s not enough money in the world for me to make a deal for that land.”

  “It sounds like a big part of your heart is still in Texas. What made you decide to move to New York when you graduated from Harvard?”

  “Your brother.” I smiled at the memory. He’d convinced me to move to New York for a year to help him get Alabaster’s off the ground. One year turned into ten, and I was still there. “I guess I should thank him. If I hadn’t decided to relocate back then, I never would’ve met you.”

  She turned into my arms before setting her glass on the end table. “Do you ever think about going back there to live?”

  I shrugged. “I don’t know. The ranch runs like a well-oiled machine. I have great people managing it. I like to go back to visit when I can, spend time in the old house, but…”

  “But what?” she asked, looping her arms around my neck.

  “I haven’t thought about moving back in a long time.”

  “Why not?”

  Being honest wasn’t easy when I knew I was baring my heart for her, but I’d promised myself I would always tell her the truth. “I knew you’d be comin’ back here eventually. I guess when you did, I wanted to be here.”

  She looked shocked. “Wait a minute, you’re saying you stayed in New York for me?”

  I shrugged, feeling a little uncomfortable in the face of her incredulous reaction. “Alabaster’s hasn’t needed me to be hands-on for a long time. Hell, your brother would have been thrilled if I’d sold him my share so he could be the sole owner.”

  She tipped her head back, studying me carefully as she waited for me to continue.

  “The rest of my investments here were pretty passive before I went into business with Damon. I don’t know—maybe that’s why I went into business with him, ‘cause I wanted a good excuse to stay and be close to you.”

  Her smile lit up her face as she closed her hands around my jaw. “That may be the most romantic thing anyone has ever said to me.”

  I kissed her. I was happy she was pleased, but I could do a whole lot better than that. “How ‘bout we throw a couple steaks on the grill and you can tell me what went down with Demi today?”

  “Sounds like a plan.”

  ***

  We traded the wine for beer. Though Tiana claimed she wasn’t a beer drinker, one sip of a rare Belgian beer I favored changed her mind. I loved that she was willing to try new things with me, to step out of her comfort zone.

  I smiled at her from across the teak table as the sun set behind her. “You know, I could get used to this—dinner with you over a cold beer. I can’t think of a better way to end the day.”

  We still hadn’t talked about what had happened with her father, but she seem
ed much happier and more relaxed than she had when she arrived. I knew when the time was right, she’d tell me everything. In the meantime, I was enjoying hearing about the years she’d spent in Europe, studying art and meeting interesting characters including artists, sculptors, and dancers.

  When she spoke of the professional dancers she’d met backstage at the ballet, the sadness reappeared. I knew I had to get to the bottom of it, for her sake as well as mine. I didn’t want to think there was a single thing Tiana wanted that I couldn’t give her or help her achieve.

  I polished off the last bite of my steak. “You love to dance so much. Why did you major in art history?”

  She leaned back in her seat as she got a faraway look in her eye. “I had an opportunity to dance with the New York City Ballet.” She set her plate aside before reaching for her glass. “That was my dream.”

  “What happened?”

  “An injury.” She shrugged as though it was inconsequential, but I could tell how much it still hurt her to talk about the missed opportunity. “I had a stress fracture that didn’t heal properly. I tried to dance again, but it was too painful. By the time it finally healed, I was out of practice and too much time had passed. They weren’t interested in me anymore.”

  “I’m sorry, sweetheart,” I said, reaching for her hand. “It’s never easy to give up on a dream, is it?”

  “He talked me into it,” she said, her eyes darkening with anger. “He told me to give up my silly fantasies and grow up.” She closed her eyes, looking defeated. “I’d never stood up to my father before. I was young and naïve, and if he told me to do something, I didn’t think I had a choice. So I did it. That’s the way it was in my family. You did as you were told or suffered his wrath. By then Deacon and Damon had already left for college, so I was the only one left for him to control and manipulate, aside from my mother, and she’d never even tried standing up to him.”

  I thought I’d disliked Demi before, but that was nothing compared to the disgust I felt toward him now. “You’re not a little girl anymore. It’s not too late to start living your life on your terms, Ti.”