That thought made me want to cry. I knew in that moment and without a doubt in my mind that I was in love with Haven.
32
Haven
I ran all the way to my car from Erik’s house. After that soul-stealing kiss, I couldn’t speak. Even if I did, I wasn’t sure what would come out of my mouth. Sometimes actions were better than any words, and I hoped that Ryker had at least gotten the message that I had feelings for him.
My hands shook as I started the engine. I inhaled once then twice, trying to regulate my breathing. Before I got on the road, I texted my father that I was on my way home.
He replied immediately: I’ll be waiting.
I stuck out my middle finger at my phone then got on the road. My heart was pounding, and dread was setting in.
My phone beeped. That time, it was Ryker: Text or call me after you talk to your old man. If I have to, I’ll come get you. I got you, baby doll.
Whatever was about to go down, I knew one thing. If Ryker’s offer still stood about moving in with him, then I would be packing my bags tonight.
Once on the road, my mind wandered to what Ryker had said. “I would ruin my career and tear down buildings and people for you.”
I didn’t want to assume anything, but that line sounded like he loved me. Instead of telling him those three little words, I’d kissed him only because my throat had closed up with so much emotion. Also, I was afraid to say “I love you” out loud. I was afraid he might run like the wind the minute I did. After all, his reputation was as a ladies’ man.
Traffic was light on the highway. So it didn’t take me long to get home. Well, my father’s estate wasn’t home anymore. Nothing about his place gave me the feeling of home. Come to think of it, I’d really never had a place where I felt like I belonged, at least not since my mom had been alive. But since her death, I’d been a gypsy—boarding school, my father’s estate during summers, or traveling with friends and their parents on occasion.
Father was sitting in a rocker on the portico, smoking a cigar, when I pulled up. Arlene was nowhere in sight, which was probably best. I didn’t need the hassle of her butting in when I spoke my mind. I was sure she didn’t want to hear the questions I had for my father. Not only that, I wasn’t a home-wrecker.
I climbed the few steps and sat in the rocker next to him. For a beat, he didn’t say a word, and I was waiting for him to start. He could yell all he wanted to, but this was the last time I would endure his wrath. That much, I was certain of.
“How’s Ryker?” he asked casually, as though he and I hadn’t been in several fights as of late.
“Did you ask Tabitha?” I kept my attitude even and calm. I knew as the conversation escalated, any niceness I had would vanish.
He puffed out a cloud of smoke. “Arlene tells me you left after you came to my office. I take it you overheard my conversation.”
I rocked in the chair. “Bits and pieces.”
The overpowering hum of the crickets sang around us as a warm breeze hung in the air. The sun had gone down an hour ago, and the only light illuminating my father’s hard profile was the glow coming from the long window behind us.
He continued to toke on his cigar, rocking in his chair. “I’ve made a lot of mistakes in my life, Haven, but you were never one of them.”
My head whipped left as if I were watching a horror movie. I had so much to say and nothing to say, which was crazy.
He puffed and rocked. “I sent you to boarding school so you didn’t have to put up with public scrutiny as I went into politics. I like you home. I want you to live here and not in a dorm room, and not because of my threats, but because I’m your father and I want us to have a relationship.”
I was stymied. “So why use threats? Why couldn’t you ask me nicely or explain your feelings? Why treat me like one of your minions? And why all of a sudden do you want to have a relationship?”
He stopped rocking and regarded me. “First, you were dead set on living in the dorms, and I didn’t want to take that away from you. I was your age once, and I wanted that college experience too. And you’re right. I have been treating you like you work for me. I’m sorry for that. Ever since your mom died, I haven’t been one to talk about feelings, but maybe it’s time I start.” He inhaled. “Believe it or not, Arlene made me realize that if I keep treating you like someone on my campaign, then I would lose you.”
Maybe there was hope for Arlene yet. Still, his admission of his feelings was nice, but the bigger issue was Lorna Sims.
“You will lose me, Daddy, if you tell me who I can and cannot date. So the next questions are why do you have two women taking photos of me? Why are you more interested in pleasing them than your own daughter? And why throw Ryker into the mix? He’s done nothing to you.”
He flicked cigar ash into a tray on the table between us and set his green gaze on me. “Because Lorna Sims is prepared to release information about me that, if it got out, could ruin me.”
“Your affair?”
“Partly.”
“You mean she has something else on you? What?”
Regret washed over him. “I’m not prepared to discuss the details except to say that Lorna thinks she has something else on me other than the affair, and whether it’s true or not, I’ll have to deal with public perception. Look, whatever happens between now and the election, I want you to know that I do love you.”
My mouth hit the arm of the rocker. It had been years since he’d told me that, and while I was elated that he was sharing how he felt, I was concerned that he was in trouble. Sure, Ryker was right. My father’s actions were his own, and he would have to atone for his mistakes, but he was my father, my blood, my family, and I felt I needed to help if I could. The only way I knew how was to live at home for the time being. Maybe he and I could sew the pieces of our relationship back together.
It was my turn to put my cards on the table. “Daddy, I like Ryker a lot. He’s a great guy. He has a big heart, and I’m going to tell him how I feel. If he feels the same way, then he’ll be around more.”
He harrumphed. “I see a lot of me in him.”
That wasn’t a bad thing, although Ryker didn’t strike me as a guy who would cheat. He also had a bigger heart than my dad, although my dad’s heart had been ripped out when my mom died. So I should cut him some slack.
“Please tell me what else Lorna thinks she has on you.”
“Haven, the less you know, the better.” He sounded worried.
“Does Arlene know about your affair?”
He nodded. “She does. My affair with Lorna has been over with for a while now. Aside from the Simses, Arlene, and now you, no one knows about it. I would like to keep it that way.”
I wasn’t sure marital affairs ever stayed hidden. But my lips were sealed.
“Is your marriage okay?” Not that I cared one way or the other.
“Arlene is a strong woman, and I love her. We’re working through things. That’s all you need to know. Would you do me one more favor?” he asked nicely. “Can you and Ryker keep a low profile out of the public eye until after the election?”
Irritation crawled up my throat because he wouldn’t tell me what else Lorna might have on him.
His big hand landed on mine. “Can you, honey?”
Honey? He hadn’t called me that since I was ten. If it weren’t for the loud music of the crickets, I would have thought I was on some other planet. Plus, he’d seemed to come to terms with Ryker and me. For sure, I was in an alternate universe.
“You have my word.”
The election was coming up in two weeks. During that time, I had classes and studying. Ryker had the same plus football practice and games. However, we did have the fundraiser, which wouldn’t be bad press. But even then, we wouldn’t be showing any affection in public.
Then my heart stopped beating.
Some woman was going to buy a date with Ryker, and some guy a date with me. I wasn’t thrilled about the event, but I’d
signed up, and I couldn’t disappoint Lucas.
“I do have that charity event next Saturday.”
“I know. I suspect one of the Sims sisters will buy a date with Ryker.”
I growled under my breath. I really wasn’t looking forward to next Saturday.
33
Ryker
I’d been dying to see Haven all fucking week. Since she’d run out of Erik’s like someone had been chasing her, I hadn’t been able to concentrate. Well, except I’d had most of my head in the football game earlier that day. Thankfully, we’d won, so at least the day had started off well. But now with the charity event upon us, my gut was giving me a bad feeling about that night. I couldn’t pinpoint why. Maybe because Haven was an hour late. We still had an hour before the auction kicked off, but all participants were supposed to be at the hotel two hours prior to start time.
I paced the floral carpet in the hall at the Marriott, outside the ballroom where guests who had forked over fifty dollars for a ticket were chatting excitedly.
I wasn’t excited in the least. Now that I had finally admitted to myself that I might be in love with a woman I probably couldn’t have, I didn’t want to be there.
Lucas came out of a room next door to the main ballroom. The other participants were inside, getting ready for the event.
He adjusted his bow tie, looking suave and debonair. “Any word from Haven?”
I shook my head but continued to wear a hole in the carpet. “I sent her a text earlier, but no word.”
The only time I had heard from my girl was after she’d talked to her father. She’d been cryptic in her text with only a message that said she’d resolved some of her issues with him, and she’d assured me she was okay. She’d ended by saying, “I’ll see you at the charity event.”
I’d debated whether to head out to her father’s estate, but I’d had too much going on with football and practice.
“You don’t think her dad is responsible for her not being here?” Lucas asked.
“I wouldn’t put it past him,” I muttered.
Maybe he’d locked her in some room until after the election. After all, his poll numbers had dropped big time during the last week for no other reason than his opponent seemed to have a solid backing with voters and some new policy he’d been bragging about in reducing emissions from manufacturers, power plants, and oil refineries.
Taking out my phone from my tux, I settled in front of a window that overlooked a garden.
Me: Hey, baby doll. Where are you? Everything okay?
Lucas sidled up to me. “Don’t look now, but Tabitha is coming this way.”
Motherfucker!
The woman was like a Whac-A-Mole.
“Lucas. Ryker.” Her high-pitched voice grated on my nerves.
Lucas, being the nice guy that he was, pivoted on his heel. I didn’t move but watched their exchange through the reflection in the window.
She kissed Lucas on the cheek. “You look great in a tux. Maybe I should put my money on you instead of Ryker.”
When she said my name, I blanched even though I was stupid to think that she wouldn’t be there or bid on me.
She skirted past Lucas and came up to me then hooked her arm around mine. “You smell awesome.”
The urge to scream sat heavily in my throat. But I was a gentleman. So I shrugged out of her hold as nicely as I could.
“Ryker,” a female voice said.
Thank fuck. Saved by a woman.
My gaze drifted to my savior, who was none other than Vicki.
Lucas lit up with a grin as though he were looking at Vicki for the first time. But Vicki wasn’t a stranger, although the way she was dressed was eye-opening. She was rocking an outfit that hugged her curves and showed off just enough cleavage to tease a man.
Tabitha followed me to where Lucas was standing near a fancy table that held a vase of fresh flowers. The sweet aroma floated up my nostrils, almost calming me for a moment. But that feeling vanished when I saw the worry in Vicki’s big brown eyes.
She clasped her hands in front of her. “Is Haven here?”
Lucas ran a hand over his hair even though he’d tamed his curls with tons of gel. “What happened?”
Vicki regarded Lucas, Tabitha, then me. “You haven’t heard?”
Lucas and I swapped twisted expressions.
Tabitha, on the other hand, had a faint smile on her face as though she knew what Vicki knew.
“It’s all over the news,” Vicki said in a rush. “Senator Hale has been having an affair.”
Holy fuck! What if Haven thought I was the one to leak the news? What if that was the reason she was AWOL?
“That might explain why Haven isn’t here,” Lucas said.
Tabitha gave us a smug look. “Good luck, gentleman. Start thinking about where you’re going to take me, Ryker.” Then she started for the ballroom.
Oh, fuck no. I grasped her cold, clammy hand. “You know something.”
She pressed her body to mine. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
I gripped the sides of her arms, edging away. “Yes, you do.”
She flashed her murky blue eyes up at me. “I suggest you forget about Haven Hale. Because after tonight, you won’t want to be associated with the Hales.” Then she held her head high and walked into the ballroom.
My legs were locked in place.
“She sounds like something big is about to happen,” Vicki said.
My gut knotted. “I have to find Haven.”
“We have a lot riding on this event, dude,” Lucas said, meaning I was the headline. I was the one who would bring in the money. “Give her a few more minutes.”
I hated to disappoint my best friend and a great charity, but Haven came first. “Have you spoken to her this week?” I asked Vicki.
“Yeah. She said she would be here. But maybe she can’t get past the reporters. Last I heard, they were at the senator’s house.” Vicki’s eyes drifted past me as Lucas flicked his head.
I looked over my shoulder, and that heartbeat that was only reserved for Haven took off like a horse out of the gate.
Haven sashayed toward us like she didn’t have a care in the world. Her auburn hair was piled up in some fancy hairstyle. Her halter dress revealed her toned arms and large breasts. My heart reacted and so did another body part, because that slit in her dress crept up from her ankle to midthigh.
No fucking way was any guy getting his hands on her. I didn’t know how I could break the rules, but I had to think of something. However, any thoughts I had disappeared when she gave me a smile that said I was the guy for her—no one else.
Vicki ran up to her. “Oh my God! Are you okay?”
She reared back. “Of course. Why wouldn’t I be?”
“The news,” Vicki said as a matter of fact.
“My father is dealing with it.” She sounded so calm.
Clutching my shoulder, Lucas sighed. “See you inside.” Then he strutted up to Haven and Vicki. “Vicki, can I talk to you?”
Vicki cooed or squealed as she and Lucas walked away.
Haven stood ten or twenty feet away, watching me size her up. Or maybe she was doing the same to me.
My mouth was bone dry. My brain wasn’t working. And I probably couldn’t get my tongue to work either.
She beamed as she drew closer. “Hey, big guy. I love the tux.”
And I love you. “I was worried. Are you sure you’re okay?”
“Never better.”
Her permanent smile said it all, but in that moment, I had to clear the air. “I didn’t leak anything to the press.”
“I know.”
My head jerked. “Do you know who did?”
“Let’s not talk about that right now.”
It was probably best to wait. Besides, I didn’t want to talk anyway. Instead, I wanted to kiss the lights out of her.
But what I wanted had to wait because Lucas returned right then.
“It’s time,”
he said. “I want to address the group now that everyone is here.”
I extended my elbow to Haven. “My lady.”
She blushed as she took my arm.
No matter what happened from there on out, I was one happy motherfucker.
34
Haven
The twenty of us who were in the fundraiser were shuffled into the ballroom amid a packed house and instructed to sit in the front row. I felt like I was in my graduation ceremony at boarding school.
A lady, whom Lucas had introduced as Sandra right before kickoff time, fiddled with papers on the podium. Sandra was head of the Chelsea House for Battered Women and the master of ceremonies for the evening.
I didn’t know how I’d gotten the short end of the straw, but I was sitting next to none other than enemy number two—Beverly Sims.
She leaned in. “I didn’t think you would make it. Seems your father is in a pickle.”
My dad suspected that one of the Simses had leaked the affair to the press because Lorna Sims had been calling him all week, and he’d been ghosting her. He still hadn’t told me what else she had on him.
I wasn’t sure I wanted to know anymore. I was on the brink of doing something drastic to one of the Sims women, or maybe all three, although a part of me felt sorry for them. It was pathetic watching three women, with no father around, trying to hang on to a rich man’s coattails.
“I know you leaked his affair to the press.” I wasn’t sure, but I wanted to see what type of reaction I could get out of her.
Her hands were clasped in her lap, and her knuckles were almost turning white. “Wait ’til you hear what else we have in store.”
Ever so slowly, my head turned in her direction. “So you admit leaking the affair?”
She jutted out her chin. “Your father deserves what’s coming to him.”
Don’t make a scene, Haven. Remember your manners.
As a senator’s daughter, I had been taught to keep my mouth shut or, if push came to shove, to divert whatever the topic was that could cause trouble—act normal, polite, confident, and go about my business like nothing had happened.
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