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It appeared he still did, he thought as he snaked through the halls to his bedroom.
The thought burned a hole through his heart. Julia had been engaged to the man once before. By his own admission, Luke had told them she’d had concerns that they wanted different things from life. But now he was a transformed man.
A millionaire. A man of the world.
Could he compete? He had more money. He had a more lucrative business. But did he have Julia’s heart?
Closing the door to his room, he leaned against it as the question burned through his mind. He rubbed at his eyes and shook his head. His conversation with Julia hadn’t been as enlightening as he hoped. He clung to the same pieces that gave him hope, but in the end, he’d found himself too emotional to discuss anything with her.
The image of Luke’s lips pressed against hers ricocheted through his mind. Unlike the pictures of Kyle kissing her, which had been disturbing enough, she’d seemed so comfortable with Luke. Too comfortable.
The shocking moment continued to taunt him even after he’d climbed between the sheets and tried to sleep. Despite her words earlier, he imagined their contract ending with Julia running into Luke’s arms. Not if he could help it.
He fell asleep making a silent vow to win his wife back. He arose early the next morning, his nerves on edge as he waited for something to break. Lydia’s threat, Luke’s presence, and the odd Alex Stone made relaxing impossible. He wondered if they’d catch a break anytime soon with the pictures of Sierra.
As the sun crested the horizon, he stared at the front lawn of Harrington House from his office, painted in deep shadows that seemed to reach for him.
A quiet knock interrupted his thoughts. “Come in,” he said, expecting Worthington to waltz through the door and offer him some stoic wisdom to help settle his nerves.
Instead, Kyle slipped inside, sending tension spiraling through his shoulders.
“Kyle, you’re up early.”
“Yes, and I’m glad you are, too.”
His features scrunched as he wondered if he should pour himself a drink despite the early hour. “You are?”
“Of course.” Kyle offered him an incredulous glance. “Aren’t you excited?”
Grant slid his eyes sideways, trying to come up with a reason. “Are you?”
“Yes,” Kyle said with a grin as he slid into a seat across from Grant’s desk. “I have been up almost all night.”
“And that’s exciting?”
Kyle heaved an annoyed sigh. “Are you telling me you haven’t been?”
“I didn’t sleep well, but…”
“Dad!” Kyle exclaimed. “Come on. This is our first project together. The first time we don’t hate each other entirely.”
Grant’s features twisted even more with confusion. Was Julia right about Kyle’s extreme need for acceptance?
His son dug a paper from his pocket and unfolded it. “Now, I’ve jotted a list of ideas that we could use.”
Grant eased into his chair, trying desperately to get on the same page with his son. “Okay.”
“Okay, number one. Buy Luke’s company and bankrupt it. Simple, clean, although it leaves a pretty big paper trail leading to us unless we set up a shell company, which I’m certain you’ve done in the past. In fact, you probably already thought of that one, but I’m just throwing it out there in case we think it’s the best plan.”
Grant sucked in a breath as he realized he was talking about their tentative agreement to destroy the man that threatened to take Julia from them. “Right, this is about Luke.”
Kyle narrowed his eyes. “What else would it be about? Honestly, we can’t stand each other but a common enemy has brought us together.”
“Right, umm, yeah I’m not certain–”
“You’re right,” he said with a shake of his head. “That option probably takes too long. We need faster results.”
He dug a pen from his pocket and drew on the paper. “Just going to cross that one off. Okay, number two, sink all his tour boats.”
