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“Are you bringing her to the Christmas gala?”
I paused, and Kenton’s eyes narrowed.
“She doesn’t know about the family,” I said slowly. “She doesn’t even know I have money or this business.”
“Ry…” he breathed, the single drawn out syllable admonishing me.
“You know how hard it is to find something genuine,” I defended. I know he had similar issues with women.
“You gotta tell her. It’s not like you can marry her and keep it a big secret.”
“I know. I’ll probably break the news tonight.”
“Break the news,” he scoffed, echoing me in a disbelieving tone as if it wasn’t a death sentence bearing down on me. It felt like it was. Holly was the one that had asked me for casual. She wasn’t into the trappings of affluence. She might be overwhelmed, but she wouldn’t be impressed—not in a gold-digger way, plotting how the wealth could change her life and how she could spend my cash.
“Let’s talk about the contract.” Redirecting seemed like the best bet here.
“It’s pretty straight forward. They tried to cut costs on the liability insurance. I caught it and red flagged them. They know it, so they won’t pull that shit again.”
Our company was one of the best because of our red flag system. Mistakes happened, but you got two strikes on major items like this and that was it. There were plenty of other guys willing to jump into your place. Bullshit like cutting insurance costs or using inferior materials wasn’t an option.
We talked about the project for about a half hour. Fifteen minutes later, like clockwork, my phone rang.
“Hi, Mom.” She might be my stepmother, but she was my mom. She’d raised me like her own blood child since I was young enough not to remember a time before her.
“You’re dating,” she said with glee.
I rolled my eyes, unable to hold back my smile both at her happiness and my thoughts about Holly.
“More than dating.”
“I don’t want to hear about your sex life, Rylan James.”
I groaned. “Not like that. That’s not what I meant.”
She chuckled. “Let me guess. She thinks you’re dating and you’re cooling your heels until you can marry her. Just like your father. You know she’s the one, and you just haven’t told her yet.”
I glanced out the window. The snow hadn’t slowed, and I hoped it wouldn’t be a problem for Holly out there.
“I will soon.”
“But you’ve been testing her. Let me guess again… She doesn’t know who you really are.”
“She knows who I really am,” I grumbled, feeling like a little kid being taken to task. “That’s the whole point. That I’d find someone who wasn’t blinded by the family’s wealth.”
“I knew if I kept pushing those ridiculous girls at you that you’d go find one who’s right for you.”
“Mother!”
“I’m not even sorry. If they weren’t twits, you might have shown your interest, but I raised a smart boy who can recognize something genuine.”
“Thanks, Mom.”
“So tell me all about her.”
Leaning back in my seat, I told the story of seeing Holly, crashing her speed dates and what I’d been doing ever since. Mom made me promise to bring Holly to Christmas. Afterward, I pushed aside everything and started planning our next date, the one that would reveal all and make us or break us.
Please God, don’t let it end us.
