Coastal Runaway (Coast to Coast #1)

Twenty-Nine

twenty-nine

Luke

I woke up with heavy thoughts in my brain. I had this beautiful woman wrapped around me, but I couldn’t hold her hand in public without her looking around to see who was watching us.

Keegan snuck back into her room when we peeled out of bed this morning to get changed for family dinner at her dad’s house. Always sneaking around was starting to make me feel dirty. Nothing about what Keegan and I were doing was wrong. I thought that she was overthinking telling Nolan and her family. Maeve already knew and loved to tease us about it. I didn’t think Aiden would really care, and I suspected that he knew. Nolan would be hurt from the secrets and lies but he would get over it if we just told him.

Aiden knocked on my door, “hey, we’re leaving in ten minutes. Just wanted to let you know.”

I tipped my chin in his direction, “Thanks.”

He lingered, “I know this isn’t my place, but my dad said that your dad is going to be there today. Just thought you shouldn’t go in blind.”

A pit grew in my stomach, but I was also not surprised that he tried to ambush me. I’d sent all of my law school applications, but my dad had been mostly silent since my outburst at the golf course, aside from a few calls that I ignored.

I had a sinking feeling that his silence meant that he was scheming to blow up my life. He really hated being told ‘no’ when he demanded a course of action; my refusal to take over his half of the company would be seen as a betrayal.

“Thanks for letting me know. I appreciate it.”

With a nod he left the room and I headed over to Keegan’s room. I knocked on her sliding door and she glanced over her shoulder, a huge smile spread across her face. When Keegan smiled, I swore that she could light the entire city. It’s electric. She opened the door for me and before she could talk I engulfed her in a huge hug, picking her up off the ground. As if she could sense how much I needed her, she wrapped her legs around my waist and pulled me tighter.

“It’s going to be okay,” she whispered in my ear, “I promise.”

I sure hoped she was right.

We all piled into Nolan’s SUV and I remained silent, it felt like a pile of bricks was laying on my chest. I suspected that my dad was only coming to dinner so I would be forced to face him about my future plans. I made my stance clear about my intentions for after graduation.

My stomach flipped as we pulled into Mr. Kelly’s driveway and I saw my dad’s Red McLaren. His use of money truly disgusted me. He believed that you needed to show off for people to understand your place in society. I thought that your place in society should be determined by hard work and the way that you responded to a challenge, not by how you threw money at a problem to make it disappear.

Keegan reached over and placed her hand on my knee. One of my favorite things about her was the way that she could sense when I needed to feel grounded. Her touch did that to me; like she anchored me to her so I didn’t drift off again.

We got out of the car and walked soberly into the house. My dad was sitting with Owen on the sofa in the den while Mr. Kelly was pouring them two fingers of whiskey. It was all so stiff that it made my skin itch; this was so unlike the warm and inviting Sunday dinners that I had come to look forward to.

Mr. Kelly turned towards us and looked elated, “oh good, you’re all here!”

He approached us and gave us each a hug—my dad remained seated. Mr. Kelly looked at me apologetically as if he could sense just how bad things were between us. We all gathered in the den to sit and catch up as Mr. Kelly handed out drinks before dinner was ready.

“I wanted to tell you all about something exciting coming up. Sean and I are being honored as innovators at the Los Angeles Botanical Society Gala the Saturday before Thanksgiving. This is a big deal for the company and I expect you all to be in attendance.”

We all stood and congratulated them; the girls instantly started discussing dress options.

Would she go with me?

Before I could get too lost in thought, Maria, the chef that worked for the Kelly’s for as long as I could remember, announced that dinner was served.

Dinner at the Kelly’s was never this formal. This felt weird. We usually laughed and told crude jokes and chased each other around. Most of the time Mr. Kelly cooked the dinner himself and we cleaned up after. It always felt like a home instead of a cold, heartless, mansion in the Hollywood Hills. But, my dad did what he did best—he plowed in and sucked the life out of a room until every last drop was dried up.

During dinner the conversation was slow, but pleasant. Owen talked with our dads about business, and each of us gave updates about our lives in college. When it was my turn to speak, I froze momentarily, unable to decide if I should be truthful or not.

“I actually just finished my applications for law school. I sent the last one last night.” I spoke honestly.

My dad scoffed.

“That’s fantastic Luke! I didn’t know you wanted to go into law.” Mr. Kelly beamed. My heart jumped at the thought that maybe he could be proud of this decision, even if he disagreed with it. I looked towards my dad.

“Where have you applied?” He asked with an arched brow.

“I debated it for a while but my top choices are CCU, Stanford, UC Berkeley… and Columbia.” I glanced over at Keegan, who looked unfazed. She knew where I was ap plying, but we hadn't talked about my final decisions yet, or what would happen to us if I chose Columbia after graduation… or if there would be an us after graduation. That thought made my breaths come in shallow.

“Those are wonderful schools. I am sure you will do great.” He nodded towards Nolan who was sitting beside me and was next to provide an update. As Nolan rambled on, I looked at Keegan again. She appeared almost stoic and wouldn’t look me in the eyes. When I was certain that the others weren’t watching, I nudged her foot under the table and mouthed I love you . She smiled sweetly and mouthed it back to me. That made me relax a tiny bit, but I still had this ache in my stomach that something was wrong.

After dinner, Nolan and Aiden were on cleanup duty, and my dad gestured for me to follow him into Mr. Kelly’s office. He shut the door behind him but it didn't click shut. I sank back into the worn brown leather chair that sat opposite of the desk.

I had sat in this chair hundreds of times, Mr. Kelly used to have it at the Malibu house when it was still their family home on the West Coast. Every time that Nolan and I got in trouble when our families brought us out here in the summers, he would sit us in these chairs and give us a classic lecture about responsible choices. I had never felt so uneasy in Mr. Kelly’s office as I did now. My dad rounded the desk and leaned against the front of it.

“You’ve been dodging my calls.” He crossed his arms.

“I had nothing to say.” I had a defiant edge to my tone.

“I always knew you were an ungrateful little shit, but I didn’t think you were a stupid one.”

“Why am I stupid this time?” I acted bored. Honestly, I was a little bored. It’s the same insults over and over. I was a disappointment, a disgrace to the Cavan name, I got it.

“You’re stupid, my dear son, because you are fucking my business partner’s daughter.”

My eyes snapped to him, “what are you talking about?” I asked, feigning ignorance.

“Oh, please. You think that I would just disappear and not keep tabs on you? You’re a terrible liar. Always have been.”

“So what now then? I know you’re not here to offer congratulations on my relationship so, tell me, what do you want?”

He chuckled, “I couldn’t give less of a fuck about your relationship, son, I care about your reputation. That girl is not up to the Cavan standard. She’s a college cheerleader who makes silly little posts on social media so people will like her, and she’s careless enough to have elicit photos scattered across page six. Do you understand how that would have made this family look if your relationship was public? You need to get serious.”

“I am serious. And that was a violation of Keegan’s privacy, it was not her fault. The Kellys are a powerful family, yet their reputation is intact regardless of the photos. You can’t march into my life and tell me who is worth my time, especially when you’re not worth a single second. Regardless of your name.” I stood, ready to storm out of the office.

“Not so fast,” he held up a hand and I paused out of habit, “listen to me carefully, I will not repeat myself. You want to go to law school so bad? Fine. But you will go to Columbia. You will work on the legal team for KavTech afterwards, and you will dump Ms. Kelly. You especially will not embarrass me by showing up to this gala with her on your arm.”

My jaw was on the floor, he simply couldn’t be serious, “and if I refuse?”

“I will black list you from every law school in the country. I might not have been able to control your finances, but I sure as hell can control your social status. Think about it.”

He left the office and house without even a goodbye, and I couldn't move a muscle. I worked so hard to be out of his shadow. The man had so much money, pull, and malintent that I knew he'd make good on his promises. But would I give up the girl of my dreams for good? Or would I give up the career that I so desperately wanted?

I was so fucked.