Risqué Business (Club Risqué #8)

Chapter 3

CHAPTER 3

I t was just dinner. That’s what Connor told himself, anyway. He could tolerate the awkwardness of his father’s company for a couple of hours for Laurel’s sake.

If the man decided to turn up, that was.

He was already thirty minutes late, and Laurel sat fiddling with her cutlery as they waited.

Connor let out a low growl as he watched the waiter approach them once again. No doubt to ask them for the third time if they were ready to order, and not so subtly prompt them to get on with it.

“Have you decided what you want to eat?” Connor asked Laurel, his tone harder than he wanted to be with her, but his level of pissed-off was becoming increasingly difficult to control.

He’d known this was a bad idea.

Laurel sighed. “I’m not really hungry. Perhaps we should just go home.”

Looking at the dejection on her face, Connor really hoped his father didn’t turn up anytime soon. He was likely to punch the asshole.

“I’m sorry, but your third party has rung to give his apologies,” the waiter announced.

“Fucking typical,” Connor snarled, scrapping his chair along the floor as he surged to his feet. “Asshole didn’t even have the decency to contact me directly. Jeez, even a business associate wouldn’t be that rude.”

He threw some notes on the table and stalked towards the door, hearing Laurel give a hasty apology before she hurried after him.

The drive home was stilted and silent, and Connor drove too fast in an effort to outrun this particular demon, even though he knew that would never have the desired effect.

“I’m sorry,” Laurel murmured when they finally walked through the doors into the privacy of their own apartment. “I shouldn’t have pushed.”

Connor stopped and pulled her into his arms. “No pet, none of this was your fault. You were right that I should have had the decency to tell him about the wedding myself, and that’s what this was about. Just because he behaves badly, it doesn’t mean I should sink to the same level.”

She nodded against his chest.

“But he’s had his chance. I’m not giving him any more of my time.”

Laurel pulled back a little. “That’s okay. I understand. But since it’s clearly not going to work out, would you mind if...”

She paused and worried her lip between her teeth. Connor could tell she was fretting, debating whatever she was going to ask, so he pressed on her chin to release her lip and encouraged her gently. “Would I mind if what, pet?”

“Um… would you mind if I asked Xavier to give me away instead?”

He understood why she was hesitant to ask. Master X, as the good Dr Diaz was known at the club, was a sadist with whom Laurel had shared an intense, though non-sexual, relationship.

As it was, he also understood why she’d want him to give her away. Xavi had been Laurel’s anchor when she’d been adrift in a sea of emotions she couldn’t control, while Connor had been drowning in denial and fighting his own demons after the spectacular breakdown of their former relationship, such as it was.

But Connor bore no resentment towards Xavier. Well, not anymore, anyway. The man had looked out for Laurel and kept her grounded. Kept her from doing the unthinkable. He would always be grateful for that, even while he harboured a slight envy of their unique relationship.

Well, that had failed spectacularly. She knew Connor had been angry, but he’d calmed quickly, reassuring Laurel she wasn’t at fault.

She still felt like she was. She was the one who had pushed for them to meet with his father, against Connor’s better judgement.

But damn it, she’d really hoped asking his father to give her away might be the catalyst to healing the relationship between father and son. Now all she’d achieved was to prove to Connor once again that he was right to keep his father at arm’s length.

Perhaps she should just give it up. She’d meddled in Connor’s life before, pushing things he wasn’t comfortable with, and that had proven disastrous for both of them. She really should have learned her lesson after that first time.

The trouble was, Laurel couldn’t help thinking things could be different between Connor and his father if they just sat down and talked to each other, honestly and openly.

You can’t make them have that conversation.

Yeah, she really should listen to that little voice inside her head. The one that promoted caution and advised her not to be too headstrong.

But Laurel had never been good at taking orders, not even from herself.

She was a brat. And while she may have lost her way for a little while, she was back to being a brat.

And the louder voice in her mind didn’t want to let this go.