“I’m an adult. I’m more concerned about their opinion of you dating someone who owns a sex club.”
“My family couldn’t care less what you do as long as it’s not illegal or immoral.”
“It’s perfectly legal. The immoral part is a gray line which gets ’em every time.”
“People are idiots. My family isn’t like that. They raised my father, who we both know skirted the line of morality. But if it makes you feel any better, when I told my grandparents about your club, my grandfather told me he’d heard you were a shrewd businessperson and if he was any younger, he’d find a way to do business with you.” When he told her, she almost threw up in her mouth. Who wants to picture their grandparents bumping uglies? But it helped assuage her nerves in bringing him.
“Did he really?” Shock tinged his voice as he pulled into the country club, as though he couldn’t imagine people accepting him. How isolating, to own a club everyone craved and wanted to be part of, but refused to acknowledge during the day. It probably wasn’t even the fact he owned a sex club. Roman knew all their secrets, and these men and women, who ruled the people around them, were beholden to a man because they gave into their base instincts. Roman refused to let it bother him, and had yet to let them affect him. One of the many reasons Alexandra respected him.
“Yes. Now, be your naturally charming self, and I’ll give you a treat later on.”
He grabbed her hand, a show of solidarity they both needed while they waded through the dining room where the rest of her family was seated. Introductions were made, with her grandfather and Anthony giving him the standard male greeting, with plenty of back-thumping and handshaking, while Parker, her mother, and her grandmother got a hug. Drinks were brought and the appetizers their grandparents ordered were placed on the table before the servers faded into the background.
“Tell me about yourself. Alexandra tells me you own Club Valentine.” Her grandfather was quick to start the inquisition. He’d never been one to beat around the bush.
“Yes, sir. I own the controlling share, but my siblings own stock in the company.”
“Aha.” Her grandfather slapped his hand on the table as though he’d just figured out a puzzle. “A man who knows family. I like that. Who else owns shares?”
“No one. Club Valentine is my pride and joy, and there’s no way I would let it fall into anyone else’s hands. Our clientele insists upon it, and my siblings both signed an agreement stating if they no longer wanted their shares, they’d sell them back to me.”
“Genius. I need to look into doing that with my company. I’ve been trying to find a way to give some of my family stock without losing control of my power,” Anthony said. He owned an architectural firm, and had been swamped with new clients, so was looking into expansion while ensuring they stayed true to their roots.
“It was the easiest choice. My family is important to me and wanted to be part of the process, and I couldn’t see myself completing this endeavor without them. I’d be more than happy to talk to you about it some other time, because I’m sure we don’t want to bore the girls talking about business.” Anthony agreed, promising to exchange numbers before they left.
“As long as I’ve been married to this man,” Gran pointed to Papa and waved him off, “if I hadn’t gotten used to talking about business, I’d have had to kill him to make him shut up.” Roman chuckled, and it felt as though the nerves and tension were gone. They had a lively conversation about who was going to win the pennant race, with her grandfather rooting for the underdogs while Roman and Anthony rooted for the team who was making a repeat performance from the year before. Alexandra, her mother, her grandmother, and Parker discussed wedding plans. Parker swore she’d found just the dress for Alexandra, which led to a conversation about what the other women would wear, because they were certain nothing in their closet would do for Parker’s big day.
They laughed, they joked, and enjoyed each other’s company long after dinner was served. No one mentioned her father, for which Alexandra was thankful. Every once in a while, she caught a shrewd gleam in her mother’s eye but never voiced whatever was on her mind. As the evening wound to a close, he pulled her close, kissing the side of her head as he always did, and Alexandra leaned her head on his shoulder. Roman just fit.
“Alexandra, is Roman coming to the cabin in a couple weeks?” Parker asked when there was a lull in conversation. She felt him tense beside her at the mention of the property. She put her hand on his thigh and squeezed, hoping he’d get the message they’d talk later.
“I don’t know. We hadn’t talked about it,” she hedged. It wasn’t that she hadn’t told him, she just didn’t want to acknowledge it given his aversion to it. They spent the weekend of her father’s death together in his cabin. It was tradition, and she’d clung to those when younger. The older she got, the less she wanted to, which was part of the reason she didn’t mind selling it. She’d rather remember him on a celebratory weekend, like their anniversary, but her grandmother was fixated on that weekend.
“My father,” she supplied when he looked confused. “We always spend the weekend of the crash at his favorite cabin. It’s coming up in at the end of the month.”
He raised his eyebrows before something flashed in his eyes. “Oh, babe, remember two weeks ago when you said you’d go to the conference with me?”
There was no conference, and she didn’t know his angle, but he looked apologetically at her family. “I’m sorry, I had no idea what the weekend meant to her when I booked everything.”
“It’s okay,” her mother rushed in. “You couldn’t have known. I would hate for you guys to miss a conference if it’s vital. I wouldn’t expect you to come to the cabin.” Her mother was normally the first one after her grandmother reminding people of their duty, so why the complete one-eighty about going this year? The shrewd gleam was back in her mother’s eyes, and Alexandra wondered if she knew exactly who was sitting at their dinner table. And who his birth mother was.
“Alexandra doesn’t have to come. Or we can always reschedule.” Her grandmother’s voice quivered on the last statement, and Alexandra felt like an ass. Her grandparents were amazing, and her new boyfriend was making up fake conferences to get her out of a weekend at the cabin because he hated her father. He didn’t have to come, but he shouldn’t make up excuses for her.
“I want to come. I’ll see what we can work out, but if all else fails, I can miss the conference.”
“You shouldn’t do that,” Parker argued, but she knew how Alexandra felt about the whole weekend. Even without Roman’s interference, she wasn’t a fan. “I was asking if you were bringing Roman because you guys are together, but please go to the conference. We’ll be fine.”
“We can figure it out later,” Alexandra said, stopping the conversation. She hadn’t wanted to put a damper on the evening by talking about her father, but there it was. Her grandmother nodded, and Anthony, bless him, changed the subject, but the damage was done. The previous good nature of the dinner was gone, but there was no one to blame. Shitty circumstances all around; Alexandra had been dealing with that since she was a child.
“What was that back there?” Roman asked when they were in the car on the way home.
“The weekend is important to my grandmother. She’s been doing it for years.”
“You hate going. And I can’t step foot in the cabin knowing what happened there. Why can’t you tell her what you want? You want to remember your father some other time, not the weekend when your world crashed in.”
“Roman.” She put her hand over his, a thrill shooting through her when he flipped his hand over so they were holding hands. “Thank you for looking out for me, and I’m thrilled that you and my family got along so well, but my grandmother is a force to be reckoned with. She’s done so much for my sister and me, and asks for very little. One of the things she asks for is a weekend at the cabin.”