Caviar and Covert Ops: Book 3 (Military Moguls) (10 page)

“We did not,” Dane replied, teeth gritted. “Everything was great. Couldn’t be better. She told me about her relationship with Brandon and it was pretty much what I thought. He was a jerk and left her high and dry.”

“But you didn’t tell her about you,” Seb finished for Dane. “I’m not judging here. But how come? Was she upset?”

Dane rubbed his chin and replayed last night’s conversation again. He’d been doing it all morning, wondering whether there had been an opening and he’d missed it.

“She was crying, and I swear as God as my witness I started to tell her but she stopped me. She didn’t want to talk anymore and then this morning…”

Dane’s voice trailed away as he realized he’d pretty much told his friends outright that he’d spent the night with her. They wouldn’t be shocked in the least but for the first time he didn’t want his friends knowing the intimate details of his life. Not with Lily.

“You didn’t want to ruin it,” Chris offered. “I get that. She might get mad and kick you out. Then what? You need to make sure she listens and that you have a chance to deal with her
very understandable
anger.”

Chris’s emphasis wasn’t lost on Dane. “I agree, but how? When? I could drive over there right now and tell her but she’d probably be so pissed that she’d just kick me to the curb. Refuse to take my calls. I can’t let that happen.”

“So she’s important to you?” Seb asked, his brow raised in question and a smile twitching on his lips. Dane had to rein in his impatience at his friend’s amusement. His friends were going to bust his balls about this and he had no choice but to take their shit. He’d proclaimed his immunity too long and too loudly to get through this unscathed.

“Yes, she is,” Dane said as succinctly as possible. “She and Nicky are the most important things in my life.”

His statement was the truth. He waited for the panic and fear to settle in his stomach but it was nowhere to be found. Instead his heart ached whenever he thought about her and he walked around with a fucking smile on his face.

He was in love.

Holy shit, he hadn’t seen this coming. Or had he? He’d known the first day he met Lily that she was different, the kind of woman he’d been looking for. She cared about him, not what he could give her. She was the first female in his life that cared about who he was deep inside. He couldn’t lose her because he was stupid.

“You look a little green,” Chris observed, pushing his chair away from the table a few inches as if Dane was contagious. “Are you going to be sick?”

“I’m in love.”

Seb and Chris exchanged a glance and grinned. “Um, yeah, we’ve known that for the last couple of weeks,” Seb laughed. “We’ve just been waiting for you to realize it.”

“How did you know? I didn’t know until this second. I mean, I know I liked her and cared about her, but love?”

Chris snorted into his beer. “Because you’ve been acting all weird. Seb’s file folders have been strewn all over the office all week and you haven’t said shit. Plus, you don’t even notice other women and you don’t want to talk about Lily. It didn’t take a genius to figure it out.”

“Lucky for you,” Dane poked back, still reeling from his self-discovery. He was in love with a wonderful woman. But he still had to convince her he was worth loving. After he told her the truth, that is.

“So what are you going to do?” Chris asked as the waitress placed a platter of wings and three plates on the table. “You have to tell her the truth.”

“I’m going to, I just don’t know when or how. I planned to do it last night and that got blown out of the water. I need a Plan B. I think she’s going to be pissed as hell with me.”

“Too pissed to forgive you?” Seb filled his plate with wings and then dunked one in blue cheese sauce. “If so, you’ve got a big problem.”

“Hopefully not. But I’m definitely going to be on thin ice, especially now that we’ve, you know, had sex.”

Chris signaled for another round of beers. “Women do get a little touchy about trust and honesty when you’re in an actual relationship. I suppose you could claim ignorance and tell her you’ve never actually been in one. She might even believe you.”

“Which brings me to why you both are here. I need your advice on how to do this so she doesn’t hate me forever.”

Guilt was beginning to eat away at Dane’s insides, gnawing his stomach into knots. He should have
made
Lily listen to him last night before they’d made love.

“Seb here should know a thing or two about making up with a woman. He pissed Amanda off by basically leaving her at the altar but they’re happily married now.” Chris jerked a thumb at his friend.

Seb nodded, his expression sober. “The secret is to come clean. I mean completely. Don’t hold anything back even if it makes you look like a jerk or a coward. Women are forgiving creatures, but not if you’re a lying bastard. I had to bare my soul but it was worth it. You’re not going to get out of this situation half-assing it.”

That’s what Dane was afraid of. Baring his soul about his crappy childhood wasn’t high on the list of his favorite things to do. In fact, he made a point of never doing it, and he didn’t want to fucking do it now.

Dane shook his head, rejecting Seb’s wisdom. “Talking about my past–”

“Stop there,” Seb interrupted. “You’re going to tell me a hundred different reasons why you shouldn’t be truthful and not one of those excuses is worth shit. Just fucking tell her. If she judges you, well, then you know it wasn’t meant to be. If she doesn’t then everything will be okay. Eventually. Give her time to forgive you. It won’t happen instantly.”

“How do I make sure I get that time?” Dane countered. “She kicks me out and goes back to her life. End of story.”

Chris slapped down his beer glass on the table. “Take her somewhere she can’t get away.”

“Kidnapping is illegal, asshole.” Dane pushed his plate away in disgust. “Any other bright ideas?”

“Let’s not reject it without thinking it through.” Seb tossed his paper napkin away. “In his own crude way I think Chris is on to something here.”

“Crude? This brain went to Harvard.” Chris smirked as he munched on a wing.

“We all went to Harvard so try and impress someone else.” Seb leaned forward and tapped on the table. “Seriously, I think the idea has merit. Take Lily away for the weekend. That way she has no choice but to deal with you even if it’s in the car on the way back.”

“I got her to go on a date last night but I doubt I can convince her to leave Nicky all weekend.” Dane rubbed the back of his neck in frustration. Getting Lily somewhere having fun and relaxing sounded like a winning idea but she’d never leave Nicky for that long.

Chris looked back and forth between Seb and Dane. “Do I have to do all the heavy lifting here? Take both of them away for the weekend. Hell, take them to Disney World. Kids love Disney and a mother isn’t going to make her little one leave early because you’re a shit. Besides, how can she stay mad at you at the Happiest Place on Earth?”

Dane slapped Chris on the back. “You may not be as dumb as you look. That idea is downright brilliant. There’s no way Lily is going to say no to a trip to Disney for Nicky. He’d love it and we’d have a great time. And when she gets mad she won’t be able to cut and run.”

“Did you ever think that Dane Braxton would say that taking a woman and her son to Disney would be fun?” Seb marveled. “Someone write this day down.”

Dane rolled his eyes at his friend’s sarcasm. “Minstrels will sing songs in my honor. Shut the hell up, will ya? I’m serious here.”

“You’re also picking up the tab,” Chris retorted. “Since I solved your problem you’re buying me a steak, not a burger. I may even have dessert.”

The relief that Dane felt now that he had a plan was worth every penny and then some. “If your plan works I’ll buy you another ’66 Mustang.”

“I’ll hold you to it. Now where is that waitress?”

A magical weekend for Lily and Nicky was already forming in Dane’s mind. He’d show them how much they meant to him and then tell his secret. Hopefully Lily was as forgiving as she was beautiful.

‡

C
onvincing Lily had
turned out to be tougher than Dane had anticipated. He’d picked up her and Nicky and brought them to a restaurant for dinner to set a fun, relaxed mood but right now she was looking at him with a frown on her face.

“This weekend?” she asked. “That seems like short notice. Where did you want to go?”

Dane had always been known as smooth and charming with women and he summoned every bit of charisma he could manage, smiling as he wiped Nicky’s mouth with a napkin. “I thought we could spend the weekend at Disney. Has Nicky ever been?”

Dane was pretty sure the answer was no. In fact, he was counting on it.

“No.” Lily shook her head and then fussed with Nicky’s plate, cutting up his chicken tenders but the little boy wanted to pick them up whole with his fingers. After a small skirmish, Nicky contented himself with plucking the cut up pieces with his fingers and dunking them in barbecue sauce. “That seems awfully expensive, Dane. Tickets, hotel, food. It’s too much.”

Never in his life had a woman told him he was spending too much money on her and he hadn’t realized how maddening it could be. He should have foreseen this obstacle and been ready for it.

“It’s not too much. I want to do this. Nicky will love it,” he cajoled, feeling desperate. If she didn’t agree to this he would have to go to Plan C. And there was no Plan C. “You know he will. His first time at Disney? I want to do it right.”

Conflicting emotions flitted across her features. “Then let’s put the money issue aside. Are you sure you want to do this? Being with Nicky twenty-four-seven is completely different than spending a few hours with him here and there.” She fidgeted in her chair, looking distinctly uncomfortable. “Plus, the more you’re around him the more he’s going to expect you to be. Is that a wise thing? I mean, we don’t even know where this thing between us is going.”

His beautiful Lily rubbed the tip of her nose when she was nervous and she was doing it now. Dane felt the tension drain away at her awkward question. Women had initiated these conversations in the past but this was the first time he had an answer that wasn’t going to upset the female asking it.

Lily wanted to know where their relationship was going, and if there was any future. If Dane had anything to say about it they were headed straight to bed after they put Nicky to sleep later.

He captured her fingers and lifted them to his lips, despite her squirming in her chair as her gaze darted around the casual, family-oriented restaurant. He didn’t give a shit what other people thought. He only cared what Lily believed and right now he needed to let her know he wasn’t going anywhere.

“Am I going somewhere?” he asked, never taking his eyes from her. “I’m in this for the long haul, Lily. I wouldn’t have been with you last night if I wasn’t. This isn’t casual or a fling. This is real. But if you think I shouldn’t be around Nicky that’s something we should discuss.”

Nicky chose that moment to wave his chicken tender around, splattering sauce on everything within three feet. Lily managed to get him to put it in his mouth while Dane wiped up the table, trying to hide his smile.

“Nicky, remember how we act at the table? We don’t throw food or spit it out.”

The little boy giggled and half the food came tumbling out of his mouth which made Lily sigh in exasperation. “If you don’t eat your dinner you can’t have dessert.”

“Zert,” Nicky chortled, a proud grin on his face. “I want a choclit sundae.”

“Then eat your dinner,” she said sternly. “I told you this wouldn’t be pretty.” She handed Nicky the napkin and helped him wipe the table. “And you’re not helping. I can see you trying not to laugh over there. This is not funny.”

Dane had to press his lips together to keep from grinning. “It kind of is. He’s a kid and dinner is an event. I kind of admire how he attacks his food.”

She dropped the napkin and smiled. “Am I taking this too seriously? I just wanted him to behave in front of you.”

It was one of the sweetest things anyone had ever said to him.

“I already think he’s the best two-year-old ever, so relax. Now I just told you something serious and profound and got no reaction whatsoever. You’re cruel, Lily Emery.”

Her expression softened. “It was pretty serious. And I do want you around Nicky…if you want to be. I’m just nervous and not sure what to do. This is my first relationship since Nicky was born. If you want me to be completely honest, it may be my first real relationship. Period. It’s just that we’ve only had one real date.”

It was a good thing she didn’t know his history with females. She’d run from the building screaming. He’d have to tell her of course, but that didn’t have to happen this very minute.

“For me, too. I’ve never been serious about anybody before. And we really had lots of dates. Every time we saw each other at the park was a date in my opinion. We’ve just taken things slowly.”

“All done,” Nicky pronounced, pushing his small plate away. “Zert now.”

“You didn’t eat your dinner. You need to eat all your chicken.”