Stuck-Up Suit - Vi Keeland Page 0,27
the neighborhood. Theresa was a widow. She had three daughters, one of whom was my age and went to my school…Brianna. Anyway, my dad pretty much became their father and spent less and less time with my sister and me as a result. There was this father-daughter rose ceremony and dance that the school was putting on for girls in my age group. The dads were each supposed to buy a dozen roses for their daughter and then take pictures together at the dance. Anyway, my mother had asked my father if he was available to take me. He never got back to her. So, I ended up showing up at the school, all dressed up and hoping he would turn up. And he did…with Brianna. There she was, holding the big bunch of pink roses in one hand and my father’s hand in the other. I ran home crying, and when my mother confronted him, he said that he didn’t realize I was interested in going. He said that since Brianna’s dad was dead, it was important that he be there for her. He said he thought I would understand. Anyway, this has nothing to do with you, Graham. You asked why I have trust issues, and my father is really the only reason I can think of.”
He took my face in his hands again and planted a firm and passionate kiss on my lips. My body relaxed into him, and when he pulled away, I longed for him to just keep kissing me.
“I’m sorry that happened. That is so incredibly shitty. And it does explain a lot.”
“Yeah…thank you.”
“I was pretty much an only child,” he said. “My father was never in the picture, which might have been better than a rejection later on. I don’t know.”
“So, it was just you and your mother?”
“Yes.”
“How did she die?”
“Lung cancer when I was a teenager.”
“I’m so sorry.”
“Thank you.” He paused then said, “It was hard. I vowed never to allow myself to become attached to anyone after that. I didn’t ever want to suffer that kind of loss again. My mother’s death is a big reason I am the way I am…closed off and cold. At the same time, it motivated me to be the best that I could be in other ways, to make her proud. So, some good and bad came of it.”
My stomach churned as I prepared to ask the question I needed an answer to. “Did you become attached to Genevieve?”
“Yes,” he simply said.
My heart was palpitating. “How long were you with her?”
“Two and a half years.”
“I see.”
When I looked down, he placed his hand on my chin and moved my face to meet his eyes in the darkness. “What do you want to know, Soraya? Ask me.”
“What happened with you and her?”
“Genevieve took a job with me as a broker right out of school. We were serious…or so I thought. Anyway, to make a very long story short, I actually started my company with a friend of mine named Liam Gainesworth. Liam, Genevieve, and I worked very closely together. I eventually found out they were having an affair behind my back. Liam went on to start his own company, which is now one of my competitors and took Genevieve with him.”
Wow.
“That’s awful. I don’t even know what to say. I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be. It wasn’t meant to be.”
“I know, but I can tell that it hurt you.”
“I’m here with you, aren’t I?”
“What does that have to do with it?”
“Because I don’t want to be anywhere but here. If anything were different in my life, I might not be. I don’t understand it, either, Soraya. This. What’s happening between us. I can’t make any promises. I just know I don’t want it to stop.”
Neither do I.
“We’d better go back out before they think we’re—”
“Fucking?”
“Yeah.”
He buried his face in my neck and chuckled against my neck. “God forbid.”
“Thank you for being patient with me.”
He growled, “Patient isn’t the right word...”
“Maybe not.”
As I took his hand to lead him out of the room, he nudged me back for a moment. “Hey…” When I turned to face him, he leaned his forehead against mine. “I’ll wait as long as you want me to. I’m not going anywhere.”
“Thank you.”
We were both much more relaxed after our talk. We spent the rest of the night quietly listening to the conversations around us at the party. I leaned my back into Graham, who wrapped his arms around my waist, the warmth of his body