wanted those answers to be. Was knowing that my mother had been murdered because of a business deal really any better than believing Vincent had been involved?
I parked in front of the café where we were meeting and started to open my door. But Tristin stopped me with a hand on my arm. When I turned to look at him, he was leaning in, his aquamarine eyes too close for comfort.
“I’m sorry about your mom. I had no idea you spent all of these years thinking Dad had hurt her.”
I swallowed the lump in my throat. “Thank you.”
We stayed like that for a few seconds, but when it became clear that neither of us had anything else to say, I practically jumped from the car. Seriously...why did he have to choose now to stop being such an asshole? It wasn’t fair.
The hostess directed us to a table where a man who appeared to be around Vincent’s age was waiting. He wasn’t in nearly as good shape as my almost-stepfather, and he’d lost most of his hair, but the kindness in his eyes immediately put me at ease.
“Tristin,” Greg said warmly. “So good to see you.” He smiled at me. “And accompanied by a lovely young woman, to boot.”
“Hi, Greg.” Tristin held out his hand to shake the other man’s. “This is Thea. Thea, Greg.”
“It’s nice to meet you,” I said, taking a seat across from him and next to Tristin.
“The pleasure is all mine. Did Tristin here bring you along to help get him a better price on my boat?”
I glanced at the guy sitting next to me. “You’re buying the boat?” The last time we’d talked about it, he’d seemed content to borrow it in exchange for helping fix it up. I wondered what had changed.
“Maybe. If we can reach an agreement.”
Greg took a long swig of his drink before speaking to me. “He says that like he’s not sitting on millions. Yet, he’s going to nickel and dime me, I guarantee you.” He said it good-naturedly, like Tristin’s wealth amused him more than anything.
“Isn’t that how rich people stay rich?” I said, echoing something I’d heard.
He chuckled. “Too true, young lady. Now, how about we order? I’m starving.”
Greg kept the conversation going through appetizers with easy small talk. But, once our meals arrived, his expression grew serious. “Why don’t you tell me what you need, Thea? Because I get the feeling you didn’t come here to listen to me and Tristin talk boats.”
“Am I that transparent?”
He glanced down to the table, where the shredded pieces of what used to be a napkin were stacked in front of me. “A little bit.”
“Sorry.” I took a deep breath, unsure why this was so difficult to voice. Probably because my conspiracy theories made me sound a little bit like a crazy person. Then again, Hayle had encouraged this particular theory, and he was the most logical person I’d ever met.
Tristin rested his arm over the back of my chair and angled his body toward mine. “It’s okay. You can tell him.”
Amazingly, those few words did make me feel better, and I looked Greg straight in the eye and said, “My mother was Amber Gale.”
He visibly reacted, obviously recognizing the name instantly. “Oh, I didn’t realize. I’m sorry for your loss.”
“It was a long time ago. Did you know her?”
“Yes, though not well. My wife and I went out to dinner with Vincent and Amber a number of times while they were dating.”
That made sense. Hayle had said Greg and Vincent used to be close friends. “Before you...left Sharpe Shipping, did you know anything about threats made against my mother?”
He laid his fork on the edge of his plate. “What kinds of threats?”
I removed my phone from my bag, found the correct photo, and handed it to him. “That one, plus the next three.”
After studying them for a few minutes, he gave the phone back to me. “No, I didn’t know anything about those.” Though he didn’t exactly sound like he was lying, there was something about his voice that made me think he was holding something back.
“But you do know something.”
Greg leaned in and lowered his voice. “What do you know about the circumstances of my release from the company?”
“Only that it happened the same day Vincent announced that he was dropping the Green Industries hostile takeover.” He looked impressed, so I added, “Hayle figured it out.”
“That Hayle. He always was a smart one.” Greg stared at some point above my