I watch her speak, her slender neck graceful, her eyes light and alive as she mentions her daughter. I see the lines of worry across her arched brow and I wonder how I had missed this before, the truth that Claire has a little girl.
I’m sure that is who she’s always texting, calling about. Pacing the room in worry over. It suddenly clicks, the reason she forgoes better shifts, and as I look at her all I see is sacrifice. All I see is beauty.
“Shall we go on a walk then?” I ask. Everyone nods in agreement.
I watch Fiona and Geoffrey scowl as we stand. They exchange whispers and shake their heads.
But I just take Claire’s hand in mine. And follow.
Chapter Seventeen
Claire
After a walk around the garden and a light lunch, everyone goes their separate ways to rest.
As I climb the stairs to the bedroom Landon and I share, I smile, liking the luxury of a midday nap. That isn’t something I’m accustomed too. Life in Vegas is go-go-go. Life in the English countryside is on pause.
Landon is already in the room, sprawled out on the bed, a laptop open before him.
“Are you working?” I ask.
He laughs. “Right, because of my prestigious job I must focus on.”
“Stop putting yourself down.”
“Okay, Mum.”
“Not funny,” I say, swatting him with a pillow.
“Sort of funny? Maybe?”
“No.” I smirk. “Honestly though, what are you up to?”
“I’m trying to figure out what Geoffrey meant this morning about the family damn near falling apart. Do you think he meant the business?”
“I’m sure he meant that since the company isn’t digging for blood diamonds, the whole thing is a complete waste. He seems like a greedy ass. Turning a fancy boutique diamond store into something popping up at strip malls? Kinda tacky, isn’t it?”
“You’re so cynical, Claire,” Landon says, closing the computer. “But I’m sure you’re right, that Geoffrey’s just fighting with Dad about money. I can’t find anything online about the company being in shambles. Not that I have access to anything confidential.”
“For now.” I smile mischievously. “Soon enough you’ll have this whole thing. They love us, Landon. Your mom and dad think we’re adorable. They absolutely buy our story, and they hate Geoffrey right now. Whatever he’s been up to, it pisses your dad off. Which is a win for us.”
“My God, woman, you are ruthless.”
“I know. It’s just ... now that you know about Sophia, you can see how this money would change my life.”
“Now I feel like a jackass. I can just give you the money. You don’t need to be here with me to get it.”
“You have a quarter of a million dollars?”
“Nearly. I won a hundred grand last week. And I usually play what I have, but I haven’t been back to the tables since. I can give you that.”
“Is that literally everything you have?” I ask him. For some reason I thought Landon was seriously loaded.
He sits up, running his hands through his hair, clearly uncomfortable. “You wanna talk money?” he asks, a slight frown on his face.
“I don’t know. I guess. You just seem so freaking rich.”
“I get some money quarterly from my parents. I don’t have a house or any debt. I make money at the tables and can buy whatever I need with that. I just don’t need much.”
“Besides nice suits and a nice car and nice dinners out and nice women to take home.”
“I don’t think most of the women I bring home are that nice. Sexy? Yes. Willing? Very. But nice? No. I take home women who want the same thing as me. One night to forget that our lives are quite shallow.”
“Why do you live like that, then? If you know it’s shallow?”
“I’ve never had this overwhelming need to be something. And frankly, I’ve never had anyone require me to be more than I am.”
I sigh, knowing he’s being brutally honest about his life. I appreciate it, his transparency, especially when I’ve been so fake with him.
But his honesty also reminds me why these feelings I have been waffling with—the lust turned passion turned Could he and I be something more?—is just a ridiculous fantasy that will end up with me crushed.
Landon has no interest in the life I lead. He doesn’t want to be the sort of man I need. A reliable job, a family insurance plan. A car with room for a booster seat. A willingness to take a family vacation to Disneyland. That’s why I’ve always looked for relationships with guys on bowling leagues, who have toolboxes in their garages. Those guys are the sort of men who want a family.