Stolen: The Billionaire Decepti(22)

“Hi Seth. Are you ready?”



“I am,” he said, grabbing a black denim jacket out of a closet near the front door.



He reached over and opened the door for me and I stepped out, sucking in a lungful of the fragrant spring air. I felt like I’d been holding my breath the entire time I was in there, waiting for James to appear. “Do you live in this big old house alone?” I asked him, on the way down the steps.



“No. My father lives here too, sometimes. It’s a family house. He stays where he feels like it. I should get my own place, I know. But, we hardly ever even run into each other. I have the entire second floor to myself and Dad and I aren’t home at the same time a lot so I stay.”



“It’s a beautiful home,” I told him.



“Thanks. My mother decorated it herself. She was really into decorating. We haven’t changed anything since she passed away. I suppose some of it may be outdated, but it’s nice sitting on the things she picked out or seeing a painting on the wall that she loved.” I knew how he felt. I wish I had been able to keep more of my parents’ things to remember them by. Once we were inside the car he said, “So where are we going?”



“Pelham Bay Park,” I said.



He raised an eyebrow, “In the Bronx?”



“Yes. Is Mr. Upper West Side too good for the Bronx?”



“Stop it,” he said with a smile. “I’m not a snob. I just haven’t been to the Bronx in a really long time. Not because I’m too good,” he said with a smile. “I just haven’t had reason to go, I suppose.”



“Well today you are going and you’re going to love it.” As we drove I decided I was going to try and gently coax information out of him to make myself at least feel a little better about dating the enemy’s son. “So, when I was doing my research on Hunter Corp, the history only goes back about eleven years. What did your father do before that?” I could see an almost imperceptible change in his posture out of the corner of my eye. The mention of his father made him sit up straighter… stiffer in his posture and more serious in his expressions.



“He’s an attorney, actually.” That was new information. Nothing I’d read about him told me that. I wondered why.



“An attorney, interesting. Was he in private practice?”



“No, he was a corporate attorney. I was a kid back then; I’m not sure what made him want to go into business.”



“Wow, so a guy with a law degree and not a business degree took a fledgling business and turned it into a billion dollar industry? Impressive.”



“Yeah,” he said. “I suppose. Where do your parents live?” I shuddered at the question. I could tell he was changing the subject, trying to take the focus off of him and his family. That was fine; I’d already gotten a new piece of information that might be useful. I wanted to talk about my family less than he wanted to talk about his.



“My parents died in an accident when I was young. A family friend raised me from then on. She still lives in Queens. So… when was the last time you were on a horse?”



Seth seemed as relieved as I was to change the subject, but first he said sincerely, “I’m sorry to hear that about your parents. It’s hard to lose a parent.”



“Yes, it is. Thank you.”



He went on to tell me that it had been at least ten years since he’d been on a horse. I didn’t tell him, but I haven’t been on one since I was thirteen and was forced to sell mine. This day should be interesting, if nothing else.









CHAPTER NINE









We got to the stables and checked in. I had reserved a couple of horses and a picnic basket ahead of time. I was praying that riding a horse was comparable to riding a bike and you never forgot. The people at the stables were really nice. A young man named Sam selected a soft black bay mare for me and he asked me if I wanted to saddle her myself.



“Sure… I haven’t done it in a while. You’ll check it for me when I’m done, right?” He laughed and said he would. Seth stood and watched as I threw the blanket and then the saddle up on the horse and strapped and tightened the cinch. I lowered the stirrup and turned towards him and Sam. Sam was nodding and Seth looked impressed. I was proud of myself. Sam checked mine as his partner was leading out another horse, this one a dark gray gelding, for Seth. I heard the guide ask if he wanted to saddle her.



“I’d prefer it if you did it,” Seth said. I had the feeling that wherever it was he rode before, he had stable boys looking out for him and doing the grunt work. I tucked a toe into the stirrup and swung up into the saddle of mine as Sam held onto the reins. I watched as Seth mounted his and then Sam attached the picnic basket and a red blanket to the strap that would normally hold on the saddle bags. He gave us a rundown of “do’s” and “don’ts” and a map of the park and we headed out in the direction he pointed us in.