The Pretend Girlfriend(25)

Gwen felt herself trying to let the plush contours of the limo's leather interior swallow her up so that neither man could put their cold eyes on her.

What have I gotten myself into? she wondered.

Henry Manning had the type of imperious glare to put a king to shame. Something well-honed over years of ruthless business practice, she assumed.

He was probably the most frightening man she'd ever met face to face.

But what was more surprising was how Aiden matched it with one of his own. Henry might have perfected the look over the last few decades, honing it to perfection. But Aiden, Gwen realized, had been born into it, had probably been subjected to it his whole life.

She couldn't really imagine how that must have been, growing up under a look like that. It intimidated her just sitting there, and it wasn't even directed at her!

"So... This is a nice surprise..." Gwen said, "I thought we were holding off on meeting the parents for now, honey?"

But this was an old contest, it seemed. Aiden's jaw clenched stubbornly and she didn't think either man blinked. Or noticed her. She squeezed his hand, which still held hers with quite the grip.

"He doesn't hear things, at times," Henry said.

"At least I hear things other than what I want," Aiden said.

Gwen could practically feel the wattage of the tension increase. It came across as a stiffening of the spine, as a crackle in the air just beyond sensing, but somehow still there.

"Really? Well, did you hear the question your lovely lady friend just asked you?" Henry said.

Aiden's fingers squeezed hers again, and she thought for sure that it was panic, that he hadn't in fact heard her. That he'd lost this little duel already. She wondered if she could repeat herself without it seeming too strange.

"Yes, of course I did. I listen when someone important to me speaks," Aiden said, offering Gwen a sidelong glance and a smile. His eyes flicked right back to his father, though, as though the older Manning were a snake waiting for a moment of distraction to strike.

"And what is your answer?" Henry said. The smallest of smiles touched his lips.

And then Gwen understood. At least partly. Henry Manning had no faith in his son. Perhaps Aiden had been a disappointment all his life, had never really lived up to however Henry perceived the Manning name.

She felt sympathy for Aiden, then, having to grow up with this kind of disapproving presence in his life. She thought back to her own childhood. Her parents had always been rather cold to each other, but they'd also always been careful to praise and nurture their daughter whenever possible.

"Gwen," Aiden started. "As soon as Henry heard about you, he insisted on meeting you right away. Insisted."

She saw then that both men watched her. Two sets of those cold eyes froze her in place. And what was worse was that they expected some sort of reply or comment from her.

"Umm..." she started. It was an experience rather like being called out in the middle of class by a teacher who'd just caught you dozing, that moment of standing up to answer a question you hadn't heard and realizing just how screwed you were.

"Oh, don't put her on the spot like this, boy," Henry said.

She decided then that not only was she afraid of Henry Manning, but that she didn't like him at all. He and his son shared similar features in both body and face, but what she assumed to be the influence of his mother softened Aiden's features just enough so that they didn't look cruel and harsh like his father's.

And Gwen wasn't about to let Henry win this particular fight. She smiled at him sweetly. "Oh, you're not putting me on the spot at all. In fact, I've been planning on asking to meet you anyway. I have to say, you're not like your son at all." The sweet smile never left her lips.

Henry Manning blinked. It may have seemed insignificant to an observer, but it was the only outward sign that what she said affected him. And it was more than Aiden had managed so far.

She knew then that Henry didn't like her. Not at all. And she also got the impression that he suspected something. Something about his son's relationship to her. And that this impromptu meeting had been his underhanded way of trying to shake the truth free.

Aiden relaxed slightly beside her, perceptible only in the way his hand didn't squeeze hers quite so hard. I passed his test, she realized. She got the impression that Aiden was grateful for what she'd just done. That sparked a warmness inside her, far disproportionate to what she expected. On some level, she still wanted him to like her.

"So where are we going?" Gwen said, her confidence at an all-time high due to her successful sortie against Manning the Elder. "You boys pulled me away from girl's night, so I hope it's good."

"I have some private dining arrangements made for us," Henry said.