Page 30 of Late Nights

The room was quiet as we all waited to see how things would play out.

Slowly I stood, no longer able to put off taking my place at the table.

My mom sat directly across from Dad. “We’re so glad you came,” she said to me before addressing my dad. “Aren’t we, Victor?” Her no-nonsense tone was loud and clear.

My dad cleared his throat. “Of course we are.”

I sat down in my usual seat next to Cannon, who sat next to my dad, and I was grateful for the buffer.

Cannon reached over and squeezed my leg under the table. His gesture surprised me, and I looked up at him to see him giving me an encouraging smile before pulling his hand back. Seeing his confidence in me helped me finally relax.

“Hi, Dad,” I said, my head held high.

He nodded. “It’s good to see you, Demi.” His tone was formal, but at least he wasn’t yelling like the last time I’d seen him.

I only nodded in return before focusing on the plate that had been placed in front of me by one of the servers.

“So, uh, Dad,” West said in what I assumed was his attempt to divert the attention from me. “I was wondering if you’d be okay with us using the cabin up at Lake Tahoe over Valentine’s weekend.”

“Who’s us?” my dad asked.

“Well, I haven’t asked anyone yet because I wanted to check with you first, but it would be me and Halle, Halle’s friend Kate and one of her friends, and then we wanted Cannon and Demi to join us as well.”

My dad took a drink of his wine before answering. “Yes, that’s fine. Just make sure you talk to Gavin so he can make sure everything is ready for you when you arrive.”

Gavin was the caretaker who lived in Lake Tahoe. He was the young mountain-man type, handsome in that rugged outdoorsman way. Our cabin was one of many that he took care of up there. He’d grown up in Tahoe and was more knowledgeable than any tour guide in the area. He took our family hiking and kayaking in the summer and in the winter showed us amazing places to snowshoe and took us on fun snowmobiling adventures. He was a great guy, and I was looking forward to seeing him again and catching up.

“So Gavin’s still the caretaker, huh?” Cannon asked, setting down his wine glass.

“Yes, why?” my dad asked, hearing something in Cannon’s voice that must not have come off as nonchalantly as he had hoped.

“No reason.” Cannon cut into his filet mignon.

My dad gave him a look. “Cannon, I know that voice. You have something you’re not telling me.”

Gosh, it really was like my dad was Cannon’s father.

“I know what it is,” West chimed in. “Cannon and I have noticed the way he looks at Demi.”

I almost dropped my fork. What were they talking about? Gavin and I were just friends.

My dad’s brows pushed down. “And how does he look at her?”

“With hearts in his eyes,” West answered, batting his eyelashes.

“Aww, that sounds cute,” Halle joined in. “Ooh, maybe you can have a Valentine’s mountain romance with a sexy lumberjack.” Her excitement was almost contagious.

Everyone stopped eating and stared at Halle.

“Or not,” she mumbled, returning to the food on her plate.

“Hmm, I’ll keep that in mind.” My dad’s voice finally interrupted the silence. “Gavin’s a good kid, but he’s not good enough for Demi. A caretaker is not the type of man I want for my daughter.”

Anger simmered beneath my skin at his comment. “What’s wrong with a caretaker?”

His patronizing look only made me angrier. “You are a Vanderhall whether you like it or not, whether you join the family business or not. I will not have my daughter dating some guy beneath her. Especially with this new whim you’ve decided to do with hair school. You need a man who can take care of you. A man like Aiden. I still don’t know why you two aren’t together.”

I wanted to throw my fork on the ground and stomp my feet. He was treating me like a child, which made me want to behave like one, only fueling my growing anger.

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