Page 22 of Queen of Diamonds
7
Rand swalloweda smile when Kinsey’s jaw dropped. Now that Nate wasn’t working undercover, there wasn’t a reason to hide his identity. His picture was, in fact, on their web page as the special agent in charge. He was curious to see how his boss would explain knowing him and Josh.
“I don’t understand,” Kinsey said. “Didn’t you own Aces and Eights?”
“We did and still do,” Nate said. “Court and Alex are FBI, too. You couldn’t be in safer hands.”
Her eyes widened, and then she turned to him. “You, too?”
Unsure how to answer, he raised a brow at his boss.
“He is, but he works undercover. Now forget I told you that,” Nate said.
Interesting that Nate was trusting her already.
A smile settled on her face as she eyed him with what seemed like fascination. “I knew there was more to you than you let on.”
He winked, getting a bigger smile from her and scowls from her brothers. Their glares brought him to his senses. She was the sister to men he not only worked with but considered friends. The Gentrys would categorically consider the bro code in effect, making their sister off-limits. It was a code every man understood.
They hustled her out; his last sight of her was a glance over her shoulder at him. There was a question in her eyes, one that seemed to ask if she would see him again. He turned away, and when the door closed behind them, he slipped his hand into his pocket, wrapping his fingers around Zoe’s necklace. It was a reminder that Kinsey was better off without him.
She was young with a life full of opportunities ahead of her. Someday she’d want to settle down and have a family, and that could never be with him. He would not have another child. He couldn’t bear the thought of experiencing that kind of loss again. Better to put the brakes on now before things between them progressed any further. Besides, the Gentrys wouldn’t give him a choice in this.
She had brought him back to life, though, if only briefly. Alone again in his home, he went to the window. He noticed Kinsey had left a handprint when she’d stood there looking out, and he placed his palm over the print. It wasn’t right to miss something he’d never had. But being with her had helped him realize one thing. Just because he smiled or laughed, it didn’t mean he missed Zoe any less.
It was time to join the living again.
Rand joggedup the steps to his father’s Key Biscayne mansion. He’d called Josh to tell him he would come in tonight after all. On the way to Aces & Eights, Rand’s father had called, so he decided to make a quick stop before heading on to the bar.
The first person he came across was the housekeeper. “How are you, Miss Helena?” She’d been with his family since he was a boy, and he adored her. She’d been more of a mother to him than his own. Helena had been the one he’d gone to when he skinned his knee or needed a hug. Although somewhere in her early sixties she was still full of energy.
“I’m not speaking to you, Randall.”
She was going to admonish him for not coming around more often, but he played along. “Tell me what I’ve done to put that frown on your face so I can immediately make it right.”
“You seem to have forgotten how to get here.”
“Miss Helena, I could never forget where to come to get my hugs. Now stop making me feel like I’m six years old again and give this old man a little love.”
She giggled as she wrapped her arms around him. They both knew why he no longer came to his father’s house unless he was summoned. He loved his father and his father loved him. That wasn’t in question. But he’d disappointed his father by turning his back on all that he was entitled to, and Harlan Stevens still harbored hope that his son would come to his senses. Rand had tired long ago of the constant pressure from his father to take his place at Stevens Enterprises, and avoided those discussions as much as possible.
As for his mother, she was probably at some thousand-dollar-a-plate charity event. If given the choice of seeing her son or being out with the rich and famous, she’d always pick the latter. But that was old news, something he’d accepted years ago. Her son wasn’t her priority. He never had been.
Sometimes when he’d watch the Gentry brothers, seeing the way they loved and supported each other, he’d feel regret that he and his mother didn’t have that kind of relationship. For the life of him he couldn’t figure out why his father stayed with her, since she didn’t give Harlan any more attention than she did her son. Rand figured he could spend an entire year on a psychiatrist’s couch and still not get to the bottom of his family’s dynamics.
He kissed Helena on the cheek. “Does it help to know that I miss seeing you?”
“Stop molesting me.” She swatted his arm but couldn’t contain her pleased smile. “Your father’s waiting for you in his study. I’ll bring refreshments in.”
“Do you know what this is about?”
“What do I know? I’m just the housekeeper.”
He snorted. Helena knew everything. She could make a lot of money if she ever decided to write a tell-all about one of the richest families in Miami, but she was as loyal to his father as they came. His mother she had no use for, not that he blamed her.
“Stop flirting with my son, Helena, and send him in here,” his father said from the middle of the hallway.
Rand winked at Helena, then followed his father to the study. “You should divorce Mom and marry Helena,” he said as he took a seat across from the desk.
