Page 53 of Seducing Her Scarred Boss

So here he was sitting in his damn evening suit and everything because he couldn’t let her down completely. But thank goodness he had. Because now he knew.

Braithwaite.It wasn’t that common a surname. He should have made the connection sooner. But he hadn’t bothered to ask too much. And she offered almost as little info about her family as he did his. Now he knew why.

The collar of his shirt seemed to be tightening round his neck—choking him.

He’d seen them arrive before he’d got out and got in there. For once the fates had shown him some mercy. Because the last thing he’d have wanted was to have met the man again in front of Sophy.

Edward Braithwaite—JudgeBraithwaite—the man he’d stood before all those years ago. The one who’d condemned him and yet who had offered him that one last chance.

For half an hour tonight, while dressing, he’d deluded himself into thinking he could have fudged it—hadn’t enough time passed? Jayne’s father had sent him packing—he wasn’t good enough for his daughter, wasn’t good enough to invest in back then. And she’d agreed—had laughed at his dreams. He’d just been sex to her.

But ten years had passed since then and things had changed. Some things anyway. So maybe, if it was someone else, he could have pulled it off—skirted round his history and talked up his present successes. But Judge Braithwaite knew everything—had seen him at his worst. He knew the whole sorry story. And no way would he want him anywhere near his precious baby daughter.

Society might give second chances, fathers didn’t. Fathers wanted only the best for their daughters; hell, Lorenzo understood that—hewanted only what was best for Sophy. And that wasn’t him.

He bowed his head over the steering wheel and faced it: it was always going to be this way—as it had been before, it would be again. And it was why he should never have let her get so near to him. The past was inescapable. The perfect life he’d been imagining for just a few moments was a mirage—something that he just wasn’t meant to have. He’d managed his life fine without until now anyway—forging his career, working so hard. He had his hugely successful business, the charity, he had a couple of good friends. But any other intimacy? A woman, a life partner—there could be none.

He would never be good enough for a woman as wonderful as Sophy and he wanted none but her. It didn’t matter how much money he made, how successful his business became, there was always that part of him—that fundamental truth that he always tried to hide even from himself.

But her father knew that truth, and, knowing how much her parents’ approval mattered to Sophy, Lorenzo knew it was over.

She deserved a perfect family, a perfect lover. But it would never be him. He had never been part of a family. Had never been wanted in a family. Damn well didn’t want one of his own. Being alone was what he was used to—secure, uncomplicated. And he had been a fool to think he could ever deal with anything more—or be dealt anything more.

He had to stay away now. He’d let the end he’d engineered her to declare truly be the end. So there was only one thing left for him to do. He’d go to Vance’s bar. And he’d get really, really drunk.

* * *

Sophy didn’t remember a thing about the movie that screened. Afterwards she went with her family for coffee and cake—Rosanna came too. But all she could think of was the necklace that had sold so quickly. She knew it was crazy, that she’d read too many romance novels and watched too many Hollywood movies, but she couldn’t help hoping that he’d bought it for her. Maybe he’d sent someone in to buy the necklace. Maybe he’d present it to her in a romantic gesture, an apology for not being there. It was going to be his way of making it up to her. Oh, how she’d love something like that—for someone to go over the top for her, someone going to lengths to do something wonderful for her.

She was such a sad unit.

‘Are you okay?’ Rosanna curled her legs up on the cafe’s sofa after Sophy’s parents and siblings had called it a night.

Sophy nodded and flopped back into the big armchair. ‘I’m just a bit tired.’

Rosanna reached forward and put her glass on the table carefully. ‘Lorenzo wasn’t there.’

‘No. He said he wouldn’t be.’

Rosanna’s eyes had narrowed. ‘But—’

‘My mother loved those earrings. Did you see her?’ Sophy interrupted. ‘I never thought she’d be into ones that are so dangly.’

‘I know.’ Rosanna went along with the change of topic. ‘So are we going out to party now?’

Sophy laughed and shook her head. It was after one a.m. already. ‘I don’t think so.’

Rosanna shrugged. ‘I can come home if you want.’

‘And eat chocolate ice cream? No, I’m going straight to bed.’

‘Okay. But if you wanted to do the ice cream, you know I’d ditch the plans.’ She paused. ‘I’m going to meet up with Vance.’

‘What about Emmet? And Jay?’

‘Oh, they’re going to the bar too.’

It was the most genuine laugh to burst from Sophy in days.

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