Camera Shy (Lessons in Love, #1)(91)

I ride the high of adrenaline as I float back to my table. I was hoping by now, Finn and Mr. Harvey have had plenty of time to discuss their family affairs. But as I near the booth, I see Mr. Harvey huddled into the table, the look in his eyes aggravated. He’s so invested in their conversation he doesn’t see me approach and his words ring loudly over the sea of murmurs and clanking silverware hitting porcelain plates.

“Champ, what are you doing? You can pull a much hotter woman than Avery.”

My knees go weak and I immediately slump into the empty booth behind Finn and his dad. I bury my head in my hand. This part I wasn’t ready for.

Emma was a small battle won.

I have a feeling I’m about to lose the war.





“What did you just say?” I snarl at my dad across the table, feeling my blood pressure rise.

“Avery,” Dad repeats. “I mean, she’s sweet and very smart. That’s kind of sexy. And she’s got a great set of tits. But come on…compared to your last girlfriend? Nora was a fucking ten. Avery’s a steep fall from grace, Champ.”

“Well, have at it. Nora’s available now.” Sort of. Maybe she’s cheating on Morgan, maybe she’s not. “Go ahead and give her a call. You have my blessing,” I practically spit at him.

“And take your sloppy seconds? I don’t think so.” He bellows in laughter, misreading my tone. There’s nothing funny about this conversation or about disrespecting Avery. We don’t see the world the same way. All I see with Nora is pain. All I see in Avery is hope. Hope is beautiful and sexy and seductive. Dad hasn’t had hope for a day in his life.

My eyes narrow before I throw back the last sip of my whiskey. Dad finally notices my scowl.

“Oh, come on, kid, I’m just saying. If you’re with this woman to appease Senior, I can tell you right now, there’s a way to sidestep that mess.”

“What mess?”

“Senior’s bullshit about the inheritance.”

Gramps’s rules make sense to me. Twenty percent of my inheritance is in the ballpark of eight million dollars. If I don’t have a family to support, I’ll only get half. Gramps also has the stipulation of vetting our significant others first. It’s his way of protecting us from gold diggers. We’d have to pry his money from his cold, lifeless hands before he handed over half of his empire to a shallow, money-hungry woman with no morals. His words, not mine. It’s why I never told Nora what I stood to gain. I wanted to know she loved me, not my worth. At least that part was true. I don’t think Nora loved me for my wallet. In fact, I don’t know if she really knew how to love me at all.

“I don’t see the point in complaining about gifted money.”

“It’s your birthright, Son.”

I roll my eyes at his melodramatic statement. “You know what? I’m not worried about it. And I’m not with Avery to prove a point to Senior. I’m with Avery. Period.” Okay, a little preemptive, but I know where this night is headed. The penthouse suite I booked is covered with rose petals. The room has a jetted tub where we can play naked footsie under the bubbles all night. The champagne is already in an ice bath on the balcony table that overlooks the Bellagio fountains. There’s no better way to say I’m whipped for Avery than the most cheesy, over-the-top declaration of my feelings.

“I’ll make up the difference,” Dad breathes out.

“What?”

“Don’t let Senior dictate your life. Getting married was the worst decision I ever made. The only good thing that came out of that relationship was you. But you don’t have to settle for a woman like Avery just for the extra money. What Senior won’t give you, I will. Have fun. Enjoy your life. Travel. Visit Ibiza, Brazil, and Croatia. Take pictures abroad and fuck all the beautiful women there.” He pinches his fingers together and kisses them. “Nagging and bitching from a frumpy, killjoy of a woman is not what I want for you and your life. Especially when she leaves you and tries to take you for all you’re worth.”

I had one too many drinks. That must be why I can feel my temples pounding. “Frumpy killjoy, huh? Ladies and gentlemen, there you have it, my father’s words to describe the woman who gave me life.” Fuck you, Junior. Fuck whatever got twisted up inside your brain as a baby and turned your heart wretched and your dick insatiable.

Dad smiles at me like this conversation is chummy. “Oh, Champ. Still such a mama’s boy.”

I raise my brows warningly. “Should I be ashamed of that?” I love my mother. I’m protective of her. Where’s the crime in that? “I thought you two were finally at peace. I just saw Mom last week. She said you guys are done in court. You’re giving her alimony and back pay, right?”

Dad’s eyes turn down and his lip curls, like a perturbed villain. “Senior,” he mumbles. “I didn’t give that bitch a dime. Senior paid her out.”

Something snaps in me. Maybe it’s my patience finally breaking in half. “What did you just say?”

“She went to Senior with some sob story about how she barely broke even after selling the Vegas house. She needed a cosigner for her place in Scottsdale, so she aired out all our dirty laundry like the rat she is and he just caved for the little bitch. Fuck did I get an earful from him. The man is in his seventies and still yells like—”