No Love Allowed(10)

Five


THE FIRST WORDS out of Caleb’s mouth as he faced Nathan and Preston across the octagonal gazebo at the far end of the Parker Estate half an hour later were, “JJ Parker has gone insane.”

Nathan tilted his head in wonder while Preston . . . well, looked like himself—stoic, with arms crossed. His friend’s silence he was used to, but his cousin being unusually mute unnerved him. He had expected a louder reaction than blinking.

He opened his mouth to speak again, when Nathan finally asked, “What the hell happened between the time we dropped you off and now?”

Like a dam breaking, Caleb launched into a fast-paced narration of events. He paced as he spoke, waving his hands in the air.

“Now I have to spend three days a week at the firm starting Monday if I want Europe and the rest of the year off,” he finished, breathing heavily. Not five minutes after he had left his father’s study, he had gotten a call from JJ’s assistant informing him of his duties as an unpaid intern and how many days he was expected to show up at the office downtown. Caleb might not have seen the man’s face while on the phone, but the guy sure did sound smug. Unpaid had surely been his father’s idea, since interns got a weekly stipend when they worked for Parker and Associates. Oh, how far the mighty had fallen in the course of a single day, and he damned Amber to the pits of hell for it.

“So, let me see if I understand everything. . . .” Nathan waved his hand in the air while Caleb concentrated on not hyperventilating. “Because you broke up with Amber, JJ wants you to intern at the firm for the summer and attend all the events to get your gap year back.”

Caleb bit back the choice words he had at the mention of Amber’s name as Preston added in that deep, quiet voice of his, “Don’t forget keeping his nose clean.”

“Right.” Nathan nodded in his best friend’s direction. “Thank you.”

Preston crossed his legs, his foot nudging against Nathan’s shin. A soft breeze ruffled his sun-kissed blond hair. The muscles in his tanned arms bulged as he gestured toward Caleb. “Is there any chance of you getting back together with Amber until the end of the summer? There are a lot of events sponsored by the firm this year. I already have the invites at home. And knowing JJ, you’ll have to attend all of them in order for him to give you the go-ahead to leave for Europe.”

“I mean, what’s a little over two months of sticking it out with her compared to the freedom you’ll get afterward? Breaking her heart after she successfully shielded you doesn’t seem like such a big sacrifice,” Nathan chimed in, playing devil’s advocate.

“But she broke the rule,” Caleb said, a frown creasing his brow.

“Can’t you make an exception this one time?” Preston asked.

“No.”

Sympathy colored Nathan’s tone when he said, “Caleb, you know I will bury a body for you, but sometimes you frustrate me. Love is love. If she feels that way, then let her. It doesn’t mean you have to return it. You’re already in a bind as it is.”

“What does that make me if I string her along for two more months?”

“Someone concerned about self-preservation.”

That got him to laugh. “Self-preservation. Right.” Then he sobered. “You know Amber. She would want more. More that I’m obviously not willing to give. If I held out until the end of the summer, who knows what would happen?”

Clucking his tongue was Nathan’s way of considering things. Preston studied him as Caleb let him work out the logic of his reasoning. It didn’t take long for his cousin to catch up. This time when he sighed his shoulders lifted and dropped in resignation.

“You’re right. If you string Amber along, her mother will have you two engaged by your birthday party. Which, by the way, will have servers whose sole purpose is to pour champagne.”

The excitement in Nathan’s tone made Caleb wince. “Can we not?”

“We finally have a theme.” He gestured in a wide arc. “The Roaring Twenties. Excess to the max, baby!”

Caleb and Preston shared a groan like animals in great pain.

Nathan’s grin was pure excitement. His face practically glowed with it. “We’re going to make Baz Luhrmann weep. His movie will have nothing on what I have up my sleeve.” Then his expression turned serious. “You know as well as I do that you can’t attend those events without a date. The sharks won’t leave you alone. It’ll be a feeding frenzy.”

Matchmaking was the favorite pastime of the Dodge Cove elite. The one percent liked to keep wealth in the family—especially those from old money. Mothball money. If the bank accounts didn’t match, then no go. Events turned into meat markets, putting pressure on the unattached to find their soul mates quickly or be forced to endure a merry-go-round of daughters and granddaughters. Not a pretty sight. A lateral move, or even better, a step up were the only viable options. He thought by dating around he would have been immune to this, but it seemed the biddies and mothers didn’t care about his reputation. All they cared about was the family he came from and how they could squeeze themselves in.

Using his fingertips, he massaged his temples. “Amber was the last available option.”

“What about Cecily?” Nate suggested.

He shook his head. “Sophomore year.”