Sugar Daddy (Travis Family #1)(100)

Mindful of Carrington nearby, I held back my questions until the plates were fixed and set on the table. Gage poured Carrington a glass of milk and set two small cookies on the edge of her plate. "Eat the cookies last, darlin'," he murmured. She reached up to hug him. then started on her pasta salad.

Gage gave me an impersonal smile. "Bye, Liberty."

"Wait—" I followed him out, pausing only to tell Carrington I'd be right back. I hurried to keep pace with Gage. "You think you've got Hardy Gates all figured out after seeing him for five minutes?"

"Yes."

"What's your take on him?"

"There's no point in telling you. You'll say I'm biased."

"And you're not?"

"Hell, yes, I'm biased. I also happen to be right."

I stopped him at the front door with a touch on his arm. Gage looked down at the place my fingers had brushed, and slowly his gaze traveled to my face.

"Tell me," I said.

Gage replied in a matter-of-fact tone. "I think he's ambitious to the bone, works hard and plays harder. He's hungry for all the visible signs of success—the cars, the women, the house, the owner's box at Reliant. I think he'll throw away every principle he's got to climb up the ladder. He'll make and lose a couple of fortunes, and he'll go through three or four wives. And he wants you because you're his last hope of keeping it real. But even you wouldn't be enough."

Blinking at the harsh assessment. I wrapped my arms across my front. "You don't know him. That's not Hardy."

"We'll see." His smile didn't reach his eyes. "You'd better go back to the kitchen. Carrington's waiting."

"Gage.. .you're mad at me. aren't you? I'm so—"

"No. Liberty." His face softened a little. "I'm trying to figure it all out. Just like you."

I saw Hardy a few times over the next couple of weeks—a lunch, a dinner, a long walk. Beneath the conversations and silences and reconnecting intimacy, I tried to reconcile the adult Hardy had become with the boy I had known and longed for. It troubled me to realize they weren't the same...but of course I wasn't the same either.

It seemed important to figure out how much of the attraction I felt for Hardy came from now, as opposed to the past. If we had met now. for the first time, as strangers, would I have felt the same about him?

I couldn't have said for certain. But Lord, he was charming. He had a way about him. he always had. He made me feel so comfortable, we could talk about anything. Even Gage.

"Tell me what he's like," Hardy said, holding my hand, playing with my fingers. "How much of what they say is true?"

Knowing Gage's reputation. I shrugged and smiled. "Gage is...accomplished. But he can be intimidating. The problem with Gage is, he always seems to do everything perfectly. People think he's invulnerable. And he's very private. It's not easy to get close to a man like that."

"But you have, apparently."

I shrugged and smiled. "Sort of. We'd just started to get close...but then..."

Then Hardy had shown up.

"What do you know about his company?" he asked casually. "I can't figure out why a man from a Texas family with connections to big oil is fooling around with fuel cells and biodiesels."

I smiled. "That's Gage for you." And; with a little prodding, I told him what I knew about the technology Gage's company was working on. "There's a huge biofuel deal in the works. He wants to build a blending facility at this huge refinery in Dallas, and they're going to start mixing biodiesel with all their fuel, and distribute it everywhere in Texas. From what I can tell, the negotiations are pretty intense." I heard the note of pride in my own voice as I added. "Churchill says only Gage could pull it off."

"He must have gotten past some damn big hurdles." Hardy commented. "In some parts of Houston, just saying the word 'biodiesel' will get you shot. Which refinery is it?"

"Medina."

"That's a big one. all right. Well, for his sake. I hope everything works out." And. taking my hand, he deftly changed the subject.

Near the end of the second week, Hardy took me to a supermodern bar that reminded me of a spaceship, the sterile decor backlit with blue and green. The tables were the size of coasters balanced on soda straws. It was the latest place to be seen, and everyone in the bar looked extremely hip. if not exactly comfortable.

Nursing a Southern Comfort on ice, I glanced around the place and couldn't help noticing that Hardy was attracting attention from a few women. No surprise there, considering his looks and presence and charm. And as time passed, Hardy would be even more of a catch, more visible in his success.

I finished my drink and asked for another. I couldn't seem to relax tonight. As Hardy and I tried to talk over the blare of the live music, all I could think about was that I missed Gage. I hadn't seen him in a few days. Guiltily I reflected that I had asked a lot of Gage, maybe too much, in asking him to be patient while I tried to figure out my feelings for another man.

Hardy rubbed his thumb gently over the backs of my knuckles. His voice was soft beneath the biting staccato of the music. "Liberty." My gaze lifted to his. His eyes glowed an unearthly blue in the artificial light. "Let's go, honey. It's time to settle a few things."