Angel Falling (Falling #1)(47)

Oliver entered my office. “I’ve got reservations at Bellissimo scheduled for seven for the three of you. Are you ready to meet Hank’s mother?”

“Not really. What if she hates me?”

“Pen, seriously? She’s not going to hate you.” He started messing with my hair, wrapping locks around his fingers to refresh the curls. Hank liked it best when he could run his fingers through my hair, so it was down. I’d been wearing it down a lot more lately. I loved having Hank’s hands on me and would go great lengths to make sure he did as often as possible.

“You don’t know that. My own mother hates me!”

“Your mother is a stuck up bitch. She doesn’t even like herself.” We both smiled, knowing that his words held a great deal of truth.

I leaned against my desk chewing my lip until it hurt. A headache was starting at my temples and I rubbed at it uselessly.

“You’re really worried?” His voice held a twinge of surprise.

“Yes, I am.” I took a deep breath. “Hank adores his mother. If she doesn’t like me, there’s no hope for us.”

“I can’t believe that. Honey, you don’t give yourself enough credit. You’re beautiful, obscenely rich, and most importantly, Hank loves you,” he finished.

“Shut your mouth! He doesn’t love me. He loves f*cking me. Big difference!” The words flew from my mouth, but even I didn’t believe them a hundred percent.

“Pen, he does, too. He’s been living in your home for what, five weeks now? Sleeping in your bed. You’ve spent every single free moment together.” His eyebrows knit together. “You owe me for that one by the way. And at the end of the day, you’ve never been happier.” He tipped my chin until my eyes met his. “The cowboy loves you. You’d better accept that and start taking responsibility for it. And, you need to tell him.”


“I have nothing to give a man like him.”

“You have everything to give and his love to gain. He’s not Grant. He’s not going to screw you over. He’s Hank the Hunk. A f*cking cowboy from Texas. I should be so lucky!”

“You have Dean, asshat!”

“You’ve got a point. I do have Dean and … mmm, he’s yummy.” He looked off into the distance with one of his dreamy-eyed stares.

“I’m just not used to feeling nervous about meeting the family. In my past relationships, their families knew my family and my reputation spoke for itself. With Hank’s mom, she doesn’t know me from Adam.” I sunk into my leather office chair and banged my head on the desk.

Oliver rubbed my back and shoulders and pulled me up. “Stop that, you’ll leave a mark,” he laughed. “Look, you’re going to be great. Let your beauty and sparkling personality win her over. It did for me. You had nothing but frizzy hair and a trust fund when we met, and I just knew I had to share a life with you.”

“Thank you, Ollie.” Tears pooled at the corner of my eyes and I used the pad of my ringer fingers to stop the flow. The last thing I wanted was to look like a raccoon when I met his mom.

“Yeah well, who else was going to fix that mop of hair and burn your scrunchies?” He mock shivered and pretended to vomit.

“Oh, cut it out. I wasn’t that bad.”

He looked at me pointedly, eyebrows sky high.

“Okay, maybe I was.”

We finished up the day focusing solely on business. I texted Hank to ensure that he was ready.

To: Hank Jensen





Dinner’s at 7:00 at Bellisimo. Is she here?



From: Hank Jensen





Precious cargo arrived. We’ll meet you there, Angel.

Of course my five o’clock meeting ran late. I hadn’t notified Hank, but I was meeting with Grant and his lawyers about the incident at the estate last weekend. After a week of legal hell, I was prepared to offer the bastard a settlement. I didn’t want any of this to get between Hank’s healing or his excitement over his mother coming.

My lawyer, Nathaniel Walker, was a shrewd businessman with a lovely British accent, and he was easy on the eyes. We’d actually been introduced and went on a couple dates a few years ago. Nothing more than a chaste kiss ever occurred; we realized that we were better suited to a friendship and professional relationship than a romantic one.

With Nate, there just wasn’t a spark. Initially he had hounded me mercilessly for months to get me to agree to the first date. Now he was using the mercilessness to save me a few hundred thousand dollars on a mistake I wish I’d never made.

Grant was being utterly ridiculous. He wanted to hurt me and he was using his legal arms in an attempt to batter and embarrass me. With Nate on my side, he wouldn’t win. Stone, Walker & Associates were known for their success rates, not their losses.

We left the meeting having not come to an agreement. Grant officially wanted to press charges, but was holding back, waiting to see what I’d offer him.

“God, he’s such a creep! I can’t believe I ever thought I loved him. What the hell was I thinking?” I rubbed at my eyes as Nate and I headed toward the elevator.

“’Creep’ sure does fit the bill. Don’t worry though, love.” He gripped my shoulder and squeezed it. “Before long, I’ll have his arse in a sling,” he said with conviction and a wicked hot British accent.