He was still catching up with what she’d said. Had he hurt her by letting her witness glimpses of his love life? “Lily, wait. My driver can drop you off at your place. We can talk about this.”
She took off and Noah had no choice but to wind his way through the throng of people in the bustling bar. He followed her out onto the busy sidewalk. Dozens of people walked past, some filing in and out of the bar. The sun had set and the air held a chill.
“You and I both know what happens the minute we get in the back of that car, Noah,” Lily muttered while tugging on her coat. “We can’t keep our hands off each other. But we have to. That’s the only way I get out of this ridiculous situation with my pride and job intact. Those are both supremely important to me.”
“So you’ve said.”
Anger blazed in her blue eyes. “Don’t you dare fault me for putting my career first. A man does that and nobody bats an eye. I’m going now. See you tomorrow. At work.”
Noah looked around. There were people everywhere and Charlotte had been clear that they had to remember the show they were putting on. They were so close with the Hannafort deal. “No kiss goodbye? We’re supposed to be getting married.”
Lily sidestepped to the curb and thrust her hand up in the air. A cab zipped right over. “Nobody’s watching. We’re fine.” She opened the door and climbed inside without another word.
Noah stood there feeling like an idiot. He’d been so stupid to think that a little role-play with Lily would be harmless. He felt as if his entire sense of self was dissolving, and he knew he’d played a huge role in that. Why did it have to be that the allure of Lily was so great, and she was the one person who could send this all tumbling down?
CHAPTER TEN
At the office the next morning, a number came up on Noah’s caller ID that made his stomach lurch—his dad. He picked up, slumping back in his office chair and preemptively kneading his forehead. “Dad. Hi.”
“You don’t have to sound so excited to talk to me.”
Last night at the bar had nearly killed Noah, kissing Lily’s neck and having it all blow up in his face. Now this. It was going to be a brutal day. “Trust me. I’m thrilled.”
“I was hoping this would be a happy phone call, but after seeing the papers this morning, it looks as though this engagement of yours isn’t going to stick. I’m sorry to see that.”
Papers? Noah had no idea what his dad was talking about. He cradled the phone between his shoulder and cheek, typing his own name into the search bar on his computer. It only took a fraction of a second for the story to come up. Trouble in Locke Paradise. Beneath the headline was the photographic evidence of his argument with Lily in front of the bar. This would’ve been a very different article if she had just listened to him.
“It’s the tabloids. This is what they do. It’s nothing.” His words might have sounded cool and collected, but Noah was feeling anything but that on the inside.
“Pictures don’t lie. I really was hoping you’d finally get your act together. You can’t always let Sawyer be the perfect son.”
The perfect son. This was a classic example of their father’s cruel ways. He’d never seen Sawyer as the perfect son. If anything, their dad put more effort and attention into sabotaging Sawyer than he did Noah. But he liked to tell Noah that his older brother was the perfect son merely to get under his skin.
“My engagement to Lily is great. Thanks for calling to congratulate us, by the way.”
“Thank you for calling to tell me about it.”
Touché. “I would’ve gotten around to it eventually. Work has been incredibly busy.” The instant the words were out of his mouth, he regretted them. Giving his dad any inkling of what was going on with their business was always a bad idea.
“So I gather. I understand that you attended Lyle Hannafort’s daughter’s wedding. There isn’t something brewing between your little company and Hannafort, is there? That would be a real slap in the face to everything I’ve worked so hard for. You know I despise Lyle. The man is a self-righteous blowhard and a terrible businessman.”
Noah’s pulse thundered in his ears. He and Sawyer had long suspected that somebody was feeding their dad information on the Locke and Locke business dealings. Noah couldn’t take the chance that his dad would get wind of the Hannafort deal. He and Sawyer had taken great pains to keep everything under wraps. “For a terrible businessman, he’s got quite the empire.”
“And looking to add to it, from what I understand.”