That was okay, though. The opening salvo had been fired, but it was just a glancing blow. I would come in with a sneak attack rather than guns blazing. He wouldn’t even see me coming.
The hostess led us toward the bank of windows on the far side of the restaurant. The tables on this side were empty, and I thought it was probably done on purpose, to give us (specifically the mayor) some privacy for this luncheon. I didn’t know if it was good or bad that there wouldn’t be any witnesses. This, of course, led me down the line of thinking that what if Taylor despised me and decided to have me bumped off? I didn’t quite have a grasp on the inner workings of the city government, but I assumed that a mayor would be in the position to dispatch hitmen if needed to spill the blood of his enemies.
I might have had an overactive imagination fueled by way too many thrillers on Lifetime (thrillers being the operative word, of course).
Andrew Taylor stood as we approached. Even though he was in his midsixties, he was still unfairly gorgeous and fit. It was easy to see where Vince and Darren had gotten their coloring and good looks from. And if Taylor was any consideration, then Darren was going to be hot even as an old man, which should not have given me the tiniest of thrills it did. (And I also can admit to having the horrifying thought of At least I made the right choice with this one if that’s what he’ll look like when we’re older before I remembered what this truly was and vowed to never think such things again.)
He wore a dark tailored suit that looked like this year’s Marc Jacobs. His tie was silk and his shoes Italian and there was nary a hair out of place. His eyes were on me, cool and assessing, and I felt my hackles rise. He was judging me at first sight, like he had any place to say whether or not I was good enough for his son. I don’t know what he found at the end of his assessment, what determination was made about me in all of three seconds, but he smiled that wide, toothy politician’s smile.
“Darren,” he said. “It’s good to see you.” He held out his hand.
“Dad,” Darren said stiffly before shaking his hand. It was a perfunctory action, holding no warmth from either one of them. One would have thought they were business associates rather than father and son. Maybe it was because I had been adopted into a family that loved me no matter what that I didn’t quite understand how a father could act toward his son in such a way. Sure, Darren was a product of an affair and it was all kept hush-hush secret, but Taylor’s actions had brought life into the world. Why in God’s name did he never act like that wasn’t the greatest gift he’d been given?
“And who is this enchanting young lady?” Taylor asked, turning his eyes to me. I held out my hand to him. He gripped my fingers lightly and brought the back of my hand to his lips, scraping a kiss against my skin. It made my skin crawl, but I smiled at him. I knew there really wasn’t any chance of him recognizing me from the funeral as I hadn’t even been on his radar, but it was still a relief to know I could fool him so completely.
“This is my girlfriend,” Darren said. “Helena.”
“Mayor Taylor,” I said as I pulled my hand away. “How lovely it is to meet you. Darren’s told me so much about you.”
“Has he?” Taylor said, eyes darting toward his son before coming back to me. “All of it good, I hope.”
That was certainly laughable. Even without Darren and Vince, I’d heard nothing about him that indicated he was even remotely close to being a decent human being. And from the news and my very own limited interaction, there appeared to be nothing to endear him to anyone who wasn’t a douchebag.
But he didn’t know I knew that. For all he knew, I was a bright-eyed young lady enamored of a boy and meeting his father for the first time. That’s all this was to him.
“Mostly good,” I said, my voice slightly teasing. “But I don’t suppose anyone could be all good, could they? Why, that would just be boring.”
Taylor chuckled. “You’re speaking to someone in public office, Helena. My reputation is sterling, boring though it may be.”
Bullshit.
“Shall we?” Taylor said, waving a hand toward the table.
I murmured my thanks as Darren pulled out my chair for me. His big hands squeezed my shoulders once before he sat down next to me. I set my purse on the floor between us and smiled at Darre
n, who looked like he wished he could be anywhere but where he was. I reached under the table and folded my hand in his. He looked surprised but didn’t pull away. In fact, he seemed almost grateful for the contact.
“It’s been a while since I’ve spoken to you,” Taylor said to Darren.
Darren shrugged. “I’ve been busy. You know how it is. Work takes up a lot of my time.”
He nodded. “Unfortunately I do. It seems I never leave the office these days. But surely you haven’t been that busy. After all, you’ve found time to meet this young lady.” He glanced over at me with a small smile. “I must admit to being a little surprised to hear it.”
“Really?” I said. “And why is that?”
“I’ve never heard of Darren being serious about anyone before,” Taylor said, folding his hands on the table in front of him. “Never really heard him talk about a specific girl. Figured he was busy sowing his oats and living the bachelor life.”
I laughed. “Oh, I’m sure he was. All those coeds, am I right?” I winked at Taylor. “Maybe we just found each other at the right time. When we needed each other the most.” Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Darren watching me, a strange look on his face that I couldn’t quite place.
“Well,” Taylor said. “That’s wonderful. Tell me about yourself, Helena. Where are you from?”
“Tucson born and raised,” I said, nodding toward the waitress as glasses of cucumber ice water were placed before us. “Lived here all my life. Parents did too.”
“That so?” Taylor said. “Long history, then. Probably voted in many elections. Helped Tucson become what it is. They’re registered, right?”
“Independents,” I said sweetly.
Taylor didn’t even hide the face he made at that. “Independents. Well, give them five minutes alone with me and I’m sure I could change their minds.” And that politician’s smile came back as Darren frowned. Taylor could be charming, I’m sure, but he really was barking up the wrong tree. Especially since this tree had a cock and was wearing a skirt.