“It’s okay. I’m just about done.”
She swept a few more toiletries into the bag and zipped it shut before wheeling it out of her room. She studied Miles’s face. Lines of strain had become apparent at the corners of his eyes, and his mouth, which she’d been accustomed to seeing curved into a smile, was a straight line.
“Is everything okay?” she asked.
His features softened as she approached him.
“Sure, at least it will be once I’m back with my family.”
His words felt like bullets to her heart. Family. At least he had one, which was more than she and her mother could say. She’d been worried that she was making the right decision to follow through on her plan for payback, but this had just sealed the deal. As much as she was deeply attracted to him, she needed to remind herself that it was purely physical and the magnetic pull between them was merely a means to an end.
Miles and the rest of his brothers and sisters took their position in life and their wealth for granted. Wealth that was created, in part, on the backbone of her father’s hard work. After her father’s business had begun to suffer financial hardship due to a client going bankrupt and not settling their accounts with him, Trent Wingate had offered his support. But the support had never been forthcoming. Instead, the man had simply sat back and waited until he could swoop in and take over her father’s business completely at a steal of a price, thereby driving him to his death.
Her daddy had thought Trent Wingate was a good man—someone he could count on—but his judgment had been fatally wrong. Chloe uttered a silent vow that she would not forget just how callous and cruel the Wingates could be. They needed a mirror brought before them to see how their choices and behaviors affected others. She would be that mirror, and maybe, just maybe, her momma would start to smile again.
Seven
Chloe settled into the wide leather seat in the private jet and stretched out her legs.
“Comfortable?” Miles asked as he secured his seat belt.
“You know this is going to spoil me for regular travel anywhere, don’t you?” she said archly.
“All part of my nefarious plan,” he answered, wiggling his eyebrows like an old-time villain in a black-and-white movie reel.
She laughed. “Well
, I have to say that so far I like the sound of your nefarious plan.”
He took her hand and squeezed it gently. “Good.” Then he sighed, and his expression became more serious. “I’m glad you’re with me. I haven’t been home since my father’s funeral two years ago.”
“Do you miss him?”
“He certainly was a force in my life. We didn’t always see eye to eye, but he was my father.”
Which told her everything and nothing all at the same time and gave her the perfect opportunity to do a little digging.
“Tell me about your family. You are so lucky to have brothers and sisters. And your mother, too, she’s still alive?”
“Yeah, my mom’s still alive and kicking. She was devoted to my father and nursed him for as long as she was able.” A shadow crossed his face. “She took Dad’s death hard. They’d been together since my dad was about twenty-two and it was her that helped him focus his energy on starting up Wingate Refineries. After Dad passed away, Uncle Keith, who is a family friend, took her on a tour of Europe, but now she’s involved in the family business again.
“Not so sure Uncle Keith is thrilled with that. From what I hear from my siblings, he seems to expect more than friendship from Mom and wants more of her attention. He and Dad were rivals for Mom’s affections back in the day. Dad won and he and Uncle Keith remained friends. Since Dad’s death he’s been a constant support to her but now she’s back on her feet, she doesn’t need him as much, I guess.”
“She sounds formidable.”
Miles chuckled. “Not sure she’d like that description, to be honest.”
“Well, I’m intimidated already,” Chloe said with a smile to soften her words.
She fought back a yawn.
“Hey, the flight is going to be about two and a half hours, once we reach cruising altitude. Why don’t you put your seat back and have a bit of a sleep?” Miles suggested.
Chloe felt a blush of heat bloom through her body at the memory of exactly why she was so tired.
“Sounds like a plan. In fact, I may not even reach cruising altitude before I nod off. Must be something to do with the engine noise singing me to sleep.”
Miles’s lips curved into a smile. “Or something to do with last night.”