Page 32 of Earned Husband

A few seconds later, the doors opened and I set my thoughts aside. I didn’t particularly feel like explaining my budding feelings for Colin just yet, and since it was only Ashanti and me today, she would definitely notice if I kept being distracted by him.

We stepped out of the elevator together, faced with an elegant restaurant entrance only a few feet away. Strangely, when Ashanti gave our names to the hostess, we were on her list.

I sighed, suddenly back to feeling like even our shopping spree had been part of whatever conspiracy had been brewing, but curiosity got the better of me, so I followed them through the main dining room, my hackles already rising.

The view from up here was amazing. Floor-to-ceiling windows provided a vista of the entire Chicago skyline and even the lake glittered in the distance. As soon as the hostess opened the door to a private room at the back, however, I forgot all about the gorgeous view.

A group of people were already gathered around the table inside and I knew almost all of them. While I’d thought it would only be Ashanti and me for lunch, Alex, Khaled, and my father were here, along with a guy I didn’t recognize—and Colin.

When the door opened, he looked up, straight at me, and a spark of electricity raced down my spine when our eyes met. For a second, I didn’t even care that I’d obviously just walked intoa trap. Colin was here with me and I had a feeling we would be facing whatever this was together.

That helped.

A little bit.

As soon as I stepped into the actual room, Colin stood so abruptly that his chair nearly tipped over, pulling out the seat beside himself for me in the very same motion. Khaled rose as well, his entire face lighting up when Ashanti started moving toward him.

There were many powerful men in the world and my brother was certainly one of them, but he never seemed concerned about dignity or decorum when it came to his wife. She walked right into his arms, planting a passionate kiss on his lips before taking a small step back to show him her loot. “What do you think?”

He beamed at her. “I think you’re perfect.”

“I think those bags she’s holding brings you one step closer to financial devastation, but okay,” I said as I took the seat beside Colin.

Khaled, meanwhile, glanced at the mountain of shopping bags, then rolled his eyes at me. “When I gave her the card, I intended for you two to use it.”

“Well, we definitely did that.”

He chuckled and pulled out a chair for her in turn. “I fail to see the problem.”

“That’s probably because you haven’t seen the statement yet.”

“Maybe not, but I do get the notifications whenever it gets swiped,” he said. “As long as you girls had fun, I’m happy.”

“We had the best time,” Ashanti gushed, raking over one of her bags to start showing him some of her purchases.

As they bent their heads together, I noticed a little smile on my father’s face, but Colin looked pale. The men seemed to have already eaten, but his food sat untouched on the plate in front ofhim. He also didn’t even seem to be aware of Ashanti when she launched into a detailed account of our shopping spree, leaning in to murmur to me instead. “Have you eaten yet?”

“Nope,” I replied just as quietly. “I was kidnapped before I could even have breakfast.”

Without another word, he slid his bowl of fruit toward me. “Here, have this. It should tide you over until we can get some real food into you.”

“What about you?” I asked. “It doesn’t look like you’ve eaten either.”

“I haven’t, but I’m fine. My appetite seems to have abandoned me.”

“Any particular reason?”

He shrugged. “Just business.”

“Right,” I said, but the tight expression on his face suggested the real answer was a lot more complicated than just that.

Before I could ask, he lifted a hand and waved over a waiter. The man appeared as if he materialized on command and I wondered then if Colin was still seen as someone important in this city.

It didn’t matter to me, but the waiter’s instant attention and the respect he showed Colin made me suspect the Thayers’ membership might not have been revoked. I felt strangely relieved about that, knowing that despite everything else he’d been through, at least there were still some places where he could exist without constantly being reminded of his past.

“Can we get another menu?” he asked.

The waiter nodded and disappeared just as quickly as he’d arrived. Less than a minute later, I was studying my options while Colin quietly made recommendations. “Their French toast is good.”