Chapter 3 Unpleasant Start Of The Meeting

• "Whereabouts in Minnesota?" she prodded.
• "Clareshorn." Another one word reply.
• "Do you play any sports? Hockey? Football?" She had met a lot of those types, the ones who fancied themselves tall, dark and silent.
• Well, in his case, he had tall and dark down to an artform.
• "No." She drummed her fingers harder, impatience threatening to boil over to the surface.
• "You were adopted right?"
• Nathan's blue eyes narrowed.
• "How do you know that?"
• Ah! Finally a whole sentence even if it was just a question.
• "I did some research,"
• Okay, maybe like a full background check, but she was not going to tell him that. His bio had been short and precise. Born Nathan Hugh Lachlan, adopted by an Irish couple, High school star quarterback, graduated magna cum laude from Stanford university with a degree in civil engineAliceg, no previous marriages and no kids. No skeletons in his closet so far.
• A muscle ticked in his jaw and his eyes turned to flint.
• "You spied on me?"
• She bristled at the accusation. How dare he make it seem as though she'd drilled a hole in his wall and kept her eyes glued to him.
• "Research,” she replied in a frosty tone. “I do not spy on people Mr. Lachlan."
• "Then keep your damned spoiled little nose out of my business."
• "I beg your pardon? Did you just call me spoiled?" Alice hissed at him. "How dare you?"
• "I don't tolerate people digging into my personal life Ms. Gibson. While I realize you may have nothing better to do with your time, stop poking your nose where it doesn't concern you.”
• "Sarah is my concern, and I certainly have a right to find out as much as I can about any man she chooses to align herself with." Alice forced the words out through clenched teeth.
• "For all I know, you could be nothing more than yet another opportunist out to take advantage of her money and connections."
• He looked as though she had just pulled a gun and aimed it at his head.
• Alice bit her lip and wished she could swallow those last words somehow, but it was already too late. The damage had been done.
• As she watched him, his breathing seemed to cease and he became still, though the air crackled with tension, cloaking them inside a force field. He looked so dangerous, like a big cat waiting to pounce on his prey and Alice shivered, icy chills sliding down her spine, every sense on alert.
• "Opportunist." He repeated the word so softly, she would have missed it if she hadn't been watching him so intently.
• She said nothing, though her heart hammered wildly as she wondered what he would do. This man could be deadly and she was suddenly seized with fear for her delicate cousin. He would tear Sarah's heart apart if he ever got this angry at her. Dear lord, he had not even reacted yet and Alice was already afraid. His knuckles gripping the edge of the table were white and his eyes glittered dangerously.
• "You little fool," He ground out. "Someone should have throttled some sense into you long ago."
• "What's going on?" Sarah had returned to the table and stared at the two of them, frowning in confusion at the palpable tension simmering between them.
• "Alice?" she looked at Alice when Nathan stayed silent, her gaze searching her cousin's face for an answer.
• "Nothing." Alice forced herself to remain calm though she really wanted to kill Nathan Lachlan.
• Twice now, the man had insulted her in the space of a few minutes.
• ****
• Nathan glared at the snotty woman seated across from him, resisting the urge to throttle her. The evening had turned sour for him from the moment he had made that stop at the coffee shop. He had been stuck in traffic caused by a car accident, and to top that, he'd left his phone at the office. He'd spent close to an hour swearing at the cars blocking the road while his mind filled with thoughts of Sarah waiting and wondering if he had stood her up.
• Now he was here, and having to deal with Little Miss Snob and her scathing comments that worsened his mood. It was obvious to Nathan that Alice Gibson did not care for him in the least, if the disdain and condemnation in those hazel eyes of hers was any indication of her true feelings. His anger burned when she'd mentioned she’d had him investigated; he valued his privacy and did not relish the thought of Alice Gibson snooping into his background and then having the guts to rub it in his face, even having the nerve to accuse him of being a gold digger.
• Nathan studied her from under his lashes. He had expected Alice to look like Sarah in some way, but he was surprised at the woman sitting across from him now. Straight brown hair, pulled back in a severe bun at the nape of her neck, paired with attractive enough features.
• The mint colored, dinner gown she wore was simple yet undoubtedly chic, and he could bet his life savings the price tag would have more zeros than was strictly necessary. Where Sarah was breathtakingly beautiful, Alice was attractive in a cool professional sort of way, but there was something in her eyes when she'd first looked at him that had hinted at smoldering fires underneath that icy exterior. He shook his head to clear his thoughts and realized Sarah was looking at him, worry clearly written in those green eyes and he felt bad for letting his anger ruin the evening.
• "I'm sorry, Honey, nothing is wrong," he pulled her down beside him and kissed her lips gently.
• "Alice and I were simply getting to know each other, weren't we?" He shot Alice a warning look, daring her to contradict him.
• She was no fool, nodding in agreement and accepting the unspoken cease fire. Thankfully their food arrived, and the rest of the evening passed with the both of them carefully avoiding any volatile topic. Later, outside the restaurant, he saw the derisive curl of her lips when she saw his truck, and Nathan decided there and then that he thoroughly disliked Alice Gibson.
• Alice was thankful when the long, torturous dinner finally ended. It had been pure agony having to keep silent, when all she had wanted to do was give that man a piece of her mind. What on earth did Sarah even see in him, for heaven's sake? Watching them together was like watching a pair of mismatched shoes on someone's feet. While her cousin was clearly in love with Nathan, the man had shown little or no emotion towards her in return, and alarm bells rang in Alice's brain.
• "Well, what do you think of Nathan?" Sarah piped up as Alice pulled into the evening traffic, steering the blue Jaguar with skill. Alice took her eyes from the road briefly to spare her cousin a thoughtful look. She could not really bring herself to lie to her cousin and say Nathan Lachlan was perfect for her. Her protective instincts kicked in and she knew what she had to do to save Sarah from making the biggest mistake of her life.
• "Sarah, may I be honest with you?" she began, returning her attention to the road.