impress him?”
“Nobody could ever impress him but Lance.”
Her older brother who’d died in the skiing accident. He’d been an up-and-coming star of the business world according to Forbes magazine.
“Lance was the golden boy,” she was saying, her tone thoughtful, her eyes looking into the past. “I was free advertising, once I started getting into all the tabloids.” “Your father should have protected you from that.”
“It was the only thing I’ve ever done that my father liked. Any publicity was good publicity for him. He loved when they started calling me the Popcorn Princess. He brought me into the business because of that. I was the face of the company all of a sudden.”
“And Greg?”
She looked down at her hands. “Greg was his one mistake. He actually said that. He was embarrassed by Greg.”
And Kayla fiercely loved her brother because of that. Nash was beginning to understand the family dynamics. Hell, he’d always thought rich people had it easy. But from what she was telling him, her family was almost as messed up as his.
Almost. Her mother hadn’t driven her father to drink himself to death. He pushed his own dark memories away.
“If he liked publicity, he must have really loved you.” He’d read every piece of news he could get on her, going back a couple of years. Every gossip rag covered her. According to them, she was a hellcat in high heels. That side of her hadn’t come out yet, although he would have been lying if he said he wouldn’t have liked to see it.
“People know my family’s name. Landon Enterprises is a big deal. Back in college, boys figured out that if they took me to wild parties where there were paparazzi, they could get their pictures in the papers the next day.”
He didn’t like her tone of voice. He hadn’t consid ered before that maybe she hadn’t sought the limelight on purpose. “So you got taken to a lot of wild parties.”
“I guess I wasn’t as smart as I thought. I kept thinking they liked me for myself.”
They should have. She was bright and she was tough. She was loyal to the point of blindness. She had plenty to offer a man. That they had used her when she’d been young and didn’t know better ticked him off and awoke his protective instincts. He exhaled, letting that go. Maybe she was just giving him the poor-little-rich-girl act. Could be that was how she always got what she wanted. He’d known another woman like that.
His expression must have said as much, because she launched into an explanation.
“I was raised in a sheltered environment. Industry leaders tend to stick together and socialize together. College was very different. Took me a while to figure it out and find a way to fit in.”
Okay. He could see that. “You were too trusting.”
“And now I don’t trust anyone.”
He had to laugh at that. “ I don’t trust anyone,” he told her. “You don’t trust some imaginary boogeyman stranger. But the second you get to know someone and like them, you give your full trust without reservations.”
She’d defended her friends and staff against the slightest suspicion on his part and had reasserted over and over how much she trusted them.
“Name one person that you know closely and don’t trust,” he put out the challenge.
She struggled. “I don’t trust any man who asks me out.” “That’s a good start.” He bit back a grin. “Babe in the woods.” He shook his head.
“I have you to protect me now, don’t I?” She rolled her eyes at him.
“And how long did it take to talk you into that? From the moment we met and were complete strangers until you trusted me with your life…twenty-four hours.”
“Maybe I should take that trust back and fire you,” she mumbled.
“You’re too smart to do that. You might cultivate the dumb-blonde image, but you’re far from it. You found a way to become director at the company. You raise millions for charity each year. You were smart enough to figure out
“Nobody could ever impress him but Lance.”
Her older brother who’d died in the skiing accident. He’d been an up-and-coming star of the business world according to Forbes magazine.
“Lance was the golden boy,” she was saying, her tone thoughtful, her eyes looking into the past. “I was free advertising, once I started getting into all the tabloids.” “Your father should have protected you from that.”
“It was the only thing I’ve ever done that my father liked. Any publicity was good publicity for him. He loved when they started calling me the Popcorn Princess. He brought me into the business because of that. I was the face of the company all of a sudden.”
“And Greg?”
She looked down at her hands. “Greg was his one mistake. He actually said that. He was embarrassed by Greg.”
And Kayla fiercely loved her brother because of that. Nash was beginning to understand the family dynamics. Hell, he’d always thought rich people had it easy. But from what she was telling him, her family was almost as messed up as his.
Almost. Her mother hadn’t driven her father to drink himself to death. He pushed his own dark memories away.
“If he liked publicity, he must have really loved you.” He’d read every piece of news he could get on her, going back a couple of years. Every gossip rag covered her. According to them, she was a hellcat in high heels. That side of her hadn’t come out yet, although he would have been lying if he said he wouldn’t have liked to see it.
“People know my family’s name. Landon Enterprises is a big deal. Back in college, boys figured out that if they took me to wild parties where there were paparazzi, they could get their pictures in the papers the next day.”
He didn’t like her tone of voice. He hadn’t consid ered before that maybe she hadn’t sought the limelight on purpose. “So you got taken to a lot of wild parties.”
“I guess I wasn’t as smart as I thought. I kept thinking they liked me for myself.”
They should have. She was bright and she was tough. She was loyal to the point of blindness. She had plenty to offer a man. That they had used her when she’d been young and didn’t know better ticked him off and awoke his protective instincts. He exhaled, letting that go. Maybe she was just giving him the poor-little-rich-girl act. Could be that was how she always got what she wanted. He’d known another woman like that.
His expression must have said as much, because she launched into an explanation.
“I was raised in a sheltered environment. Industry leaders tend to stick together and socialize together. College was very different. Took me a while to figure it out and find a way to fit in.”
Okay. He could see that. “You were too trusting.”
“And now I don’t trust anyone.”
He had to laugh at that. “ I don’t trust anyone,” he told her. “You don’t trust some imaginary boogeyman stranger. But the second you get to know someone and like them, you give your full trust without reservations.”
She’d defended her friends and staff against the slightest suspicion on his part and had reasserted over and over how much she trusted them.
“Name one person that you know closely and don’t trust,” he put out the challenge.
She struggled. “I don’t trust any man who asks me out.” “That’s a good start.” He bit back a grin. “Babe in the woods.” He shook his head.
“I have you to protect me now, don’t I?” She rolled her eyes at him.
“And how long did it take to talk you into that? From the moment we met and were complete strangers until you trusted me with your life…twenty-four hours.”
“Maybe I should take that trust back and fire you,” she mumbled.
“You’re too smart to do that. You might cultivate the dumb-blonde image, but you’re far from it. You found a way to become director at the company. You raise millions for charity each year. You were smart enough to figure out
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