Page 31 of Betrayal of a Billionaire

“I do not give her creepy looks.”

“Can we please stop talking about this? This is the world’s most uncomfortable vacation,” Grant growled.

“Okay, folks,” Luke said as he greeted them at the table, “let me grab you some drinks.”

“Bourbon, double,” Grant said with an unimpressed sigh.

“White wine, and please take that picture down,” Sierra said, as she waved a finger toward the image of Julia.

“White wine, got it, and no. That happens to be one of my favorite pictures and since this is my restaurant, I’ll keep it up.” Luke poked a finger at Kyle, prompting him for his drink order.

“Thatis Mrs. Grant Harrington, and I demand you take that picture down or you’ll be hearing from our legal team.”

Luke stared at her with a furrowed brow for a second. “Thatis actually Julia Stanton, so I’ll keep it and move on to your drink.” He tipped a finger toward Kyle again.

“Scotch, neat.”

Grant motioned to the empty chair at their table. “Julia will have–”

“Ha, thanks, but I don’t need her order.”

Grant narrowed his eyes at the man as he strode away after the biting remark. “And it just keeps getting better.”

Sierra studied the man as he skirted the bar to retrieve their drinks. “Daddy,” she hissed. “Daddy!”

“What, Sierra?” he asked as he slumped in the chair, his voice strained.

“He’s nothing like you.”

The words hit him like a slap in the face, though he’d already noted that when he’d sized the man up.

“Likenothinglike you,” Sierra said as she narrowed her eyes at him. “He’s all…rugged.”

Grant slid his eyes closed.

“With that dark hair and those dark eyes. That unkempt look that’s scruffy yet also sexy. That body that says I built a dock with my bare hands because my woman liked that island, and we danced under the stars there. And probably did some other stuff, too.”

Grant scrubbed his face. “Sierra, please stop talking.”

“Can’t handle the truth, Dad?” Kyle asked.

Grant flicked him a glare as Luke buzzed by with their drinks, then disappeared into the back. “I’m just saying that it has been a very trying day.”

“And I’m saying you may want to start facing the facts.”

“What facts?” Grant asked after a sip of his bourbon.

“The very real possibility that Julia may not be coming home to New Orleans with us. Her complicated past just reared its ugly head.”

The words stung him as Kyle articulated the possibility he’d spent the entire afternoon worrying about. Their conversation ended when Julia skirted around him and sank into the chair next to him as she cleared her throat.

“I tried to order you a drink, but…Luke,” he said, the name sticking in his throat, “said he didn’t need your order.”

“Oh, okay,” she said with a shrug. “Maybe he’ll come back for it.”

Grant’s eyes flicked over her shoulder as he spotted Luke crossing back toward them with an odd-looking drink on his tray.

He sneaked behind Julia, his features twisting into an excited grin. “For the lady.” He set the drink down in front of her.