Page 33 of Fated Mates and How to Seduce Them (Fated Mates #4)

The getaway trip flew by, and Ian was back in Minneapolis before he knew it. He’d tried various times to get André to explain the issue with his mom, but André would either distract him from the topic or dismiss it. He wasn’t willing to talk about it.

Ian would have let it go, except Mrs. Castor kept calling or texting throughout their trip.

She thought it was a problem for André to stay, and she didn’t strike Ian as a willful or selfish parent.

If she thought André should go to whatever this event or meeting was, he should probably go, but André wasn’t budging.

He never said anything overt, but Ian gathered the distinct impression that he was the reason André wouldn’t leave.

And that…was not a good thing.

Ian didn’t know how to fix it. He did know he had to try, and the first step was understanding why André had to go to France. Since André wouldn’t tell him, he’d go to the other available source.

Without Mrs. Castor’s number, Ian had no way of contacting her directly, but he was friends with Felix and had his number.

He messaged Felix and asked for the best way to arrange a meeting with her.

Felix suggested her secretary, as he was in charge of her schedule, which sounded reasonable.

After explaining who he was, Ian made the appointment for the next day and prayed the situation didn’t blow up in the meantime.

The day had flown by, and with now five minutes left till the appointment, Ian felt like butterflies were duking it out in his stomach.

He kept trying to tell himself he had no reason to be nervous, but apparently, he sucked at pep talks.

He knew André’s mother was kind and fair—and she had a good impression of him—but he didn’t know if she was currently mad at him because her son had dug in his heels.

It had taken some maneuvering to get this appointment with her at her actual office. Ian did not want André to overhear this conversation. Just in case it went very wrong.

As expected of a fashion designer’s office, it didn’t have the cold, corporate design of bland art and thin carpets.

Her office was overrun with fabric samples, catalogs, and one whole wall dedicated to an art table with markers and designs pinned up on the board.

It was much more friendly than he’d anticipated, with a lived-in feel.

In the midst of all of this, dolled up in a navy blue dress, bishop sleeves pushed up to her elbows, sat Mrs. Castor. She glanced up with a smile as he paused in the doorway, looking entirely pleased to see him.

“Ian! Hello, come in. It surprised me when my secretary told me you wanted to see me here this afternoon.”

Oh, thank god, she wasn’t mad at him. Ian’s nervousness dropped by half. “Yes, I thought it better. I didn’t want to risk André overhearing.”

Her smile morphed into a light frown. “I see. Well, come, sit down. Would you like some tea? I just made a pot.”

“Oh, thank you.” Ian sat on the love seat adjacent to her, accepting the mug she poured for him. The warmth sank into his cold hands, which he appreciated. His hands always got cold when he was nervous.

She put her work aside on the table before turning to him, giving him her full attention. “What’s this about? You seem nervous, darling.”

“André going with you to France.” Ian stared down into the tea for a long second before forcing his eyes back up to hers. “I realize you’ve argued about it.”

“Yes, we have. It’s rare André argues with me about anything.

I’m very surprised he’s being so stubborn about this.

” She looked away, mouth flattening, and unless Ian was wrong, he detected a slight wobble in those lips.

“If we’re being honest, I’m a little hurt by it, too.

This will be one of the few chances I have in the future to take him with me.

Once he’s graduated from law school, he’ll start his own career, and I won’t have the freedom to take him.

He’s wonderful company when traveling, and for so many years it was just the two of us on my work trips.

I wanted one more trip with him, but he’s utterly refusing. ”

Shit. This was a little worse than he’d feared. “I’m sorry. It’s entirely because of me that he’s afraid to go.”

She pulled a sad smile back in place, reaching over to put a delicate hand on one of his. “Ian, this isn’t your fault.”’

“I’m sorry, it really is. I don’t know if André’s explained this to you, not fully.”

“The only thing he’d say to me is he can’t be away from you for so long.”

Yeah, he hadn’t explained a damn thing. Ian mentally aimed a kick in André’s direction. “I’ve had to put the pieces together myself, so I’m not surprised. Let me start from the beginning. Are you aware that we’ve only been dating for two weeks?”

Her jaw dropped, blue eyes flaring wide. “What? I thought you’d been dating for almost three months!”

“No. Nowhere near that.” Ian grimaced. “It’s…

You have to understand, as I mentioned before, I didn’t believe your son when he first approached me.

He has such a reputation on campus, I didn’t think him sincere.

I’d thought I was just his latest interest. It’s taken him months to prove to me he meant every word.

I can’t lay everything entirely on him. I had my own insecurities to battle through.

As another obstacle, I didn’t believe you’d accept me as his boyfriend.

You or your husband. I didn’t want to set myself up for that kind of heartbreak. ”

Stunned sympathy flooded her face. “Ian. Oh, honey, of course, I’d like you. Why wouldn’t I appreciate a man as good as you?”

Ian ducked his head, so happy with her response he felt like he might embarrass himself by crying for a second.

She had no idea how orphans were normally treated—as if they were lacking somehow because they didn’t have parents or were neglected by the people who birthed them.

She didn’t know of the hell his adoptive father’s family had put him through, their disdain for him because of some unfounded bias to older kids in the foster system.

It had left its scars, and he hadn’t healed from them, although he was trying.

Her warm, utter acceptance of him helped.

He at least felt more comfortable being honest with her.

“Thank you. You have no idea how relieved I felt when you accepted. But because of all this, he basically spent two months trying to win me over. I don’t know if he truly understands why I agreed to date him.

He might think he just wore me down. I fear he thinks that. ”

Looking back up at her, he tried to phrase this right.

To convey it all without upsetting her further.

“He has no real faith in us right now, that we’d survive long distance.

It’s entirely my fault, but I can’t easily fix this.

We need time. Right now, he’s afraid I might change my mind if he’s away from me for anything more than a day.

I see his fear, and I don’t know how to combat it except to give us time. ”

She sat back, expression troubled. “I didn’t realize any of this.

He didn’t explain it. I kept getting an adamant refusal every time I brought it up.

Normally, I’d let this go, especially after what you’ve said, but Ian…

half the reason why he needs to go is that his scholarship program has its presentation next month.

As the main organizer, he needs to be there.

It runs for a week, with all the kids giving presentations on business proposals. He truly can’t afford to miss it.”

Aw shit. “He didn’t breathe a word of it to me.”

She looked surprised. “You know about this?”

“He’s told me about how he has another charity. I didn’t realize the presentations were coming up this soon.” Ian pinched the bridge of his nose and resisted the urge to swear. Dammit, André. You should have said something.

A calculating look flashed over her face. “Ian. I have a counterproposal for you. Instead of leaving him here, why don’t you come with us?”

Ian’s head snapped up. “Eh?”

“I’ll, of course, pay for all expenses. Don’t worry about that. But you’re so good with kids. I think you’d be perfect at helping André. Wouldn’t you like to see him in his element?”

Ian didn’t have to think about her proposal very hard. “I’d love to, but is it really all right?”

“I promise you it is. It does mean you’ll be gone for a month. Can you take that much time away from work?”

“I should be able to if my boss is all right with it. He probably will be. He’s used to his student workers disappearing during the winter holidays. I’d need to get a passport, though.”

“There’s enough time if we start now and push for an expedite. Plus, I’m sure my husband can pull a few strings.” She shot him a conspiratorial wink. “Why don’t we consider this a done deal? I think once you tell André you’ll go with him, he’ll happily reverse his decision.”

Ian agreed with her one hundred percent.

She clapped her hands together, her scheming expression back. “You should come over for dinner tonight. We’ll tell him then.”

“You mean we’ll ambush him then.”

“It’s what he gets for not properly explaining anything to me.”

Well, Ian found it rather fair. André should have. His mother was entirely reasonable and would have understood if he’d actually opened his mouth.

“Ian, I’m very glad you came to me and explained everything.

It’s a relief to me that both my sons have chosen the right men to be with.

I worried about André especially. From now on, please don’t hesitate to come to me if there’s something you want to talk about.

In fact, why don’t we exchange phone numbers?

That way, you don’t have to go through my secretary to get to me. ”

Ian found himself softening. She did want to connect with him. He told his nerves to go to hell. They had no place here with this woman. “I’d love to.”

“And after this, call me Mom,” she scolded. “No more of this Mrs. Castor business.”

For the first time since coming here, Ian’s smile was heartfelt. “Yes, Mom.”

“Good. I’m glad you’re here for a second reason. Your order is in.”

Order…Oh! The bracelets. “How did they turn out?”

“Stunning. I love them, and I think you will too. I know André will like his.” She rose from the chair, going to her desk before drawing something out and bringing back a black velvet jewelry box.

Ian put his teacup down so he could take the rectangular box from her and snap open the lid. Inside were two identical bracelets, both made from platinum, simple in design. The metal was forged so that the two sides were twisted once together, forming an elegant asymmetrical arch in the middle.

It was precisely what he’d had in mind. “You’re right. I love them.”

“They’re very elegant, easily something you can wear with any outfit.” Mom clapped her hands together. “Oh, I just realized I can have you try things on now! This is perfect. Come, I have two suits mocked up, and I’d like to check the fit before we get any further.”

As expected, Ian had utterly lost the battle on the clothes.

Considering all she had done for him, he could lose this one with good grace.