Page 33 of The Tycoon
“I suggest you call around to venues in Lake Como sooner, rather than later,” I reply simply.
Gasping sharply, she gives me another wallop on my arm. My older brother, Dalton, had a child out of wedlock a little over a year ago and it’s been a sore subject ever since. She actually had a conference call with the four of us where she made us promise that we would be properly married before we brought another Douglas into the world. She’s ridiculous. I love her, but she’s ridiculous.
“Sutton! Gah! You are going to give me a heart attack!” she exclaims.
Letting out a sigh, I move to gently hold her upper arms.Nodding my head, I give her the smirk that has been disarming her since I was a child.
“Mama, everything is going to be fine, I promise. Now, can we please discuss Murphy?”
Straightening her posture, she gives me a curt nod. Easing from my hold, she folds her arms over her chest. Her businesswoman stance lets me know that this is serious. It causes the hairs on the back of my neck to stand up on end.
“His niece is still hangin’ on for dear life.Butgood news! One of the girls on your app has perfect markers. Better than Dolly’s, actually. She’ll be an excellent candidate.”
Staring at her for a long moment, my eyes narrow behind my sunglasses. I swear I hear the beast inside me lick its chops, but for once in my life, I don’t want to indulge the damn thing.
“Get Linc to do it,” I reply casually.
Shaking her head, she starts tapping her foot on the concrete.
“She’s been talking to you…or, at least shewastalking to you. I doubt she will want to talk to your little brother. No, you have to be the one to do this, Sutton. I’m sorry, but youhaveto do this. There will be serious consequences if you don’t. You want to give Dolly the life she deserves, right? You want to give your future children,my future grandchildren,the lives they deserve? Well, then. You will do this little task, hmm?”
Clenching my jaw, I fight the urge to rage. I am lodgedbetween a rock and a hard place. I know l must do this, but I am terrified of Dolly finding out. Not necessarily about me killing this woman, mind you. I’m more scared about her finding out that I took another woman out on a date.
“When?” I ask, my voice dangerously low.
“Friday,” she replies.
Nodding my head slowly, I marinate on the timeline. I will have to concoct an overnight business trip, but that’s easily done. I’ll take her house hunting that morning and leave her on a high. When I come home, we’ll go out on the town. Murphy will be happy, my Mama will be happy, my Princess will be happy, everything will be copasetic.
“Fine. But I’m not doing it in Dallas. There’s no way in hell I’m risking Dolly finding out. Set everything up for San Antonio.”
“I had a feeling you would say that. Murphy will have his jet available so it shouldn’t be a problem,” she says, her body relaxing in relief. “Alright then, San Antonio it is. I’ll let Harrison know. And don’t worry about Dolly. I’ll take her out shopping and out to dinner. She won’t even miss you.”
Giving her the smallest smile, I climb out of the jacuzzi to kiss her cheek. It really is a good thing that I’m her favorite. There’s no way in hell she would distract any of my other brothers’ girls.
“Thank you, Mama. I love you.”
“I love you too, Sutton. Now, that was simple enough, wasn’t it? Let me grab my things and we’ll head inside. Don’t worry, I’ll grab Sweetie and head back home. I’m sure you want some alone time just…please, go easy on the hickeys, ok?”
Huffing a laugh, I offer her the nod I know she expects. But little does she know, I have my fingers crossed.
CHAPTER fifteen
dolly
“Oh, ok! Here are some good ones,” I say, my eyes scanning over my phone’s screen. “Ready?”
Nodding his head, Sutton runs his hands along my bare legs as I drape them over his lap. Turning to look at me, he gives me a sly smile that turns me into jelly. It’s a good thing I’m semi-prone on the couch. If I was standing, I’d fall right to the floor.
“Fire away, Princess,” he replies, his voice deep and silky.
Pausing for a moment, I gather my wits to ask another series of“would you rathers.”We’ve been answering odd questions for the past hour while waiting for his assistant to bring us dinner. Some questions have been surprisingly deep, others mildly insane. Our answers have aligned with one another’s for the most part, which only solidifies what I know in my soul. I feel like I’ve known him for years now. Everything seems so easy and perfect with him, I want to pinch myself to make sure that this isn’tanother fantasy my brain has constructed.
“Ok, would you rather be too hot, or too cold?” I ask.
He huffs a chuckle, giving his answer without taking a second to think.
“Too cold.”