Can't Buy Me Love (27 page)

“It
helped that his tennis partner’s son came out a few years ago.”

“Probably,”
Lena conceded. “But still.”

“So
what’s your plan?”

“I
think I’m just going to tell him that I’m marrying Chase, and see what his
reaction is. If I’m right, and he’s developing a conscience, he’ll ask why. If
I’m wrong, and he’s still just in it for what it can do for him, he’ll pour the
champagne.”

Ned
and David looked at each other. “OK, that’s devious in its own way,” Ned
finally allowed. “So we approve.”

Twenty-Two

This
time, Lena did the inviting. She asked her father to meet her for lunch that
week, even telling him that she’d join him at a restaurant close to his office
so that he could more easily slot the time into his day. When he agreed, she
immediately made reservations at a place around the corner from his office, and
called his secretary with the details.

“Lena,”
he said, bending down to kiss her cheek.

“Hi
Dad. Thanks for coming. They have our table ready for us, if you’re set?”

He
motioned for the restaurant staff member to lead the way, and followed behind
his daughter. Once they were seated, they quickly ordered their meals and a
bottle of sparkling water to share, and then settled back in their chairs.

“Is
everything all right?”

She
nodded. “I just wanted to have lunch with you. And to let you know that Chase
proposed to me this weekend, and I accepted.”

Her
father leaned back in his chair and looked across the table at her, his gaze
piercing.

“Why
are you marrying him?” he asked at last.

“Forgive
me for asking this, but why do you care?” Lena asked quietly.

“Charlene.
Did Chase make marrying him a part of his conditions for helping me?”

“Again,
why do you care?”

William’s
gaze was fixed on the room behind her as he gathered his thoughts. When he
spoke, his tone was quiet, but firm. “I care because I don’t want to see my
daughter unhappy. If Chase is marrying you for the wrong reasons, I want to
know.”

With
a puzzled look on her face, Lena leaned forward and quietly said, “Dad, a
couple of weeks ago, you were pushing me to marry him. For money. When did all
of your thinking change?”

But
William didn’t flinch. “Charlene. Look. I like Chase. He’s a good man. But I
know you, better than you think I do. And I know that if you are doing this for
me, for financial reasons, you’ll be unhappy.”

At
that, Lena laughed. “Dad, you’ve been pushing me to marry money for years.”

“And
I was wrong,” William interrupted immediately. “Look. Jeanette and I have been
talking a lot lately. We married for a lot of the same reasons that you and
Chase seem to be marrying for. She wanted the security and the lifestyle that
my financial resources could provide her. I wanted her. She was young and
beautiful.” He hesitated, taking a drink of water before continuing. “We did
fine for a while, but things got rocky several years ago.”

Lena’s
expression was sympathetic. “That’s when she started to drink?”

William
nodded. “Yes. And I either didn’t see it, or chose to ignore it. We had very
little in common, after all, so my interests by then had shifted to work. To my
company. I wasn’t home much, and when I was, I was in my office, working.”

“And
now?” Lena asked.

“We’re
working on the connections. Despite how we started, there is a fondness between
us. Perhaps love – I’m not entirely certain where we stand. But neither of us
wants a divorce, so that’s a start.” He leaned forward then, his gaze intense. “This
isn’t what I want for you, Charlene. I don’t want you to wake up 20 years from
now and wonder how life passed you by, and how you ended up in a relationship
you’re unhappy in. If you’re marrying Chase because he’s wealthy, or because I
asked you to, or to save my business, I want to ask you to reconsider.”

Lena
nodded, reaching for her own glass of water and taking a sip before asking
quietly, “And if he were to stop helping you if I told him no?”

William
shrugged. “So be it. I made the mistakes. I may be able to find someone else to
help me out of my hole, but if not, I’ll deal with it.” He reached across the
table and took his daughter’s hand, the look on his face loving and intense. “Charlene,
look. I was frightened when I came to you and demanded that you marry Chase. It
was wrong. I’ve thought a lot about it, and I am horrified that that was the
only solution I could come up with for my troubles. If you don’t love him, and
he doesn’t love you, then turn him down. If he pulls his support to me and my
company, then I’ll figure something else out.”

Lena
sighed, turning her hand up and squeezing her father’s hand in return. “Thank you,
Dad. That means a lot to me. It really does.”

The
waiter arrived then with their meals. After making sure they had everything
they needed, he refilled their water glasses and left them to their lunch.

After
a few bites of his meal, William asked Lena, “Have you met David yet?”

She
nodded, taking a sip of water before answering, “Yes. I like him. He seems like
he’s good for Ned, and they both seem really happy. What did you think?”

William
nodded. “I like him too. He’s got a good head on his shoulders.”

Lena
looked over at her father with a smile. “I’m really glad you’re OK with this, Dad.”

He
shrugged. “It’s harder for my generation. But we’re getting there.”

“I
know,” Lena said. “And I’m proud of you.” Changing the subject, she asked. “Are
you enjoying your volunteer work at the shelter?”

“I’m
starting to. To be honest, I wasn’t so sure at first. But I’m starting to know
the routine, getting to know the staff and a few of the clients. I’m realizing
that a lot of these folks are just normal people who fell on tough times. Some
of them even have college degrees.”

Lena
nodded. “It just takes a few bad choices, or even just a few unfortunate
circumstances.”

“And
no support system,” William added. “I think that’s what helps people most when
they run into trouble.”

“And
I’m grateful to have always had that,” Lena said, looking across the table at
her father.

But
William shook his head ruefully. “I wasn’t so supportive when you were in graduate
school,” he admitted.

“You
didn’t support me financially, Dad, but that was actually very good for me. I
learned a lot about budgeting, prioritizing, making choices. None of that was a
bad thing, and it all plays into how I work with people now. And the fact is, I
always knew that if I ended up in trouble, you’d be there for me.”

“Well,
that’s true,” William admitted with a slight smile.

“I
know it is.” Lena reached across the table and squeezed her father’s hand. “You’ve
been a good father, Dad. You may have made some bad choices along the way, but
you’ve always been there for me in your own way.”

“My
own way,” William repeated, regret sounding in his voice.

But
Lena just grinned. “Yeah. And I turned out OK. So did Ned. So stop beating
yourself up.”

And
William thought about it for a bit before agreeing, “That’s true. You did. Both
of you.”

“So
you’ll keep coming to Helping Hands?” Lena asked, still smiling.

“For
now,” William agreed. “It’s part of my agreement with Chase. But who knows. It
really is good work that you’re doing, Lena, and I should have seen that long
before now. So we’ll see, but I might keep coming for a good long time.”

“I’m
glad,” Lena said softly.

They
finished up their lunch, and as the waiter came to leave the bill, William
pulled out his credit card, but Lena reached over and yanked the folder from
his hand.

“I
invited you, Dad,” she laughed. “It’s my treat.”

“Charlene.”

“I
make decent money of my own. I can treat my father to lunch occasionally,” she
pointed out with a smile.

William
smiled back. “Then thank you. It was a very nice lunch. And I’d love to do this
more often.”

After
Lena settled the bill, they stood up from the table, and William helped Lena
into her jacket.

“So
you’ll talk to Chase?” William asked quietly as he settled the light cloth
loosely on her shoulders before turning to walk out of the restaurant.

Lena
turned to face him in the entryway, her face showing her confusion. “About
what?” she asked.

“To
tell him that you’ve changed your mind,” William reminded her.

“But
I haven’t,” Lena smiled at her father. “And I won’t.”

“Won’t
marry him?”

Lena
shook her head. “Won’t change my mind,” she said softly.

William
lightly gripped her upper arms with his hands, looking straight into her eyes.
“Charlene,” he said seriously. “Please. Think about this.”

But
Lena just smiled broadly and leaned forward to kiss him on the cheek. “Oh Dad. I
have thought about it. But I love Chase, with all my heart. And he loves me. We’re
fine. I’m not marrying him to save your company, and he’s not marrying me for
any ulterior motives. He’s a good man, Dad. I want to marry him. I can’t
imagine life without him.”

William
wasn’t completely convinced. “He loves you?” he asked.

“Very
much. Not completely sure why some days, but he does. And he loves my dog.”

“Winston,”
her father said, reminding himself of the dog’s name. “He’s a pretty nice dog,”
he conceded.

“He
is. Dad, don’t worry about this. By now, you should know me well enough to know
that I’d never marry a man for any reason but love.”

William’s
eyes searched his daughter’s face. “You’re happy?” he asked, finally.

“Very.”

He
grinned then. “Congratulations, then, my dear. Chase is a good man. I couldn’t
ask for a better son-in-law.”

“Despite
the fact that you were just trying to talk me out of marrying him?” Lena
teased.

“If
you’re happy, I’m happy for you.”

“I’m
really glad you like him. And I’m glad that you and Jeanette are talking and
working things out. But I’m mostly glad that you and I are slowly getting to
know each other after a very long time. I love you, Dad. I hope you know that.”

William
hugged his daughter tightly. “I do know that. And I love you too.” Releasing
her, he asked, “So when can we have you and Chase for dinner? And your
grandfather. And Ned and David.”

“And
Chase’s grandfather?” Lena asked with a grin.

“Charles
Hamilton is in town? Well by all means. How about this weekend?” he asked.

“If
they’re all in, I’m in,” Lena laughed. “And then, I think we have a wedding to
plan.”

“Anything
you want, my dear. It’s your day. Do you want me to check on availability at
the country club?”

But
Lena just shook her head. “Nope. I don’t want anything big, Dad.”

And
William laughed. “How did I know you were going to say that?”

The
following night, Chase had made reservations for six at a local Italian
restaurant. He and Lena were the last to arrive, strolling into the restaurant
only minutes apart to find the other four men already seated, and a waiter
putting a couple of wine bottles on the table.

“Where
have you two been?” Pops demanded, motioning to the waiter that the wine was
fine, and to go ahead and fill the other glasses.

Lena
raised her eyebrows as she slid into one of the vacant chairs around the
circular table. “Um. Working? Sorry I’m late, though. I got stuck in traffic. I
hope you ordered appetizers to go with the wine,” she added. “I’m hungry.”

Chase
held her chair for her, then leaned down to kiss her gently before seating
himself in the chair next to hers. “Is your stomach bottomless?” he asked with
a grin. “I have no idea where you put all you eat.”

“I
have a speedy metabolism,” she informed him haughtily. “Pass the bread please. And
the butter.”

“So?”
Ned asked dryly from across the table after the waiter had poured the wine and
then fled the table. “Are we drinking to an early wedding, or to more
plotting?”

Lena
laughed and raised her wine glass. “To an early wedding,” she said cheerfully. “Dad
passed that particular test with flying colors.”

The
table cheered, and a couple of very noisy toasts followed.

“Thank
heavens,” Pops said loudly from the other side of the table. “And you owe me
twenty bucks,” he said to his buddy.

“Which
I will gladly pay,” Charles agreed with a smile.

Lena’s
eyes narrowed as she glared at the two old men across the table. “You bet on
whether we’d be getting married?” she demanded.

Pops
had the decency to look chagrined. “Well, sort of,” he admitted.

Chase
rolled his eyes. “Let’s have it,” he sighed.

“Well,
we both figured that you’d end up together,” Pops explained. “The question was
when.”

“So
I said that I thought it would be a few months down the road. Philip here had a
lot more faith in his son-in-law.”

Pops
nodded earnestly. “William always loved his kids, even though he didn’t always
show it,” he said with a shrug. “I figured that he’d come around soon enough.”