Page 64 of The Comeback Heir
Sixteen
At the apartment, Wynn dealt with the babysitter while Felicity kicked off her uncomfortable high heels and curled up in front of the fire. The days of December were ticking by. She wondered if Wynn would hire someone to deck the halls for the holidays.
He had been a single man enjoying life in the big city. Presumably, he didn’t spend many nights alone. This lovely apartment hadn’t so much as a sprig of mistletoe to mark the season.
Maybe the lack of traditional decorations didn’t bother him.
When he finally entered the room, he was yawning. “You didn’t have to wait up for me,” he said.
Suddenly, she felt it again. The awkwardness. The uncertainty. “Well,” she said, “I was still hyped from the party.”
He cocked his head. “The party?”
She flushed. “You know what I mean.”
“We haven’t been spending the nights together, Fliss. I don’t want to presume.”
Her mind raced. Should she sleep with him? Or should she continue the process of pulling away? If she did it gradually, he might not guess how she felt.
But she was weak and selfish. She wanted what she wanted. Who she wanted. She wanted Wynn.
Before she could say another word, Wynn crossed the room and opened a drawer in the small escritoire. “Before you give me an answer, I should tell you I did something you may not like.”
She tensed. “Oh?”
He turned around, holding a sheet of paper. “I had someone on my staff research your mother’s personal info. Here’s her address and phone number. I thought you might want to call her at some point.”
Felicity felt her blood congeal. “You’ve wasted your time, Wynn. She lives with my uncle, and I know his address.”
He stared at her. “Then use the phone number.”
She stood, her bare toes curling against the carpet. She was ice-cold now, despite the fire. “Why?”
For the first time, she saw his frustration. “With your father gone, you’re alone in the world, Fliss. I know that feeling, and it sucks.”
Alone in the world? Her stomach curled in a knot. What about you and Ayla? She was certain he didn’t mean his comments to sound dismissive or cruel, but she felt as if he had slapped her.
“That woman means nothing to me,” she said. It was a lie. Even as she voiced the words, Felicity knew they weren’t true. She wanted to be indifferent to Iris Vance, but that wasn’t so easy.
Wynn scowled. “She’s your mother, your flesh and blood.”
Felicity took the paper, folded it and tossed it on the sofa with her purse. “Fine. I have her phone number. Are you happy?”
This standoff was especially upsetting after everything that had transpired between them earlier in the evening. They had gone from a romantic party and a scandalous rendezvous to the cold, harsh realities of life.
Wynn rubbed the center of his forehead. “I don’t want to fight with you, but I have to go out of town in the morning, and I want you to be thinking about your mother and Christmas.”
Several things hit her at once. “You’re leaving?” She hated the hollow feeling in her belly.
He nodded. “I have to fly to LA for a meeting.”
“In the middle of December?”
“It was scheduled for earlier, but Shandy’s death rearranged things. I’ll be back midweek. We can talk about Christmas then.”
She lifted her chin. “What is there to talk about?”
“You mentioned celebrating in Falcon’s Notch. That’s not a bad idea. We could invite your mother and uncle to join us. New York might make them uncomfortable but being back in Tennessee should be okay.”