Page 139 of Wicked Lord

Conrad Vanderhart spun around, bright blue eyes a mirror-image of Axel’s, meeting mine.

“Don’t you dare apologize, Lorelei. You can bump into me any day.” An indulgent smile tipped up the corners of his lips, and the panic from a second ago started to recede. His gaze lifted over the top of my head, and a hint of darkness carved into his features before he schooled his expression. “As a matter of fact, since my wife abandoned me on the dancefloor in search of champagne, would you do me the honors?”

He dipped into an elaborate bow, and a ridiculous giggle erupted from my lips.

The heavy footfalls had stopped behind me, but I could still feel Brock’s scathing glare boring into the back of my head.

“I would love to.” I returned his bow with a dramatic curtsy of my own.

Axel’s dad’s arm laced around my waist, his hold ever so proper, keeping a good distance between us. As he led me into the familiar steps of the waltz, I caught a glimpse of Brock over his shoulder. I heaved in a sigh of relief as I found him trudging back to our table then reluctantly sliding into the seat beside my father. Maybe after the dance, I could find a way to slip away somehow.

“How have you been, Lorelei? My wife keeps begging Ax to bring you by the house again.”

I barely suppressed the look of shock from spreading across my face. Axel hadn’t told them we’d broken up?

“It’s just been crazy busy lately,” I muttered lamely.

“I bet. I must say Axel’s hasty proposal kind of threw us for a loop.” His sharp eyes met mine. “Deb insists she saw it coming, that she’d never seen our son so smitten, but it all just happened so quickly.”

I snagged my bottom lip between my teeth, hating to lie to this kind man who actually cared about his son.

“I’m not saying I’mnothappy about it, Lorelei. Deb’s right, I’ve never seen Axel like this. My son has a good head on his shoulders so if he thinks this is the right thing to do, I’m fully behind him.” His gaze lifted over my head again, and without following his line of sight, I knew they were fixed on Brock. “I want to help you, both of you, in any way I can. But if you’re not honest with me, there’s not much I can do.”

My head bounced up and down, indecision warring in my chest. “I just want to protect Axel,” I whispered.

“Protect him from what?”

I sucked in a breath, the weight on my shoulders boring down on me. I hated carrying this secret, but I couldn’t just admit the truth to his father. He seemed like he would be supportive of anything, but murder?

“Secrets,” I finally whispered a long minute later.

His brow furrowed, darting eyes piercing mine.

“I love your son, and I would do anything for him,” I continued. “Even something I really didn’t want to do, just to keep him safe.”

Mr. Vanderhart’s head slowly dipped, the wary expression softening into a smile. “Don’t you worry about a thing, Lorelei. You do what you do best, making my son the happiest I’ve ever seen him, and I’ll take care of the rest. Okay?”

Hot tears pricked my eyes, unexpected emotion forcing me to swallow down the lump in my throat. “Thank you.”

After a few more twirls across the gleaming parquet, the soft tune melted away. Axel’s dad released me, holding me out toarm’s length. Luckily, he’d maneuvered us to the opposite side of the dancefloor, far from Brock’s psychotic glare.

Mr. Vanderhart performed one last twirl, spinning me right into a familiar firm chest.

“Thanks for taking care of my fiancée, Dad.” Axel’s citrus-laced, musky scent enveloped my senses as those piercing blue eyes raked over me.

“Anytime, Ax. You better not let this one wander far. She’s a hot commodity.” With a smile, his father set a path across the dancefloor moving in a direct line toward my father’s table.

An entourage of waiters in black tuxes swooped around, conveniently blocking us from Brock’s view. As Mr. Vanderhart marched away, the mad thumping of my heart began to settle. I drew in a breath, taming my nerves.

“You didn’t think our discussion was over, did you, blondie?” Ax’s lips brushed the shell of my ear. “Now let’s go somewhere private so I can finish what I had to say.”

“I can’t,” I blurted, the words like knives, carving at my insides.

“No one will know. Relax.” The sea of tuxedo-clad waiters moved in unison, like a curtain of flesh and blood as Ax steered us toward a service door. As soon as we were through the swinging door, the wait staff dispersed throughout the back corridors of the country club. “Thanks, guys.” Axel called out as the half dozen staff members took off.

“You arranged for that?”

He shrugged before taking a step closer, pinning me against the upholstered wall. “I guess I just needed a few days to lick my wounds after you broke up with me. After everything we’ve been through, did you really think I would just walk away from this?”