“I know what you mean.”
“That’s the weirdest part.” She wrapped her fingers around her wine glass, started to take a drink, reconsidered, and just stared at it instead.
“And sometimes you don’t know what’s worse. Feeling they’ve been gone hours, or feeling they’ve been gone so long it’s hard to even remember them.”
Leyla’s eyes shone with emotion. “I’m sorry for your loss. Your dad, he started ClayFuel, didn’t he?”
“Did the name give it away?”
“No,” she said on a laugh. “It was only a lucky guess.”
Kane steepled his hands and propped his elbows on the table. “He started it decades ago.”
“And you dreamed of growing up and being just like him?”
“Hardly.” He barked out a laugh. “For most of my life, my biggest goal was to be everything my father wasn’t. Reactive and foolish, I know, but that’s the way I was for a long time.”
“And then he got sick and your perspective changed.”
He opened his mouth, but he couldn’t find the words. Leyla had already stolen them. She knew him so well, even though they were barely more than strangers.
“It was the same with me,” she said. “It’s funny, but I never really thought about life without my mom. She’d always been there, so I figured she always would be.”
“And how did your outlook change once she was diagnosed?”
Her lashes fluttered. “For the first time, I saw how short life really is, how you’re a fool if you take any of the time you’re given for granted. I turned around and couldn’t believe how the years had gone by. I was in my late twenties, almost thirty, and had only ever half committed to the paths I’d chosen.”
“Do you mean acting?”
“That, yes. I always wanted to be an actress, ever since I was really little. I really believed I would become big one day, too. That it was my destiny. And then, I got older.”
“And you stopped believing in yourself?”
“It became touch-and-go.” Her smile was sad. “I was never really fully committed to my dream. With my mom gone, though…”
She drew a long breath. “It’s kind of all I have, now. Other than my friends. I don’t have any family. I never knew my dad, or even who he was.” Leyla grimaced. “Sorry. You didn’t ask for my life story.”
“But I want to hear it,” he quickly said.
For more reasons than she knew.
“That’s basically it.” She turned her palm up. “All I had was my mom and my friends, and now, I have my friends and acting.” Her lips twisted as she thought about it some more. “Well, I do have my personal goals.”
Kane nodded. “Mind if I ask about those?”
“They’re all about bettering myself. Ones that include being more understanding, more confident.”
“You certainly have the confidence nailed down. I’ll tell you that.”
Leyla’s smile made his mouth water. Her lips probably tasted like candy.
“Thank you,” she said.
“And filmmaking too, right? You mentioned a film you’re making.”
He really didn’t need to be wondering about the taste of her lips. They were strictly off-limits.
“Yes. It’s loosely based on my mom. It’s… it’s hit some snags, but I’m still hopeful.”
“Which part of your mom’s life?”
“The part about being a single parent and an immigrant.”
Kane nodded. So, nothing about being royalty.
The appetizers arrived, and they fell into silence for a minute while tasting them. Leyla’s face lit up at the first bite of eggplant, and seeing her happy made Kane want to keep getting her there.
“I’ve actually never liked eggplant, you know,” she said, “but this is amazing.”
“It’s one of their best dishes, for sure.”
She used her cloth napkin to delicately dab the corners of her mouth. Not one bit of lipstick smudged.
“You said you never wanted to be like your father. What, then? What did you want to be when you grew up? What were you doing before you took over ClayFuel?”
Kane hesitated. Not everything in his past was worth being proud of.
“I liked to party,” he said sheepishly.
An easy internet search would bring up some of his shenanigans from the past. There was no hiding them. In a matter of a couple minutes, if she wanted, Leyla could find photos of him stepping out of nightclubs at four in the morning with models or partying on a friend’s yacht in the Caribbean.
“Oh?” She raised an eyebrow. “That’s what all those awards in your office are from?”
“No,” Kane laughed. “I competed in rodeos.”
“That’s so cool!”
“Yeah?”
“Yes.” She nodded emphatically. “But you don’t do that anymore?”
“It’s been a while.” He paused, lost in a sweet memory of the last time he was on a horse. “I have a ranch outside of the city. My friend is always trying to get me out there. We started competing together back in high school.”
“Wow,” she murmured. “My best friend and I watch reality TV and go to the gym together. You guys are way more interesting than us.”
“I wouldn’t go so far as to say that.” He laughed.
A glance at his watch revealed it was almost eight thirty. How was time flying by so fast?
He’d planned on bringing up the fake marriage around dessert. By then, they’d—hopefully—be a bit more comfortable with each other.
But now, dessert felt so close, and he didn’t want to ask a pretty girl he was flirting with if she’d marry him for a million dollars so that he could close a business deal.
He merely wanted to enjoy the evening and forget that he’d asked Leyla out for any reason other than that he was interested in her.
“Kane Clayton?” A middle-aged man slowed his walk and squinted in the dim lighting. “Are you Kane Clayton?”
Heat filled Kane’s face. Since he was good with faces, he knew he’d never met this man before.
A couple people at the nearest table turned in interest.
“Why, it is you.” The man offered his hand for a shake.
Kane had no choice but to stand up and take the hand. He couldn’t be rude.
“Why, your daddy made this state what it is today,” the man said.
Talk about a gross exaggeration. Still, the compliment felt good. It was the attention of half the restaurant that didn’t.
“Thank you, sir. It makes me proud to hear you say that.” With a firm and final shake, he released the man’s hand and sat back down.
The man continued on his way, but a handful of people put their heads together and whispered or threw looks Kane’s way.
“You get recognized much?” Leyla asked.
“Not much.” He kept both his head and voice down. “But it’s annoying when it does happen.”
“I wouldn’t guess that from you. At the audition, you seemed fine with everyone tripping over their feet to please you.”
He smirked, appreciating her honesty. “That’s at work. In my personal life, it’s another matter. I don’t get much downtime anymore, and that makes it even more important to me. My private life… I’d rather it stay exactly that.”