Master of Fortune by Katherine Garbera Page B

you’re not,” Percy said with a grin.
    The conversation continued on in the same vein and Astrid leaned over to him. “Who’s your secret crush?”
    “Umm…I don’t believe I ever had one.”
    “No Victoria Beckham posters on your wall?”
    He shook his head. He had never been much into lusting after unattainable women. He preferred to focus his attention on real women.
    “Come on, whom do you like?” Percy said.
    Henry reached under the table and took Astrid’s hand in his. “Astrid.”
    “Oh, ho,” Percy said. “Trying to show me up?”
    “Is it working?” Henry asked.
    “Yes!” Bethann said. She smiled at Henry, and he knew that her fears had been placated for the time being.

    The afternoon at her parents’ had spilled over into evening, and it was after ten when Henry and she pulled into the parking area at her flat. Henry had been a good sport all day.
    “Thank you,” she said, caught in a peaceful glow. She kept her head resting on the back of the seat and just turned it to look at him.
    “For what?” he asked.
    He’d left the car running and the music playing softly in the background. An American group—the Dave Matthews Band—“Pay for What You Get.” It was a pay-it-forward type song that made her realize that no matter where a person was in life, everyone paid the cost for their actions. It was a song about karma, and today she felt hers was good.
    Today she’d seen that Henry was the type of man she’d thought he was. He blended easily with her family, even though she knew he probably could have bought and sold them many times over. He had fit in, something that Daniel never had. In fact he’d never even met her family, although they’d dated for over a year.
    “For putting up with my family,” she said.
    “I like your family. It took me a bit to realize your dad was having me on with liking football.”
    Astrid smiled. “He’s like that. It’s a harmless thing.”
    “I know. I like him. He reminds me of my stepdad.”
    “In what way?”
    “The way he is with you and your sister. The love he has for your mum. I can tell that family is important to Spencer and it is to Gordon, as well.”
    “Really? I’m going to tell him. My dad will get a kick out of that.”
    “Is the wheelchair why you stopped going to the rugby matches?” Henry asked.
    “Yes,” she said. “It’s hard for him to get around and the seats we typically had weren’t easy to get to.”
    They’d tried to go a couple of games but it really had been a struggle. She had noticed that her father got angry at himself for not having the abilities he used to.
    “I have a box at Madejski stadium. Do you think your folks would like to join us at a game?”
    “I know they would,” she said. “Would you really invite them? It’s meant for corporate socializing, isn’t it?”
    “I can use it for whatever I want,” Henry said. “I’m the boss.”
    “You like saying that, don’t you?”
    “Yes, I do. I’m a leader.”
    “Always?”
    “Yes, except for when I first started playing, I’ve always been the one in control. The one making sure everyone else got to where they needed to go.”
    He was good at it. She suspected it was simply his affability that made most people unaware of the core of steel in him. Subtly events and people were moved where he wanted them to be.
    Even her?
    She told herself she was the one woman who saw him and who knew the truth about the man behind his BBC Channel Four exposé profile. But she wasn’t entirely sure.
    It hadn’t taken her too long to realize that Henry was really good at keeping the spotlight off himself. He had secrets, same as she did, but he kept them hidden.
    “Invite me up,” he said.
    “I was thinking about it.”
    “Good. I’ll get your door.”
    He was out of the car and around to her side in minutes. She liked that he took the time to open her door for her. It was an old-fashioned but a sign of respect.
    “I didn’t invite you up,” she