Chapter 8
In the seating area of the great room, Skylar picked up the controls and activated the fifty-seven-inch TV lift in the cabinet. She put the movie in the Blu-ray DVD player and took a seat on the leather sofa. Rio sat as far away from her as possible.
Skylar didn’t watch the opening of Mission: Impossible—Ghost Protocol; she watched Rio. His feet flat on the floor, his posture erect, he watched the screen.
“You have a choice.” Skylar stopped the movie. “I can sit in your lap and we watch the movie, or you can slide over here next to me.”
His head slowly turned to her. His eyes were devoid of emotion.
“I know I wouldn’t get within a foot of you if you didn’t want me to, but we both know you won’t hurt me and I won’t make it easy for you,” she told him.
He didn’t move. She wrinkled her nose. “Good thing I have patience and I sort of like you.” Getting up, she sat as close to him as possible. She felt the heat of his muscular thighs seep through his jeans. “We’ll call this a draw since you let me get the food and helped, but I wouldn’t mind an arm around my shoulder.” Their shoulders touching, she punched the control to dim the lights and started the movie.
“You know this isn’t wise,” his deep voice rumbled.
She looked up at him. “This is the wisest, bravest thing I’ve ever done. Two years is a long time to look at a man who’s just out of reach, a man who looks through you instead of at you.” She ran her fingertips across his lower lip. “For the time being, you’re looking back. At least sometimes. I’d begun to think it wouldn’t happen. I told you, regardless of what happens afterward, I would have the remembered pleasure of your smile, your lips on mine, your hands—”
“Skylar.” His voice was rough, thick. “Watch the movie.”
“I’d enjoy it better if your arm was around me,” she said, her breath fanning his lips.
His black eyes narrowed. He put his arm around her shoulders. “You like having your way.”
She snuggled closer. “But we both know, you never do anything you don’t want to. I’m just offering suggestions.”
Rio grunted.
Skylar lifted to kiss his chin and settled back against him. Instead of watching Ethan Hunt save the world again, she was trying to decide how Rio would react if she straddled his lap for a long, hot kiss. All she had to do was throw … Her phone rang. Perhaps it was a sign that what she’d been thinking wasn’t a good idea.
She leaned against Rio and pulled her cell phone out of the pocket of her jeans. “Hello, Mrs. Grayson. How are you?
Rio took the control and muted the sound.
“Fine,” Mrs. Grayson answered. “I wanted to invite you to church with me in the morning, if you have no other plans.”
“One moment.” Skylar looked at Rio. “Mrs. Grayson has invited me to church with her. I’d like to go. You can send one of your men with me.”
“What time does she want you to meet her?”
She’d hoped he’d go with her, but she hid her disappointment and spoke into the phone. “Thank you, Mrs. Grayson. I’d very much like to go. What time shall I meet you?”
“Eleven o’clock, and afterward you can come home with me for dinner,” she said.
Rio hadn’t said anything about spending the day with her. Perhaps being away would help him miss her. “That sounds wonderful.”
“Good. I’ll see you tomorrow at eleven. Rio knows the address. Good night, Skylar.”
“Good night.” Skylar disconnected the phone. “She said you’d know the address of the church. What time should I meet the man you’re going to assign to me so we won’t be late?”
“Ten twenty if you want to find a parking space where you don’t have to walk a mile.” He started the movie.
“Told you, I can take or leave exercise.” Skylar settled back against him.
Rio sat up and stopped the movie. “Mrs. Grayson doesn’t do anything last-minute.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
Rio hit the PLAY button. Skylar promptly hit PAUSE. “If we mess up Blade and Sierra’s control, they won’t be happy.”
“I can fix anything electronic,” was his answer. He hit PLAY.
She reached for the control.
He held it out of reach. “I thought you wanted to see this.”
“I’m more interested in hearing why you made that comment about Mrs. Grayson. It almost sounded as if you thought she had an ulterior motive.”
“I didn’t say that.”
Skylar rolled her eyes. “Rio, I’m not an idiot. So talk.”
He stared at her and she stared right back. He leaned back on the sofa to watch the movie. “Mrs. Grayson has a habit of trying to marry off people she likes,” he said tightly.
Skylar’s heart lurched. “You?”
“It will be a cold day—” He stopped abruptly. “You’re missing the movie.”
The movie was the farthest thing from Skylar’s mind as she leaned back against Rio. She recalled Mrs. Grayson’s comment, No man should walk alone, and all her help, but that didn’t mean she was trying to help Skylar with Rio. She could be trying to find another woman for Rio. Abruptly, Skylar sat up. “How successful has she been?”
“Very.”
She didn’t like the sound of that. Mrs. Grayson had specifically mentioned that Rio knew the address, indicating she expected him to bring her. Rio was hers! “Maybe you’re wrong. She probably intended to invite me and just forgot.”
“She’s as sharp as they come,” Rio told her.
Skylar’s brow furrowed, and not because a building had just blown up in the movie. Suddenly she was glad Rio wasn’t going with her. She liked Mrs. Grayson, but no woman was taking Rio from Skylar.
* * *
Rio walked Skylar to her room once the movie was over, but she didn’t get the good-night kiss she’d expected. She was preoccupied with thoughts of some woman trying to get her hooks into Rio. That was not happening. “I’ll be ready to go at ten twenty.”
“’Night.”
“’Night.”
She went into her room and activated the lock. It might do Rio some good to have to work to get her, she thought, then quickly discarded the idea. The man was gorgeous, with a dangerous charisma that drew women like bees to honey. All he had to do was show up, and that was before he said anything. When he was aroused, his voice was a sexy growl that made her shiver and hunger for his mouth and his hands on her.
Which wasn’t going to happen tonight, but there was always tomorrow.
Skylar went to her closet to look for a dress designed to keep a man’s eyes on her. She didn’t think Rio was going to church with her, but no doubt she’d see him before she left. She was going to make sure he remembered.
* * *
Seventeen minutes after ten Sunday morning, Skylar went downstairs to wait for her driver/bodyguard. Her long black hair was in a sleek bun. Pearls graced her ears and throat. A scoop-neck black jersey dress sculpted her body. On her feet were black five-inch heels with the toes in and one thin strap high above the ankle. Her black python-leather clutch purse was the perfect choice.
At the bottom of the steps, she wasn’t sure if she should wait inside or out. She headed for the door on the chance that Rio would be around and they could talk for a bit. As usual, he hadn’t eaten breakfast with her. If she hadn’t been a strong woman, she might have been discouraged.
Outside, she saw a titanium Maserati coupe and wondered who it belonged to. The door opened and Rio stepped out, staring at her on the top step. He had on a black expertly tailored suit and looked dangerously handsome. Any woman breathing would want him. That wasn’t happening if she could help it.
She continued down the steps. He rounded the car and opened the passenger door. “Good morning.”
“Good morning.” Her hands clamped on her purse. “You don’t have to take me. I know how busy mornings are for you.”
He didn’t move a muscle. “Nice of you to be concerned.”
“I don’t want to impose.”
“Since when?”
Her eyes glinted. True, but he didn’t have to remind her. She opened her mouth, but he cut her off.
“You’re going to be late and, since Mrs. Grayson knows the parking situation, more than likely she’ll arrive early and be waiting for you,” he told her.
Telling Rio he’d better not be eyeballing another woman didn’t seem the thing to do. She got into the car and fastened her seat belt.
He got inside, the car accommodating his long legs. The car rumbled to life. He shifted it into gear and pulled off.
She tossed him a glance. The nine garages all had individual doors, and they were always down. “Is this your car?”
“Blade’s, but Sierra mostly drives it when they go out together.” He passed the entry gate and hit the highway with a burst of speed.
She frowned. Rio wasn’t the type of man to try to impress a woman. “Then why are you driving it?”
He glanced at the slim-fitting skirt of her dress, then back at the road as he passed a truck. “I didn’t want you struggling in and out of the Jeep.”
Nothing he could have said would have put her more at ease. Rio wasn’t easily led—if at all. She knew that. No matter what woman Mrs. Grayson paraded in front of him, it wouldn’t matter. “Thank you, Rio.”
He didn’t say anything, just continued to drive. Skylar crossed her legs and relaxed back into her seat. She could enjoy church services with a clear conscience and without malice toward the woman waiting for Rio.
* * *
Rio spotted Mrs. Grayson before Skylar did. She stood near the bottom step of the church alone. She wore a stylish magenta suit that Sierra referred to as her mother’s “power clothes.” Rio felt an itch in the back of his neck. She was up to something all right. At least they’d found a parking space in the church’s parking lot, but from the long line of cars behind him, it would fill up quickly.
“This way,” Rio said, steering Skylar around a group of men who were staring at her with open admiration. It was worse when all the Graysons and their spouses went to church together. When Brandon Grayson’s wife’s two brothers were in town with their wives, men seem to lose their minds over the beautiful women.
He’d never be that pitiful.
“Good thing you have height and great vision,” Skylar said. “I don’t see her.”
Rio kept walking. Skylar was apparently oblivious to the sudden cessation of conversation when she passed some of the men. He wasn’t.
“I see her.” Skylar waved her arm and hurried to embrace Ruth. “Good morning. Thanks again for inviting me.”
“Good morning, Skylar. Rio,” Mrs. Grayson greeted. “It’s good seeing both of you again.” She glanced beyond them. “We’re waiting for another person.”
Being right was no consolation to Rio. The real questions were: Was it a man or a woman? And was it a ruse to make one or the other jealous, or a real attempt at matchmaking? That’s what made Ruth Grayson so dangerous. She had a tactical mind that saw a person’s weakness, his desire, and then she set it before him and waited for nature to take its course.
“Over here.” Ruth waved her hand.
Rio saw Skylar tense, then relax as a nice-looking, well-dressed man in his midthirties came into view. Rio recognized him immediately.
“Hello, Jonathan. I’m glad you could make it,” Ruth greeted.
Jonathan dragged his wide-eyed gaze from Skylar and clasped Mrs. Grayson’s hand. “Thank you, Professor Grayson. I’m sorry to be a bit late.”
Mrs. Grayson waved his words aside. “Nonsense. You’re right on time.” She took Skylar’s arm and drew her closer to the new arrival. “Skylar Dupree, I’d like you to meet Jonathan Douglas, a professor in my music department. You already know Rio.”
Jonathan nodded briefly to Rio and extended his hand to Skylar. “Ms. Dupree, it’s a pleasure to finally meet you. I was unavoidably delayed the day you were on campus.”
Smiling, Skylar shook the man’s hand. “Then I’m glad we’re finally meeting.”
“I couldn’t have said it better myself,” he said, still holding her hand.
“Why don’t we go in?” Mrs. Grayson suggested. “Rio, please walk with me, and Jonathan and Skylar can become better acquainted.”
For a moment, he didn’t move. Mrs. Grayson had that warm, patient look, but Rio knew her brain was busy. He didn’t like to call a woman he respected—and sometimes feared—devious, but she was.
“Rio, are you all right?” Skylar asked, reaching toward him.
“Fine.” He took Mrs. Grayson’s arm and started up the steps. Not by the blink of an eyelash had she reacted to Skylar’s concern. She was too intuitive not to have heard the anxiety in Skylar’s voice. He just had to figure out if she was trying to nudge him in Skylar’s direction or Skylar’s into the professor’s. Rio stopped beside the pew Mrs. Grayson and her children always occupied.
“Please, Rio, go in first. I want to sit beside Skylar, since I invited her.” As if it was settled, she turned and waited for Skylar and Jonathan, who were walking slowly behind an elderly couple.
Jonathan had his hand on the small of her back. She laughed softly, but Rio heard.
He was unaware of his eyes going cold, his facial features deadly until Skylar looked at him. She stopped abruptly.
Rio turned to take a seat. Skylar was free to do what she wanted. He glanced around as Mrs. Grayson lightly touched his arm. “I haven’t forgotten.”
Rio took his seat and stared straight ahead as Mrs. Grayson sat beside him and Skylar and the professor took their seats. She was at it again, but if she thought she could manipulate him, she had better think again. As for Skylar, if she was that easily swayed, she wasn’t the woman he thought she was.
* * *
Skylar had never known a person could seethe with anger while his face remained emotionless. Rio hadn’t said one word to her since they’d entered the church, and very few to Mrs. Grayson or Jonathan.
A block away from the church, she could no longer stand the tense silence. “All right. What is it?”
He stopped at a signal light. “Nothing.”
She wouldn’t call him a liar, but it was on the tip of her tongue. “Ever since Mrs. Grayson’s phone call you’ve been in a crummy mood. Are you disappointed she didn’t have a woman waiting for you?”
“You wouldn’t have noticed,” he bit out.
It only took a second to process his retort. He was jealous! She trembled. “P-please pull over.”
He threw a quick look at her, then whipped into a strip shopping center. The car had barely come to a halt before he was around the car opening her door and unbuckling her seat belt. “What’s the matter? You feel sick?”
She curved her arms around his neck. He didn’t hesitate to pick her up and sit in the seat she’d vacated. “Skylar, what’s the matter?”
She looked up at his strong features, the fierceness in his eyes now tempered with tenderness. “I just needed a hug. Nobody gives hugs like you.”
He opened his mouth, snapped it shut, and pulled her closer. “Why do you insist on giving me gray hair?”
She angled her head and kissed his chin. “You’d look even more handsome with a couple strands of gray.”
Standing again, he placed her in her seat. “You sure you’re all right?”
“With you, always.” He still stared at her. “Jonathan wanted me to go out with him. I told him I was already interested in another man. I just thought you should know.”
He looked away, then back at her. “Maybe you shouldn’t have.”
“If I thought you meant that, I’d drive off and leave you stranded,” she told him, her lips pursed.
His face morphed into a smile. “You would, too, wouldn’t you?”
“In a heartbeat.” She buckled her seat belt. “Come on, Mrs. Grayson is probably wondering where we are.”
The smile vanished. “I wonder.”
“Wonder what?”
“Nothing.” He got into the car and drove off.
* * *
“Looks like Mrs. Grayson has company.” Skylar unbuckled her seat belt as he stopped behind a big black truck.
“Her sons and their wives.” He switched off the motor. “If her children are in town they’ll eventually show up on Sunday.” Since church was usually over in the early afternoon, Blade and Sierra came without him or with her bodyguards. He’d been invited, but always declined. He didn’t like the way Mrs. Grayson watched him.
“Are we going in?” Skylar teased.
Rio opened his door and came around the car. As usual, she was already out. She curved her arm though his. He paused and glanced at their entwined arms.
“What?”
He wasn’t about to admit that he was concerned that Mrs. Grayson would jump to the correct conclusion—if she hadn’t already. If she’d picked out Jonathan for Skylar, she wouldn’t change her mind. Once she set her mind on a course of action, she was relentless.
“Rio?” There was impatience in Skylar’s voice.
“Just thinking.” He started up the walkway. If Mrs. Grayson had tried to pull a fast one and he and Skylar were her targets, she was doomed to experience her first failure. He rang the doorbell.
Mrs. Grayson opened the door and warmly greeted them as Skylar then Rio entered the house. “I was beginning to worry. Please come in.”
Skylar smiled up at Rio. “My fault. I’m sorry.”
“You’re here.” She linked her arms with both of them. “Rio knows everyone, but I want you to meet my sons and their wonderful wives.” Ruth led them into the kitchen. “Everyone, this is Skylar Dupree, the brilliant event planner that I’ve been telling you about. You’ve met Brandon, my third son. On his right is his wife, Faith. Next to her is my oldest, Luke, and his wife, Catherine. On Brandon’s left is Morgan, my second son, and his wife, Phoenix.”
“Hi, Skylar, Rio,” they greeted.
“Hi,” Rio greeted. He noted that the professor wasn’t there. If he had been the one Mrs. Grayson wanted for Skylar, she wouldn’t have missed this opportunity to further advance a relationship between them. Or was she trying to pull a fast one and spring the professor later?
Skylar smiled warmly. “Hello. I feel as if I know you. Mrs. Grayson talks so much about you.”
“Bored you, huh?” Brandon said, stirring something in a pot on the stove.
Chuckles came from around the room. “Hardly. I want to thank you for your donations to the auction.” She went to Phoenix. “Pure Bliss came Friday. It’s one of the most sensual works of art I’ve ever seen.”
“Thank you.” Phoenix looked up at Morgan. “I have inspiration.”
“Always willing to help the art world.” Morgan kissed her on the lips.
“Catherine, your offer to use the name of a child under twelve for the main character in your next book series has gotten a phenomenal response.” Skylar turned to Faith. “So has four nights in the honeymoon suite of your hotel. All of your generosity has been absolutely amazing. Thank you.”
“Thank you for helping Mrs. Grayson and her Music Department.” Catherine looked at her husband, Luke. “I get to benefit from her talent when Luke plays the guitar for me.”
Faith blinked. “Brandon played the trumpet for me, then proposed.”
“Music can communicate in ways that transcend race and language,” Ruth said. “I wanted each of my children to have that talent.”
“I just wish Pierce hadn’t chosen the drums,” Morgan quipped. “The only reason he practiced was to irritate us.”
More laughter around the room.
“How are things going, Rio?” Luke asked.
“Fine.”
“Probably a lot better since you don’t have to deal with Sierra trying to have her way,” Brandon said.
Rio glanced at Skylar. “You’d think.”
Skylar blushed.
“It takes a strong woman to walk in today’s world,” Mrs. Grayson said. “I’m blessed to have five in my family, and I’m looking at another.”
Skylar hugged Mrs. Grayson and high-fived Catherine, Phoenix, and Paige.
“Green beans are ready. Everyone take a seat.” Brandon drained the fresh green beans and put them in a serving dish.
“Skylar, please sit here next to me. Rio, you can sit by Skylar.” Ruth took her seat while Brandon and Faith set down beautifully prepared plates of Cornish hens, dressing, green beans, and yams glistening with brown sugar and cinnamon.
“Can I help?” Skylar asked.
There was a chorus of “no,” the loudest from Brandon. Mrs. Grayson explained, “Brandon is a rather temperamental cook. He only allows Faith to help him.”
“That’s because she understands what a true genius I am in the kitchen.” Brandon placed the last plate on the table, then held Faith’s chair for her to sit down. He took the seat next to her.
Mrs. Grayson bowed her head. “Master of Breath and God, thank you for this day, for family and friends. May we be in your perfect will. Lead and guide us as we help those we see in need of our help. Amen.”
Rio heard Brandon’s groan. Mrs. Grayson was definitely on another mission to marry someone off. He lifted his head and stared straight into Mrs. Grayson’s unblinking eyes.
“Mama, please,” Brandon said. “Not again.”
“Save your breath, Brandon.” Morgan picked up his knife and fork. “She’ll only remind you of how happy we all are.”
“Which is the truth.” Luke looked at Catherine with complete love.
Brandon cut into his Cornish hen, cooked to a perfect golden brown. “Who is it this time?”
Mrs. Grayson forked in a bite of meat and smiled. “Delicious as always, Brandon and Faith.”
“Forgive me if I’m being nosy, but what are you talking about?” Skylar asked.
Brandon opened his mouth, but closed it when Faith put her hand on his arm. “Not your call.”
Mrs. Grayson placed her knife on her plate. “Skylar, forgive us. Don’t think us rude for bringing up a subject you know nothing about. Rio is already a part of this family and I feel as if you are as well, therefore we all speak freely around you.”
Skylar nodded, but lines still furrowed her forehead.
“I had a small hand in helping my children find their special someone. Although they’re all happy, they’d rather not, shall we say, ‘help’ anyone else.” Ruth picked up her glass of iced tea and looked at her middle son. “Right, Brandon?”
He grinned and kissed Faith on the cheek. “Right. No sense ruining your perfect record.”
“That’s what makes her so formidable,” Luke said. “She’s never failed at anything she set her mind to, and I’ll forever be thankful.”
“So will I, although we didn’t think that way when we first met,” Catherine said. “But look at us now.”
Faith grinned. “I was floored, but over the moon.”
Phoenix looked at Morgan through a sweep of her lashes. “I had to outbid another woman at the auction for Morgan. Good thing Sierra was there to give her an incentive to sit down.”
Mrs. Grayson’s lips twitched. “Sierra definitely has her moments.”
“Wow,” Skylar said, glancing around the table. “Someday, I hope you’ll tell me more.”
“Who knows, one day you might know someone close to you with their own story to tell,” Mrs. Grayson said with a smile.
Skylar blinked. Brandon shook his head. Morgan and Luke just stared. Their wives smiled.
“Just seeing if you were listening.” Mrs. Grayson picked up her utensils. “Now, Skylar, tell me about the latest pieces you’ve received.”
While Skylar quickly composed herself and told Mrs. Grayson about the shipments, Rio watched the older woman. Luke was right: She was intelligent and determined. She was so confident in her victory that she’d announced it. I’m on to you, he thought, and hoped she got the message and gave up.
As if aware he was watching her, her gaze momentarily caught his. She wasn’t intimidated by him or anyone else. She was going to do as she pleased. It wouldn’t do her any good. This time she was doomed to failure.
He’d accepted long ago that he’d never marry, never have a family. It was foolish to start something that was doomed to end badly. Her perfect record was about to end.