A Silken Thread (16 page)

Rita got inside her car and locked the door. Instead of starting the ignition she leaned back against the seat and fought the tears that threatened to fall. How unfair life was at times. At least she’d known love and passion with Patrick. The thought that Wilson had never known them at all until he met her, made her heart ache.

She was totally convinced he was a good man. A man who deserved better than what he was getting. Better than what he’d gotten. She didn’t want to place blame or pass judgment, but she wondered how Karen Sanders could sleep at night. How could she walk around every day and breathe? Most women would give their right arm for a man like Wilson. It wasn’t fair.

All he wanted was to be loved and to love in return.

She buried her face in her hands when sobs began overtaking her. She should not have come here tonight. She should not have listened to what he’d said. And she should not be feeling this way.

She lifted her head, wiped her tears and drew in a deep breath. There was no mistake in what she’d seen in his eyes or the plea she had heard in his voice. He wanted her.

And heaven helped her, but she wanted him, too.

She wanted him so much she ached. All those things he’d said had been a mirror of her own emotions. She went to sleep wanting him. She woke up wanting him. Not just any man. Only him. To save her soul, to save her sanity, she had to get away from here. She would go back home and drown in her own misery.

Rita was about to turn the key in the ignition to leave when she glanced through her windshield and saw Wilson walking out of the restaurant. His shoulders, those massive shoulders she admired so much, now seemed to slouch in despair and rejection. The sight touched her heart. How could any woman do that to any man? To him? Especially a woman who was his wife.

At that moment she was finally able to see what he had wanted her to see. What he needed her to see and to understand. Karen Sanders was not his wife…at least not a real one. No real wife would do this to her man. No real wife would have denied her husband the love, devotion and companionship he needed and so rightly deserved. She might be his wife on paper but that was all.

But isn’t that enough?
a voice asked inside her head. And then something inside her snapped with the answer. No, it wasn’t enough. He deserved more. He deserved better. He deserved to experience the love he’d never had.

Before she lost her nerve, she got out of the car and crossed the lot to him. When he heard her footsteps he stopped.

“Rita? I thought you had gone.”

She drew in a deep breath. “I was in my car about to leave.”

“What stopped you?”

“You.”

Instead of saying anything, he took the few steps over to her. He looked into her eyes, studied her face. “Will you take a ride with me?”

She swallowed tightly. “Yes.”

He took her hand in his and led her to his car. And as she walked beside him, she released a low sigh. Starting tonight she was going to show Wilson Sanders just what love was all about.

Chapter Seventeen

“C
an I take the blindfold off now, Brian?”

“No, not yet. Where do you think you are?”

Erica sniffed the air. “The beach, of course.”

He laughed. “Of course.”

She had arrived at Myrtle Beach a few hours ago. Brian had picked her up from the airport, and had taken her to the private beach house where they would spend the weekend. Walking through the doors was like déjà vu. It was the same beach house where he’d stayed last summer when they’d met. It was his godmother Lori’s place. Erica had barely had time to put her luggage down when he’d blindfolded her and walked her back out the door.

“I know we walked through sand because I can feel it in my sandals.”

“Yes,” he chuckled. “We walked through plenty of sand.”

“And we walked up a couple of steps,” she added.

“True. So where do you think you are?”

“On a boat. That’s it, isn’t it, Brian? We’re having dinner on a boat.”

“Umm, not quite.”

He removed her blindfold and she gasped, almost losing her breath at the sight before her. They were standing at the base of the pier, the same one they’d met on last year. Both sides of the pier were lined with beautiful lit candles and there at the very end, overlooking the waters of the Atlantic Ocean, was a candlelit table set for two.

The sun was just setting on the horizon and it was such a romantic sight that it actually brought tears to her eyes. Her gaze swung to Brian. “Oh, Brian, I can’t believe you did this. It’s so romantic,” she said, wrapping her arms around his neck and smothering her face in his chest. She was deeply touched at how he had gone all out to make their weekend together special.

He knew this was the last weekend before the craziness started. She had decided against moving to Dallas a month early after the wedding planner had shown her all she had on the calendar. It was hard to believe this was the Fourth of July weekend. She had begun counting and they had less than five weeks left.

“Hey, sweetheart, I didn’t bring you here to cry,” he said, gently stroking her back. “It’s a time of celebration for the beginning of our life together. It was here on this pier where you captured my heart when you stood in this very spot and told me I was wasting my time since the fish weren’t biting.”

She tilted her head back and laughed, remembering. “That was my way of hitting on you.”

Somehow she’d known he was special even from a distance. And after they began dating he always treated her like she was the most precious thing in the world to him.

She glanced around. “I see the table. Where’s the food?”

And then, as if by magic several uniformed servers appeared, seemingly out of nowhere. But as she looked further, she saw the two catering vans parked nearby. She smiled up at Brian. “You’ve thought of everything.”

“For you, always.”

Taking her hand they walked the pier toward the table, and Erica couldn’t help gazing at the candles and the ocean water surrounding them. Everything was perfect, even the gentle breeze in the air. Her hair was blowing in the wind and she couldn’t help but laugh with happiness.

When they reached the table he presented her with two beautiful roses—one red and one white—that were held together by a piece of silken thread. “Together, these roses represent unity and love, and the silken thread holding them together represents the strong bond between us that can never be broken,” he told her in a deep, husky voice.

She gazed down at the roses and the thread that held them together. What he’d said was beautiful and touched her deeply. “Yes, it can never be broken.”

“And I can’t wait for August to get here to make you mine and share my love with you for the rest of my life,” he whispered.

She leaned up and captured his jaw gently in her hands. “In my heart I’m already yours, Brian, and I will love you for the rest of my life, as well.”

He lowered his head and captured her lips and she knew the countdown had begun. More than anything she looked forward to the day she would become Mrs. Brian Lawson.

Chapter Eighteen

K
aren Sanders took a sip of her tea. “It’s been almost three months, Jaye. I hope you have something for me that I can use.”

Jaye glanced over at her. “I believe I have. However, it’s not what you think.”

Karen lifted a brow. “As long as it’s enough to give Erica a reason to call off this ridiculous wedding.”

He nodded. “Unfortunately, I couldn’t find anything on Brian Lawson.” At her deep frown he smiled. “But I think I have something even more damaging.”

She narrowed her gaze. “For your sake, it better be. I’ve paid you a lot of money and there’s more where it came from if you can deliver.”

“I believe I can…and I have. It’s not Brian you need to worry about, it’s his mother.”

Karen’s gaze reflected surprise. “His mother? Why on earth would I need to be concerned with
her?
”

“Because she’s involved in a very heated affair.”

Karen shrugged. “So what? She’s single. Some women enjoy that sort of thing with a man.”

He chuckled. “Yes, some do. But in her case, the man she’s enjoying it with happens to be married.”

Karen paused with her teacup mere inches from her lips. “Married?” she asked in surprise.

“Yes, and the man is someone you know.”

Before she could ask who, Jaye emptied an envelope filled with pictures on the table before her. At her startled gasped, he said, “Yes, Karen. I hate to inform you, but for the past two months Rita Lawson has been having an affair with Wilson.”

Jaye watched Karen. Other than picking up the photographs and turning them over and over, one by one, she said nothing. His mother had once said she thought Karen’s heart was made of stone and her father had made her that way. He’d wanted sons but his wife had given him daughters. However, Karen could probably be as ruthless as any son Omar Delbert could have sired.

Jaye was beginning to believe his mother knew what she was talking about.

He then watched as a smile curved her lips and she threw the pictures down on the table and laughed. She actually laughed. It was a rich sound. Rich and filled with joy. This was not the reaction he would expect from a woman who’d just been shown proof that her husband was involved with someone else.

While she continued to laugh, he glanced down at the photographs. Once he’d established the fact that Wilson and the woman were involved, all it had taken was following their pattern. Wilson had never returned to Dallas. Instead the two would plan visits in cities and countries where they most traveled on business. Most of the time things had worked out that way for them. On only a few occasions had they made plans themselves.

Jaye had captured them on camera sharing intimate dinners while gazing into each other eyes, holding hands across the table or walking out of restaurants and hotel rooms plastered to each other’s side. There were even a few good shots that he’d captured of them sharing a kiss.

“I would not have figured her to be Wilson’s type,” Karen said, interrupting his thoughts. He wondered what she meant by that, since Rita Lawson wasn’t a bad-looking lady. In fact, he could see her as Wilson’s type. Although the man was his cousin by marriage, they’d never actually had any dealings with each other. But he always had appreciated Wilson for the times he would stop by and visit with his wheelchair-bound father.

It had been obvious to Jaye when he snapped the photographs that there was more than lust between Wilson and Rita. There was a growing love, and even a cynical bastard like him could see it. Too bad Karen couldn’t.

“But since she is Wilson’s type, they deserve each other because they will help to destroy what is between her son and our daughter.”

Jaye leaned back in his chair. “You think once Erica finds out about the affair she will call off the wedding?”

“Of course. I’m her mother and I’ll make sure it appears that I’m so distraught over the affair that—”

“And you’re not distraught over the affair?”

She cast him a glance as if she didn’t appreciate being interrupted but would let him do so this one time. “Heavens no. I suggested to Wilson years ago that he consider getting a mistress. But as far as I know he’s never taken me up on my suggestion until now. Unfortunately, he decided on the wrong woman and I will use his mistake to my benefit.”

Jaye saw her eyes light up and could just imagine what devious plans she had in the works. In a way he didn’t want to know. He just wanted to get paid for the work he’d done for her so far.

Feeling the need to escape her presence, he glanced at his watch and stood up. “I have another appointment and need to leave.”

“Of course. Let me pay you for your services.”

He watched Karen as she moved over to her desk and, using a key, unlocked it. He thought she wasn’t a bad-looking woman if she would step down off her high horse every once in a while. He heard about her younger sister and how different the two women had been. There had been an eight-year difference in their ages and, according to his mother, Karen had always been jealous of Blair growing up and hadn’t shed a single tear when Blair died.

“Here you are, Jaye.”

He glanced down at the check. “Wow! I hadn’t expected so much, Karen. Thanks.”

“You earned it. Besides, I plan to keep you on retainer. Now that I have a surefire plan to rid Erica of Brian, I can turn my attention to Griffin. I don’t believe he’s involved with anyone.”

“I wouldn’t know. But I’ve heard he’s planning to announce his candidacy for mayor soon.”

Karen smiled. “Yes, and when he does I plan to have Erica by his side. They’ll make a perfect mayor and first lady.”

Jaye placed the check in his wallet thinking if she could pull that off then she was definitely a miracle worker. Griffin had said more than once that he and Erica didn’t have that sort of relationship. Evidently Karen still wasn’t listening.

“Well, you know how to reach me when you need my services again,” he said, moving toward the door.

“Yes,” she said, smiling. “And I will be calling you.”

Griffin checked his watch. He had only twelve hours left to spend with April before heading out to the airport. The thought of leaving her tomorrow depressed him already.

Earlier today he had accompanied her on a film shoot on Malibu Beach. Anyone who thought the life of a model was all glitz and glamour and not hard work was completely wrong. April was a professional and handled herself as such but she wasn’t standoffish. She had conversed easily with everyone and he could tell the crew liked her a lot. One of the cameramen told him that she didn’t give in to immature tempestuousness like some models did.

And, as some of the other crew members had pointed out, she had a heart of gold. Last year she had help organized several charity events. Griffin had to agree with everyone that there was more to April North than her beautiful face and shapely body.

They had officially been dating for a month now and he always looked forward to her phone call in the middle of the week to share her weekend schedule with him. Then he would make plans to join her in some of the most exotic places. There hadn’t been a weekend that they hadn’t shared together.

He smiled when he thought of last weekend in Orlando when she had talked him into going to Disney World. He’d had more fun that day with April than he’d had at ten years old. And he could definitely say he’d never had more fun with a woman. There was just something about April that made him want to enjoy life in a way he never had before.

“Sorry about that, but I needed to take that call from London,” April said, breezing back into the room with her luscious scent following in her wake.

He glanced up and smiled and when she reached the sofa and tumbled playfully into his arms, he caught her as their laughter mingled. And when he adjusted her position in his lap, she turned and lowered her mouth for him to take.

And he took it.

With a hunger that no longer surprised him, he devoured her. He felt his blood rush south when she adjusted her position in his lap and came in blatant contact with his erection. He was hard and was getting harder, more engorged with every little wiggle her sweet behind was making.

“Stop squirming around so much,” he warned, pulling his mouth from hers to whisper against her moist lips.

“Why?” she asked, smiling.

“Why you think?” he asked, knowing she had gotten used to his erections by now. It didn’t take much to arouse him where she was concerned.

“I like hot sex. I like you. You’re beginning to grow on me,” she teased.

A smile touched the corners of his lips. “I like hot sex, too, and I like you. And I know all about growing on you. If I expand any more I’m going to do irreparable damage to my zipper.”

She glanced down at his lap. “Show me what’s growing.”

He didn’t give her a chance to recant her request as he tumbled her back on the sofa while standing up to quickly remove his jeans, T-shirt and boxer shorts.

“Oh, my, Mr. Hayes, you’re truly a Mr. Big,” she said, giving his manhood an eyeful.

“So you say.”

She chuckled and reached down and caught hold of his shaft. He knew she felt it thickening in her hand. Her smile widened. “So I know.”

Not giving him time to say anything else, she covered his mouth with hers and he wrapped his arms around her waist, bringing her closer to him. He pulled back and whispered, “You’ve got on too many clothes.”

“Umm, earlier today you thought I had on too little clothes.”

He smiled remembering the bikini she’d worn during her photo shoot. Just thinking about how she looked in it made sensations race through his groin. She felt him grow some more and laughed before pressing the palm of her hand against his chest, sending him tumbling backward.

Moving quickly, she stripped out of her shorts and blouse. He watched her hungrily. “No panties and bra?” he asked when she returned to ease her naked body over his body.

“Around you, why bother?” Without hesitation, she eased her moist heat down on his manhood.

“I like this,” she said in a low, husky tone that heated his blood. Made him tingle with all kinds of sensations as he drove deep inside of her. He lifted his hips off the sofa for deeper penetration.

“I like that, too,” she then added.

He could feel himself swelling inside of her and when she glanced down and met his gaze he figured it was going to be one of those days that she intended to ride him until he went crazy.

“I like you,” she whispered.

He opened his mouth and his voice caught in his throat. The response he had been about to make to her was, “And I love you.”

He sucked in a deep breath instead when the truth of his emotions overtook him with a vengeance. He did love her and he might as well tell her. “I don’t just like you, April. I’ve fallen in love with you.”

He watched her eyes flicker when she realized what he’d said. Her body went still, but her inner muscles clamping hard on him didn’t let up any. And then he saw something form in her eyes he hadn’t expected. Tears.

“I didn’t mean to make you cry, sweetheart.”

“But you told me you loved me,” she said as a couple of tears fell down on his chest.

“Would you rather I not tell you? Did you want to think all I want from you is sex? I couldn’t do that. To me you’re too honest, clean and pure. You’re nothing like those other women I’ve messed around with.”

“But I didn’t think you would fall in love with me.”

He smiled. “Well, I did. And I didn’t tell you that to make you express feelings for me that I know you don’t feel yet, but I—”

“Don’t feel? I’ve loved you forever, Griffin Hayes!”

Now it was his gaze that flickered. He was totally startled. “What?”

“You heard me. I can’t recall a time that I haven’t loved you.”

He swallowed thickly. “I never knew.”

More tears fell. “It wasn’t meant for you to know. I wasn’t sure how things were between you and Erica and she was my best friend. Besides, Mrs. Sanders would have banished me off the face of the earth if she thought I had fallen for the guy she wanted Erica to marry.”

He held her gaze. “But you got married. Three times.”

She nodded. “Yes, because I couldn’t have you,” she said quietly. She drew in a deep breath. “And I still can’t.”

He frowned. “Why not? You know there’s nothing between me and Erica, and you also know I don’t give a friggin’ damn what Mrs. Sanders thinks.”

“Yes, but Hattersville is your home and it will always be. You love it there. It’s just the opposite with me. I couldn’t wait to finish school and leave there. I hated growing up with people thinking my mother was a tramp because she had me and wasn’t married, and that I was beneath them because my grandmother cleaned houses and took care of other people’s kids for a living.”

He reached out and lifted her chin. “Erica never thought that. Neither did I. In fact, I always admired your accomplishments, was proud of your achievements. Not everybody in our town is as closed-minded as Karen Sanders and my parents.”

“Maybe not, but you’re thinking of running for mayor and I won’t do anything to ruin your chances of winning.”