Marrying the Millionaire (11 page)

Peeping at Isabelle over the edge of
the newspaper, Richmond looked at Kayla, then down at short CJ,
then back at Isabelle. “You didn’t think I’d leave without saying
goodbye, Pumpkin, did you?” He pecked her cheek.

“
No,” Isabelle quipped.
“Kayla brought me a friend to play with, Daddy. His name is
CJ.”

Richmond smiled. “That was very nice
of Kayla, wasn’t it?”

Isabelle twisted the top of her shirt
in her hand. “Uh huh.”

Richmond’s nearness tantalized Kayla’s
being. The magnetic attraction she had to this handsome man was
undeniable.

“
Isabelle, take your place
at the table while I fix your breakfast, sweetie.” Doing as she was
told, Isabelle rounded her father’s chair and took her
seat.

When Kayla sat CJ in the
chair across from Richmond, she noticed him grimace. Hard lines
crinkled near his eyes.
Uh
oh
. Assuming that may be Salina’s old
seat, she moved CJ to the chair closer to Isabelle.
This is going to be quite an
adjustment.

“
Why did you move CJ?”
Richmond asked bluntly.

“
Because his sitting there
seemed to have upset you.”

“
Did I say it upset me?” It
was obvious to her that he had clear, observant eyes.

Hoping she didn’t upset him, she shook
her head. “No.”

“
Then why’d you
assume?”

“
Because of the expression
your face made.” Turning her back to him, Kayla walked over to the
counter, lulled open the cabinet, and pulled down a container of
apple cinnamon oatmeal.

Standing with her back to him, she
heard the legs scrape the floor when Richmond scooted the chair
back. “I was that apparent, huh?”

“
Yes.” She poured the
oatmeal grains into the heating pot, added three cups of water, and
stirred.

Richmond came to stand
beside her.
His cologne smells so
good.

“
Just so you know…” She
transferred her gaze from the pot to his face. His eyes bore into
her, drugged her. Made her knees weak. Caused her insides to
quiver. He continued. “CJ can sit anywhere he wants to. So can you.
As I stated before, my wife was murdered inside her bedroom. Her
case is still open, so until the police find her killer, I want the
door to stay closed.”

“
Do you sleep in
there?”

“
No. I sleep in the guest
bedroom right off the den. Haven’t slept in my bed since the day
she died.”

“
I’m so sorry to hear about
your wife’s murder.”

Gloom spread across Richmond’s face.
“Me, too, Kayla. Me, too.”

Stalking toward the back garage door,
a blank manifestation washed over Richmond’s face. Without uttering
another word, he pulled open the door and exited.

A deep breath expelled from Kayla’s
lungs as a cold chill ran up her spine. Seeing how deeply Richmond
still loved his wife, she knew she needed to stop lusting for him.
Even if he wasn’t grieving, or madly in love with a dead woman, he
wouldn’t want her. Not only was she divorced, but she had a son.
She had too much baggage. A wealthy millionaire like Richmond
Spaulding could have any woman he wanted, and he definitely
wouldn’t want one with drama.

Kayla’s cell buzzed against her hip.
Spooning the hot oatmeal into a bowl, she slid the cell from its
clip and answered without spying the Caller ID. “Hello?”

“
Why in the hell did you
keep blowing up my damn phone last night?” Carson’s cold tone
punctuated her eardrums.

“
Because,” she sat the
children’s porridge in front of them, “wait ‘til it cools off
some,” she advised Isabelle and CJ.

“
I’m listening,” Carson
barked.

The last thing Kayla wanted was to get
into an argument in front of the children, so she left the kitchen
and walked into the den. “I called you to let you know that CJ got
into an accident last night.”

Carson’s sigh sounded as if he was
irritated. “Well, is he okay?”

“
Yes. He’s fine
now.”

“
What happened?”

“
He jumped off the toilet
and broke his arm.”

An irritating groan came through the
line. “How’d that happen? Weren’t you watching him? He’s a boy…you
shouldn’t have taken your eyes off him, not even for one
second.”

She shriveled at his condescending
tone. “Don’t you think I know that, Carson?”

“
I don’t know; you tell
me.”

“
Look. I just called you to
let you know he’d hurt himself and to ask you if you could pay your
child support on time this month, or maybe pay a little extra to
help pay for the hospital bill.”

“
Hell no! It ain’t my fault
you decided to do whatever and not keep an eye out on him. Maybe
you’ll learn something from this and think before you act next
time.”

Kayla’s temper flared.
Rolling her eyes, she switched the cell to her other ear. “Carson.
Are you serious? I was watching him.”
Not
really, but he doesn’t have to know
.
“Accidents happen. I bend over backwards to work with you and let
you pay child support whenever you can. Even when you do pay, it’s
not that much. You should be thankful. Please don’t make me take
you to court.”

“
Yeah. Yeah. Do what you
have to do.”

Click!

“
Hello? Hello?” Kayla held
her cell out in front of her eyes. That selfish, no-good dog had
hung up in her face.
Uuugh.
How’d she ever gotten involved with such an
inconsiderate jerk was beyond her comprehension. As soon as she
saved up some money, she was going to hire a good attorney and take
Carson Terrell Crawford to court. If it weren’t for CJ, she’d
change her last name back to Van Buren.

Fuming, Kayla turned on the soles of
her shoes and collided into a hard body. Startled, she gasped.
Gazing into Jason’s penetrating blue eyes, fright coursed through
her veins.

He clutched her arms, dipped his head,
and let his robust eyes roam freely over her surprised face. Light
tremors spread through Kayla’s bones.

“
Good morning. Why are you
shaking?” His breath smelled like caramel coffee.

Because you scared the
living crap out of me!
Tempted to knee him
in the balls, Kayla suppressed her frustration and just smiled.
“Good morning, Jason.”

RICHMOND SAT INSIDE HIS OFFICE located
on the second floor of Spaulding Equestrian Center, gazing out the
window. Burly forest trees rooted behind the fifty-four acre
facility. Equipped with specialty boarding for horses, the
equestrian also offered elite club membership, horses for sale,
event bookings, horse performance training, and riding lessons. In
the fall, kids loved coming to his annual Fall Festival to ride the
ponies, play carnival games, eat corn dogs and candy apples, and
just have a grand old time.

Pushing thoughts of this year’s
festival out of his brain, Richmond’s mind shifted to Salina.
Already, the knots were forming in his shoulders. Putting his hands
behind his head, he declined in his navy leather chair.

He couldn’t afford to let Salina’s
betrayal destroy him, make him into a man he wouldn’t recognize.
Maybe he was looking at Salina’s secret all wrong. Perhaps she had
a good reason to get the prepaid cell. Damn, no matter how many
different ways he looked at the situation, his dead wife’s behavior
didn’t add up. Didn’t make sense. Regardless of why she’d gotten
the prepaid cell, his embarrassment had turned to raw
fury.

Suddenly, Kayla, CJ, Isabelle, and
Jason rounded the side of the building and headed toward the horse
trails. Pushing CJ in a stroller, Kayla’s gaze traveled over the
wide lands as Isabelle walked by her side to the left.

Remembering how fresh Kayla had
smelled earlier this morning, Richmond’s shaft threatened to
harden. She’d smelled like fresh coconut while standing inside his
living room, like she’d sprayed herself with an expensive body
splash.

Admiring Kayla’s beauty from afar,
Richmond stood and closed the blinds on the window. The last thing
he needed was for her to spot him looking at her. She might get the
wrong idea.

Desiring to continue
glimpsing at the pretty lady, he stuck two fingers between the
slits in the blinds and scissored them open. With the rhythm of his
heartbeat pounding harder, he zoned his eyes on Kayla’s luscious
body.
Nice figure. Very. Nice.
Figure.

Strolling across the lawn, a pair of
blue jeans stretched deliciously over Kayla’s curvaceous buttocks.
Her small waist flared into agile hips. Bosoms, somewhere around a
C-cup, perched perfectly on her chest. Admiring her undeniable
breathtaking beauty, Richmond’s tool throbbed.

That woman does something
to me. Something I can’t even put into words. Makes me feel things
I don’t want to.

Right when Jason pushed
open the white fence leading to the horse trails, Kayla turned and
glanced up at the back of the building. Long brunette hair grazed
her shoulders. Her face spread into a warm smile, caressing his
insides like a warm blanket wrapped around cold flesh.
What the hell is going on with me?
His balls tingled inside his pants.

Thoroughly understanding it’d be a
cold day in hell before he got seriously involved with a beautiful
woman again, he plopped down in his chair, then swiveled it to face
forward. He didn’t need a woman to fulfill him. The only girl he
needed was his daughter Isabelle. His precious Pumpkin.

Making a hard effort to squeeze
sensual thoughts of Kayla from his mind, he cupped the mouse to his
laptop and clicked on the screen. He dragged the cursor to his
outlook calendar to peruse the upcoming events scheduled to take
place at the Equestrian. There was a birthday party to take place
at the Equestrian this Saturday. The carnival was scheduled eight
weeks from now. Millionaire Jefferson Spelling wanted to meet in
two weeks about selling his black stallion, Velvet. So many things
to do, with so little time.

Richmond hefted the phone to call his
estate and office manager, Chelsey, but before he could dial her,
she just happened to enter his office. He dropped the phone on the
receiver.

“
I was just about to call
you.”

Chelsey entered his office wearing
black jeans and a white collared shirt. “What do you need,
Boss?”

“
I just wanted to remind
you about Saturday’s birthday party. Are you still able to work
this weekend?”

Chelsey nodded. “Yes. I am. What about
Kayla?”

“
What about
her?”

“
Will she be working
Saturday, too?”

“
No. It’s her day
off.”

Relief radiated in Chelsey’s green
eyes. “Good.”

“
Chelsey, do you have a
problem or concern with Kayla that I need to be made privy
to?”

Although her head was shaking no, her
eyes were saying yes. “No.”

Richmond’s brows lifted. “Are you
sure?”

“
Positive.”

“
Considering I’ve been
thinking about asking Kayla to move in so she can provide
around-the-clock care for Isabelle, I’m glad you don’t have a
problem with her.”

Chelsey’s eyes rounded with anxiety.
“I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

“
Why not?”

Chelsey swallowed. “Because Isabelle
needs to get to know Kayla first. And also, I know how women can be
sometimes. Offer them to move in, and the next thing you know,
they’ll be thinking you want to marry them.”

Richmond chuckled. “I know how women
can be sometimes, too; however, my intuition tells me that Kayla
Crawford is not one of those women.”

Light laughter released from her thin
lips. “For your sake, I hope not. She’s—”

Zeke, Richmond’s best friend, entered
his office with a big smile plastered on his white face. “Well,
well, well, if it ain’t Chelsey Valentine.”