Marrying the Millionaire (21 page)

Guess that was the best he
could do.
Proud of her grandfather’s
attempt to be a real, licensed physician, Kayla reached inside the
safe for the medical bag and sat it in her lap. Unzipping the
medical bag, warm thoughts of her grandfather entered her
mind.
I bet if Grandma wouldn’t have
gotten ill, Grandpa would’ve been the best darn doctor that Hilton
Head Island has ever seen.

Inside the medical bag lay an
envelope. Holding the envelope in her hands, Kayla ran a sharp
fingernail beneath the sealed flap, slicing it open. Reaching
inside the envelope, something sharp pricked her finger.
“Ouch.”

Kayla extracted a syringe
from the envelope, and what she found along with it made her heart
spiral wildly out of control. Gasping for air, holding a picture of
a beautiful woman in her hands, her eyes kept blinking repeatedly
and her hands kept shaking violently. Gripping a picture of
Richmond’s deceased wife, Salina, stress tightened Kayla’s
chest.
Why would Grandpa have a picture of
Richmond’s wife, Salina? Oh, God no. He wouldn’t. He didn’t. Please
don’t tell me Grandpa killed Salina.

A tall shadow suddenly appeared in the
doorway of her closet. Kayla jumped. Starting with Jason’s tennis
shoes covered in grass, her eyes slowly climbed up his long body.
She quickly put her hands behind her back.

The sun had turned Jason’s face beet
red. “I’m done cutting the grass.”

Offering him a phony smile, her lips
quivered. “Thank you. I appreciate it.”

Jason’s brows scrunched. “Was that a
picture of Salina I saw you holding?”

Keeping her hands behind her back,
Kayla stood. Jason smelled musky. “Of course not. Why would I have
a picture of Salina?”

Suddenly, Jason’s light blue eyes grew
wild. He stalked further inside the closet and glowered down at
her. “Look, Kayla. I’m going to assume you’re telling me the truth
about the picture you’re obviously hiding behind your back. But
please note, if you’re lying, and the picture you’re holding is of
Salina,” his Adam’s apple bobbled up and down in his throat, and
his eyes narrowed and grew colder, “for you and your son’s safety,
let me suggest that you keep your mouth closed about it. Because if
you don’t…all hell is going to break loose on this here fucking
island.” Jason’s grim words stung her ears as he coldly turned and
stalked away.

CHILDREN JUMPED INSIDE THE INFLATABLE
princess bounce house. Ponies toting children on their backs walked
around the trail inside the white picket gate. Colorful balloons
tied with long strings on the fence swayed in the gentle
wind.

Watching the children have a marvelous
time, Leslie’s hands curled around the fence as she turned to face
her oldest son, Richmond. “The weather is perfect for a
party.”

Excitedly anticipating Kayla’s
arrival, Richmond agreed with his mother. “Yes, it is.”

Such a wonderful grandmother, Leslie
blew Isabelle a kiss as she rode the pony for the third time this
afternoon. “Call me crazy, but you look better.”

He cocked a brow. “How so?”

Leslie shrugged. “I don’t know.” Her
eyes roamed over his face. “You don’t seem so tense today. Don’t
look as stressed as you normally do. Are you involved with
someone?”

He was that obvious, huh?
Tossing back his head, he laughed. He had one person to thank for
the good mood he was in—
Kayla
. One night in bed with the
beautiful woman had him spent. Thriving. Alive. And she had him
craving for more of her. “I wouldn’t use the word involved. But
since you asked, I will admit, I do have a special interest in
someone.”

Leslie’s face brightened with a big
smile. “I know how private you are, so I won’t ask who. Just know
I’m happy for you.” She patted his back affectionately. “To make
you look this good, she must surely be special.”

Only time will tell.
“I think she is,” Richmond confirmed.

Enjoying the birthday, Isabelle hopped
down off the pony and ran straight into her grandmother’s open
arms. Leslie lifted her off her feet and bestowed her with a kiss
on the cheek. “Is Grandma’s baby having a good time?”

“
Yes.” Isabelle peeked over
her shoulder at him. “Daddy, where’s CJ?”

“
I don’t know, Pumpkin. He
should be here any—”

Isabelle pointed toward the parking
lot. “There he is!” she screeched as his mother lowered her to the
ground. Before Richmond could turn around, she’d scurried toward
Kayla and CJ as they made their way toward him. Isabelle
practically jumped in Kayla’s arms the moment she reached her.
Ecstatic, she wrapped her arms around Kayla’s neck.

With Isabelle perched on her hip,
Kayla sashayed across the emerald lawn and headed in their
direction. As always, Kayla looked stunning. Even from where he
stood, he could see the red, long flowing dress she had on fit her
body like a second skin. Halfway there, Kayla placed Isabelle’s
feet on the ground. His little Pumpkin grabbed CJ’s hand, and the
two of them skipped towards the princess castle bounce
house.

Keeping her eyes on Kayla as she
walked their way, his mother said, “Please don’t tell me that’s
your nanny.”

“
That’s her, all
right.”

“
Never mind telling me who
your new interest is; I can see it for myself.” Leslie’s voice was
full of surprise.

“
Hi,” Kayla said, coming to
a stop in front of them. Sweet perfume streamed from her body up
into his nose. She smelled delicious. Delicious enough to
devour.

Richmond politely made the
introductions between his mother and his new love interest. “Mom,
Kayla. Kayla, this is my mother, Leslie.”

Leslie extended her hands to Kayla,
and she shook it. “Nice meeting you, Leslie,” Kayla said, smiling
prettily.

His mother’s eyes rolled over Kayla’s
entirety. “I’ve never seen a nanny as pretty as you.”

Continuing to smile, Kayla replied,
“Thank you. You’re very pretty yourself.”

“
Why, thank you. I
appreciate the compliment. Too bad my ex-husband, Russell, couldn’t
see what he had.”

Richmond interjected, “Oh boy, here we
go.”

Scrunching her face, Leslie shrugged.
“What? It’s the truth, and you know it. Kayla, my ex-husband,
Russell Spaulding, has a thing for young girls, so you be careful
around him, with his nasty self. Okay?”

“
Yes, ma’am.” Richmond
joined Kayla in her hearty laughter.

“
Well, I’m going to go on
and head home. Kayla, if you’re not doing anything tomorrow, I’d
love to have you over to my house for a nice Sunday dinner. Feel
free to bring your son, too. Before you answer, please be warned,
there will be a bunch of us there—Richmond, Suade, Zeke, and yes,
that damn Russell. I’m going to invite Sandella and Braylon, too.
Maybe Drake and Willa will come also.”

Kayla looked at Richmond as if she
wanted him to answer for her. Ah, she didn’t want to overstep her
boundaries. “She cooks a delicious roast,” Richmond told
Kayla.

Leslie put her hands on her hips and
nodded. “Yes, I do. But I’m not cooking that tomorrow.”

“
Sure, I’ll be there. Thank
you so much, Leslie, for the invite.”

Leslie fanned her hand in the air.
“It’s my pleasure. Oh yeah, tell your father if he’s bringing that
hussy Gina, then he needs to stay home. That young girl chews with
her mouth open, and it drives me stupid in the head. Y’all have a
good day now.”

Kayla broke into sweet laughter. Once
Leslie got halfway to her car, the tight lines in Kayla’s face
relaxed. “She’s so nice. Did you tell her about us?”

“
Not exactly. She figured
it out.”

“
Oh. I thought
so.”

“
Does it bother you that my
mother knows about us?” he wondered.

Shaking her head, her hair gently
brushed her face. “No. Not at all.”

Being so close to Kayla had his stony
jewels aching. “I’m glad you could make it today. Isabelle was just
asking about you right before you arrived.”

“
CJ was super excited about
coming. Even if I wanted to renege, he wouldn’t have let me.” Her
gaze left his face to observe CJ jumping up and down inside the
bounce house with Isabelle and a whole bunch of other
children.

Speaking of super excited, Richmond
was thrilled to see Kayla. Mentally visualizing how he’d trailed
his tongue over her dark nipples last night, he groaned inwardly.
Damn, she drove him wild. Made him want to take her into the woods,
spread her legs wide, and make love to her while her back pressed
gently into the bark of a tree.

Remembering how her drenched sex had
tasted salty on his probing tongue, he flinched. “Would you like to
go for a horseback ride?”

“
Sure. But what about the
kids?”

Richmond pulled his cell out of his
pocket and dialed Chelsey. “Hi, Chelsey. I’m going for a ride. Will
you please do me a favor and watch Isabelle and CJ for
me?”

“
Sure, Boss. No
problem.”

“
Thanks, Chelsey.” He ended
the call. “It’s set. Chelsey will watch them for us. Come with me
to the stable.” Bypassing the clown juggling colorful jugs, his
heart expanded in his chest. Glee filled him. He hadn’t felt this
damn good since before Salina had died. And now with everything
going on, not knowing if he could trust Jason or not, he was glad
to have someone like Kayla in his life.

Kayla’s nose wrinkled from the wild
animal stench when they entered the stable. Stacks of yellow hay
sat in various corners of the stables. With several stalls to the
left and an equal amount to the right, her eyes wandered over the
equipment and the loft above.

Passing several well-bred horses,
Richmond explained what each individual one meant to him. He
stopped in front of the stall of his most expensive stallion on the
grounds. “This high dressage stallion’s name is Lord Balfour. He
has an overload of performance genes. Lord Balfour has over twenty
approved offspring, who have proven themselves by winning foal
shows and championships. While Lord Balfour himself is known for
his trademark and talented dance moves, he belongs to a wealthy
gentleman by the name of Colton Balfour. He’s one of the richest
men on Hilton Head Island. Actually, he’s Zeke’s
father.”

“
Oh, Okay. What does this
Colton Balfour do for a living?”

“
Colton owns several of the
resorts here. He’s also into real estate and
pharmaceuticals.”

“
Wow. A man of many
talents.” His name must have registered inside her head because a
light went off in her eyes. “The day I met with Sandella at the
park, I passed by his hotel on the ocean. It looked rather
fancy.”

“
It is. I’ll have to take
you there one day. Maybe we can spend the night and have a romantic
evening at Mr. Balfour’s Resort.”

Blushing over the idea, her cheeks
colored. “I’d like that. But considering you have a nice home,
that’d be a waste of money.”

“
My home is just okay.”
Finding his wife poisoned in their bed, his home hadn’t been the
same since. So much so, he often thought about renovating his tiny
home on the ocean so he could move in it. Gloom threatened to press
its way inside his soul as he briefly thought about Salina, but
he’d be damned if he let it steal his joy while with
Kayla.

Kayla’s eyes combed over Lord
Balfour’s black, shiny coat. “If you don’t mind me asking, how much
does a horse like this cost?”

“
One point six million
dollars.”

Kayla’s eyes grew large. “On point six
million dollars?! I can do a lot with that kind of
money.”

If his feelings for her
were any indication of what their future may be, she just may have
that kind of money one day, after he married her.
What the hell?
Surprised
by his own thoughts, he cursed inside his head. Of course, he liked
Kayla. Liked her a whole lot. But it’d be a cold, very cold day
before he ever married again. Salina had taught him a valuable
lesson—trust no woman. “Would you like to touch him?”