The Crown Jewels (43 page)

“The job comes with lots of perks,” he replied, sipping on his whiskey calmly as the plane lifted into the air. My stomach flipped as the plane ascended quickly, and I said a little prayer that the pilot was a good one.

After a moment of white-knuckling the armrest, the plane leveled out and I forced myself to breathe and look out the window. The sun was setting in the horizon, and I gasped at the beauty of it. Streaks of pinks and purples shot through the sky, the city fading away in the distance as we hurled through the air at hundreds of miles an hour.

I looked over Lincoln and smiled, as he leaned forward and put his hand on my knee.

“I thought you might like this,” he said softly.

“I do, very much,” I replied, putting my hand on his. “Thank you.”

“It’s my pleasure, Ruby,” he murmured, his thumb rubbing mine warmly. “A beautiful girl like you deserves nice things,” he raised his hand from mine, reaching up and pushing a curl behind my ear tenderly. Shots of electricity rang through my body, and my skin tingled with excitement.

I could get used to this
, I thought.

***

The plane landed smoothly and I sighed a huge sigh of relief. I hadn’t been on a plane in a long time, since I’d flown to New Mexico with Georgia for a skiing trip years ago, and I’d forgotten how nervous it made me to be so far up in the air.

When my heels hit the asphalt at the bottom of the plane’s stairs, I felt my entire body relax. The whiskey helped, for sure, but so did the way Lincoln looked at me, the way he talked to me as if I belonged right there next to him.

He had tried to explain his job to me during the rest of the flight, and I tried to keep my eyes from glazing over because it was so far over my head. Stocks and bonds and trade options were things I knew nothing about, and he might as well have been speaking a foreign language. I just nodded my head as he droned on excitedly, drinking in his handsome face, and letting my eyes run all over his toned physique, the black suit he was wearing only making me want to see what was underneath all that expensive, perfectly tailored silk.

A white convertible Jaguar waited at the bottom of the stairs, and another suited man greeted Lincoln.

“Welcome to Dallas, sir,” he said, as he handed a set of keys to Lincoln.

“Nice to see you again, Jason,” Lincoln replied, shaking the man’s hand firmly. He took the keys, and guided me to the passenger’s side, opening the door for me, and smiling at my bewildered face as I slid in, the white leather of the seats enveloping me into a soft hug.

A limo, a plane and a jaguar? All in one night? I felt like I had won some sort of transportation lottery.

Once more, as Lincoln gently closed the door and ran around to the driver’s seat, I pinched my arm to make sure I wasn’t dreaming. It hurt like hell, my nails digging into my flesh as I tried to remind myself to breathe, this was indeed real, and why not me anyway? Just because I grew up dirt poor didn’t mean I couldn’t enjoy a little luxury.

I sat back in the softest seat I had ever felt in a car, let a slow grin spread across my face, and squealed with delight as Lincoln sped off, my hair flying behind me as he maneuvered the car off the runway and onto the road with expert precision.

He reached over, letting his hand rest lightly on my knee as he drove the short drive out of the airport and into the city. I had only been to Dallas once before. I watched silently as the bright lights of the sprawling city flew by. I silently wished I had brought a scarf, because I knew my curls were going to be a complete disaster after this ride.

“I hope you like sushi,” Lincoln said, raising his voice so I could hear him through the rushing wind flying by us.

“I love it,” I lied. There wasn’t any place that served sushi in Sugar Hill, and every time I was in Houston, I was usually with the Hope’s and without fail we ended up eating BBQ somewhere. I had never had sushi, but I wasn’t about to admit it to Lincoln.

I felt like such a fraud, and a wave of uncomfortableness washed over me. By the time Lincoln had pulled up to a high rise skyscraper, and I stepped out of the car with the help of the handsome uniformed valet attendant, I was sick with anxiety.

The thought of eating raw fish wasn’t helping at all.

The restaurant was on the rooftop, with sweeping views of the city surrounding us as we sat at a private table outside. Classical music played in the background, and Lincoln’s face was even more handsome in the soft candlelight.

“Do you prefer sushi, sashimi or nigiri?” he asked, as he looked over the menu.

“What?” I asked, having no idea what he was talking about. Right away, I knew I was in trouble.

“Sashimi or nigiri? I could just order a variety of things and we can try everything,” he replied.

“Um…actually, Lincoln, I’m sorry. I lied,” I confessed. “I’ve never eaten sushi before.”

He squinted his eyes for a second and then began laughing quietly.

“Why did you lie?” he asked.

“I don’t know. There’s not really anywhere to get sushi in Sugar Hill…” I murmured, my voice trailing off.

“Oh. Right. Well, that’s okay. You’re in for a treat,” he said, his eyes lighting up. “I remember the first time I had sushi. My mother took me to one of the first sushi places in New York and I thought it was the craziest thing at first. I quickly grew to love it, though. My first bite of raw tuna, and I was hooked.”

“I’m sorry,” I said, looking away shamefully.

“Hey,” he said, his voice soft and tender, as he put a finger on my chin and pulled me back to face him. “It’s okay. You can be yourself with me, Ruby. No judgement. Especially not about having never eaten sushi before!”

The look in his eyes made my heart skip a beat, and I once again marveled at the turn of events of the evening. Why was this gorgeous man being so generous and nice to me? Was this how it was supposed to be between a man and a woman? I thought about the wild, uninhibited nights I had shared with Crit, and the contrast of this night against all of those, and I was even more confused.

I decided I didn’t need to figure anything out at that moment, remembered my promise to myself to enjoy every second of this date, and smiled at Lincoln.

“Thank you. No more lies. Promise,” I said, holding up two crossed fingers.

“I’ll order for us. You’re going to love it!” he said excitedly.

***

He was right, I loved every bite. The tender raw fish practically melted in my mouth, and by the time we had finished, I was drunk on sake and the intoxicating effects of Lincoln’s eyes. The rest of the evening flew by in a blur, and by the time we had flown back home and the limo had taken me back to the saloon, it was almost two in the morning.

The parking lot of the saloon was empty, and I sat in the back of the limo with Lincoln as we said goodbye.

“How much longer will you be in town?” I asked, reluctant to let him go. I had such a good time, and I was finally comfortable and didn’t want the night to end.

“I’m not sure. A few more days. I have some business to attend to and I hope it won’t take too long.”

“Then back to New York?” I asked.

“Yep. You should visit me there sometime,” he offered. “You’d love it there, I just know it.”

“Sure, maybe someday,” I replied with a polite smile. I wasn’t kidding myself. I knew a man like Lincoln would never consider getting serious with a girl like me. I was just a small town girl to kill some time with while he was forced to be here.

“I want to see you again,” he replied, as if he was reading my mind. I was shocked, but happy. He was warm and kind, and I had thoroughly enjoyed myself tonight.

“I’d love that,” I replied. He leaned forward, his lips landing on mine softly. He kissed me gently. Almost too gently, in fact, because I was so used to Crit’s purposeful, passionate kisses, that it was almost hard to feel his lips there at all before he pulled away.

“I’ll give you a call soon, and we’ll figure out the details. I’m not sure of my schedule just yet,” he said. “Where’s your car?”

“Oh, it’s in the back,” I replied, remembering my determination not to let him see it.

“Are you okay to drive home?” he asked.

“Oh, sure I’ll be fine,” I replied, hoping I was right. I had drank quite a bit of sake, but luckily, it was a short drive home, even though I had told him I lived in the sticks before. Sometimes, it was just easier to lie, but looking at him sitting there now, so open and easy-going, I felt bad about all the lies I had let slip, even if it was to save my dignity.

“I had a wonderful time, Lincoln, thank you so much. I’ll never forget this night,” I said.

“I’m glad, Ruby. I had a splendid time. You’re a lovely girl. I’ll be in touch soon,” he said, brushing my lips once more with his warm kiss. I wanted more, though. I wanted to rip his clothes off and see exactly what was underneath all those manners and good graces that he seemed to wear like some sort of armor. I couldn’t help but think there was a whole lot more to this man than he showed. He was so well put together that I longed to see him naked, with ruffled hair, with passion in his eyes, with his guard down completely.

But I wouldn’t dare suggest that. It just wasn’t what a proper country girl did on a first date, whether I liked it or not.

I smiled and slid out of the limo, saying goodnight to his driver as I made my way back to my car.

When I finally arrived home, I was thankful that my father was passed out like a light on the couch. I wasn’t in any mood to talk to him, and I went straight to my room, kicking off the uncomfortable heels and undressing in the dark.

When I finally got in bed, I forced myself to think about Lincoln until I fell asleep, pushing all thoughts of Crit way into the back of my mind.

I read once that you can break a bad habit in twenty-one days. Maybe if I could stop thinking about Crit for that long, I could move on with my life.

Maybe my obsession with Crit was just a bad habit that needed breaking.

Maybe Lincoln was just what I needed to do that.

Crit

I spotted the limo when I turned the corner and pulled up to Johnson’s office. It looked as out of place as a chicken in church. But somehow, it gave me hope.

If LaCroix’s nephew had enough money to be driven around in a limo, then he probably wasn’t too interested in my tiny little farm.

Johnson greeted me at the door.

“Crit, nice to see you son,” he drawled, his voice cracking with age, reminding me that he was getting up there in years.

“Mr. Johnson,” I replied, tipping my wide brimmed black stetson at him.

“LaCroix’s nephew is in my office waiting,” he said.

“Yeah, I saw the limo,” I replied.

“Oh. Of course, how could you miss that giant thing?” he winked at me and led me down the hall.

As I followed him, I tried to ignore the knot in my stomach.

This was business,
I reminded myself.
I could handle anything thrown at me,
I thought.
We’re just a couple of men tying up some loose ends with our family. No big deal.

My mama used to say that you should listen to your gut. That’s how your body signals to you things that it knows before your brain does.

In this case, she was right.

As soon as I walked into LaCroix’s office, and locked eyes with the man standing in front of me, I knew I should have listened to the warning signs.

“Crit Hope,” Johnson said, “this is Lincoln LaCroix, Olly LaCroix’s nephew.”

“You?!”

The man from Norma’s diner stood in front of me, his hand outstretched and empty, his eyes bewildered and beady.

“Have you two already met?” Johnson asked nervously, immediately sensing the tension between us.

“Not formally,” I replied, taking the man’s hand in mine and giving it a nice, firm, and what I hoped was slightly intimidating handshake. He returned the handshake firmly, and even gripped it a little too hard, overcompensating for the smooth skin of his palm. His hands were softer than Ruby’s, for fuck’s sake. Right away, I knew this man had never done a day of hard work in his life.

Y
our future is in those hands
, I reminded myself silently, doing my best not to break his fragile fingers before I let go, despite the strong urge that was shooting through me.

“Perhaps we got off on the wrong foot, Mr. LaCroix,” I said, trying for manners and good graces to try to begin again with him.

“Call me Lincoln,” he said stiffly, sitting back down in the chair across from Johnson’s desk, and ignoring my words. I sat down next to him, and Johnson sat down after me.

“Okay, Lincoln it is,” I replied, still looking over at him. He wouldn’t look at me, instead staring straight over at Johnson. “I’m real sorry to hear about your uncle. He was a good man, and loved by many in this town.”

“He was old and it was his time to go,” he said, dismissing me. “I barely knew him.”

“He was your mother’s brother?” I asked. “We didn’t know he had any relatives outside of his wife and son.”