By Private Invitation

by Stephanie Julian

  Jared tried to hide his shock at her reasoning. Not because he disagreed but because he’d used this same argument in the past with other women.

  Wow, when had he become the clingy one?

  A reluctant grin curved his lips. “You’re absolutely right. But that doesn’t change the fact that I’d like you to come. I enjoy spending time with you, Belle. Think of the event as a necessary evil before a night at Haven. Besides, my grandmother would like to meet you.”

  And now he was using his grandmother as a way to get Belle to spend time with him.

  What the fuck was going on with him?

  Belle hesitated and he forced himself to breathe while waiting for her answer.

  Finally, she nodded. “Okay. Sure, I’d love to go.”

  Sixteen

  “Jared, I don’t know about this. This is more of a family thing. I feel like I’m intruding.”

  As Jared pulled the car to a stop at the curb, Annabelle tried not to fidget and possibly crush the beading on her dress. She looked like a million bucks but that didn’t calm the butterflies in her stomach.

  “This is definitely not a family thing.” Jared turned to smile at her, that devastating grin that always made her want to run the other way, but only so he’d chase her.

  The butterflies had started last Saturday morning. After he’d asked her to accompany him here. After that amazing night with Dane.

  Just thinking about it still had the power to make her thighs clench.

  And even though it hadn’t happened again—Dane had returned to the city last Saturday—Annabelle wondered if maybe, tonight…Jared told her they’d be staying at Haven tonight. Would the Salon be open?

  Jesus, where the hell had her common sense gone? Had it been blasted away by the great sex?

  Or had she fallen for the man who’d introduced her to the best sex of her life?

  “You’re not intruding,” Jared continued. “You look beautiful. But here’s the deal. Don’t let Nana get you alone for too long. She’ll monopolize you because she’s good at it. Ignore my father at all costs. My mom will be too busy to interrogate you, but she’ll be too curious not to give you a few rounds. And you’re only allowed one dance with my brother. He’s almost as bad as my nana when he gets going.”

  She opened her mouth to speak, but he leaned over to whisper in her ear. “Don’t make me kiss you to shut you up, Belle. I’ll mess up your makeup. Besides, I’ve had a hard-on all week because all I could do was think about you. So if you don’t get your pretty ass out of my car, we won’t make it to the ball. We’ll go straight to Haven.”

  When he drew back, she could barely breathe.

  As she stared into his beautiful blue eyes, she couldn’t believe how much she’d missed him this past week. He’d left last Sunday to return to Haven. He hadn’t seemed happy about it but she understood he had responsibilities. He owned a hotel, for heaven’s sake. Of course, he had business to take care of.

  Besides, it’s not like they had pledged themselves to each other. They had a business arrangement. With benefits. Really freaking good benefits.

  And how much better would it be if it was all pleasure and no business?

  When he finally released her gaze and got out of the car, she used the few seconds before her door opened to pull herself together. She flipped down the visor to check her makeup, satisfied that her lipstick wasn’t smudged and her mascara hadn’t run.

  When her door opened and Jared stuck out his hand to help her out of the car, she gave her dress a shake to make sure everything was in place. Kate really had outdone herself with this one.

  It was a good thing Kate used her as a model for her designs. It meant Kate had a workshop full of dresses for Annabelle to choose from. She’d promised to never again complain about standing for hours while being stuck by pins.

  The beaded scarlet dress made the most of her fair complexion and, with her hair piled on her head in a seemingly random mass of curls, Annabelle knew she looked damn good.

  Good enough to be seen with Jared Golden, who looked like he just stepped off the cover of GQ in a perfectly fitted tuxedo.

  But as good as he looked in the tux, he looked even better naked.

  No, can’t think about that now. You’ll embarrass yourself by drooling.

  And she was about to meet his parents.

  As they entered the GoldenStar, Annabelle considered how perfect the name was for Jared’s father’s hotel. The flagship of the Golden chain of luxury hotels, the Old City Philadelphia hotel had an expansive lobby and a grand staircase leading up to the second-floor ballroom that sparkled and glittered with candles and crystal.

  The ball already seemed to be in full swing when they entered. A quartet played dinner music in the far corner while the stage was set for the youth orchestra to play after dinner.

  And all around the room, easels displayed the works to be auctioned later. Jared had told her all the money raised went back into Arts and Artists to fund the programs.

  Some pieces had obviously been done by children, but there were others that were stunningly good.

  “Jared, would it be okay if we looked around a little before we met your parents?”

  Not that she didn’t want to meet them but she just had to get a closer look at one of the paintings on the opposite side of the room. The bold colors and design had caught her eye from the moment she’d walked in.

  Jared’s soft snort of laughter drew her attention away from the painting.

  “I’ll be lucky to have a minute with you to myself tonight.”

  She frowned up at him. “What do you mean?”

  “I mean, my mom and nana are going to want to monopolize you. Come on, let me do the introductions quickly so you can scope out the paintings.”

  Warmth suffused her but she pushed it away. Why should it matter what his family thought of her? It wasn’t like they were getting married. They were business partners, though, and she wanted to make the right impression.

  She looked down to make sure her dress covered all the right places.

  “You look beautiful, Belle,” Jared said, no trace of exasperation or amusement in his tone. “Are you really that nervous?”

  No. But she didn’t know what she was feeling right now. “I don’t typically attend charity events for a thousand dollars a plate. Give me rare Staffordshire and I can sell the plate for a thousand. But this…”

  “Honey, looking like that, you could sell a load of reproductions to the Smithsonian, and they’d never know. I’m going to talk to Kate about having her own boutique in the hotel. She’s got phenomenal talent.”

  Annabelle couldn’t agree more. “Yes, she does. But I think you might have a hard sell getting her to take you up on the offer. I don’t think her fiancé even knows she does this kind of work.”

  “Then I guess it’ll be up to you to convince her.”

  Jared couldn’t tear his gaze away from Belle. She was absolutely stunning, looking like a lick of flame in the scarlet sheath. He’d be beating away other men all night.

  Already, he wished they could skip this part and head back to Haven. He didn’t want to share her attention.

  But he knew he couldn’t do that. His mom lived for tonight. He needed to be here for her. And Annabelle was eyeing the paintings on display with a collector’s eye.

  No, he’d have to suck it up and stick this out for a few hours.

  No matter how much he wanted Belle. The past week away from her, he’d needed a cold shower every night.

  And had absolutely no desire to fill his bed with anyone but her.

  The thought should have rocked him to his bachelor’s soul. But then he’d never met anyone like Belle before.

  And she had found the pin…

  He smiled at the thought, though he didn’t believe Nana’s story about the pin pairing off soul mates. How could he? It was a legend created by an artist to sell his jewelry.

  As he steered her toward the front of the room, w
here he knew his mom would be holding court, he barely noticed the glittering crowd moving around them. Most of the usual Main Line suspects were here, in addition to anyone who was anyone in the city.

  Many of them stared back at him. He saw contemplation on the women’s faces, some of them women he’d been involved with. But he knew they weren’t looking at him. They were sizing up Annabelle. So were the men, but for different reasons. His hand tightened on her shoulder until she shot him a concerned look, which he soothed with a smile.

  Maybe this wasn’t such a good idea after all. He sent a quick glance around the room and found Tyler sitting at a table with his grandmother. Better the devil he knew.

  “Come meet my grandmother, Belle.”

  Tension pounded in Annabelle’s temples, threatening to burst into a full-blown headache.

  Tonight had been more stressful than she’d expected.

  Not that anyone had been mean to her. On the contrary, everyone had been wonderful and Jared had stuck to her side like glue for the past two hours.

  Until a second ago when he’d gotten up to dance with his mother.

  “Time to do my duty,” he sighed. “I’ll be right back, Belle.”

  Then he’d slid a glance at Tyler.

  “Would you like a drink, Annabelle?” Tyler asked, leaning forward slightly to speak over the din of the large crowd. “I need something a little more fortifying than champagne.”

  Annabelle liked Tyler, who was so different from Jared. Quiet and intense, Tyler looked into you with his dark brown eyes, almost as if he could see what you were thinking. He’d been polite and kind all evening, saying just enough to keep up with the conversation.

  But that intensity had flared when he’d asked about Kate. She’d been ready to bring up the subject herself when he’d asked how she was doing. But other than his question, she couldn’t tell how he felt.

  “How about a glass of orange juice, with a lot of ice, please. I think I’ve already had a few too many glasses of champagne.”

  And she didn’t want to fall asleep too early tonight.

  Tyler nodded and moved away, leaving her alone with Beatrice Golden. Somehow she’d dodged that particular bullet all night. But when Beatrice turned to her with a knowing smile, Annabelle knew her time was up.

  “So, dear. Alone at last.” The tiny-featured, frail-looking woman patted one thin hand on the seat next to hers. A royal summons, if Annabelle had ever seen one.

  She couldn’t very well say no, so she smiled and shifted over two seats to sit next to Beatrice.

  Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Jared on the dance floor with his mother, Helena, who’d been overcome with emotion when she’d been honored earlier by the charity’s board of directors. From what little Annabelle had seen of her tonight, she seemed like a nice woman.

  Glen Golden also seemed pleasant. She hadn’t been able to figure out why Jared didn’t want her anywhere near his dad.

  “How are you enjoying the party?” Beatrice asked.

  “Jared’s mother has done a wonderful job,” she answered truthfully.

  Everything had gone off without a hitch. Though personally, she’d rather be at one of Jared’s parties at Haven. Here, she felt like she needed to watch her posture and smile all the time, as if she were on display.

  “Yes, Helena loves this kind of thing.” Beatrice sighed. “Me, I’d rather be over at Haven, sitting at the bar, having a gin and tonic.”

  Annabelle’s tension headache lightened a little at Beatrice’s forlorn tone.

  “Now, tell me, young lady, how did you come to find my pin?”

  Ah, the pin. She’d been wondering when Beatrice would get around to asking about it. Annabelle curved her lips in what she hoped was a convincing smile even as her temples throbbed as if someone had tightened a vise on them. “Actually, my grandfather did, about thirty years ago at a flea market. I don’t really know that much about how he found it. All I know is that he found it in a box of costume jewelry. He didn’t know it was there until he emptied the box and realized the stones were authentic. I’m so sorry I can’t tell you anything more. I understand it was stolen?”

  Beatrice placed one hand over Annabelle’s. “Yes, yes, many years ago. I want you to know I don’t suspect your grandfather of having anything to do with its disappearance. We long suspected that it was a maid who took it. She disappeared at the same time as the jewelry and we never were able to find her or the pieces.”

  “I really wish you’d let me give the piece back to you.”

  Beatrice wrinkled her nose. “Absolutely not. I want you to have it, dear. It’s yours now, has been for years. It is a beautiful piece, isn’t it?”

  “Yes, it is. I’ve always loved it. But, Beatrice, I’m a firm believer in reuniting families with their treasures. The pin is yours.”

  With a quick look to see that Jared still danced with his mother, Annabelle opened the small velvet satchel tied to her wrist, another of Kate’s creations, and drew out the pin.

  “I just don’t feel right keeping it.”

  Beatrice dropped her gaze to the pin, the smile on her face spreading. She reached for the pin and Annabelle thought she was going to take it. But Beatrice closed Annabelle’s fingers over it. “The pin’s in the right hands. It was originally part of a set of seven that had been in my family for years until a few were sold off in the Great Depression. My grandfather managed to keep the pin and a blue sapphire ring in the family. The set was given to my parents on their wedding, and I inherited the pin on my eighteenth birthday, when I met Jared’s grandfather.” Beatrice sighed. “When my mother passed, I inherited the ring as well. Both were stolen before I could pass them to Jared’s father.”

  Beatrice looked out over the dance floor, and Annabelle followed her gaze. Glen and Helena danced together now. She didn’t see Jared.

  Her stomach dipped as she looked for him.

  There he was, dancing with another woman. A slim, gorgeous creature with jet-black hair and a bearing only acquired through years of functions like this. Someone Jared seemed to know very well.

  The woman’s hand caressed his shoulder as they danced so closely she couldn’t see a centimeter of space between them. They moved together as if they’d been doing it for years.

  Her stomach rolled at the look on Jared’s face—calm, in control, flirtatious. It was that last one that made her stomach tighten.

  She’d known all along that he was a flirt, a playboy.

  And hadn’t she been the one who’d insisted on keeping their relationship strictly about business and sex? Isn’t that what she’d told him last weekend?

  Maybe he’d been seeing that woman this week while he’d been in Philadelphia.

  Damn it, what was wrong with her? Why did she feel…What? Possessive? Jealous?

  After the whole debacle with Gary, she’d sworn off men.

  Then what does she go and do? She falls for the first millionaire playboy she meets.

  She wanted to laugh at the absurdity of it, but she was afraid Beatrice would think she was crazy.

  Slipping one hand to her temple, she rubbed at the expanding ache there and dragged her gaze away from Jared and the other woman.

  Maybe she’d send Tyler back to the bar for a bottle of vodka to add to her orange juice.

  Beatrice patted her on the hand, drawing her attention back to the older woman, smiling at her in a way that made Annabelle’s brows lift.

  “Annabelle, my dear, I would like to employ your services.”

  Jared’s head ached.

  It had started with a dull throb at the base of his neck and spread throughout his skull to compress his sinuses into oblivion.

  And Katherine Sinclair’s incessant sexual innuendo wasn’t helping.

  He’d known he wouldn’t be able to ignore everyone all night. He’d known eventually he’d have to make the rounds. There were too many people he knew here. He couldn’t just sit by Annabelle’s side. He shot a quick glance her
way and breathed a little easier when he saw her engaged in conversation with his grandmother. Nana would take care of her until he could return to the table.

  “So, Jared.” Katherine ran one slim finger around the collar of his shirt, failing to raise more than his ire. “David’s out of town until the end of the month and—”

  Jared cut her off before she could finish the thought. “I’m afraid I’m leaving tonight.”

  Katherine smiled, and Jared had learned that when a woman smiled like that, fur was about to fly. “She’s pretty, but not your usual type. I don’t recognize her.”

  He stifled a sigh. “You wouldn’t. So I understand your mother’s surgery went well.”

  Katherine flashed him a look that spoke volumes. She knew what he was up to. “Mom’s fine, the knee replacement went well and, of course, Daddy promised her a shopping trip to Paris as soon as she’s up and about again. Why don’t you give me a call next week? I’ll plan a day at the spa at Haven and then we could get some dinner?”

  With his headache starting to take on gargantuan proportions, Jared fended off Katherine for the rest of the song. But as the band swung into the next number, Darcy Adams took Katherine’s place.

  Why hadn’t he remembered that these events were basically meat markets?

  He turned down another proposal. Discreetly, of course. None of them interested him.

  He only wanted to return to his table where a certain green-eyed woman waited for him. He looked that way to see what Belle was up to and discovered her gone.

  His gut tightened with some emotion he couldn’t place. Without trying to be obvious, he swung a quick glance around the dance floor and sighed with relief when he found her dancing with Tyler. Her smile brightened his night from halfway across the room. And, by God, his brother had a smile on his face, too.

  Amazing.

  Well, maybe not so amazing. Belle was starting to give him ideas he’d never thought possible.

  Somehow he got through the rest of the dance without stepping on Darcy’s feet or making a complete idiot out of himself. The game of seduction he typically thrived on held no thrill tonight.