Still Yours

by Cara Roman

  He stopped about a foot away from her, careful not to crowd into her space. "Ms. Taylor? I'm Griff, Ridge sent me." His voice fit the rest of the image perfectly, deep and full, with careful power behind it. Like his natural volume was a few notches louder, and he had to really work to lower it. Leigha was betting when he yelled it would sound like a war lord sending his men into battle. Thinking that maybe she should lay off the romance novels if she was imagining bodyguards as highland laird's from days gone past, she sent him a smile.

  "Hi Griff, call me Leigha. So, whats it really like working for Ridge?"

  Griff tossed his head back and laughed, surprising her. "He is a pain in my ass most of the time actually. Big bad-ass thinks he is too tough to need protecting."

  Griff's whole face had morphed when he laughed, into someone she could see tossing giggling toddlers up in the air at a backyard barbecue. Everyone's favorite big teddy bear of an uncle. Leigha immediately liked him. "If I remember correctly, he never needed any help fighting his battles." She said as they headed off to claim her luggage.

  "Oh, he can throw one hell of a punch, sure, and he is the kind of man who doesn't mind getting into a good fight occasionally. But he is precious merchandise now, with a lot at stake. He needs those hands to play his guitar." Griff joked.

  "Not to mention that face that scores of women drool over." Leigha said with a wink up at Griff.

  "Oh, I like you. You're a feisty one." Griff said picking up her largest suitcase without any effort.

  Leigha's cell phone rang as the walked out of the airport into beautiful Tennessee sunshine. She kept walking as she dug it out of her tote bag not even bothering to glance at the screen as she hit accept and brought it to her ear. "Hey baby! I made it here safe and sound, walking out with Griff right now, he didn't have any trouble at all spotting me."

  "Didn't figure he would Sugar. I told him to find the most beautiful woman there and bring her back to me." Leigha abruptly stopped. Her heart felt like it just burst into flames. There was no pain, but there was light bursting through every fiber of her being.

  "Ridge." Leigha said softly.

  "I know baby, I've really fucking missed you too." His voice hit that low rumble that made her toes want to curl remembering other, more intimate times she had heard it against her skin. "Just a little longer. Remember, you have to meet the stylist first."

  "Yeah, we have been emailing back and forth, and have narrowed it down to three dresses. It shouldn't take too long. One will clearly look the best I'm sure." Leigha started moving again, Griff at her side, his gaze traveling around assessing their surroundings. He really was good at his job.

  "What about shoes, a bag? Jewelry?" Ridge chuckled when he heard her sigh. "As soon as you get this shit out of the way, then you're all mine for the rest of the night."

  "I like the way you think Ridge." Leigha said as Griff opened the door to a big black SUV. Climbing in she told him goodbye and stashed the phone back in her bag.

  Griff walked around to the drivers side and got in. "So you are my chauffeur today too?"

  He glanced over at her, just a quick flick of his eyes. "I'm a man of many talents."

  "I wondered if there would be a driver too." Leigha said honestly. "I'm a little out of my depth with this part of his life." She glanced at the sights as the left the airport. The city was bustling, so full of life.

  "If Ridge were here too, there would be another guy to drive." Griff said, this time not taking his eyes off the road.

  "So you could focus on guarding his body. But since nobody knows who I am that's not needed." Leigha said nodding her head, getting it.

  "Yet." Griff said.

  "What?" Leigha asked confused, turning to look at him full on.

  "Nobody knows who you are yet. But by tomorrow evening everyone will."

  "I doubt anyone will be paying any attention to me." Leigha said. She wasn't trying to put herself down, but this wasn't her world. She was just going to be dipping her toes in the water, not diving in.

  "You're a beautiful woman, on the arm of one of the most successful, and recognizable men in this town. Everyone in Nashville will stand up and pay attention, don't doubt that." Griff said.

  "Well, shit. No pressure huh." Leigha sighed, her nerves jumping.

  "Piece of advice, don't worry about fitting in or trying to be cool, just be authentically yourself. They can think anything they want about you, but don't ever show them you aren't one hundred percent in Ridge's corner. Tearing you apart is only easy to do if you hand them the ammunition. Otherwise what can they really say? Oooo, look at that gorgeous woman with him, they clearly love each other. They're gonna talk anyway and if that's all they got then you smashed it." Griff said wisely.

  "Not just a pretty face, are ya Griff." Leigha beamed at him, feeling better. "Thanks." He nodded back, and they rode the rest of the way in a comfortable silence.

  Ridge's stylist met them just inside the doors of the mall with a hug. "Leigha, its so nice to finally meet you!"

  "Josie, it is!" Leigha said hugging back. Josie was a tall slim woman, her body full of graceful lines instead of overt curves. She exuded class in a pair of cropped black slacks, bright red ballet flats, and a crisp white blouse. Everything looked pulled together, but effortlessly chic at the same time. Her light brown hair was pulled back in a short pony tail, and her eyes were amazing. One was a light clear blue, and the other was a rich chocolate brown. As far as Leigha could tell there wasn't any makeup on her face, so the focus was on the exotic combination of her eyes.

  "I've already got the options set aside for you. But after seeing you in person, I think we need to add one more that caught my eye this morning." Josie said leading the way to the shop of a notable high end designer. Leigha tried not to gulp at the thought of the cost of the dresses. Correctly reading Leigha, Josie said, "don't worry. I've been dressing Ridge for years, I've got all his card information on file. You don't even have to think about the money."

  "My small town was showing wasn't it?" Leigha joked.

  Josie shook her head. "I totally get it. You aren't that kind of woman. I figured that, and honestly if you walked in here and started grabbing one of everything my opinion of you would start slipping drastically. Don't get me wrong, Ridge can definitely afford it, but he really doesn't care about any of this. Its just the trappings for him, his work uniform if you will." Josie said as she weaved through the classy displays towards the discrete dressing rooms in the back.

  "I'm not with the celebrity, I'm with the man." Leigha said, the conviction ringing clearly in her voice.

  "As someone who cares about him, strictly in the friendly way, I'm glad." Josie said with a smile. She was like a quiet tornado. Sweeping through everything, but leaving no damage in her wake. "Tomorrow night is going to be full of glitz and glam. There will be quite a few women completely bejeweled and bedazzled to the nines. Sequins, rhinestones, the works. That's fine for them, but I think if we put you in something so loud you will lose the essence of who you are. We really don't want that."

  "I'm good with simple." Leigha smiled. "And, I'd like Ridge to be able to recognize me."

  "Honey, I'd rather have him feel the world tilt on its axis when he lays eyes on you." Josie winked.

  "Yes. That. Please." Leigha grinned.

  The three dresses they talked about previously were all hung up on the rack inside the dressing area. Leigha tried on the amber colored one first. It was strapless, and hung in a simple column down her body. The color was great for her dark hair and eyes, but made her skin look a little sickly.

  "Nope. Maybe if you just got back from vacationing in the tropics, but not today." Josie said shaking her head.

  The second one was a poppy red color with a lace overlay across her breasts up to the high neckline. The skirt swept all the way to the floor, but when she turned around her whole back was bare.

  "Definitely sexy." Leigha said, turning this way and that looking at different angles
in the mirror.

  "It is, and you are really pulling it off." Josie said.

  "But." Leigha sighed.

  "Yep. Exactly, its not quite right." Josie agreed.

  The third one was a clingy black one shouldered number. There was eye catching beading along the opposite side of the single strap, starting just under her arm and flowing all the way down to the hem.

  "I feel a little lopsided." Leigha said with disappointment.

  "It looks great on you, but it isn't really you. I can see that." Just then the sales woman walked in carrying a dress that made Leigha's breath catch in her throat. Josie noticed Leigha's reaction, and smiled. "I had a hunch."

  Leigha tried not to rush taking the black dress off, since it probably cost as much as her first car had. But she needed to see that other one, with a desperation that she couldn't explain, but didn't bother questioning.

  As soon as she felt the satin brushing against her skin Leigha got chills. She stood there in front of the mirror with her eyes closed just absorbing the way it made her feel. When she finally opened them after a few heartbeats, she just shook her head slowly back and forth. Unable to process what her eyes were telling her. The sapphire blue was completely unadorned. There were no beads, sequins, or anything else to steal attention away from that vibrant color. It hugged the curve of her hips, then flared out at her knees into a mermaid sweep. The deep v neckline hit that perfect balance, showing off just enough of her assets but not too much. There was some kind of fold from the side of her rib cage, climbing the sides of her breasts and behind her head. It framed her breasts, and created this little peekaboo of skin on her side, that thrilled the imagination, but didn't actually show anything.

  "Holy shit." Leigha said with a reverent sigh.

  "Absolutely. This one will tilt his world. It is classy, and sultry. It barely shows any skin, and yet manages to look sexier than the one showing all the skin." Josie said, her eyes zooming in on each and every detail. Turning to the sales woman she said. "That dark jeweled clutch. And those charcoal strappy shoes, size..." She looked at Leigha, "8."

  Leigha nodded her head and continued to stare at her own reflection, enraptured by the dress. The sales woman hurried away, eager to make the sale.

  "Now I think this needs minimal adornment. I'll make the call." Josie said, pulling her cell phone out of the tiny bag she was carrying and stepping away.

  Leigha had taken the dress off, and was back in her own clothes when Josie walked back in. "Call to who?" She asked. Now that she could actually think.

  "Ridge asked me to give him a call when you had a dress picked out, and tell him which direction to go in." Josie explained as she gathered up the dress to walk out.

  "He isn't." Leigha asked, realizing what that meant.

  "He totally is. Oh, honey. When your man wants to buy you jewelry, don't discourage him." Josie laughed.

  "I don't need all this though." Leigha said stubbornly.

  "Of course you don't, and he knows that, which is probably why he wants to do it for you. Trust me, he did not seem like a man put out just now on the phone." Josie replied.

  "True, still. I'm used to providing for myself, handling my own business." Leigha explained.

  "I get it. You're a grown ass woman, who can handle her own." Josie nodded. "That's why its so fun for Ridge to spoil you"

  Chapter 31

  The sun was hanging low in the sky when Griff pulled out of the parking lot. It was almost like there was some sort of mystical time suck, no matter how fast you thought you were, every time you left the mall it was always much later than you thought it would be. Maybe it was the lack of windows, and abundance of artificial lighting keeping everything bright as the midday sun. It throws off all sense of time passing, and people will linger longer than they planned. Casinos have also flawlessly harnessed this secret to their advantage.

  Leigha watched out the window as the city turned on its neon in the fading light of dusk. The streets and sidewalks they drove past were crowded with people. She noticed a few of them trying to peer into the windows of the SUV as it passed by them. The back was tinted so dark there was no way they would actually be able to see inside, not to mention nobody was even sitting in the backseat. But they didn't know that. Nobody's gaze even lingered on her sitting in the passenger seat though, they had absolutely no idea who she was. That was all going to change tomorrow according to what Griff had told her. It wasn't that she doubted him, she didn't, it still seemed a little surreal to her though. The idea of random strangers knowing who she was. Everyone in her hometown knew her, whether it be through her parents, from school, or seeing her behind the counter at Caffeinated Sprinkles. That was different though, because she knew who they were too. It was a shared knowledge with history weaved between them. This would be all one sided. Her name and face would be carried away on the swiftly moving current of popular culture, gossip rags, and tabloids. Social media, and today's instant society would guarantee that within a few hours people would know everything there was to know about her. With fans on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook leading the charge. It was all quite overwhelming to think about, and Leigha knew that if she didn't love Ridge so damn much there was no way she would be willing to throw herself on the mercy of the world like that.

  A flash of complete understanding whizzed through her mind. This was what made Ridge so willing to come back home to Michigan. He was surrounded by the comfort and protection of home. People who actually knew him, had memories linking them together. It made the inconvenience of being so far away from the epicenter of country music worth it for him. Being able to stop in and grab a coffee, or walk down the street without his picture splashed everywhere must have felt like uninhibited freedom to him. He could be himself in the truest sense of the word. Sure, he had fans at home. But nobody was flocking there just to get a glance of his face. People weren't selling maps to his house on the street corners. She always thought he was giving up so much being back in a small town. But now she understood that he was gaining was what really mattered to him.

  "Griff, how long have you been looking out for Ridge?" Leigha asked.

  "Little over five years now, why?" She could hear the puzzlement coloring his words.

  "Just thinking about things. I guess I didn't realize a lot about him being famous. There were people trying to see who was in the car, and I noticed some with cameras perched at the ready. He can't just walk down the street here, not without it making the news." Leigha said with a sigh. "I really never thought of it like that."

  "No, he can't. That's why his house is way outside of town, its the only way he gets any peace here. There are a lot of perks to what he does, and he doesn't take that for granted, but there is a lot that isn't quite so great." Griff said, and there was a darkness to the words letting Leigha know that he didn't like that anymore than she did.

  "If he mostly lives in Michigan now where does that leave you? I see him walking around town all the time, and the most that happens is a few people saying hi. He doesn't need protection." Leigha noticed there were fewer and fewer houses passing by outside the windows.

  "Even when he isn't here people try to sneak onto the grounds or even into the house. It's best if it isn't left vacant." He admitted.

  "So you live there when he is gone?" Leigha asked.

  "No, I live there all the time." Griff glanced over at Leigha, and her face must have screamed her thoughts loud and clear. "Don't worry, its not like I'm in the next room. I live above the garage." He said with a chuckle. "You will have privacy for your reunion."

  "Its not, I wasn't, oh hell." Leigha stumbled over her words. Giving up on excuses she finally said, "thanks." Then thinking about it added, "an apartment above the garage?"

  "That makes it sound like I have no space. Ridge likes his toys, and his garage is huge. I have three bedrooms, an office, two bathrooms, kitchen, and a huge living room. I've had my parents and sister over to visit quite a few times. Ridge takes good care of
the people he entrusts into his inner circle." Griff told her.

  There were no houses visible from the road now, and some of them even had gates. These houses were far enough apart that you might not ever know who you lived next to, which was probably the point. Finally Griff maneuvered into one of the driveways. He had to stop almost as soon as they made the turn though. There was a tough looking black iron gate blocking their passage. Griff rolled the window down, and Leigha looked over and saw the key pad. She expected him to punch in a code, but he just put his finger on it and the gate swung open.

  "Fingerprint reader?" She asked with not a small amount of awe.

  "Yeah, tomorrow morning you can come up to my office, and I will get yours added to the system."

  "Why have a key pad then?" Leigha asked, full of nerves.

  "There are codes to open it too. Also an intercom. Layers of security helps keep people out."

  Leigha just nodded her head. The driveway was just as long as the one Ridge had in Michigan. When the trees finally stopped crowding against the drive her breath caught in her throat. This wasn't a house. This was a full on mansion. It was absolutely huge, and rugged, like a cabin way up in the mountains. There was a lot of wood. Massive timber beams supported the second story porch. There was a large R and B carved into the beautiful front door. Off to the right was the two story garage, if it could even be called that. It was almost as big as the house itself was. For as large as it was, an as undoubtedly expensive, there was an ease and comfort about the place. Leigha immediately loved it.

  "Holy shit." She whispered.

  "Yeah, its sure something." Griff said putting the SUV in park and getting out.