Silk

by Heidi McLaughlin

  I shook my head. “There’s nothing to forgive, Careless. You were just looking out for the both of us.” I smiled up at her. “There’s nothing wrong with that. And everything worked out for the best, right? So there is definitely nothing to forgive.”

  “Yeah,” she said softly. “Well, I think I found the perfect dress.”

  “Yeah?” I got up to move next to her and she held it up to me. “Socks-knocked-off good?”

  “You’re going to blow their minds.”

  “That might be too much dress for me.” I laughed nervously.

  “No, it’s perfect.”

  “Thank you, Careless. You’re the closest thing to a sister slash best friend I have,” I confessed and pulled her into a hug.

  The next couple of hours were spent primping for tonight and by the time Careless and I walked toward the study to meet Ryland, butterflies were spinning in my stomach.

  I knew the minute he saw me. The room was silent, but everything seemed to stand still as he took in my appearance.

  “Wow… you look… wow!” He finished on a gush of breath. “You did good, baby sister.”

  “Aw, shucks,” Careless said sarcastically.

  Ryland grabbed my hand and pulled me to him, cupping my cheek. “You look… I’d kiss you, but I don’t want to mess you up.”

  “It’s all fixable,” I said, pulling his lips down to meet mine.

  The doorbell rang.

  “I’ll get it!” Careless announced in relief to flee the room.

  I heard their voices and frowned into Ryland’s face. It couldn’t be them, but as much as I kept telling myself it wasn’t and the closer they got, I knew it was.

  “Well, don’t you clean up nicely, Araya?” Nina said sweetly. “Carl, doesn’t she look pretty?”

  “Yes, she does.”

  “This is my husband, Carl.”

  Nina introduced him to Ryland and Careless, and Ryland stretched to shake his hand, but his arm remained around me. I could practically feel Nina’s curious stare.

  “Well, don’t you two look cute together? By the way, happy birthday, Ryland.”

  “Thank you, ma’am.”

  “Oh, please, call me Nina.”

  “I thought you had plans tonight?” I asked Nina.

  “Oh, we did, but Cara called me and thought it would be nice if we joined you all. Didn’t you, Cara?”

  Ryland felt just as confused as I did.

  “I, uh, I hope you don’t mind, Araya?” She sounded trapped.

  “No, of course not. I was just surprised, that’s all.”

  “Well, good!” Nina said cheerfully. “Are your parents around, Cara? I’d love to introduce myself and thank them for their hospitality.”

  “Yeah, they’re through there.”

  “Do you mind terribly showing me?”

  “No. Follow me.”

  I felt bad for Careless.

  “They’re gone,” Ryland said a few seconds later. “Are you okay with them being here?”

  I took a deep breath. “It’s fine. I don’t want to make a big deal out of it. As long as you’re here with me, I don’t care who else is.”

  “Ditto, hummingbird.”

  He kissed me softly before dinner was announced.

  It’ll be fine, I repeated to myself all the way to the backyard.

  It’ll be fine.

  Ryland

  Thirty

  “I’d like to make a toast to my son, Ryland.” J.D.’s emotionless voice boomed over the hushed murmurs of conversation around the table.

  Everyone went quiet, stopping what they were doing and turning toward J.D. to give him the audience he demanded when he spoke. Everyone except for Roxy. She sat across from Araya and me, throwing daggers our way. I was glad Araya didn’t have to sit through dinner feeling the extent of Roxy’s jealousy. At least she was dedicated to the task at hand. Occasionally her gaze would slip to my hand underneath the table and her glare would blaze full strength, and that only made me smile.

  I’d been tracing lazy circles over the top of Araya’s thigh under the table, enjoying the way her cheeks and neck lit with a luscious pink glow. It took all my control not to duck out early or at least pull her around to the side of the pool house. Just thinking about it had me shifting in my seat and I put all my attention into what J.D. was going on about.

  “Let’s raise our glasses to old friends,” he said, tipping his drink to one side of the table, “and to new… acquaintances.” He extended his salute to our side.

  My eyes narrowed as his found mine and he tipped his drink in my direction. Leave it to J.D. to be a complete dick. Araya dropped her head and nervously chewed on her bottom lip and I hated that he caused that reaction in her. There was a look in his eyes that told me he was up to something and whatever it was, I wasn’t going to be happy with it. I took a sip of my drink without returning his gesture and watched his jaw harden over the rim of my glass.

  I felt Araya’s hand cover mine over her thigh and she squeezed. I realized my fingers were digging into her delicate flesh and I cursed, taking her fingers between mine. She was checking on me more than letting me know I’d probably been hurting her.

  This was J.D.’s way of making sure everyone, including myself, knew nothing more was going on between Araya and me. Everyone assumed because of my reputation that whatever this thing Araya and I had wasn’t going to last. It didn’t help that I hadn’t come right out and told everyone it was different with her and she was my girl. Maybe it was time I changed that.

  “I couldn’t have said it any better, J.D.” Sitting up in my chair, I lifted my glass toward Roxy and her parents. “To new acquaintances.” I smiled at Roxy and turned toward Araya, lifting her chin and turning her face toward mine. “And…” I lightly brushed my lips across hers and her sweet sigh washed over them. I wanted to run my tongue across her lips, to really taste her, but I wasn’t trying to prove anything and I didn’t want Araya to think I was. “To new beginnings, hummingbird,” I whispered to her.

  A string of slight gasps circled the table, but we ignored them, pretending to be the only two people at the table. I lifted her hand to my lips and kissed it softly before placing our locked hands on the table. A sly smile played on Araya’s lips, but when she straightened in her chair, a soft flush highlighted her skin and she realized all eyes were probably on us.

  Her chin lifted a notch and she turned toward the head of the table, finding J.D., who looked like he was ready to explode.

  “Thank you, Mr. Dare, for so graciously opening up your home to me and my family.”

  She found her glass with ease and lifted it toward him. I grinned and lifted my glass with her and controlled the urge to crush her to me. She was my tiny, brave hummingbird.

  I felt inspired by her courage and decided it was time to let J.D. know my decision for joining the family business. I hadn’t had a chance to even tell Araya yet, but I knew she would understand.

  “In keeping with new beginnings…” I squeezed Araya’s hand and stood up, buttoning my suit jacket together. I picked up my glass and lifted it, ready to deliver the news.

  “I’d like to make another announcement—”

  “Actually, son,” J.D. said, cutting me off, “if I may interrupt, before you do something incredibly stupid, further ruining your future and tying yourself to a full-time babysitting job,” he spat at Araya, and out of the corner of my eye I saw her flinch.

  It took me a split second to get over my shock at J.D.’s words, and rage so blinding ripped through me.

  “You son of a—”

  “Ryland!” Coraline gasped, but J.D. held up his hand to her.

  “Keep out of it, Coraline. I don’t need your help.” J.D. snarled at her.

  I watched my mother swallow hard, turning a shade of red and lifting her drink to her lips, avoiding the stares thrown at her from around the table. I could see Sebastian clenching and unclenching his fists at the table, his jaw ticking, but he remained si
lent and I was glad for that.

  Careless and Araya had turned white, but Careless was staring at J.D. in fear, and that confused me. She looked at me and I caught her gaze. She licked her lips nervously and there was something else written across her face that I couldn’t understand.

  “This seems like a private matter. Maybe we should go,” Nina said, attempting to stand and take Araya’s hand.

  The urge to pull Araya to me made me grab her other hand tightly. Nina stared at our clasped hands and glared at me. She didn’t even try to defend Araya or curse the jackass that just insulted her niece. Instead, she wore that same look of fear, like she too had been caught in J.D.’s trudging headlights.

  “And miss the part where I inform my son about you and your niece’s little scandal to blackmail my family? Don’t be silly. Sit down,” he ordered.

  She stood there hovering above her chair, not sure what she should do, but in the end, J.D.’s power to intimidate won over and she slowly sank back down.

  “What the hell is going on, J.D.?” I demanded. “And this time, I suggest you choose your words wisely.”

  “How honorable of you to play the protector, son. I see she has her legs nicely wrapped around—”

  I stood up, throwing my chair back, glaring at him. “I’ll kill you—”

  “Stop it!” Araya screamed. She looked to Nina. “Nina what’s going on?” she asked, hoping for some insight on the situation.

  “I wondered which angle you were going to play, Miss Noelle.” J.D.’s cold voice nearly frosted the glass he held. “Taking the innocent route. Well played.”

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about!” Araya insisted and I squeezed her hand, but her fingers had gone limp.

  “Leave her alone, J.D., and tell me what the hell is going on!”

  “It’s a scam, Ryland. You and her, it’s all a scam to get your money. How could you be so stupid? Your ignorance and instincts are appalling, son.”

  I let him bait me. I knew that’s what he was doing and I wasn’t going to give him the satisfaction and react this time.

  “Get to the point already, Mr. Dare,” Araya said, and I’d never heard her sound so empty before. It made my stomach twist.

  J.D. snickered at Araya’s demand. “She’s a brave one, isn’t she?” J.D. directed at me. “Too bad she’s nothing but trash,” he hissed.

  “You sorry son of a bitch!” I growled and charged toward J.D., but Sebastian and Careless were there, holding me back.

  “He’s not worth it, little brother. You know that,” Sebastian said calmly, but all I could focus on was beating in J.D.’s face.

  “You have two seconds to explain, but either way, I’m walking out of here for good.”

  “Don’t make empty threats, Ryland.”

  “You’re wasting time, J.D.,” I warned.

  “I did my homework. As soon as she showed up out of nowhere, I made it my mission to find out everything there was to know about Miss Noelle. I wasn’t the least surprised to find out that both of her guardians worked at Dare, Inc. A pretty little thing like that was all you needed to screw your future and become stuck with a blind girl and a baby to take care of. At least that’s what Miss Noelle was hoping for, weren’t you, Araya? Mrs. Davis?”

  I looked back at Araya and she looked like she was going to be sick. Her skin had lost any and all color and her arm curled around her stomach protectively.

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she said, shaking her head in denial. “I met Ryland at the park. Neither one of us knew who Ryland was until after she set up—”

  She stopped suddenly and looked at Nina. She was staring straight ahead, her expression hard.

  “I did tell you who he was that night.” She slid forward in her chair and touched Nina’s arm. “Nina, what is he talking about? Tell him none of this true. Why are you letting him say these things?”

  Nina turned on Araya then, looking down at Araya’s hand on her arm and then lifting her hate-filled gaze toward her. I was so glad she couldn’t see the way her aunt looked at her. Unfortunately, there was nothing to save Araya from the hard tone of Nina’s words.

  “You’re so disgustingly naive, Araya. Just like your mother always was.”

  Araya snatched back her hand like Nina had just turned to acid, and she might as well have.

  “It’s true? You were using me to get the Dares’ money?”

  Nina turned away, not responding to her.

  “That’s exactly what she was doing. She was trying to blackmail me for five hundred thousand.”

  “But why?” Araya said.

  “To keep your pregnancy quiet.”

  “What?” Araya cried, and my head snapped toward J.D., who was too busy looking smug to notice anyone else.

  I fell back a step and looked at Araya and the tears streaming down her face were gut wrenching. My eyes dropped to the arm around her stomach.

  “Araya?” I don’t know what I was asking exactly, but it was too late to stop the question.

  “I’m. Not. Pregnant.” She spat the words at J.D.

  She wouldn’t look at me, and I was in too much shock to go to her and pull her into my arms. I knew she had nothing to do with this, my head insisted it was all Nina and Carl, but I still couldn’t move my feet.

  “Of course you’re not!” J.D. hissed. “My son’s not that stupid. You may not be as innocent and pure as the day you stepped foot into this house—that my son has no control over—but I never even considered for a split second that you could be pregnant. Your mother’s death left your aunt with a lot of debt. She figured what better way to pay it off than sell her niece’s virtue.”

  “My mother’s debt? What debt?”

  “The debt she consumed putting your happiness before her welfare. Your dancing drove your mom close to bankruptcy. In fact, she’d filed the paper work after you got accepted into Julliard. She didn’t want that messing up your chances. I wouldn’t be surprised if that car accident—”

  “That’s enough!” I growled at J.D.

  A whimper escaped Araya’s mouth and she covered her lips with shaky fingers.

  J.D. glanced at me. “I didn’t know exactly who was involved at first. I know men like Carl, and they don’t have enough backbone to pull something like this off.” Carl sat there in a drunken silence, feeling no need to dispute J.D.’s claims. “Of course I expected Araya to be in on her aunt’s little scam, but the girl was too innocent to be acting. I’ll admit, you had me stumped,” J.D. said, turning to his left, but I couldn’t see whom he was talking to and I frowned.

  “It wasn’t until tonight when Nina so pathetically revealed her master plan to me that I finally connected the last piece of the puzzle. In her desperate attempt to see her plan through, she said, ‘Even your own family turns on you.’”

  “Stop this, J.D.” I heard Careless whisper angrily. “You made your point.”

  “And spoil the ending for everyone Careless? That’s what everyone calls you, right?” She didn’t respond to him. “Ryland, didn’t you find it odd that Careless would take on a babysitting job like this?”

  “I hate you,” Careless whispered and I couldn’t understand what I was missing.

  “Of course you do, darling daughter. Otherwise you wouldn’t have attempted to screw your own family with these people. Tell your brother, Careless. Tell him how you helped plan for Ryland to get Araya pregnant.”

  I stared at Careless, shaking my head in denial. He was trying to turn us on each other with his lies.

  “What? No! You’re wrong! Tell him, Cara! Tell him he’s a damn liar and then tell him to go to hell!” I was yelling by the end of my plea.

  I moved so I could see her clearly and she just stared at me with tears shimmering in her eyes.

  “Ryland.” She swallowed hard. “I’m so sorry. Please—”

  “No!” I yelled and pushed past Sebastian until I stood in front of Careless. I grabbed her by her shoulders, pulling her fro
m her chair. “Tell him he’s lying, Cara! Tell him right now!” I said, shaking her.

  Sebastian was behind me, pulling at my arm, but I threw him off and Cara just stood there crying. I let her shoulders go, pushing her away from me. The back of her knees hit the chair, and she caught herself with the edge of the table.

  “I’m so sorry—”

  “Don’t!” I said between my teeth and held my hand up to her. “I don’t even know why I’m surprised.”

  I turned around to go to Araya but halted. Hers, Nina’s, and Carl’s chairs were empty. When I turned toward J.D., he stood there smiling at me.

  “I’ll have my stuff out of here by tomorrow, and just so you know, my announcement earlier—the one you thought was going to be a proposal to Araya—was to let you know I was going to accept partner.” J.D.’s smile slipped, but only slightly. “You can take your partnership and go straight to hell. I will never be like you.”

  I walked toward the house, but Careless caught my arm. “Ryland, please don’t leave me.”

  I shrugged off her hand roughly and glared at her. “You can go to hell too, Careless.”

  I didn’t feel the tiniest bit sorry for her as her face crumbled. I walked out of that house without looking back.

  ***

  An hour later I was lying in the dark on Sebastian’s extremely uncomfortable leather couch. I still felt dazed, but I was becoming numb to my surroundings and that seemed to help take off some of the edge. My head was spinning and everything that happened tonight was a blur in my mind. Thinking about J.D, Careless, and Nina made me sick to my stomach, and I found Araya’s face in the chaos and held on to that. She kept me from spinning into nothingness and I wanted her here with me.

  I don’t know when she’d ducked out, but I knew it was probably after finding out Careless had been involved. I couldn’t imagine how she was feeling, but it couldn’t be far from how I felt right now. It made me livid to know that their sick plot had been the reasoning behind their false relationship with Araya, and for that I would never forgive Careless. I would’ve never thought she could do something so like J.D., but obviously I was wrong.