by Reese Ryan
“Boss? Boss?” His production manager Leeson Brown was saying.
“Oh... I...uh...” He cleared his throat. “Sorry. Didn’t catch that last part.”
“I said unless you have something else for us, that pretty much covers everything,” Lee repeated. “Don’t worry. The entire team understands the importance of this show. We won’t let you down.”
“I know you won’t.” Darius watched the woman’s movements. There was something oddly familiar about her strong, elegant strokes.
Who is she and what the hell is she doing here?
“The team is doing a great job,” Darius assured Lee. “I’ll touch base soon. But if you run into any problems...”
“We won’t hesitate to call,” Lee assured him.
“Day or night,” Darius told the man as his gaze followed the woman swimming laps in his pool.
“I promise. In the meantime, I know it’s a tall order for you, but try to relax.”
Darius promised he would try. Then he slipped the phone into his pocket and headed down to the pool to find out who was trespassing on the Blackwoods’ property and distracting him from his work.
As he made his way across the patio, the woman climbed out of the pool in a tiny bikini that showed off her delicious curves. She tugged the cap off her head and tossed it on a lounge chair and bent over to grab her beach towel.
Good. God. Almighty.
This woman’s behind was a museum-worthy work of art.
“Excuse me,” he said, finally.
Startled, the woman dropped her towel and whipped around, her eyes widening.
“Darius?”
“Audra?”
They spoke simultaneously. Then Darius added, “Did you follow me back here?”
She propped a fist on one generous hip, drawing his attention to her belly button piercing and the connected gold chain looped around her waist. “Do you honestly believe I need to resort to following random dudes home?”
Ouch.
She’d just called him a random dude. As if he didn’t matter to her and never really had.
Audra didn’t wait for his response. She snatched the towel off the lounge chair and dried herself. Doubtless, the pool was heated, but the temperature outside had cooled considerably. She was shivering.
He couldn’t help thinking of the last time he’d seen her shivering. She’d been lying beneath him, gloriously naked. He swallowed hard. Heat crawled up his neck and face.
“Does that mean you’re renting this house now?” She pulled a short, black cover-up over her head and slipped her arms inside before plopping down on the end of the lounger to dry her hair. “Because it was empty when I went for a swim this morning.”
“My business will keep me here a few more days.” He shoved a hand in his pocket. “Miranda offered me this place for as long as I need it.”
Darius surveyed the well-manicured patio with its lovely landscaping and the pool complete with a hot tub and water feature. He’d paid little attention to the backyard during the cursory tour Leslie had given him when she’d deposited him here a couple of hours ago.
He’d been in the office, sifting through emails or on one call after another, ever since. Starting with the call he’d placed to his attorney, apprising him of the situation and charging the man with exploring his options.
Darius didn’t need Buckley Blackwood’s money. His athletic clothing line was one of the fastest-growing companies of its kind in the US, and it was already making millions each year. If Thr3d maintained its current trajectory, it was positioned to climb its way to being one of the top ten athletic wear companies in the country within ten years.
Still, Darius felt compelled to fight for some portion of the estate—to demand acknowledgment as a Blackwood heir. Even if he simply donated the money to a worthy cause. But he wasn’t prepared to tell Audra any of that. There was no reason for him to tell his pedigreed ex that he was a bastard child. The product of an illicit affair between an asshole banker and a failed actress. An inconvenience neither of them had planned for or wanted.
“How long will you be in Royal?” Audra stood, her towel folded over her arm. She didn’t sound happy about him staying in town.
“It’s hard to say right now.” He shoved his hands in his pockets and leaned against the edge of the hot tub. “You?”
“Same.” Audra slipped her feet into her bejeweled flip-flops. “But my client Sophie and her fiancé are back in town. I should be able to make some serious progress in the next week or two.”
He sucked in a deep breath at the mention of his half sister’s name. After lying to Audra about his family in the past, he hated the idea of keeping this secret from her, even if they weren’t together. But he wasn’t prepared to air his family’s dirty laundry. Especially when his paternity had yet to be definitively proven.
“Great,” he said. “But that doesn’t explain why you’re in my pool. You aren’t staying here, too, are you?”
“Heaven forbid.” Audra pressed an open hand to her chest in feigned outrage. She nodded toward the house on the other side of the brick wall. “I’m renting the darling house next door. It has a proper workshop, great office space and plenty of security. But it doesn’t have a pool, and back home in Dallas I swim nearly every day.”
“You’re in Dallas now?”
“I moved there after grad school.” She shrugged. “I needed a fresh start and Dallas felt right.”
Guilt churned in his gut. Did she need a fresh start because of our breakup?
“Anyway, Sophie gave me permission to use this pool since her family owns the house and it’s empty. At least it was empty. In light of everything that’s been going on with her father’s death and the estate going to her stepmother... I’m sure Sophie had no idea you were staying here.”
“Makes sense.” He stared at her, unable to tear his gaze from her expressive eyes. He wanted to take her in his arms and get reacquainted with every one of her sensual curves.
“Sorry I disturbed you.” She broke their gaze. “I’m sure there’s another pool in town I could use.”
“No. You don’t need to do that.” He objected far too quickly, and he couldn’t help but notice she was restraining a smile. “You aren’t bothering me. I only came out because I thought you were a trespasser.” He folded his arms. “Come over whenever you want. I doubt I’ll be using the pool while I’m here.”
“That’s a shame.” She shrugged. “My time in the pool relaxes me and sparks my creativity. You should try it.”
“You’re shivering. Can I make you some coffee or tea? Hot cocoa, maybe?” He gestured toward the house.
What the hell was he thinking?
The last thing he needed was to spend more time with Audra. Yet, he wanted her to stay a little while longer. Even if it meant he’d lie awake all night, revisiting his regrets.
But he could never go back. There were no do-overs in romantic or family relationships. He’d burned that bridge when he’d walked away from her.
“That’s kind of you.” She managed a polite smile. “But I’ll be plenty warm between the hot bubble bath with my name on it and the Sex on the Beach I plan to have...the drink, not the actual—”
“Of course.” He ran a hand over his clean-shaven head.
But all he could think about was that time they’d gone to Martha’s Vineyard and ended up having sex on the beach.
It wasn’t nearly as glamorous as people made it out to be. They’d both gotten sand in places sand should never, ever be. But they’d had fun that night. A night he’d never forget.
Audra began ordering Sex on the Beach cocktails after that. Initially, as a private joke between them which ignited that passionate memory. But then she’d actually started to like them, and it became her signature drink.
As they stood awkwardly staring at one
another, he wondered if she still regarded the memory fondly. Or was every memory of what they once shared now tainted?
“Thank you for letting me use the pool. I’ll try not to disturb you. Good night.”
“Good night,” he called to her retreating back.
Audra disappeared through the iron gate that connected the two backyards.
Darius rubbed a hand over his head and groaned. The universe had it in for him. He was sure of it.
The collaboration project with Goddess had turned out to be a ruse to get him to Royal. He’d finally—probably—discovered who his father was, but the selfish bastard had gone and died before Darius had a chance to tell him to go to hell. The man was richer than God but hadn’t left any of his children a dime. Darius had siblings, but with them already fighting Miranda on the will, he doubted they would appreciate a surprise heir popping up out of the woodwork.
And then there’s Audra.
Not only was she right here in Royal, but she was staying next door and using his pool wearing a scrap of fabric masquerading as a bikini.
Yep. Either he was being punked or the universe was having a nice laugh at his expense.
His eyes were drawn to the light that suddenly went on upstairs in the house next door.
Audra.
Probably drawing a bubble bath with her Sex on the Beach in hand.
He shut his eyes against the erotic images that flooded his brain, his body stiffening in response.
There would be a lot of cold showers and sleepless nights in his future.
* * *
Audra dropped her damp towel in the laundry bin and went to the kitchen to retrieve the pitcher of cocktails she’d made earlier and put in the fridge.
She’d mixed her favorite drink the moment she’d returned home after seeing Darius. It was bad enough he was in the same Texas town where she was. Did he have to be staying next door, too?
Audra pulled out a glass and filled it, the liquid sloshing onto the counter.
Her hands were shaking.
She sucked in a deep breath, her eyes drifting closed.
“Of all the goddamn places in the world he could possibly be,” she muttered under her breath as she wiped up the mess.
Not that it mattered.
She was over Darius. So it didn’t matter how good he looked in those black basketball pants and a heather-gray performance shirt emblazoned with the Thr3d logo. A shirt that clung to the muscles of his chest and biceps.
He was her past. A mistake she’d never repeat.
But God, parts of her wanted to. And right now, those parts were drowning out her common sense, which reminded her that she should know better.
She went upstairs and turned on the warm water, adding some of the decadent bath foam with a heavenly crème brûlée scent. It was pricey, but it left her skin incredibly soft and smelling sweet. And the luxurious bubbles it created were perfect for a day like this.
Audra stripped out of her wet bikini and removed the belly chain before slipping beneath the scented bubbles.
Her phone rang. Because...of course it would. She sat up and peeked at the caller ID.
Cash.
She groaned as she slipped beneath the water again.
Some much-needed distance from her ex, who still didn’t seem to understand it was over, was the real reason she’d found Sophie Blackwood’s project so intriguing. Audra looked forward to immersing herself completely in the project without the possibility of running into her ex or seeing the local politician’s face splashed across television commercials and on the side of buses.
The chorus of the old George Strait song, “All My Ex’s Live in Texas,” a favorite of her grandfather’s, suddenly came to her and she couldn’t help laughing.
Cash was a good guy. She honestly felt badly about ignoring his call. But she simply didn’t have the energy to deal with another ex tonight.
Besides, how many more ways can I explain that it’s over?
Audra wouldn’t change her mind. She didn’t care that their mothers had been hoping for a match between them since she and Cash were teens, and their fathers had served together as senators.
Their relationship seemed picture-perfect from the outside—like the chocolate shell on the outside of a cherry cordial. But on the inside, there were no cherries and there was no cream filling. There was nothing at all beyond the surface, leaving her with a hollow, empty feeling.
She needed something more.
Something like what she and Darius had shared. But this time, with someone who wanted to be with her. Always.
The way she’d once felt about Darius.
Her phone signaled that she had a new voice mail and she sighed quietly. For the first time, she understood why Darius hadn’t returned her calls five years ago.
When it’s really over, what else is there to discuss?
The realization made her heart ache. No matter how much she tried to deny it, a part of her heart still harbored the small hope that she and Darius could one day get it right.
That was why she’d turned down his invitation to join him for coffee. She needed to protect the fragile part of her heart that held on to that hope.
She gave her phone the voice command to play the eighties and nineties soft rock music playlist that always relaxed her.
Steve Perry sang the opening lines of “Foolish Heart.”
It was just the reminder she needed.
You’re here for one reason and one reason only. Stay focused.
Anything else was a foolish distraction that would only lead to a broken heart.
She’d had enough of those to last a lifetime.
Five
It was his second day in Royal. Despite barely sleeping four hours last night, he’d risen early this morning to the sound of Audra diving into the pool. He’d gotten up, taken a quick shower, dressed, grabbed a cup of coffee and then watched her graceful movements as she finished her laps.
When she was done, she toweled off and made her way back to her yard without casting so much as a glance toward the house.
Not that he wanted or expected her to look for him. But he certainly hadn’t been able to take his eyes off of her.
The swimsuit she’d worn that morning was a one-piece, long-sleeve suit with a zipper down the front. Suitable for the chillier early-morning temperature. But he couldn’t help thinking of how amazing she’d looked in the two-piece she’d worn last night.
He was groggy and jetlagged. Restless, because it was still too early to call any of his team back home in LA. But watching Audra for the past two days had given him an idea. Swimwear for both men and women.
When he’d originally started the line five years ago, it had consisted of a handful of men’s sportswear pieces. Little by little, he’d expanded the collection. Two years ago, they’d tested their first women’s collection. It had been a resounding success. But neither line included swimwear.
It was risky to throw something else into the mix so close to their first LA Fashion Week runway show. But if they could pull it off, the swimwear pieces might even become the centerpiece of the show.
Darius pulled out his sketchpad and the wooden case that contained his watercolor pencils. He drafted a rough outline of a woman’s suit adorning the shapely curves that had inspired the idea. The same ones that haunted his sleep.
* * *
Audra couldn’t help smiling as she sat across the table from Sophie Blackwood and her fiancé, Nigel Townshend. They made a handsome couple.
Sophie had long, glossy auburn hair, warm brown eyes and killer curves, highlighted by the peplum blouse she wore coupled with a maxi skirt.
Nigel’s stunning, baby blue eyes practically danced as he watched Sophie. He sat with an arm wrapped around his fiancée’s waist. His mouth curved in a contented smile.
&nb
sp; The two of them were beyond adorable.
And as if the man wasn’t handsome enough with his good looks and his short, tousled brown hair, he spoke with a thick British accent. Audra could happily listen to Nigel Townshend recite the periodic table.
After lunch, they’d moved to a sun-filled room just off the patio. Where Sophie and Nigel shared their vision for their wedding rings and the custom jewelry pieces they wanted to give each member of their bridal party. Audra took notes and sketched in her notebook as the couple talked. She loved hearing the funny, sweet and moving stories about the friends and family they’d selected to stand beside them on their wedding day.
This was why she loved working with engaged couples. It reminded her true love really existed.
She’d thought she’d found the love of her life the night she met Darius. But she’d been wrong. Then she’d taken the expected path by getting into a relationship with Cash. But getting involved with her longtime family friend had been a mistake, too.
Working with couples like Sophie and Nigel revived her belief that, regardless of her failures and false starts, she’d eventually find the man she’d want to be with forever.
Someone who’d feel the same about her.
As they chatted, Audra made a few amendments to the three concepts she’d developed for Sophie’s and Nigel’s rings.
“Okay,” Audra said finally, her heart beating a mile a minute. “Here are a few options for your engagement and wedding rings. They’re just preliminary sketches that’ll give me a better sense of the right design for you.” She turned the sketchpad toward the couple and pushed it across the table tentatively. “What do you think? Am I on the right track?”
Audra was good at what she did, and she’d designed hundreds of pieces over the past five years. But it always made her incredibly nervous to show clients her first draft. This moment could make or break the rest of the design experience.
“Oh my God.” Sophie pressed a trembling hand to her lips. Her eyes filled with tears as she traced the sketch of the vintage-inspired, floral-themed engagement ring. “It’s stunning. I love it.” She gripped Nigel’s forearm and gazed up at him. “What do you think?”