“I just wanted to make sure you weren’t dreaming, that you really were hanging out with someone as awesome as you.”
Feeling vulnerable, I stood up and pulled on my jeans. “Now I owe you one.” Grabbing my tee shirt from the floor, I tugged it on. “Are you hungry?”
“Yeah.”
“I’ll go get us something. Want anything in particular?”
She shook her head. “Surprise me.”
I picked up her car keys. “I’ll be back in a minute.”
I called in a to-go order from Awesome Sauce, and on my way back from picking it up, I stopped at Mr. Milton’s grocery store and picked up a dozen red roses arranged in a glass vase and accented with baby’s breath.
Carrying the food in first, I left it on the table, and Dara unpacked it. I ran back out to the car and grabbed the roses. When I entered the kitchen, I held the vase out to her. “Happy anniversary.”
She looked up at me, her vibrant green eyes widening as she smiled. “They’re so pretty.” Taking the vase from me, she immediately lowered her nose to the nearest flower. “They smell good, too.” She set the vase in the center of the table, and her fingertips caressed the silky rose petals.
“You’re so thoughtful,” she said softly as she pressed a kiss to my lips. “I got you something, too.” She walked over to the counter and picked up a small box that was neatly wrapped with a tiny blue bow.
I opened it. “A gremlin bell.” It was the first gremlin bell I’d ever received. Legend had it that evil spirits or gremlins would hitch rides on motorcycles, just waiting to create havoc. A gremlin bell could be hung on a motorcycle close to the ground to catch the evil spirits before they caused harm. The bell would ring so loudly that it would make the gremlins go insane, and they would fall down on the road, creating a pothole. The legend also claimed that if someone bought the bell himself, he would only get a fraction of the benefit that he would get if it was gifted to him.
The pewter bell depicted a guardian angel followed by a motorcyclist and the words “Never fly faster than your angel can fly.”
“You like it?” she asked, watching my face for approval.
“I do.”
“Sometimes I worry about you on your motorcycle,” she said softly. “If anything happened to you….”
“Nothing’s gonna happen.” I held up the bell. “I’ll put it on before I go home.” I shot her a grin. “And I’ll try not to outrun my guardian angel; although, I do hope she’s fast.”
And maybe while my guardian angel was at it, she’d help me get out of my current predicament without anyone getting hurt. Who was I kidding? That would require more than a little help. That would require granting a miracle.
***
Dara
Monday morning came early, and I waved to Courtney, the receptionist, as I walked down the hall to my office. When Mr. Hamilton had contracted to have the headquarters built, he’d ensured that the offices were well-appointed without being too extravagant. The fashionable lobby boasted modern, comfortable furniture in neutral shades. The offices had large windows, plush chairs, and mahogany desks, and a low-pile, commercial-grade, taupe carpet quieted my footfalls.
I pulled up the graphic design that I’d been working on for the grand opening of the Cruze Salon in Atlanta. After I put the finishing touches on it, I sent it to various, regional magazines for our grand opening ads, and I emailed it to a local printer for flyers.
Finalizing the proofs of our radio and television ads, I emailed my approval to all of the appropriate agents.
Realizing it was mid-morning and I hadn’t seen Stone yet, I checked to see if he was in his office, which was located next to mine. I was surprised to find that his light hadn’t been turned on, which could only mean that he hadn’t come to the office yet.
I tried to call him from my cell phone, but it went straight to voice mail. While it was highly unusual for him not to notify me if he had an appointment, I thought perhaps it had slipped his mind with all that we had going on lately.
Returning to my office, I began working on an ad campaign for the name change of the bookstore. We’d already expanded Quail Mountain Books to include three stores around the Quail Mountain area, but with plans of expansion to other areas, we’d decided to change the name to one that didn’t specify a region and to one that didn’t specify just books. Quail Mountain Books would soon be changed to Luke’s Place.
I began working on a logo, and once I’d immersed myself in the work, the morning passed quickly. I didn’t realize it was lunchtime until Stone came into my office.
“Hey, sexy. Wanna grab some lunch?”
“Stone! Where’ve you been?”
“I had some business to take care of this morning.”
“For the company?”
He hesitated. “Um, yeah, it was some business my dad needed me to attend in his absence.”
“Oh.” His answer surprised me since it was usually Dylan who stepped in when his father was out of town.
“Is everything on track for the opening of the Atlanta salon?” he asked.
“Yeah, I finalized everything this morning. I need to check in with Crimson and make sure she’s got everything under control at the store.”
“Dylan said he wasn’t going to make it to the ribbon cutting next week, and Dad’s still out of town. Looks like it’s gonna be the two of us and Crimson unless Scarlet wants to go.”
“Don’t count on Scarlet. She’s pretty adamant about not working until Isabella hits the six-month mark.”
“Then it’ll just be the three of us. How’s the logo coming along for the bookstore?”
“I’ve started on it, but I’m not finished yet.”
Stone’s phone rang. He looked at it, silenced it, and ignored it.
“You’re not gonna answer that?”
“Not somebody I want to talk to right now. I’ve got to take my girl to lunch. You ready?”
“Yeah.” I picked up my purse and met him at the door.
Stone’s phone rang again, and he looked at it. “Dammit,” he muttered.
“You sure you don’t need to take it?”
“I’m positive.” He grabbed my hand, threading my fingers with his.
We walked to a little café about a block away and ordered sandwiches.
“Is Tom in the office today?” Stone asked.
“No. He’s at that corporate tax conference in Nashville.”
“Shit. I forgot about that. When’s he supposed to be back?”
“The conference is over on Thursday, so he won’t be back in the office until Friday.”
“Dammit.” Stone clenched his jaw, a look of anger crossing his face. Then, he masked it and took a bite of his sandwich.
I took a sip of my tea, watching his body language. “Is everything all right?”
Stone’s icy blue eyes focused on my face. “Why wouldn’t it be?” he asked, holding his sandwich close to his mouth.
Wiping my hands with a napkin, I studied him. “I don’t know. You’ve just been acting a little strange the last few days.”
“How have I been acting strange?” He set his sandwich down, his full attention directed at me.
“I don’t know. You’ve been disappearing and getting strange phone calls.”
“Disappearing? I’ve had meetings, Dara. You know how my father is about business. You do whatever it takes to take care of business.”
“I know, but….”
“But what?” He glared at me, his eyes pinning me to my chair.
“Something feels different.”
Stone took a deep breath and exhaled.
“Have you been talking to Tiffany?”
“Seriously, Dara?” His hand slapped against the table for emphasis.
I shrugged. “I don’t know, Stone. Something’s going on.”
“I don’t need this shit right now,” he spat out caustically in a low, dangerous voice. He pinched the bridge of his nose. “I’m sorry. I’m just u
nder a lot of stress right now, and I thought that was behind us.”
“Are you having second thoughts about the wedding?”
“Why would I be having second thoughts? I’ve been ready to marry you for four years.” He held up the fingers of one hand. “Four years, Dara.” He reached across the table and laid his hand on top of mine, his warmth seeping into my skin. “I love you. I want you to be my wife. We can leave right now and find someone who’ll marry us if that’s what you want.”
I instantly regretted ever bringing it up. I had promised myself long ago that I wouldn’t be one of those insanely jealous girlfriends, that I wouldn’t be someone who constantly slung accusations without any basis. Maybe it wasn’t Stone who was stressing. Maybe it was me.
“We can’t do that. We’ve invited three hundred guests to our ceremony. Not to mention that your mother would be devastated.”
“My mother would be fine.”
“I’m not gonna start our marriage by having your parents hate me.”
“My parents would never hate you. In fact, I think they like you more than they like me.”
“Then let’s keep it that way,” I said, smiling. “No need to run off and elope.”
After lunch, I continued work on the logo for Luke’s Place. This was an important project for me. Even though I’d never met Luke, Stone’s deceased twin, I felt like I knew him, and I wanted the logo to be perfect.
When the day was nearly over, I thought I’d come up with a pretty good option. I walked over to Stone’s office, but when I neared his open doorway, I heard him talking on the phone.
“What the hell do you want me to do?” he asked, his voice low and deadly serious. “I told you I’m working on it.”
Ten different scenarios ran through my mind, and I admonished myself for letting my imagination run away with me. I didn’t know what he was dealing with, but he had assured me at lunch that our wedding was a go.
Feeling devious for eavesdropping, I turned to go back to my office. Maybe he was talking to his father. They’d been known to get in heated conversations on occasion.
When I left work, I stopped by Stone’s office, but he was on the phone. He was speaking in his pleasant, business voice, and I assumed that, for now at least, things were back to normal.
I waved to him, but he motioned for me to come to him.
He stood as I crossed the room and straightened his blue, silky tie while he continued his phone conversation. I watched him a moment, thinking how the blue tie really made the color of his eyes pop. Stone had the most beautiful eyes I’d ever seen, and when he focused them on me and smiled, heat welled in my chest, the kind of heat that warms a girl’s heart and makes her feel lucky that a guy has chosen her above all the other women in the world. He lowered the phone from his ear, pressing it against his abdomen, and kissed me on the cheek. “I’ll call you later, babe,” he whispered. “I’ll probably be here another hour or so. Dylan’s got some numbers he wants to discuss.”
I nodded. “Bye,” I whispered.
He put the phone back to his ear. “Yes, I agree. The market might be a little saturated, but we could start with something smaller. Maybe a store that’s inside of a mall. Of course if we add a few stores during the next few months, we’ll need an increase in our credit line.”
It sounded like he was talking to one of our suppliers, and I was confident that whatever Stone was trying to accomplish, he’d be successful.
On the way home, I called Crimson in Atlanta. She assured me that everything on her end was on target for the ribbon-cutting ceremony the following week.
As I hung up the phone, I was truly in awe at how wonderful things were finally going for me. Even though Stone’s tumultuous mood swings had me worried when we’d first started dating, I’d seen less and less of that as he’d learned to let go of some of his guilt stemming from Luke’s death. On occasion, when his insecurities surfaced, he would lash out in anger and frustration, but for the most part, Stone was the ideal fiancé. As our relationship had stabilized, he’d grown more focused. Stone had done well in college, much to his parents’ delight. With his demons at bay, he’d become more like Dylan.
With Stone and his brother taking care of the everyday operations at Hamilton Enterprises, business was thriving, and the fact that I got to work with people whom I cared deeply about made my job more satisfying than I could have ever hoped for.
I still missed Granny. I think I missed her most when I rocked on the front porch, but that was also when I felt closest to her. I missed her laugh. I missed the way her eyes used to crinkle at the corners when she smiled at me. I missed her cathead biscuits, something that I had never mastered. I missed the security that she’d given me, the knowledge that I would never be alone because there was one person who would fight for me until the end. And she had.
Luckily, my mother and Emma helped fill the gaping void that I felt at her loss, but mostly Stone had become my rock.
When I thought about him and everything that we meant to each other, my heart swelled until it threatened to burst. Every time I thought it wasn’t possible for me to love him any more, I realized that I did. It seemed that every smile, every kiss, every touch accumulated until I’d gathered enough heartfelt moments to catapult me into a whole new level of love, and then, it would start again.
Life would never be perfect, but I wanted to relish this moment, the myriad of feelings that swirled in my chest and made me realize that I was happy, truly happy. Stone Hamilton loved me, and life was good.
Chapter 4
Stone
Uneasiness crowded into my chest and squeezed my lungs, making it difficult to breathe all week. I had attempted to keep my agitation from Dara, but since I could feel the edginess to my demeanor, I was unsure of whether I’d been successful. Luckily, our wedding plans had kept her busy, and I hoped like hell that she was oblivious to my volatile emotions, which were swinging like a heavy ass pendulum. Some moments, I was damn thrilled that I could count the days until Dara and I would be married. It’d been a long time coming, and I envisioned making love to her a hundred different ways during our honeymoon. Other moments, I was so freaking angry that we were finally happy and life threatened to suck it all away and leave us with nothing but devastation and heartache. I knew Dara was a strong woman, but even the strongest people can only take so much before their momentum is stolen from them and they’re knocked to the ground, hoping that there’s enough strength left to pick themselves up and charge head first into life once again.
Maybe what scared me the most was…me. I wanted to protect the life that I’d built with Dara, and I was staring down the barrel of the very gun that could blow it to smithereens. It was very difficult to control my emotions, to ensure that I wouldn’t cause further damage to our relationship. Because when it came right down to it, I would do whatever necessary to make sure no one robbed her of her happiness—not even me. Maybe that’s what scared me. I wasn’t sure if I had any boundaries when it came to protecting her. I would lie. I would steal. Who knew what else? And I had the sinking feeling that I was going to find out.
When Friday finally arrived, I felt a modicum of relief. Tom, who was the chief financial officer of Hamilton Enterprises, was back in town, and he and I were going to have a little chat.
Dara
“Long time, no see.”
A grin shot across my face as I looked up from my computer to see Crimson, Scarlet’s twin sister, entering my office, her vivid, red lipstick giving her a polished look like a magnificent fashion model. She wore a black, pencil skirt with a cream top and black pumps, their heels high enough to make most women teeter. Her dark chestnut hair was pulled back into a sleek ponytail, which seemed to draw attention to her high cheekbones and wide, chocolate eyes.
I met her on the opposite side of my desk and hugged her. “It’s so good to see you. It’s been much too long since you’ve been back to Quail Mountain.”
“I know,” she agreed. “I ha
ven’t seen Isabella since she was born. This new salon is making me a very bad aunt.”
“Have you seen her since you got to town? She’s so beautiful.”
“Scarlet’s meeting me for lunch at the little café near here. You want to come with me?”
“Yes, I do. Stone went to lunch with Tom, and I’m ready for a break.” I backtracked to my desk and grabbed my purse.
As we walked down the hall to the exit, Crimson continued talking, “Three more weeks until you tie the knot. Are you nervous?”
“Oh, you have no idea. I’m not nervous about marrying Stone, but the thought of standing in front of all those people nearly paralyzes me with fear.”
“You know what they say. Pretend like everyone’s naked. That should take the edge off.”
“Crimson! I can’t stand in front of a preacher and pretend…oh, never mind. Let’s change the subject.”
Crimson’s laughter echoed in the hallway as we opened the glass door that led out onto the main street.
Shielding our eyes from the brilliant sunlight, we checked for traffic and crossed the decorative brick walkway as we made our way toward the end of the block, our heels clicking with each step.
“I have everything ready for the ribbon-cutting ceremony on Tuesday,” Crimson said, obediently talking about something other than unclothed guests at my wedding. “Most of the stylists have already filled their appointments for the first week, so I expect us to have a strong start.”
I squeezed her arm. “It’s so exciting, isn’t it? I mean it doesn’t seem like it was that long ago that we were all sitting at Awesome Sauce discussing the first salon.”
“Yeah, well, it didn’t hurt that Scarlet married into the family of a business tycoon.”
“I know that’s made it easier for y’all to expand early on, but I know that y’all would be doing well even if she hadn’t.”
“Maybe so. Scarlet’s pretty savvy.”
Delirious Page 3