by Marie Force
A car she didn’t recognize was parked in the driveway when she got home. Opening the garage door, she discovered Ryan’s car had not yet been returned and wondered if they would ever see it again. It was just like him to trust a man he barely knew with something as valuable as his car. She did have to admit, though, his instincts about people were rarely wrong. After all, he had never liked Henry, and in the end he’d been right about him.
She closed the garage door and went into the house through the kitchen, hoping to entice Ryan into joining her for a nap. “Ry?”
“In here,” he called from the den.
“Hey, baby, whose car...” The words died on her lips when she walked into the den to find her parents and sister waiting for her. “What are you guys doing here?”
“Hello, darling.” Her mother stood up to greet Susanna with a warm hug. Grace Freeman was an older version of Susannah, but her hair was short and looked, as it always did, as if she too had just stepped out of the salon.
“Mama,” Susannah stammered. “I’m so surprised to see you. Why didn’t you tell me you were coming?” She hugged her father. “Hi, Daddy.”
“You look beautiful, honey,” Dalton Freeman said. He was tall with white hair and bright blue eyes. “But you’ve had us mighty worried.”
“Worried?” Susannah asked, turning to her sister, who made no attempt to hide her dismay.
“Yes, Susannah.” Melissa hugged her sister. “Worried.”
“I take it you’ve been talking to Henry.”
Melissa glanced at Ryan. “Would you mind giving us a moment alone, Ryan?”
When he would’ve left the room, Susannah reached for his hand. “He stays. Anything you have to say to me, you can say in front of him.”
“This is personal, Susannah,” her mother said.
“He’s my husband. What’s personal to me is personal to him.”
Ryan squeezed her hand.
“We thought you two were divorcing,” Dalton said.
“We’re not,” Susannah said.
“What about Henry?” Missy cried. “How can you do this to him?”
“You know nothing about it, Missy! If you love Henry so much, why don’t you marry him?”
“There’s no need for that kind of nastiness,” Missy said. “You know full well I only want what’s best for you.”
“If that’s the case, then you’ll support my marriage to the man I love. And for once, you’ll butt out of my life and leave us alone.”
“Susannah!” Grace said.
“I’m sorry, Mama. I mean no disrespect, but I’m all done trying to justify my marriage to you. If you can’t treat my husband with the respect he deserves, then I’ve got nothing left to say to any of you.”
“Be careful, Susannah,” Missy warned. “Don’t say something you can’t take back.”
Despite her brave words, Susannah’s hands shook with nerves. “What I’m saying is something that should’ve been said years ago.”
Ryan put his arm around her. “Take it easy, baby.”
“What happened to your arm?” Grace asked.
Susannah suddenly wished she hadn’t taken off the brace. “I sprained my wrist.”
“How?” Dalton asked.
“Moving some furniture.”
Her mother reached for her hand. “Let me see.”
Susannah didn’t move fast enough.
Grace gasped. “Are those fingerprints?” She looked up at Ryan with eyes full of contempt.
“Oh, sure.” He shook his head with thinly veiled fury. “Naturally, I did it.”
“Are you saying you didn’t?” Dalton asked.
“That’s exactly what I’m saying.”
“He didn’t do it,” Susannah said.
“Well, then who did?” Melissa asked.
Susannah and Ryan exchanged glances.
“Henry did,” Susannah said.
Melissa snorted with disbelief. “Do you seriously expect us to believe that?”
“Funny you have no problem believing I’m capable of it,” Ryan said, swearing under his breath.
“Now, Ryan,” Dalton said. “No one is saying—”
“Sure you are. I know you think I’m nothing more than a dumb jock, Dalton, but I’m just smart enough to get when I’m being accused of something.”
Susannah looped her arm around Ryan’s waist. “Henry twisted my arm and sprained my wrist when I ended our engagement. That’s the truth whether you choose to believe it or not.” She paused, took a breath, and added, “I want you all to leave my home. Right now.”
“I don’t know what’s gotten into you, honey,” Dalton said. “But if he’s pressuring you—”
“Daddy! Will you listen to yourself? Ryan is my husband. He’s not pressuring me to do anything I don’t want to do. Either you accept that and him, or there’s nothing left for us to say to each other.”
“You don’t mean that, Susannah,” Grace said. “We surprised you by dropping in this way, and it’s obvious you’re not thinking clearly.”
“I meant it, Mama, and I am thinking clearly.” She stepped back so they could get by her. “Please go now.”
“We were hoping to take you to dinner tonight,” Dalton said with a smile that had Susannah wondering if he’d heard anything she had said. “You, too, Ryan, of course.”
“I’m sorry,” Susannah said. “We have plans tonight.”
“When we told Henry we were coming for the weekend, he got us tickets to the ball,” Missy said. “We’ll see you there.”
Susannah didn’t say another word as her mother and sister brushed by her on their way to the front door. Her chin quivered when her father stopped and placed a kiss on her forehead.
“I love you, honey.”
“Bye, Daddy,” she whispered.
Ryan closed the door behind them and returned to Susannah. He hugged her so fiercely he lifted her off her feet.
“Ryan! Your ribs! Put me down.”
“In a minute.” But one minute stretched into two and then a third. Finally, he eased her down. “I’m so sorry you had to go through that. I really am. But damn, baby, you let them have it.”
“Did I?” she asked with a shy smile.
“Oh, yeah. You were scary tough.”
She rested her hands on his chest. “I’m sorry you had to hear it. I was wishing I’d let you leave the room.”
“No, you were right. We have to present a united front.” He paused when his voice broke. “You showed me a lot in there just now, Susie.”
“Hopefully, you saw how much I love you and how much I want our marriage to work.”
“I saw all that and so much more.”
Susannah reached up to kiss him. When she finally released him, his fingers had tunneled into her hair.
“I messed up your pretty hair,” he said, dropping soft kisses along her jaw.
She tilted her head to give him better access. “I don’t care.”
“It smells so good. Mmmm. I love it.”
“How long were they here before I got home?”
“About twenty minutes.”
She winced. “Were they nice to you?”
“They were okay,” he said with a shrug. “They weren’t very happy to see me, though. I think they’d been hoping it wasn’t true.”
“Well, now they know it is.”
“They’re your family. You can’t just cut them off completely—”
With her fingers on his lips, she silenced him. “You’re my family. You and the baby.”
“I love you, Susie. I’ve always loved you, but what you did just now, sticking up for me like that...I love you more than ever. I don’t know what I would’ve done if you hadn’t given me another chance.”
She took his hand and headed for the stairs. “I’m so glad you blackmailed me into it.”
“Blackmail is such an ugly word.”
She laughed.
“Where’re we going?” he asked.
“I’d h
oped to cajole you into taking a nap with me when I got home.”
“What about those plans you told them we had tonight?”
“That was it.”
He howled with laughter. “I love it!”
“I had a feeling you would. By the way, no sign of your car yet, huh?”
“He’ll be here.”
She sat down on the bed. “He’s halfway to Vegas by now.”
“So little faith.” He clucked with disapproval as he knelt down in front of her and removed her shoes. “How’s the bambino doing?”
“She’s getting hungry.”
He raised an eyebrow. “She? Is that a hunch or do you know something I don’t?”
“No hunches. Just making sure you’re aware of the possibility that it might be a she.”
“Can you imagine me with a little girl?” he asked as he massaged her feet.
“God help her and any man who ever wants to date her.”
The thought made him shudder. “God help me. If she’s anything like her mother, she’ll have me wrapped around her finger in no time flat.”
Susannah’s stomach growled, which made them laugh.
“All right, I hear you,” Ryan said to her belly. “Do you want to go out?”
She shook her head. “Let’s order in.”
“Sounds good to me.”
“Ry?”
“Hmm?”
“It’s going to stay like this, right?”
“What is?”
“I just want to pinch myself because I’ve never been so happy. Even before, when it was really good between us, it wasn’t like this. I’m so afraid it won’t last.”
“Susannah,” he sighed. “It’s going to last forever.”
“Promise?”
He kissed one of her hands and then the other. “I promise.”
Chapter 25
Susannah took one last look in the full-length mirror. Her simple black silk gown left one shoulder and most of her back bare, which ruled out a bra. As she moved this way and that to make sure nothing would fall out of the dress, her stomach knotted with tension. Henry would be there tonight, most likely with his parents, her parents, her sister...
She wished she could skip the whole thing and spend another quiet night at home with Ryan. If she hadn’t been the chairperson of the event, she would’ve invented a stomach bug to get out of it. After this, she and Ryan were getting off the social merry-go-round for a while. They needed to spend some time together that didn’t include regularly running into Henry.
“I just hope he doesn’t make a scene tonight,” she whispered to her reflection. The charms on her bracelet jingled as she smoothed a hand over the French knot in her hair. “Please let them all just leave us alone.”
With one last deep breath for courage, she picked up her faux fur wrap and clutch purse and headed for the stairs.
Ryan waited for her in the foyer. “Wow,” he sighed. “Look at you.”
“No, look at you,” she said, straightening his bow tie. He had gotten a haircut earlier in the day and was even more handsome than usual, especially since the bruises on his face were all but gone. “I love your hair short like that.”
He studied her from head to toe. “I’ll have to get it cut more often then.”
“Is the dress okay?”
“Way, way better than okay.”
“What?” She squirmed under the heat of his gaze. “You don’t like the front, right? Too much showing?”
“I love the front, but it needs this,” he said, bringing a jeweler’s box from behind his back.
“What is it?”
“Open it and find out.”
Her heart beat fast with excitement as she nibbled on a polished thumbnail. “You open it.”
When he flipped open the box to reveal a huge teardrop diamond pendant, she gasped.
“Oh my God!” she sputtered. “When did you, why did you, I mean...” Her eyes filled with tears. “It’s beautiful.”
He turned her around and fastened the necklace, kissing the back of her neck when he was done. “To answer your questions, I got it today when I went into the city to get my tux at the apartment. As for why,” he said, moving around so he was in front of her, “I should hope that’d be obvious.” He kissed her lightly. “You’re absolutely gorgeous, and the thought of having to share you with the world tonight makes me nuts.”
Fingering the pendant, she said, “I wish we didn’t have to go.”
“We don’t have to do anything.”
“Don’t tempt me. We do have to go.”
He wrapped her shoulders in faux fur. “All right, then. After you, my lady.”
When Ryan and Susannah arrived at the Seawall Grand Ballroom at the Denver Center for the Performing Arts, most of the expected five hundred people were already inside the room. At a thousand dollars a plate, the Black & White attracted the cream of Denver society and was among the year’s most anticipated events.
Before they walked into the room, Susannah stopped him.
“What’s wrong, baby?”
“I need a minute.”
He put his hands on her shoulders. “Deep breaths.”
“This is our grand debut,” she said, looking up at him with a small smile.
“Re-debut.”
“Stay close, okay?”
“I’ll be like glue.”
She reached for his hand. “Why does it feel like we’re swimming into a shark tank?”
“Because we are.”
“Hey, you guys,” Bernie said from behind Ryan.
Ryan kissed Susannah’s cheek and turned to greet their friends.
“I saw that you called yesterday,” Bernie said to Ryan. “We were at Hayden’s soccer game.”
Susannah heard them talking but had no idea what they were saying. With a critical eye, she checked the yellow and purple sheers suspended from the ceiling over tables covered with the Mavericks colors. Decorative lighting cast a warm glow and managed to make the huge room seem almost intimate. There were a wide variety of black and white gowns and an even wider variety of gems. Susannah reached up to touch her new pendant and was relieved to find it right where it belonged.
Unfortunately, her colleagues on the committee reported things were progressing perfectly, and nothing needed her immediate attention. She had no choice but to withstand the inquisitive looks and downright stares directed at her and Ryan. The back of her neck tingled, which was the only warning she got that Henry was nearby.
Out of the corner of her eye, she saw him introduce his parents to some people just inside the door. He wore the big grin of a man who hadn’t a care in the world, but when one of the women he was talking to leaned in to whisper something in his ear, Henry sobered and nodded. It didn’t take much to deduce that she had expressed her sympathies about Henry’s broken engagement.
Susannah tuned back into the conversation Ryan was having with the evening’s master of ceremonies, Mavericks Coach Duke Simmons, and his wife Abigail.
“Are you ready, sweetheart?” Duke asked Susannah.
“As ready as I ever am.”
Duke offered his arm.
“I’ll see you in a few,” Susannah said to Ryan.
He leaned down to kiss her. “Knock ’em dead, baby.”
“Don’t get lost,” she said over her shoulder as Duke led her to the stage.
“I’ll be right here.”
At the front of the room, Duke left Susannah by the stairs to the stage when he went up to the dais.
“Good evening, ladies and gentlemen,” Duke said, silencing the crowd. “On behalf of the Denver Mavericks, it’s my great honor to welcome you to the Sixteenth Annual Black & White Ball. I can’t tell you how much we appreciate you braving the cold tonight to support our favorite cause, Children’s Hospital. This has been an extraordinary year for the Mavericks.” He was interrupted by thunderous applause. “And most of my team is here tonight,” he said, gesturing to a group of tables in the front of the r
oom.
Susannah chuckled as the guys, wearing a wide variety of tuxedo concoctions, hammed it up to the enthusiastic applause.
“I know I speak for everyone in the Mavericks organization,” Duke continued, “when I thank you for your support during the season and throughout the year at events such as this where we try to give something back to the best city in America.” He paused for another round of applause. “Now, I’m just here to keep things moving. The real star of the evening, as you well know, is a member of the Mavericks family who needs no introduction in this town. It gives me great pleasure to welcome my dear friend and the chairperson of the Black & White Ball for the last seven years, Susannah Sanderson.”
As she climbed the stairs to the stage, the resounding applause embarrassed her, but the hooting and hollering from the players was amusing.
Duke kissed her cheek and left the stage.
While she waited for the players to settle down, she scanned the room. She found Henry watching her with an intense expression on his face, and she quickly moved on. Next to him, his parents were doing their best not to look at her. Susannah’s parents and sister were sitting at Henry’s table as was Betsy James, who met Susannah’s gaze with a satisfied smirk. What the hell is she doing there? He knows how much I despise that woman. Why would he let her sit at his table? Maybe it’s because he knows I despise her, and he’s trying to rattle me. Well, it’s working.
Tearing her eyes off Betsy James, Susannah stepped to the microphone. “Thank you, Duke, and thank you all for that warm welcome.” The players whistled and hooted some more. They laughed when she said, “Easy, boys.” Among other friends, Susannah was comforted to see her divorce attorney at one of the front tables, as well as her caterer friend Carol, who had apparently turned over the event to her staff since she was dressed in formal attire. The one person Susannah couldn’t locate was Ryan. Where did he go?
“If you all could take your seats, I have just a few things to mention before dinner is served.” She gave a boilerplate welcome on behalf of her committee, the hospital, and the team. Gesturing to the back of the room, she talked about the silent auction and urged attendees to be as generous as possible.