Forbidden Promises

by Synithia Williams

  “I didn’t think he’d take things out on you two.” Honestly, she hadn’t thought about how her leaving would affect Elaina and Byron. She’d only known she couldn’t stay and pretend as if her heart wasn’t breaking every time she saw Elaina and Travis together.

  Elaina poured another glass of wine. “You should have known Daddy wouldn’t be easy to deal with after his favorite daughter defied him.”

  India rolled her eyes and fell back onto the chair. “Don’t be dramatic. I didn’t defy him. Daddy knew about the offer to play with the Transatlantic Orchestra. I told him I wanted to go.”

  Elaina strolled back to the couch. “Yes, and he said you couldn’t go, remember? That meant the case was closed. Even I thought you were staying. You never went against what Daddy wanted. What happened?”

  The need to go against her dad’s wishes had never been a problem before, because until then their dad hadn’t denied her anything she’d wanted. He’d disciplined her when she’d messed up and pushed her to be not just good but great in everything she did. She hadn’t fought him on things the way Elaina used to, so he never had a reason to say no to India’s requests.

  The urge to tell the truth about why she left was on the tip of her tongue. To shed light on things in the open and unravel why events had played out the way they had. India sat forward and swirled the contents of her glass instead. Confessing her sins and fighting with Elaina would make a difficult homecoming worse.

  “I wanted to go, that’s what happened. I was tired of being Daddy’s baby girl. It was time to live my life.” That part was true, as well. She’d had no identity before leaving. The youngest Robidoux. The sweet baby sister. Leaving her family behind had allowed her to grow and depend on herself. For that, she’d never regret her decision.

  Elaina scoffed and sipped her wine. “You’re Grant Robidoux’s daughter. You don’t get to live the life you want.”

  India swore there was bitterness in Elaina’s voice, but her face held no sarcastic or angry smirk. Instead she stared off into space. Grant Robidoux making demands of his family was no secret. Everyone was expected to do their part to uphold the traditions their paternal grandparents started when they opened Robidoux Tobacco. Their mother had helped market the company before she’d passed away nearly ten years ago when India was twenty. Elaina worked at the company and oversaw some of their other holdings and was primed to take over the helm. Byron had been one of the many legal counsels for them before opening a law firm with Travis. Not to mention all of their aunts, uncles and cousins who also worked somewhere in the company.

  India was the only one who hadn’t wanted to grow the empire. As his baby girl, her dad had let her indulge in her “little violin hobby” until she got serious about making music her career. He couldn’t accept that what he considered a hobby was a passion for her.

  “Where is Daddy anyway?” Except for the noise of preparations downstairs, the house was quiet.

  Elaina smiled widely. The expression was so unlike Elaina that chills of foreboding skittered down India’s spine. “He’s off with his new project. You’re going to love this.” The glee in her voice only increased India’s unease.

  “Forget the dramatics and let me know where he’s gone.” Her words were confident, but her stomach quivered.

  “He’s off with Russell Gilchrist. The newest young executive at Robidoux Tobacco. Marketing division. Daddy’s bringing in all this new blood to revitalize the brand. Russell’s one of them.”

  “Okay, so why are you smiling like Cruella de Vil?”

  “Because, I heard Daddy say he can’t wait for Russell to meet his baby girl.”

  India started shaking her head before Elaina finished talking. “Don’t tell me he’s playing matchmaker and he doesn’t even know I’m home.”

  “Daddy’s always planning for the future. Apparently since I can’t make babies, and Byron won’t get married and make any, he needs you to carry on the family line.”

  India cringed. During her first Skype calls with her dad a few months after she’d left with the Transatlantic Orchestra, he’d told her about Elaina’s miscarriage. India hadn’t even known her sister was pregnant. When she’d tried to call Elaina afterward, her sister discussed the medical details as if she were going over a business proposal before rushing her off the phone. “Don’t talk like that.”

  Elaina’s lips tightened. “Don’t patronize me. Look, forget my broken womb and prepare for yours to be claimed faster than the last yeast roll at Sunday dinner. Daddy’s ready for you to get married and make little Robidoux children. Our cousins are being fruitful and multiplying. If we don’t catch up, the company will end up completely in their hands. So, beware of Russell.”

  India shook her head. “No, no, no. I’m not going to let him coerce me into anything. I’m only here for a few days.”

  Elaina sipped from her glass and raised one slim shoulder. “I wouldn’t complain. Russell isn’t bad. He’s young, smart, good-looking. I don’t think you’d find it hard to cozy up to him.”

  India scowled. “Then you cozy up to him.”

  “I’m not the cozying type.” Elaina waved a hand. “Enough about that. I’ll wait and see who wins that battle after we get through the party tonight.”

  “Where’s Byron? If this party is for him, I’d expect him to be here.”

  “As if the favored son would dare take the time to plan his own party,” Elaina said without any animosity. Byron had always been spoiled and doted on by their father and late mother. Even India, his baby sister.

  “He’s off with Travis. They’ll be in later,” Elaina said.

  India’s stomach twisted as if she’d had six glasses of wine instead of half of one. “Will Travis be at the party?” she managed to ask in a steady voice.

  “Of course, he will. He and Byron are joined at the hip.” There was one emotion Elaina wasn’t afraid to show and that was irritation, something which was thick in her voice as discussed her ex-husband and brother.

  After what happened between her and Travis, every time India saw him with Elaina it felt like jagged claws sinking into her chest. The pain had dulled somewhat over the years, but Travis had never belonged to her. Elaina had been married to him. They’d shared so much. India could only imagine how hard it must be for Elaina to see him so often. “That doesn’t bother you?”

  Elaina ran a finger over the rim of her wineglass. “Travis and I don’t love each other. He worked for the company and is my darling brother’s best friend.” The words sounded like a carefully crafted public relations statement.

  “That doesn’t answer the question.”

  Elaina pointedly looked India in the eye. Her push-me-on-this-and-I’ll-eviscerate-you feelings were very clear in her direct gaze. “No. It doesn’t bother me,” she said carefully. “I don’t love Travis and shouldn’t have married him. Our divorce was the best thing that could have happened to either of us.” She capped off the very mature-sounding words with a serene smile.

  The words were little comfort to India. She was happy her sister wasn’t heartbroken, but had they really not loved each other? She’d consoled her own bruised feelings and reasoned that Travis had married Elaina because in the end he realized he had loved her. That maybe he’d felt guilty after what happened the night of India’s birthday and had tried to make things right. For Elaina to say they never loved each other made the bitter disappointment she’d felt back then come back even more.

  That doesn’t mean he would have married you. It doesn’t mean anything would have been different. She’d been too young, too idealistic and too romantic back then. Maybe the truth was Travis had just been looking for a Robidoux sister to marry so he could further his own goals. Just because he kissed her once on the edge of the tobacco field, whispered words that she’d longed to hear, didn’t mean a thing.

  She managed a small smile. “I’m glad
you two are still friends.”

  Elaina’s shoulders relaxed along with the tightness around her smile. She clearly had not wanted to continue to explore any of her feelings for Travis. “I’d thought Daddy lost his mind, plucking him from that trailer park and training him up, but he’s proved himself to be loyal. That’s all the family needs.”

  India opened her mouth to ask what Elaina needed, but footsteps sounded in the hall right before a man walked into the room. India’s breath rushed from her lungs.

  Time had only enhanced his good looks. Dark brown skin smoother than the finest mahogany. Midnight-black bedroom eyes that used to pierce through her shyness to the bold girl she’d tried to hide from her daddy. He had a swimmer’s body. Tall, sleek, well-defined. He wore a maroon polo shirt and dark brown slacks that complemented his dark skin. His full lips were parted in a big smile. He hadn’t noticed them, as he looked back and smiled at her brother behind him. Yet flashes went through her mind of his lips brushing her neck and his eyes staring at her beneath lowered lashes in the moonlight.

  Byron saw them and his grin brightened the room. “India. You’re home.”

  Travis swung around. His dark gaze collided with hers.

  “India?” His deep voice washed over her. She’d forgotten the sound of her name on his lips: low, smooth, intoxicating. As if he savored the syllables as they rolled off his tongue.

  Her stomach tightened and she chugged the remaining wine in her glass. Heat prickled across her skin like a thousand needles. She should have gone to LA. She should have realized running from a problem didn’t make the problem go away. Her brain screamed run and her feet twitched with the urgency to obey as the one answer she’d come home to find out robbed her of the ability speak. She was still in love with her sister’s husband.

  CHAPTER TWO

  TRAVIS MET INDIA’S wide amber-colored eyes and grinned. He knew he’d missed her, but hadn’t realized how much until just now. He expected her to smile back. Jump up and greet him and Byron with the enthusiasm years away from home deserved, but she didn’t do any of those things. If anything she looked like she wanted to be anywhere but in that room after taking the glass of wine in her hand and completely draining the contents.

  Byron rushed past Travis to his sister. “When did you get home?”

  India blinked several times before her face brightened and she smiled. She held open her arms and hugged Byron. “A few minutes ago.”

  Byron picked her up and spun her around. India squealed with delight. Travis brushed off the odd feeling she wasn’t happy to see him. Of course, she’d be more excited to see Byron. Not just because he was her brother. Byron was the kind of guy people always cheered for when he entered a room—“Hey, Byron’s here!” His best friend was likeable in that way. Good looks, money and confidence didn’t hurt either.

  Travis strolled over to the siblings. “Welcome home, India.”

  Her eyes darted to him before her chin jerked up and down in brief acknowledgment. She focused on Byron again and grinned. “Senate? You’re really running for Senate?”

  Okay, he hadn’t imagined it. She was giving him the cold shoulder. Why? India was a few years younger than him, but next to Byron, he considered her the Robidoux sibling he was closest with. That was the case even before he’d married and divorced Elaina. She was the baby girl of the family, and Mr. Robidoux loved to spoil her and treat her like a precious jewel. Travis was the one who’d seen past the darling daughter act she put on to the impulsive personality she hid. Maybe it was their affinity for the arts. He used to paint; she played the violin. They’d gotten each other.

  There was that one night where things had almost gotten out of hand between them, but that was years ago. Surely she wasn’t embarrassed about that?

  He glanced at Elaina. Her eyes were on him. Cool and calculating as ever. Even after five years of marriage, he still couldn’t figure her out. In-depth conversations had never been their thing. She preferred to keep her thoughts and feelings to herself, but her expressions sometimes revealed her emotions. Mainly when she was angry or irritated. Right now she looked at him as if he were an irritation. He nodded in her direction. She turned away and nursed a glass of wine.

  He looked from Elaina to India. Had Elaina said something to make India so standoffish toward him?

  “I’ve conquered the State House. Now it’s time for me to conquer Washington,” Byron was saying to India. “Do some things that will really help the people in our area. How long will you be here? I could really use your help on the campaign.”

  India’s eyes widened and she placed a hand on her chest. “Me? How can I possibly help?”

  “We need the entire family here to show everyone I’m a family man.”

  “You are a family man,” India said. “You’d do anything for any one of us.”

  “I know that, you know that, Travis knows that,” Byron said, pointing back at Travis. “But because I don’t have a wife and kids to parade in every commercial I put out, the voters don’t know that. I need my family to help me build the case. At least until I pick someone worth marrying.”

  Elaina sniffed disdainfully. “You’ve got to stop sleeping with every woman who flirts with you to find someone worth marrying, Byron.”

  Byron’s shoulders straightened. He tugged on the front of his pink-and-blue-striped button-down shirt. “I don’t sleep with all of them. Just a quarter.” He grinned and winked.

  India slapped Byron’s shoulder. “Stop it. You’re too old to be trolling the streets.”

  “I don’t troll. The women come to me.” He looked at Travis. “Don’t they?”

  Travis shrugged and raised a hand. “You’re not pulling me into your fight with your sisters. Though I can attest to at least three different women calling your phone while we were out today.”

  Elaina grunted. “Thank you for proving my point.”

  India shook her head. “How on earth are you going to be a senator?”

  Byron placed an arm around India’s shoulders. “By putting my two beautiful sisters on camera telling everyone about what a loving and supportive brother I’ve always been.”

  “He’s gonna need you two on camera a lot,” Travis teased. Byron was a loving and supportive brother. One of the few people Travis knew who really believed in truth, justice, the American way and all that we are the world stuff. If he hadn’t been raised by a smartly calculating family, Byron might have been beaten up by the injustices of the world. Instead, he used his privileges to try to make things better.

  Travis grinned at India again so she could pick up where he left off. Whenever he teased Byron, she usually joined in. Instead, she glanced away quickly. What was going on with her?

  “You know we’ll talk about all this later,” India said. “I’ve got to get my bags out of the car and apparently prepare for a party. Is Daddy with you?”

  Byron shook his head. “He went down to the offices this morning. Said he’ll be back in time for the party. You know he’s going to be happy as hell to see you.”

  India’s full lips lifted in a sweet smile. “I can’t wait to see him, too.” She hugged Byron again. “It’s good to be home. Even if you’re fighting an uphill battle to the Senate.”

  “Not quite uphill,” Travis said. “The primaries aren’t that far, and he’s already considered a favorite.”

  She didn’t even glance his way. “Good. I’ll come home and vote for you.”

  “Are you serious? You have to stay for the entire race.” Byron’s handsome face was covered in a wounded look.

  India shook her head. “Don’t even try that with me. It doesn’t work anymore.” She kissed his cheek. “I’m going to get my bags, and I’ll talk about your race later.”

  She headed toward the door. Travis followed. “I’ll help out.”

  Her steps faltered. If he hadn’t been paying attent
ion, he wouldn’t have noticed. She finally met his gaze. Man, she had the prettiest eyes. A soft brown that became tawny when the sunlight caught them, in a cute heart-shaped face. Her Cupid’s bow of a mouth pursed in a slight frown. A mouth that made a man think about how soft those lips would feel on various parts of his body.

  Time to rein in those thoughts.

  He’d promised to stay away from India years ago, and he damn sure couldn’t break that promise now. Shit. She had been his sister-in-law. He respected her family, including Elaina despite their tumultuous relationship, too much to daydream about India’s sexy little mouth touching him in any way. Daydreaming usually led to actions. Actions he’d surely enjoy but later regret.

  India shook her head, sending her ponytail swinging. “I’m good. I don’t need any help.”

  “It’s no problem. I was going home to shower and change for the party anyway. Might as well help you before I go.” He looked back at Byron. “Don’t drink all the whiskey before I get back.”

  Byron laughed. “I’m not drinking anything tonight. I’ve got to keep a clear head.” He tapped his temple.

  “You with no whiskey before shaking down donors should be fun.” Byron wanted to run for Senate, but hated the fund-raising side of politics. He looked at Elaina, nodded again. She turned her head away. Suppressing an annoyed sigh, he turned back to India. “Come on.”

  Instead of giving her another chance to say she didn’t need his help, he left the room. Her softer footsteps followed him. They moved in silence down the hall to the stairs. She looked straight ahead.

  “Are you happy to be home?” he asked.

  “Yes.” The word came out quick and hard.

  Travis rubbed the back of his neck. Her icy reception made his muscles tighten. They walked down the stairs into the whirlwind of preparations for the party. “I tell you what, your family knows how to throw a party.”