Love Loyal and True

by Stacey Joy Netzel

  After checking her coat a little after eight, Roxanna made her way through the crowd into the ballroom at the hotel, her fingers clutched nervously in the skirt of her blue bohemian maxi dress. Another one of her clearance items she’d always liked, but hadn’t needed until after the fire. It was a bit summery with the off-the-shoulder neckline, but she left her hair down to mostly cover her shoulders and help keep her warm. She wore her black combat boots again, and the entire time she’d laced them up, she’d pictured Loyal taking them off.

  She only had one more day to somehow become immune to him. As often as he popped into her mind, it wasn’t looking good. As keyed up as she was about seeing him tonight, it definitely wasn’t looking good.

  Spotting his youngest sister’s long, dark ponytail not far from the doors by the campaign swag table, she went over to say hi as upbeat music pulsed through the ballroom speakers. Shelby gave her a warm smile and wave as a tall, chestnut-haired guy beside her leaned down to say something in her ear. She smiled at him even as her shoulder and lower body seemed to instinctively arch away. It was a minuscule movement, she probably wasn’t even aware of the reaction, but Roxanna’s radar kicked on immediately.

  She shifted her gaze to the guy for a quick assessment. Probably mid-twenties—close to Bells’ age, wiry, but good-looking in an unassuming way. He seemed familiar, and when she joined the two, Shelby introduced him as Chad Mayer, one of the campaign workers.

  She guessed she’d seen him at another event, but didn’t recall meeting him directly. He didn’t offer a hand to shake, so Roxanna extended hers to get a read. His grip was deferential, and he pulled away quickly. He didn’t strike her as negative or positive.

  It wasn’t that she couldn’t read him like Loyal, or her mother, but more so the guy was neutral. His aura was a dull gray, indicating blocked energy fields. Not much emotion to work with, not even in the pale blue eyes that kept straying to Shelby, and that made her stomach flip uneasily.

  “How’s the night going?” she asked. “Have they started reporting yet?”

  Bell’s sleek hair swished with her headshake. “Not just yet. Should be soon though. You got any predictions?”

  “No psychic ones,” she said with a laugh. “All I can say is he got my vote.”

  At the word psychic, Chad’s blue gaze landed on Roxanna. When his aura took on a cloudy, grayish, blue-green tint, an icy shiver worked down her spine. She met his gaze but he quickly shifted his attention to Shelby while reaching to put a hand at the small of her back.

  Again, she noticed the youngest Diamond make an infinitesimal shift away from his touch.

  “You want anything to drink?” he asked her. “I can go get us something from the bar.”

  “Um…no, thank you, I’m good. I think I’m going to find the rest of my family.”

  “I’ll come with you.” Roxanna quickly hooked arms with the younger girl who was like the little sister she’d never had. “I want to thank your mom for the gift basket she sent over.”

  “Have a good night, Chad,” Shelby said over her shoulder as they left. “Thanks again for all your help.”

  Roxanna glanced back and caught a dark frown before his expression went blank. She waited until they were out of earshot by the buffet tables to bend her head and ask, “What’s the deal with him?”

  Shelby grimaced. “We’ve been working together the last couple of months for the campaign. I know he’s interested, but there’s nothing there for me. It’s been a little awkward trying to discourage him.”

  She frowned with concern. “Has he been pushy?”

  “Oh, no,” Shelby assured her. “He’s harmless. Nice enough, and even kinda cute, but I just felt bad I’m not attracted to him when he’s made it clear he likes me.”

  “You have nothing to feel bad about. We can’t help who we’re attracted to.” As she knew all too well.

  “Yeah, I know. And I guess it really doesn’t matter, since I won’t even see him anymore now that the campaign is over.”

  “Good.”

  Shelby glanced up at her with a questioning smile as a voice called out behind them.

  “Rox—wait up!”

  They both turned to see Mae threading her way through the crowd.

  “Nice turnout,” she exclaimed.

  “My mom knows how to draw them in,” Shelby boasted. “Free food and drinks.”

  “You don’t think your dad has a little something to do with it?” Roxanna teased.

  “Eh.” She shrugged her shoulders with a sassy grin and they all laughed as they reached the private meeting room reserved for family adjacent to the stage area. Asher and Honor stood just outside the room with Merit and Robert.

  Roxanna’s pulse sped up as she cast a glance around, but she didn’t spot Loyal’s dark head anywhere. Asher pulled her into a side hug as Celia joined the group, and the noise level rose with everyone’s greetings.

  “I don’t think he’s here yet,” her best friend whispered.

  “Who’s not here yet?”

  He gave a soft snort of disbelief, and she allowed a slight smile. He knew her too well. Plus, she’d talked to him and Honor the Sunday after Halloween. He’d been upset, but it seemed more so out of concern for her getting hurt than her having slept with his older brother. It was a relief he wasn’t mad at her, and yet his worry was another reminder that there was no future with Loyal.

  “You good?” he asked quietly.

  “I’m good.” She shot Honor a quick smile and raised her voice to address the rest of the group. “How’s everyone holding up here? Excitement is super high, I see.”

  “Numbers are just starting to come in.” Celia pointed to a TV beside the stage with reporting data scrolling along the bottom of the screen. “So far, they look promising despite the exit polls.”

  “It’s still early,” Asher cautioned.

  They’d all shifted to form a circle, with Celia and her husband opposite Roxanna; Asher, Honor, and Mae to her left; and Merit and Shelby to her right. A little tingle of energy from the youngest Diamond brother drew her glance to see his gaze on Mae as Honor formally introduced her workaholic best friend to everyone. His aura sparkled bright red, though that was nothing new with the playboy brother. A fleeting tinge of pink, however, piqued her interest.

  “And this is Asher’s youngest brother, Merit,” Honor finished.

  When Mae’s gaze met his, her eyebrows flashed upward.

  He offered his trademark sexy grin to the pretty blond. “Yes, my name is Merit. But you can call me Handsome.”

  Sexual energy arched between the two like an invisible lightning bolt. There was an answering surge of red in Mae’s aura, but to her credit, she rolled her eyes with a laugh. “How much use does that line get?”

  Yep. The savvy single mother wasn’t about to get snowed by a cute come-on, no matter how smoothly delivered.

  “Too much,” Asher answered for him.

  Merit let it slide off his back with a smirk, completely unapologetic of his philandering ways.

  “Does it actually work?” Mae asked him directly.

  “Every time.”

  “Well, sorry to break your record, but I’ve heard all about you, Merit.” She put the slightest flirtatious emphasis on his name.

  “That’s not fair. I haven’t heard much about you at all.” He flicked an accusing gaze toward his older brother and Honor, then shifted his attention back to Mae, his charm at full throttle. “But I’d like to, gorgeous.”

  “You have no shame,” Celia declared.

  “Leave Mae alone, Merit,” Asher warned. “She’s already got a man in her life.”

  His crestfallen expression sparked a round of laughs.

  “Where is Ian tonight?” Honor asked.

  Roxanna only half-heard the blond’s cryptic answer as she spotted Janine Diamond in the private reserved room with Estefan and Elena Torrez.

  “I have to talk to your mom for a moment,” she told Asher quietly. “I’ll
be back.”

  Inside the room, the low rumble of voices through the open back doors drew her gaze. Her heart skipped at the sight of Loyal talking with the governor. Just then, the Torrezes walked past on their way to the ballroom, and his mother gave her a wide smile.

  “Roxanna, I’m so glad you came.”

  “I wouldn’t miss it,” she said as the woman who was more like a mother to her than her own pulled her into a warm hug. Roxanna squeezed her eyes shut as her chest tightened. She really had found family when she found Asher.

  “How are you doing after the fire?” She ran a soothing hand down Roxanna’s hair before stepping back. “Do you need anything?”

  “No, thank you, I’m fine. You’ve already done more than enough with that amazing gift basket. It’s been a huge help with just the right things. I loved everything.”

  The gift cards had been exceedingly generous and helped her fill in her new clearance wardrobe with clothes from places she wouldn’t normally have been able to afford.

  “I’m glad. I felt so bad I couldn’t bring it over myself, what with the campaign being so busy.” She stuck one hand on her slim hip. “I trust Loyal behaved himself? He had strict orders to be nice.”

  “He was fine.” More than fine. Heat climbed her neck as she shot a pointed glance toward the door, where things looked to be getting heated between him and his father. “Is everything okay out there?”

  Janine frowned in their direction before turning away with a sigh and shake of her head. “Mark has offered Grayson money for a veteran’s foundation, but only if Loyal steps in as the CFO.”

  “Ah.” And given the way Loyal felt about his surprise brother, clearly, it wasn’t going over well.

  “My husband seems to think forcing the two of them to work together will help them get over their animosity toward each other,” Janine continued. “But they’re both so darn stubborn. In truth, all three of them are stubborn.”

  “You’d almost think they were related or something,” Roxanna joked.

  “Right?” His mother smiled, but it fell away when a loud bang revealed Loyal shoving through an outside exit, and Mark turned toward them with his jaw clenched as tight as his fists. He gave a quick head shake as he returned to the room.

  His expression cleared to a subdued smile as Roxanna stepped forward to give him a hug hello. The energy around him revealed his frustration with his son tangled with a deep fear of losing him. She wished she could reassure him it would be okay, but without knowing what had just transpired between the two, she had to focus on the reason they were all there in the first place.

  “I’m looking forward to your victory speech later.” As she said the words, she couldn’t help a glance toward the door Loyal had left through.

  “Do you know something we don’t?” the governor asked.

  “No, no. I’m simply being optimistic.”

  “Well then, let’s hope we get enough votes that you get to hear the speech.”

  Roxanna smiled her agreement, but noticing Janine and Mark exchange a long glance, she took her cue. “I’ll leave you two be. Again, thank you so much for the basket, and good luck tonight.”

  When she exited the room, she saw the gathering near the doors had somewhat dispersed, so she gave Honor a smile and wave and continued to the bar for a glass of wine. While she waited, she couldn’t help but think of Loyal outside.

  Upset. Alone.

  When the bartender set her Riesling in front of her, she ordered a double Black Maple Hill whiskey, then took both glasses out the back where Loyal had disappeared. Of course, she knew full well seeking him out was not the way to build up immunity to the man, but she couldn’t seem to stop her feet from moving.

  He’d slept on the couch to make sure she was okay the night she’d been drunk. The least she could do now as return the favor.

  She’d simply check to see if he was okay, give him the drink, and leave.

  Chapter 18

  Loyal wished he smoked so he’d have something to dull the edge of his anger. Better yet, he was going to start keeping a bottle in his truck. A couple of shots of whiskey would be welcome right now. Smashing the empty bottle against the brick wall would be even better.

  The sound of the door had him whirling around for round two with his dad. The sight of Roxanna in a blue hippie dress and her combat boots stopped his heart for a few seconds before jolting it back to life at breakneck speed. Her creamy shoulders were bare, that long glorious hair loose, and though the overhead light cast her face in shadow, he could feel her gaze trained directly on him.

  “Hey,” she greeted casually. Then she lifted her hand, and the light above the door revealed a glass three-quarters full of amber liquid. “I thought you might need this.”

  Holy fuck, that was creepy as hell.

  In the next second, he decided he didn’t give a shit. “You read my mind.”

  A smile ghosted over her glossed lips as she stepped forward to hand him the drink. “Not really. I saw you with your dad.”

  “Oh.” He leaned his butt back against the front bumper of his Range Rover, lifted the glass, and downed half the contents in one gulp. As the whiskey burned down his throat, he blinked in surprise at what was left, then looked at her. “Black Maple Hill?”

  “It’s what you drink, right?”

  “Yeah.” But how did she know that? Was it more of the mind reading, or was she that observant?

  “Observant.”

  The single word answer to his silent question sent a shiver down his spine as she took a sip from the wine glass she’d been holding in her other hand.

  Shockingly, he felt a smile tug at his mouth as he asked, “How many of those have you had?”

  Her soft laugh in the cool night air gave him a shiver of a whole different kind. “This is my one and only. No more wine drunk for me.”

  “I’m happy to take you home if you need me to.”

  Her lips crooked up as she planted her butt on the bumper next to him. “I’ll be fine.”

  She sat close enough for her shoulder to brush against his while she crossed her feet at the ankles. Thinking of her ass against the bumper, he longed to feel her bare cheeks in his palms again.

  Tomorrow.

  Or, if he played this right—tonight.

  She shot him an indecipherable look and slid her delectable ass six inches away from him.

  Loyal grinned to himself, and this time he took only a sip of his favorite drink. Let her read his mind. She was still out here, right?

  Yes. And the crazy thing was, he hadn’t thought of his dad or Grayson or the foundation since she stepped through the door. And even though he just had, he didn’t want to punch anything.

  In the middle of him marveling how less than two minutes with her had taken the edge off his anger when a couple weeks ago she would’ve triggered it, she asked, “Want to talk about it?”

  “Not really.”

  “It could help.”

  “What are you, a psychic and a psychologist?”

  She lifted her shoulders while taking another sip of wine. She didn’t say anything, but instead of her silence taking the pressure off, he felt compelled to speak. The mental mind voodoo tightened his shoulders while his fingers clenched his glass.

  “My dad wants me to work with my half-brother.” Just saying the words left a bitter taste in his mouth.

  “Your mom mentioned starting a veteran’s foundation?”

  “Yes. And my father—grand charitable bastard that he is—won’t give him the money if I don’t agree to be the CFO.”

  The hell of it was, his dad was extremely generous, but in this case, for some reason, he was being bull-headed.

  “And you don’t want to be CFO.”

  “Hell no.”

  “Is it that you don’t want the job?”

  “It’s not the job.”

  “Do you not want Grayson to have any money?”

  Loyal frowned. “The money’s for charity, not for h
im.”

  “So, you don’t want the veterans to have it.”

  “No, of course not. I don’t give a f—” He broke off and drew in a controlled breath. “I don’t care about the money.”

  “Which means Grayson is the only problem.”

  “Brilliant deduction, psychic.” He downed the rest of his drink and wished for another. Damn Roxanna wasn’t so relaxing anymore.

  She turned her head and glared at him.

  Guilt slammed forward. “Sorry. That was me being an ass again.”

  “Yes. Kind of like you refusing to help veterans because you don’t want to work with your brother.”

  Well, fuck—she sounded like Grayson now. And he really hated that the guy had kind of sort of extended an olive branch the other night at the Halloween party. If anyone was going to do that, he would.

  Out of sheer peevishness, he corrected, “Half-brother.”

  “You don’t have to call him that. I know who you’re talking about.”

  “I call him that because that’s what he is.”

  She sipped her wine, her expression contemplative as she eyed him over the rim. “Does it make you feel better that he’s half and you’re whole?”

  “What kind of question is that?” he snapped with annoyance.

  “When you insist on making the distinction he’s only a half-brother, you’re elevating yourself over him. And you’re closing yourself off to acceptance.”

  Holy shit, she really was psycho-analyzing him—and fuck, she was good, too.

  “Why do I have to accept him?” he groused. Then he cringed inwardly. He sounded like a five year-old, not a gown-ass, thirty-year-old man.

  Roxanna held her glass in front of her as she twisted slightly toward him. “Like it or not, Loyal, Grayson isn’t going away. And since you can’t change that he’s a part of your family, you have to figure out a way to move past it. Because if everyone else accepts him and you don’t, you’ll be the outsider, not him.”