Her parents would be on hand for tonight’s event, and as general manager of the Atlanta Cougars, Roman was sure to attend with Shantel. When she’d asked Julian if he was going to make it for moral support, he’d told her Elyse was feeling under the weather, so Giana gave him a pass to stay home with his ill wife. That left Xavier to accompany her as her backup plan, but her younger sibling had been MIA the last few days, so Giana was on her own.
“Don’t get me wrong. I appreciated last night,” Giana responded. They’d met up with Silas and Janelle, who was in town for a photo shoot. They’d all gone to the blues club where Roman had taken Tim and Curtis Jackson when he was trying to convince Curtis to sign with the Atlanta Cougars. Even though it wasn’t the sort of place Giana would normally frequent, she’d enjoyed herself tremendously. However, every time she’d looked over at Silas and Janelle, she could tell they were so in love, it had made Giana envious. Would she and Wynn be that way one day?
“But?” Wynn prompted.
Giana turned to him. “But tonight is a big deal. Aren’t you nervous?”
“Not at all. I already know your father and Roman. I’m sure I can charm your mother.”
Giana chuckled. She loved Wynn’s arrogance and confidence. “Yes, but you met Josiah and Roman in a business capacity, not as the man sleeping with their daughter or sister.”
“True,” Wynn said, “but I can’t sweat the small stuff. I am who I am. They can either take me or leave me.”
And that second possibility was exactly what Giana was afraid of.
* * *
Exiting the limo, Giana and Wynn were greeted by flashing lights and a crowd of reporters. She caught a couple of “who are you wearing tonight” questions, but the majority were “how long have you and Wynn been a couple?” and “when did you start dating?”
“No comment.” Wynn politely waved aside the questions, then took her hand.
Their plan was to give an exclusive to one of the more reputable magazines, but first they had to get through tonight. Giana was pleased when the event coordinator came forward and told her everything was going smoothly. “Thank you, Clarissa. The place looks marvelous. It has just the right amount of Christmas spirit.”
There were wreaths on the walls and garlands decorated with twigs, winterberry and silvery pine cones swathing the doors. Red and white paper bells hung down from the ceiling, and an enormous Christmas tree held a cascade of colorful ornaments.
“Are my parents here yet?” Giana asked.
“They’re with the Whitmores,” Clarissa responded. “I believe your mother is trying to get her to increase her donation.”
“If anyone can, it’s my mother. Thank you.” Giana touched the older woman’s shoulder and glanced up at Wynn. “Are you ready?”
“No time like the present.” He took her hand and they walked over to her parents as Doug and Malorie Whitmore were leaving.
“Good evening.” Giana smiled as she approached her parents. She caught the surprised look in her father’s eye at her choice of companion. “Daddy, I believe you know Wynn, but Mama, you haven’t met. Allow me to introduce you to Wynn Starks.”
“Wynn Starks of Starks Inc.?” her mother inquired with a raised brow.
“One and the same, ma’am,” Wynn replied.
“Well, well.” Her mother smiled from ear to ear. “Wonders never cease. Come, young man.” She circled her arm through Wynn’s. “Tell me more about yourself.”
Wynn glanced at Giana, and she shrugged. He would either sink or swim, but Giana was certain he would swim.
Once they’d gone, her father turned to her. “Starks, huh? I didn’t know you were so well acquainted.”
“We are. Care for a drink, Daddy?”
“I’ll have some of the bourbon you’ve been prone to drinking lately.”
Giana smiled and signaled to a waiter. “C’mon, Daddy. I know you have something to say.”
“Damn right,” he said, grabbing her arm and pulling her aside so they couldn’t be overheard. “How long have you been in bed with Starks?”
“Daddy!” Giana flushed.
“I didn’t mean literally, but clearly I’m on to something.”
“I’m not going to dignify that with a response.”
“You don’t have to.” Her father glanced over at Wynn, who appeared to be regaling her mother with a story, because Giana could hear her laughter all the way across the room. Wynn really could charm the socks off any woman when he wanted to.
“I thought you wanted to focus on your career and not get bogged down,” her father continued.
“We’re dating, Daddy.”
His thick, bushy eyebrows rose in question. “I don’t think so, baby girl. That man—” he inclined his head “—is the kind of man you marry. He’s going to want a house full of children and you flat on your back.”
“Good lord, Daddy. What am I going to do with you? Are you stuck in the ’50s?”
“I’m not, but I know a man’s man when I see one, and Wynn is not used to two chiefs.”
“That may be so, but I can hold my own against any man, Wynn included. No one is going to stop me from reaching my goals.”
“All right, Gigi, no need to try and convince me. At least not yet. But a time will come when you might have to choose which you want more—a good man or your career.”
Her father left Giana to rejoin his wife, at which point Wynn excused himself. As the new man in her life came striding toward her, full of swagger, Giana wondered if her father was right.
Would she have to choose?
* * *
Wynn had nearly reached Giana when a familiar figure clad in a silver lamé gown, with café au lait skin and a long, sleek ponytail, came into his line of vision. He didn’t need to be a rocket scientist to figure out who she was. He would know—or rather smell—her anywhere.
His ex.
Christine Davis.
She wore a scent that used to drive him crazy but now was an annoyance. He’d made it his duty in life to ensure their paths never crossed. Wynn supposed it was why the media had dubbed him a recluse, and that was fine with him. He liked his alone time. But Christine had always had a way of getting under his skin. He prayed tonight, in front of Giana and her family, wasn’t one of those nights.
“Wynn, what a surprise to see you here,” Christine purred out of fire engine–red lips. She was overly made up from her lips to the outrageous lashes she wore.
“Christine.” Wynn stepped away from her, but she moved in front of him to block his path. He sighed. If she didn’t want to play nice, neither would he. “What do you want?”
“Want? For starters, I’d like more of the green stuff you swindled me out of in the prenuptial agreement, but I’ll have to make do with what I have.”
“You were generously compensated for the two—” he held up two fingers “—years of our marriage. You were entitled to nothing more and nothing less.”
Her eyes narrowed into thin slits. “I should have been given much more for putting up with the likes of you, especially since you were such a bore in bed.”
He knew she was trying to goad him and quickly fired back, “I don’t think my lady minds.” Wynn hated himself the moment he stooped to his ex’s level.
Christine’s head immediately swung around so she could regard Giana, who was standing across the room. She was head and shoulders above the rest of the women here, and she knew it. When he’d arrived to pick her up at the Lockett mansion in Tuxedo Park, he’d been blown away by her beauty.
“Oh, she will,” Christine said, spinning back around to face him. “Just as I was. She’s using you to get her jollies, or even to make a statement to her parents, but at the end of the day, a woman like her isn’t interested in a man like you for the long term. You’re not even in the same class as her. Mark my words—y
ou have a short shelf life, Wynn.”
“Go to hell!” Wynn’s voice was raised, and several people looked over at him to see what had precipitated such an outburst. Meanwhile Christine was smiling like a cat that got the cream. She’d provoked him, as she’d intended, but he wasn’t going to give her any more fodder. Instead, he headed straight for the open bar. Once there, he ordered a double of the finest bourbon they had available.
“Wynn.”
He turned to see Roman Lockett at his side. “Roman. What can I do for you?”
“One, you can try not embarrassing my family any further, and two, you can make sure that you don’t hurt my sister.”
Wynn regarded him. He appreciated the big brother routine, but he wasn’t in the mood. He sipped his bourbon. “Why would you think either of those two things would happen?”
“That little outburst a moment ago,” Roman whispered, “was in poor taste. Perhaps you should keep your past where it belongs.”
Wynn wanted to punch Roman. He really did, but the man was right. He shouldn’t have let Christine rile him up. But at the same time, he wouldn’t be pushed around by Christine or Roman. Hell, by anyone.
“You have nothing to fear from me.” Wynn downed the rest of his bourbon. “And for the record, I’m a grown-ass man, Roman. I’ve got this.” He placed his glass on the bar and stepped away to find his lady.
Why was everyone trying to get in their way? Giana hadn’t been lying when she said becoming official tonight would have its challenges. He’d charmed her mother well enough, but then Christine and now Roman had put up roadblocks. Was it any wonder he was on edge?
Stalking away from Roman, he scanned the crowd for Giana. She’d moved from her last location, but he found her near the doorway of the ballroom. When he approached, she smiled and held out her hand to welcome him, lacing their fingers together. The small gesture was exactly what he needed.
A soft place to land.
Fourteen
“Do you want to talk about what happened tonight?” Giana asked on the ride back to the Lockett mansion. She’d told Wynn she wanted to go home because she planned to do some Christmas shopping tomorrow with her sisters-in-law, Shantel and Elyse. That was true, but she also wanted a night alone to herself, because she felt different.
Wynn wasn’t her run-of-the-mill relationship. The other men she’d been with had lacked the maturity and thoughtfulness she’d found with Wynn. And talk about intense—the sex between them was so intimate. He wanted all of her, and it made her feel helpless and a bit off balance. Giana had never shown up to another man’s house wearing lingerie. She wouldn’t have dared. She was Giana Lockett, chief marketing and branding officer of the Atlanta Cougars, but Wynn made her feel carefree, as if anything were possible.
“Not really,” Wynn responded, and Giana blinked several times to remind herself of what she’d asked. Oh yes, if he wanted to talk about yelling at his ex-wife.
Giana had caught the exchange between them earlier. Afterward, Wynn had been reserved when he joined her. Her family might not have noticed the change, because his expression had been serene, but Giana was beginning to be able to read his moods by the angle of his jaw or the glitter in his eye.
The rest of her family had seen his public face because he refused to let on he was upset, but Giana knew otherwise.
“You don’t have to lie to me, Wynn. I thought you agreed to a relationship at least in theory, and part of that means sharing your feelings.”
“If you recall, I opted for sex, exclusive sex,” Wynn said with a grin, sliding closer to her on the seat.
“Oh no, you don’t.” Giana held up a hand against his chest. “Don’t try to thwart my questions by seduction.” Though he wouldn’t have to try very hard. A shiver raced through her at feeling his hard chest against her palm.
“Damn.” Wynn sighed and leaned back against the seat. He faced the windows for several moments, and Giana wondered if he was going to ignore her. But then he said, “I shouldn’t have let Christine get to me. I’m sorry if I embarrassed you or your family.”
“You didn’t do any such thing,” Giana stated fiercely. “She approached you. It wasn’t the other way around.”
“Yeah, but I rose to the occasion.”
The limo slowly came to a halt, and Giana thought that was the end of their conversation and their night. But instead, when the chauffeur opened her door, Wynn got out and walked with her to the guesthouse. She was hoping he wouldn’t leave and they could pick up where they left off. Once she’d unlocked the door, she turned on several lamps, flooding the living room with light.
“This is an awfully nice guesthouse,” Wynn said, looking around and running his hand along the marble fireplace.
Giana saw the large living space through his eyes. It was open and airy and, in the morning, sunlight flooded the room from the myriad of windows. She loved to sit in the bay window seat with her morning cup of coffee and soak up the rays.
“It is, but I don’t really want to talk about decor, Wynn, and I think you know that. I want to know why tonight upset you.”
Wynn turned around to face her, and Giana could see he was warring with himself over his answer, but in the end he said, “Because... Christine and I have been divorced for over three years. I thought I’d safely put her in a box where she couldn’t get to me. I guess I was wrong.”
“No, you’re human, Wynn,” Giana replied. “Although it’s long over, she once meant something to you.”
“I refuse to give her that kind of power over me. She doesn’t deserve it. She’s a liar and a cheat!”
“Okay, now we’re getting somewhere, because you’re telling me how you really feel.”
“You really want to hear the ugly truth, Giana? I’ll tell you. Christine was looking for a sucker and she found one in me, the lonely boy who’d never felt loved by his mother. She said all the right things to make me believe she wanted a husband and a family, but she didn’t. I think I was some sort of social experiment for her. A project, if you will. A way to rebel against the man her parents wanted her to marry. The man she ended up cheating on me with.”
“Oh my God!” Giana’s hand flew to her mouth. “I had no idea.”
“Because I keep my private life private, Giana.” Wynn rubbed his palm across his closely cropped hair. “I kept that out of the divorce proceedings because I didn’t want them to get any uglier than they already were. Just like my mother left my father, Christine left me for another man, and just like my mother she tried to take me to the cleaner’s.”
“I thought you had a prenup?”
“We did. And I’m glad that despite how besotted I was, I insisted on one before we married,” Wynn explained. “However, while we were separated, Christine got wind of my plans to take Starks Inc. public, and she tried to delay the proceedings. But in the end, we divorced before the IPO.”
“Is that why she’s so incensed?”
Wynn shrugged. “Partly. And because I didn’t beg to take her back. She took me for such a dope that she thought I would, but I didn’t. She’s been furious ever since.”
“Thank you for telling me, Wynn.”
“You said you wanted me all in? Well, I am in, Giana. Are you sure you’re ready to take me with all my baggage?” Wynn asked. “Because it’s not too late to bail and go back to just sex.”
He said it with a crooked grin, but Giana knew he was trying to make light of having spoken his truth. “Not at all.” She reached behind her and began to unzip her dress. “In fact, I would say I want to go forward.” She inclined her head toward the bedroom as her dress dropped to the floor, leaving her in a thong and nothing more.
Naked hunger was etched across Wynn’s face. Seconds later, his lips were crushing hers in a kiss designed to taste, torment, dominate and give. Giana wrapped her arms around his neck and her legs around his waist as Wy
nn swiftly carried her to the bedroom.
* * *
“Good morning,” Giana cheerily said when she walked into the kitchen of the main house the next morning. After they shared a shower, a car had come to pick up Wynn and take him back home, leaving Giana to face the music alone. She found her father and mother already sitting at the breakfast table surrounded by platters heaping with bacon, eggs and pastries.
“Good morning.” Her mother regarded her as Giana took a seat across from her. “You’re very chipper.”
“I feel great.” And she did, despite having stayed up half the night offering herself as a balm to Wynn’s wounds. He’d taken her again and again, her name constantly on his lips as an incantation or a prayer—Giana couldn’t be sure which, because it had been mingled with her own fervent cries of pleasure. Eventually, they’d both fallen into a deep sleep. Giana felt as if she’d truly come home. She’d never had this feeling before with any other man, not even Martin. That had been child’s play. When it came to how deeply Wynn touched her, she found herself starting to believe in happily-ever-after.
Giana thanked Gerard when he came and filled her mug with steaming-hot coffee. She quickly took a sip.
“That’s good, darling,” her mother said. “I was so happy to meet that new young man of yours, Wynn Starks. He’s very intense, but charming.”
She felt herself smile. “Thanks, Mama.”
“It got me to thinking.”
“Oh Lord, woman,” her father replied, rolling his eyes upward. “What have you got cooking in that mind of yours?” He put down his coffee cup.
“Nothing bad.” She reached across the table and patted his hand. Then she turned to Giana. “With Christmas right around the corner, I was thinking you should ask Wynn to join us at the cabin in Gatlinburg. He could spend the holiday with the family.”
Holiday Playbook--A Christmas workplace romance Page 10
