Harlequin Dare May 2021 Box Set

by Jackie Ashenden

  Nina frowned. “You sure?”

  Graced nodded. “Positive. Where’s Desta?”

  “Oh, she’s coming. She and Riley wanted daiquiris so they stopped at the bar by the pool.” Nina signaled the server and when the young lady appeared, she ordered water and a fruit bowl.

  “Taking the healthy route, I see,” Grace noted. Nina had also opted for bottled water over alcoholic beverages last night at the pool.

  “Trying,” Nina replied with a shrug.

  “Did you say Riley was coming?”

  “Yes. We just figured we’d help save you time with the interviews and that way you could spend more time doing...other things.”

  Before Grace could ask about the “other things,” Desta and Riley joined them. Desta wore black Bermuda shorts and a yellow tank top, her dark hair styled in two braids that hung down her back. Riley wore her hair in a ponytail, her entrancing hazel eyes highlighted with a nude eyeshadow that matched the color of her shorts and the stripes in her halter top.

  “Mornin’!” Desta said cheerfully while taking a seat next to Nina.

  Riley pulled out the chair beside Grace and sat. “Hey. How’re you feeling this morning? You and RJ were taking those vodka drinks down last night.”

  Yeah, they had been drinking but not enough that either of them was drunk, which she thought could’ve been an excuse for what they’d done after the pool party. But Grace definitely didn’t want to think about that right now.

  “Oh, that was nothing. I’m fine. Shall we get started?” They were scheduled to play volleyball at eleven thirty and since she was now interviewing three people, Grace wanted to make sure she had enough time to get everything in.

  “Sure,” Riley said. “But first, if you don’t mind, I wanted to ask you something.”

  Grace had been digging her notepad and pen out of her bag and looked up to see that all three women were staring at her.

  “Ah, no, ask away,” Grace said, trying to hide the fact that she was more than a little leery about what Riley wanted to know.

  It didn’t escape her that she was sitting next to RJ’s younger sister, a woman whom she’d been close to a long time ago and who undoubtedly wanted answers to the same questions her brother probably had.

  “I know you don’t know Desta and Nina as well as you used to know me, but since we’re all related by marriage, and outside of that we’re all women, I figure it’s okay to speak candidly.” Riley didn’t wait for Grace to agree or disagree. “What happened between you and RJ? I thought you two were the perfect couple. I mean, coming from me, who at the time wasn’t even considering being in a relationship, I thought next to my parents, you and RJ were exactly what love was supposed to look like. And then you were just gone.”

  Riley sipped from her straw when she was finished. Her expression was one of innocent curiosity, while Grace grappled with whether to speak just as candidly around this group of women.

  The server returned with Grace’s coffee and doughnut and Nina’s water and fruit. Grace reached for the cream and poured it into her coffee, then added sugar, all while knowing they waited for her response.

  “Nothing happened,” she replied, figuring if she expected these women to be honest with her, she owed them the same courtesy. “I needed something different in my life at the time, so I left to find it.”

  “Did you find it?” Desta asked. “What you went looking for?”

  Well, if this story did what she was hoping it would, the answer to that question would be yes. “I think so. Which leads me to this interview.”

  “But you did love him, right?” Riley asked. “I mean the two of you seemed so perfect together. I just remember wondering if you loved him, how could you have left him?” She clearly didn’t want to let this topic go. “I guess what I’m really concerned about now is that you’re not here to hurt my brother again.”

  There was no heat to Riley’s words, but an air of tension settled over them and Nina acted quickly to resolve it. “Well, I can kinda see walking away from someone you love, if you have a good enough reason,” she said. “I mean, I loved Major but when I thought he’d used me and my company for his benefit and was then trying to take over everything I’d worked hard to build, I had to get away from him.”

  Grace didn’t have all the details, but she suspected these were the events that led up to Nina and Major’s fake engagement turning into the real thing.

  Desta nodded. “She’s speaking the truth. Sometimes walking away is what you need to get things straight in your mind, to make sure what you’re feeling is the best thing for you. Despite what people say, love isn’t always the only answer.”

  Grace wanted to high-five Desta for saying almost exactly what she’d been thinking so long ago.

  “I know,” Riley started. “Don’t get me wrong, Chaz and I definitely went through some things before we got it right and my first inclination was to let it all go. But you and RJ didn’t seem to be having any problems. Like, I really thought things were perfect between you guys.”

  It was clear that her breakup with RJ had hit Riley hard. When she’d walked away back then, Grace had thought a clean break was best. And as certain as she’d been that she was making the right decision about leaving, there’d been many times in the past years that the guilt over not saying goodbye to his family had assailed her.

  “I never meant to hurt RJ or any of you.” Grace sighed and shook her head. “And I’m not here to cause any more pain. But you should know that ‘perfect’ can be misleading.” Nothing in her life had ever been perfect. Not when she always felt like she was fighting to find her place. Her relationship with RJ hadn’t made her feel that way in the beginning, but the moment he mentioned marriage, she’d seen all the possibilities run through her mind like a movie trailer and she’d known she had to go. “Sort of like Ron and Tobias working together at RGF. They were seemingly the perfect duo of fresh new talent, set to take the fashion world by storm. Then something happened and it all fell apart.”

  The conversation, thankfully, took a turn with her words and the interview questions she’d planned were asked and answered. The three women gave her insight into so many aspects of the two men and their impact on the fashion industry. Nina spoke of how she’d wanted desperately to work with one of the two top fashion houses to build on the app she’d created. Desta talked about working at RGF and learning from Ron’s work ethic and dedication to his family. She didn’t know much about Tobias except for how his company was positioned as RGF’s biggest competitor, but she liked Chaz and thought he was bringing a dynamic edge to King Designs and their new branding.

  It was Riley who pricked Grace’s heart with the story of her parents and how they’d met at a party sponsored by RGF and fallen in love. From Riley’s perspective her father had been driven by Tobias’s betrayal, pushed to work harder to make RGF bigger and better than any other company. She spoke of how everything RJ did was in his father’s image and how much RJ was looking forward to taking over the company in just a few months.

  “He’ll be the CEO at around the same age my father was at his peak in the industry. My parents were newly married and my mother was about to have RJ. My father says that’s when he first realized he had everything he needed to succeed in life. When he had his wife beside him, a baby about to be born, and he sat in the CEO’s chair for the first time.”

  Riley’s words resonated with Grace well into the time they walked along the beach in preparation for the volleyball game. Ron Gold ran his company and built a family. Now his children were doing the same thing—Riley and Chaz, Nina and Major, Desta and Maurice. RJ was the only one who wasn’t married. Just as she was the only one in her family who wasn’t. What did that mean? Nothing, and then again, to Grace, everything.

  It reinforced the pressure she’d already felt about what her life should and shouldn’t be. Could she have been the wi
fe that Marva Gold was to Ron? Or that her mother was to her father? Could she be a wife, period? All the fears that had lain dormant these past ten years were bubbling to the surface now, until the next question she had to ask was: What if coming here was a mistake?

  The answer came the moment she saw RJ walking toward her. The sun was at his back, framing his muscled body in golden light. He wore black shorts and a white T-shirt. His feet were bare and dark sunglasses covered his eyes. But she knew he was watching her; she could feel the warmth of his gaze as it filled her body, circling around to clench her chest.

  A mixture of anxiety and need settled there as he came closer. No, coming here hadn’t been a mistake. She’d needed to see RJ again, to touch him and hold him in her arms as a reminder that she had loved him and he had loved her. Where those past emotions were taking them now, she had no idea.

  * * *

  The way Grace was looking at him had RJ’s heart racing. She’d been on his mind all night, starting from the second he watched her walk into her building until just about an hour ago, when some of his family had barged into his villa demanding answers to their questions.

  “Did you really think it was better to strike some sort of deal with her instead of coming to me and discussing this beforehand?” His father had spoken first, while Major, Maurice and Chaz had found seats in the living area.

  RJ had just gotten out of bed and was on his way to take a shower when he’d heard them at the door. He’d pulled on a pair of shorts but was otherwise undressed for what turned out to be an intervention of sorts.

  “You’re turning the company over to me in a few months. Don’t you think I’m capable of dealing with issues on my own?” He’d asked his father that question, even though he knew this situation was different from anything RGF was liable to face in the future. Still, he needed his father to understand his position.

  “I don’t doubt your abilities, son. But I know you realize this is a sensitive subject,” Ron had replied.

  “Which is exactly why I decided to handle it the way I did. Keep her close, keep my eye on what’s being discussed. Having control of the situation cuts down on the chances that it’ll cause more harm than good.” With all that said, the “keep her close” part was what resonated with him most this morning.

  “Are you sure you’re the right one to try to control Grace, considering your history?” Major asked.

  RJ had sent his brother a death glare for that remark. “Don’t go there.”

  “We kinda have to go there, man. She’s writing a story about us. She knows us better than any other reporter out there. She broke your heart.” Leave it to Maurice to put that last nail in the coffin.

  “All that might be true but our relationship is in the past. I can handle this.” He’d told them that a few more times during the exchange, but now seeing Grace at this moment on the beach, he wasn’t quite sure.

  He stopped walking toward her and she closed the rest of the distance between them. “Hey.” She spoke with a light cheeriness to her tone.

  “Hey.”

  “You ready for part two of the butt-whoopin’ we served y’all last night?” Desta asked as she walked past them.

  “Oh, she’s talking smack already,” Major said. “Mo, come get your lady!”

  RJ couldn’t help it—he chuckled. His brothers were just as competitive as he was, but it was pretty comical to see them this way with the women they loved. It was fun watching them straddle the fence between being full-on obnoxious about winning and distractingly apologetic to their significant others at the same time.

  “Guess we better get ready to play,” Grace said.

  He shrugged. “I guess we better.” He watched her walk away, staring at her legs and remembering them being wrapped around him last night.

  “You gonna be able to play without drooling?” Chaz asked him.

  RJ frowned at his soon-to-be brother-in-law. “I’m not the one who just finished kissing and groping all over the competition.” He’d watched his sister greet Chaz as he’d been walking toward Grace. Months ago the site of his sister hugging and kissing any guy disturbed the hell out of him. Now that he’d gotten to know Chaz and trusted the guy wasn’t going to break Riley’s heart like the last asshole she’d been engaged to, he was sort of okay with them touching.

  “Yeah, that’s because I’m marrying her next week and we’re getting in all the practice we can leading up to our honeymoon.”

  RJ frowned. “TMI, man! TMI!”

  The second game of volleyball between the guys and the girls went a lot better than last night’s water version. The guys claimed victory and boasted about it all the way through lunch. After that Chaz wanted the guys to join him for a few rounds of golf, and since RJ had already bailed on the fitting yesterday, he figured he should go, even though he really wanted to spend more time with Grace.

  “I’m meeting with Tobias this afternoon,” she’d told him when he asked what she was doing for the duration of the day. “Then I’ll probably write for the rest of the evening. I have a lot I want to get done.”

  “Cool, then I guess we’ll figure out another time to check in.” He hadn’t bothered to try to hide the disappointment in his tone.

  Watching her run back and forth during the game, hearing her laughter, seeing the genuine fun she was having, had touched something in him. To be honest, it enhanced the same something he’d felt when he was inside her last night. The feeling of incompletion that he knew was only assuaged when they were together.

  “Sure, ah, breakfast tomorrow?” she suggested.

  Tomorrow seemed like a decade away, and he didn’t want to wait another decade to see her. “Yeah, that’s fine.”

  He wasn’t desperate and he wasn’t going to allow her to think he was. They were on this island together for just under two weeks—certainly he’d see her again. In the meantime, he needed to get himself together. Acting like a lovesick puppy wasn’t his thing. It felt odd and demoralizing and he didn’t like it. Still, when Grace walked away, he stared at her until she was out of sight, missing her the second she was gone.

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  “OKAY, WE’VE GOTTA build a better sandcastle than them, or I’m never gonna live this down,” RJ said. Three days later, they were on their knees on the beach for another family activity.

  They’d been divided up as couples this time, so Grace was on his team. He’d convinced himself that it did make sense for Grace to participate in Riley’s itinerary, as had been pointed out the other night at dinner. As a result, he’d seen her every day for the past few days. Often that was due to their story status updates, but on other occasions Riley and his mother had invited her to join in whatever they were doing. And he was okay with all of that. He could be around her and not want what they used to have. Or at least he was trying his best not to.

  She wore a coral one-piece bathing suit today, as evidenced by her low-riding denim shorts. Her sandals had been dropped into that mammoth bag she always carried, and she was now barefoot as she unhooked the stack of buckets they’d been given.

  “Let’s get started,” she said. “What type of design do you want to make?”

  He frowned. “It’s a sandcastle. We’re making it look like a sandcastle.”

  She glared at him then with her lips turned up. “Are you serious? That’s not gonna work. We have to have a game plan. Are we going for a real royal castle, or something brooding and creepy?”

  Each team was spaced about ten feet apart down the beach and the others were already packing sand and getting started with their structure. “We’re doing whatever’s going to win,” he replied. He wasn’t prepared when she scooped up a handful of sand and threw it at him.

  Stunned for a few seconds, he contemplated what his next move should be. Yet his teammate had just done the unspeakable so really there was only one option. He tossed a handful
of sand back. She frowned and then brushed the sand off the front of her. Bits of it had fallen between the lovely cleavage she was sporting today.

  “Need me to help you get that?” he asked with a sexy grin.

  The way her eyes cut over at him after that question was a cross between hilarious and deadly, so he held his hands up in defeat just in case.

  “What I need is for you to get out of my way. I can do this,” she said after brushing away the rest of the sand and picking up a bucket.

  “Wait, we’re a team. We’re both supposed to be doing this.”

  “Then you need to get yourself together and stop fooling around,” she said sternly.

  He nodded. “Okay, well, for the record, you started it.”

  She cut another raised-brow look at him and turned over the bucket she’d just filled with sand. He’d better get started doing the same—so he did. In no time they had a semblance of a castle under way. When Grace leaned over to use a tool that looked like a spatula to carve into one of the mounds they’d created, he couldn’t help but follow her movements.

  Her shorts weren’t just low riding, they were also very short. After seeing her these past few days, he wondered if she had any shorts that came below her upper thigh. Probably not, and for that he should definitely thank every deity there was. But the way she was leaning over today he could see a bit more of her cheeks than he suspected anybody else could. More like, he hoped nobody else could. The thought of another man looking at her and thinking the things he was thinking right now didn’t sit well with him.

  “Taking another break?” she asked without moving from her spot.

  “Nah, just enjoying the view.” It was the truth.

  “You’re incorrigible.”

  “I think the correct word is horny.”

  With that Grace turned to look over her shoulder at him. He winked at her and grinned. They hadn’t been physical since the night of the pool party. Considering how awkwardly that had ended, they seemed to have made a conscious effort not to touch each other since then. Not that he didn’t want Grace—he did, there was no doubt about that. He just wasn’t sure what sleeping with her now would mean once this island trip was over.