“I’m here for you.”
“That simple?”
“Let’s just say I’ve reacquainted myself with the universal laws of balance and realized I need to be with my equal and opposite tonight. Unless you have another date.” His burgundy-and-gold mask somehow intensified the amber flecks in his brown eyes.
“You know I don’t.” She swallowed, thankful that her mask obscured her cheeks.
“Good. Then we won’t be late, since I won’t have to remove the guy.” He offered her his arm.
A whisper of apprehension spiraled through her. She knew now how much it hurt to get close to him when he couldn’t open his heart to her, but something prodded her to take what he offered this evening, this one last time.
The live jazz band was already playing in full force, a trumpet cutting into the greeting area. A beacon. A call to dance and to mingle.
How hard it was to focus on the party with her heart pounding from Royce’s nearness. The old pull of desire was as sharp as ever. Sharper, even, since she knew she couldn’t heed that wild call to lose herself in his touch.
They moved on in beneath the gold and white tulle that hugged the ceiling. Guests in masks filtered through, posing for pictures with each other in front of the Renaissance-inspired art installation that tied the masquerade’s theme together.
Glimmering gowns pressed to dark tuxedos kept catching her eye, making her aware of the way romance seemed to hang in the air. But more than romance, she realized. People embraced each other. Steele and Mikkelson families hugged and toasted.
Tonight, there were no sides, no enemies.
Just love. In all its forms.
Jack and Jeannie greeted the guests as they arrived, so many people in their circle of family and close friends. Only the immediate family knew about what Milla Jones had claimed, and looking at Jack, no one would have guessed. However, Naomi saw the way Jeannie carried more of the conversation for him. She stroked his wrist lightly, which looked like simple affection, but to the finer tuned eye was a comforting gesture.
Perhaps for the first time since her family was put on a collision course with the Mikkelson clan, Naomi saw her father and Jeannie. Really saw them and noticed the way they continuously offered each other support. She could see it as they stood together, unified.
They truly loved each other.
There were second chances at love.
It sounded so simplistic. And perhaps it could be. Royce hadn’t bolted, no matter how many times she pushed him away. He stayed if not by her side, at least close enough to reach. Seeing him here tonight blew her away as he powered on, even though not at all in his favorite venue, but still checking the boxes.
And looking damn fine in the process.
He’d found balance. She was the one tipping the scales too far in one direction.
Had she been wrong to push him away again?
A crescendo swelled from the stage, signaling the end of the song, followed by a drumroll. A spotlight shot down to the side stage.
Revealing Royce?
“I’m honored to join in the festivities celebrating Jack and Jeannie’s marriage. They are an inspiration in both their personal and business worlds.” Royce lifted his champagne glass, the cut crystal refracting the spotlight, sending prisms through the room like northern lights, bathing everyone in fire. “I know they’ve requested no gifts, but I have an offer I feel certain they won’t be able to refuse, and I challenge others here to join in. I’m contributing personally to their oil pipeline safety initiative. All profits from my patent on the new equipment will go directly toward seeing the project come to life.”
In the crowd, Birch Montoya lifted his glass, as well. “Count me in for an extra million.”
Gasps went through the packed room, before a round of applause swelled and other voices shouted their intent to join in. As it faded, Royce lifted his glass again. “To Jack and Jeannie. To Alaska Oil Barons, Inc.”
Naomi soaked in the vision of Royce onstage, unable to deny the rush of excitement that he wouldn’t be fading away. He’d done this for her and her family. And he’d done it in such a public way. He’d embraced this crowd. Stood strong in the harsh spotlight with a new ease. For her.
The applause faded and he made his way toward her, grinning.
“I don’t know what to say. Thank you doesn’t come close to being enough.” Her hands shook so, she had to place her champagne flute on a passing waiter’s tray. “You’re still going to work with the company, aren’t you?”
“Of course,” he said. “Let’s step aside and talk. Or rather, I have something I need to say.”
Her stomach did a flip—half hope and half fear of hoping.
His callused fingertips grazed her hand, their palms joining together as he wound through the crowd. Champagne glasses clinked as they passed by. But he never let her go.
After pushing down on a brass door handle, he brought her out on a balcony where heat lamps had been placed to chase away the winter chill.
Dropping her hand, he led her to the edge to view the bay. “The party came together well. A solid launch of the two families merging.”
“It seems surreal, given all the turmoil with the possibility that Breanna...” Naomi’s throat closed and she couldn’t continue.
He pulled her to his chest, her mask crinkling. She drew in the comfort and spark of being close to him. She’d missed him. She needed him. She closed her eyes and breathed in the familiar scent of his aftershave.
But why was he here?
She licked her lips, swallowing to moisten her dry mouth. “But there’s nothing I can do about that tonight.” She angled back. “This is an evening for celebration. For Dad and Jeannie.”
“For us, too, I’m hoping.”
Her heart leaped to her throat and she bit her lip to keep from blurting out right here and now how much she loved him. She needed to listen, hear him out.
He gestured toward the bay just as fireworks lit up the sky. The blue light was reflected in the water. Another firework erupted. And another. A vibrant display shimmered through the night dome.
“Oh, how gorgeous. Dad must have ordered them from the event planners. I wish I had thought of it...”
Royce took her hand in his again. “I arranged it. Timed it even.”
Surprise stunned her into silence for a moment, and she lifted her mask to see him more clearly. He hadn’t put his on again after his moment in the spotlight inside.
“That was thoughtful of you to do for them,” she observed carefully, telling herself not to read too much into the gesture.
“They’re for you,” he said. “As I said, timed. For right now.”
The romance of that twined around her heart. Her breath hitched in her throat, hope gaining ground fast. “They’re stunning.”
“You are stunning.”
She smoothed a hand down the lapel of his custom tailored tux. “You clean up quite nice yourself. Although I do have a partiality to your MIT sweatshirt.” She looked up at him. “Your announcement about the donation was...astounding. I’m almost afraid to hope...”
“It’s okay to hope.” He traced her jaw with his thumb, his touch unleashing feelings she’d been trying madly to hold back.
“That seems rather intangible coming from a scientist.”
“The more I learn, the more I realize there are things in life that defy logic. You, us, what we have together—one of a kind—is worth fighting for.”
One of a kind. Not a replacement. But their own unique, beautiful bond.
From the light in his eyes, she could see he, too, was hopeful.
“One of a kind.” Naomi added, “I agree.” Ready. She was so very ready to have him in her life. No more reservations.
A smile spread across his face as he hooked an arm around her shoulders. “You must
know I love you. Even when I tried to tell myself otherwise, I couldn’t stop.”
“I do understand. It’s scary, but so very exciting. I love you, too, Royce Miller.”
“Thank God,” he said, with a sigh of relief before he pulled her into his arms and sealed her words with a kiss that sizzled even more than those fireworks.
They had loved each other even before that first breakup. They just hadn’t learned how hard they had to work to make that love last. To protect it. Cherish it. Put it first. The connection was deeper now. Stronger. Unbreakable.
He might not have used the words soul mate when she wanted, but he was constantly showing her with the things he did. He wasn’t just there for the twins, he was there for her, too, making sure she had everything she needed, somehow knowing that if the babies were safe and happy, she would feel safe and happy, as well. Yes, he loved the girls, but he loved her, too. Just as she loved him.
Royce rested his forehead against hers. “Naomi, you are my love, my life, and yes, my soul mate.”
She could hear the emotion in his words, felt the truth in the hitch in his voice. She’d known he loved her daughters, and that meant the world to her for them. But now she knew he also wanted—and was in love with—her, as deeply as she wanted and loved him.
Smiling, she angled back. “I think we have some celebrating of our own to do.”
He grinned at her. “Lead the way.”
“How about side by side?” She looped her arms around his neck. “Right after you kiss me again.”
“Yes, ma’am,” he said, with a smile and a promise.
A promise he fulfilled.
Epilogue
One Month Later
Some women dreamed of getting married in a church, husband holding her hands.
Some visualized saying their vows at home, man of her dreams gazing adoringly into her eyes.
But Naomi couldn’t think of anywhere better to begin her wedded life than on a glacier. Officially marrying her forever love, the father of her twins.
Now, standing in the receiving line to greet their family, who’d flown in on seaplanes, Naomi was dancing on air with how their ceremony had been everything she’d hoped for and more. Her in a long-sleeved wedding gown and formfitting white satin jacket with white fur around the hood. Him in a tuxedo and Texas cowboy hat and boots.
Violins and a small harp had played modernized versions of old Inuit tunes, the songs her grandmother had loved best. A way to honor someone special to her, and feel like her grandmother’s spirit was there, smiling down on them. Naomi stood beneath a large Inuit tapestry serving as a canopy for the reception food table, the simple decor just right for their remote glacier venue.
And the backdrop for it all? Her magnificent Alaska homeland, mountains capped with snow. Stretches of crystal water dotted with other, smaller pieces of ice.
The world glittered, humming with life and joy, no other adornment needed. The Alaskan outdoors was a place where Naomi and Royce had always been in harmony, a place they both hoped to spend more time together. The hubbub of her loved ones around her, the hum of family, were a welcome part of her life.
She and Royce had spent the past month making plans for this celebration and how to blend their lives. She was ready to branch out of the Steele compound and claim some dedicated space for their family. They’d kept the glass igloo retreat for camping vacations with the twins, but realized they needed more room, not just the occasional getaway cabin. A larger place to accommodate their own family that would also give Royce the square footage needed for cave time. They’d bought a sprawling home on the outskirts of Anchorage, complete with a barn that sported a loft office being custom renovated for Royce.
And they’d definitely need the extra space once Anna and Mary would be crawling to get the brightly colored abacuses Royce had bought them.
Shana and Chuck stopped in front of them now, shoulder to shoulder without touching, their relationship seeming as strained as always. Shana had been digging deep into Milla Jones’s past and following leads about the woman’s disappearance into the Canadian landscape. Naomi felt confident that if there were answers to be found, Shana would unearth them.
Clutching Naomi’s hands, Shana leaned in to whisper, “Don’t you worry, if your sister is out there, we will find her.”
Naomi squeezed her fingers. “I know you will. Thank you.” She hugged her hard, then said, “Thank you, too, for watching Anna while we’re away.”
“My joy,” Shana said, a hint of yearning in her eyes that spoke of longing for a baby of her own. “It’s worked out well that Delaney and Birch can take Mary.”
Naomi’s eyes went to her sister, who swayed from side to side holding the baby, Birch staring over her shoulder. Just beyond them, Jack and Jeannie shared a private moment at the side of the gathering. Jeannie twirled under Jack’s arm for a kiss.
Royce chuckled. “Hopefully, both girls will get some sleep when they’re not waking each other up all night to play.”
Naomi rolled her eyes, laughing along with him. “Um, more like you waking them up to rock them.”
She loved how he adored her daughters as his own. How could she have ever worried? Royce’s heart was big enough to love them all.
They were going to spend their honeymoon at the igloo cabin where they’d met, hiking and exploring, for a couple days before the twins would join them at their large new home on the water, the main renovations complete. Their latest remodeling idea included a sauna with a glass roof, perfect for romantic moments spent watching the northern lights. Now that they’d unlocked the secret to balance in their lives, she’d taken so much joy from finding ways to nurture their needs as a couple, and as strong-willed individuals, too.
She hooked her arm in his, leaning in to whisper, “It’s everything I ever dreamed of.”
“Me, too,” he answered, his eyes full of love and commitment as he bent to kiss her.
They’d worked hard for their happily ever after, but were the stronger for it. Their bond now was solid. Unbreakable. She would count on Royce forever, and she couldn’t wait to be the woman he turned to day after day for the rest of their lives.
The feel of his lips on hers stoked the fire in her veins for him. Her husband. Every kiss even more exciting than the last.
She angled back, his eyes warm on hers with an answering fire as the music from the quartet crescendoed. “Can I have this dance?”
He tipped his Stetson with a roguish glint in his gaze. “This one and every one thereafter. Consider your dance card full, my love.”
* * * * *
Passion and turmoil abound in the lives
of the Alaskan Oil Barons!
Nothing is as it seems.
Will they find Milla Jones? Will Chuck and Shana heal their fractured marriage?
Is Breanna alive?
Find out the answers and so much more when the Steeles and Mikkelsons return in four more
thrilling books, available November and
December 2017,
and January and February 2018!
And don’t miss a single twist in the
first four books of the
ALASKAN OIL BARONS
from
USA TODAY bestselling author Catherine Mann:
THE BABY CLAIM
THE DOUBLE DEAL
THE LOVE CHILD
THE TWIN BIRTHRIGHT
Keep reading for an excerpt from THE ILLEGITIMATE BILLIONAIRE by Barbara Dunlop.
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The Illegitimate Billionaire
by Barbara Dunlop
One
In an absurdly masculine room, deep in the halls of Clarkson Castle, Deacon Holt carefully neutralized his expression. He wouldn’t give Tyrell Clarkson the satisfaction of seeing anger, envy or any other emotion.
“Drink?” Tyrell asked, making a half turn toward Deacon from the inlayed walnut bar. He held up a cut-crystal decanter that Deacon could only guess held decades-old single malt.
Tyrell was well-known in Hale Harbor, Virginia, for indulging in the finer things.
“No,” Deacon answered. He had no idea why he’d been summoned today, after being shunned his entire life, but he was positive this wasn’t a social occasion.
Tyrell shrugged and poured two glasses anyway. He cut partway across the library and bent at the waist to set the glasses on opposite sides of a dark wood coffee table.
“In case you change your mind,” he said and gestured to one of two brown leather armchairs flanking the table.
The Twin Birthright Page 15
