I Will Always Love You

by Kathryn Shay

  He took her hand. “Not enough to cause a problem. Someday you’ll tell me.”

  As they headed to the skating area, he admonished himself. Stop trying to figure out where she’s from. Just enjoy the day!

  * * *

  “You have to wear this.”

  Looking up at Ryder from where she sat on a bench, Lexy smiled alluringly. “All right, but be gentle.”

  Squatting down before her, Ryder eased one strap over her foot, then did the same with the other. Slowly, he eased the leather up over her calf, then her thighs, his big hands brushing her skin. He said, “Stand now.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  Once she was on her feet, he moved the straps to the crease of her thighs; his knuckles skimmed her most sensitive parts. Then he belted the harness at her waist, reached around and eased the upper straps over her chest. As he buckled her in there, his knuckles scraped her breasts.

  “You’re taking a lot of liberties in public.”

  He kissed her nose. “No one’s near us.”

  The manager, whose name tag read Brian, came up to them. “Ready?”

  Alexandra said, “As I’ll ever be.”

  He motioned to the fifty-foot wall before them. “This is a piece of cake.”

  “So not a piece of cake when you’re new at it,” Ryder commented.

  She wasn’t new at climbing rocks. At their vacation home on the water, a section of the shoreline was dotted with rock formations. Mamá had insisted Papá let the girls play there, supervised by her. The rocks she chose were only ten feet tall, and if one of them fell off, she landed in the water. Lexy had counted the days until she was old enough to participate.

  Brian drew her from the pleasant memory. “How about if I take you through the steps?” He crossed to the wall, wearing his own harness. “First of all, remember that if you slip, the lines secured at the top to the harness will tighten and keep you from falling.”

  “I’ll remember.”

  Ryder said nothing. Was he nervous?

  “The next thing is body awareness. At all times, know where your body parts are and get them in balance.” He took a step with his left foot. “Remember to push with your knees, not pull on your arm. This way you won’t get tired out.”

  He climbed a few feet.

  “It’s important that you know what to do with your feet.” He moved his climbing shoe around so she could see the various positions and what difference each made in balance. “This is called edging.” When he came back down, he bestowed a grin on Lexy. “I’ll climb next to you to make sure you’re doing everything right.”

  Ryder’s gaze narrowed on the man. “I’ll be on the other side.”

  “Let’s go,” Lexy said. “I’m as ready as I’ll ever be.”

  After Brian completed the trip, they climbed for an hour by themselves, then descended the wall without using the security lines and removed their gear.

  On their way out of the place, Brian caught up to them. “Alexandra, wait.”

  She turned.

  He extended his hand. “Here’s my card if you ever want private lessons.”

  “Thank you, Brian. I had fun.”

  Ryder put his arm around her and ushered her through the door. He snatched the card out of her hand and mumbled, “When hell freezes over.”

  “Why, whatever are you talking about?”

  He stopped and tipped her chin. “You know very well that guy was flirting with you. Like the firefighter.”

  “Oh, that. I don’t even notice anymore when men do that.”

  “You’d better not. I want you to only have eyes for me.”

  She kissed his cheek. “I do, Ryder. I really do.”

  Chapter 12

  “Smile, Alexandra...that’s it. Beautiful.”

  She was that, Ryder thought as the photographer, Michael, shot a variety of poses three days after their excursion to PlayLand. Their time together had been fun, interesting and eye-opening. Alexandra had an athletic side to her.

  But the pièce de résistance of the last few days had been when they’d admitted their feelings for each other and made hot and sweet love whenever they could. Now, at the headshot photo shoot, she was focusing her attention on him.

  The camera clicked and clicked and Ryder grinned like a goofball. A goofball who is in love. He still couldn’t believe his good fortune. When the session ended, he had all he could do to keep himself from going to her and kissing the daylights out of her in front of everybody.

  But circumspection was vital. We’ll do this surreptitiously. I hate the idea of sneaking around, but sweetheart, I don’t have any choice.

  His phone buzzed, distracting him. “Ryder Reynolds.”

  “Ryder, I texted you a couple of times.” His father. “You and Alexandra have to get to my office as soon as you finish at the studio.”

  “We’re all done,” he told Richard. “We’ll be right over.”

  She came to him flushed with excitement. “How were the pictures?”

  “Stunning.”

  “I can’t wait to see them.”

  “I planned to view them now, but I got a phone call from my father, who’s demanding to see us.”

  “Is something’s wrong?”

  “He sounded harried. Usually ice runs in his veins.”

  “Well, I’m not buying trouble. Let’s go see him before we panic.”

  Once they were outside and heading down the street to the publishing house, Ryder tried to make small talk. “By the way, we’re getting some positive response to the podcasts. You were right, they were a great way to introduce you and the series to the public. I’ve seen comments on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. And it was a brilliant move to have Pickles open accounts on all three.”

  That had been Raven’s idea. “I’m glad you think so.”

  When they got to their building, Ryder stopped before they went inside. “Do you have any idea how much I want to kiss you—and more—right now?”

  “Hold the thought. We have to wait until after work.”

  Inside the elevator, their hands next to each other’s, he grasped her pinky finger with his. Somehow, the contact was intimate.

  They greeted Mary then went through his office. Ryder knocked on the door that adjoined his space to his father’s. “Come in.”

  They entered and found Richard at the conference table with a man Ryder recognized as a rival publisher. His dad said, “Come sit.” When they crossed the room, Ryder noted the tension on his father’s face and on Kurt Marks’s visage. “Hello, Kurt. This is Alexandra Marcello, a new author.”

  His jaw tight, he said, “Ms. Marcello, I saw your first podcast.”

  She gave him a joyous smile that seemed to surprise him.

  Alexandra and Ryder took seats across from the publisher.

  Kurt frowned at Richard. “Do you want to tell her what she’s done?”

  Richard leaned forward. “Allegedly done.” He faced Alexandra. Ryder recognized the expression—stern and unforgiving. “Kurt owns Heath Publishers. He has an author who wrote a princess series and she contends you’ve copied her stories.”

  Alexandra’s brow furrowed. “Who?”

  “Jacey Killian.”

  “I don’t recognize her name. And I’m sure I never read her work. As a matter of fact, I intentionally didn’t read any children’s princess books while I wrote mine.”

  Kurt picked a book up off the conference table. “Leaf through and try to tell me that again.”

  * * *

  Lexy accepted the book, refusing to let herself get upset. She examined the cover. Nice art work. The princess sat on a throne and the title indicated her subjects gathered around her. At her side was an odd little man.

  Lexy leafed through the pages. The princess took requests from the people, who knelt before her, and then the man—she called him Attaché—decided whether or not she should grant them. This story was about getting help for the ill son of one of the subjects.

  Alexa
ndra raised her head. “This isn’t like my books.”

  Kurt scowled. “The castle bears resemblance to yours, the princess looks like yours and she and her sidekick work together on projects.”

  “I’ll concede there are some similarities, but the two books have very different plots and wildly different tones.”

  “It appears to me, young lady, that you copied her work.”

  “I did not!” Alexandra said firmly, calling on her royal backbone. She paged through until she found what she wanted. “These take place in contemporary time, don’t they?”

  “As yours do.”

  “For one thing, she’s got the hierarchy all mixed up. No princess sits on a throne when she interacts with the population. Kings don’t even have thrones anymore. Second, people never come for help in groups. Those in need have private meetings with the king’s emissaries which are then turned over to him.”

  “You’re kidding, right? This is fiction.”

  “Then I guess my stories are more real than hers.”

  “How do you answer the princess’s appearance being similar to your main character?”

  Damn, she hadn’t wanted to reveal anything, but telling part of the story was better than confessing her entire background. “Actually, how does Jacey Killian address it?”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Look at me, Mr. Marks.”

  As he scrutinized her face, awareness dawned. “Your princess resembles you.”

  “I’m afraid so does hers. My sister, who illustrated our books, based the drawings on me.”

  Since that fact was irrefutable, he said nothing more.

  She did. “And the castle. There are so many mistakes in its rendering.”

  “I’m not buying any of this. Killian’s book comes out a month after yours. These likenesses will hurt her sales.” The man stood. “Our lawyers will contact yours.”

  Ryder stood, too. “Go ahead. We back Ms. Marcello, completely.”

  “You’ll be hearing from us.”

  When the man left, Richard huffed. “This could be a big mess.”

  “Why?” Lexy asked. “I didn’t copy anything.”

  “You have your characters solve problems in all three stories.”

  “So do many other children’s books. Not to mention the hordes of thrillers. You can’t copy plot devices.”

  “The two sets of books are not alike, Dad. Lexy’s have a playful tone. I know Killian’s work. Hers is an old-fashioned book where subjects are treated like peons.”

  “I guess we’ll have to wait and see what our lawyers say.”

  Richard focused on her. “Even if we still go forward, we can’t afford to change the release dates. Your books have been worked into the master schedule.”

  “If we go forward?”

  “There are a myriad of things to consider.”

  Ryder fumed. But he said, “Let’s not get ahead of ourselves. We’ll wait for our lawyers’ opinions.”

  “I’d never steal anything from anyone.” Her protest was vehement because she felt...persecuted.

  “I believe you,” Richard conceded. “But I’m not sure that’s enough.”

  Transferring her gaze to Ryder, she shook her head. “I don’t know what to say.”

  He touched her arm. “Nothing more needs to be said or done. Call and get our lawyers on this, Dad.”

  Richard picked up the phone. “Alexandra, be available anytime today to talk with Jim Mason, our lawyer.”

  “I will.”

  “Thank you.”

  “I’ll walk you out.” Ryder escorted her through the door and waited with her by the elevator. “I know you wouldn’t steal, love.”

  “Of course I wouldn’t. What worries me is even if your lawyer sees my side, the other author could still make a fuss and taint my books.”

  “We’ll just have to wait.” He nudged her with his shoulder. “Where are you going now?”

  “I was planning to start Tater’s book today.”

  “That’ll take your mind off this bump.”

  “What will you do?”

  “Maybe do some digging on Killian’s books before my next meeting.”

  “Then you are worried.”

  “No, cautious. Go. Say hi to Tater for me.”

  * * *

  On the way to the hotel, Alexandra let the worry wash over her. She didn’t want Ryder to see her concern. She also didn’t want to blurt out that she herself was a princess. That would kill the other woman’s claims. But revealing her identity was impossible. When she’d asked Raven to illustrate her books, her sister agreed. With some caveats...

  “Oh, sweetie. I’d love to do that for you. And for me. Working on a project together would be wonderful.”

  “Really?”

  “Yes, but we wouldn’t be able to use the Gentileschi name.”

  “I know. I don’t want to sell books because I’m a princess, anyway. I want the story to stand for itself.”

  “That’s how I feel about my art. I’ve applied to some iconic museums to show my paintings, and I don’t want my status to be the reason I get accepted.”

  “Then basically, we agree. So there won’t be any issues.”

  “Nope, we’ll be the Marcello sisters. It’s legal, too...”

  Alexandra stopped at a café and ordered a latte. As she sipped the sweet, milky drink, she thought of all Ryder had invested in these books. What if the other side got the upper hand? Would Ryder hate her if he later found out she held the key to making the books an outrageous success?

  It didn’t matter, though. She had a responsibility to Raven and she’d never go back on her word.

  * * *

  Four hours later, Ryder and Alexandra sat across from their lawyers, once again in Richard’s office. After introductions, the chief counsel, Jim Mason, took over. “Even before I read books from both series, I could have told you Killian doesn’t have a claim on ideas. Copyrighting any book on princesses is ridiculous.”

  “Does she consider Alexandra’s books copyright infringement, not plagiarism?” Ryder asked.

  “Plagiarism is using a work you didn’t write and claiming it as your own. Passages have to be lifted word for word, and the illustrations would have to be exact. Copyright infringement is using another’s work without their specified permission.”

  Concerned, Ryder leaned forward. “I did some more research on Killian’s series. It’s been out for several years, and nothing about the content is unique. Reviewers called her latest effort stale and uninspired.”

  “So she’s trying to promote her stories by attacking ours?” Alexandra asked.

  “It’s been done,” Jim added.

  “Does it work?”

  “In some ways. Even if no settlements ever happen, the person who sues gets promotion by attacking the new book. And your project could be pigeon-holed by Killian’s accusations. Which will in turn affect sales.”

  “Could Killian get an injunction on our books to keep us from printing?” Ryder asked.

  “Oh, my God.” Alexandra’s face had gone pale. “That could happen?”

  “Anyone can bring suits,” Mason said calmly. “A judge has to decide on whether to institute an injunction. But I’d file one right back keeping her new book from coming out, so it’s likely she won’t go that route.”

  “What can we do about her publicizing complaints?” Richard asked.

  “Nothing.” The lawyer’s brow furrowed. “My guess is we’d have to counter with our own truth.” He turned to Alexandra. “I’d like you to spend some time writing down where you got your ideas from, how the drawings came to be, anything at all about the evolution of the books.”

  Alexandra froze.

  “Is something wrong?” Ryder asked her.

  “Well, I’m not exactly sure of all that. I’ve always been interested in the lives of princesses....”

  “Just try.” Mason didn’t seem worried. “I’ll do some research on the other children’s pri
ncess books. We’ll see if they bear any similarity to Ms. Killian’s.”

  When the lawyer stood to leave, Alexandra said to him, “I’ll be going too.” To Ryder, she added, “I want time to think about all this.”

  “I’ll come with you.”

  “I’d like a word with you, Ryder. Alone, please,” Richard said.

  “Dad...”

  Alexandra touched his arm. “No, stay and talk to your father.”

  When they were alone, Ryder studied his father across the table. His face was tight, his eyes narrowed and he tapped a pen on his desk. “This could diminish the sales of her book. Keep it from becoming a bestseller.”

  “Or the opposite can happen. Both books would get a lot of publicity. People will buy them to find out either way if Killian’s work was copied.”

  “There’s more to this, Ryder.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “The contract you and I signed specifies a certain level of profit from books you work on.”

  “Which I’ve met for the first three genres.”

  “I know. And I was prepared to give you your money for the bookstore if Alexandra Marcello’s work was a success.”

  “It will be!”

  “For your sake, I hope so. Now, I have another meeting. We can talk later if you want.”

  Furious at his father’s dangling the contract in front of him and then his dismissal, Ryder strode to the door to his office...which they’d left open. When he walked inside, he found Alexandra sitting on one of the couches, her eyes bleak.

  “What are you doing here?”

  “I decided I’d be calmer if I was with you. Mary let me wait here. Ryder, what deal did you make with your father? And what’s this about a bookstore?”

  * * *

  Slowly, Ryder closed both doors to his office. He took a chair opposite Alexandra on the edge of the seat. Lines bracketed his mouth and eyes. She’d come to know that expression indicated concern.

  “When I left Wall Street, I was broke. The market had caved and I lost all my equity. I was sick of it anyway—I’d only gone there to make money so I could achieve other dreams.”