by A. C. Arthur
“You should’ve asked me before inviting someone to my wedding,” Chaz snapped, and then turned his attention to his uncle. “Did you know about this?”
Tobias looked grim but added a half-hearted smile to Chaz. “Not until last night, and believe me I told her exactly what I thought about her duplicity.”
“It’s not duplicitous if I came clean.” Veronica signaled for the server.
RJ wasn’t sure where the conversation was about to go but it didn’t matter, because Grace walked up to the table at that moment.
“Good evening,” she said, her tone clear and even, her gaze immediately finding his.
She wore a boho-style maxi dress tonight in a royal blue tone that made her deep mocha skin glisten. He’d always loved jewel tones on her, and she looked amazing tonight with her hair held back behind her ear with a sparkly clip, the rest left flowing in deep waves. He suddenly wished that this was a dinner for two and that there was no story as the topic of conversation, just the two of them having a normal reunion. That thought was interrupted by the sound of his mother’s voice.
“Grace.” Marva immediately rose from her seat. “It’s wonderful to see you again.”
RJ stood and watched his ex-girlfriend walk past him to greet his mother. The hug they shared was genuine. He could tell by the way his mother closed her eyes the moment Grace was locked in her embrace, and how Grace held on to Marva as if she’d been waiting forever for that moment. The sight caused in him an uneasy flicker of sorrow, and he breathed a sigh of relief when they finally pulled away from each other.
“Here, Grace, I’ll move down a seat.” Nina also stood, and RJ’s attention went from the hug to his sister-in-law, who’d been sitting next to him and was now doing the unexpected.
When Grace passed him again it was to smile at Nina. “Thank you.”
“No problem. I’m Nina, by the way. Major’s wife.”
Grace shook Nina’s offered hand and took the seat beside RJ. “Oh yes, I’ve seen a few pictures of the two of you. On your website, of course.” Nina and Major ran the Gold Service, a company geared toward app integration and tech development for the fashion industry. They had amazing new ventures on the horizon. “Congratulations to you and to you, too, Major,” she said.
Major smiled at her. “Thanks, Grace. It’s good to see you again.”
Eventually RJ sat down and more pleasantries ensued as Grace was introduced to Chaz and Tobias King. Ron remained quiet through the ordering of their meal, but as they all sipped their drinks, he finally settled his gaze on Grace to ask his first question of her.
“Why now?” He sat back in his chair.
The senior member of the Gold family wore a tan linen suit tonight, which fit expertly over his expansive build. RJ and his father shared not only the same body type, but their skin tone and deep voices were almost identical, as well.
Desta and Riley had been discussing something while his mother and Veronica were sharing a strained but cordial conversation. All of that stopped with Ron’s question and everyone at the table waited expectantly for Grace’s reply.
RJ waited for some sign that Grace was in distress or felt uncomfortable in any way. The instinctive spurt of protectiveness startled him. He was prepared to jump in and say whatever was necessary to smooth things over between her and his family, but when he glanced at her she was just setting her wineglass on the table. Turning her attention to his father, she met Ron’s gaze and smiled.
“Why not now, sir? What better time than now to focus on a success story, when Black people and so many other marginalized groups are feeling the repeated sting of racism and baseless disdain in this country and oftentimes abroad as well.” Her brows arched as she spoke. “This story has the potential to build hope by showing how you and Mr. King were able to overcome adversity both within your inner circle and from the outside to build two of the most influential empires in the fashion industry.”
Across the table, Tobias took a breadstick, tearing a small piece from its corner before stuffing it into his mouth. He stared at Grace while he chewed.
“I think she’s right,” Riley said while Ron remained silent. “Chaz and I were determined not to carry the brunt of a feud that didn’t involve us and yet it still hung over us until the moment you and Tobias stepped up and called a truce. Both companies have experienced a steady bump in sales since that announcement, and I know it’s partially because of the unity the two of you showed within the industry when it mattered most.”
“What do you need from us?” Marva asked Grace while placing a hand over her husband’s.
RJ watched as his father glanced down at his wife’s hand. When Ron looked up again there was an expression of calm on his face that hadn’t been there moments ago.
“I’d like to interview each of you to get your thoughts on not only the feud but how you think it’s influenced who you are personally.” She paused and looked at Desta and Nina. “Or in your case, Desta and Nina, how you believe it shaped those you ultimately decided to love and commit to,” Grace said.
Grace believed that Desta and Nina decided to love and commit to Maurice and Major, the way she’d decided not to do those things with him. RJ hated that her walking away from him still bothered him so much. It was taking more strength than he thought he had to not confront her with all the questions that circled his mind about that long-ago night. He just wasn’t certain he was ready to hear the answers. “Be careful what you wish for” was a very real mantra in his mind, and if Grace told him something like she’d wanted to be with someone else or she’d fallen out of love with him, he didn’t know how he’d respond to that.
Desta gave a light chuckle. “Well, I don’t know about the deciding to love part. I’m not sure any of us made the decision to love, rather than having love find us and basically beat us over the head until we came to our senses.”
While Nina and Riley nodded their agreement, Tobias spoke up. “I don’t know about that. Once love is in the picture it can influence many decisions, good and bad.”
Now Grace did tense. RJ sensed it in her silence and when he glanced at her, the slight falter of her smile. The servers arrived with their food then, and the meal proceeded with much lighter topics of conversation. RJ appreciated the interruption. Love wasn’t something he wanted to hear about, especially not when the woman he’d considered the love of his life was sitting right beside him, not wearing his wedding ring. They survived the meal and were just finishing dessert when the next blow to the precarious state of his and Grace’s personal life came.
“So why’d you two break up?” Veronica asked. “You’re so lovely together.”
This time Grace visibly stiffened. There was no smile on her face and her wineglass was empty, so she couldn’t reach for it as a refuge—which RJ knew she wanted to do because he wanted to grab his glass and ask for another shot of vodka. Without hesitation he eased a hand beneath the table to where she’d dropped hers into her lap. He clasped her wrist and she relaxed enough that he could lace his fingers with hers.
“Let’s keep the past in the past,” Ron intervened. “And instead we can talk about this volleyball game that’s scheduled for tomorrow.”
Chatter around them began again and RJ leaned over to whisper in Grace’s ear. “Sorry about that.”
“No. Don’t be. I expected it,” she replied.
She was lying. He knew from the crinkle in her nose when she attempted to smile afterward.
“Oh, volleyball is going to be so much fun,” Riley said. “And now that Grace is here, we’ll be evenly matched.”
“What?” RJ blurted. He’d been hoping the uncomfortable part of this evening was nearing an end.
“She’s right,” Maurice chimed in. “Now it all works out, we’ll be evenly matched with Grace joining us tomorrow.”
“But Grace isn’t joining us tomorrow,” RJ replie
d, releasing Grace as if their entwined hands were the cause of his siblings’ suggestion.
“Why not?” Riley asked.
“It does make sense,” Desta said. “She evens out the women versus the men and if she’s here to interview all of us, it stands to reason that she’d also hang out with all of us.”
No, that definitely didn’t make sense. RJ had spent the better part of the day kicking himself for letting the “keep your enemies close” philosophy goad him into making this arrangement with Grace. He’d been especially annoyed with himself for kissing her because in the end—i.e., this morning—she’d simply turned him down again. She’d brushed off what had happened between them in the cabana as being “in the past.” Each time he saw Grace he felt as if he were locked into a front-row seat on a roller coaster of emotions. One minute he couldn’t resist remembering how good they’d been together, leading to the persistent need to touch her, kiss her and protect her from all harm. And the next minute, fresh anger churned in the pit of his stomach at the confusion that still plagued him over her abrupt departure. Now they had an agreement and he couldn’t back out. Though he wanted access to her story, he’d planned to check in with her during quick coffee breaks, not spend every second together doing every insane item on Riley’s itinerary.
“I played a little volleyball in high school,” Grace replied. “I’d love to join you tomorrow.”
His head whipped around so fast it was a wonder he didn’t injure himself. What the hell was she doing? This morning she hadn’t made a move to stop him from leaving her room, but now she was suddenly keen on spending a few hours out of her day with him tomorrow. Or had the chance to spend time with his family in order to gain more info for her story prompted the change?
“Maybe I could schedule some time to meet with Desta and Nina a little before the game?” Grace asked by way of follow-up. “That way I’ll be totally focused on playing later.”
RJ hated the spike of hope he experienced with her suggestion to handle business first, as if she’d somehow heard his question about her true motivation for participating in the game.
“Sure,” Nina replied, and Desta also agreed.
“Well, tomorrow sounds like it’ll be fun,” Ron said. “But tonight, I’d like to walk along the beach with my wife.”
RJ watched his father get up from the table and stand by his mother while she did the same. Ron’s hand went to the small of his wife’s back and Marva smiled at him, the love they still shared obvious in their expressions.
“Awww, that’s so romantic,” Nina said to Major after Marva and Ron had bid their good-nights and walked away. “When we’ve been married for thirty-six years, I hope we still look like that.”.
“They’re definitely relationship goals,” Riley told Chaz, who lifted her hand to his lips for a soft kiss.
Tobias stood then, taking Veronica’s hand. “Well, that’s the cue for the other set of old heads at this table to also say good-night.”
Veronica waved at Grace before leaving.
“They’re going on three years in case anyone was wondering,” Chaz said.
Nobody at the table commented, even though they were all probably trying to figure out how much longer Tobias’s latest union was going to last. Chaz had shared his uncle’s philosophy on being married so many times—“never be afraid of falling in love”—with the Gold brothers months ago. RJ begged to differ with Tobias’s words. Love was definitely something to be afraid of, which was why he’d steered clear of it since getting burned the first time.
“Nightcaps by the pool?” Maurice suggested. “Which building are you staying in, Grace? Well, it doesn’t matter, I’m sure RJ will escort you to your room so you can change into your bathing suit and then bring you back to the pool with us.”
RJ couldn’t go to the other side of the table and slap Maurice against the back of his head like he’d often done when they were younger and his brother said something foolish. Like he so desperately wanted to do now.
“You’re still the clever one, Maurice,” Grace said lightheartedly. “But I can walk myself back to my room.”
She was standing and moving away from the table before he had a chance to catch her. Probably because he was too busy sending Maurice a sour look. Moments later he caught up with her just as she was about to walk out of the restaurant.
“So you’re coming to nightcaps by the pool, too?” He didn’t know what else to say but noted that his tone was a mixture of surprise and irritation.
Grace kept going through the doorway, stepping out into the evening with its balmy breeze. He followed and stopped when she did the same.
“Yes, I’m going to change and then join you and your family at the pool because, like Desta said, I’ll get a much better idea of how everyone was affected by Ron and Tobias if I’m spending a lot of time with them. Is that a problem for you?”
Words didn’t immediately come as RJ realized the real problem here was staring him directly in the face. He wanted to spend a lot of time with Grace. Whether or not it made sense, or if it was smart, didn’t really matter. What he discovered after sitting beside her and hearing her talk to his family as if she hadn’t been gone for the last ten years, after holding her hand when he thought she needed support, was that he really wanted to be with her. Despite the story and even if it was temporary.
“No. It’s no problem at all.” He cleared his throat. “I’ll walk you back to your room.”
Her face remained blank, so he couldn’t tell if she was relieved or worried about his response. “I wasn’t joking when I told Maurice I’ll be fine walking by myself.”
He nodded and started moving. “Yeah, well, I know Maurice is the jokester of our family, but he was spot-on when he said I’d want to walk you to your room and back. C’mon, let’s go.”
She fell into step beside him without argument, and marveled at how differently this night was turning out to be.
CHAPTER EIGHT
THIS WAS A shocking change from how Grace thought she’d spend her evening. She’d planned to enjoy the pool at the resort when she had a chance, had even said as much to RJ when they’d talked about it this morning, but she hadn’t imagined visiting the massive pool available to guests in the private villas.
During the walk over, RJ had explained the layout of the resort, as if she’d needed to know this was where the people with the big bucks stayed. It was the exclusive area of the resort—not for those like her who’d put a slight dent in her savings to afford the airfare and two-week room stay. The pool outside her building was a nice size, and the cabanas around the bar area were large, as well. But this pool, with its cabanas the size of her apartment, was phenomenal.
“You sure you’re gonna be okay doing this?” RJ asked as they came to stand at the edge of the gated swimming area.
They’d stopped at his suite after hers, and he’d changed out of the navy-blue slacks and button-front shirt he’d worn at dinner. Now he wore light gray board shorts and a loose-fitting white tank top. On his feet were leather flip-flops, and he carried a black travel kit she’d watched him drop his phone, wallet and room key into.
She’d dumped the contents of the small clutch purse she’d carried at dinner into her tote bag and tossed in a pair of shorts in case the sarong she was wearing got too wet. “I’ll be fine. You don’t have to worry about me, you know. I’ve been around your family before.”
This was something she’d repeated to herself throughout the day in preparation for tonight’s dinner. But as it turned out, being around the Golds again had been easier than she’d thought it would be. While she’d expected anger and demands for her to explain what happened between her and RJ, none of that had occurred. Instead, Marva had been her wonderfully warm self and Maurice, Major and Riley had talked to her as if she hadn’t been away all this time. Desta and Nina had also been welcoming. Chaz and Tobias hadn’t sa
id a lot to her directly, but they’d both seemed comfortable by the middle of dinner. Veronica had been her normal chatty self, annoying Grace only when she’d asked what happened between her and RJ.
Grace suspected they’d all been thinking that, but no one except Veronica had the guts to ask. She would be forever grateful to Ron for circumventing that question and changing the subject.
Things were different between her and RJ now, but that didn’t mean her mind never slipped back to a time when they’d been a couple, too.
As they’d all sat paired up at dinner, it had been so easy to let herself believe it was once again true. Good food, easy conversation—even when RJ reached for her hand in a way he often used to while they were out—she’d accepted and let herself believe, if only for that brief time.
“There they are. We were wondering what was taking you two so long,” Maurice said, winking at RJ when he looked Maurice’s way.
They’d taken the cabana at the farthest end of the pool. The one that was only about twenty feet away from the hot tub she was dying to get into.
“We saved you the two lounge chairs over here.” Desta directed Grace to the seat beside her.
It was strategic placement, she immediately noted. The four guys were sitting on the outside of the square setup while the women were in the center. Easier for them to talk to her without interruption. She might’ve been a little concerned if it didn’t work to her advantage as well. For as many questions as she was certain Riley, Nina and Desta were planning to ask her, she’d decided to ask them plenty more.
Grace put her bag beside the designated lounge chair and RJ dropped his on the one behind hers.
“Let’s get a drink,” he said, and waited while she walked around her chair to join him.
There’d been a larger bar when they first entered the pool area, but it was closed. The one a couple feet from their cabana was smaller, completely stocked and self-serve. No doubt something the Golds had arranged.
“What can I get you?” Chaz asked as she approached. “I’m the designated bartender for the moment, so keep it simple.” His smile came quick, giving her the impression that his ire during dinner hadn’t been directed at her after all.
