by PE Kavanagh
“But he’s engaged.” She felt like a broken record.
“Fair enough. But don’t discount your feelings just because they don’t look quite right. Trust your heart, pumpkin. It’s always led you where you needed to be.”
She got up from her seat and squeezed her father. “I love you, Dad. More than you’ll ever know.”
Chapter Nine
Ramona smoothed the crease that kept forming around her hips. She’d have to stay standing if she didn’t want her dress to look awful by the end of the night. Maybe the mulberry silk hadn’t been the right choice. But it was lovely.
If she’d been wearing a watch, she would have checked it. Tyler was late.
The black car stopped in front of her driveway just as she unlocked her phone to text him.
She watched through the living room windows as he jumped out and ran up to the front door, which she opened. He stepped into the house, out of breath. “I’m so sorry I’m late! The traffic here is brutal. I almost got back on the plane and flew to your neighborhood.”
“It’s okay. We’ll be fine.”
He held her arms. “You look gorgeous, Robin. Like a dream.”
“Does it make you want to give me money?”
He squinted. “Giving you money isn’t the first thing that comes to mind, but, sure.”
She slapped his chest. “Don’t be crude, Ty. All that matters is buffing up the foundation. We’ve been underfunded for too many years now. Time to turn that around.”
“If anyone can do it, you can.”
* * *
As expected, Ramona and Tyler made a grand entrance, reporters huddled around the entrance to the reception hall. There were several she didn’t recognize. Perhaps an appearance by the world-famous Tyler Diamond had increased their exposure. She gave the photographers her best smile and said a silent thank you to her friend for supporting her in so many ways.
The first sight of Lucas, with Abigail on his arm, wiped the smile right off her face. They looked like they belonged on a celebrity red carpet, complete with tuxedo, designer gown, and bright white smiles.
Tyler moved his arm behind her with a tight grip. “Don’t worry, Robin. I’ve got you.”
Abigail’s expression moved along a matching spectrum, from beaming smile to unmistakable disgust, as if she had taken a whiff of something very bad.
The two couples approached each other. Everything moved in excruciating slow motion. Had Lucas told her that Abigail was coming? She didn’t think so.
They stood staring at each other for longer than Ramona could stomach. She dipped her head in acknowledgment. “Lucas. Abigail. Nice to see you.”
“And you too, Ramona.” Abigail gawked at Tyler’s arm around Ramona’s waist. “Tyler. I didn’t realize you’d be attending the benefit. I thought you were in Europe.”
“I wouldn’t miss it. Anything to support Ramona.”
Fear that Abigail had found out about her dalliances with Lucas sent a flash of terror down Ramona’s spine. Her smile pulled the tightened skin of her cheeks. She swallowed.
Lucas reached his hand out to Tyler. “Thanks for coming, Tyler. Your support is so important to us.”
Tyler chuckled. “You bet.”
Lucas turned his confused glance to Ramona. “I need a few minutes of your time, if you don’t mind. The caterer isn’t clear on the timing for all the speeches and dinner service.”
Tyler gripped her waist a bit tighter. She appreciated it but had to pull away. “Excuse me, Ty. I’ll be right back.”
Ramona increased her pace across the main hall, through the first prep area, to the caterer’s kitchen, staying out of the reach of Lucas’ arm.
She looked around the bustling back room, filled with chefs and servers. “Where is the catering manager?”
Lucas pressed his lips together. “I made that up.”
She turned on her heel to meet his concerned gaze. “You did what?”
“I just needed to talk to you. Before we got too immersed in the evening’s activities. You look beautiful, by the way.”
Anger tickled behind her eyes. “You pulled me back here to tell me that?”
“No. Not only that.”
“This is ridiculous, Lucas. We’ve got important work to do tonight. Please don’t make this about our situation. I need to focus on the foundation.”
He touched her cheek, and she had a fleeting impulse to grab his hand and run out of the building together. She moved his hand away.
“We’re good together, Ramona. Look me in the eye and tell me we aren’t.”
“No. I’m not going to do this. You know my terms, Lucas. I need the truth.” She took two long steps away from him, stopped and turned back. “But not tonight.”
* * *
Cocktail hour passed too quickly for Ramona. The large room, full of potential donors - big ones - needed to be worked hard. It looked like Lucas was too busy following her every move to do his fair share of schmoozing. At least he remembered to do her intro.
The crowd quieted within moments of him standing on the small platform in the center of the room. He’d mastered the smile-and-wave while waiting for the crowd’s attention.
“Good evening, everyone! I’m so taken back by the response to tonight’s event. We’ve already achieved over half of our donation goal just from pledges made here. As you know, the Barrett Winston Foundation is the culmination of two families’ commitment to making the world a better place. Your participation is deeply appreciated, and your support is critical.” A small round of applause kept him from continuing. “Folks, as you know, I’m just the warm-up act. The person you really want to hear from is my much more beautiful, talented, and engaging partner-in-crime. So, please give a warm welcome to the indomitable Ramona Barrett.”
They hugged as she stepped onto the small elevated area. He lingered a bit too long handing her the microphone. She avoided his eyes, knowing what she didn’t need was to get the Lucas Winston butterflies.
“Thank you, everyone. We come together on the tail of a tragic event - the death of my grandfather - but we have a chance here, tonight, to make the vision he shared more than fifty years ago with his best friend Kenneth Winston blossom into something earth-changing. Something exponentially bigger than anything they could have imagined. But we can’t do it alone. We need your help.”
She paused to connect with the rapt audience. Tyler winked at her. “I encourage you to take a look at the plans we have detailed in the prospectus. I welcome your suggestions and comments. In fact, Lucas and I, as co-chair of the foundation, would love to have conversations with each and every one of you. As you know, I’ve devoted my life to the refinement of charitable giving, but nothing is as important, or as personal, as this particular foundation.
“There are so many problems in the world that we can’t address. But there are enough that can be remediated or rectified with your help.
“We - those who can - are charged with helping those who can’t. It’s part of the privilege of being in the positions we find ourselves. I thank you again for your attendance tonight, for your kind words of condolence, and for honoring my grandfather with the support of his foundation. Please enjoy the wonderful food and music.”
Applause continued well after she’d moved from the center of the room. She was buffeted with greetings, compliments, and hugs as she made her way to Tyler, who was beaming by the main bar.
“If you didn’t already work for me, I’d hire you. Right on the spot. You’re damned impressive, Robin. Might have just added another zero to my donation.”
She ran her palms down the lapels of his tuxedo. “Now, that’s what I want to hear.”
“You’re such a good speaker, Ramona!”
That voice caused her to jump back. She turned slowly, not really wanting to share the moment with that particular woman. Or her date. “Thank you, Abigail. Kind of you to say.”
“If I ever need to raise some money, consider yourself hired!”
/>
Ramona wondered how much venom was evident in her polite laughter. There was not enough money in the universe for her to want that job. She grabbed a glass of champagne from the passing waiter and took too large a gulp.
“Careful, now! Remember what happened last time when you drank too much.”
Lucas pulled on his date’s arm. “Abigail! That’s so rude!”
Ramona kept her gaze locked on the woman. She didn’t want to see even one part of him. “Oh, that’s okay. And she’s probably right. It’s best to be careful in these situations. I wouldn’t want to cause another stain.”
Tyler’s laugh got buried in a series of coughs. He was a terrible actor.
Lucas hardly waited for the coughing man to regain his bearings. “Tyler, I know you were interested in coming to the restaurant. We’re having a special wine pairing dinner this weekend. I’d love to invite you as my guest.”
“Oh, that sounds great. But Robin - I mean Ramona - and I are headed out in the morning.”
Lucas’ face fell. “Headed out?”
“Yeah, I need to get back to London and Ramona’s coming with me. We’re working on a tech education initiative with a British company. The timing just happened to work out perfectly.”
Lucas’ eyes bored into her. She was not going to engage.
He tilted his head and squinted. “I wasn’t aware you were leaving so soon.”
She desperately wanted to be out of that conversation.
Tyler touched her arm. “Well, I was going to take the meeting by myself, because I thought she’d be tied up with family, but she’s ready to go, I guess.”
“Yes, I am.”
“Next time, Lucas.” Tyler clasped his shoulder. “I really am dying to try your restaurant. It’s the talk of the town.”
Lucas lifted his chest. “Yes, next time.”
Ramona pretended to wave at someone in the crowd and walked away.
* * *
She could almost feel Lucas’ body behind her as she wove her way through the crowd. Every step forward was halted by someone wanting a handshake or a chat. She cut to the left, hoping to lose him, and found herself on a straight trajectory toward his mother. She was trapped.
He closed the space between them, to the point that his jacket brushed against her bare shoulders. “You were just going to sneak out of town and not tell me? What is going on with you, Ramona?”
She turned around slowly. “It’s time for me to go back to work. I don’t live here, remember?”
He shook his head, incredulous. “I understand you’re struggling with what happened… with what’s happening… but what you’re doing is… unlike you.”
“Maybe you don’t know me quite as well as you think, Lucas.”
“I guess not, ”he said, his voice trailing away as she walked farther and farther from him.
* * *
The numbers indicated they had done well, exceeding Ramona’s monetary goal for the night. Too bad all she felt was sadness. That situation with Lucas had ended as badly as her worst fears. What a complete mess. She tossed and turned in her bed - the same one he’d been in just days ago - before giving up on the idea of sleep.
She tiptoed down the hall and into the next room, then burst out laughing. The sight of the man who she’d only ever seen in the most plush environments sitting on a small bed in a small room, surrounded by art supplies and teenage boy paraphernalia, was too much. It looked like he was trying to sleep in a time-warped storage closet.
“Sorry about the conditions, Ty. I guess Dad didn’t try very hard to convert this room after Connor left home.”
“It’s fine. I kinda like it. Definitely a change of pace and a million times more comfortable than the Ritz-Carlton. And you know I’m no snob.” He patted the small space next to him and scooted over the few inches available to him. “Come sit with me for a minute.”
She did so without hesitation. He took her hand. “Tonight was hard for you, wasn’t it?”
A ball of tears made its way up her throat. She swallowed and nodded. He pulled her into his arms. “I’m sorry, Robin.” He stroked her hair while she softly cried into his shoulder.
A deep breath helped her pull herself together. “I’m sorry, Ty. This is inappropriate. You don’t need to see my crying over some guy.”
He flashed her the trademark Tyler Diamond smile. “Although I would have happily accepted you sneaking into my bedroom for another reason, I knew you wanted to talk about tonight.”
“I don’t know that there’s anything to talk about.”
“You love him.”
The answer came out before she could stop it. “Yes.”
“And he loves you.”
“N-”
“That wasn’t a question. I was letting you know that I knew.” Otherwise known as a Diamond question, a technique he had perfected in his business dealings, and which drove her crazy.
She huffed. “Whatever you think about who loves whom doesn’t matter. He’s getting married in two weeks. That’s the reality.”
He nodded and smirked, adding to her impulse to want to strangle him. “About that…”
Her gaze snapped to his. He knew something. “What? What is it? What do you know?”
He gently stroked her hand, which was their particular shorthand for slow down, take a breath.
“You remember that I gave Abigail a ride to New York after the funeral?”
“Yes.”
“I noticed a few things.”
She sat, keeping her expression calm and her breathing slow. He wouldn’t continue unless she was in control. Hysterical women did not get any of Tyler’s attention. She nodded slowly.
“I definitely can’t claim to be an expert on women.”
She continued to nod and gave him what she hoped was a compassionate, knowing smile.
“But having three sisters taught me a few things. A woman who’s about to get married thinks about one thing and one thing only.”
That was easy. “Her wedding.”
“Exactly. Although Abigail spoke freely, even voluminously, she did not once bring up her engagement, her fiancé, or her wedding. For the four or so hours we were together. It was obvious enough that even I noticed.”
Ramona pulled her bottom lip between her teeth. She wasn’t sold on the fact that this was incontrovertible evidence that the engagement was a sham. Odd, certainly. But Abigail was odd. “Maybe she’s not one of those girls who’s all wedding crazy.”
“Except for the fact that when we were in public, it’s the first thing she brought up. Remember?”
“That’s true.” Ramona furrowed her brow. “You’re right.”
Her mind got busy sorting all the conflicting information, hoping for it to fall into orderly piles, which would make sense.
“There’s something else, too.” Tyler interrupted her sorting with a peculiar look.
She tilted her head from side to side. She knew Tyler well enough that there was no question where this was going. “You didn’t.”
He grimaced. “Not strictly speaking, no.”
“But?”
“She might have. Actually, she did.” He gave her an awkward smile as if to say look at how funny I am.
Ramona’s mouth dropped open. Before a stream of expletives flew out of it - including a particularly scathing cheating bitch - she flashed to a scene just one day before of her on her knees with Lucas’ cock pounding against the back of her throat. No matter how much she wanted it to be true, two wrongs did not make it right.
“Are you saying-”
“She gave me a blow job. Enthusiastically.”
Ramona dropped her head in her hands. “Ugh.” Hearing it explicitly made it even worse.
“Are you disgusted with me?”
She looked up at his worried face. “I wish I could be. But I’ve done much worse. For likely the first and only time in our lives, I’ve crossed the moral line a hundred times farther than you.”
“You sl
ept with him.” Tyler never spoke about her and other men. It was a clear boundary.
“You don’t want to hear about this, Ty.”
“Yes, you’re right. It’s hard for me. But I’m your friend, first and foremost. The other stuff is my issue to deal with.” She was probably the only person in the world who could see the hint of sadness in his smile.
She leaned back into his shoulder. “You’re such a good guy.”
“Don’t tell anyone.”
She laughed. “No one would believe me, anyway. Thank you for being there for me this week. You were a lifesaver.”
“Anything for you, Robin. Even if it means sorting out your guy trouble.”
Tyler was one helluva man. They might have been good together if she’d given him a chance. But all that was irrelevant now that Lucas was back in her life. No matter how great Tyler was, she couldn’t see him as more than a friend. And no matter how much trouble Lucas was turning out to be, he’d taken hold of her heart. Again.
Chapter Ten
Two weeks later
Before Ramona’s eyes opened, the pounding in her head reminded her of the previous night’s events. She pulled her stiff body to sitting and rolled her head. Passing out on the couch had left a painful crick in her neck, as evidenced by the loud pops and clicks with every move. It had been a really long time since she’d drunk so much that she’d been unable to make it to her own bed.
She narrowed her eyes at the large white clock across the room and did a quick calculation. Everyone would be on their way to the church right now, if not already there. Lucas and Abigail’s wedding day had finally arrived. Ramona had spent the previous two weeks up to her eyebrows in work, flying across the globe, attending meeting after meeting. Anything to take her mind off that day. She kept waiting for him to call and tell her the wedding was a sham. He wasn’t going to marry Abigail. He only loved her. But no call came. Even a night drinking and crying hadn’t purged the torment from her body.
