Truly Yours

by Deborah Fletcher Mello

  “I resemble that,” Mason said. “And I’m not ashamed to admit it!”

  The men in the room laughed.

  “That’s the problem with you young boys today,” Kenneth Charles noted. “You think if your woman’s in charge, it makes you less of a man.”

  “That’s right,” Senior said, cosigning. “I’m the first one to admit that my wife wears the pants in our home and I’m still a man.”

  Kenneth nodded. “The trick is knowing the difference between what’s true and what your woman wants to believe. Most women need to believe they’re in charge, so you roll with it. It keeps the peace while you go on and do your thing. That’s what a real man does.”

  “Man’s got to have peace in his home,” Senior added.

  Darryl and his brothers glanced at each other, all of them chuckling beneath their breaths.

  Camryn’s twin brother, Carson, rolled his eyes. “Personally, I don’t plan to get married anytime soon. Too many women out here for me to be taking myself off the market.”

  Darryl’s brother Donovan reached out to slap Carson’s palm. “That’s what I’m saying.”

  Darryl’s brother-in-law Matthew Stallion shook his head. “You young boys just don’t have a clue. If you find the right woman, you won’t even think about being on the market.”

  “I’ve found the right woman,” Matthew’s stepson and Darryl’s nephew, Collin Broomes, interjected. “My girl’s hot.”

  “Yeah, what’s this I hear about you and your girl?” Darryl demanded. “You better be protecting yourself.”

  Collin blushed, heat flooding his cheeks.

  “I’ve told him,” Matthew added as he dropped a hand on his stepson’s shoulder. “You can’t be too safe these days. He should be practicing abstinence, is what he should be doing.”

  Donovan laughed. “Good luck with that!”

  “Damn kids today are too fast,” Senior interjected. “You tell ’em to wait until marriage and they look at you like you’re crazy.”

  Kenneth nodded his gray head in agreement. The Boudreaux sons shifted their gazes from one to another, none bothering to comment.

  “Did you wait until marriage, Uncle Darryl?” Collin asked, a smug grin pulling at the young boy’s mouth.

  Kendrick laughed, slapping hands with Donovan.

  “Of course!” Darryl exclaimed. He crossed to the other side of the room, playfully slapping the boy in the back of the head as he moved to the table of refreshments to retrieve a croissant.

  “Ouch!”

  Darryl and his brothers laughed. The two patriarchs both shook their heads.

  Mason quickly changed the subject. “So, you haven’t told us. What happened with the Dubai project?”

  Darryl took a seat on the sofa. “We didn’t get it,” he said casually. “The James Landry Group had the winning bid.”

  “You’re kidding me,” Mason said. “Asia Landry’s design beat Camryn’s?”

  Darryl nodded. “Yes, sir.”

  “I’m sorry to hear that,” Mason intoned.

  “Don’t be. We will still be working for the royal family. The sheikh wants to build Camryn’s design in Bahrain. So we’ll be doing it, we just won’t be doing it in Dubai. And we’ll be working for him in the United States, as well.”

  “How’s that?” Carson asked.

  “The sheikh has purchased a substantial amount of property in the United States—in Georgia and in Texas. He’s hired us to design two equestrian centers for him. We’ll also be doing one here in London, one in Greece and another in Riyadh. He chose Camryn because of her passion for horses.”

  Matthew shifted forward in his seat. “Now, that’s interesting,” he said. “If there’s a way that Briscoe Ranch and Stallion Enterprises can partner on that in some way, I’d love to discuss the opportunity with you.”

  Mason nodded. “Matthew’s a horseman himself. You have a horse that’s competing for the Triple Crown this year, don’t you, Matthew?”

  His brother-in-law nodded. “We do. He was a gift for Katrina. He’s a three-year-old thoroughbred named Fair Justice. We have high hopes for him.”

  “We should definitely talk,” Darryl said. “After my honeymoon, of course.”

  “I have a question,” Kendrick said, raising his hand as if he were in school. “How did that crazy ex take the news of your pending nuptials?” the man asked.

  Darryl took a deep breath. “You mean you really didn’t hear?”

  His brothers shook their heads from side to side.

  Darryl paused, reflecting back on their last encounter with Asia and her father. The sheikh had wasted no time informing them that their bid was no longer under consideration. It was then that he’d presented the offer for their newly formed company to design and build a brand of multipurpose equestrian centers. The main purpose of each facility was the accommodation, training and competition of equids. They would each have commercial operations that included boarding stables and a livery yard. There would also be complementary services such as a riding school, farriers, vet services and tack shops.

  The prospect of all she could do excited Camryn. And that excitement carried them out of their meeting down to the hotel’s lobby, where they ran right into Asia and her father for the second time.

  James Landry and his daughter were in deep conversation, Asia obviously not happy. Both Camryn and Darryl thought her behavior odd, with her having just acquired one of the biggest international contracts ever. But clearly Asia was unhappy and James didn’t seem at all concerned.

  “What do you think is going on with them?” Camryn wondered.

  Darryl shrugged. “Who knows! As long as she doesn’t bother us, I couldn’t care less.”

  “Not that I really want to, but we should go congratulate them,” Camryn said.

  Darryl nodded and they walked over to offer their commendation.

  “Thank you,” James said, shaking Darryl’s hand.

  “You both must be very excited,” Camryn interjected politely.

  Asia glared. Rising suddenly, she turned to her father, berating him with her frustration. “I can’t believe you would do this to me!” she shouted. Then, turning on her heels, she grabbed her leather Gucci bag and disappeared into the elevators.

  James sighed deeply. “I apologize for my daughter’s bad behavior. I know she’s caused you both some grief these past few months and I’m sorry for that, as well. This will be good for Asia. It will give her something else to focus on.”

  They both nodded in sympathy before shaking his hand one last time.

  The next morning Camryn rose early to run an errand. When Darryl found his way to the lobby to meet her, she was waving goodbye to James and Asia, who were headed to Dubai to spend their holiday with the royal family.

  “Darryl?”

  Kendrick calling his name pulled him back to the moment. “Sounds like it worked out for all of you,” he was saying.

  Darryl nodded.

  “I’m not too sure about all that,” Kenneth stated.

  “What do you mean, sir?” Darryl questioned.

  “I called James to extend my congratulations, as well, after I talked to you and Camryn, and it seems that Asia ran into some problems going through Dubai customs.”

  “What happened?” Mason asked, his tone curious.

  “There was an issue with her bringing in some contraband items. You know how stringent their laws are. Apparently Asia’s carry-on bag was filled with inappropriate material.”

  “Inappropriate material? I don’t understand,” Darryl said.

  “The girl had a year’s supply of pornography in her bag. You can’t do that in them Middle Eastern countries,” Senior professed.

  The men all burst out laughing.

  “
What in the world was she thinking?” Darryl said.

  “Sounds like she wasn’t,” Senior interjected, tossing in his opinion.

  Kenneth nodded. “James said she’s being held in a Dubai jail while they investigate. He actually thought it was kind of funny. Made a joke about there being more in her Gucci bag than he even bargained for.”

  Darryl suddenly had a lightbulb moment. He stared into space as he reflected on the entirety of their trip. He shook his head, pulling his cell phone into his hands to dial into one of his banking apps. With confirmation in hand, he chuckled, his head waving from side to side.

  “Excuse me a minute,” he said, heading toward the other room.

  “There he goes again,” Guy teased.

  Kendrick laughed. “Leave that woman alone! You’re going to be married to her in a few minutes,” he joked.

  Darryl laughed with them, ignoring the comments as he closed the room door behind him. He dialed Camryn’s number.

  “You didn’t change your mind, did you?” Camryn answered.

  “Not at all,” the man responded.

  “So what’s up?” she asked.

  “I was just thinking about when Asia and her father left the other morning. You were helping her with her bags when I came down.”

  “So?”

  “Your father was just telling me that Asia ran into some problems in Dubai while she was going through customs.”

  There was a moment of pause before Camryn responded. “Really? I’m sorry to hear that. They didn’t find a snake in her bag, did they?”

  Darryl laughed. “Sounds like she had a lot of snakes in her bag.”

  “And you’re telling me this because...?”

  “I just thought you would want to know.”

  Camryn smiled. “Snakes will do that to you, most especially those big Mandingo-size serpents...”

  “I’m sure. I can’t wait to see you, Mrs. Boudreaux.”

  “I can’t wait to see you, too,” Camryn replied. “I’m looking forward to our honeymoon.”

  Darryl laughed. “Maybe we’ll watch one of those sex tapes you purchased.”

  Camryn laughed with him. “I wish we could. But I gave them all to an acquaintance. It being Christmas and all.”

  Chapter 21

  Camryn cuddled close to Darryl as they flipped through the pictures that had been taken at their wedding. The images made Camryn smile. She’d looked spectacular in her wedding gown and Darryl’s silver-gray tuxedo had been quite flattering. All the women had worn deep burgundy-red gowns, and the men dark gray tuxedos. Against a background of flickering white lights, the ceremony had been one of the most memorable moments of her life.

  She smiled as she nuzzled her face into his neck and pressed a kiss across his Adam’s apple.

  Darryl dropped the photo album, wrapping his arms around her. He clasped his fingers across the beginning bulge of her pregnant belly. Her stomach suddenly quickened, a muscle tightening beneath his palm.

  “What was that?” Darryl flexed his shoulders with concern.

  Camryn grinned. “That’s your daughter kicking.”

  His smile widened as he pressed his hand tighter against her. Her muscle quivered a second time and he nodded. “My son is going to play ball.”

  Camryn laughed. “It’s a girl, Darryl! I’m telling you now. Don’t you be surprised when she gets here!”

  “You’re the one who’s going to be surprised,” he teased.

  Lifting her lips to his, she kissed him sweetly. “Are you happy?”

  “Abundantly happy!” Darryl exclaimed. “I can’t think of anything I’d change about our life.”

  Camryn smiled. “I think I love you, Darryl,” she said.

  Darryl smiled. “I don’t think, woman. I know I am truly yours!”

  * * * * *

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  TRULY YOURS

  ISBN: 9781460316931

  Copyright © 2013 by Deborah Fletcher Mello

  All rights reserved. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of publisher, Harlequin Enterprises Limited, 225 Duncan Mill Road, Don Mills, Ontario, Canada M3B 3K9.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events or locales is entirely coincidental. This edition published by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A.

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