The Rules Page 12

“I love the necklace. Maybe I overreacted, but I’m nervous about meeting your family.”

  His gaze shifted to her. “There’s nothing to be worried about.”

  “Well, I am worried. I’ve never…met a man’s parents before. This is all new for me.”

  The first man she’d ever been involved with had kept her a secret—a dirty secret from his family and wife for six whole years. The man from the last serious relationship—Talon—treated her like a prop, used her, and savagely let her know she wasn’t the kind of woman he could take home to family.

  “The necklace isn’t at my apartment. It’s too valuable. I moved it to my safe deposit box.”

  “Why didn’t you say that in the first place?”

  She shrugged.

  His darker hand covered hers. “What did he do to you?”

  Tears filled her eyes and her lower lip trembled. “He hurt me. A lot.”

  He cupped the back of her neck and drew his face closer to hers. The warm clasp of his hand soothed her pain and calmed the tremors under her skin. In the silence of the back seat, his honey-colored eyes burned with a savage brilliance.

  “Tell me his name.” He said the words slowly, with deadly intent.

  He wanted to be her hero and bring her justice, but Terri shook her head. “He’s in jail.”

  He searched her face. “I will never hurt you the way that he did.”

  He’d said the same before, and she trusted him completely.

  “I know.”

  Gavin lifted his arm and she relaxed into the crook of his shoulder, breathing easier. Feeling safe and protected in a way she never had before.

  Chapter Seventeen

  Upon arrival at Constance Johnson’s estate, Terri leaned on Gavin, squeezing his arm as they walked to the entrance.

  Lights poured from every window of the house on Lake Washington. According to Gavin, this home was smaller than the one that he grew up in, and Terri couldn’t imagine what that mansion must look like when this place was so massive.

  In the large formal foyer, a uniformed member of the household staff came forward with a friendly greeting and led them back to a sitting room with a grand piano in one corner. Standing near two of the windows was a man she recognized as Cyrus, the eldest son, nodding and talking with an older white male—whom she imagined might be the guest of honor—and another man with long dreadlocks.

  Almost immediately, an older woman with dark brown skin and a pleasant smile broke away from a conversation with a white woman dressed in a formal gown and pearls. Terri was suddenly glad she’d chosen the more formal dress to wear based strictly on the women’s attire.

  Right away, she guessed the approaching woman was Gavin’s mother. Constance Johnson reeked of elegance and charm as she glided across the carpet. The chiffon skirt of the floor-length evening dress she wore reinforced the image of her floating, and the light orange color, similar to a lobster bisque, complemented her dark features. The beading on the bodice and lace sequins that extended down to the three-quarter-length sleeves sparkled under the lights, much like her dark eyes when she first looked fondly at her son and then at Terri.

  “Welcome,” Constance said. She lifted her cheek, and Gavin dutifully planted a quick peck to his mother’s skin.

  “You must be Terri Slade.” Constance took one of her hands in both of hers and smiled into her eyes. “My son was right. You’re absolutely gorgeous.”

  Not one to be easily embarrassed, Terri’s cheeks heated, but she appreciated the warm welcome.

  “Thank you, ma’am.”

  Constance glanced at Gavin. “Such good manners.” Her eyes returned to Terri. “Please, call me Constance. Or, as some people do, you may call me Miss Constance. I really don’t have a preference. What would you like to be called?”

  “Terri is fine.”

  “Terri it is, then.” She smiled the entire time she talked. “Gavin, do you mind if I borrow your lady friend?”

  Terri suspected the question was less of a request and more of a statement.

  “Not at all.” He smiled reassuringly at Terri.

  “Good.” She looped an arm around Terri’s and patted her hand. “I want you to sit next to me at dinner so we can get to know each other better. All I know is that you’re from Atlanta, where my future son-in-law is from, as well. He and my daughter will be arriving soon, so you’ll meet him. I’m so happy you came tonight. My son never brings women home to meet me, so you must be very special.”

  “Mother.”

  “Well, she is, isn’t she, dear?”

  His eyes met Terri’s. “She is.”

  Terri bit the inside of her lip, warmth seeping into her belly at the intense way he looked at her. He acknowledged her in front of his mother in such an open and frank way, without a hint of hesitation. Her heart strained against her ribs. This happened often—a sensation like her heart was about to burst from her chest.

  “And I will tell you all sorts of things he doesn’t want you to know,” Constance said in a conspiratorial voice.

  “Mother.”

  “I’m just kidding, dear,” Constance said over her shoulder, as she led Terri away. She slid a wicked grin to Terri, and Terri looked over her shoulder at Gavin who winked and sent another reassuring smile her way. She grinned and winked back.

  Constance introduced her to the few people already in attendance. The guest of honor and his wife were the first, then Cyrus, Jr.—who barely smiled when he shook her hand. She remembered Alannah’s comments about him and didn’t take the cool reception personally. His wife, Daniella, was much friendlier, but Terri was relieved when Alannah and Trenton finally showed up.

  Not long after, Ivy and Lucas arrived.

  Ivy was tall—nigh on six feet in heels—and greeted her with a quick hug. “It’s nice to finally meet you. My little brother has told us all about you.”

  Gavin pursed his lips. “She’s older by five minutes, but you’d think it was five years.”

  “I’m a twin, too, and I’m also older.” Terri winked at Ivy and they both giggled.

  “Oh, brother.” Gavin sighed. “Before the two of you get together and start acting crazy, this is Lucas, Ivy’s fiancé.”

  Lucas was an attractive man, tall and thick with a mustache and beard. “Nice to meet you,” he said.

  They shook hands.

  Lucas stared at her as he released her hand. “Do I know you?”

  The question took her by surprise. “I don’t think so.”

  Her answer didn’t satisfy him, and he continued to study her with a frown on his face. Terri’s scalp prickled under his scrutiny. Shifting from one foot to the other, she searched her mind, concerned that Lucas did indeed know her from somewhere. If so, where?

  “You look really, really familiar. I could almost swear we’ve met before.”

  “I have one of those faces,” Terri said, waving a dismissive hand as true panic tossed the limited contents of her stomach.

  “I don’t think so,” Lucas said slowly, rubbing his jaw. “It’s something else. You’re not an actress, are you?”

  Terri laughed away the query. “No.” She swallowed, brushing a hand along her clammy neck.

  “Where are you from?” he asked suddenly.

  “All over.”

  Gavin shot her a glance, and heat rose in her neck. She panicked at the question and delivered a not-so-truthful answer.

  “All over Atlanta, I mean,” she amended.

  “Maybe that’s where I know you from. I’m from Atlanta. We must have met at some point.”

  “That’s probably what it is.” Terri nodded.

  “It’ll come to me eventually, and then I’ll kick myself because I didn’t remember.”

  A gentle tinkling sound broke through the conversation. The butler stood in the doorway, tapping a fork against a glass goblet. “Dinner is served,” he announced.

  Terri clutched her abdomen, almost collapsing from relief.

  The entire party left
the sitting room and followed the butler toward the dining room. Bringing up the rear, Gavin turned to Terri with curiosity in his eyes.

  “Are you sure you don’t know Lucas? He seemed pretty certain he knows you.”

  “Never met him before in my life.” Terri shrugged. “He probably met someone who looks like me before. You know they say everyone has a twin.”

  “Yeah, that must be it,” he said thoughtfully, though he didn’t sound convinced.

  ****

  The evening went well.

  Initially, Terri sat in the formal dining room with the rest of the group, overwhelmed by the number of elements in the formal table setting—seven utensils, not including the bread knife, several plates, and four glasses, one for water and the other three for wines. The first course of an amuse-bouche, a serving of pink shrimp with a drizzle of lime aioli, awakened her taste buds. Warm soup came next. Thank goodness for Alannah, seated beside her, who nudged her with an elbow and surreptitiously pointed out which spoon went with the soup course. For the subsequent dishes, she followed everyone’s lead when each course arrived.

  Gavin and Trenton provided much of the laughs during the light-hearted dinner conversation. Seated next to Constance Johnson, Terri reined her typical boisterous responses. Anxious to impress the older woman, she curtailed her lively laugh to a low volume titter and took care to moderate the tone of her voice.

  Fascinating conversations swirled around her. Ivy mentioned she and Lucas found a house and would soon list her current property, a multi-million dollar condo, for sale. Cyrus and his wife shared that they planned to go house-hunting in Spain. Not because they were moving, but simply because his wife loved Costa del Sol and wanted a vacation home there.

  Not once did Terri feel she wasn’t wanted at the dinner—not even by the eldest brother, Cyrus. He appeared curious about her, asking questions about what she did and how many siblings she had—that kind of thing. Not overtly rude in any way.

  At one point, she glanced across the table at Gavin and imagined being part of this family. Her heart ached when she considered a future with him, so overwhelmed she took a sip of water to hide the trembling of her lips.

  Formal dinner parties and haute couture dresses were beyond her dreams. She never thought when she fled her life in Georgia she’d be a welcomed guest at a table with a family worth billions. But being with Gavin made her realize that anything was possible.

  ****

  It was quiet in the back of the car on the way to Terri’s apartment. Gavin checked his phone and saw a couple of messages from his friends, asking when he could hang out again. True, he hadn’t really spent time with them lately. Work and Terri occupied all his time.

  She sidled next to him and hugged his arm. “Well…?”

  Gavin continued scrolling through the messages with his thumb. He paused at the text from his broker about a hot stock trade and a reminder from his assistant about a delivery arriving at the house tomorrow.

  “Well, what?” he asked.

  “What did she think?”

  “Who?”

  “Your mother.”

  He fired a quick response to his broker and then tucked the phone in his jacket pocket. “I don’t know,” he said, just to torture her.

  “Gavin!” She beat his arm with her fists.

  Laughing, he grabbed her wrists. “All right, all right. She liked you.” His mother liked her a lot, in fact, having drawn him aside to mention that she hoped to see more of Terri and get to know her better.

  “I passed the mommy test?”

  “You passed the mommy test. And the sibling test, too.”

  She stared out the window at the passing scenery, deep in thought, seemingly unaware that he watched her. Finally, her gaze flitted up to him. “I’m not a good girl.” She said the words quietly, as though revealing some deep dark secret.

  “I’m not a good guy,” Gavin murmured. He traced a finger along the line of her jaw. “We’re two peas in a pod. Kindred spirits.”

  “I’m serious.” Terri nudged him.

  Gavin lifted her chin. “Me, too. Whatever you did in the past doesn’t matter to me. Stop beating yourself up.” His forefinger traced the line of her lower lip. “I hate to see that look on your face.”

  “What look?”

  “Like you’re hurting.”

  She tightened her grip on his arm and took a deep breath. Her upper lip twitched, and when she spoke, a faint tremor filled her voice. “Have you ever done something so stupid that it results in consequences so bad that other people suffer? And no matter how much you want to take it back, you can’t?”

  Pain spiked in his chest as guilt reared its ugly head. “Yeah.” The emotionless response served to buffer the current reality and the memory of the night that changed the trajectory of his life.

  Terri shifted to get a better look at him, her eyes questioning, but Gavin avoided her gaze and stared straight ahead. If he could avoid it, he never talked about the night a drunk driver hit the car he rode in with his father.

  “If I had made some different choices, my father would still be alive today,” he said quietly, barely squeezing the words pass his tight throat.

  “I thought a drunk driver hit the car you and your father were in.”

  “Yeah,” he answered. It wasn’t a real answer.

  Terri kissed his cheek. “Stop beating yourself up,” she said, using the same words he said to her minutes before.

  He almost laughed. Much easier said than done.

  The car drifted along in silence for several miles.

  Terri’s hold tightened on him again, and she rested her cheek against his shoulder. “Stay tonight, okay?”

  He kissed her forehead. “Okay.”

  She held on strong—as if holding on for dear life—and it took a little while for Gavin to realize, he was holding on just as tight.

  Chapter Eighteen

  You were wearing the hell out of that dress.

  Terri smiled at the text on her way back to the car after a lunch date with Gavin. They’d been practically inseparable since she attended the party at his mother’s house over a week ago. A line had been crossed, bringing them even closer together, and allowing her to feel comfortable enough to make a surprise visit to his workplace. His enthusiastic smile and hug when he came down to the atrium to meet her eliminated the tiny doubt she experienced about the impromptu visit.

  They ate on the first floor of the building, at The Brew Pub, the restaurant that made up the family’s casual dining chain. Gavin ordered a meatball sandwich, and she indulged in a double cheeseburger with bacon and a fried egg on top. They also shared a plate of Wreck ’Em fries, a high calorie appetizer covered in a mountain of chili, cheese, and jalapeño peppers. Afterward, they went up to the executive floor for dessert, a quickie on the sofa in his office.

  She texted back. You didn’t look so bad yourself, Pretty Lips.

  Gavin wore a charcoal designer suit and a horizontally striped navy and silver tie today. He always looked delicious in clothes or out of them.

  If I didn’t have to go out of town, I’d put these lips on you. He and his older brother Xavier were going to do an inspection at the Portland brewery and would be there for a few days, until the weekend.

  She grinned, which had everything to do with him. Terri stopped beside her Jimmy. I’ll miss you, she typed, and froze. She stared at the words, finger hovering over the send button. There was nothing wrong with telling him she’d miss him. After all, they spent a lot of time together.

  She hit the button and flinched, immediately regretting the impulsive move. Her stomach a painful knot of nerves, she waited for his response. It arrived seconds later.

  I’ll miss you more.

  Smiling again, she leaned against her vehicle, savoring the words. He made her want to do girly things like bat her eyelashes and twirl a strand of hair.

  Gavin sent another message. Gotta run. I’ll call you tonight and bring you something bac
k.

  She was about to tell him he didn’t have to, but he hated when she put off his gift-buying. Instead, she typed, Thank you.

  Terri climbed into the truck. First, a run to the post office to buy money orders for a few bills and mail the cutest little pink dress she bought on sale for her niece, make a quick stop to put gas in her vehicle, and then over to Aldi’s Market for a box of gourmet cheese straws which, thanks to Gavin, she was now addicted to. All that before going home to change for yoga and then making sure she was relaxed and waiting by the phone in time to receive Gavin’s call.

  Before she drove off, her cell phone rang and she fished it out of her purse. Her heart leapt when she saw her brother’s name and she quickly answered. “Hey, big head. How’s my favorite brother?”

  “I’m your only brother.”

  “That’s why you’re my favorite.”

  “You suck.” Damian gave a short laugh. “Um, are you sitting down?”

  The hesitancy in his voice caught Terri’s attention and her hand tightened on the phone. “Yes,” she answered cautiously. She watched a trio of women laughing on their way into the building, holding doggy bags from their recent lunch.

  Her brother blew out a short breath. “He’s out.”

  A jolt of alarm made her mute, and the world came crashing down around her.

  “Leesh, you there?” Damian asked, using her nickname.

  Terri gripped the steering wheel with her left hand to keep the world from spinning. “I’m here,” she replied shakily. “How can he be out? They gave him five years.”

  “Good behavior or some nonsense, I don’t know.”

  “He destroyed lives. He hurt a lot of people.” He hurt me.

  “I know, but the local news said he’s been released. There was a write up in the paper about it, too.”

  “When?”

  “Yesterday.”

  Terri rested her forehead on her arm. Nausea climbed her intestinal tract and threatened to spill from her lips.

  Breathe. Breathe.

  “Leesh, I can hear you breathing. You don’t sound good. Talk to me.”

  She swallowed hard, fighting back the nausea and dizzying terror. “He can’t find me. I covered my tracks and have a new name he doesn’t know anything about. I’m far, far away. He cannot find me.”