Chapter
FOURTEEN
Colorful bouquets of helium balloons rose from the redwood deck railing. More balloons floated from the numerous beribboned posts scattered around the backyard of Warren Stone’s vast estate.
The deck stretched out over a manicured lawn that swept down to a magnificent view of the valley. A few dozen people were busy laughing, talking, and playing lawn games. Music floated from a speaker system, and Warren presided over an elaborate grill smoking with the tantalizing smell of steaks and hamburgers.
Under any other circumstance, Mia would have been having a good time—except the party had been underway for well over an hour, and Gavin hadn’t shown up. Clearly, despite her impassioned plea, he wasn’t going to.
She tried to smother her disappointment, which unfortunately felt more vast and all-encompassing than it should have. Gavin was under siege with security issues, so it was no wonder he didn’t have time to attend a family barbeque. Even though it was Saturday, he’d probably been at the office all day or at the wedding villa going over all his checkpoints and whatnot.
Mia had no reason to feel as if his absence was some sort of message about the disparity of their lives—while he worked, she went to parties. He was responsible and grown-up, she was flaky and immature. He needed to spank her when she got sassy (okay, that one totally worked for her). But they could never sustain a long-term relationship. They were night and day, oil and water, fire and ice.
She wanted to tear up that message and throw it away.
She gazed at the crowd of people out on the lawn. Polly was engaged in a hula-hooping contest with a group of kids, and her sister Hannah was playing croquet. Evan Stone, who had made a remarkable recovery from a heart surgery that had almost put an end to his and Hannah’s budding relationship, was tossing a football with the twins Spencer and Carson. It was all so friendly and homey—exactly the kind of big family gathering that one would want.
And maybe Mia was just feeling morose and a bit lonely, but she was sharply aware of the energy crackling between the couples-in-love. Even though Hannah and Evan were clear across the lawn from each other, an invisible thread seemed to bind them together, causing them both to glance up every so often and catch the other’s eye.
And Luke and Polly… well, the love and adoration between them was strong enough to be tangible. Mia had never seen her friend look so glowing and downright content, as if all the pieces of her life had finally fit together in the exact right way.
“Uh oh, I see a problem.”
She looked up from her place at one of the round tables lining the deck. Adam Stone, the third in line to the Sugar Rush Candy Company throne, was standing beside her and shaking his head in dismay.
“What problem?” she asked.
“Empty glass.” He picked up her glass and gave her a wink. “Lucky for you, I can solve that problem. What’re you drinking?”
“It was cherry sangria, but I don’t need another, thanks.”
His expression shifted into a frown, and he pulled out the chair beside her. “Looks like you need something to cheer you up,” he remarked. “Why so glum, chum?”
Mia smiled in spite of herself. She liked all the Stone brothers, but she had a particular affinity for Adam with his tanned, chiseled features, blue eyes, and sun-streaked blond hair that enhanced his easygoing personality. She’d always envied him a bit—he worked for Sugar Rush as part of Evan Stone’s Cocoa Bean Team, visiting farms and plantations in South America and Africa to ensure fair trade and sustainable practices, but he also owned a travel company known for its adventurous trips from African safaris to hiking up a volcano.
In Mia’s eyes, Adam Stone was a man who’d figured out early on exactly how to do what he loved. He was also a magnet for female attention, but gorgeous though he was, his surfer-boy looks had never appealed to Mia in that way. Not to mention, he was constantly on the move, like he couldn’t bear to stay in one place for very long. And while Mia admired his adventuresome spirit, she’d definitely grown roots in Indigo Bay.
“Really,” Adam said. “My dad sees you sitting here looking like you lost your best friend, he’s going to feel like the whole party is a failure.”
“I’m fine,” she assured him. “I was just thinking about the wedding. Have all the groomsmen gotten their final fittings taken care of?”
He groaned. “God, yes. You’d think the king of England was getting married, what with all the fuss going on. I don’t know about Tyler, though. He’s been bitching and complaining that his tux is too itchy.”
Mia smiled again, glancing over to where Tyler Stone, the youngest brother, was flipping burgers next to his father at the grill. Rakishly handsome, he’d once had a well-deserved bad boy reputation before he’d both fallen hard and straightened up for Kate Darling, Luke’s super-efficient executive assistant. At the moment, Kate was busy organizing the table of plates, side dishes, and condiments, throwing Tyler amused grins whenever he reached over to pat her on the ass. Which was often.
Mia wished she and Gavin had the kind of relationship where he’d pat her on the ass in public. Heck, she wished he’d even go out with her in public.
Lord. She needed to get out of this funk or she’d be drowning herself in cherry sangria before the night was over.
“So, Adam, tell me what you’ve been up to.” She flipped her hair back and forced a breezy, interested tone into her voice. “Still working on the Cocoa Bean Team?”
He nodded, plucking a tortilla chip out of the bowl on the table. “We’re working on a big sustainability project down in Venezuela.”
“Polly told me about that. Are you leaving town right after the big event?”
“Yeah, the day after. People start arriving next month, so we need to make sure the infrastructure is in place. Students, scientists, Sugar Rush employees. We still have space, if you want to lend a hand.”
“Living in a rickety cabin or a tent, sharing an outhouse with ten other people, battling mosquitos the size of garbage trucks?” Mia shook her head. “Sounds delightful, but I’ll pass.”
Adam grinned. “Not an outdoor girl, huh?”
“Not unless a nice hotel room with running water and a flushable toilet counts as outdoors.”
“A woman after my own heart.” Julia Bennett, the Stone brothers’ aunt who’d become the family matriarch after the death of their mother, pulled out a chair beside Adam.
In her mid-forties, Julia was a renowned fashion stylist who needed no other advertising except for her flawlessly elegant appearance. She wore a striped, seersucker shirt and mid-length skirt and had arranged her blond hair into a chignon that managed to look just the right amount of untidy. Understated gold jewelry adorned her arms and neck, and her cosmetics enhanced her fine, princess-like features.
“Warren tells me he’s planning to join you the week before the project begins,” Julia told Adam. “He can’t stay for the duration, but he wants to be there when you’re getting things started.”
Adam nodded and launched into details about the first week’s plans. Mia took the opportunity to study Julia. She’d never had much interaction with the other woman, but she certainly knew a lot about her thanks to Polly, whose relationship with Julia had run the gamut from mortal enemies to BFFs. Julia was sharp, formidable, fiercely loyal to her friends and family, and took no prisoners when she was crossed.
Polly had grown to implicitly trust and rely on Julia’s opinion, which gave Mia a bit of courage. After Adam excused himself to help with the food, she moved into the chair beside the older woman.
“Do you mind if I ask your opinion about something?” Mia asked.
Julia peered at her. “Not at all.”
Mia took a breath. Worst case scenario, Julia would sniff disdainfully at her idea and tell her not to bother wasting her time. Best case scenario…?
“With all the wedding details, I’ve learned a lot about event planning.” Mia’s heartbeat ratcheted up a notch. “I’ve made numerous contacts, developed efficient organizational systems, and I know how to handle the practicalities of budgeting as well as the creative stuff. So I’m considering starting my own event planning business.”
Julia arched an eyebrow. “What do you do now?”
“I work at an insurance agency. It totally sucks.”
A faint smile pulled at Julia’s mouth. “And you think event planning is easier?”
“No, but it’s so much better,” Mia said. “And since you’re kind of in the same field, I wanted to ask what you think of the idea.”
“I know you’d be competing with much more well-established companies,” Julia replied archly. “Including at least three whom I tried to convince Polly to work with. You’d have to work hard to make a name for yourself, though having Luke Stone’s wedding on your resume will be a significant advantage. If you establish a good reputation and know how to rise above the competition, you’d likely have no shortage of clients in Indigo Bay.”
Some of the tension eased from Mia’s chest. At least Julia hadn’t laughed at her inexperience.
“If you screw it up, however, you’d be finished,” Julia added.
“No pressure then, huh?” Mia asked.
Amusement crossed Julia’s face. Mia was about to ask how Julia had gotten started in personal styling when Spencer, Carson, and Polly approached. The tall, dark-haired twins had the exact same features—strong jaws, thick-lashed brown eyes, straight noses—but they were easy to tell apart. A scientist in the Sugar Rush candy laboratories, Spencer wore glasses and had a polite, thoughtful demeanor that added to his hunky-nerd vibe. By contrast, Carson was more easily designated as a corporate VP like his father and older brothers.
“Come on, both of you,” Polly said to her and Julia. “We need two more for croquet.”
Mia was tempted to decline, but she didn’t want to just sit here being depressed about Gavin. She and Julia joined the game, batting the balls through the hoops until Tyler called that dinner was ready.
Mia went into the house to use the bathroom and wash her hands, returning to the deck as guests lined up in front of the grill to choose their steaks and burgers.
A deep voice floated through the air, skimming over her skin like a caress. Mia turned, her heart cartwheeling at the sight of Gavin. He was here!
She drank him in, tall and unbearably handsome in black trousers and a button-down gray shirt open at the collar to reveal the tanned column of his throat. He was talking to Luke Stone, but his gaze flickered past the other man to stop on her.
She drew in a breath, everything inside her caught in the trap of his blue-eyed gaze. Then he winked at her before turning his attention back to whatever Luke was saying.
Much as she longed to fly across the deck right into Gavin’s arms, Mia picked up a plate and began helping herself to the food. Professional and private as he was, Gavin wouldn’t want anyone else to know they were a thing, so she’d have to keep her PDA urges to herself. That was all right; just knowing he was so close was enough to make her happy.
The guests all began sitting down to eat. Mia joined Polly, Julia, and Spencer back at the table, making small-talk while picking at her food and trying not to search too obviously for Gavin. Only when people finished eating and started back to playing games did she scan the party for him.
He stood talking to a tall, bearded man wearing a baseball cap. To anyone else, Mia suspected they’d look like two men casually chatting during a barbeque, but she noticed the tense set of Gavin’s stance.
When he walked away from the conversation, she excused herself from the table and crossed the lawn toward him. He’d paused to watch an in-progress game of horseshoe, his arms crossed over his chest. With his chiseled features, his gray shirt, his ramrod straight bearing, he was like a steel sculpture amidst the laughter and bright helium balloon bouquets.
He turned when she was halfway to him, as if he’d sensed her approach.
“Hi,” she said.
His gaze roamed over her floral mini-dress, the lacy hem reaching mid-thigh and the halter-style top leaving her arms and shoulders bare. Even though she hadn’t been certain he would show up, she’d worn the dress with him in mind. It seemed she was doing everything with him in mind these days.
“Nice dress,” he said, the undercurrent of his voice telling her that he’d like to take it off her right then and there.
“I wore it for you.” She reached out and impulsively touched his hand, tilting her head toward a section of the lawn that had been designated as an unofficial dance floor. “Will you dance with me?”
His gaze slanted toward the deck, where people still lingered at the tables. For a heart-stopping moment, she thought he’d decline, but then he took her hand in his and led her to the dance area. He slipped an arm around her waist, tugging her closer but not too close to be overtly intimate. She breathed in his scent that had become so familiar, reveled in the sensation of his strong arm against her lower back, tightened her hand around his.
“I’m glad you came,” she said.
“I’m always glad when you come,” he deadpanned.
Mia giggled, giving him a light, chastising slap on the chest. “Careful, or you’ll get me revved up right here and now.”
He made a rumbling noise in his chest and tugged her closer, his hand sliding from her lower back to the top curve of her ass.
“So why did you decide to make an appearance?” she asked.
“I knew it would make you happy if I did.”
Mia blinked. “Really? You’re here for me?”
“Everything I do outside of work these days is for you.” He brushed a lock of hair away from her neck.
Her heart warmed. She glanced over his shoulder to where Polly had paused in a game of kickball to look at them. Her friend smiled, giving Mia a discreet thumb’s up before returning to the game.
“Come on, let’s get some dessert.” Mia slid her hand to Gavin’s, tangling their fingers together before leading him to the deck.
Relieved when he didn’t pull away from her, she was aware of several glances in their direction as they helped themselves to Wild Child Declairs from the dessert table.
“Hey, Gavin, come here.” Spencer Stone waved Gavin over to where a group of men sat drinking beer and talking. “Need you to settle a bet.”
Gavin started to shake his head, but Mia gave him a nudge in the side.
“Go,” she whispered.
He set his plate on a table and approached the men. Mia sat down, watching as two of the Stone brothers greeted him with manly hugs and back-slaps, drawing him effortlessly into the conversation.
Clearly the Stone family loved Gavin, and yet still he’d been distancing himself from them ever since his return from Iraq. He purposely avoided being close to anyone.
Except slowly, inch by inch, he’d been letting her in. He’d allowed her to see past his inflexible exterior and controlling nature. That was a gift she would not take lightly.
Though she longed to confess that her feelings for him had grown to epic proportions, that he made her heart sing as powerfully as he made her body burn, she had to be careful or risk intensifying his ridiculous notions about not being able to give her what she “deserved.”
She returned to the dessert table as Gavin approached.
“What was the bet?” she asked.
“Baseball odds.” He skimmed his fingers across her bare arm. “Kate’s the one who knows all the details, though, so I told them to ask her. She even keeps spreadsheets.”
Mia smiled and made a mental note to talk to the super-organized and efficient Kate about the logistical paperwork needed to start a business.
“Hey, who was that man you were talking to earlier?” She elbowed Gavin and indicated the bearded man who was walking toward the deck.
“The guy who’s providing the fireworks.” Gavin still didn’t sound any too pleased about the idea of surprise fireworks at the wedding.
“You told me everything checked out okay.”
“Yeah, but I’m only allowing them because they’ll be far enough from the villa. And I’m sending an operative on the boat as an extra security measure.”
Mia knew Gavin wouldn’t let his guard down until the wedding was over and everyone was safe. She took an enormous amount of comfort in his unyielding protectiveness. Even with a scary threat to the wedding, she had no doubt that everything would be fine. After all, Gavin Knight was in charge.
She examined the multiple dessert plates spread over the table, which contained everything from éclairs to fruit tarts.
“Do you want one?” She plucked a strawberry tart from a tray.
“No.” He lowered his mouth closer to her ear and murmured, “I’ll get some sugar from you later.”
She chuckled, half turning to face him when a loud bang split through the air.
Mia startled, dropping the paper plate. Before she could take another breath, Gavin was in front of her, shielding her with his body. Bang bang bang. Her heart jumped into her throat. What the—
Gavin backed up, crowding her against the side of the house, his muscles locking. Warren Stone’s deep voice rose above the chatter.
“No shooting pebbles, kids!” he shouted. “Not safe.”
A bunch of kids grumbled in protest, but the banging noises stopped. Mia peered around Gavin to where several of the helium balloons attached to the deck had gone flat. Behind them, the group of children dispersed, each of them clutching a straw through which they’d apparently been firing pebbles at the balloons.
Mia gave a weak laugh and rested her hand on Gavin’s back. “False alarm.”
His shoulders were stiff enough to break. She frowned, running her fingers over his spine.
“You okay?”
He stepped away from her, his jaw tight. Mia’s heart sank. With his PTSD and nightmares, sudden noises might incite a flashback or, at the very least, bad memories.
“Gavin…” She reached to touch his arm.
He shook her away and strode toward the house, his back as rigid as metal.