All That I Need (Grayson Friends) (7 page)

Sierra spoke to the flight attendant standing to one side. “Please tell Frank we’re ready to leave. As soon as we level off, you can start serving breakfast.”

“Yes, Mrs. Navarone,” the young woman said, and left.

“Ladies,” Sierra said. “Prepare yourself for a fantastic day.”

*   *   *

Lance buried himself in work all the next day. He didn’t want to think about missing Fallon or the eventual call he’d have to make to his mother. By six that night, he figured accomplishing one of the two wasn’t bad. He’d had lots more practice shoving his mother to the back of his mind and none missing a woman who intrigued him, irritated him, and excited him as no woman before her had.

Lance rolled his shoulders more in irritation than to loosen the stiff muscles in his back and shoulders. He’d been meticulously going over the catalog entries for the past two hours. And no matter how many times he’d come to an item that he had shown Fallon and his traitorous mind pictured the wonder or the laughter on her beautiful face, he kept his eyes on the page.

He was not going to turn into one of those men who daydreamed about a woman. Especially a woman who would be gone from his life in a few days.

His cell phone rang twice. He let it ring for a third time before he glanced at the readout. He told himself he wasn’t disappointed that it wasn’t Fallon and answered, “Saxton speaking.”

“Very distinguished and professional sounding,” Richard said, laughter in every syllable.

“Practice,” Lance said, and leaned back in his chair. “Naomi must be back.” He assured himself he was not trying to find out if Fallon was home.

“Their plane is landing in twenty minutes.”

Lance straightened. “Plane?”

“I couldn’t believe it, either,” Richard said. “Mama, Mrs. Grayson, Catherine, Sierra, and Fallon flew to Los Angeles. I’m sure they could have found a dress here instead of flying to California on Blade’s private jet.”

Lance whistled. “Your fiancée moves in some very high financial and social circles.”

“Not exactly,” Richard said. “She was blessed to befriend Catherine Grayson. I instigated her meeting Ruth Grayson. Since the Grayson family is so close, when one takes you under their wings the others do as well. But Naomi and Kayla are so wonderful and lovable, it’s easy to see why people want to be there for them.”

Lance’s lips twitched. Richard was a goner and didn’t seem to mind a bit. Lance hadn’t found that lasting happiness, but he was happy for Richard and his soon-to-be family. “It’s also easy to see you’re a man deeply in love.”

“And each time I see them I fall a little deeper,” Richard agreed. “I’m heading to the airport instead of waiting for the limo to drop them off. I’ve already been instructed to wait in front so I won’t see the dress.”

“So you’re just picking up Naomi and Kayla?” Lance rolled his eyes, aware he hadn’t fooled Richard.

“Yep. That’s the reason I called. Seems we—the men—were calling our women all day. The last time Naomi and I talked before the plane took off to return, she said only Fallon hadn’t received a call.”

Something twisted in Lance’s chest. He knew what it was to be an outsider.

“At first the women made a game out of trying to decide who would call next—me, Daddy, Blade, or Luke—until Catherine noticed that Fallon wasn’t as bubbly as she had been when Blade called next. It was only for a moment, but Catherine is good at reading people. Afterward, I was the only one allowed to call.”

“Wait. Ruth Grayson is a widow, and from the way she almost teared up at the luncheon over her deceased husband I can’t believe she’s dating.” He hoped not, at least. He wanted one woman to love her husband even after he was gone.

“No, just work. The president of the Board of Regents at St. John’s, where she teaches. Blade’s event director needed more information on a project scheduled at their castle in September. One of her students about the merits of a doctorate program he’s interested in registering for.”

Lance muttered beneath his breath. Learning what Mrs. Grayson’s calls were about had probably made Fallon feel even more like the odd man out.

“I can give you Fallon’s cell phone number or you can get your behind out here and meet her.”

“She’s leaving on Sunday.” He mustn’t forget that, no matter how much he wanted to.

“She’s here now, and you have the financial means to go wherever she’s traveling.”

“I can’t.”

“Can’t or won’t? Seventeen minutes.”

In spite of himself, Lance glanced at the crystal clock on his desk. “You know better than anyone why I don’t want to become involved.”

“I hurt and cried and cursed with you. I’ll always remember the rainy night you called, the long plane ride to get to you,” Richard said, his voice tight. “Don’t punish yourself because of Ashley’s selfishness. You deserve a life with a loving woman.”

“Whoa.” Lance stood. “We’re just talking and getting to know each other.” He raked his hand over his head. “I’ve barely kissed the woman.”

“Sometimes one kiss is all it takes,” Richard said with conviction. “If you didn’t think it could progress further, you wouldn’t be so afraid of continuing to see her. Now get your butt out here. You don’t want Fallon feeling as if no man cares about her.”

Lord help him, he didn’t. It was that he could never give her what she needed and deserved. “Maybe Catherine read Fallon wrong. You said it was only for a moment. She could have blown this whole thing out of proportion.”

“Catherine Stewart Grayson has two Ph.D.’s and was up for the department chair of psychology at UCLA before deciding she’d much rather be married to Luke.”

No help there, but Lance wasn’t giving up. “People make mistakes. Things will even out once they land. You might be starry-eyed in love, but Luke’s probably not coming and I’m sure Blade isn’t.”

“I saw Luke go into the terminal with Blade and Rio while we were talking, and before you ask, Daddy rode out here with me. Don’t worry; he left to catch up with Luke and the others. Neither he nor Mama knows about Ashley. You gonna let her ruin your life or be the badass everyone thinks you are and go after what you want and are so afraid to have?”

“You’re pushing it, Rich.”

“’Cause I love you. So get out here or I’ll be forced to introduce Fallon to a man who’ll appreciate her.”

“No!” Lance snapped. There was a click and he saw “end” on the screen. His fingers tightened, his anger escalated. Richard had hung up on him. If Richard thought he could manipulate Lance into going to the airport, he was wrong.

Placing the phone aside instead of flinging it against the wall, Lance went back to the catalog, but this time he couldn’t focus. Instead he saw Fallon with one of Richard’s vet friends. The man was all teeth, leering at Fallon, his hands the size of dinner plates, ready to …

A possessive anger rushed though Lance. Standing, he reached for his phone and headed for his car. First he would see Fallon and make sure no other man touched her; then he would strangle Richard.

*   *   *

“Sierra, you lived up to your promise and more.” Naomi hugged the other woman. “You made the day one I’ll never forget.”

“And you found the perfect dress.” Sierra leaned closer and whispered, “One Richard can’t wait to get you out of.”

Naomi blushed, then turned to the other women. “Thank you all for being my friends, for sharing this day with me.”

Fallon snapped the shot, sniffed. “You’re going to be a beautiful bride, and thanks for not putting me in a yucky bridesmaid dress.”

The words were barely out of her mouth before a cell phone rang, quickly followed by two more, then a fourth. “Looks like your men are anxious to see you,” she said with a real smile. She’d gotten over her initial spurt of melancholy of missing Lance and wishing they had more time.

“They probably want us to know they’re here.” Catherine, the matron of honor, picked up the wedding gown in the heavy plastic cover. “Naomi, Richard is waiting for you outside so he doesn’t see the dress. You, Kayla, and Gladys go on.”

“I’ll help with the wedding dress.” Fallon picked up the full skirt.

Naomi nibbled on her lower lip. “Perhaps I shouldn’t have gotten one so elaborate.”

“Nonsense,” Mrs. Youngblood said. “You loved it the moment you saw it, and you looked beautiful in the ball gown. If you hadn’t gotten it, you would have regretted it. Now let’s go see that son and husband of mine.”

Naomi took Mrs. Youngblood’s hands. “Thank you for sharing your son with me and Kayla. We love him, too.”

“And I get to call him Daddy once the minister says they’re man and wife,” Kayla interjected. “And we’ll live in the same house and I can help him take care of the horses every day.”

“Mrs. Navarone, Mr. Navarone asks if there is a problem,” the hostess said, her lips twitching.

“Please lower the door,” Sierra instructed, then turned to the two bodyguards who had stayed out of the main cabin until they landed. “Aaron, please take the gown from Catherine and Fallon and put it in the limousine. Paul, take Catherine’s and Fallon’s dresses, then come back for the other bags with Naomi’s name and Fallon’s name and instruct the driver to wait for Fallon. After he takes her home, he is to deliver everything else to Catherine’s house.”

Naomi’s phone rang again. Catherine and Fallon urged her toward the door. “Go.”

Hugging the woman, Naomi took Kayla’s hand and went down the steps, her future mother-in-law following close behind. The two bodyguards followed with their second load.

Fallon picked up two bags. “I can help carry things out. Blade and the others are probably anxious to see you.”

“No more than we are.” Catherine picked up two bags.

“That’s always nice to hear,” Luke said.

“It certainly is,” Blade agreed.

With squeals that would have done a high school girl proud at meeting her teen idol, Sierra and Catherine ran to embrace Blade and Luke. The kiss that followed was hot enough to singe asphalt. Fallon glanced at Mrs. Grayson to gauge her reaction and saw her smiling. Apparently she wasn’t bothered any more than Rio, who wore his usual closed expression.

“Would all those be yours?” Blade asked, nodding toward the shopping bags and clothes in garment bags.

Sierra chuckled. “Mama and Catherine have a few things.”

“Em-m-m.” Blade reached for Fallon’s bags. “You might need your hands free going down the stairs. After you.”

Having a billionaire take her bags, especially one as gorgeous as Blade Navarone, momentarily caught Fallon off guard. Then she realized he probably wanted to rush her along so he and Sierra could go home to continue where they’d left off.

For the first time in a long time Fallon wished there was someone special in her own life. Images of Lance flashed in her mind. She firmly pushed them away. That wasn’t likely to happen.

“Of course.” She started out of the plane.

She wouldn’t think about Lance. She’d seen the last of him. Head down, she grabbed the rail and went down the steps and walked into a solid wall of muscle. She opened her mouth to apologize and glanced up into Lance’s intense black eyes. He held a red rose in front of him.

“I didn’t know your cell phone number.”

So she hadn’t been as poker-faced as she’d thought about the men’s frequent phone calls. She guessed it was probably Catherine who noticed. She’d probably called Luke, who had called Richard, who in turn had called Lance. It struck Fallon again how close they all were and how they looked after family and friends.

In her traveling so much, she’d missed making those deep, lasting friendships—until she had moved next door to Naomi. “Would you have called?”

“I’m not sure.” He shifted. “I just know I had to see you again.”

“Why?”

“To do this.” He pulled her into his arms, his mouth finding hers.

She didn’t do public displays of affection and was annoyed when seeing others kissing outside of airports. But protest or resistance never entered her mind. She simply melted.

Her arms went around his neck, drawing him closer, taking, giving. The last thing she recalled before her brain fuzzed was that Blade had been right: she did need both hands free.

Chapter 5

Lance gradually became aware of the noise surrounding him and lifted his head. The dazed look on Fallon’s face, the desire in her eyes, almost had him pulling her back in his arms. “You make me forget.”

Her eyes widened. He realized he’d spoken the words out loud. His mind sought a way to mitigate the damage he’d just done. Never let a woman know she had power over you. He knew that as well as his name.

“You seem to have the same effect on me.” Her fingertips stroked his chest through his shirt. “I don’t kiss in public.”

His hands flexed on her arms. “I keep reminding myself you’re leaving on Sunday.”

“So do I.”

He stared down at her. She up at him. Both knew their time was limited, but neither was walking away. He bent to pick up the rose he’d dropped and handed it to her.

“Thank you.”

“Richard’s idea,” Lance felt compelled to say. “I always thought flowers were overdone.”

“Since I love flowers, I’d have to disagree.” She motioned toward the limo and the uniformed man standing by the driver’s door. “He’s waiting for me.”

“Do you want to go someplace tonight?” Lance asked

“Are you asking me on a date?”

He frowned down at her. “I suppose I am.”

“No.” She started for the limo.

He was so stunned by her answer that she’d gotten several steps away before he caught up with her and took her arm. “No?”

“No,” she repeated.

He wasn’t going to ask again or even ask why. He was going to take himself back to the Yates house, because if he saw Richard now he might really strangle him.

“The driver is waiting.”

“Why?” Lance bit out, annoyed at both of them. Not even his aunt was this stubborn.

Fallon’s chin lifted. “Because of the way you asked, as if you’re being forced to take me out. Is Richard behind that as well? Well, let me tell you, I’m not that hard up.” She took off for the limo again.

He was quicker this time and caught her in a couple of steps. “Richard didn’t tell me to take you out. But he was going to introduce you to some guy.”