Nothing Personal

Page 12

“Of course.” Michelle grabbed two menus and led them to a booth in the back of the room. Tuxedo-clad waiters silently scurried about, unobtrusive but always available.
“The Worthingtons will be joining us shortly,” he said to Michelle, who informed Ryan she’d bring them to the table as soon as they arrived.
No sooner had they sat down than their waiter arrived and Ryan ordered a bottle of wine.
Faith rubbed her fingertips against the white linen tablecloth. A vase of roses centered the table, along with two deep red tapered candles.
She’d never been to Markham’s before. The restaurant was dark and intimate—a perfect place for lovers to sit alone in the shadows. She took a sip of water from a crystal glass, her throat gone completely dry.
The waiter soon returned with a bottle of white wine, something French that Faith had never heard of. She sipped the smooth, dry chardonnay.
“Do you like the jewelry?” Ryan asked.
Honestly, she’d forgotten all about it. She wasn’t really a jewelry person, in fact rarely wore it. “Yes, it’s lovely. Thank you, again.”
“It looks good against your skin.” His eyes dwelled on her chest. Faith squirmed.
“Thank you.” She wished he wouldn’t look at her like that. His intense eyes darkened whenever they roamed over her body. “I don’t usually wear jewelry.”
He quirked a brow. “Really? I thought diamonds were a girl’s best friend.”
That made her smile. “Not this girl’s. I’m not one to adorn myself with jewels. One, because of the cost, and two, it just seems, I don’t know, superfluous somehow.”
He looked toward the front of the restaurant and didn’t say another word. But he seemed disappointed.
Before she could ask what she had said wrong, Paul and Jenelle Worthington were escorted to the table. Ryan stood, shook Paul’s hand and planted a light peck on Jenelle’s cheek.
“Paul, Jenelle, this is my wife, Faith.”
Faith stood to greet Ryan’s guests, pasting on her biggest and hopefully most professional smile. “I’m pleased to meet both of you,” she said and held out her hand.
Paul shook her hand. A robust man, he looked more like a professional wrestler than a successful hotelier. Big and burly with a thick neck, he had silvery hair swept back in waves and an extremely tan complexion owing obviously to hours spent in Nevada’s year-round sun.
Jenelle was tall and lithe, impeccably dressed and adorned in diamonds. Her shimmery blonde hair was bobbed and swept behind her ears, and nary a wrinkle showed on her face. Whether that was due to plastic surgery or great genetics Faith couldn’t tell.
“Darling, it’s so nice to meet you,” Jenelle said to Faith. She tapped Ryan’s hand. “How long has this been going on, and why didn’t we know about it?”
Ryan smiled. “We kept it a secret.”
“Obviously,” Jenelle said, her gaze flitting between Ryan and Faith as if she were looking for hidden messages. “And you were Ryan’s…uhh…secretary?”
The raised eyebrows and patronizing look told Faith in an instant what Jenelle thought of her. “His executive assistant. And I still am,” she replied.
“You mean you’re still working?” Jenelle’s hand flew to her throat in horror.
Faith tried not to smile. “Yes, I am.”
“Quit badgering the girl, Jen,” Paul admonished. The waiter brought him a double scotch, which he promptly downed in one gulp and asked for another.
“I’m not badgering her at all, dear.” Jenelle shot her husband a scathing glare before turning her inquisitive brown eyes back to Faith.
“I’m merely getting acquainted with Ryan’s lovely new wife.”
Faith drew back as Jenelle leaned into her, so close their noses practically touched.
“Tell me, dear,” Jenelle whispered. “Did that bad boy Ryan marry you because he got you pregnant?”
It was going to be a long evening. Faith took a deep breath and prepared for the inquisition.
On the way home, Faith mentally replayed the events of the evening.
She hoped she’d said and done all the right things. Ryan and Paul had immersed themselves in business through dinner, while Faith endured Jenelle’s barrage of questions about her life, her past, her education and social ambitions.
Social ambitions? She had none. When she couldn’t come up with a list of social obligations, Jenelle had been horrified.
Was she supposed to volunteer for some committee? Join the Bridge Club? What? She made a mental note to ask Ryan about it later.
When they arrived home, Faith went upstairs to prepare for bed and Ryan marched into his office without a word to her.
Had she done something to upset him? At the beginning of the evening, when he gave her the jewelry, she could have sworn she read desire in his eyes.
Obviously she’d been wrong. Like she’d know what desire in a man’s eyes looked like. She was certainly no expert there.
So why had he been so quiet on the way home? She’d been nice to the Worthingtons and hadn’t done or said anything that should have embarrassed him.
Maybe men got moody too, just like women.
Faith hung her dress in the closet and slipped on her nightgown. She slid into bed and turned off the light.
The bed seemed overly large without Ryan in it, despite the fact she continued to keep her distance from him. She wasn’t ready yet to make that intimate leap with her new husband.
But, still, the bed was too large for her to sleep in alone. Funny how quickly one’s perspective could change.
Faith needed her husband in bed with her.
Ryan sat at his desk, pondering where his mission had gone wrong.
He’d bought her jewelry. Women loved jewelry. They gushed, they ooohed, they aaahed, then they jumped gratefully into bed with you.
So, why hadn’t Faith?
Damn, she had looked incredible tonight. The dress clung to her curves, accentuating a body he was dying to get his hands on, and wasn’t allowed to touch. Yet. He made a last ditch attempt to will the lustful feelings away.
They wouldn’t leave. And despite his carefully planned round one, he was downstairs in his office, and she was upstairs in their bed.
The bed where obviously no lovemaking would occur tonight.
The diamond idea had been a complete bust. Faith acted as if he’d purchased them on some television shopping network for twenty dollars.
Nothing. A polite thank you and that was it.
Why hadn’t he noticed that the only jewelry she wore was her wedding ring?
Faith wasn’t like other women. Obviously.
He stood and paced the dark-paneled office, skirting the oversized desk and plopping down on the plump sofa. He propped his feet on the glass coffee table, leaned back and laced his fingers together behind his neck.
Jewelry didn’t do it for her. Fine, then. He had other ideas. Which strategy to employ next?
He glanced at the calendar on the wall and thought a moment. Yes, this would be a good time. Things were going well at work. Nothing pressing coming up. He could afford to take a few days off.
He loosened his tie, went back to his desk and pulled out his scheduler.
A few telephone calls and round two would be in action.
This one would work. This one would get Faith into his bed, only there wouldn’t be any sleeping.
With a satisfied grin, he picked up the telephone.
Chapter Eight
Faith couldn’t believe she was actually on a plane heading to Hawaii.
And not a commercial airline either, but the McKay corporate jet.
Ryan was full of surprises. He’d shocked her early this morning when he announced they were going to take a few days off and go to Hawaii.
At first she thought he’d been joking, but he hadn’t been. With a stern look and a glance at his watch, Ryan had informed her she had approximately one hour to throw a few things in a suitcase and get ready to leave.
Why he decided on this trip, she didn’t know. But, she had to go along, as did both James and Stan.
James arrived downstairs in a less than jovial mood. They left at a little past seven in the morning, and James usually didn’t rise until well after noon. But then again, Ryan told her, James always stayed out partying until almost dawn. No wonder he was tired.
Stan looked wide-eyed and ready to go, apparently more than happy to take the trip to Hawaii. That didn’t surprise her, since he worked only for the McKays and could conduct his business from anywhere.
Now the four of them were shortly to land on the island of Oahu.
Stan worked on his laptop, James was asleep and snoring loudly and Ryan was on the phone.
Faith gawked out the window, amazed at the expanse of ocean below her. She’d never been to Hawaii, although she’d always dreamed of it.
She’d expressed her delight about the trip to Ryan, who’d only smiled enigmatically as he packed his things.
When she’d asked him if the trip was business or pleasure, his only comment was, “Pleasure, I hope. And lots of it.” He’d said it with a huge grin like he’d just eaten the best dessert of his life.
Men were so strange.
The pilot announced it was time to land. Faith watched the descent of the plane into the islands with the excitement of a child, anxious to get out and explore.
The islands looked so small, she thought as they circled in preparation for landing. It was hard to believe that these tiny little islands held such attraction for so many mainlanders. But then again, her own heart pumped in anticipation of setting foot in the tropics.
The plane touched down and Faith, Ryan and their two chaperones disembarked and piled into the awaiting limo.
Their hotel, owned by the McKays, was an opulent twin-towered high rise located on Waikiki Beach. When they exited the limo, Faith didn’t know where to turn her eyes first. She inhaled, filling her lungs with the heady fragrance of the abundant ginger permeating the front entryway of the hotel.
They were shown to their rooms immediately by the bellman. Faith and Ryan’s top floor suite overlooked the ocean. It took up the entire floor, obviously the best one in the hotel.
“Shouldn’t this suite be saved for one of the paying guests?” she asked as she followed Ryan onto the balcony.
“No. This is my personal apartment. It’s never rented out to paying guests. There’s another suite like it in the adjacent tower.”
Personal apartment? It was more like a mansion, and bigger than most homes. The long hallway stretched as far as she could see, and Faith counted at least four bedrooms in addition to the oversized master, which had its own private balcony overlooking the ocean.
She loved the tropical decor, with wicker chairs and sofas, lazily turning ceiling fans and fresh flowers in every room. Floral pillows with hibiscus and birds of paradise decorated the well-cushioned furniture.
Right now she was transfixed on the sparkling blue ocean. Never had she seen such beauty. She could already imagine drifting off to sleep with the sounds of ocean waves lapping against the shore right outside her bedroom window.
It was almost too perfect, too inspiring. “It’s beautiful.”
“Yes, it is.” He pulled her against his chest and wrapped his arms around her.
Despite the incessant thrumming of her heart, she rested against him, the rhythmic ocean waves calming her. The floral scents intoxicated her and Ryan’s strong body made her feel more secure than she’d ever felt before. It was perfect and she never wanted to move again.
“Tell me again what we’re doing here?” she asked.
“We’ve been working hard on the Worthington purchase. Things are flowing well at work right now, and I never got a chance to take you on a honeymoon.”
Honeymoon. The one he was going to take with Erica. The one Faith thought she’d never have. She smiled.
“What would you like to do first?” he asked.
His voice sent shivers down her spine, thrilling her senses.
“I have no idea. You’ve been here before, what do you usually do?”
She leaned her head back to see him.
He smiled and shrugged. “Nothing, really. I’m usually here on business or entertaining clients, so I’ll usually have a boat or event chartered.”
She pursed her lips. “That doesn’t sound like fun. What if we get out and explore the island?”
She almost laughed at the look of horror on his face. Obviously he was not accustomed to mingling with the tourist population.
“Come on,” she urged. “It’ll be fun.”
“If you say so.”
Faith changed into khaki shorts and a white tank top. She slipped on her sandals and brought along a pair of tennis shoes. By the time she came out, Ryan was already waiting for her, having donned a pair of shorts and a polo shirt. She stopped and grinned at him.
“What’s so funny?”
“Look at us. We’re the typical tourists, even wearing the same colors.”
Ryan looked at his khaki shorts and white polo shirt, then at Faith.
“Great minds think alike?”
She laughed. “I guess so. Shall we?”
He had arranged for a rental car after Faith objected to touring the island in a limo, claiming she just wanted to be a tourist. Ryan didn’t understand why they couldn’t be tourists from a limo, but she said half the adventure was grabbing a map, driving yourself and seeing where the road takes you.
“So you’re an experienced navigator?” he asked as he made his way onto the main road.
“Are you kidding? I can barely find my way around Las Vegas and I’ve lived there for years.”
“Great. We’ll be lost for sure.”
“From what I see on the map,” she said, scanning the cumbersome paper on her lap, “we take this road and drive around in a circle. It would be difficult to get lost.”