CHILDREN JUMPED INSIDE THE INFLATABLE princess bounce house. Ponies toting children on their backs walked around the trail inside the white picket gate. Colorful balloons tied with long strings on the fence swayed in the gentle wind.
Watching the children have a marvelous time, Leslie’s hands curled around the fence as she turned to face her oldest son, Richmond. “The weather is perfect for a party.”
Excitedly anticipating Kayla’s arrival, Richmond agreed with his mother. “Yes, it is.”
Such a wonderful grandmother, Leslie blew Isabelle a kiss as she rode the pony for the third time this afternoon. “Call me crazy, but you look better.”
He cocked a brow. “How so?”
Leslie shrugged. “I don’t know.” Her eyes roamed over his face. “You don’t seem so tense today. Don’t look as stressed as you normally do. Are you involved with someone?”
He was that obvious, huh? Tossing back his head, he laughed. He had one person to thank for the good mood he was in—Kayla. One night in bed with the beautiful woman had him spent. Thriving. Alive. And she had him craving for more of her. “I wouldn’t use the word involved. But since you asked, I will admit, I do have a special interest in someone.”
Leslie’s face brightened with a big smile. “I know how private you are, so I won’t ask who. Just know I’m happy for you.” She patted his back affectionately. “To make you look this good, she must surely be special.”
Only time will tell. “I think she is,” Richmond confirmed.
Enjoying the birthday, Isabelle hopped down off the pony and ran straight into her grandmother’s open arms. Leslie lifted her off her feet and bestowed her with a kiss on the cheek. “Is Grandma’s baby having a good time?”
“Yes.” Isabelle peeked over her shoulder at him. “Daddy, where’s CJ?”
“I don’t know, Pumpkin. He should be here any—”
Isabelle pointed toward the parking lot. “There he is!” she screeched as his mother lowered her to the ground. Before Richmond could turn around, she’d scurried toward Kayla and CJ as they made their way toward him. Isabelle practically jumped in Kayla’s arms the moment she reached her. Ecstatic, she wrapped her arms around Kayla’s neck.
With Isabelle perched on her hip, Kayla sashayed across the emerald lawn and headed in their direction. As always, Kayla looked stunning. Even from where he stood, he could see the red, long flowing dress she had on fit her body like a second skin. Halfway there, Kayla placed Isabelle’s feet on the ground. His little Pumpkin grabbed CJ’s hand, and the two of them skipped towards the princess castle bounce house.
Keeping her eyes on Kayla as she walked their way, his mother said, “Please don’t tell me that’s your nanny.”
“That’s her, all right.”
“Never mind telling me who your new interest is; I can see it for myself.” Leslie’s voice was full of surprise.
“Hi,” Kayla said, coming to a stop in front of them. Sweet perfume streamed from her body up into his nose. She smelled delicious. Delicious enough to devour.
Richmond politely made the introductions between his mother and his new love interest. “Mom, Kayla. Kayla, this is my mother, Leslie.”
Leslie extended her hands to Kayla, and she shook it. “Nice meeting you, Leslie,” Kayla said, smiling prettily.
His mother’s eyes rolled over Kayla’s entirety. “I’ve never seen a nanny as pretty as you.”
Continuing to smile, Kayla replied, “Thank you. You’re very pretty yourself.”
“Why, thank you. I appreciate the compliment. Too bad my ex-husband, Russell, couldn’t see what he had.”
Richmond interjected, “Oh boy, here we go.”
Scrunching her face, Leslie shrugged. “What? It’s the truth, and you know it. Kayla, my ex-husband, Russell Spaulding, has a thing for young girls, so you be careful around him, with his nasty self. Okay?”
“Yes, ma’am.” Richmond joined Kayla in her hearty laughter.
“Well, I’m going to go on and head home. Kayla, if you’re not doing anything tomorrow, I’d love to have you over to my house for a nice Sunday dinner. Feel free to bring your son, too. Before you answer, please be warned, there will be a bunch of us there—Richmond, Suade, Zeke, and yes, that damn Russell. I’m going to invite Sandella and Braylon, too. Maybe Drake and Willa will come also.”
Kayla looked at Richmond as if she wanted him to answer for her. Ah, she didn’t want to overstep her boundaries. “She cooks a delicious roast,” Richmond told Kayla.
Leslie put her hands on her hips and nodded. “Yes, I do. But I’m not cooking that tomorrow.”
“Sure, I’ll be there. Thank you so much, Leslie, for the invite.”
Leslie fanned her hand in the air. “It’s my pleasure. Oh yeah, tell your father if he’s bringing that hussy Gina, then he needs to stay home. That young girl chews with her mouth open, and it drives me stupid in the head. Y’all have a good day now.”
Kayla broke into sweet laughter. Once Leslie got halfway to her car, the tight lines in Kayla’s face relaxed. “She’s so nice. Did you tell her about us?”
“Not exactly. She figured it out.”
“Oh. I thought so.”
“Does it bother you that my mother knows about us?” he wondered.
Shaking her head, her hair gently brushed her face. “No. Not at all.”
Being so close to Kayla had his stony jewels aching. “I’m glad you could make it today. Isabelle was just asking about you right before you arrived.”
“CJ was super excited about coming. Even if I wanted to renege, he wouldn’t have let me.” Her gaze left his face to observe CJ jumping up and down inside the bounce house with Isabelle and a whole bunch of other children.
Speaking of super excited, Richmond was thrilled to see Kayla. Mentally visualizing how he’d trailed his tongue over her dark nipples last night, he groaned inwardly. Damn, she drove him wild. Made him want to take her into the woods, spread her legs wide, and make love to her while her back pressed gently into the bark of a tree.
Remembering how her drenched sex had tasted salty on his probing tongue, he flinched. “Would you like to go for a horseback ride?”
“Sure. But what about the kids?”
Richmond pulled his cell out of his pocket and dialed Chelsey. “Hi, Chelsey. I’m going for a ride. Will you please do me a favor and watch Isabelle and CJ for me?”
“Sure, Boss. No problem.”
“Thanks, Chelsey.” He ended the call. “It’s set. Chelsey will watch them for us. Come with me to the stable.” Bypassing the clown juggling colorful jugs, his heart expanded in his chest. Glee filled him. He hadn’t felt this damn good since before Salina had died. And now with everything going on, not knowing if he could trust Jason or not, he was glad to have someone like Kayla in his life.
Kayla’s nose wrinkled from the wild animal stench when they entered the stable. Stacks of yellow hay sat in various corners of the stables. With several stalls to the left and an equal amount to the right, her eyes wandered over the equipment and the loft above.
Passing several well-bred horses, Richmond explained what each individual one meant to him. He stopped in front of the stall of his most expensive stallion on the grounds. “This high dressage stallion’s name is Lord Balfour. He has an overload of performance genes. Lord Balfour has over twenty approved offspring, who have proven themselves by winning foal shows and championships. While Lord Balfour himself is known for his trademark and talented dance moves, he belongs to a wealthy gentleman by the name of Colton Balfour. He’s one of the richest men on Hilton Head Island. Actually, he’s Zeke’s father.”
“Oh, Okay. What does this Colton Balfour do for a living?”
“Colton owns several of the resorts here. He’s also into real estate and pharmaceuticals.”
“Wow. A man of many talents.” His name must have registered inside her head because a light went off in her eyes. “The day I met with Sandella at the
park, I passed by his hotel on the ocean. It looked rather fancy.”
“It is. I’ll have to take you there one day. Maybe we can spend the night and have a romantic evening at Mr. Balfour’s Resort.”
Blushing over the idea, her cheeks colored. “I’d like that. But considering you have a nice home, that’d be a waste of money.”
“My home is just okay.” Finding his wife poisoned in their bed, his home hadn’t been the same since. So much so, he often thought about renovating his tiny home on the ocean so he could move in it. Gloom threatened to press its way inside his soul as he briefly thought about Salina, but he’d be damned if he let it steal his joy while with Kayla.
Kayla’s eyes combed over Lord Balfour’s black, shiny coat. “If you don’t mind me asking, how much does a horse like this cost?”
“One point six million dollars.”
Kayla’s eyes grew large. “On point six million dollars?! I can do a lot with that kind of money.”
If his feelings for her were any indication of what their future may be, she just may have that kind of money one day, after he married her. What the hell? Surprised by his own thoughts, he cursed inside his head. Of course, he liked Kayla. Liked her a whole lot. But it’d be a cold, very cold day before he ever married again. Salina had taught him a valuable lesson—trust no woman. “Would you like to touch him?”
Her eyes looked dreamy. “Can I?”
“Yes.” Richmond opened the door of the stall and led her inside.
Standing behind her with his chest pressed to her spine, he gently grabbed her wrist and brought her hand up to Lord Balfour’s back. As he guided Kayla’s hand over the horse’s thick, shiny coat, he dropped his lips to the crook of her neck and kissed her. Her body flinched. I can’t wait to get inside her again.
Her shoulders motioning up and down, Richmond could tell he’d stoked a burning fire inside Kayla. Her hand stilled on the horse’s strong back. Desiring to taste her lips, he cupped the balls of her shoulders and turned her around to face him. His lips came down quick on hers.
Nibbling and sucking the plump flesh of her mouth, he growled. Heat radiated through his veins. Need clawed at his gut. As much as he didn’t want to, he tore his mouth from hers, grabbed her hand, and hastened toward the stall towards his own personal favorite horse.
Shaft throbbing inside his jeans, he burst inside the stall where his Irish Thoroughbred, Mystic Night, was. Mystic Night was worth hundreds of thousands of dollars, but unless a person knew horses, they’d have no clue she was so expensive.
Ready to take Kayla for the ride of a lifetime, he pulled on Mystic’s reign and led her to the doorway opposite where the party took place. On the other side of the stall, where it was nice and quiet, Richmond stuck his foot in the stirrup and clambered on top of the saddle covering Mystic’s back. Glancing down at Kayla, he reached for her hand. She hiked her dress up to her hips and climbed aboard behind him.
Turning his vision to the stall on his left, he pointed to his other favorite horse. “That’s Gypsy Rose, the pregnant horse I was telling you about.”
Kayla glanced at Gypsy Rose. “Her belly is huge. I hope I get to see her deliver.”
“Me, too. It’d be quite an experience. Wrap your arms around my waist.” Leaning into his back, she circled her arms around his waist and squeezed him tight. “Hold on. Let’s go, Mystic!” He yanked on the reign, and Mystic galloped into the forest.