Strings of the Heart (10 page)

She laughed as she fluffed and then sprayed some of the curls trailing down my back. “Once again, I only enhanced the beauty that was already there.”

My gaze dipped from my long and feathery fake eyelashes to my plumped-up lips shimmering with gloss down to the tight, strapless bodice of the couture dress. Shelly had been right when she said that the dress would help enhance my cleavage. For once, my B-cup was looking like a full C as it spilled over the top of the dress.

I don’t know when I had felt so beautiful—maybe my Sweet Sixteen party, if even then. I desperately needed to feel this level of desirable to boost my confidence to approach Rhys. He was used to gorgeous women brazenly throwing themselves at him. Although I could never see me throwing myself at him, I could definitely work on making him notice me. Then maybe things would really begin to change for us.

“You’re going to take his breath away, Sonny,” Cassie said behind me.

“Thank you. I sure hope so.” My gaze flickered to the clock on my nightstand. “Oh shit, I’m already ten minutes late!”

Cassie reached out to place her hands on my shoulders. “Easy, you’ve got to breathe or you’ll pass out.”

“But—”

“No buts. There’s a cab waiting on you outside, so you’ll be there in less than ten minutes with traffic.”

“There is?” I asked, as I hurried over to dig my slinky, black heels out of the closet.

“Yep, I called one for you while Shelly was working her magic.”

After I slid on the heels, I grabbed my purse. “Thank you both so very, very much for tonight.”

“You’re welcome,” they replied in unison.

When I got to the door, I turned around. “Oh, just one thing.”

“What?” Cassie asked.

“Could you please refrain from making out on my bed? I don’t even get to make out on it.”

Cassie laughed. “No problem.” Shooing me with her hand, she said, “Now get the hell out of here.”

“I’m going, I’m going,” I said, slipping out the door.

After I hurried out of the house and pounded down the steps, I slid into the seat of the cab, which in a corny way felt kind of like Cinderella’s carriage. “Take me to 429 Bull Street, and please try to hurry if you can,” I said to the driver.

He took my request to heart as we squealed away from the curb and started careening down Oglethorpe Avenue before making a sharp right. I gripped the leather seats while silently praying I actually made it to the Mercer Williams House in one piece. When we got to the turn to Monterey Square, we began to inch along. Peering out the window, I watched valets in white jackets run along the front of the house, handing tickets and then parking cars. “You can just let me out here,” I said to the driver.”

“All right.”

After I dug a ten out of my wallet, I handed it to him. “Thanks.”

“Have a good evening, miss.”

“You too,” I replied, as I put one high-heeled shoe out onto the pavement. Once I closed the door, I started walking as fast I could on my heels. I followed some of the couples through the wrought iron gate and up the front walk. When we got to the door, a man in a tux was checking invitations.

That’s when I started to panic. Rhys hadn’t mentioned that I would need an invitation. Just as I was about to dig my cell phone out of my purse to text Rhys, the man questioned, “Miss?”

“Oh, um, I don’t have an actual invitation. I was invited by someone,” I said, instantly realizing how idiotic I sounded.

Glancing down at his clipboard, he demanded, “Name?”

“Allison Slater.”

His finger ran down a sheet and then he stopped. “Good then. Go on in.”

I exhaled a relieved breath as I breezed past him into the black and white tiled foyer of the house. Instantly, I felt like I was stepping right into the movie
Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil
. I half expected Kevin Spacey to walk by, puffing on a cigar, as he played Jim Williams.

Standing on my tiptoes, I craned my neck, searching the long, crowded room for Rhys. When I didn’t see him, I started into the first room on the right. It was filled with people talking and drinking champagne. I left that room and made my way across the hall. When I still didn’t see him, I decided that I better start asking.

Tapping one guy on the shoulder, I said, “Excuse me.”

After he whirled around, his gaze dipped slowly down my body, as if he were trying to memorize every curve I had. “And what can I do for a sweet thing like you?” he drawled.

“Do you know where I could find Rhys McGowan?”

He smiled. “Are you looking to bet on him tonight?”

I furrowed my brows in confusion. “Excuse me?”

Leaning in much closer to me than I would have preferred, the guy said, “Why waste your money on him when you could go home with me? I guarantee I’d show you a screaming good time. All. Night. Long.”

“Give it a rest, Donaldson,” Rhys’s voice came from behind me.

At the feel of his hand on my lower back, I instantly relaxed. Tilting my head, I took in his tight smile. “I apologize for not being able to meet you sooner.”

“It’s okay.”

Rhys glanced from me to my lecherous admirer. “I see you’re making some acquaintances.”

Donaldson, as Rhys had called him, held out his hand. “Where are my manners? I didn’t introduce myself properly to you. I’m James Donaldson.”

“Allison Slater,” I replied, shaking his hand quickly. But before I could pull away, he was bringing the back of my hand to his lips.

“I’ll see you later then, Miss Slater. I certainly hope you’ll be betting on me tonight.”

“Don’t fucking count on it,” Rhys growled under his breath.

James winked at me before thumping Rhys on the shoulder. “Always a pleasure seeing you, too, McGowan. Have a lovely evening.”

Rhys scowled at James as he walked by us. Then he turned back to me. “I’m sorry you had to deal with that asshole.”

“He wasn’t that bad.”

“Oh, trust me, I’ve known him since we were kids. Not only is he a bully, but he is a womanizing douchebag.”

“Then I should have kneed him in the balls rather than allowing him to kiss my hand.”

Rhys stared wide-eyed at me for a second before busting out laughing. “While I would have loved to see that, I’m not sure you would have made the best impression.”

I giggled. “Me either.”

“Enough about that asshole. Thanks to him I didn’t even get to greet you properly.”

“It’s okay.”

He shook his head and stepped out in front of me. Taking my hands in his, he surveyed my appearance. The heat of his stare caused my heart to break into a gallop. “You are absolutely breathtaking tonight.”

“Thank you,” I replied, breathlessly.

Rhys smiled. “Considering that you’re putting every woman in this room to shame, I’m not surprised that jerkwad was coming on to you.”

“Aren’t you the flatterer tonight?” I teased, while trying to keep my careening emotions in check.

“I just call it as I see it.” When his gaze dipped from my eyes down to my chest, his jovial expression momentarily faded.

In one fluid movement, Rhys closed the space between us, backing us into the corner of the drawing room. Immediately my head spun as I went into sensory overload at the nearness of him. His deep musky scent filled my nose while the heat radiating off his tux-clad body almost singed the skin exposed by my strapless couture. While I stared questioningly into his face, his dark eyes remained locked on my chest. To the average observer, one would have assumed Rhys was exhibiting typical male behavior by ogling my breasts, but I knew better. Most of all, I knew him better than that. His attention was drawn to the pendant nestled in the valley between my average-sized cleavage.

When his fingers grazed against the bare skin of my breastbone, I couldn’t help the tremble that went through my body. I wanted nothing more than to feel his hands on me. If I was honest, I fantasized about them most nights, especially to get me through a dry spell without an orgasm.

Once he had grasped the pendant, Rhys weighed it in his hand, taking in every aspect of it before his gaze flicked up to mine. “I can’t believe you still have this, least of all wear it.”

His almost accusatory tone momentarily stung me, and I jerked back from him. His grasp remained firm on the pendant, causing the satin ribbon to slice into my neck almost like I was on a leash. “Why wouldn’t I still have it?”

He shrugged. “I guess because it was so long ago when I gave it to you.”

“It was at my Sweet Sixteen party,” I reminded him.

“I remember,” he murmured.

“You do?”

He held my gaze as he fingered the raised magnolia on the pendant. “Of course I do.” One side of his lip quirked up in a half smile. “That was only four years ago, Allie-Bean. I’m not so old that I’m having memory loss.”

A nervous laugh escaped my lips. “You’re not old.”

“Just older than you,” he mused.

“Only by a few years,” I countered, kicking my chin up determinedly.

In his brown eyes flecked with gold, I saw the question he would never dare to verbalize. Four and a half years had passed since that momentous night by the fountain at my party. There had been other loves and other life experiences for me. After all that time and distance, he wondered what it was about the simple necklace, hand painted by his sister, that made me continue to wear it, especially on the choker so close to my heart?

What I wanted so desperately to tell him was I wore the necklace because in spite of all the loves and other life experiences for me, I was still madly and completely in love with him. Swallowing hard, I replied, “I like to wear it because I love magnolias—I always have. Magnolias remind me of strong women—the kind I aspire to be like. But most of all, it reminds me of home.”

Rhys bobbed his head, accepting my half-truths as if they were the gospel. In the end, maybe avoidance was better for both of us. At least for now, I would keep telling myself that. Now that we were on the cusp of unchartered territory, I would play the game for as long as I had to in order to win his heart.

He tenderly placed the pendant back on my breastbone and then stepped back. “I’m glad you still have it, and that it means so much to you.” Just as we were about to lapse into an awkward silence, Rhys asked, “Are you hungry?”

Of course he would have to change the subject. “Maybe a little.”

“Come with me.” He then led me back into the hallway and down to the dining room. He grabbed me a plate and started piling on some hors d'oeuvres. “You still like all things cheese, right?”

I stared at him in shock. “Uh, yeah, I do.”

He grinned. “Try the spinach and cheese canapés. They’re delicious.”

As he went about adding some fruit to my plate, I couldn’t help asking, “How did you remember I liked cheese?”

He shot me a withering look. “Like I haven’t sat beside you at a million BBQs and dinners over the years. You even eat shredded cheese on your hot dogs.”

If this had been an old Southern novel or movie, I might’ve swooned at that very moment. Sure, it was just a detail about cheese, but he remembered it. About me. “You’re right. I do. My mom claims it was because she craved it so much when she was pregnant with me. Apparently, she never liked it before.” I clamped down on my lips to once again keep from blabbering like an idiot.

Rhys smiled as he handed me the plate. “There. That should take the edge off until we can go to dinner.”

“Thank you, kind sir,” I teased.

With a laugh, he rested his hand on the small of my back. He then led me down the hall to a beautifully decorated living room or sitting room. Motioning up the length of the room, he said, “The auction is going to be in there. Most of the people who are betting will be in there and in here.”

Chewing on one of the canapés, I wrinkled my nose. “It’s still so bizarre to me that they have bachelor and bachelorette auctions. It seems so outdated.”

“I totally agree with you. That’s one reason why you won’t find me listed in the program.”

“What a shame. I might’ve been inclined to bet on you.”

Rhys gave me a sexy smirk that outrivaled any of AJ’s. “Yes, but you’re the lucky girl who gets to have me for free,” he challenged.

I swallowed hard. Trying to save face, I quickly said, “That’s true. I wouldn’t want to waste my money.”

Rhys laughed heartily. He opened his mouth to say something else when we were interrupted by a woman in a glittering blue gown. “There you are,” she said.

Rhys instantly tensed. After appearing to force a smile, he replied, “Hello, Mother.”

Although I tried not to stare, I couldn’t help taking in every aspect of his mother. They both had the same dark hair and eyes. Her hair was swept back into a tight chignon at the base of her neck. Although she had to be in her fifties, she appeared very fit and youthful. She had a face devoid of wrinkles, which was either good genes or a good plastic surgeon. I was betting on the latter.

“It’s almost time to start.” She glanced from him to me. Her red lips pursed curiously while her eyes narrowed shrewdly. “And who is this young lady?”

“This is Allison Slater. You know my bandmate, Jake?”

Disdain flooded her face at the mention of the band. “Yes, I do.”

“This is his younger sister. She’s attending SCAD.”

“How lovely,” Rhys’s mother replied, with as much enthusiasm as if Rhys had said I was in Savannah for a prostitution convention. Instantly, I was assaulted by the line from
Pretty Woman
when Julia Roberts’s character, Vivian, says about Edward’s friend that you could freeze ice on his snotty wife’s ass. That was the epitome of Rhys’s mother.

Ignoring her tone, Rhys said to me, “This is my mother, Margaret.”

“It’s nice to meet you,” I said, extending my hand.

After she gave my hand a quick shake, she turned her attention back to Rhys. “I hope that you’ll fetch a good price tonight at the auction.”

“I think we’re going to raise a good deal.”

“You misunderstood me. I meant, I hope
you
bring in a lot of money.”

Rhys dark brows knitted in confusion. “I don’t think I understand.”

“You’re the final bachelor of the evening.”