Black and Blue (Black and Blue Series) (23 page)

Jamie put her hand out.
“Rob, it’s nice to final meet you.”

He took her hand in
his and slowly brought her fingers to his lips, gently brushing a kiss across her knuckles. “You are breathtaking, Miss Moore,” he said. His baritone voice was deep and smooth.

S
lowly her eyes wondered over to Henry and she noticed his face was scarlet and she frowned. Jamie took her hand away from the lead singer and wiped his kiss on her dress. She arched an eyebrow at him. “Thank you, but I thought you were here to do a sound check so I could hear you play live before the party.”

Rob nodded, his wicked grin still in place. “They’ll be here soon.
I wanted to meet the mysterious Moore daughter. And I can see why your father kept you a secret.”

“Hmm…okay
. Well I need to make sure everything is in order for tonight. Emily and I will be back when your band arrives.” Jamie didn’t want to deal with the jerk hitting on her every change he got. It was getting old fast and she wasn’t sure how much more Henry would take before he jumped the guy.

“Jamie
, you need to help me get my dress on. Mike will be here soon and I want to look amazing.”

She
looked at her best friend. She was always beautiful with her long, dark, wavy brown hair and stunning hazel eyes. “Well…I don’t want you to be standing next to me when he gets here. You look incredible, and I want
my
boyfriend’s eyes on me and me alone.”

Jamie laughed, and shook her head. “Whatever, I only look this good because of you.”

< kwids span>
“I will disagree with that,” Rob said from behind her.

S
he rolled her eyes which made Emily giggle. Emily put her hand out for Jamie to take and without thinking twice, Jamie took her hand.

“I could work with that,” Rob said
as they walked away.

“Gross
,” Emily commented and put her finger in her mouth and made a gagging sound. “I was hoping he wasn’t going to be a pig, but he is the king of pigs.”

Jamie agreed
, she hoped that the others in the band weren’t like him. “Let’s go make you beautiful, darling.”

Chapter Thirteen

Black
& Blue

Jamie and Emily walked downstairs together after Emily was dressed. Emily’s phone rang as they reached the bottom step.

“Hello?” Emily said into her phone.

“Hey, I’m almost there, see you in a few minutes,” Mike replied.

“I’ll meet you outside,” Emily said with a smiled and clicked her phone off.
Her parents were coming to the party and she wanted to warn her new boyfriend that her father would be questioning him intensely.

“Tell Mike I
said good luck with your dad!” Jamie called over her shoulder as she went to meet with the band.

Emily narrowed her eyes and
Jamie snickered. “Two can play that game, remember that,” Emily retorted as she walked away laughing.

Jamie walked into the ballroom where the party was being held. She co
uld hear the bass from Kickers’ drums as she approached the room. She stopped in the doorway to watch them. She had loved their music for a while, but seeing them live was something new. Jamie had wanted to go when they’d played at the
No B Club
, but she hadn’t been eighteen yet, so she couldn’t go. They were rehearsing her favorite song, ‘Soul’.

I gave you my soul, even when I knew I shouldn’t. I gave you my soul
, when you were taken. My soul will be forever yours, ohhh. When we met I told myself to stay away, but you had my soul in your little hands.

I gave you my soul, even when I knew I shouldn’t. You are my life and no matter what I will fight for you until my last breath. My soul will be forever yours. You brought light into my life, even when you were taken. I gave y nwid will fighou my soul.

Jamie looked across the room at Henry as they sang, but she quickly forced herself to look away from him. She glanced around the ballroom and was stunned. Beautiful dark blue and black fabric decorated the normally bare white room. Some of the black and blue fabric was twisted together, and it made her think of herself and Henry.

Cynthia
’s white hair caught her eye. She was setting up some of the tables with a large glowing center piece on the table. Truth was, Jamie wasn’t really mad at her father or Cynthia, she was more hurt. She took a deep breath and started walking toward the woman who’d helped raise her.

Cynthia’s back was facing her and Jamie smoothed her hands down her dress. It felt
strange to be wearing such a large skirted dress and she couldn’t believe how heavy it was. She could see Henry better as she moved closer to Cynthia. He was about ten feet away from her. He glanced at her for a moment and she saw his eyes light up.

Jamie took a deep bre
ath, steadying herself. “Cynthia?” She bit her bottom lip as the older woman turned around. Her normally cheerful face looked sad. “Can we talk?”

Cynthia nodded slowly. “Of course
, Miss Moore.”

Jamie
cringed at the formal title. She couldn’t recall a time when Cynthia had ever called her that. She turned around knowing that the other woman would follow her. She noticed her father watching her from where she’d been moments earlier. Jamie kept walking toward him. “Follow me,” she murmured as she passed him.

They needed to be alone because Jamie
didn’t want people to overhear what she had to say. She walked into the library first, and waited at the double doors until her father and Cynthia joined her. They both stood as far as away from each other as they could, and Jamie smiled.

“I think we need to talk. First I don’t like t
hat you two kept this from me. Dad, I thought you were lonely and I was wrong. I thought you were holding a candle for Mom, and no one would ever make you happy again.” Jamie took his hands in hers, and smiled up at him. “I love you Dad, and I want you happy. If Cynthia-”

“No
! We can never be together openly! You
know
she would be killed without anyone thinking twice, and they would make an example of me as well!”

Jamie
had never thought about the other Black’s using her father as an example, she wondered briefly if she would be made an example also. She glanced at Cynthia, she was the only person in this room who knew what she wanted to tell her father, but she slightly shook her head. Jamie knew it wouldn’t have been the best thing to tell her father, but she hated that she had to keep the most important thing in her life from him.

S
he didn’t understand why he didn’t change things. She watched her fathe shed>

“I don’t think I could
change anything now, even if I wanted to. Thing are really…complicated right now with rumors of a revolution. People are getting irrational and I am barely holding things together. And I know there have been secret meetings to find a new leader.”

What
! They wanted to replace her father?
A Moore had been in charged since her grandfather took things in his own hands and took over the country. “Why?” was all she could ask.

He
r father placed his large hand on her cheek. “My sweet beautiful daughter, these are things you shouldn’t worry about. Not today, not when you have your party that will be happening soon.” He smiled sadly at her, and removed his hand as she nodded her head.

He was right. This
wasn’t the time to talk about that. She needed to make sure everything was in order for her party. There would be about two-hundred people there in about an hour and they were going to be there for her. Most were her friends and some were her father’s friends.

Jamie wondered
what would happen after the wedding. Would she come home after marrying Henry? Would she live there and stay with her new husband once in a while? She didn’t like that idea, and wouldn’t want to be away from Henry. She knew that it would be the last night in the home she had grown up in. And perhaps even the last time she would see her father like this. “I love you, Dad, always remember that.”

He narrowed his eyes, but a smile tugged at the corners of his lips. “What are you keeping from me?”
he asked, and her heart nearly stopped. “You’ve been so distant from me recently.”

Jamie wrapped her arms around him and hugged him tightly
. “It’s nothing Dad, really. I’m just happy to be home.”

Slowly
he enveloped her in a hug and tapped her back. “Okay, but you know I am here for you, no matter what,” he said as he pulled away from her, and she nodded.

She knew that he was
, but she couldn’t tell him about Henry. Jamie moved to Cynthia, Henry had told her she should tell Cynthia how she felt, so she quickly wrapped her arms around the older woman. She was the one who essentially raised her. “Cynthia, I love you as if you were my mother.”

“Oh Jamie,” was all she said. I
t brought tears to her eyes and gradually she pulled away from her. “I love you too sweetie, always have and always will.”

Jamie smiled at her, and knew that no matter what
happened, her father would have Cynthia to take care of him. She walked out of the library, alone. She wasn’t hurt anymore that they were keeping their relationship from her. She understood why they had. She was doing the same thing, well except that Cynthia knew about her relationship with Henry.

As she made her way
back down the hallway, she saw Ryan. He was wearing what all of the guards wore around there, his shirt, pants, and shoes were all black. He wore a white ear piece in his ear. He looked good, but she had a weird feeling that he was up to something. She hoped that he wouldn’t try to talk to her, but of course that didn’t happen.

Just as
she started past him, he grabbed her arm. “We need to talk,” he whispered in her ear.

Jamie shivered. S
he didn’t want to be alone with him. He used to be sweet and loving now he seemed bitter and cold. “I don’t think-”

H
e cut her off by moving his face close to hers. “I know about you and the
butler
.” His hazel-blue eyes stared into hers, and her heart crashed in her chest. He moved his face away from hers, but he wore a malicious smile on his charming face. “Now I think you might want to talk about this without people listening in?”

Jamie glared at him and tore her arm away from his grip. “I don’t trust you.”
She didn’t, and the malicious smile on his face didn’t help his cause.

Ryan
snickered, and arched a single eyebrow at her. “You used to.”

She sighed, because she knew that she would have to talk to him
, if only to see what exactly he knew about her and Henry. “Fine, but just down the hallway.” Jamie didn’t want to be in a closed room with him, and then she remembered her personal bodyguard and she wondered where he was. She hadn’t seen him since after her father and Cynthia’s kiss. “Where is Matthew?” Jamie placed her hands on her hips.