Promoted to Wife (Destiny Bay) (14 page)

He took a long sip of wine and went through his usual
rationalizations. After all, could he help it if women
seemed to like him? He was handsome, wealthy, could be
charming when he felt like it. Why shouldn't women like
him? And why shouldn't he enjoy that attraction? In
their own way, they were using him just as much as he
was using them.

He glanced at Terry as she served the wine. Why was
he so convinced that she was different from the other
women his life had been cluttered with? What drew his
interest in a way it hadn't been drawn for years?

Partly, of course, it was because she didn't seem
tempted by the things most women liked about him. She
wasn't throwing him flirtatious glances. In fact, she
hardly ever looked his way. She was so intent upon being
the perfect butler.

He smiled as he watched her, and a warm feeling filled his chest. There was something about her that seemed to open up his life to new experiences, to new feelings that
he'd never had before.

“She cares,” he thought. “She really cares.”

Was that what was changing him?

Because he
was
changing. Just before dinner he'd done
something he'd never done before. Jeremy had come to him with a brightly wrapped birthday present and he'd opened it, joking with everyone as he tore apart the paper. And there inside had been that raggedy koala bear
Jeremy loved.

Rick had stared at the little bear and frowned. He
was aware, as he'd never been before in his life, that what
he did next had the capacity to hurt someone or make
someone happy.

He'd looked up slowly into his son's wide, waiting
eyes. “Thank you, Jeremy,” he'd said gravely. “I never
had my own koala bear before.”

Jeremy smiled, and that smile had given Rick a jolt of
warmth smoother than butter-laced rum. “I know,” his son said
shyly.

Rick had picked up the bear and given it a quick hug. “This is just what I've always wanted. But I need someone to take care of him for me. Who do you think could
do that?”

“I could,” Jeremy piped up happily. “I could take care of him and you could come and get him whenever you
need him.”

“Good idea,” Rick replied, handing the bear back to Jeremy. The boy stood looking up at him, eyes shining. And then he did something he’d never done before, something that had always seemed too awkward, too unnatural for him to do. He leaned down and kissed his son’s round cheek.
 

He mused over the incident. He could remember hav
ing done things, having been manipulative, in order to
make someone like him or do what he wanted, or just for
the hell of it. But he couldn't remember having been
wary of what he said just because he was being careful of the feelings of another human being. A whole new series
of possibilities stretched before him.

Brandy held her glass out for her third refill, let out a piercing laugh, and brought Rick back to the present to
realize he was being spoken to.

“We were so glad to be able to join your little celebra
tion. Why, Max and I have known you forever, Rick,” Mrs. Granger was saying, smiling about the table a little uncertainly. Things were not quite what she was used to
and she was having trouble getting a fix on the situation.
But at the same time, she was trying her best to make
polite conversation.

“Yes,” Max chimed in a little too heartily. “You al
ways were a rascal as a little one, chasing the peacocks all
over our yard.” He chuckled. “They'd spread their bright tails and you'd run after them, roaring like a young lion.”

Brandy was having a fine time and enjoying the wine.
She giggled at what Max had said. “Things haven't
changed much, I'll bet,” she said blurrily, winking
broadly at Rick. “It may be girls instead of birds, but
you're still chasing—”

“Do you still have those peacocks?” Rick said
quickly to the Grangers. “I remember the way they
screamed. Their cries gave me nightmares.”

Brandy was still laughing at her own joke. She aimed
an elbow at Rick, meaning to give him a companionable
jab in the ribs, but unfortunately her eyesight had suf
fered from the wine and she hit a water glass instead, sending the contents shooting across the table.

“Oops,” she said, and giggled again.

“No problem,” Rick assured her.

“That's what butlers are for,” Terry murmured for
him alone as she bent over the table with a dry cloth to
sop up the mess.

Aunt Julia hardly seemed to notice the commotion.
She went on talking to Erica and Jeremy as though every
thing were normal.

But the Grangers were becoming a bit concerned. First they'd been confronted with Brandy in Day-Glo green anklets and a rhinestone-covered mini-skirt. Then the fe
male butler. Now Brandy was getting tipsy. The Grangers
began looking over their shoulders, ready to run for their
car.

Terry bent near Rick again to finish cleaning up the
spilled water. She wasn't wearing perfume, but he caught
a wonderful scent, warm and very feminine as she
brushed his shoulder. He had the sudden urge to bury his face against her, to close his eyes and breathe deep.

“Behave,” she whispered near his ear as she bent to pick up a dropped napkin. “Or I’ll stick you with the carving knife.”

He grinned. He hadn’t meant to make his feelings quite that obvious. So he turned to his aunt and asked a few family related questions, just to get people off the track.
 

“I’m sure you stopped in to see some of my cousins on your way over here,” he said. “What’s new with the Carrington clan?”

“Well…” Aunt Julia looked as though she was glad he’d asked. “I did go down by the embarcadero. I wanted to take a look at Jennifer’s new shop, The Magnificent Munch 2. Adorable place. I’m sure she’ll do wonders with it.” She took a sip of wine. “But more to the point, she’s about to deliver!”

“Pizza?” Rick said, smart aleck-like.
 

“No, dear. She and Reid are having a pair of babies. Didn’t you know?”

Reid was his cousin, Jennifer his cousin’s recent bride, but a girl he’d known all his life. He grinned. “What else is new? The girls Matt and Grant married are almost as fertile. We’re getting a whole passel of new Carringtons in one fell swoop. The town ought to think about outlawing more Carrington children, just out of a basic sense of self-defense.”
 

“Nonsense. We Carringtons make this town what it is.” But she laughed when she said it, and the visitors didn’t take offense.
 

“You know what we've forgotten to do,” Julia said suddenly to the entire table. “Let down the chandelier.” She turned to Mrs. Granger by way of explanation. “My father had it custom-made, you know, for parties, back in the Roaring Twenties. It lets
down from the ceiling and there's a little motor...”

Terry and Rick were no longer listening. Their eyes
met and they both repeated, in unison, “ 'When a party
comes, I'm out to play'!”

Laughing, Rick rose and reached for the switch that activated the chandelier. There was a sound of grinding gears as the huge contraption began to lower, and as it
came down, confetti showered the table, along with paper
party hats and colorful noisemakers. And along with them, another clue on a large white cone of paper.

Rick grabbed it and read aloud, “ 'Look under your
pillow, birthday boy.'” He grinned at Terry. “Come on,
let's go.”

He'd taken her by the hand and started for the door
before he realized she was resisting.

“I can't go,” she hissed at him desperately. “I'm the
butler. Remember?”

“Oh.” He looked back at the shocked faces all around the table, not letting go of her hand. “It's my birthday present from Johnny.” He waved the paper cone at them. “It's
waiting in my room and...”

He moved closer, talking
conspiratorially. “Between you and me, it's safer to take protection at this time of night. There could be a burglar
on the stairs. Or someone hiding under my bed.” He
glanced from one face to the next. The Grangers looked
as though they were convinced Mar Vista had been con
verted into a nuthouse.

“Listen, anything can happen.” Rick added. “Why I found a girl in my closet yesterday. You can't be too
careful.” He winked, grinned, and turned for the door.

And the next thing Terry knew, she was being escorted into his bedroom. Rick was whistling “Happy Birthday to me” under his breath, but he stopped as they came to his bed. He put his hand on the pillow and looked at
her.

“Here's your last chance,” he told her archly. “I'll
throw away anything Johnny might have cooked up
without even looking—if you tell me to.”

She met his gaze, then looked quickly away. “Are you crazy?” she murmured. “I'm as curious as you are. Pull
up the pillow.”

Counting to three, he did just that, and beneath, fi
nally, was his birthday card.

It was huge. Rick picked it up, flipped it open, and
caught the folded bit of hair and plastic that fell out, reading quickly, aloud, “ 'Hey, Rick. Have a good one. The wad of stuff that came inside this card is for you. Blow it up and you will find an exact representation of Angelina. She's waiting for you at the telephone number listed below. All you have to do is call, and she'll be with you in half an hour. Sweet dreams, cousin!'”
 

They both stared at the hairy plastic. “That's Angelina?” Terry asked skeptically.

Rick grinned, and without another wasted word began to blow on the little valve that stuck up from the plastic. First an arm appeared, then a leg, and, in no time at all, a fully representational woman. A very naked woman.

“Angelina,” Rick said gravely, “meet Terry Yardley.”

Terry shivered, making a face. “She gives me the creeps.”

Rick frowned reprovingly, covering Angelina's ears. “Don't say that in front of her. She has feelings, too, you know.”

“She's also got a lot of other stuff,” Terry muttered, wrinkling her nose. “Here.” She pulled off the cardigan sweater she was wearing over her blouse and handed it to Rick. “Cover her up.”

Rick dressed her and sat her down on the brocade-covered chair. “There,” he said cheerfully. “Now this is more like it. I knew Johnny wouldn't disappoint me. Isn't she lovely?”

Terry didn't know whether to laugh or cry. “Not very.” She turned to go back down. “I'd better get back...”

Rick was suddenly in her way, and when he caught
her shoulders and pulled her against him, she went limp,
too surprised to fight.

“You owe me a birthday kiss,” he murmured, running
his hands lightly over her back.

His eyes were huge and she was drowning in their
golden light. Her mouth opened to protest, but his lips were covering hers before she could get a word out. For
just a moment, she couldn't resist him.

Hot as liquid metal, they seemed to fuse together, sharing breath, sharing a pulse that beat between them like an
engine that couldn't be stopped.

The bed was right behind him. The lockable door was right behind her. Giving in to temptation seemed so terri
bly easy.

Finally she found the strength to break away, and
when she did, fury filled the aching regret she couldn't force back.
 

“Damn you, Rick Carrington,” she cried, her hands balled into fists. “You have got to be the greediest
man I've ever met!”

Her anger didn't provoke him. He smiled lazily, lean
ing back and watching her from beneath lowered lids.
“I'll admit to being hungry for you,” he said softly. “But
for the rest, I'll take the fifth.”

She shook with suppressed longing and hated herself
for being so weak. “You know, this really is disgusting,”
she snapped at him. “I mean, you've got women every
where. You've got your aunt carting in females as though there was a sale on at the local five-and-dime. You've got
your cousin procuring for you. I'll bet your friends at the country club are constantly trying to line you up with
someone. Aren't they?”

His shrug was self-deprecatingly modest. “Well, some
times...”

She threw her hands up in the air. “So what do you
want with me, Rick Carrington?” She glared at him. “You've got all the women any normal man could deal with in a single lifetime. Leave me out of it!”

His eyes were dark with some emotion she couldn't
identify. “Do you really mean that?” he asked softly.

She nodded vehemently. “Yes, I mean it. I want you to
leave me alone.”

He stared at her for a long moment. Then he shrugged
and turned away. “Okay,” he said shortly. “You got it.”

She hesitated, hardly believing her ears. “You mean... you'll stay away from me?”