A Lover's Vow (15 page)

Twenty

“S
o how was Miami?”

Jules continued eating her breakfast, refusing to meet her father's eyes. “Nice. I needed it.”

“Evidently. You had originally said you'd be returning Saturday, but I got your text message that you were taking an extra day.”

The additional day had been Dalton's idea, but she would never admit that to her father. As far as she knew, no one was aware she and Dalton had spent the past week together. And what a week it had been with a man who was bold enough to have a colorful tattoo of Sonny the Cuckoo Bird, the mascot for Cocoa Puffs cereal, right on his lower hip. Jules thought it was a pretty erotic place for a tattoo.

She was a woman who enjoyed sex, and his presence had definitely served a purpose. Today she felt relaxed and back in control. Alert. Ready to tackle anything that came her way. Although the extra day had been Dalton's idea, she had agreed one hundred percent. Surprising what a few nights of nonstop sex could do for you, which had been a testament to just how horny she'd been. He'd been determined to transform that annoying ache into a pleasurable one, and he had done so. Possibly too well. And what was also surprising was how much better they got along once the issue of sex had been resolved.

They'd both agreed that what happened in Miami would stay in Miami, and there was no need to continue things in Charlottesville. Miami was one and done. They were out of each other's systems, and that was all that mattered.

“Have you talked to your sister yet?” her dad asked, interrupting her thoughts.

“No. It was late when I got in.” Last night all she'd wanted to do was take a shower and go to sleep. It had been the best sleep she'd had in months. While in the shower, she'd noticed passion marks over a good percentage of her body. Luckily, none of those places could be seen when she was wearing clothes.

“So you haven't heard about the new development Marcel uncovered with respect to that girl who committed suicide?”

Jules's brow lifted as she took a sip of her coffee. She remembered the incident Shana had told her about. The suicide had come as a shock, and the mother had suspected foul play, but nothing had been proven. And then there was the issue of whether she'd been connected to that trade-secret scandal Marcel had exposed earlier in the year, when several Granger employees had been arrested. What had made the woman a suspect was that the security camera at Granger Aeronautics had captured her searching Dalton's office after hours.

“No, I haven't heard about it. What did Marcel uncover?”

“They discovered how she was getting into young Granger's office when he was careful about locking the door every night before leaving.”

“How?”

“It seems she had a key. One that once belonged to Sylvia Granger.”

“Dalton's mother?”

Her father stared over at her for a minute before saying, “Yes, Jace, Caden
and
Dalton's mother.”

Jules quickly picked up her fork and began eating her eggs. Why had she singled Dalton out? Her father was too perceptive and was probably wondering the same thing. “How did the woman get the key?”

“No one knows, but everyone finds it interesting that she had it.”

Jules didn't say anything, but she found that piece of information interesting, as well.

* * *

Caden looked his brother up and down. “Glad you returned from Florida in one piece.”

A side of Dalton's lips curved into a smile when he dropped into the chair across from Jace's desk. Caden was occupying the other chair in the room. Okay, he thought, he would play his brother's silly little game. “Any reason I was not supposed to return in one piece?”

Jace chuckled. “With both you and Jules in Miami, we were concerned you might return all shredded. Ripped into pieces.”

The words shredded and ripped made Dalton remember the dress Jules had worn to the club that night. That had been the beginning of the most pleasurable six nights of his life. He had to fight back a throaty growl trying to break through the memories. He shifted in his chair and cleared his throat. “What makes you think our paths even crossed?”

“Didn't they?” Caden asked, studying him closely.

Dalton shook his head. “What is this? Get into Dalton's business day?”

“Why not? You certainly like getting into ours enough,” was Caden's comeback.

“I concur,” Jace added.

Dalton shrugged. “That was before the two of you married. There's no need to get into your business now, because your lives are boring as hell.”

Caden laughed. “You think so?”

“Yes.”

“Hate to disappoint you,” Jace said, smiling while twirling his pen between his fingers. “And you never answered the question about whether yours and Jules's paths crossed.”

If he refused to answer, they would take that as a yes. So he decided to tell them a lie. It wouldn't be the first time. “Sorry to disappoint you guys, but I didn't see Jules.”

“Not at all?” Caden pressed.

Dalton rolled his eyes, refusing to answer. “I hope the reason you summoned me here, Jace, was not to interrogate me about Jules.”

Jace tossed his pen on the desk and nodded. “You're right. This meeting has nothing to do with Jules. We thought we'd bring you up-to-date on Brandy Booker. Marcel discovered whose key she was using to get into your office.”

“Let me guess. She'd made a duplicate,” Dalton said drily.

“No. Only the company security team can duplicate the keys, and there was never a work order for one.”

Dalton shrugged. “Doesn't mean anything if you know someone in the right places. Brandy was a looker. Pretty damned hot, too.”

Caden frowned. “And, of course, you know this. I hope you didn't lie to us about not having an affair with her, Dalton. Especially after I came to your defense with Marcel.”

Dalton stretched his legs out in front of him. Brandy had flirted with him a lot of times. Had even thrown out hints regarding her availability and eagerness to please. Although he'd flirted back with her on occasion, the last thing he was interested in was an office affair. He figured Brandy for the clingy type, and things wouldn't have boded well when he dropped her, which he would have done eventually...like a hot potato. “Relax, Caden, I meant it when I said Brandy and I never slept together. Hell, I never even kissed her. She and I became friends, nothing more.”

Jace snorted. “Instead of
friends
, maybe the two of you should have remained employee and employer.”

Dalton smiled. “Oh, like you and Shana? And please don't tell me your situation with Shana was different, because it wasn't. Especially not when she's starting to walk around with a big stomach.”

He knew his statement had been a stark reminder to his oldest brother of just what he and his now-wife had been doing months ago, probably during working hours in addition to those nighttime hours. Sounded like the teapot was calling the kettle black.

“Never mind him, Jace,” Caden piped up. “Just tell him about the key.”

Following Caden's advice, Jace said, “The key Brandy used to get into your office was Mom's.”

Dalton lifted a brow. “Mom's key?”

“Yes.”

“How did she get Mom's key?”

Caden sighed deeply. “That's a good question, one that we're trying to figure out.”

At the sound of the buzzer on Jace's desk, he pushed the button and said, “Yes, Christine?”

“Mrs. Shiloh Granger is here to see Mr. Caden Granger. Should I have her wait in his office?”

Dalton watched a huge smile spread across Caden's face. “No, you can send her in here,” Caden answered for Jace. Then to Dalton and Jace he said, “We have a lunch date. She's early.”

“Then she should wait it out in your office,” Dalton said, deciding to rib his brother. He'd pissed Jace off, so he might as well get Caden, too.

“Go to hell, Dalton,” Caden said.

Dalton couldn't help but laugh. His brothers were so effing protective of their women. He was glad he wasn't involved like that. His mind drifted to Jules. He would admit he'd been possessive of her, which was so unlike him. That had been proven last week, especially on those days when they had gone out on the beach and she'd worn probably the skimpiest bikini she could find. Men stared, and the women gave her hateful looks for grabbing their men's attention. He'd been giving the men brooding looks for even glancing at Jules, but what man in his right mind would not have? However, that was then. He was back on familiar ground, and the only thought he was having of Jules was just how good she'd been in the bedroom. Now that she was out of his system, it was out of sight, out of mind. He was over his obsession with her.

He and his brothers stood when the door opened and Shiloh Timmons Granger walked in. Dalton would admit she was a beautiful woman. But Caden had fallen for the woman when the two of them were kids, wearing braces, climbing trees and doing all those things kids do on Sutton Hills. Both families had known the two were destined to get together when they were older, and it had been okay with everyone until Sheppard was sent to prison for killing Sylvia Granger. Then the Timmonses had forbidden Shiloh and her older brother, Sedrick—who had been Jace's best friend at the time—to have anything to do with the Granger children. They hadn't wanted Shiloh and Sedrick to associate with the offspring of a criminal. That hadn't bothered Dalton one iota, but it had bothered Caden and Jace because they'd lost their best friends. Shiloh's bastard of a father, Samuel Timmons, had been a holy terror, threatening her over the years with what would happen if she and Caden ever reconnected. And he probably made the same threats to Sedrick. Their mother, Sandra Timmons, had been a weakling, just like her children, doing anything Samuel had said. But Dalton would at least give Shiloh credit for taking a stand against her father and seeking Caden out when they got older.

“Sorry I'm early. I didn't mean to disturb the meeting,” Shiloh said, smiling brightly.

“No problem, baby, we were through, anyway.”

Dalton frowned.
They were?
When Caden headed to the door with Shiloh, Dalton asked, “Hey, what's next? Did Marcel say how they're going to find out where the key came from and how Brandy got hold of it?”

Jace shrugged. “I'm not sure, and he didn't say. I'm hoping Bruce Townsend will be able to locate all the information that was wiped off Brandy's hard drive. Marcel also mentioned they had checked surveillance videos from around Brandy's apartment to see if any gentlemen had visited her in the past six months or so.”

“I hope you won't be one of them,” Caden said, grinning at Dalton.

Dalton rolled his eyes. “I told you what the deal was with Brandy and me. Shiloh, you might want to get him out of here before he makes me mad enough to hit him.”

Shiloh laughed. “Then, by all means, let me get him out of here. Did Caden remind you both about his concert at the end of the year?”

Dalton chuckled. “He didn't have to. An announcement was made on radio and television like he's some kind of celebrity or something.”

Of course, he'd meant it as a joke, because his brother
was
a celebrity. Caden was a Grammy-award-winning saxophone player, who had sold out concerts worldwide. He'd given it up temporarily to keep their grandfather's deathbed promise. Shiloh had talked him and his band into headlining Charlottesville's annual Live-It-Up Ball to benefit cancer research.

“He
is
a celebrity,” Shiloh said, grinning. “
My
celebrity.”

Dalton hoped Caden and Shiloh weren't about to get all mushy on him now. He could handle only so much of such nonsense. “So where are you two going for lunch?” Jace asked the couple.

“We're meeting Sedrick and Cassie at Shelburne,” Shiloh said.

Dalton glanced inquiringly at Caden. It was no secret that Sedrick hadn't taken the news of his sister marrying Caden well. “Sedrick?”

“Yes. Sedrick and I are trying to work out our differences,” Caden said easily.

Too easily, Dalton thought. “Why bother?”

“Well, enjoy your lunch,” Jace said, obviously hurrying them along. As soon as his office door closed, he turned a deep frown on Dalton. “What was that about?”

Dalton rolled his eyes. Shiloh's father, Samuel, had died last year of cancer, but as far as Dalton was concerned, her mother and brother were bad enough. “I don't like Shiloh's family, and I'm surprised you and Caden can even try to get along with them. They treated us like crap when Dad was sent to prison. Damn it, Jace, Sedrick was your best friend, and he didn't defy his father when he ordered them not to have anything to do with us. The only one who acted like she had any sense was Shiloh.”

Jace rubbed his hands down his face. “Have you ever thought that maybe there's another side to the story?”

“Yeah, right. What other side is there? Sedrick's father gave the order, and he obeyed by dropping your friendship like a hot potato. And as far as Sandra Timmons being a victim, I'm not buying it. She could have left the old geezer. She could have walked away and taken Sedrick and Shiloh with her. I believe she was just as bad as he was, and I don't trust her, either. As much as I like and admire Shiloh, I can't stand her family.”

Jace didn't say anything for a long moment. In a way, Dalton was right; Jace had felt utterly betrayed when he was sixteen and lost his best friend without a fight. He truly hadn't expected Sedrick to toe the line like he had. Shiloh certainly hadn't. She sent Caden notes, secret messages and birthday cards every chance she got.

“I've gotten over it, Dalton, and so should you.”

Dalton wished he could, but he and his brothers had been made to feel like shit during that time, and all because people wanted to believe his father had been guilty of a crime he hadn't committed. That would make finding his mother's real killer all that much sweeter.