The Billionaire Princess (17 page)

Leaning her head against Christopher's shoulder, she tried to block out the music with very little success.

“Mind if I cut in, Hall?”

At the sound of Jake's voice, her head shot up.  Other than the brotherly hard time he'd given her that morning after breakfast, they hadn't spoken much since she and Christopher started dating—a fact that was mostly her own fault.  Having been afraid of letting something slip before Christopher told him about their relationship, she hadn't made her usual effort to stay in touch.  In fact she'd avoided his recent calls and with the exception of this morning when he gave her a hard time after breakfast she'd avoided him here as well.

Christopher's hands left her body and he took a step back.  “Sure, I hate this song anyway.” He clapped Jake on the shoulder.  “I'll see you in a few, Sara.” He moved away from her as Jake took his place.

With little other choice, she stepped into Jake’s arms as they moved to the music.  The reason for her brother's sudden interruption nagged at her, but she kept silent.  If he planned to voice displeasure about the current situation, she wasn't in any rush to hear it.  So far that weekend he hadn't indicated any displeasure with her decision, yet that didn't mean it wasn't there.

“You two have been inseparable all night.  People have noticed.”

She shrugged.  She, like her brothers learned a long time ago, that you couldn't control what other people thought.

“How's it going?” Jake asked.

She detected nothing but concern in his voice. 
How much should I share?
  It seemed inappropriate to tell her brother she thought she was falling in love with his best friend since she hadn't yet told Christopher.  “Good.” Short and to the point.

One blond eyebrow went up as he looked down at her.  “Not very talkative tonight,” he said moving them across the dance flow.

If she was still ten years old, she would've rolled her eyes at her brother. “It's very good. Is that better?”

The singer on the stage hit a high note as he approached the final segment of the song and she saw Jake grimace. “I'll never understand why Mom loves this song,” she said.

“Tell me about it.  No man should be asked to hit high notes like that,” Jake said in agreement. Not long after the ear-splitting high note, the music ended for the evening, but Jake remained next to her.

“Before you go I need to know one thing. Are you happy with him?” Jake asked, the humor she'd heard a moment earlier replaced with concern.

Sara nodded, a question of her own nagging her. “Do you mind? Christopher made it seem as if there was some kind of law about a guy dating a friend's sister.”

A full-blown smile broke out across her brother's face. “Perhaps calling it a law is a bit of a stretch,” he teased before his smile disappeared and his face turned serious again. “He's a good guy, Sara. I hope you're happy together.”

Good, he hadn't gone into overprotective big-brother mode
.
“Thanks Jake, that means a lot to me.”  She walked alongside him as they moved toward the ballroom entrance.  “I was afraid that you wouldn't be happy about our relationship.”

“Like I said, you won't find a better guy.”  Jake stopped just outside the ballroom. “What time do you two plan to leave in the morning?”

“I'm not sure, but probably not too early.”

Jake dropped a kiss on her cheek.  “Then I'll see you tomorrow.”

Sara nodded and watched Jake and Charlie walk away.  The fear she'd held onto for weeks disappeared.  Her relationship with her brother wasn't in jeopardy.  Eager to find Christopher now, she searched for him among the guests mingling in the hall.  With the music over, guests slowly drifted out of the ballroom toward either the grand foyer or their own rooms upstairs.

A quick scan up and down the hall showed no sign of him. 
I bet he's in the library.
He'd mentioned it was his favorite room in the mansion.

Turning right she headed down a hallway toward the room.  Along the way several relatives she hadn't seen in months stopped her.  With ease though she managed to keep the conversations short and in no time, she stepped into the library where numerous guests remained deep in conversation including the one man she searched for.

He stood on the far side of the room and instantly her stomach clenched tight with raw jealousy when she caught a glimpse of the woman near him.  She could only see their profiles, but she recognized the woman as Rebecca Marshall, Senator Marshall's daughter.  The younger woman had a tendency to become infatuated with a man and not give up until she got him.  The only man Sara knew that hadn't fallen for Rebecca was Jake.  He'd actually gone out of his way to avoid her.

The irrational jealousy twisting her insides slowly built the longer she stood in the doorway.  Would anyone notice if she dragged Rebecca out by her hair?

Even as she took a step forward, she recognized her feelings as unjustified.  He had the right to talk to anyone, same as she did.  But knowing this intellectually did nothing to her unexpected emotions.  She'd never felt jealousy like this before.  It surged through her body.  It made her want to grab hold of Christopher and shout
mine
to anyone listening.
Too bad you can't brand a boyfriend the same way a rancher brands cattle.

A second foot followed the first as Sara marched across the room.  Before she reached them, Christopher looked in her direction.  Without any hesitation he smiled, his face radiating his genuine pleasure at seeing her.  Just like that her jealousy evaporated.  While he might be talking to Rebecca, he was pleased to see her.  No one could fake the pleasure she saw on his face.

As soon as she joined him, he slipped an arm possessively over her shoulders and she leaned into him comfortable as both friend and lover.

“You look fine, so I guess you survived the dance with your brother.  I expected you sooner though,” Christopher said after greeting her with a kiss.

“There are a lot of relatives here tonight.  I got a little sidetracked on my way.” She ignored the whole comment about her brother.

Rebecca Marshall's eyes flicked back and forth between them.  Sara felt as if she was being sized up as competition.
Don't even think about it.
Wrapping an arm around Christopher's waist she reached up to kiss him again.  Unlike the peck on the cheek he'd given her, she zeroed right in for his mouth and gave him a kiss that told Rebecca and anyone else watching that he belonged to her.

***

Floor-to-ceiling windows lined three of the walls in the third floor solarium providing Sara with an unobstructed view of the ocean as she enjoyed her tea.  And what a view it was.  The sun had started to set coating the sky with various hues of red and pink that stretched out for miles, and there was not a cloud anywhere in sight. 

With a lazy stretch, she sank deeper into the sofa while she waited for Christopher.  They'd come up from the beach for lunch, but had only made it halfway through when he received an urgent call from work.  While she waited for his return, she contemplated their previous conversation about Callie.  For some reason she couldn't get it out of her mind.  Could a simple apology mend their relationship? Callie never exhibited any signs that she held a grudge toward her.  Not to mention she readily provided her support for Senator Healy's education initiative regardless of Sara's involvement. And while she remained reserved in her company, it might have more to do with not knowing how Sara would respond rather than because Callie didn't like her.

If both Jake and Christopher believed an apology would help, could there be something to it? When Christopher talked about his relationship with his sisters and their relationships with each other a mixture of guilt and envy always rolled through her.

She had an abundance of friends and acquaintances but none of them were close confidants—just Jake and now Christopher.  Even when she'd attended an all-girl boarding school, she'd always held back a little bit of
herself.  When Callie entered their family, it'd been the perfect opportunity to add her to the short list of people she trusted.  Instead of welcoming her though, she'd done the opposite.  Afraid Callie wanted to somehow use the family for her own benefit, she'd tried to push her away.  Even though she'd only wanted to protect her family, particularly her father and his campaign following Phillip's betrayal, she'd been in the wrong.  Perhaps now was time to fix that mistake.

Such an attempt might fix the minor rift between her and Dylan too. Although very subtle, there had been a change in their relationship once he and Callie became involved.  No one else noticed it, but she knew it existed.

Picking up the teacup near her chair, she took a sip expecting a mouthful of hot liquid.  Instead lukewarm tea slid down her throat, taking her by surprise.  She'd poured it right before Christopher stepped out and it'd been steaming.  The tea left in the cup now tasted like tap water.  How much time had passed since he left? Normally she didn't lose track of time.  Then again most of the time her schedule was so structured she didn't have time to sit around.  Before this relationship, she hadn't allowed herself any down time.  Before Christopher she'd planned out every day weeks in advance. Since he'd come into her life, she'd modified that.  The workweek remained scheduled down to the minute, but she kept weekends free. Now she couldn't imagine going back to her old way of doing things.  Before Christopher she hadn't realized how lonely she'd become.  Sure she spent time around people, that was part of being in DC, but being around people you worked with couldn't compare to the joy of being with a person you cared about… whose phone calls you looked forward to each day… who held you close at night while you slept.

Her eyes closed and memories of waking up that morning returned, sending warmth through her.  As the scene played out in her mind she saw them in her room at Cliff House.  He'd already been awake when she'd opened her eyes that morning; her head was on his chest, one of his arms was around her, and his fingers were toying with her hair.  In that moment she'd felt not only cared for but loved.  At least she thought it was love.  No other boyfriend had made her feel the way Christopher did.  Some had come close.  And at the time she'd believed she loved them. Yet the emotions she felt with them couldn't compare to the ones she had with Christopher. In fact the intensity of the emotions she felt this time scared her a little.  Frequently she reminded herself to let their relationship grow and develop at its own pace.  With emotions so intense however, she often forgot her own suggestions. 

Several times in the past weeks she'd almost dropped the L-word during a conversation.  Each time she'd covered her blunder and Christopher appeared none the wiser.  And while she realized the slow course was best, she wondered how slow was too slow?  Should she wait until he said he loved her to share her own feelings?  Or should she take the plunge first?  It could be that he was waiting for her to take the first step.  And if she decided to tell him, how would she know when the time was right?

Yawning, Sara covered her mouth.  She had a lot to consider.

***

“Hey, are you awake over there?” Christopher asked, walking up to Sara's chair. Sara's eyelids flew open,
then blinked a few times to focus. Something she could only call giddiness passed through her. “I'm not asleep just relaxing.”

“Sorry, I didn't intend to be gone that long.”

She'd grown up with meals and birthday parties being interrupted by business emergencies.  For her it was normal. “Don't worry about it.  It gave me time to think.”

Christopher grimaced as he sat down next to her.
“About what?”

“My sister.”

“Oh.” The tone of his voice told her everything.  Not only had her answer surprised him, it also made him curious and concerned all at the same time.

“Do not tell Jake I said this but maybe you and he are right, maybe an apology would help things.” As she spoke the words her decision solidified in her mind.  Perhaps deep down she'd always known she should apologize, but needed the help of someone impartial to make her acknowledge the fact. “I don't know if she'll accept it but...”

Reaching for her hand he raised it to his mouth and brushed a kiss across her knuckles.  Warmth shot up her arm then spiraled throughout her body.

“I don't see her as the type to hold a grudge. She'll accept it,” Christopher said with confidence.

Perhaps in other areas of her life, Callie might not hold grudges, but she may react much differently to something so personal. “And if she doesn't?” she asked her voice little more than a whisper. She stared straight ahead. If she looked at Christopher he'd see her fear.  Admitting you were wrong was never easy, but when another person's reaction could be predicted it became a little easier.

“Then it's her loss, but my computer-simulated eight ball told me that won't happen.”

The thought of Christopher staring at an eight ball, even a computer-simulated one, made her laugh.  And with that simple reaction, her body relaxed.  The fear that overwhelmed her a moment earlier began to drain away. “Is that a program you created at Cal Tech?”

“No, in high school.
  Four sisters remember?  They loved it for their slumber parties and, trust me, there were a lot of slumber parties at my house.”