Too Grand for Words (BookStrand Publishing Romance) (21 page)

A glint shone in his eyes. “Moira, call the girls and go shopping.”

“Okay,” she whispered, and walked to the phone as if she were in a trance. How the hell did he do that? He’d taken three days of bad and turned it into good, and he was right. Everything he said was true.

She called Mandy.

“Jesus, Moira, tell Steven it’s too much, but thank you.”

She heard Callie pipe up in the background. “It’s not too much and thank him for me, too.”

“What are you talking about, Mandy?”

“An envelope was delivered to each of our rooms from Steven.”

Moira turned and narrowed her eyes. “What was in the envelope?” He put his hands on his thighs and pushed himself up. She palmed his chest to stop him.

“We each got fifteen thousand dollars in a card that said to have fun. Tell Steven I’ll give him back what I don’t spend, which will be most of it, I’m sure. The card also said to put our shopping in his name. It’s crazy.”

“He did huh?”

“Patti and Sasha have already gone, and Callie, as you heard, is waiting beside me, waiting impatiently, I might add.”

“I’m just going to get dressed, and I’ll come to your room.”

“Okay, hurry up.”

Steven watched her silently as she hung up the phone. She turned her attention to the neatly piled shirt and jeans on the bed, and saw her envelope sticking out between the clothes. She sat down, and picked it up, but didn’t open it. “Thank you for all you’ve done. It’s too much, but I’ll make sure to pay you back when we get home.” He pulled her into his arms, and surrounded her with his strength.

“You’re not paying me back.” He grinned at her. “You don’t think I can afford to allow a few ladies to replace what they’ve lost?”

“I guess you can, but you’re not responsible for us.” She kissed his cheek, reveling in the scent of his skin. He smelled so good for a man, an earthy, intoxicating smell.

“Do me a favor and keep Callie away from Cartier. I gave you girls carte blanche in the stores, but don’t tell her that.”

“You did what?”

“Buy whatever you want, but don’t bother buying anything for tonight. I took care of that already.”

“What did you do?” she asked, pulling away from him.

“You’ll see when you get back. It’ll be waiting here for you.”

“Steven?”

He picked up the clothes and dropped them in her arms, then gently pushed her toward the bathroom door, but not before giving her one more deep kiss. “I’ll see you downstairs at eight.”

She gave him a sideways look. “See you later, Mr. Porter.”

“Ms. Viterra—”

The look in his eyes sent a tremble from her toes to her fingertips.

“I’m more than a friend, and the next reporter we run into is going to hear the truth.”

She swallowed, but didn’t trust herself to ask what that was.

* * * *

Moira dropped the bags on the bed after an hour and a half of power shopping with the girls.

A deep blue box with gold ribbon embossed across the top lay on the bed. “Oh Mr. Porter, what have you done?” she said out loud. Carefully she fingered the edge of the box and pushed back the lid. “Oh my, goodness.”

She reached for the dress, pulling it out, and held it up in front of her. The deep green practically matched the color of her eyes. Small flecks of glistening black thread wove through the skirt. The top of the dress was made of a sheer, see-through silk. She walked to the mirror, and draped it across her body.

“The man should be a fashion designer,” she said, admiring the cut, which gathered to show off the waist and flared in the skirt. The box also had a pair of low pump heels and a bra with a matching slip. She laughed at that. But she didn’t laugh when she picked it up for a closer look. The clasp in the center looked like real gold, and two small diamonds lay in the center of two embossed four-leaf clovers. “Very funny, Mr. Porter.” The satiny material felt soft to her touch, and gold thread twisted through the embroidered lace that bordered the edges and crawled up the cups.

She blinked. “This couldn’t be real gold?” The small black label read, Carine Gilson. “Who’s that?”

Chapter Eleven

Steven waited in the lobby. When Moira walked across the sand-colored, terrazzo tiles he thought he was dreaming. Other men turned their heads to watch her as well, and his chest swarmed with an unknown feeling, but he was pretty sure it was pride.

“You look beautiful,” he said, admiring her. His finger followed the low neckline. He kissed her deeply then leaned his forehead against hers. “Maybe we should go upstairs for a drink?”

“Drink, my ass,” she said, smiling as she took his hand. “You have very good taste, Mr. Porter.”

“I have to say I kind of had fun looking for that.”

“I’m sure you did. How many women offered to display it for you, especially the bra?” she asked.

“Never mind.” He kissed her, lingering on her lips to avoid answering the question.

“You look as hot as ever,” she said, and slipped her hand around his waist as they made their way toward the valet entrance. “Oh look, there’s another woman stumbling over her own two feet. Do you ever get tired of the leering?”

He opened his mouth to say something then closed it just as quickly, a chuckle erupting instead. “I don’t really notice it anymore, except maybe when you were looking at me the other night.”

“I wasn’t leering at you.”

“If you say so.”

She made a tsking sound. “I did not.” She cranked her head around so she wouldn’t have to look at him.

He gently guided her chin to face him. “Now look who’s telling white lies,” he said, leaning away from her. “But I’ll let you off the hook this time.”

“Gee, thanks.”

“How did the shopping turn out?”

“What’s not to like about shopping with Callie,” she said dryly. “I saved your credit card from a dismal, fiery death by the way.”

“I wasn’t worried, I put a hundred–thousand-dollar cap on it.”

She choked. “A what?”

“I didn’t want her to get too carried away.”

“A hundred thousand dollars? Are you insane, Steven? Ten thousand dollars would have been too much.”

He led her to the car, and opened the door for her. “Callie really is a brat, isn’t she?” he said, changing the subject. “She must be hard to control at work.”

“Yes,” she sighed, when he got behind the wheel. “But she has her moments, and I trained her from the start, so she’s confident, not to mention very smart.”

“I’ve got a few people like that, too.” He needed to prove to her they were alike in many ways, even if the scales weren’t balanced. This morning Moira described him to her ladies as a ten. She was the ten, not him. She didn’t hide anything from him, but he clung to his secret with both hands. So far, that secret remained intact, and he needed more time for her to get to know him.

When he’d left Moira this morning she kept tempting his mind while he placed a few phone calls and returned some business e-mails. Finally, he’d given up, and gone to the exercise room to run off some steam. When the fire broke out he’d just finished picking something up for her, and then of course all hell broke loose.

He’d ended up going shopping for a second time, while she slept. There was a first time for everything, and everything he did with Moira, or for her, seemed to be a first.

Five women, at least, had come on to him while he’d roamed the shops looking for the dress. Even the woman who suggested the bra to him, within seconds, came out of the dressing room, wearing it. The damndest thing happened right then. Instead of seeing the long-legged brunette with six-inch heels and a G-string, turning around three times to make sure he had a good look, he saw Moira in it. The young woman didn’t do a fucking thing for him. He simply imagined Moira with her soft brown curls drifting across her shoulders, and her full breasts filling the cups to overflowing. The quick response of heat that jerked inside him applauded his choice. He asked the salesgirl to pull a new one for him to purchase. The girl almost looked stunned with the response, and then embarrassed, quickly she returned to the changing room.

When he walked up to the cash register an older, demure woman standing in a gray wool dress said, “I’m sorry about that, Mr. Porter. That’s not the normal conduct for this store.”

“Don’t worry about it, Caroline,” he said, reading her nametag.

“Yes sir, make sure to tell the lady you’re buying this for to read the instructions for care. These are slightly different. That will be twenty-nine hundred and thirty-nine dollars.”

“I will, thanks,” he said, dropping his Palladium credit card on the counter.

He walked out of that goddamned store feeling a thousand feet tall for some reason. There was no explanation for it, except the fact that he felt solid, real, connected somehow, and he knew it could only be because of Moira.

“Close your eyes,” Steven said to Moira as he stopped her from putting on her seat belt.

“Why? Did you bring chopsticks and ginger to rub all over me?”

Reaching into his pocket, he unclasped the necklace he’d found for her. Lifting her hair, he joined the gold chain behind her neck. He kissed her softly. “Open your eyes, sweetheart.” The dolphin, made of gold and blue diamonds cresting in a sweeping wave of emeralds, lay between the swell of her breasts perfectly. He touched it, and then gently grazed her soft skin.

Her eyes opened and grew large with uncertainty. She reached up to touch the gift. “I…”

He watched her expression. It unnerved her. The solid foundation that she thought she stood on by herself was being nudged to make room for another, and she didn’t know what to do. “Do you like it?” he whispered.

Two tears raced down her cheeks and fell to her chest. “It’s so beautiful, so thoughtful,” she choked out. “This doesn’t belong on someone like me, Steven, and neither does this dress.”

“It was made for you. Do you know what those are?”

She shook her head.

“Those are blue diamonds. They represent the sea and sky.” Before he could stop himself, he said, “You saved my life once, and I think you’re saving it again.”

He reached up to wipe away her tears with the tip of his finger. He had never bought jewelry for a woman in his life, except maybe some earrings for his mother. “I wanted you to have something from me, to keep with you forever to remind you of me.”

She kissed his cheek tenderly, and then her lips wandered to brush his. “You don’t have to buy me diamonds to remember you. I don’t think my heart would ever let me forget you.”

His chest swelled with her words. He swallowed the thought that no matter what he gave her she would never forgive him when she found out what he had been holding back. She was so sure he could never fall for her, and she was so wrong. He had to tell her the truth tonight, somehow. “If we weren’t meeting my brother I’d take you upstairs for the next two days,” he growled.

“Drive, before I agree with you,” she ordered. She kissed him once more on his cheek and settled back in the seat, giving him a suspicious sideways glance.

He rearranged himself because his pants had gotten too small to hold his growing package just from the thought of her in his arms.

Entering the traffic on the boulevard, he said, “My brother’s name is Dane, and his new girlfriend is Stephanie. She’s a nurse at Cedar Sinai. That’s where he met her. She’s a lot younger than him. Other than that, I don’t know much, but I’m hoping like hell she’s not going for his bank account like the last one did.”

“Okay—”

“He’s on the board of directors at Digital Yank. He used to always dick around with computers when we were growing up. Eventually he realized he wasn’t going to be a computer nerd, and went after management instead. Now he’s the
CEO
.”

“Isn’t that the fledgling computer company giving most of the big players in the software industry a run for their money?”

“One and the same.”

“So you both did well. I guess that makes your mom and dad proud?”

“Not at first,” he said dryly. “Dad’s a Supreme Court judge in Los Angeles. He wanted one or both of us to get into law. Although I played with it at first, doing three years at Harvard, it just didn’t feel right.”

“And the modeling thing was to earn your own way, is that it?” she asked.

He’d told her that’s how he started out making his money. He’d done well, yet his IQ forced him in another direction. “Yuh, our parents weren’t the type to roll us in money. Dad worked his way up, and he expected us to as well. He’s a hard-assed bastard actually.”

“I’m sure he’s not,” she said sternly. “He’s your dad no matter how old you are. Parents are supposed to keep their kids on the straight and even.”

“Well, I’m sure he’d love you. He’s a weekend sailor. He’s always loved the water.”

“He probably wasn’t impressed by you being a model knowing you were meant for bigger things. You can’t blame him for that. Aren’t most male models gay anyway?” she asked, her lips pursed together.

“Not with legs like these around.” His hand glided down her thigh.

She swatted his hand. “Behave.”

* * * *

A couple minutes later, they arrived at Caesar’s Palace. Steven took her hand in his, and they walked into the lobby to find his brother.

She turned when Steven gave a quick wave to someone. She scanned the many faces in the lobby, but she didn’t have to search for very long. Steven stopped abruptly, and so did she as did his brother and his girlfriend. They gawked at each other for a second.

She blurted, “You’re a twin?” She couldn’t believe God would allow two of them to be put on the earth at the same time to taunt the entire female population.

The brothers gaped at each other then at her and Stephanie.

“Holy crap,” Dane said, laughing.

“Holy crap is right.” Steven said in awe. “Jesus, you two could be twin sisters.” Steven shook it off first, grabbing his brother for a quick bear hug.

She and Stephanie grinned at each other. Steven was right. They certainly did look a lot alike.

Stephanie extended her hand, and she shook it. “This is kinda creepy,” Stephanie said.

They were different for sure, but they were more alike than not. Their hair color was the same, their body structure, their height. Even their eyes were almost the same.

“You’re from Canada?” Stephanie asked.

“Yes, I’m from Vancouver.” She still couldn’t believe her eyes. How could there be two men that looked that hot, and be so identical?

“I’ve never been, but I hear it’s beautiful,” Stephanie said warmly.

Both men watched their exchange.

Steven eyed Dane. “Well, you got good taste, bro.”

“Likewise.”

* * * *

As they settled in at a table at the voodoo lounge for drinks, Dane stared at Moira. “They say everyone has a doppelganger somewhere in the world. You two look so much alike it’s uncanny.”

The more they got to know each other, it became evident to Steven that the women were quite different in personality. Stephanie couldn’t stop her tongue from wagging, while Moira listened quietly, and as always, only spoke if she felt she had something valuable to add. He appreciated her silent strength. It put more power behind the words she did say. He wondered if that was natural or she’d honed that skill somehow.

“You wrote the
By Sea and by Earth
series? I love those books. They went around the hospital nursing wards like wildfire,” Stephanie admitted. “Now everyone is waiting for the final one. When’s it coming out?”