Give Me More--A Sexy Billionaire Romance A.C. Arthur (the giving tree read aloud .TXT) 📖

He hadn’t spoken about her and RJ during their interview yesterday morning. He’d only answered her questions and made sure to tell her what he didn’t want to see in the story. She’d agreed to not print the personal stuff about him and Marva.

“I missed him, too,” she admitted.

Ron reached his other hand over to place it on top of hers. “Don’t waste any more time,” he told her. “Life’s too short.”

Grace looked at Ron and then because they were still walking, she looked straight ahead toward the altar, where RJ was smiling at her.

Ten years ago, he’d asked her to be his wife. Tonight, RJ wanted to ask her again. He wanted this trip to be the beginning of their future. But how could he tell her that here, in the middle of Riley’s rehearsal dinner? He couldn’t, that was the bottom line. This was Riley’s time, and his sister deserved every bit of happiness in the spotlight that she’d created for herself. He wasn’t going to upstage that or even interrupt it with an impromptu proposal of his own.

“She looks happy,” his mother said when she came to sit beside him.

They’d finished dinner and dessert about fifteen minutes ago. Grace had been called over to take pictures near the fireplace with Nina, Desta and Riley.

“Yeah, Riley can’t wait to be married tomorrow,” he said, keeping his eye on the photo session.

“I wasn’t talking about Riley,” Marva said. She touched RJ’s hand. “You look happy, too.”

He glanced down at his mother’s hand covering his and then over to her. “I am,” he admitted and then took a deep breath. “I didn’t realize how unhappy I was until she was back.”

“I told you to go after her.”

“I know you did,” he said, remembering his mother had come to visit him the week after Grace had left. “I didn’t because of my pride. But as it turns out, I think the space was exactly what Grace needed to do the things she wanted to do.”

“I told her she could’ve done those things while being married to you.”

He grinned. “I told her that, too. She’s stubborn.”

Marva chuckled. “Like somebody else I know. My grandchildren are going to be a handful if they take after you and her.”

Two hours later, RJ was still thinking about his mother’s words. He was also thinking that, before he jumped the gun and went shopping for another engagement ring, he wanted to talk to Grace, to see where her head was with all this. They’d admitted their love for each other again and weren’t opposed to showing it in public, but that had been the extent of their new relationship. Day after tomorrow they’d be heading back to New York and to their normal lives; he wanted to get some things straight before then.

That was one of the reasons he was on his way to her room again—the other was that they’d already arranged to meet at ten. She’d volunteered to help decorate Riley’s room with Desta and Nina so they hadn’t left the restaurant together after dinner. He’d gone to his room first and changed into shorts and a T-shirt. He’d also wanted some time alone to think about what he was going to say to her. Now he was almost to her suite and his phone was vibrating. He pulled it out of his pocket and read the text from Grace.

Got a little sweaty so I’m grabbing a shower. Door’s open.

Wishing she’d waited for him to get in the shower, RJ smiled as he entered her room. He locked the door behind him and walked to the small refrigerator where he knew there were bottled waters and a couple vodka and rum miniatures, which he’d put there a few nights ago. He took one out, opened it and went to the table where room service had left a clean set of glasses and coffee cups. He poured his vodka into one and he took a seat, waiting for Grace to get out of the shower.

Her laptop was open and he glanced at it while taking his first sip. His mother’s name caught his attention and in that second he realized this must be Grace’s story. He turned away slowly, setting his glass on the table. Don’t read it. The words floated into his mind and he kept his gaze averted. There was no reason to read it; he and Grace had talked about all her interviews, he knew what everyone was going to say. Still, he was going to read it eventually. He used to always read Grace’s work and he’d enjoyed that. So all he had to do was turn his attention back to the laptop and read. And when he did, fury deep and red-hot boiled in the pit of his gut.

The Golds and the Kings have come full circle. From a feud that started with a love triangle featuring the major players, Ron Gold Jr., Tobias King and Marva Gold, to these powerhouse men taking the fashion industry by storm.

RJ had to set his cup on the table. His fingers immediately clenched into a fist as he continued to read.

Marva Gold recalls meeting Tobias first and marveling at how focused and talented he was. It was a totally different feeling when Tobias introduced Marva to Ron at an RGF holiday party. “I knew Ron was the man I would marry from the first moment I saw him,” Marva said.

That night Marva had no idea that meeting the man who would turn out to be the love of her life would destroy a friendship and create a second fashion house. That’s precisely what happened when Tobias saw Ron and Marva kissing weeks after the party.

“Hey,” Grace said from behind him.

RJ stood, whirling around until he faced her. “What the hell is this?”

“What—”

“I thought we discussed this. You said you weren’t going to write anything but the truth. That you weren’t interested in slandering my family.”