All That I Need (Grayson Friends) (23 page)

“Rio again,” Lance said.

“He doesn’t like surprises,” said Skylar.

“Blade, either.” Sierra picked up a nacho. “If the fund-raiser wasn’t for Mama, he would have just written a check and said no.”

“Blade understands how important this is to my students,” Mrs. Grayson said. “After the auction is over, the college will be able to not only purchase new instruments but increase scholarships as well.”

“Mrs. Grayson, auctions can go either way,” Lance warned.

“Ours will be successful,” she replied easily.

“It certainly will.” Skylar picked up her glass. “To success.”

“Failure isn’t an option. To success.” Sierra picked up her glass and the women saluted one another.

“Hi, everyone.” Brandon arrived with a tray of food. Directly behind him was the waiter with platters as well.

“Hi, Brandon, thanks again for the priority seating.” Fallon dipped another chip into
queso.
“Excellent as usual.”

“Thanks, Fallon.” Brandon placed the sizzling fajita platter in front of Skylar. “The plate is hot. Please be careful.”

“I will. This is my first time eating here, Brandon, but you have a right to be proud.” Skylar reached for her flour tortilla. “If I wasn’t flying out tonight, I’d come back tomorrow.”

Brandon straightened and folded his arms across his wide chest. “You ladies are going to make my male waitstaff unhappy when you leave. A couple of them are wondering if they stand a chance.”

“Not with Fallon they don’t,” Lance snapped, and scooted closer. “She’s taken.”

Since Fallon loved the stubborn man and was carrying his child, she chose to ignore Lance’s possessive attitude. Besides, it gave her bruised ego a little boost to know Lance was a bit jealous.

“How about you, Skylar?”

“Navarone keeps me too busy to think about dating.”

Fallon used to think the same thing and now look at her, pregnant and in love and trying to be part of a couple.

“Speaking from experience, when the right person comes along, whatever certainties you have about love and romance will be turned upside down,” Brandon told Skylar.

“He’s right,” Sierra agreed. “Blade changed everything for me.”

“Skylar, you will find that out as well,” Mrs. Grayson said softly.

Brandon groaned. Sierra grinned.

Skylar frowned and glanced from Mrs. Grayson to Brandon to Sierra. “Did I miss something?”

“No, you didn’t miss a thing.” Mrs. Grayson picked up her lemonade and just smiled.

Chapter 15

“That was a power luncheon if there ever was one,” Fallon said from the passenger seat of Lance’s car.

Lance had to agree as he headed out of town and back to the house. “They’ll let nothing stand in the way of them succeeding.”

“That’s the only way it can be for women who want to do well.” Fallon folded her arms across her chest. “You have to know what you want and have the single-minded determination and unshakable confidence to go after it.”

Lance wished he had the nerve to ask if what she wanted included him. She cared. If she didn’t, she wouldn’t let him sleep in the bed with her. By doing so, she’d shown him that she also trusted him. This morning he’d seen desire flare in her eyes, but she hadn’t acted on it. Hot sex wasn’t what she was looking for from him. If he wanted to keep her, he’d better find out what it was, and quick.

“They invited us to attend the auction so we’ll get to see how well things work out for them.” He tried to sound casual instead of anxious that she wouldn’t be with him by then.

“It’s two months away,” she mused. “I could still wear my bridesmaid dress and not look like walking death this time.”

He couldn’t tell from her statement whether she still planned to be with him or not. He turned into the driveway of the house. One thing was certain: he didn’t like to think of her being around all those influential men and his ring not on her finger. His hands tightened on the steering wheel. “Men won’t be able to keep their eyes off you.”

She looked at him out of the corners of her eyes. “Sierra is beautiful and vivacious, but no man attending would be stupid enough to show any interest in her. On the other hand, Skylar has that stunning beauty to go along with her obvious cultured breeding and buckets of money.”

“They’re attractive women, but they can’t compare to you.” He stopped by the garage and turned off the engine. He sensed her staring at him. “What?”

“You really think that?”

His mouth flattened. “I do. Men will be trying to pick you up, but they’ll have to get past me first.”

Fallon rolled her eyes. “Not that. I meant the part about Sierra and Skylar not comparing to me—not that I think you’re right or anything,” she quickly added.

Didn’t she know how utterly beautiful she was? His finger gently lifted her chin. “No woman can hold a candle to you in beauty, in charm, in courage. The beauty attracted me, but the charm and courage are just as compelling.”

“Oh, Lance.” Her smile trembled. “I can tell you’ve been around Francisco.”

His brows knitted. It was important that she know he meant every word and that they came straight from his heart. “He had nothing to do with this. I just told you what I feel.”

She kissed him on the lips, then pulled back with a sassy grin. “If I’m not careful, you’ll give me the big head.” She got out of the car.

Lance did as well. “Why don’t you go rest? I’ll check and see how Carmen is progressing with dinner.”

“I can’t wait.” She made a face. “I ate two bowls of chips at lunch. Thank goodness, no one seemed to notice.”

He had, and that’s why he was going to make sure Carmen had prepared a great dinner. “Of course not. Besides, Sierra said Brandon gets testy if people don’t eat. Go rest. I’ll probably do some paperwork, so you can call your mother and Megan and Megan can threaten me some more.”

“She doesn’t mean it.”

“I’m not so sure, but I’m not going anyplace, so her threats won’t work.” He kissed Fallon’s hair. “Go rest. I’ll come get you for dinner.”

“I think I’ll work on finishing the article. I’ll tell Mama and Megan you said hello.” Fallon walked away, waving over her shoulder.

Lance grunted and started for the house. Megan didn’t like him.
Tough.
Thank goodness, Fallon was independent enough that she didn’t need her sister’s approval to be with him.

Opening the front door, he went straight to the kitchen and found it empty. Frowning, he looked in the oven. Nothing. He started for the refrigerator just as his cell phone rang.

“Carmen, where are you?”

“At the hospital. My mother-in-law fell,” came the shaky reply.

“Is she all right?” he asked. He’d met Francisco’s mother a couple of times and thoroughly liked her. She lived alone and had six doting children and numerous grandchildren who adored her.

“Yes. Just bruised, but Francisco is a nervous wreck from the scare. I can’t come back and finish dinner.”

Lance glanced around the kitchen as if expecting food to appear. “Of course. I’ll order something.”

“Oh no. Miss Marshall was looking forward to eating at home. I’ll walk you through everything.”

“What do you mean?”

“You’re going to grill the meat and vegetables and finish the garnish on the cheesecake.”

The phone fell from Lance’s hand. He simply stared at it.

*   *   *

Fallon read over the article she was writing again, deemed it darn good, and saved it to her file. Stretching her arms over her head, she worked her shoulders. The piece was solid and should please the exacting editor who had been on tour with Fallon when she learned she was pregnant.

Fallon glanced down and rubbed her stomach. It was still hard to believe that she had a life growing in her that she and Lance had created. Megan was suspicious of Lance already. If she knew that Fallon was pregnant, Megan might really “send somebody” to teach him a lesson.

With Megan, it was hard to tell if she was serious or if it was another example of her droll humor. At least her mother seemed willing to give Lance the benefit of the doubt. All bets would be off, however, when she and Megan learned that Fallon was pregnant and no wedding was planned. And there wouldn’t be unless Lance told her he loved her. It was all or nothing.

Her stomach grumbled, causing her to glance at the clock. She blinked and came out of her chair. Five thirteen. They’d been back since around two. Dinner was supposed to be served by now. Lance was probably starving.

She was out of the cottage in seconds and heading for the house. Knowing him, he had probably peeped in on her, seen her working, and gone back to his office. She cut across the terrace to the loggia and opened the back door leading to the kitchen and came to an abrupt halt. The aroma of grilled meat made her mouth water, but she couldn’t believe who was standing at the stove.

Lance, his shirtsleeves rolled up, an apron around his waist, stood over the grill on the stove with tongs in his hand. “Lance.”

His gaze jerked toward her, then back to the grill. “The meat thermometer says it’s done.”

“Good. Place the pork tenderloins in the oval serving dish to your right.”

Fallon recognized Carmen’s voice coming from the phone. She was on speaker. What shocked Fallon more was Lance placing the meat on the platter. What was going on?

“Done, and we have company.”

“Miss Marshall, would you excuse us so Lance can finish cooking?”

Fallon’s gaze went from the food to Lance, whose gaze kept skittering away.

“Has she gone?”

“She’s still here.”

“Miss Marshall, if you please.”

“Can I help?” Lance didn’t know how to cook.

“No. I have it under control.”

It certainly looked like it. Fallon reached for the doorknob. “It smells good, and I bet it tastes even better.”

He finally looked at her. “Carmen assured me there are antacids in the cabinet.”

“We won’t need them. I’ll be in the cottage waiting for your call.” Fallon opened the kitchen door.

He nodded and said, “What’s next?”

There was a slight pause. Fallon slowly closed the door, hoping to hear what Carmen obviously dreaded.

“You have to take the cheesecake out of the pan, flip it onto a cake plate, put more graham crackers on the side, and garnish it.”

Fallon didn’t have to see Lance to know he hadn’t taken the news well. His groan said it all.

*   *   *

Lance stared down at the raspberries and strawberries on top of the cheesecake and smiled. It didn’t look half-bad. The graham crackers on the sides weren’t even. Somehow he’d stuck his thumb in the sides a couple of places, but it tasted good—thanks to the thumb incidents he’d licked the cheesecake off.

The timer went off. He placed the cheesecake back in the refrigerator, took the dinner rolls out of the oven, and upended the pan into the bread basket Carmen had left. If she hadn’t marinated the meat, prepared the vegetables for him to grill, and left service dishes, he would have been lost. He’d tasted the pork tenderloin. It wasn’t bad. There was no way he was going to let Fallon get sick eating poorly cooked or bad-tasting food.

He picked up the phone and called Fallon’s cell phone. Once he put the bread in the oven, Carmen had finally agreed to hang up. All of the family was there with her mother-in-law, and Francisco understood how important the dinner was. He’d even come online a couple of times to ask Lance how it was going. He realized they’d moved beyond employee-employer to friends.

“Hello.”

“Dinner is ready. I just have to set the table.”

“Already done with dishes from the cottage. I’m just outside the door. I’ll help you carry everything out.”

Lance hung the phone up just as Fallon came into the kitchen and straight to him.

She swallowed. “You are wonderful to do this for me. Every time I think you can’t surprise me more or make me feel special, you do.” She stepped back. “What should I do to help?”

“How about a kiss?”

She didn’t hesitate to wrap her warm arms around his neck and press her soft curves against his body, press her hot mouth against his. His arms brought her closer as his mouth devoured hers. Her tongue explored the recesses of his mouth, tempting him to lay her on the floor and take her hot and hard. With a strength he didn’t know he had, he eased her away.

“We better stop before my brain overloads,” he said, his voice rough.

“Same here. What happened to Carmen?” she asked.

He told Fallon about Carmen’s mother-in-law falling. “She’s just bruised, but Francisco wanted to be with her.”

“That’s understandable. It’s his mother.”

All mothers weren’t deserving of love and devotion, Lance thought, but he wasn’t going there. “You grab the bread and vegetables, and I’ll get the rest. Carmen left a big tray.” Together, they got the food outside. Fallon insisted on serving him; then she said grace. Anxious, Lance watched her place the first bit of pork into her mouth.

“Delicious.” She speared a grilled mushroom, then a tomato from her marinated salad. “Lance, I think you missed your calling. Everything is scrumptious.”

He was surprised how pleased and proud he felt. “Carmen marinated everything and talked me though it.”

“But you had to do the actual cooking.” She cut into her meat. “It couldn’t have been easy.”

He shrugged and finally picked up his knife and fork. “You deserved a good meal, and I didn’t think you’d want to go back out.”

“You’re right.” She plucked a roll from the bread basket. “I can’t imagine a more wonderful dinner.”

“There’s one thing.” He came to his feet. “Excuse me for a moment.” Grinning all the way, he went to get the cheesecake. Who said you had to wait for dessert or cut it a certain way? He grabbed a knife from the cutting block, a couple of saucers, and went back out. “Close your eyes.”

“Is it what I think it is?”

“Maybe.” He was grinning like a kid with a new bike. “Open.”

Fallon opened her eyes, then gasped. “It’s beautiful.”

Lance placed the garnished cheesecake on the table, cut out a large slice, and set it by her plate. “Take a bite.”

Fallon cut into the cheesecake with her fork and lifted it to Lance’s mouth. “You first.”