Delirious Read online

  A few months back, I’d bought a large piece of property on the mountain where Dara and I intended to build a home. I’d spent most of the money I’d saved, and she and I had agreed to move into her house after we were married until we built our dream home on our mountain property.

  Everything had been flowing so damn well until this major snafu. I could wonder what I’d done to deserve this shit, but I tried not to ask those types of questions because I knew all too well the answer. But what had Dara done to deserve it? If I knew anyone who deserved to be happy, it was she.

  I glanced at her as she stood in the driveway, squinting from the sun as she smiled up at me.

  She shielded her eyes with her hand. “It’s a beautiful day.”

  “Yeah, it’ll be a nice ride.” I handed her a helmet.

  I fastened my helmet and climbed on my bike. After sliding the key in the ignition, I cranked it, revved the throttle a few times, and waited for her to climb on behind me.

  Her arms wrapped around me, and she squeezed my torso. “Hold on tight,” I warned her.

  She knew what that meant, and she clung to me, her chest pressed against my back as I barreled down the driveway and pulled the bike up into a wheelie. I knew her heart was racing, and judging by the death grip she had around my waist, a bit of fear had shot through her veins, along with the adrenaline.

  As we reached the main road, our bodies vibrated as the front wheel fell back to the ground. I took a deep breath. I didn’t realize just how much I needed this, and once I checked for traffic, I sped onto the main road.

  I liked having Dara near me, trusting me, and I liked that while we were riding, I didn’t have to say anything, to hide anything, to feel like I had made the wrong choice by deciding to keep the current quagmire to myself.

  She was my girl. My forever.

  And I wanted her to be happy.

  At all costs.

  Chapter 6

  Dara

  The weekend blew by even faster than most weekends. Stone and I had a relaxing day on Saturday, but we spent most of the day on Sunday going over wedding details with his mother. My mom had cooked dinner Sunday evening, and we ate with her and Emma, filling them in with the current details of the wedding.

  Emma was so excited about her new dress and shoes, and she was looking forward to the day that we would both wear our princess dresses.

  I’d spent most of the day on Monday making sure everything was ready for the ribbon cutting of the new salon in Atlanta and working on the name change for Luke’s Place.

  Now that it was Tuesday, Stone and I loaded marketing supplies in the company car as we prepared for the drive to Atlanta.

  He was wearing a sleek, charcoal suit with a black shirt and a burgundy tie. His dark hair was styled perfectly, and his eyes glowed like the blue part of a flame against all the somber colors.

  I, on the other hand, wore a pastel pink pantsuit, and I worried that he would be too hot while we were outside during the ribbon-cutting ceremony.

  We fastened our seatbelts and headed toward Georgia’s capital with the air conditioner blowing full blast.

  “When’s your father gonna be back in town?” I asked as Stone zipped down the Interstate.

  “He should be back sometime tonight.”

  “What about Dylan?”

  “He’ll be back tonight, too.”

  “Good. Maybe we could have a meeting soon about Luke’s Place. I’ve talked to my mom, and she said she’s ready to implement the change.”

  “Yeah. I’ll check with them tomorrow and see if we can set up a meeting.”

  “I’ve already written an article to be distributed to the email list as soon as you tell me we have the green light. If they approve the logo, I could start getting printed material ordered and have it within a couple of weeks.”

  “Let’s focus on branding, too,” Stone said. “When customers see a store or a pamphlet, a bookmarker or whatever, I want them to know that it’s Luke’s Place. I want a color scheme or a design or a combination to be on everything associated with it.”

  “I’m on it.”

  “That’s my girl.” He turned to me and smiled, and it struck me how handsome he was, even if he did seem to be a bit tired. If our babies looked anything like their father, they would be beautiful.

  I took a deep breath as I watched the road through the windshield. It seemed that I was thinking about babies more and more.

  “How many babies do you want?” I asked.

  “That was random.”

  A grin exploded across my face as I glanced at him. “I know. I was just thinking. I know I said before that we should get married first before we talked about me getting pregnant, but now I’m thinking couples should talk about these things before they get married, you know—just in case they don’t want the same thing.”

  “I think we’ve already determined that we both want babies.”

  I nodded. “Yes, but how many? Do you want four?”

  “At one time?” He gave me an odd look, his eyebrows raised.

  “Heck, no.”

  He laughed. “Do you think we should be counting our babies before they’ve hatched?”

  “Hatched? I have no intentions of hatching any babies,” I declared.

  “Well, I sure as hell ain’t gonna hatch any.”

  “Fine,” I said, feigning exasperation. “I’ll hatch them if you’ll change the dirty diapers."

  “Deal. As long as we don’t have four of them at one time.”

  “You’ll get no argument from me on that one.” I fingered the silver necklace he’d given me for the first anniversary of our engagement. Along with a few trinkets I had of Granny’s, it was my most prized possession.

  He yawned, and I watched as he stretched in an effort to stave off sleepiness. He obviously hadn’t been sleeping well. Part of me worried that he was having second thoughts about our marriage.

  “Do you need me to drive?” I asked.

  “No, I got it.”

  I didn’t ask again because I knew Stone well enough to know that he would want to be the driver. He’d told me before that he would never ride on the back of a motorcycle, and while he had been a passenger in my car often enough, it was obvious that he preferred to be the one behind the wheel.

  Stone was such a guy. In a lot of ways, he was very traditional when it came to the roles of men and women. Yet even though he was traditional, he wasn’t confining or controlling. He wasn’t the kind of guy who wanted me home in the kitchen, but he did like to be the one taking care of me. And I had to admit that I loved that about him. What woman didn’t want to be taken care of?

  I knew that with him I would have the best of both worlds. I had the education and the ability to take care of myself, but as long as I was with Stone, I knew that he would work hard to ensure that I and our children were loved and cared for. But it wasn’t a one-way street. I wanted to take care of him, too. I wanted him to be happy. I wanted to help him erase the pain of the past, so that he could focus on the happy memories.

  I treasured him, us, our future together.

  As if he could read my mind, he reached over and covered my hand with the warmth of his palm. “I love you, Dara.”

  I smiled, my heart warming. “I love you, too, Stone.” And with those words, my fear of him questioning our marriage melted away. My hands instinctively reached for the necklace. I knew Stone loved me. I knew that he wanted to be with me. I knew that he would be mine—forever.

  I pulled his hand to my mouth and kissed his knuckles.

  He smiled at me. “What was that for?”

  “For being you.”

  “Haven’t I been telling you how amazing I am? Is it just now sinking in?”

  I turned my head and looked out my window, grinning. I wasn’t giving him the satisfaction of answering that. “I don’t recall mentioning anything about you being amazing.”

  “You didn’t have to,” he countered. “It shows on your face.”
<
br />   I looked at him. “I think you’ve mistaken my look of amusement for amazement.”

  “Amusement. Amazement. It’s all the same. Either way, you can’t get enough.”

  I hacked out a cough on that one.

  He shot me a crooked grin. “Yeah, you know it’s true.”

  Maybe it was. But I wasn’t confirming it.

  He snickered. “Five years later and my little hummingbird is still chasing that sweet drink of nectar.”

  My mouth fell open, and he looked way too amused. I had no witty comebacks. I wasn’t much of a liar, so it would do me no good to deny it.

  “It’s okay, babe,” he assured me. “Tenacity is an admirable trait.”

  “So is modesty.”

  A burst of laughter erupted from Stone, and he squeezed my hand. “Have I told you how much I love you?”

  “Right now, it might be in your best interest to tell me again.”

  “You’re the girl I want to make mud pies with for the rest of my life, Dara.”

  “That’s a lot of mud pies.”

  “Oh, I’m counting on it.” Stone shot me a mischievous grin, and if there was one thing that I was sure of, it was that our marriage would never be boring.

  It took us a couple of hours to arrive at the new salon in Atlanta. Crimson let us in the back door, and we unloaded marketing supplies. The ribbon cutting was scheduled for noon, and today would be the grand opening.

  Several stylists were in the building, setting up their work stations and preparing for the first day of business.

  When it was almost noon, we all waited out front as the local officials gathered for the ribbon cutting ceremony. I had hired a photographer to capture the ceremony and to take photos during the grand opening celebration, but the local media would also be present and would be taking photos of their own.

  Stone gave a brief speech to the small crowd that had arrived, and Crimson used the ceremonial scissors to cut the ribbon. Immediately afterward, we started the grand opening celebration with a local radio station present for a live broadcast.

  Crimson greeted clients as they came in. Having moved into more of an administrative role, she rarely cut hair or performed any of the other services offered to clients. Together, she and I had organized every facet of the grand opening. She had arranged to have several appointments for today already scheduled, and we had advertised a walk-in special to fill the remaining seats and to entice new clients to the salon.

  “Good job, girlie,” she whispered to me as she took a moment to escape the chaos. She whisked her sleek, dark hair over her shoulder and hugged my neck. “This is so exciting! I hate that Scarlet’s missing it.”

  “I know,” I agreed, “but she can catch the next one. We’re not done yet.” I pulled back from the hug and smiled at her. Straightening my jacket, I continued, “I’m gonna go check on Stone. I have him giving the interviews on the radio. He has such a nice voice. He would’ve made a good radio personality.”

  Crimson shook her head in disagreement. “With his looks, he shouldn’t be hidden behind a microphone.”

  “Don’t tell him that,” I joked. “His ego is big enough as it is.”

  Crimson sighed introspectively. “Yeah, but I have to confess that’s one of the things I kinda like about him. He’s just arrogant enough to be confident and playful, but not totally annoying. I dated a guy who lacked self-confidence. It took him forever just to kiss me.”

  I gasped. “Are you talking about Mike?”

  She looked at me with huge, chocolate eyes. “You know I am. If he had Stone’s confidence, maybe we’d still be together.”

  “Well, he may not’ve been the guy for you, but Mike’s a sweetie.”

  “What’s he doing these days?”

  “He’s working for a construction company in Knoxville.” I thumbed toward the door. “Well, I’m heading out here.”

  “Okay. I’ll hold down the fort inside.”

  When I opened the glass door to exit, I was hit with a blast of heat from the hot, June day. I waited patiently while Stone finished up his interview.

  He walked toward me as they went off the air. “I’m roasting,” he complained, a sheen of sweat on his forehead.

  “You shouldn’t of worn black,” I told him.

  “I sure as hell wasn’t gonna sport a white suit,” he countered.

  “Okay, you win that one,” I conceded. “But you could’ve worn a white shirt. Take your jacket off and let’s go inside and cool off.”

  He removed his jacket.

  “Hand it to me, and I’ll find somewhere to hang it up while you get a drink.”

  When we entered the salon, Stone walked to the refreshments table while I hung his jacket up in a closet in the office.

  I found him conversing with one of the stylists and her client, an empty glass of pineapple punch in his hand.

  Walking up to him without interrupting, I took the glass from him and refilled it. When I handed it back to him, he asked the stylist, “Cindy, have you met my fiancee, Dara Golding?”

  “I have.” Cindy smiled at me.

  “Dara,” Stone continued, motioning toward the client in the barber chair, “this is Max.”

  I shook hands with him. “Hi, Max. I’m so glad you could join us today.”

  He nodded a greeting. “Thank you.”

  Two hours later after things died down, Stone, Crimson, and I met in the office.

  “Ladies, I have to hand it to you, y’all pulled today off flawlessly,” Stone complimented as he leaned against the desk.

  “Thank you,” Crimson and I said in unison.

  “Have you settled into your apartment okay? Is there anything that you need us to do for you either personally or with the salon?” I asked Crimson.

  She tapped her perfectly manicured nails against the wood desk. “I’m good. Now that I’ve been here for a couple of months, I can find my way around the city pretty well. It’s a good thing I found an apartment so close because traffic around here is awful. As far as the salon goes, I think I’m all set.”

  “Well, I guess Stone and I are gonna head back to Quail Mountain now. Are you sure you don’t need anything else before we go?”

  Crimson stood and walked around the desk to hug my neck. “I’m sure,” she said as she pulled away from me and hugged Stone. “Thanks for all of your help today. Give Isabella a hug for me.”

  “We will,” I assured her.

  I retrieved Stone’s jacket from the closet and folded it over my arm.

  “Later, gater,” Stone told her as he walked out into the hallway.

  “I’m glad you got to see me again, Stone,” Crimson teased.

  He turned back and grinned, “The pleasure was all yours.”

  I smacked him on the arm, and he laughed, pulling me to him and tucking me under his arm.

  “Good job today, Crimson,” he called over his shoulder as he began walking down the hall, his arm around my waist.

  “I know.”

  Stone’s laughter echoed through the building. He kissed my temple. “Good job, Dara.”

  I squeezed his waist. “I know.”

  He laughed even louder. “A guy doesn’t stand a chance with y’all.”

  ***

  The next morning, Stone called me into Dylan’s office where he, Dylan, and his father were waiting to discuss our plans regarding Luke’s Place.

  I handed them each a copy of the proposed logo, and they wasted no time approving it.

  “Let’s go with it,” Mr. Hamilton said as he looked at me. “Order the new marketing supplies and signage. Make sure all of our current advertising gets switched to the new name and logo. Once everything’s a go, we’ll implement the changes.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  The meeting broke up, and I went to my office to work on ordering promotional items and new signs for the building.

  By the end of the day, I had most of those tasks completed.

  I searched for Stone, but didn’t
see him anywhere. Wondering if he’d already left, I gathered my things and ran into Scarlet in the lobby.

  “Hey, Scarlet! Stone and I went to the grand opening of the salon yesterday. You’re gonna love it!”

  Scarlet smiled. “I talked to Crimson last night. She said things couldn’t have gone any better.”

  “Yes, it was a total success. Are you looking for Dylan?”

  “Yeah, but I just missed him. I was supposed to meet him here. We were gonna go shopping tonight, but Courtney told me before she left that Dylan, Stone, and Mr. Hamilton all left together, and apparently, Mr. Hamilton didn’t look happy.”

  Panic shot through my body. Was he unhappy with my logo design? Surely, he wouldn’t have told me to go ahead with everything if he didn’t like it. Maybe he was unhappy with the grand opening yesterday, but that didn’t make sense. Crimson was right when she told Scarlet that things had gone perfectly. “Wonder what’s going on?”

  “I don’t know. I called Dylan, but he wouldn’t talk long. He just told me something had come up, and he was gonna have to postpone it. He said he’d call me as soon as he could.”

  “Where were they going?”

  Scarlet shrugged her shoulders. “He didn’t say.”

  “That’s weird.”

  “I know it.” Scarlet paused, sighing as if she were in thought. “Mrs. Hamilton has Isabella. I guess I’ll just go pick her back up since we’re not going shopping now. You want to go eat? We can meet at the Hamiltons’ house. I’ll pick up Isabella, and you can just ride with me from there. Maybe by the time we get through eating, Stone will be home.”

  “May as well, I guess. Sounds like Stone’s gonna be tied up for a while.” I left with Scarlet, locking the door behind me.

  The afternoon was still warm, even though dark, opaque clouds hung heavy in the sky. I followed Scarlet in her sleek, black, luxury car.