“Yes, Mom.” She almost rolled her eyes, but caught her father watching her.

He was almost grinning, hoping to catch her.

“There’s a nice young man at Delacourte-Conovers you might like,” he told her smoothly. “Very handsome gentleman, I’m told. Related to those two young hellions, Lucian and Devril. Daniel Conover.”

Kia stared back at her father warningly.

“Well, he has strong features.” Timothy shrugged. “He’d sire strong boys.”

She just stared.

He cleared his throat. “You could use an escort to the party.”

She laid her fork beside her plate.

“Well, fine. I’ve said my piece. Don’t upset your mother by leaving.”

He dug into his own food, and Kia ignored the comments about other couples’ grandchildren, sons-in-law, and various family affairs.

She ignored it, because listening to it only made the ache deeper. It made her remember the night Chase had forgotten to put on a condom after she’d asked to come in her mouth and then afterward nearly spilled inside her. And that wasn’t something she needed to remember in front of her father.

Her parents could read minds. It was creepy.

Celia wanted to weep for her baby, though. Kia was the pride of her life, and she was so alone. It broke her heart, worried her into the night. If she and Timothy were gone, who would protect their most precious possession, their greatest accomplishment in life? Who would protect Kia against the world, the cruelties of life, and the loneliness and hurt that filled her? Who would watch over their little girl?

Cecilia glanced at her husband and saw the same concerns in his face. Kia had hidden for far too long after her divorce. They had had hope the other night when she left the ball with the Falladay boy.

Chase Falladay was a handsome, honest young man, and Celia had always liked him. Ian Sinclair always spoke highly of him and his brother.

Of course, there were those nasty rumors that went around about them, but there were always nasty rumors. One had to trust that their daughter was making certain they were unfounded.

“How’s your aunt’s little party going?” Timothy finally questioned Kia.

The party was a joint effort by him and his sister. Rutherford Logistics, Timothy’s company, and Edgewood Computer Security Service worked together to hold a benefit ball to raise money for a small women and children’s shelter for Christmas.

Kia nodded. “Everything’s ready to go. I’m meeting with the caterers again in the morning as well as the hotel staff.” She checked her watch. “I’ll be stopping by today after brunch to make certain all the decorations arrived as well.”

Kia let the conversation flow around her. She finished the light meal and thanked the maid for more coffee. But her mind wasn’t here. Her heart wasn’t here today.

It was with Chase. To Kia, that was the height of her own stupidity. Because he had made it abundantly clear, he didn’t want to be with her.

“You’re not happy,” Timothy said, interrupting her thoughts, his hand lifting so his index finger could tap the tip of her nose. “I always know when something’s bothering you, Kia girl. You sure you don’t want to talk about it?”

“I’m fine, Daddy.” She tried to smile back at him, but he knew her, this strong, large-boned man with his gentle brown eyes and thick gray hair.

“You could move back home,” he said as he watched her. “House is too big for just me and your mom.”

She shook her head. “I like the apartment.”

He nodded at that. “Your mother’s worried.”

He always blamed her mother for worrying, but Kia knew he was worried as well.

“I just need to get some priorities together,” she finally said. “I’m learning how to live again, Daddy. That isn’t so bad, is it?”

“He hurt you.”

And to that Kia shook her head. “No, Daddy, I never loved him enough to be hurt by him,” she said. “And that’s very sad, because I married him. I never want that again. I want—” She stared around the house and blinked back her tears before she looked back up at her father. “I want what you and Mom have always had. I want to love someone more than I love me. And I want someone to love me more than themselves. Isn’t that how it should be?”

Timothy swallowed tightly. He loved Celia and the daughter she had given him more than his own life, his pride, or the holdings he had acquired in his life. They were the center of his being, and the joy they brought him was immeasurable. It was exactly what he wanted for her.

“That’s how it should be, sweetheart.” He pulled her into his embrace and kissed the top of her head gently. “Exactly how it should be.”

And he prayed she would find it before her heart was scarred to the point that she no longer wanted it.

Finally, he forced himself to let go of that worry. She was safe, if not as happy as he wished. And she was still a vital part of Rutherford Logistics.

“Did you get the cost projections on the new account?” he asked her, watching as her expression altered subtly.

His daughter slipped into her businesswoman mode, one most people had no idea existed.

“They need to rerun their figures. You could make twice that profit if you go with a smaller trucking company. That particular product doesn’t move in enough quantity to excuse making room for it in a larger warehouse.”

“That’s not what figures are coming out to,” he informed her.

She shrugged, confidence curving her body, her expression. “I sent you my own observations via e-mail this morning. You can go over them, see what you think from there.”

“Why don’t you get your butt back in your office and tell them yourself?” he growled, returning to another disagreement they shared. “You weren’t meant to consult, damn it.”

“Not yet.”

“Why not?”

“I’m not ready.”

Celia watched, hid her smile, and kept her own opinion, her desires, to herself. There was something about Kia, and with a woman’s intuition she knew it concerned a man, and her daughter’s strength.

There were a lot of things Kia hadn’t been ready for in the past two years, but Celia had a feeling that soon her daughter would find her boundaries. When she did, God help her father and any other man who would want to stand before her to protect her.

They had done that. Sheltered her where they could. She was coming out of her shelter. And Celia was cheering her on, albeit silently, every step of the way.

12

She wore black. A black silk evening gown with a single strap over one shoulder that bared the upper curves of her breasts. It flowed along her body like midnight, cascading along her legs to sweep the floor behind her.

A black silk-lined cape was taken from her shoulders by the doorman and checked in, along with her little black purse.

Her champagne-blond hair was pulled back in the front and held by combs dripping with diamonds and opals. They sparkled in her shoulder-length tresses.

Chase couldn’t keep his eyes off her. She looked like a princess. So beautiful she made his chest ache with the need to touch her, to assure himself she was real.

No sooner had she turned back to the room than her gaze connected with his. Her somber blue eyes were filled with shadows, her expression solemn before her parents moved toward her and she forced a smile.

It looked as natural as a sunrise, but Chase knew there was nothing natural about the curve of her lips. That smile didn’t reach her eyes, it didn’t relax the curves of her body as she kissed her parents’ cheeks.

Surprisingly, Timothy Rutherford frowned, his gaze latching on to Chase’s as though disappointed in him somehow.

Society sucked, Chase decided. He’d fielded so many damned questions about his nonexistent relationship with Kia that he was already gritting his teeth. And to add insult to injury, the men were positively gleeful at the thought that Chase wasn’t claiming her.