The Texas Bodyguard’s Proposal Read online

  Blake’s shoulders squared as he assured everyone, “I know this is a long shot, but it’s a long shot that could have a giant payoff. I’m buying as many loose canary diamonds as I can. I think they’ll make a huge leap in value once the Santa Magdalena diamond is found. Just the publicity from its discovery will be huge. We’ll have our stores ready to roll out a line of canary diamond products. Penny can work on that aspect. In the meantime, I’d like to initiate a new campaign for all the stores.”

  He glanced at Gabby. “Gabby has agreed to be the spokesperson for this campaign and we’re so lucky to have her. She’s as well-known as Paris Hilton, but since she spends much of her time in Europe, the U.S. press is dying to get hold of her. She’ll go a long way to promoting this campaign. We’re going to start with in-store appearances, beefing up our customer service, letting select clients e-mail Gabby for suggestions and advice, giving some of them appointments with her. In the meantime, Penny can work on designs for the canary diamonds and Gabby can build a wardrobe around that jewelry. We want a lavender box in a lavender bag in every customer’s hand who leaves our store, not through high-pressured sales tactics, but through making them feel so special they’re eager to buy. I’m considering initiating breakfast at McCord’s, croissants and espresso, as well as champagne and hors d’oeuvres some evenings. This is an all-out effort to save our legacy.”

  Gabby considered the ideas Blake had suggested. She liked all of them and some even sounded like fun. Although much of her wardrobe came from European designers, she had a few favorites here in the States, too. In fact, one of them lived in Houston. She’d call Tara Grantley tonight and find out when they could get together.

  Would Rafe accompany her to Houston where Grantley lived? A tingle shot up Gabby’s back at the thought.

  Blake had pushed his chair back and was about to rise to his feet when his mother stood instead. “Stay where you are, Blake. Now I have something to tell the family.”

  At Gabby’s side, Charlie rearranged his tall, thin frame in his chair, pushed his dessert dish away and began tapping his foot. So there was something happening between Charlie and his mother. What?

  “I won’t keep you much longer,” Eleanor assured them. “But there’s something important I need to say. My bout with breast cancer last year made me rethink many aspects of my life. I do have regrets. With your father gone now, I feel I can reveal a secret that has been a burden to me for so many years. I thought about who this secret might heal and who the secret might hurt. But I just can’t keep it inside any longer. I’ve already spoken with Charlie because this concerns him most of all. There is no easy way to say this, so I’ll just say it. Twenty-two years ago, during a particularly unhappy time in my marriage, I had an affair with Rex Foley. Charlie is the result of that affair. Your brother is not a McCord. He is a Foley.”

  Gabby saw the shock and then the pain on all of their faces. Charlie’s head was down as if he expected his brothers and sisters to reject him. Penny, Paige and Tate looked perplexed as if they couldn’t imagine how one of their own could be a Foley. And Blake. Blake just stared at his mother, looking angrier than Gabby had ever seen him. The emotions in this house could explode tonight and she wasn’t comfortable being part of that. She was not one of Eleanor’s children. She could not help them sort this out, not yet anyway. Maybe after they’d reacted to the news with each other.

  Gabby reached over to Charlie and clasped his hand. “Everything’s going to be all right.” She knew words wouldn’t help him, but she said them anyway.

  He raised his head and looked at her. “Nothing’s ever going to be all right again.”

  Gabby stood then and laid her hand on Charlie’s arm. She did the same to Penny then Paige and Tate, but she stopped when she reached Blake. He was rigid in his chair.

  Gabby dropped her arm around his shoulders, leaned down to him and simply said, “Call me.”

  He’d have to call her about their next step. Maybe then he’d talk about what had just happened. But she doubted it. Blake was a world unto himself.

  When she went to Eleanor, there were tears in her aunt’s eyes. As Gabby stopped to hug her, Eleanor whispered, “I wanted you to know, too.”

  “Thank you for including me, but I really think this should be a private time for all of you. I’m going to go back to the hotel.”

  When Gabby left the dining room, silence still reigned there. She wondered who would break it first. She wondered if any of them would see that maybe this was the way to end the feud forever.

  Whether it was or wasn’t, Gabby needed to escape to a quiet hotel suite and forget about the tension not only from tonight, but from the past few months. No one here knew the real story behind what had happened in that London club a month ago. No one here knew the real story about her relationship with Miko Kutras. She just wished she had awakened to the truth sooner.

  She just wished the truth had been kinder.

  As soon as Gabby stepped inside the luxurious lobby of the Sky Towers, a security guard approached her. “Miss McCord? I’m supposed to escort you to your suite.”

  Gabby scanned the lobby, looking for Rafe Balthazar. He said he’d meet her here, but apparently he hadn’t arrived yet. Or else he’d arrived, gotten tired of waiting and left. Still, taking a stab at doing what she was supposed to do, Gabby checked the guard’s ID tag. His name was Joe.

  “Have you seen a tall man with black hair in a military haircut? He’s got really broad shoulders and dark brown eyes. I’m supposed to meet him here.”

  “Oh, I met him tonight. He’s the one who asked me to escort you to your suite.”

  Apparently Rafael Balthazar had someplace more important to go. That was fine with her. She wouldn’t have to deal with him until at least tomorrow. All she wanted to do now was sink into a bubble bath and ease the tension in her neck. It had been building all day, from her delayed flight to the scene at the airport, to the dramatic conclusion of the dinner with her aunt. Poor Charlie. She could hardly even imagine how he felt, his whole history being kicked out from under him and everyone else. She felt so sad for all of them.

  That bubble bath was becoming more and more inviting. She’d called the hotel’s maid service on the way over and asked if the bath could be drawn before she got there. All she had to do was add more hot water and she’d be in heaven. At least, her version of it.

  The elevator whooshed her and Joe up to her suite. He didn’t try to make conversation and she was glad of that. She was too tired to try to make small talk.

  However, outside her door he asked, “May I have your autograph? It’s for my teenage daughter. She thinks you’re right up there with Jessica Simpson.”

  Gabby always said yes to autographs. If it weren’t for the people who thought she was something special, she wouldn’t be.

  Joe produced an index card and a pen. Gabby asked his daughter’s name and wrote a little note to her wishing her success and happiness. Joe just beamed and couldn’t thank her enough. She inserted the key card into the lock and assured him again she was pleased she could make his daughter happy. Then she slipped inside.

  The silence was a gift she needed right now.

  Set on the uppermost floor of the main tower, the suite was large. There was an immense living room with a baby grand piano, French doors leading to a balcony and attractive, superbly fashioned sofa and chairs in cream with green accents. The dining room with its mahogany table and exquisite chairs could seat eight.

  But she didn’t head for the living room or dining room. She went straight to her bedroom and her bathroom beyond, dropping her clothes as she went. Her dress landed on the bed, her bra and panties on the bedroom chair. Her shoes she left cockeyed right inside the bathroom door. Although the night was warm, as August in Dallas always is, Blake’s revelations as well as Eleanor’s had given Gabby a chill. Goose bumps rose on her skin as the air-conditioning wrapped around her. She hurried to the huge tub with its wonderful bubbles, climbed the two m
arble steps and slipped into it, letting the bubbles rise to her chin as she switched on the hot water tap to give her even more warmth. She didn’t care that her hair was getting wet as she closed her eyes and sank deeper.

  She thought she was mistaken when she heard her name called. She thought maybe she had fallen asleep and was dreaming. But then she heard it again.

  “Miss McCord.” It was louder this time as if he was afraid she hadn’t heard him.

  He? She recognized that voice. Rafe Balthazar! What was he doing in her bathroom?

  Slowly she opened her eyes, hoping she was dreaming. But nope, there he was. He’d rolled up the sleeves of his white shirt. His tie was gone and he looked more than a little perturbed. She was perturbed, too.

  “Why are you in my bathroom?” She quickly turned off the hot water, not wanting any of her bubbles to disappear. After all, they were the only cover she had.

  He must have realized the same thing as he backed away a few steps.

  “We had a meeting, remember?”

  “Oh, I remember. I looked around the lobby for you and you were nowhere to be found. Just how did you get in here?”

  “I’ve been in here. Blake cleared me to have a key. When I arrived, you weren’t in the lobby and I had work to do.”

  “What work?” She couldn’t believe she was having a conversation with a fully-clothed bodyguard while she was naked. Bubbles kept popping in the air and she knew she had to finish this conversation quickly.

  “I had to sweep the suite for listening devices and cameras. I didn’t think you’d want to be caught—” he motioned toward the tub “—in a situation like this with a video camera running.”

  “Did you find anything?” she asked.

  “No.”

  “Blake told me I won’t have anything to worry about here.”

  “There’s always something to worry about with a celebrity.”

  She wasn’t sure she liked the way he said the word.

  She sighed. “Can’t this meeting of ours wait until morning?”

  “I don’t think so. The first item on our discussion list is the fact that the adjoining room to this suite is booked for the next few nights. That means I’m going to have to bunk on the couch.”

  That made her sit up straighter, only she was very careful she didn’t sit up too far. “I don’t understand. Why would you bunk on my couch?”

  “Because I’m your bodyguard.”

  Their gazes locked and she realized she didn’t feel embarrassed. She felt hot. And her heart was beating mighty fast.

  “Right. My bodyguard. You’re going to drive me to my events and make sure I’m safe.”

  “No, Miss McCord. I’m not going to be your chauffeur. I’m your personal bodyguard. Blake wants me inside this suite.”

  “I don’t think so!”

  Rafe patiently crossed his arms over his chest. “I do think so. And if you have any questions about it, call your cousin.”

  “I’ll do just that,” she said, starting to rise from the bubbles, then quickly sinking down again. “Will you please leave so I can get this settled?”

  “I’ve already left,” he responded tersely. “I’ll be waiting in the living room.” He turned away and glanced back over his shoulder. “Watch your footing on that marble. It could be slippery.”

  Then he was gone.

  Gabby fumed. She stood and let the bubbles slip from her body. How dare he walk in here like that? How dare he think he was going to sleep on her sofa?

  When she stepped out of the tub onto the marble floor, she picked up one of the towels by the edge of the tub and wrapped it around her. She wouldn’t slip, and she’d get this settled right now.

  Crossing to the phone on the wall, she dialed Blake’s cell phone. What if Blake did want Balthazar to stay?

  He couldn’t. This was a mistake. Fifteen minutes from now, she’d be in bed, in her bedroom, and Rafael Balthazar would be gone.

  Chapter Two

  Gabby knew this was an awful time to call Blake after he’d just found out Charlie was only his half brother…after he’d just discovered his mother had had an affair. Both revelations would shake any man. But she couldn’t stay in this hotel room with Rafael Balthazar, not when all her senses went on high alert because he was within ten feet of her, not when she was still in so much turmoil about what had happened with Miko. She’d believed he was every woman’s fantasy and look what had happened with that!

  Blake answered before his phone went to voice mail. “McCord,” he answered tersely.

  “Blake, I’m sorry to bother you. It’s Gabby.”

  He took a few seconds to compute that. “Gabby, I really can’t talk—”

  “I’m sorry to intrude right now. I know you might be feeling torn apart. But…your Secret Service agent was in my suite when I got back. You didn’t really mean for him to stay with me all the time, did you?”

  Blake was a confident man, and the quality sometimes bordered on arrogance. Ever since they were kids, he’d taken the role of big brother to her, not that they ever had that much contact. But he’d never cut her off or made her feel as if she didn’t matter.

  He seemed to be pulling patience from deep down inside of him when he responded. “Trust Rafe, Gabby. I chose him because he took a bullet for a former senator and believed it was his duty. I wouldn’t have chosen just anyone to guard you. I wanted someone who wouldn’t try to take advantage of you. Rafe won’t. His job and reputation are everything to him.”

  “The adjoining room was booked and he wants to stay on the sleep-out sofa in the suite.”

  “And you have a separate bedroom.”

  “Yes, but—”

  “Gabby, you’ve had two stalkers in the last three years. One of them came after you. If anyone recognizes you when you walk down the street, you’re lucky to get away with your skin, never mind the paparazzi who will push cameras into your face. I don’t want anything to happen to you while you’re under my watch. It won’t if you let Rafe do his job.”

  She swallowed hard. “You really think this is necessary.”

  “I do, or I wouldn’t have arranged it. If he crowds you in any way, tell him to stand back. He will.”

  “The truth is, Blake, I don’t want to be around any man right now.”

  “He was a Secret Service agent. Ignore him. He’ll feel right at home.”

  That made her smile. She wished she could make Blake smile. She wished she could help his whole family. “I’m sorry about what happened tonight. If there’s anything I can do—”

  Blake’s voice turned almost icy. “There’s nothing any of us can do. But I do know, none of us will ever look at our mother in the same way again.”

  Gabby could hear the resentment in Blake’s voice and she hoped what he said wasn’t true. Eleanor would be devastated if all of her children turned away from her.

  “I’ve got to go, Gabby. Paige is waiting for me. I might need you at the drop of a hat. Will that be a problem?”

  “I don’t have that many commitments while I’m here, so I should be available whenever you need me.”

  “Trust Rafe,” he said again, then wished her good-night and clicked off.

  Trust Rafe.

  Because Blake said she should? Maybe she should have had him give her advice on Miko. But would she have listened? Miko had seemed to adore her. At the beginning, he’d filled that empty hole that had been in her heart ever since she was a child. But then, he’d changed.

  Or had she changed?

  No, she’d done nothing to deserve his contempt. She’d loved him, or at least that’s what she’d thought. How could she have fallen for a man she didn’t really know?

  Gabby headed into the bedroom to get dressed. The maid had unpacked her suitcases. She quickly scanned the clothes in the closet finding a long caftan in swirling pink and purple. Plucking it from its hanger, she dropped it over her head, straightened the fabric and decided to forget shoes.

  She emerged f
rom the bedroom and went into the living room where Rafe was sitting in an easy chair, examining a painting on the wall. He looked calm and serene, tough and dangerous, all at the same time. Although he’d been staring at the landscape on the wall, his gaze targeted her before she’d come within ten feet of him. She knew she hadn’t made a sound.

  He rose to his feet. “You got hold of Blake?”

  She didn’t want to see the satisfaction on his face that he had won. “I did. He said that I need you. He doesn’t want to be responsible for anything happening on his watch.”

  The self-satisfied smile she expected on her bodyguard’s face didn’t come. Instead he suggested, “So Blake feels you should listen to me.”

  “No, he didn’t say that. He just said you were good and you were necessary.”

  “And he convinced you?”

  “No, he didn’t. I don’t like to be watched or told what to do. I’ll warn you about that right now.”

  “Like I didn’t expect that in someone like you.”

  Now he was getting under her skin. Although she knew she shouldn’t, although she knew it was dangerous because the hairs on the back of her neck were prickling, she crossed a few more feet toward him. “Someone like me? Do you want to explain that?”

  “I shouldn’t have said anything,” he mumbled.

  “You did.”

  “I usually keep my mouth shut.” The fact that he hadn’t seemed to surprise him.

  “You know nothing about me.”

  “I know you’re the daughter of Joseph McCord and an Italian actress who is descended from royalty. I know you began modeling at seventeen and rocketed straight to the top magazine covers. I’ve been told women copy what you wear, how you walk and how you do your hair. I also know crowds have practically torn you apart and paparazzi think they have the right to follow you wherever you go, listen to whatever you say and photograph whatever you do. Because of all that, I imagine you’re treated as a star…as a princess. That’s what I meant by someone like you.”

  His assessment of who she was made tears burn in the back of her eyes. She would not let him know how his words had affected her. Unfortunately, she remembered every word from Miko that had affected her that night a month ago…words that had hurt terribly.