“Congratulations,” he said returning her hug very briefly then carefully removed her arms. Daniel looked very proud and a little sick as his hand reached out and shook Creighton’s hand.“Thank you,” he said with a wide smile. Creighton turned to see the young brunette hugging tightly to Sandra’s neck and shook his head.“This calls for a celebration,” Creighton said, retrieving the bottle of domperidone from the bar. “You get juice,” he teased Aryana as he passed out the glasses, handing her a crystal goblet of orange juice. The girl frowned at him but accepted the drink and raised it to clink with the others.“We have reservations in Lyon, so we’ll eat supper there, but we need to get moving,” Creighton said a little while later as they all reclined on the sofa.“Lyon?” Aryana squealed. “We were married in Lyon, remember?” she cooed to her husband, wrapping her arm around his and laid her head against his shoulder.“How could I forget?” he said softly. “It was the best day of my lif
“It’s the press release,” she told him, glancing up when he sat down across from her, raising an eyebrow to her. With a deep sigh, she began to read it out loud.“New Hope Technologies has confirmed the engagement of owner, Creighton Ashford to American, Sandra Dennis. Mr. Ashford and Miss Dennis met in America and have known each other for two years. They will be moving to London this summer, where Miss Dennis will continue her work as an aspiring children’s novelist. The couple has not made any decisions as to when or where they will marry but say it will be sometime later this year. New Hope has no further information at this time, but we wish the young couple the best of luck and our sincerest congratulations.”“Does that work for you?” he asked her when she finished reading.“Yes, but why did you say we would be moving to London?”“Because, I don’t want the press hiding out behind the bushes of our new house before we have a chance to set up proper security measures. Besides, if
Aryana proved Daniel correct and shopped until Creighton and Sandra were the ones exhausted. They stopped long enough to eat a late supper and then continued the girl’s favorite sport. Creighton bought everything she asked for. New shoes, new makeup, baby clothes, stroller, toys and wall décor for the nursery, before placing an order for a rocking chair, ottoman, changing table, play pen and jungle gym to be delivered to their home in Paris. This baby had enough of everything, to never have to wear the same outfit twice. Creighton complained of a headache, Sandra's feet hurt, and Daniel insisted his back would not survive another package. Aryana finally got tired enough to slow down around ten o’clock and announced she was starving…again. They went back to the hotel and ordered pastries to be sent up to the room, along with a tray of fruit.Sandra entered first, kicking her shoes off the minute she sat down on the large floral sofa. Creighton joined her on the couch and moaned, stret
“I can’t believe any of this,” she said a few minutes later after they stepped out of the hot water, wrapping the towels around their naked bodies.“What?” Creighton asked with a slight frown.“Who in their right minds goes to France on vacation and gets married before it’s through?”“We do,” he answered with a warm chuckle and a wide smile.The trip to Milan was much more pleasant than Sandra had anticipated. Aryana was exhausted from her shopping the night before and napped in the back seat once again, allowing the other three some time to relax before meeting up with her father. Creighton had arranged a hotel for the night for the four of them, just in case the Don wasn’t as receptive to his daughter’s new husband as they hoped he would be.Creighton crossed the border into Italy a little after two that afternoon, and rather than going directly to Aryana’s family home, he drove to the hotel. He insisted they settle in before he called the Don, so he could calm him down and prepare
“I want to call my sister and grandparents and tell them to pack. I think I want to get married by the end of the week.” Creighton stared at her for a moment in stunned silence before wrapping her in his warm embrace, hugging her tight.“You’re sure about this?” he asked a few moments later when she pulled away from him, looking into his dark eyes. “No regrets?”“None,” she said shaking her head. “I feel in my heart that this is right and for the first time in my life, my common sense is quiet.” Creighton kissed the tip of her nose and smiled proudly at her.“Then let’s get this mess over with and start working on our own lives.”Sandra sat on the bed beside Creighton as they sorted through the many pictures of the past few days. He had called the Don and arranged to have him come to the hotel at five o’clock, insisting that Aryana needed to rest after their trip. Sandra then called and spoke with her grandparents, arranging for their trip to England. Creighton told his parents about
The doorbell to the hotel rang as she and Creighton lounged comfortably on the bed a short while later, embraced in each other’s arms. A soft frightened screech from Aryana made Creighton draw a deep sigh, standing up off the bed. Sandra knew that things were about to heat up and looked to Creighton who stood beside her.“Are you coming?” he asked her quietly, slipping back into his pants, pulling his shirt back across his torso.“I think it would probably be best if you dealt with him on your own,” she said. “You know him, you know what he’s capable of and you can gauge his reactions better if you aren’t distracted. I’ll just stay up here unless you need me.” Creighton drew a deep breath as the bell rang again.“Probably be best to stay out of the thick of things. I’ll call you if I need you.” He quickly kissed Sandra’s dry lips and walked out of the room, barefoot, leaving the door a jar.The bell rang a third time and Sandra drew a steady breath, reaching for her clothes. She slipp
“Is this true?” the old man finally asked, turning slowly to address his daughter who stared at the two through wide swollen red eyes. She nodded dumbfounded. “Where does Creighton fit into all of this? It was my understanding you were sneaking into his office to visit him.”“She was visiting Daniel,” Creighton said sternly. “He works as an intern at my Paris office. Most of the time I wasn’t even there.”“Daniel?” the old man said, staring at the young man who glared back at him. The boy stood up and took a step toward his wife’s father.“I am Daniel Keane. Aryana’s husband and father of her child.” The old man tilted his head to look at the boy as Creighton reached for Sandra’s arm, pulling her gently to his side and wrapping his arm around her waist. She didn’t object. She felt suddenly weak and needed a bit of the man’s strength and support to continue to stand straight.“What makes you think you’re worthy of my daughter?” the older man asked.“What makes you think I’m not?” San
Sandra stood in the middle of the foyer while Creighton locked the door and looked back at her. Without hesitation, he took her by the arm and led her into the kitchen. He retrieved a towel from the shelf near the sink and removed a container of ice from the freezer, putting several cubes into it. Sandra sat at the table in the middle of the room and watched him with suspicious eyes while he walked over to her, lifting the hand and wrapped the cloth around the swollen digits. She hadn’t realized that she was injured. She was so angry the pain hadn’t registered to her until now. With the ice across her swollen flesh, she began to grimace, feeling the throbbing radiate up her wrist and into her elbow.“What did he say to you?” she asked after a moment’s silence.“He told me not to let you go,” he replied softly.“And what did you say?” Sandra looked into his eyes as he focused them on her, holding her green gaze a willing prisoner.“I told him I was never letting you out of my sight.”
Sandra hung up the phone with a slam, then glanced to her grandparents who were sitting at the kitchen table. She was starting to get angry with all the rejections and dead-end avenues. She called Davies and told him she wanted him to get the plane ready to go to France, only to be told the police had restricted his flying. They were concerned that whomever it was that had killed her husband would try and sabotage the jet.She was getting frustrated and felt like she was being held back. If she didn’t know better, she would think she was being placed under lockdown. She could understand the police’s concern, but she had more men around her then they had at Fort Knox, and she would be willing to take all of them with her if she needed to.“I can’t leave the house, I can’t go to France, I can’t even gather eggs,” she grumbled as she joined the older couple. “What am I supposed to do? I can’t sit here and wait until doomsday to find out what happened to my husband.”“Honey, you’re going
The room was warm as the setting sun shone through the blinds. Two detectives sat on the sofa, watching as the man continued to pace the floor. Trying to keep him calm was growing increasingly harder with each hour.Creighton could only assume the horror his family was going through, not to mention Sandra. They had been having difficulties, but this made all of that seem trivial. He had to call her, he had to contact her somehow and let her know he was alive, but the police were refusing to allow him the chance. They had to keep him concealed for the time being, though it was steadily becoming impossible. The man was acting like a caged animal, anxiously trying to find a means of escape.“How much longer do we have to sit here?” he growled, looking to those gathered around.“We need you to remain patient for a little longer,” a bald-headed man told him. “Monsieur Ashford, we understand what you’re going through…”“Like hell you do,” Creighton snapped. “I have a pregnant wife at home w
“I know she’ll be happy when it’s over,” Emma said, returning to the room, her eyes red from the tears she’d been wiping away. “She can’t let Brandon go to school, and she has to keep the children inside instead of letting them go out to play.”“I’m sure they are going stir crazy,” Cathy said with a frown. “Especially Grace. That little girl is used to having the freedom of the farm to run and play.”“The only good thing is the weather,” William told them. “It’s been really wet, and she doesn’t like getting her dresses dirty.”“Sounds like her aunt,” Andrew said with a soft chuckle.“Maybe we should take this meeting over to my sister’s,” Cathy suggested with a sideways grin.“Let me call Derek and Kristin,” William said, standing and walking to the phone on the wall. “They wanted to know what you found out.”“Just have them meet us at Sandra’s,” Andrew told him. “We can discuss this all there.”“I thought Sabrina and Irena would be here,” Cathy said, looking at Emma who was wrapping
Parker and Harvey held off the reporters for as long as they could alone, then eventually had to call NHT’s security. Within a few short hours, there were enough burly looking men to scare off anyone trying to get near the house. Sandra kept her children inside, though it really wasn’t difficult. The rain had eased by supper, but just like the past several days, it picked up again this morning.Max growled as he laid of the entry. The noise of cameras clicking, and the soft hum of voices mingled among the breezes of the day. She had tried to watch television, but every station was reporting on the accident. Eventually, she had no choice but to surrender and put on Grace’s favorite princess movie. At least it kept them from listening to those who insisted that there was no hope in finding any answers this soon.Sandra drew a deep breath as she wiped the moisture from her forehead. She had decided to keep herself busy and baked two apple pies, along with nearly a hundred sugar cookies.
“No, it’s about assuming you knew what I would want. You did this, claiming it was for us when it was for you. You can’t stand the idea that your little sister has something you never would. It was bad enough when I felt like I was competing with Creighton for your attention, but now I’m watching you compete with Sandra for the mother of the year award.”“Stop comparing me to Sandra!” Cathy screamed. “It’s not my fault she’s perfect. She’s always been everyone’s favorite. I can’t tell you how many boyfriends I’ve dumped after I found out they were using me to get close to her. I didn’t want Creighton, but after he chose her over me, it made me angry. I was competing with her again, and she was too stupid to realize it. He chose that simple, no makeup, no fuss girl over me. She shares his bed, when I’m a better lover then she would ever be. She has his money, his admiration, your parents’ admiration, even my grandparents enjoy spending time with her over me. She even has a perfect body
“Maybe Michelle heard from him,” the boy said hopefully.“I haven’t spoken with her, but I want to call in the morning. She may know something more than the police do.”The two were silent for a long time as they considered their own thoughts, until Sandra realized the tea was gone. She looked to Brandon who looked like he was finally able to fall asleep, then stood and took the cups to the sink.“Come on, son,” she told him, wrapping her arm around his shoulders. “Let’s see if we can get some sleep.”“Mum, can I come sleep with you?” Brandon asked once they reached the second floor of their house.Sandra smiled and hugged the boy, nodding as he looked up to her.“You can sleep on your daddy’s side,” she told him. “Just don’t tell him I let you in our bed. He may get jealous.”Brandon smiled as he walked with her into the bedroom. Sandra helped him between the covers and tucked him in, then left to check on Grace. The house was silent and soft snores of her little girl could be heard
Sandra paced her bedroom trying to stop her mind from racing through the events of the day. Derek had come home after his mother called him, insisting on picking up Brandon from school. Sabrina called to say the reporters were going crazy with the news of the Tornado’s fire and that she and Giovanni would be home as soon as they could get there.Irena spoke with her parents and insisted on calling in a prescription for Sandra’s nerves, though she refused to use it. She needed to stay alert and concentrate in order to determine what was going on. The last thing she needed was to surrender to the effects of a drug.After speaking with Andrew, William informed the rest of the family about Cathy’s surgery, though he wouldn’t go into detail. He assured them he would check into the reports from his end and stay abreast of the investigation. Once Cathy felt like traveling, they would drive out to Yorkshire to be with the family.Nana tried to get Sandra to let her stay overnight, but she was
Sandra opened her eyes and looked around. She was in her bedroom, yet she couldn’t remember laying down. The house was silent and the soft pattering of rain outside reminded her that the dog had made a muddy mess of the entry. Then she remembered her grandfather and William coming over, and slowly began to piece together the last thing she remembered.There had been an accident on the Tornado and three bodies were found. She knew in her heart it wasn’t Creighton. She couldn’t even begin to guess who would have been on their ship, or how it ended up at sea, but she knew her husband wasn’t the one killed. Now all she had to do, was convince the others into believing her.Sandra stepped down the stairs to hear Grace talking to her great-grandfather, the dog running from one room to another as he chased his rope and the smells of food drifting out of the kitchen. She stepped into the living room and saw Papa sitting beside Grace, one of her own books open in front of him as he listened to
Sandra stared at the two men for a long moment as their words began to sink in. When she spoke with her husband earlier that morning, he was still at the hotel. He didn’t mention having plans of returning to the yacht. Why would he go back there when he told her he was packing to come home?Then she thought about the bodies found. One was female. Who was it? Did Creighton lie to her about not being involved with Garcon’s assistant? Had he gone there to meet with her, perhaps a final rendezvous before coming home to his family?“Did you hear what we said?” Papa asked her.“It’s impossible,” she began, her anger taking over her words. Sandra looked down at Grace who was trying to wipe the muddy water from her little dress. She hadn’t understood what her grandparents were saying. All she cared about was her soiled outfit.“Sweetheart, go upstairs and find a clean dress,” Sandra told the little girl. “Put that one in the hamper and warsh your hands. We’ll make lunch when you’ve finished.