The elevator doors slid open and I stepped out into the lobby of the Lonex building, to find all my colleagues, everyone who worked in the building gathered there. There had to be at least a hundred people, who were standing there, creating a parted pathway for me to exit through.
I looked around me in surprise. I had no idea what was happening and I tried to catch someone’s eye who could tell me. When I looked ahead again, I saw Grant at t
he other end of the tunneled clearing. He was in a fresh black tuxedo with a red bowtie at his neck. He was smiling at me invitingly while I rushed towards him, still in shock from what was going on.
As I approached him, Grant fell to one knee and a loud gasp rang out in the crowd around us. I could feel my fingers quivering as I slowed my pace. He was slipping out a small blue velvet box from the pocket of his pants. The smile on his face grew wider the closer I got to him and I placed a hand on my heart.
“Grant…” I said, my voice was a near whisper.
“Beverley, will you do me the honor of being my wife? I love you. I worship you and I have never been happier before,” he said, in a clear strong voice before I could say anything else.
I could hear the murmur in the crowd. Everyone who worked with Grant was surprised. He had organized this grand public gesture for me, and nobody could believe that a guy like Grant Jennings could do something like this.
“Yes, Grant, of course I will,” I said and everyone was clapping. Grant slipped the huge solitaire diamond ring on my finger as he stood up and swooped me into his arms. We kissed passionately, a little too passionately for a public place but neither of us cared.
“I thought you were acting nervous the past couple of days, I was getting worried,” I whispered in his ear when I drew away from him. I could barely hear him over the applause and cheers from everyone around us.
“I was nervous because I wasn’t sure if you’d want to marry me,” he said. As if.
Cowboy Romance Series
BOOK 1 : BILLIONAIRE COWBOY
Celia shielded her eyes against the glaring Texan sun with the palm of her hand, this sun was going nowhere. She had just stepped off the train that had carried her from the Austin airport, and after a two-hour journey in a small cramped seat, she could feel her bones aching and her legs needing a stretch. How long would she have to wait here in the heat?
Two stuffed-to the brim suitcases lay at her feet. She had packed everything she could, everything she would need, although she wasn’t quite sure what she might actually require. She had never been to Texas before, and definitely never to such a small town.
Celia took in a deep breath and sighed. She had been standing there for over fifteen minutes now, and there was no sign of her ride.
Her grandfather had written a letter to her a month ago. Initially she had smiled when she found the letter slipped under the door of her tenth-floor apartment in New York, by the postman. Who hand wrote letters anymore? Clearly her grandfather did. But when she eventually read the letter, the smile on her face had disappeared. He was sick, very sick, and he was her only remaining family. She had to be there for him in his hour of need, there was no other choice but that.
So, Celia quit her job, not that it was much of a job. It was an internship at a fashion magazine, but it was also a stepping stone towards the actual job that she wanted. Sure, it would have taken time, a few months, maybe even a few years…but it would all be worth it. Now, quitting her job, moving to a small town in Texas to care for her grandfather was going to be a major setback. But what other choice did she have? She couldn’t simply allow her grandfather to wither away by himself.
She had written back to him, probably her first handwritten letter in several years, telling him her plan. She would quit her job and move in with him to care for him, for as long as he needed. He was her only family, she had to do this for him and for the memory of her parents who had brought her up to care for those in need.
The roar of an engine nearby distracted Celia from her thoughts and she whipped around to find a red battered truck making its way towards her, sending dust clouds up in the air in its trail. Her grandfather had mentioned a ride, but this wasn’t what she was expecting.
The truck came to a sudden halt, right in front of her feet and Celia took a few steps back in surprise. It looked like an old dusty thing, with the red paint chipped in several places, the rearview mirror broken and dangling on the side. The engine made such a great sound that it was clear that it needed major maintenance.
Celia still had her face shielded with her hand when the driver’s door creaked open and she saw the back of a man who jumped off the truck. She still didn’t know what to expect, was this definitely her ride?
“Celia Ferro?” The man banged the door shut behind him and turned to look at her, placing his hands on the burning hot hood of the car engine. There was steam rising from it, it was so hot. But he didn’t seem to notice, he kept his hands on it.
“Yes.” She replied, in a meek voice. She had obviously expected a stranger to pick her up, but not such a handsome one. This man was a cowboy through and through, the likes of which she had only ever seen in films or on TV. She hadn’t thought that people like him actually existed in real life.
He was in a dark plaid shirt, with the sleeves rolled up. His jeans were dark too, with a wide boot cut at the bottoms. For shoes, he had ruddy dusty boots and a cowboy hat to shield his face against the sun. But the sun had definitely got to him, because his skin was darkened, and it glowed like bronze in the midday heat. His eyes were piercingly blue, and Celia dropped her gaze from his face when he looked at her, because his eyes nearly frightened her. He looked muscular and lean, like he worked outdoors all day. As hard as she tried to stop herself, she couldn’t help her mind from wandering and imagining what his bare torso would look like, underneath those clothes.
“Do you have bags?” The man asked and she nodded her head.
“They’re right here.” She said and pointed to her feet.
He walked around the front of the truck silently, taking quick long steps and was by her side within seconds. She felt her muscles freeze from his closeness. She couldn’t remember the last time her body had reacted this way to the physical presence of someone else. Without a word, he picked up both the suitcases and tossed them into the open back of the van.
Celia winced when she heard the thump of the bags as they fell. She didn’t want to imagine what the state of her perfume bottles and makeup cases were going to be inside them.
“Get in.” She heard him say, and he walked back around to the driver’s side without waiting for a response from her. Celia gulped. How was she supposed to get in?
She tried pulling at the passenger door, but it wouldn’t give. The man had already climbed back into his seat. He had his hands loosely placed on the steering wheel and was watching Celia struggling to get the door open. It was like he was enjoying her trying and failing and then trying again.