Like the year her mother had changed Amie’s baton-twirling act into a fire-throwing stunt—just half an hour before Amie took the stage—since another girl had done a great baton act. Amie would have never guessed her mother could find a way to light the ends of her batons on fire in thirty minutes. But with McNair wealth and a helpful hotel concierge, anything was possible for a demanding pageant mother. Amie hadn’t burned down the building or set herself on fire, but she hadn’t won and she’d been scared as hell.
Gran’s smile faded and sympathy filled her eyes. “The test I have in mind isn’t like your mother making you compete in all those beauty pageants.”
“Isn’t it?” Amie said bitterly, then felt guilty right away. It wasn’t her grandmother’s fault. “Never mind. Forget I said that. I know you’re not like Bayleigh... You love me, so whatever you’re doing must be for a reason.”
“Your mother loves you, dear, she’s just...”
“Self-absorbed.” There was no denying the truth. “I’ve acknowledged that and moved on. I’m an adult and I accept responsibility for my own feelings.”
Gran tipped her head to the side. “You say that, but until this moment, I never realized this test would make you feel as if my love is conditional...like your mother’s.”
“Does that mean I’m off the hook with my challenge? You’ll fire Preston and put me in charge?” she asked, only half joking.
“Oh dear, you always did have a great sense of humor,” Gran said affectionately. “This isn’t about my love for you. Love isn’t about money. You have millions with your trust fund and personal earnings. This is about figuring out where you best fit professionally in the business.”
“What if I do like Stone and decide to build my own future?” She just wished there was something else she wanted to do, but she lived and breathed to work at Diamonds in the Rough.
Or at least she had until Preston showed up and took away the job she’d hoped for as her own.
“That’s your choice. But keep in mind Stone still took his test because he knew that would put my mind at ease. These requests of mine are because I love you and I want the best for you.”
Amie sighed, exhaustion stealing through her. “I do know that, Gran.”
Her grandmother’s shoulders braced. “This week Preston Armstrong is traveling in support of the unveiling of our new line. I want you to go with him.”
She waited for the rest and...nothing. “That’s it?” Amie asked, incredulous. “That’s my test?”
“Yes, be civil. Don’t cause a scene. Truly show the world that we’re a unified force, even away from the office, and stockholders will be reassured.”
“A week on the road with no scenes.” She’d kept her distance from him for two months, she could do so for longer.
“That’s all.”
“You’re letting me off rather easy,” she conceded, hoping she could finish up some design work on the trip since she’d been working night and day on a secret collection—a labor of love that she worried wasn’t right for Diamonds in the Rough.
“I don’t think so.” Her grandmother shook her head. “Not considering the cold shoulder you’ve given him these past couple of months.”
She could have sworn she’d kept that from her grandmother. Mariah wasn’t at the office often at all. Amie had imagined—hoped—her chilly reception would be perceived as businesslike.
She’d guessed wrong. “I apologize if you think I haven’t been receptive to your new CEO. I thought I was simply being professional.”
“Don’t try that innocent act with me,” Gran snorted. “You won’t even stay in the same room with him unless forced by a meeting. I’m not sure what your differences are and I don’t need to know. We are very lucky to have lured him away from his job in Oklahoma. It was a big sell convincing him this job would increase his corporate appeal as a man of serious net worth and business importance. I do not want to lose him at Diamonds in the Rough, as our stocks continue to rise since we announced he was taking the helm.”
“Rising at the expense of firing some of our most loyal, long-serving middle management,” she reminded her grandmother.
“And I can see you’re still bitter about that decision to consolidate here and expand other offices.”
Amie pressed her lips together to keep from arguing with her grandmother, something that would only stress her out since clearly this battle was already lost.
Gran nodded wearily. “Reconcile with him. Because, like it or not, he is the CEO, and if having you there upsets the flow of business, well, I can’t have that.”
The full weight of her grandmother’s words sunk in. “Are you threatening to fire me?”
And just as troubling, what did Preston have to do with this? Had he been pressuring Gran to nudge her out of the company? Or to find another angle to wrangle his way into her bed?
His approach tonight might not have been coincidental. He could have set this whole thing up, damn him. Anger fired hotter inside her, almost a welcome relief after the frustrated passion, fear for her child—and grief for Gran.
“Let’s not borrow trouble. Focus on the week and learn to forge a friendship with Preston.”
Friendship? With the father of her child from a one-night stand? And how was he going to react to the news of the baby? Gran’s request might not even be possible. “What if Preston doesn’t agree? Or if he’s antagonistic?”
Her grandmother smiled with a narrow-eyed determination Amie recognized well. “Then you’ll just have to win him over. Because, like it or not, your days of avoiding him are done.”
Hands jammed in his tuxedo pockets, Preston strode away from the barn to the resort cabin where he planned to spend the night. Most of the guests were either staying in the main lodge or in one of the bungalows scattered around the property.
He’d done his duty at the reception, put in an appearance. With luck, he could pull out his laptop and log some extra hours preparing for his upcoming business trip. He would try to numb his mind and body against the attraction. Just being near Amie at the wedding had desire pumping through him. He needed to come up with some kind of plan to work with her without this eating them both alive, but damned if he knew which way to turn. For now, burying himself in reports and numbers would have to do.
The reception was still going strong in the towering barn, music and conversation swelling out into the night. The lodge itself held two wings, one for family suites and the other for guests. Then the cabins offered larger, more private space, farther away from the din of the ongoing party.
A movement from the family quarters snagged his attention, a shadowy figure charging across a first-floor veranda. The moonlight cast a glow, illuminating the unmistakable silhouette of... Amie. She paused at the railing, scanning the grounds. She was looking for him—that was clear the second her gaze landed on him.
Her shoulders went back, her breasts straining at the strapless dress, teardrop earrings brushing her bare shoulders. She flicked her long hair over her shoulder, her eyes narrowing. She stomped down the porch steps, hem of her bridesmaid’s gown in her fists and hitched to her knees so she could storm closer all the faster.