Surprised, she looked at it and then at him as she accepted it. “This is so unnecessary. I’m thrilled, too, over Caroline. It was heartbreaking to see her shut away in a world of silence.” Ava tore away the gold paper and ribbon.
“I intended it as a thank-you for the little responses we’ve had. Now it’s become a gesture for an even bigger thank-you for tonight and how much she has opened up,” he said, his voice growing husky with emotion.
She opened a long black velvet box and gasped at the necklace it contained. Set in gold, every other stone was either a sparkling diamond or a brilliant emerald. Shocked, she looked up at him. “Will, I can’t take this. It’s worth a fortune.”
“That doesn’t even begin to express my gratitude.” He lifted it out of the box. “Turn around.”
He placed it on her, fastening it behind her neck.
She crossed the room to the mirror. “I can’t imagine wearing this anywhere. I need a bodyguard with it.”
He smiled. “I’ll be your bodyguard.” He walked up to place his hands on her shoulders. “It’s a token thank-you. You’ve worked a miracle.”
“Oh, please. I think little Muffy worked the miracle.”
“Which was your idea. No, the necklace is a thank-you which you definitely deserve. I want you to have it, Ava,” he said in a husky voice. “You mean more to me than any woman I’ve ever known.”
His words thrilled her. Was it just part of his seductive ways? Or did he sincerely mean what he said?
Will glanced at his watch. “Now we should go. We’re a little late on our schedule. Since the helicopter belongs to me, it will still be waiting.”
“Thank you. I just can’t believe this. I keep wanting to look at it,” she said, glancing once more in the mirror.
He took her arm and they left. In thirty minutes they were airborne, heading south.
It was after nine by the time they landed in on the helicopter pad on his yacht in the Gulf. Deck lights glittered and she heard a band playing.
“You hired a band?”
“I wanted this to be special for you. Since we’re running late and have to get back tonight, I’ll give you the tour after dinner.”
“Fine.” She was still intensely aware of the elegant necklace she wore. So far they had seen only people who worked for him, which suited her because she couldn’t get accustomed to wearing something so valuable.
They took an elevator to an upper deck where they crossed to a single table set with white linen. Deck lights and torches burned, giving a soft glow in places, dark shadows in others away from the lights. She wondered how long the band had been playing, but knew they had fair warning when Will would arrive because of the chopper.
“Will, this is beautiful. It’s not as hot out here as it is in the city.”
“What’s really beautiful is the woman I’m with. And exciting.”
After they had been seated with wine ordered and poured, Will raised his glass.
“To your success, with all my gratitude,” Will said, holding his glass in a toast.
With a faint clink she touched his glass with hers. “I’ll drink to my success. I want my school to be all that I hope and have dreamed about.”
“You’re the right person for it.” He stood and held out his hand. “Would you like to dance?”
“Of course,” she said, taking his hand. She went into his arms, feeling his warmth, dancing with him. “You lead a charmed life, Will Delaney,” she said.
“Sometimes. There’s the money and the businesses, which I like. But there’s the other side that hasn’t been charmed. My mother walked out when I was fourteen, and my brothers and I were shuffled around at schools for a couple of years. I’ve lost a brother, and then this latest with my father’s death and Caroline, which was a tragedy of giant proportions. So all has not been charmed.”
“No, I guess it hasn’t. That’s true for everyone, I suppose.”
“No sad faces or gloomy thoughts on this night, though. This is a celebration. I feel like dancing on the table and shouting from the rooftop. I’m so happy about Caroline. There’s no way to tell you.”
“I’m happy, too, and glad for both of you. She seemed happy tonight. Take very good care of that little dog.”
“Actually, I’ve thought about getting her another one so she has two. That way if something happened to one, we would have the other. Besides, the dogs would be fun for her and company for each other.”
“Ask her and see what she would like.”
“That I’ll do. Is there any way I can help you with your school plans? I have a lot of available resources.”
“I’m doing quite well so far, and with the salary you’re paying me, I can afford to go ahead with my plans without worrying about grants. Thank you for the offer.”
“Enough about business, too,” he said. “This is great. I’m glad to have you here. I wish we could take the weekend and sail south, but we need to get back. I want to stay near Caroline right now.”
“I agree. I think you need to.”
“You, too. You’re part of this at the moment. I saw how she hugged you tonight. She doesn’t do that with others.”
“I was deeply touched.”
“Some other weekend before the summer is over, we’ll return and take a few days. I can show you some spectacular waters.”
“Frankly, your pool in Dallas is beautiful and more than adequate.”
“I don’t have a band and dance floor at my house—actually, I can have one if I want, but I haven’t ever done so. Now for a sexy, breathtaking woman, I might rustle one up at home, but I like it out here on the water. I’d like to show you some sights.”
“I doubt if that will happen.”
“You can’t foresee the future, and I think you would have a grand time.”
“I’m sure I would have a grand time,” she remarked dryly. “That’s part of the problem. I don’t want anything to distract me from my plans for my future. It’s so easy to get sidetracked and have moments slip away and opportunities lost,” she said, thinking about her dad, who had been offered a wonderful sum to sell his Lubbock store and turned it down just before a national chain store opened near him and his business fell off, never to build back up to what it was. She remembered the job offer Ethan had had, their decision to stay and finish school instead. If he had taken the offer, he might not have had the accident.
“I’m not robbing you of your opportunities,” Will said, bringing her back to the moment.
“No, because I’m not going to let you,” she replied, more for herself than him. Then forgetting her declarations, she became silent, relishing the dance and being held in his arms while they moved around the open deck. Breezes tugged playfully at locks of her hair. The music was great. She would remember this night forever.
There couldn’t be many nights in her life like this one. She focused on him, gazing up into his eyes while they danced. The electric current between them escalated. A night to always remember, a man she had fallen in love with even though she didn’t want him to know it. Burning desire—the night, the man—all made her want to take what she could and then lock away the memories.
The notion startled her, teased and tormented. The excitement, the exotic night on a yacht, the diamonds and emeralds—Will himself—everything was causing a turnaround in her life.