A Silken Thread - Brenda Jackson [19]
When he’d first approached her she’d thought he was trying to hit on her. She’d soon discovered his sexual preference would not have made that possible. He had convinced her that her beauty—which she hadn’t truly known she had—should grace the cover of every magazine and that he was just the man to make that happen.
Distrusting her own instincts she had taken him home to Nana. He survived her grandmother’s interrogation and had won Nana’s trust and respect when he’d promised to look after her as if she was his own child. Much to April’s chagrin, he’d done just that. He thought Mark was too immature for marriage, had strong misgivings about Campbell, since Neil believed a gay person should never be in the closet anyway, and he outright detested Green. He’d warned her that the rocker was bad news from the start but she hadn’t listened. She had promised Neil the next time she married it would be for love—which meant she would never marry, since unfortunately the man who had her heart would never know it.
Thinking of Griffin she couldn’t help recall that night they had run into each other while out walking their pets. It had been nice sharing that stretch of concrete with him, walking beside him and indulging in lighthearted conversation. When they’d reached Nana’s house he had said good-night, wished her well and continued on to his parents’ home.
That night she had lain in bed, remembering the encounter, replaying every aspect of it over and over in her mind. Loving Griffin was something she had accepted as a part of her and over the years had schooled herself not to think about it. There was no point in doing so anyway, since their worlds were light-years apart. But on the very rare occasions when they had run into each other she savored the moments and thought of them often. She had remained in Hattersville for another two weeks but she hadn’t seen him again. She had deliberately taken Fluffy out for a late-evening stroll a few times but hadn’t run into Griffin and Pebbles.
“Sorry I’m late but traffic on the George Washington Bridge was a bitch.”
The apologetic male voice pulled her out of her reverie. “No problem, Neil. I was just sitting here and enjoying the view.”
In a way she had been. It was a beautiful day and the late-afternoon sun shining through the window was warm. She loved New York, and unfortunately didn’t get here often enough. Most of her time was spent out of the country and when she did return back to the States it was to the West Coast. But she fondly remembered the three years she had lived in Manhattan during the early days of her modeling career. Those had been fun times, wild times, especially when Erica would visit her. But then it had also been the time she’d needed before finally settling down to become the responsible woman she was now. A woman who knew what she wanted to do with her life and was about to go after all her dreams and desires.
Except for one.
She dismissed thoughts of Griffin from her mind and gave her attention to Neil. With his blond hair, blue eyes and a too-handsome face, Neil was one gorgeous hunk. An older one—in his late forties—but gorgeous nonetheless. But women would be sorely disappointed to discover they wouldn’t be his cup of tea. He and his partner, a lovable guy by the name of Aaron Crews, considered themselves married, although the laws of the land did not.
The waitress came to take their order and then April and Neil spent time chitchatting about Nana. It was only after the waitress delivered their food that Neil got down to business. “Now, what’s this nonsense about you not wanting to expand your career into film?”
She smiled over at him. “No nonsense, Neil. I tried film once. It was nice but I can’t see myself doing something like that on a permanent basis.”
They both knew that at twenty-seven