Eternally Yours - Brenda Jackson [112]
Syneda was transfixed in place, unable to move as her shocked mind absorbed Syntel’s words. Tears clouded her eyes.
Clayton’s gaze intercepted Senator Lansing’s nod. Neither he nor the senator was noticed as they slipped from the room, leaving father and daughter alone.
“I still can’t believe S. T. Remington is actually my father.” Syneda lay in bed with her head cradled on Clayton’s shoulder, staring at the roaring fire in the fireplace. She had returned from talking with Syntel for over two and a half hours to find Clayton pacing the floor waiting for her. She had walked across the room and gone into his arms without hesitation. Then she had cried while he had comforted her.
Clayton leaned on one elbow, smiling down at her. “You may as well get used to the idea. As soon as the media finds out, everyone and their mama will know it.”
Syneda nodded. “Syntel and I talked about that, too, and wondered what would be the best way to handle it.” She smiled. “One thing is for sure, he doesn’t want to keep me a secret.”
She snuggled closer to Clayton. “For so long I wanted to hate the man who fathered me, the man I thought let me and my mother down. And now I find it was all lies. Just listening to him talk let me know he loved my mother very much.”
Clayton wound his hand in Syneda’s silky hair. “Yes, he did. It’s just sad your mother allowed what society thought dictate her happiness. Who knows, they could have married and lived happily ever after.”
Syneda’s smile faded. “Somehow I doubt it. Just look at what Syntel’s father did. I don’t believe his family would have accepted a marriage between him and my mother.”
Clayton raised a brow. “Why are you calling him Syntel’s father? He was your grandfather.”
“But I can’t think of him that way. He didn’t think of me as his grandchild, did he?”
“No, he didn’t.” Clayton had to agree with her on that. “But he’s dead now so what he thinks really doesn’t matter anymore, does it?”
“No, but it hurts to know he didn’t want me as his grandchild.”
“And how do you feel about having Syntel for a father?”
Syneda looked up at him. “Scared, overwhelmed. I’ve had eighteen years of bitterness to fester inside of me. It will take time for all of it to completely go away. It won’t dissolve overnight and he understands that. We’ve decided to take things one day at a time and get to know each other. There’s so much we have to catch up on, so much I want to share with him and so little time. I have to begin making plans for our wedding soon. With Christmas right around the corner, June will be here before you know it.”
Clayton slipped out of bed to put another log on the fire. When he returned to bed, Syneda couldn’t help noticing the serious expression he wore. He pulled her back into his arms.
“Do you want to postpone our wedding for a while?” he asked.
Syneda raised a confused brow and looked at him. “No, why do you ask? Do you want to postpone our wedding?”
“No. I just didn’t want you to feel rushed about anything.”
She threw her arms around him. “Oh, Clayton, the day I marry you will be the happiest day of my life. Syntel and I will have plenty of time to get to know each other, both before and after our wedding.”
Clayton smiled, feeling relieved. “So the wedding is still on?”
“Absolutely.”
They kissed with all the deep longing and all the love they had for each other in their hearts. Both of them had waited years to find true, everlasting and eternal love.
“Clayton?”
“Umm?” he asked, brushing small kisses against the base of her throat.
“Have you thought about where we can go on our honeymoon?”
He paused thoughtfully before placing another heated kiss on her lips. He was beginning to ache for her all over again. “No, sweetheart, I haven’t thought about it. Any suggestions?”
“Yes.” The palm of her hand gently caressed his chin. “I heard St. Thomas is a beautiful place that