Secret Love - Brenda Jackson [53]
“I got an idea that I want to run by you.”
“What idea?”
“You haven’t had a party here at the ranch in a while. You’ve mentioned on several occasions that you used to host an annual party for your family and close friends.”
Diamond watched the subtle play of emotions cross Jake’s face. He was slowly letting his guard down, she thought. Knowing that he had felt the need to put it up in the first place tugged at her heart. The knowledge of what he had been enduring because of her made regret twist and turn inside of her.
Jake crossed his arms and leaned against the porch’s railing. He gazed at her speculatively. “A party? For my family?”
“Yes.”
He frowned. “And just where do you plan on being while this party is going on?”
“Here. I think it’s time for you to introduce me.”
Jake stared at her, searching her face for some sort of explanation. “Introduce you?”
“Yes.”
“As my wife?”
“I hope you don’t think I’ll let you get away with claiming I’m your mistress,” she said lightly, trying to break the tension between them.
Jake shook his head to clear it. He then stared back at her. “Let me get this straight. You want us to come out of the closet?”
She grinned. “More like coming out of the bedroom, don’t you think?”
He stared at her, not knowing what to think. He closed his eyes for a brief moment. When he reopened them relief shone in their dark depths. He hesitated for just a second before asking, “Are you sure about this, Diamond?”
“Yes.”
Jake nervously rubbed the top of his head when he thought of his nieces—three in particular—Traci, Kattie and Felicia. “I may as well warn you that some of my kinfolk don’t know how to keep secrets. They don’t know the meaning of the phrase ‘silence is golden.’”
Diamond smiled. “It doesn’t matter. I’m prepared for whatever happens now. I can’t continue to let things go on this way. I love you and I’m ready for the entire world to know it. I just hope you’re ready, too.”
Jake took a few steps toward her, closing the distance between them. He pulled her into his arms. “I’ve been ready. We’ll handle things just fine. We love each other and we trust each other. Look at Sterling and Colby. Even with the media constantly trying to get into their business, they’re making out okay. We will, too.”
There was strong confidence in his voice. And when he leaned down to kiss her, a part of Diamond wanted to believe that with their love anything was possible.
Chapter 14
D iamond placed the vase filled with fresh-cut flowers on the only table in the room that wasn’t already adorned with a flower arrangement. She turned a full circle around, admiring her handiwork.
“You don’t think there are too many flowers in here, do you?” she asked Jake as he entered the room.
He came to stand beside her and automatically placed his arms around her waist. “No, this room looks just like you, beautiful.” He leaned down and brushed a kiss across her lips. “Nervous?”
“Petrified is more like it.” Diamond chuckled softly. Nearly two weeks had passed since she had approached him about telling his family about their marriage, and now the day of the party had finally arrived.
Jake pulled her closer to him. “Don’t be. My family will love you as much as I do.”
“Are you sure they’ll forgive us for not telling them sooner about our marriage?”
Stroking her cheek with the pad of his thumb, he said, “Yeah, they’ll understand. They know how the media harassed Syneda when they got wind of who her father was.”
Diamond nodded. Jacob had told her how the newsbreaking story of wealthy industrialist Syntel Remington’s love child had made national headlines and the media, being insensitive as ever, had milked it for all it was worth without any regard for the feelings of those involved. Syneda had been engaged to marry Jacob’s nephew at the time.
Leaning against Jake’s hard chest, Diamond thought on all the other things he had told her about his family. His niece, Felicia Laverne, the offspring of his brother Robert who