The Red Eye 3 (The Red Eye Erotic Romance Series) Page 3

  “I’ll have a red wine, please.”

  If I were honest, I’d prefer vodka, but the last thing I wanted to do was get wasted when I was trying to make a good impression on Grandma Caesar, so when the waiter brought over my wine, I resisted the urge to take a large gulp for Dutch courage and simply sipped at it.

  “So. Rebecca. Grayson tells me that you’re going to be joining our family.”

  I started at the sound of Ida’s voice, her tone so brittle you could have cut glass on it.

  “That’s right, Grandma.” Devon came over and put his arm around my shoulders, the feel of him helping me to calm down. “I asked Rebecca to marry me, and I was lucky that she said yes.”

  “Hmmm. Well, which one of you is the lucky one remains to be seen.”

  Devon’s smile didn’t waver. “Now, Grandma. I know that once you get to know Rebecca, you’ll love her just as much as I do.”

  Whatever she was going to say was lost when a waiter came through and announced that dinner was waiting for us.

  Ida used a cane for walking, and Devon helped her to stand up, hooking her arm through his as they slowly made their way through to the dining room.

  The long table that ran almost the full length of the room could have easily seated twenty people, if not more, and it was strange to think of Devon sitting at one end with his parents eating his morning breakfast of eggs, muffins, and bacon, their voices echoing in the large room. Paintings of deceased family members lined the walls and impressive chandeliers hung from the ceiling, illuminating the room with hundreds of light bulbs.

  Devon pulled out my chair before sitting next to me. I was surprised to see Grandma Caesar take the head of the table. I would have thought that Grayson would have insisted on taking pole position. He might have been the boss of the law firm, but it appeared that his mother wore the pants in the family. She definitely commanded respect in the home.

  “So, Rebecca. Tell me a little about yourself. I hear that you are one of the top lawyers in Devon’s department.”

  “That’s right. I head up a team under Devon’s supervision and we have a hundred-percent success rate with our cases.”

  “Rebecca’s my secret weapon. No man can resist her!”

  “Quite.” She raised her eyebrows, and I knew that Devon had said the wrong thing. Once more, I was falling into the role of gold digger. When I’d married Rick, my ex-husband, his mother claimed that I was only doing it because he was going to be a hotshot lawyer and I wanted to take all his money. The irony was that the opposite was true—I’d worked as a dancer to support us both through college and it was Rick who’d gone after my money. I wasn’t going to tell Devon’s family about that, though.

  “Now, Rebecca. All the Caesar weddings take place in our house in Martha’s Vineyard, so of course you’ll be following suit.”

  I looked at Devon in confusion. “I don’t know. I’m not sure that my parents will be able to travel up. I thought it might be nice to get married back home.”

  “Nonsense. We’ll fly your parents up. There is a tradition to uphold. Speaking of which, I have arranged for my wedding dress to be taken out of storage. I shall need you to arrange an appointment with my seamstress so she can adjust it to fit you.”

  I frowned, doing my best to keep my voice calm and polite. “I’m sorry, Mrs. Caesar, but I’ve already made an appointment with a dress designer. I’ll be having something custom made. I’m sure your dress is perfectly lovely, but I’d like something modern for the wedding.”

  “Get the girl to make you something for the reception.” Ida waved away my objections. “This dress has been worn at countless Caesar weddings. It’s in pristine condition and it has incalculable sentimental value. I won’t hear of any alternative.”

  “Grandma, I’m sure you mean well, but times have changed.” Devon spoke gently but firmly. “These days, whatever Rebecca wears will end up not just all over the papers but all over the internet too. I’m sure you’ll want her to present the right impression for the Caesar family as being forward thinking?”

  Ida sniffed. “I fail to see why my wedding dress is insufficient, but if you insist. However, you’ll allow me to oversee the bridesmaid dresses, of course? Your cousins will all be part of the wedding party, and we’ll need to make sure that they coordinate.”

  “Your cousins?” I blurted out the words before I could bite my tongue. “Hang on, Devon. I was going to ask Ellen to be my maid of honor. I wasn’t planning on having an entire entourage, especially not of women I’ve never even met.”

  “But you must,” Ida said. “You can’t insult our family by not including them.”

  “I don’t want to insult anyone. But this is my wedding. I’m not going to have it turned into a circus.”

  “A circus?” She looked shocked. “How dare you? This is the Caesar reputation we’re talking about. Grayson, speak to that woman.”

  Was it me or was there a little glimmer of amusement in Grayson’s eye at seeing his mother so aghast?

  “Devon, Rebecca, as I’m sure you can appreciate, there is a certain image that we have to maintain. You should trust Grandma Caesar. She knows what she’s doing, and she won’t make you do anything that would be inappropriate.”

  “I’m sure we can come to some kind of compromise.” Devon patted my hand reassuringly, but inwardly I was seething. This was the last thing I wanted, and I was regretting ever saying yes. I should have stuck to my plan of never marrying again.

  Perhaps Devon would agree to elope.

  “I’ve arranged a press conference for tomorrow morning,” Grayson said. “I thought it would be best to send out the company email at the same time. That way, nobody can leak the story of your engagement and we retain control of the media coverage.” For once, Grayson’s officious nature was a welcome relief, as he and Devon began to discuss the finer details of the press announcement. I decided that my food was the most fascinating thing I’d ever seen, and I focused on it as they talked, but I was under no illusion that this was going to be the only argument I would have with Ida Caesar about wedding arrangements.

  #

  By the time we left, it was late. Later than I would have liked. If it had been down to me, we’d have said goodbye as soon as we’d finished dessert, but Grayson insisted on discussing one of his cases with Devon, and I’d had no choice but to sit and listen while they strategized. Every now and then, I glanced over at Grandma Caesar, but the woman refused to look at me, keeping her gaze firmly focused on Devon and Grayson. She did an exceptionally good job of seeming to find their legal debate fascinating, even though most of it must have gone over her head.

  When we finally were in a cab on our way home, Devon turned to me. “Well, I thought that went rather well.”

  “Are you kidding me? Your grandmother is going to do her best to trample all over my wedding. The next few months are going to be a nightmare.”

  “Our wedding.” It was a gentle reminder, but there was a power behind it that warned me that if I thought I had free rein over the wedding plans, I’d better think again. “Look, Rebecca, I know that you’ve probably been planning your dream wedding since you were a child, and I want to make sure that our wedding is the best day of our lives. But you have to appreciate that you’re marrying into the Caesar family. We have a certain way of doing things, and although I agree with you that wearing Grandma’s old wedding dress probably isn’t going to be the best look, there are traditions that have to be observed. I know that might mean that you don’t get everything the way you want it, but I promise you that our wedding will be incredible. You should trust her more. She really is exceptionally good at event planning. She might surprise you.”

  I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. I thought Devon was on my side.

  I had only been engaged for a couple of days and already I was beginning to wonder if I was making the biggest mistake of my life.

  Six

  I’d taken the lead on plenty of press conferenc
es since joining Caesar and Krause. It came with the territory when you were dealing with high-profile clients—you were expected to add a certain level of authority to assure the public that your client was going to win, and any allegations against them were completely spurious.

  You’d think that I’d be used to it by now, but I was feeling incredibly nervous as we waited to go out and meet the press. Maybe it was because this time the focus was on me, or maybe it was because Grayson was going to be making the initial announcement. Maybe it was just that telling the world meant that it was real and I really was getting married again. Backing out was out of the question when everyone knew about us officially.

  Whatever the reason, my palms were sweaty and I had butterflies in my stomach as Grayson, Devon, and I met in Devon’s office to have a last-minute briefing to go over the agreed announcement.

  “Right. So the email will be going out to all staff five minutes after the press conference begins, so everyone should know about your engagement at about the same time.” Grayson spoke as if this was just another business meeting and not his only son getting married. “We’ve already agreed the text for the announcement, which I’ll read out, and then we’ll accept questions for a brief period before closing. Do either of you have any concerns? It’s not too late to change your minds.”

  If Grayson thought that I was going to break off the engagement just because he glared at me, he was going to be disappointed.

  “I can’t think of anything.” Devon’s voice was bright and cheerful, and he squeezed my hand reassuringly. “Rebecca?”

  “I’m good.” It was funny, but the gruffer Grayson became, the easier it was for me to hide my nerves. I’d be damned if I let Grayson know that I had thrown up in the bathroom earlier today because I’d been so worried about the press conference.

  “Right then. Let’s get this over with.”

  To his credit, Grayson was ever the professional and, as he led the way into the room where the journalists were waiting, you’d never know that he disapproved of Devon marrying me.

  Grayson took his place in the middle of the table, with Devon and I sitting either side of them. It was daunting facing all those journalists, but I plastered a smile on my face, doing my best to appear as though I hadn’t a care in the world.

  Grayson cleared his voice and held up a hand for silence. “I’m sure you’re all wondering why we’ve called you here, and you’ll be glad to hear that I won’t be keeping you for long. I’m pleased to announce the engagement of my son, Devon Caesar, to his girlfriend, Rebecca Bevan. Although they have not set an exact date for the wedding yet, we are planning on a summer wedding, and as soon as we have more details, you can be assured that they will be revealed in due course. We will be inviting a small, select group of journalists to the wedding and will be entering into negotiations for an exclusive photoshoot, so please register your interest with the Caesar and Krause press department if you wish to be considered for inclusion. I will now open the floor to any questions.”

  The room erupted into a babble of voices, all clamoring to be the one to be heard first.

  “Yes. You.”

  A young female journalist cleared her throat. “Congratulations to you both. Could you clarify for our readers how long you’ve been dating?”

  Devon motioned to me to answer.

  “It’s about eighteen months, on and off.”

  The journalist looked intrigued. “On and off? Does that mean that you haven’t been consistently seeing each other all that time?”

  Grayson shot me a dark look as Devon interjected. “Not at all. What Rebecca means is that, due to the nature of our work, there have been times when we’ve had to be apart. As I’m sure you can appreciate, it is difficult to sustain a relationship when you’re not together all the time, but that’s what makes me so sure that Rebecca is the woman I want to spend my life with. Our relationship is strong enough to endure anything.”

  The journalist clearly wanted to ask a follow-up question, but Grayson gestured to another journalist, so whatever it was she wanted to know, she was going to have to wait.

  “Is it true that you’ve been married before, Rebecca?”

  “Somebody’s been doing their homework,” Devon muttered, and he was lucky that the microphone didn’t pick it up.

  “Yes, that’s true.” I knew that this was the last thing that Grayson wanted discussed when the focus was supposed to be on his son, but I’d known that the chances were high that someone would know about my failed marriage to Rick, and I was prepared for the question. “It was a long time ago. We were young and just weren’t ready for the demands of marriage. But I learned a lot from that relationship, and as Devon says, our relationship is strong enough to survive anything. The past is the past and it really isn’t important what I did when I was young. I know that I’m going to be spending the rest of my life with Devon.”

  “Who’s going to be making your dress, Rebecca? I hear rumors that the Caesar family wedding dress will be making an appearance again—are you really going to be wearing a vintage dress?”

  I was relieved to have a more mundane question to answer.

  “I’m sure you’ll appreciate that I don’t want to go into details right now—at least, not in front of the groom.” There was laughter and the mood in the room lightened, even though I could feel Grayson still tense beside me. “However, I can confirm that the Caesar family have very generously offered me the traditional Caesar gown and I’m also in negotiations with an up-and-coming designer about the possibility of a new dress. I haven’t made any final decisions yet, so you’ll just have to wait until the big day to see what direction I go in.”

  “How did he propose, Rebecca? Did he whisk you off to some romantic location?”

  The question was shouted from the back of the room, and I squinted to make out who was asking. “He did.” I couldn’t help but smile smugly. “Devon took me to Mexico. He told me that it was to do some research on a case, but it turned out that he had a whole romantic weekend planned. I had no idea he was planning to propose. He’s very good at keeping secrets when he wants to.”

  “Have you decided where you’re going to get married?”

  I looked at Devon. I didn’t want to answer all the questions—I got the definite vibe from Grayson that he wasn’t enjoying the spotlight on me rather than his son. This was one that he could handle.

  “Obviously, it would be good to get married at my family’s property in Martha’s Vineyard, but we’re still in the early stages of planning, so that may well change. We’ll just have to wait and see.”

  “When’s the engagement party?”

  “Soon. You’re all invited!”

  Devon’s quick reply provoked a wave of good-natured laughter, and even the stony-faced Grayson managed to crack a smile.

  “Show us the ring, Rebecca!”

  The call came from the middle of the crowd and made it clear that this was all that that particular journalist was interested in—just how much Devon had spent on my engagement ring. Blushing, I held my hand forward, and cameras flashed from all sides as the photographers tried to get a good shot of the enormous diamond ring on my left hand.

  When he felt that the journalists had had long enough to get all the shots they needed, Grayson held up his hands for attention. “All right, folks. That’s it for now. If you have any further questions, please address them to our press office.”

  Taking our cue, Devon and I got up, and the three of us walked out of the room, desperate journalists still calling after us with more questions.

  “Well, I thought that went rather well.” Devon put his arm around my shoulders and squeezed.

  “As well as can be expected.”

  I wondered whether Grayson would ever be happy for us.

  “Do you fancy joining us for brunch, Dad?”

  “I’ve got a meeting this afternoon I need to prepare for.”

  I wasn’t surprised that Grayson turned us down, and I was
more than a little relieved. The last thing I wanted was his negative energy on the day our engagement became public knowledge. The only little positive was that when I’d rung my parents last night, they’d been over the moon, and not because they were happy that I was marrying into money. They’d adored Devon on the few occasions they’d been able to meet him.

  They’d yet to meet Grayson, though. That was going to be interesting.

  “Just you and me then, Rebecca.”

  “The way I like it.” I didn’t care if it sounded as though I was making a dig at Grayson. Getting married was stressful enough. I didn’t want to have to put up with months of hassle and pressure from the Caesars.

  “Right. I’ll leave you to it, then.” Grayson stalked over to the door. As he opened it, he paused. “If I haven’t said it before, I just want you to know that I’m proud of you, son.” He said the words over his shoulder, as if looking at Devon would be a step too far when dealing with his emotions, and as soon as he’d said it, he was gone, leaving Devon and I looking at each other, eyebrows raised.

  “Did your dad just say something nice?”

  “Quick! Bring back the journalists! I must alert the media!”

  I giggled as Devon struck a dramatic pose.

  “I told you, Rebecca. He likes you. He just isn’t very demonstrative. Plus, he feels the whole burden of being the head of the family. He takes the Caesar dynasty very seriously. Can you blame him? He’s got Grandma looking over his shoulder all the time. It’s really not Dad you’ve got to worry about. It’s her. She’s obsessed with the thought that any woman interested in me must be after my money.”

  “Yes, well, I suppose she isn’t to know that it’s really your enormous cock that keeps me with you.”

  I gently squeezed his groin and felt him harden a little in response.

  He laughed. “Hold that thought. We’re going to have to wait a while before we can go anywhere—there are going to be journos crawling all over the place for a while. The last thing we need is to be popped in a compromising position. We’re going to have to be a bit more discreet over the next few days until the excitement over our engagement has died down a little.”