Truly Yours Read online

  Darryl was excited by her exuberance. Her enthusiasm reminded him of the first time she presented her vision to him and his brother. He’d been a hard taskmaster the way he had challenged her, and just like with him, everything they’d thrown at her, she’d given it back in spades. Throwing in his two cents about the safety issues had been the icing on the cake for their presentation.

  She suddenly jumped in her seat, the color draining from her face. “I almost forgot,” Camryn exclaimed.

  “What’s wrong?”

  “While you and the sheikh were smoking cigars together, Sami told me who our competition is.”

  “And?”

  “And they’re picking up James and Asia Landry from the airport right after they drop us off for our flight home.”

  Chapter 17

  “I think it went really well,” Asia said as she settled down in the first-class seat of the Boeing airplane.

  James Landry nodded his agreement. “I was very impressed with your presentation, Asia. You did a very nice job.”

  “You and I make a great team, Daddy!”

  James settled back in his own leather seat, closing his eyes as the plane soared through a midnight sky.

  “I’m so excited!” Asia exclaimed. She was like a kid in a candy shop, the way she kept bouncing around, chattering endlessly.

  Her father nodded again. “Asia, when you’re focused you can accomplish almost anything you want to accomplish. You were focused and your contributions to the design and proposal were really good work. You made me very proud.”

  “Thank you, Daddy. It’s a shame we can’t win, though,” she said with a deep sigh.

  The man cut his eye at her, not bothering to respond.

  “Camryn Charles has to win this, Daddy. She has to win this so that she can move to Dubai and be out of Darryl’s life forever!”

  James rolled his eyes in annoyance.

  “And what if Darryl decides he wants to move to Dubai with her?”

  “He’d never do that. He would never leave that family of his. I know him. I know him better than she ever will. She’ll get the project and once Darryl understands that he has to leave his precious family, he will call the wedding off. I’ll give him some time to adjust and then I’ll reach out and just be a good friend to him. Before long, I will get my happily-ever-after.”

  “You have this all worked out, don’t you, Asia?”

  “I have to, Daddy. I have to get Darryl back.”

  James shook his head. “And what happens if you never get Darryl back? What if Darryl has no interest in ever getting back together with you, Asia? What then?”

  Asia shrugged, having never given the thought any consideration. “Daddy, don’t you want me happy?” she asked.

  Her father looked at her. “Asia, you haven’t figured out yet that you obsessing with Darryl Boudreaux isn’t going to make you happy. You obsessing over any man will never, ever make you happy. Everyone else can see it, so I’m having a very difficult time trying to figure out where the disconnect comes from. You can never be happy chasing after a man who doesn’t love you or want to be with you.”

  “Tch!” Asia sucked her teeth, skewing her face.

  Her father continued. “Clearly, what I want for you doesn’t make much difference if you don’t want it for yourself, Asia. You need to want a relationship with a man who’s interested in you. And that man is not that Boudreaux boy. So, until the true man of your dreams makes an appearance, you need to focus on your career.”

  “I’m just going to have to prove you wrong, Daddy!” she said cheerfully. “So you need to please make sure Camryn wins. You need to make sure Sheikh Muhammad just loves her work more than anyone else’s.”

  “You know, Asia, when you asked me to get her on the list for consideration, I thought you wanted to truly compete against her. I thought you wanted to make an impression that was about your talent against her talent. What you’re looking for is just downright stupid.”

  “Does that mean you’re not going to help me anymore?”

  James adjusted a pillow behind his head and pulled a blanket up over his shoulders. “It means that if Camryn Charles’s design beats ours, then she did a better job than we did. What happens after that doesn’t have anything at all to do with me, or you. Understand?”

  Crossing her arms over her chest, Asia pouted profusely. If her father wasn’t going to give her any more help, she needed to come up with a contingency plan. With James and the sheikh being friends, Asia had made her father an assortment of promises to get him to suggest Camryn as a plausible candidate for the project. It hadn’t hurt that Camryn Charles had an impressive list of accomplishments under her belt. Her father’s reputation in the industry had been a plus, as well, and with James Landry’s recommendation Camryn making the list had been assured.

  Despite her father complimenting her design, Asia hadn’t put much effort or thought into it. She’d proposed an outrageous, over-the-top Mall of America–like water park extravaganza. The design was out there and she couldn’t fathom anyone with any sense seriously considering it. She knew that her father was just one project shy of retirement and his concerns for her well-being would have had him saying absolutely anything.

  She took a quick glance toward her father. He’d fallen asleep and was beginning to snore ever so slightly. She laid her head on his shoulder, settling down for what was left of the flight. Her father loved her and she loved him even more. She only wished she could make him see that she loved Darryl Boudreaux, too.

  * * *

  Camryn pulled into the driveway of the Boudreaux home. There was a line of cars parked there, and knowing that his large family was probably inside warmed her spirit.

  She and Darryl had been back from Dubai for almost a month. Getting their schedules back in sync had been difficult at best the first few days but since then everything seemed on point. Darryl and the crew at Boudreaux Towers were in the last phase of completion and it was truly only a matter of days before they would officially hand Mason the keys to the door.

  Darryl had moved into their new house and it was slowly becoming a home. Between movers and delivery people, they were finding a place for all their furniture. Together they’d been navigating painters, installers, utility persons and all facets of new-home ownership.

  Setting up the infrastructure for their new business had also been a pressing must-do. There’d been contracts and lawyers, bank accounts and accountants to contend with. There was the selection of board members and the first board meeting. And then Darryl had thrown in his own surprise, announcing that Charles-Boudreaux Designs & Engineering was the fourth official tenant to sign at Boudreaux Towers.

  Today she was meeting Darryl’s sisters. The women were headed to Pearl’s Place, the area’s premier bridal shop, for the final fitting of their gowns. Camryn had to admit that she’d been shirking on her bridal responsibilities. Maitlyn had been a godsend, stepping in to act as their wedding planner, but Camryn hadn’t been making her job easy. There were just too many decisions that she was expected to make and she truly didn’t have the energy for it all. Even Darryl had commented on her lackadaisical attitude, suggesting yet again that they postpone the wedding until things settled down some. But Camryn didn’t want to postpone her wedding. She just wanted it to be over and done with so that she and Darryl could get on with their life together.

  Ringing the bell, she was surprised when Darryl answered the door himself.

  “Hey, what are you doing here?” Camryn asked, reaching up to kiss his lips.

  He sighed. “We need to talk,” he said, his somber demeanor suddenly making her nervous.

  There was an eerie silence floating through the home’s rooms, the usual laughter nowhere to be found. Darryl’s siblings were in the kitchen, Mason, Kendrick and Kamaya seated
around their mother’s kitchen table. Maitlyn stood against the back wall, her cell phone pressed to her ear. Total annoyance painted her expression. As Camryn entered the room, they all turned to stare as if she’d interrupted them talking about her.

  “What’s wrong?” Camryn questioned, her gaze turning back to Darryl.

  “Let’s go into the other room,” he mumbled.

  She shook her head. “No. Tell me what’s wrong!”

  Darryl took a deep breath. “Did you cancel the wedding venue?”

  A look of astonishment crossed Camryn’s face. “Of course not. Why would I cancel the venue?”

  “How about the band and the florist? Did you cancel either of them?”

  “Darryl, of course not! Would someone please tell me what’s going on!”

  Maitlyn answered as she disconnected the call. “That was the dress shop. We don’t have gowns. The owner said Camryn Charles called and canceled the gowns four weeks ago.”

  “Why would I cancel my gown? I did not cancel my gown,” Camryn stated adamantly. She was incredulous.

  Darryl blew another deep sigh. “Well, it seems that someone did. In fact, someone canceled our entire wedding. And everyone we’ve spoken to insists they spoke to you.”

  Camryn shook her head. “That’s ridiculous! I would not have canceled our entire wedding. How could someone do that? We’re getting married in eight weeks, Darryl!”

  Maitlyn shook her head. “I’m sorry but as of this moment everything you ordered, requested, reserved and purchased has been canceled. Nothing for your wedding is on schedule for your wedding date. Right now all the work we’ve been doing for the last few months will have to be done all over again.”

  Camryn dropped down onto one of the padded kitchen seats. “Who would do this to us?” she asked, looking from Darryl to his family and back. “This makes no sense to me.”

  Darryl glanced at Maitlyn, avoiding Camryn’s stare. Maitlyn gestured for him to answer. He sighed again. “We can’t prove it yet, but I think Asia might have had a hand in this,” he said softly.

  Maitlyn rolled her eyes. “Might? Might? I don’t need any proof to know that crazy fool did this. Her signature is all over this mess!” his sister exclaimed.

  Camryn bristled, her spirit suddenly flooded with rage. “Asia Landry did this to us?”

  Darryl shrugged. “We don’t know that yet. Right now everyone is saying that you ordered the cancellations.”

  “Well, you know I didn’t do this, Darryl. What sense does that make?”

  Darryl shook his head. “If you had called the vendors before we left for Dubai like Maitlyn had asked, we might not be dealing with this right now,” he said, his offhanded comment stinging her.

  “I don’t believe you just said that,” Camryn snapped. “I’m not marrying myself, Darryl Boudreaux. You were just as capable of calling the vendors as I was. Are you saying this is my fault because I didn’t have time to make two telephone calls?”

  He dropped down onto the seat beside her. “Let’s not fight, Camryn. We need to figure out what we need to do to turn this mess around.”

  “The first thing we need to do is have Asia arrested. Have you called the police?”

  “They’re looking into it,” Maitlyn responded.

  “And my attorneys are figuring out what legal recourse against Asia you and Darryl might have,” Mason noted.

  “She needs to pay for this,” Camryn said, clearly chagrined.

  “This isn’t about Asia,” Darryl said, his voice raised. “Why are you worrying about Asia?”

  “Why are you not worrying about Asia? Clearly, this is just another continuation of the problem we seem to be having with your girlfriend! Or did you forget about her slashing my tires? And what about the snakes? She’s already tried to kill you. Does she need to shoot at me before you start worrying about Asia?”

  Darryl scowled, biting back the retort that sat thick on his tongue. Camryn was baiting him and he refused to dignify her rant with a comment. He didn’t want to fight.

  Maitlyn tried to defuse the situation. “Let’s all relax and just focus on getting the wedding back on track. The first thing we need to do is make sure the venue hasn’t scheduled anyone else in the space and rebook that. Then we need to split up the guest list and call everyone personally to let them know the wedding is still on. We can reorder the flowers and reschedule all the vendors. I’ll start making those calls this afternoon. The gowns might be a problem but if push comes to shove, we’ll just have to pick something off the rack.”

  Camryn interrupted. “I don’t want something off the rack! I ordered a Monique Lhuillier gown and that’s the gown I want,” she snapped.

  “Really, Camryn?” Darryl snapped back. “I thought you just wanted to be married. What does it matter what you wear?”

  Camryn jumped to her feet. “It matters to me,” she stated, tears misting her eyes. Shaking her head, Camryn stormed out of the room. By the time Darryl caught up with her, she was getting into her car.

  “Camryn, where are you going? We need to figure this out.”

  “You figure it out,” she said. “I’m done.”

  “What do you mean you’re done?”

  “I mean I’m tired, Darryl. I’m tired of Asia Landry making our lives hell and you ignoring it like she’s too fragile to deal with the consequences. She did this. You know she did this and you want to fuss me out for not making a damn phone call? Well, guess what? Now I’m not making any phone calls.”

  “I’m not ignoring it, Camryn, but what do you want me to do?”

  “I want you to get mad. I want you to blame Asia. I want you to make her accountable for her actions and I want you to stop thinking that I should just let Asia slide just because you say you don’t care about her anymore. I’m not letting her slide and you’re just too damn passive about everything that woman does.”

  “What are you going to do, Camryn?”

  “I would like to beat her down, that’s what I would like to do. And if I run into her, I might just do that.”

  “You should be focusing all that energy into recovering our wedding.”

  “I’m not interested in doing that right now.”

  “So what are you saying? You don’t want to get married?”

  Camryn shook her head. “I am saying that right now, at this very minute, I’m angry and I don’t want to deal with this.”

  Darryl nodded slowly. “So that’s it?”

  She shrugged. “Yes. I’m tired, Darryl, and I don’t have anything to give you right now.” She slid into the driver’s seat of the vehicle and started the engine.

  Taking a deep breath, Darryl closed the car door. He blew a heavy sigh. As Camryn backed out of the driveway, he turned and headed back inside the house. Neither one bothered to look back at the other.

  * * *

  Maitlyn was shaking her head at him. Even Kendrick’s expression was telling. Mason said out loud what they were all thinking.

  “Little brother, I’m no relationship expert but I’m thinking you really didn’t handle this situation well.”

  Darryl tossed up his hands in frustration. “What was I supposed to do?”

  “Not blame your fiancée, for starters,” Kamaya interjected.

  Maitlyn added her two cents. “Darryl, you’re just like Mason. You both are forgiving to a fault. And just so docile about everything.”

  “Docile?”

  “You never, ever react when things happen. Camryn needed you to react to what Asia has done to you two. Instead, you give her grief like she did something wrong.”

  Kamaya was nodding her head. “Personally, if I were Camryn, I would never speak to you again. And I definitely wouldn’t marry your behind.”

  Darryl cut a narrowed eye at his sist
er. Kendrick shrugged his shoulders.

  Mason shook his head from side to side. “It’s not that bad, Darryl. She’s angry right now but it won’t last. Your woman has a lot of spirit and she doesn’t take things lightly. You are just like me. And like Senior. We assess the pros and cons of everything and we respond based on what’s best for the situation. Women are more excitable. Between their emotions and their hormones, they react first and think about everything afterward.”

  “It has nothing to do with our hormones!” Maitlyn chimed.

  Mason and Kendrick laughed. Kamaya scowled.

  Darryl sighed deeply, his head waving from side to side. He met his sister’s critical stare. “Maitlyn, can you salvage my wedding?”

  “Do you have a bride?” she asked sarcastically.

  “I’ll make things right with Camryn.”

  Maitlyn paused, meeting his pleading gaze. “Then I’ll help with the rest.”

  “We all will,” Kamaya added, their brothers nodding in agreement.

  Darryl smiled ever so slightly. “What about her gown? She has to have that gown.”

  Maitlyn nodded. “I’ll make some calls. You will probably be paying a premium on such short notice but it’s not impossible.”

  “Whatever it costs,” Darryl professed. “Just please, make it happen.”

  * * *

  Camryn had lost count of the number of times Darryl had called her cell phone. Each call had gone directly to her voice mail, with him leaving a message that he was sorry, he loved her and he needed to speak with her. She wasn’t, however, in the mood for conversation. She was still angry, furious with the entire situation. She was also frustrated that she was feeling so out of control. And hurt. Darryl’s ambivalence had actually hurt her feelings.

  She sighed heavily as she popped the lid on her plastic container and reached for one of the pecan praline candies inside. Since that first batch, Darryl had kept her in pecan praline candy. She’d been fascinated the first time she’d watched him cook a pan of the sweet confection. She had teased him repeatedly about faking it, passing off someone else’s cooking as his own. To prove her wrong he had steered her into the kitchen, settling her comfortably at the oversize counter to watch him in action.