Journey's End (Gilded Promises) by Renee Ryan

Author:Renee Ryan [Ryan, Renee]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781503950528
Published: 2016-07-01T05:00:00+00:00

Chapter Seventeen

Richard St. James kept offices on Forty-Second Street. Caroline already knew the location from her extensive research. She’d strolled down this street at least a dozen times, from both directions, but she’d never been bold enough to enter the building itself.

Her reticence had been based on wisdom and, maybe, a dose of age-old fear.

This afternoon was different, her qualms more manageable. Fortified from her visit with Mary and her determination to see her friend’s situation improved, Caroline refused to feel anxious. Shoulders square, eyes looking straight ahead, she pushed through the gold-plated doors with quiet confidence.

Her grandfather’s office was on the top floor and required Caroline to take an elevator. Before coming to America, she’d never been inside one of the iron cages. She discovered she rather liked them. There was something exciting about giving the attendant her destination and then arriving there within minutes, no exertion required on her part.

Smiling at the fanciful thought, she exited the contraption, turned to her right, and came face-to-face with Jackson Montgomery. Well, of course.

In the thundering silence, air whooshed out of her lungs, her heartbeat picked up speed, her shoulders tensed. She sighed. “You just keep turning up at all the wrong places.”

“It’s one of my talents.” He gave her a blinding smile, the gesture unraveling all sorts of unwanted emotions inside her. “You look very—”

“Presentable?”

“I was going to say appealing.” He dropped his gaze over her, and his brows drew together in confusion. “That color suits you.”

“I . . .” What was she supposed to say to that? “Thank you.”

With Sally’s guidance, Caroline had chosen a dress that would present a picture of respectability and understated style. Against Sally’s advice, she’d left her hair falling in gentle waves down her back. She hadn’t wanted to be poked and prodded for nearly an hour just so her natural curls could be tamed in the latest fashion.

“You never cease to surprise me.” Still smiling, Montgomery took her hand and drew her down a short hallway.

“Where are you taking me?”

He stopped in front of an official-looking, stately door. “To your grandfather, of course.”

“Will you be attending our meeting, then?” She hoped not. She lost track of her senses whenever he was near. Every. Single. Time.

“Sadly, no. I have some important reading still to do this afternoon.” He rubbed his thumb over her knuckles, fitting their palms tightly together.

When he continued to hold her hand, she was ever so grateful for the gloves she wore. The thin layer acted as an adequate barrier.

Then why was her pulse racing? And why wasn’t she tugging her hand free?

A heartbeat passed, and she realized it was happening again. She was falling into the same trance she did every time their hands touched. She stared into the man’s engaging eyes, the dark lashes a brilliant contrast to the blue, blue depths holding her captive.

A masculine clearing of a throat had her yanking her hand free at last. She swallowed back a gasp, even as heat rushed to her cheeks.

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