An ugly sneer crossed the elder Harrington’s lips. “Fine, we can drop the subject. If she is the little gold digger I think she is, then the truth will come out in due time. And I will be the first to say I told you so.”
“That’s it. Come on, Tonya. Grandfather needs to spend some time thinking about what kind of role he wants to play in our lives and the life of his great-grandchild. You can let us know when you are ready to treat my wife with the respect she deserves and not question her motives or mine.” Carlton shot his grandfather an angry glare and motioned for her to follow him.
Latonya wondered if things would ever get better. No amount of dressing up seemed to help with the old man. Even when she wore her fine clothes and jewels, he still looked at her as if she were trash. The beautiful red silk suit suddenly didn’t feel so lovely.
The elder Harrington stared after Carlton and his gold-digging trollop of a wife. He never expected Carlton to be so disrespectful and treat him so badly over a piece of tail. History is repeating itself all over again, he thought bitterly. He couldn’t stand still and let it happen this time. He would not lose another person he cared for because some poor piece of trash decided to set her snares on him.
The elder Harrington loved his grandson more than anything. Carlton was all he had left of his beloved son, and he would be damned if he would stand by and let that American slut come between them. Or worse, do anything to make him lose his grandson for good.
He walked over to the window. As he watched them get into the helicopter, he could feel the blood boiling in his veins. Carlton had chosen the girl over family, over blood. Not good. That meant his feelings for the woman were strong.
When Harrington men fell in love they fell quick and hard. It wouldn’t have been so bad if all women were like his Marissa. God rest her soul. But they weren’t. For some reason, his son and grandson had chosen gold-digging whores who destroyed everything and everyone they touched.
If Carlton was truly in love with the little American, then the elder Harrington would have to tread carefully, bide his time. He was certain of one thing however: the girl had to go.
The elder Harrington walked away from the window and into his study. He’d already started to quietly spread the word about her upbringing around their inner circle of friends in the Bahamas to make the girl feel anything but welcomed. He’d have to make a few more calls. He had to up the stakes and run her out of the Bahamas while it was still early. Once his grandson saw that the girl couldn’t even make enough of a sacrifice to get used to their island, he’d hopefully let her go. And if the child she carried happened to really be a Harrington, they’d just take the child from her. A woman had destroyed his family once. He would not let it happen again.
When they were in the helicopter headed to their penthouse in Nassau, Latonya gazed at the beautiful blue waters below. She swore she could see clear down to the bottom. The Bahamas were breathtaking and she marveled at the white sand beaches and lush green trees underneath. She only wished the tranquil scenery had the calming effect she’d hoped for.
Carlton wrapped her in his strong arms and she felt the calm she yearned. “I’m sorry you had to listen to that, baby. Grandfather was out of line. I married you. He has to deal with that,” he said, turning her in his arms. He brushed his lips across her forehead. “Things will work out. He’ll come around eventually. But until he does, we will keep our distance. I won’t have him upsetting you, especially not in your condition.”
She had no idea how to tell him that it wasn’t just the elder Harrington. It was hard for her to fit into his world and she didn’t think it was going to get any easier.
When she put on the pretty frocks and jewels, she felt like a fairy princess. She saw herself in his eyes and she never felt more beautiful. Then the ball would drop and either his grandfather or someone else would come along and let her know she really didn’t belong.
I should have ran and hollered fire, as her grandmother was fond of saying whenever a person encountered someone—usually the opposite sex—who was just a little too much to handle.
“I don’t think it would be enough, Carlton. That man is never going to accept me. And I just don’t fit in.”
“He will eventually. I know how to handle Grandfather. One, he has to see that I won’t tolerate his disrespect of you, or he’ll lose all my respect. Two, there is no way he is going to let a Harrington heir come into this world without having some input and playing a major part in his or her life. So he’ll come around. Now he knows what’s at stake. He’ll weigh the cost and see that it’s easier to treat you with respect than to live the rest of his days without his flesh and blood in his life.”
Exhaling a shaky breath, she replied, “I don’t think that will happen. But you know the man better than I do.”
“I do and I trust that he will see the light.” Carlton gave her a reassuring squeeze and she rested her head on his shoulder.
When they finally landed on the helicopter pad that sat on the roof of their penthouse, he turned and stared at her.
Refusing to look at him, even though she could feel his eyes piercing into her, she moved to leave. He reached out and touched her arm.
“I know this is not the exact way you wanted things to go. But the fact is we have a chance to build something really good together. If we’re going to build it on our own terms we can’t be overly concerned with what other people, and that includes what family—both yours and mine—have to say about our union.”
He sounded very convincing, and she turned to face him. He let his arm slide to her growing hint of a stomach.
“I think we have one important reason to at least give it the best try we both can offer.” A sweet smile crossed his lips and her heart fluttered.
Thinking of the baby she carried had a strange way of putting things in perspective. A warm feeling overcame her. Carlton was right. They were married and blessedly expecting their first child. She owed it to their family to fight anyone who tried to come between them. “Okay, but this is hard, Carlton.”
“Things will be fine. Next month we’ll celebrate our first Christmas together. Then our first New Year’s. And you’ll get to experience the Bahamian tradition of junkanoo, and the Junkanoo Ball. I promise it’ll get better.” He hugged her, helped her out of the helicopter and led her toward the door to their penthouse.
She hoped that would be the case.
Chapter 10
“You look stunning.”
Latonya turned to find Carlton watching her in the doorway of the master bedroom. She smiled before turning back to the mirror. The jade-green evening gown she wore left her right shoulder bare and swooped low to reveal the cleavage that seemed to become fuller with each month of pregnancy.
The woman looking back at her in the mirror sported a perfectly made-up face. All her time spent with the personal stylist evidently paid off. She could now “fix” her face in record-breaking time.
At first she’d balked at the idea of having someone help her by telling her how to dress and what kind of makeup to use. But the first time she saw a picture of herself in the society pages with Carlton in the cute to-die-for dress she’d gotten off the rack, she figured she’d better get some guidance from somewhere.
Placing her hand over her small protruding belly, she smiled nervously. “I think you have to say that since you’re married to me. I don’t think that everyone else at this fancy shindig will agree that a woman five months pregnant in an evening gown is stunning.”
“Then they would have to be blind.” He took three long strides and stood right in front of her. Placing his hand on top of hers, he caressed her stomach before capturing her lips in a soul-shaking kiss. Her entire body responded to him and when he finally pulled away, she could barely shape words.
“You’re glowing, darling. You’re going to be the most beautiful woman there.” His head tilted down and she could see in his eyes that he was coming back in for the kill.
If she let him, they would never make it to what had been billed Nassau’s high-society event of the year. The upper-crust, invite-only celebration of junkanoo wouldn’t be anything like the delightful parades and carnival celebrations she’d attended earlier in the week. She’d loved the costumes, vibrant music and dancing that went on and found the celebration that originated in slavery to be delightful. It was the one chance she’d had to see and interact with everyday Bahamians, people she felt more connected to than the people that would no doubt be in attendance at the upscale Junkanoo Ball.
She could think of a million better ways to ring in the New Year and none of them had her hobnobbing with a bunch of snooty people pretending to relish their past while the real, sincere, down-home celebrations were going on among the folk outside. Because junkanoo originated in colonial times when slaves were allowed the holidays to enjoy themselves, Latonya felt that an overly expensive ball in which people stood around and pretended to have fun was simply a waste.
Taking a step back, she waved her finger. “No way. If I let you get started, we will be late and I’ll have to fix my hair and makeup all over again.”
A devilish grin crossed his face. “I promise I won’t mess up your makeup. That much. Just one more kiss for the road.”
“No. Now, get out of here so that I can repair the damage you’ve already done.”
Wrapping his arm around her waist, he pulled her close before whispering in her ear. “We aren’t staying long. We’re just making a polite appearance and then I get to bring you back home to finish what I’ve started.”
