Smiling, she removed his hand from her thigh and kissed his palm. “No, but if I told you I wasn’t wearing any underwear, we’d never get out of here.”
His pants grew unbearably tight and he hissed out a breath. “You are so in for it tonight.” He placed a gentle kiss on her cheek. “Turn around.”
“Why? Are you gonna spank me?” she teased, giggling, as she did as he asked.
“Don’t give me any ideas.” He unclasped her gold locket, pulled out the blue velvet jewelry box from his pocket, and flipped it open.
The last time he gave a girl jewelry was in the eighth grade when he’d given Tori Stevens a five-dollar ring from the drugstore. She wore it for two weeks before it turned her finger green then she broke up with him. Hopefully, Portia wouldn’t throw the necklace out the window like Tori.
“I thought you might want to wear something different than your locket for the evening.” He dropped the necklace around her neck. His hands sweaty, it took a couple tries to get it clasped. With a hand on her lower back, he steered her over to the mirror. “What do you think?”
She toyed with the sparkling jewels. “Were you worried I wouldn’t fit in without wearing diamonds?” she asked quietly.
He twirled her around. “Why would you ask that?”
“Maybe because you removed my plain gold necklace and replaced it with a diamond one?”
It killed him to see the hurt in her eyes. “You think I care about that?”
“I don’t know.” She shrugged. “You tell me you need money but you buy me a diamond necklace. You tell me you don’t care where I came from but you’re embarrassed by my simple jewelry.” She paused and took a deep breath. “You lost millions of dollars and you won’t tell me how it happened. What am I supposed to think?”
For two years, he’d carried around his secret, pissed off at everyone for assuming the worst. But she was right. When had he ever given them a reason to believe otherwise? He may have given away his money for selfish reasons, yet he couldn’t regret the end result. How many children were granted their wishes because of him? It wasn’t until he’d gotten to know Portia that he realized he hadn’t lost a damned thing. But hopefully, later tonight, when he gave her the other box, he’d gain her.
He cupped her cheek. “Portia, you’re right. It’s time for me to explain where all my money went. But not now. I promise when we get home tonight I’ll tell you everything.”
She nuzzled her cheek against his hand. “Okay.”
“By the way, as much as I wish I could give you real diamonds, those are crystal. I bought it because I wanted you to wear something that came from me, but if you’d rather wear your locket, I completely understand.”
A huge smile graced her face. “No, I love it. And when we get home tonight, I’ll show you exactly how much when I wear the necklace and nothing else.”
He groaned, the image forming in his brain. “Come on. We’d better get to the party before I rip that dress of you.”
He kept one hand on her thigh for the entire ride to the benefit, his thoughts on seeing his family. The last time he’d spent time with them was a few months ago at Uncle Alexander’s funeral. They’d acted civil, but he read the disappointment on his parents’ faces. Caught in the middle, his brothers still didn’t know what to make of the situation, so they kept their conversations to mundane topics like sports rather than anything personal.
Ryan realized it was time to rebuild his relationship with his family. Like Portia, they deserved to know the truth about how he’d spent the money. He couldn’t blame them for not knowing him because he’d never exposed his secret side to them. They knew the Ryan who planned on becoming a lawyer for the family’s businesses. That Ryan was studious, slightly shallow, and impulsive. They didn’t know the artist. Sure, they knew he took a few art classes here and there, but he’d never sat them down and explained how art wasn’t a hobby to him. It was his identity.
Portia covered his hand with hers. “Are you nervous about seeing your family?”
“Yeah.” He sighed, turning into the hotel parking lot. “I guess that sounds kind of odd. It’s not as if they beat me, or like Braden’s parents, neglected me. My parents are good people, which was why it was so hard for me to admit my mistakes. I didn’t want to disappoint them. Somehow it was easier to accept their disappointment for something I didn’t do rather than something I did.” He squeezed her hand. “You understand?”