Five

      Her birthday wasn’t for another two weeks, but Ryan knew that no celebration she could dream up or afford would top what was happening tonight. Since this was the only date she’d have with Adam, she intended to make the most of it. The champagne helped her push thoughts of possible repercussions or regrets to the back of her mind. As they ascended the stairs to enter the Jewel arena, she was aware of both admiring and envious eyes. Adam cut a suave figure as he walked next to her in a suit tailored to the perfection of his lean frame. The finely spun black wool matched his close-cropped curls, soft, she knew, because her hand had brushed across them in the elevator when she’d picked an imaginary piece of lint from his suit jacket collar, just to be able to touch them. The white shirt he’d paired it with emphasized his bronze skin and dark brown eyes. He walked with assurance and purpose, seemingly comfortable with all of the attention afforded him. For Ryan, this was a whole new world, one in which she wondered if she could ever be comfortable. Adam had called her beautiful but her dress, as much as she liked it and as pretty as it was, paled in comparison to the diamonds, beaded gowns and designer everything that surrounded her. She saw more than one woman sweep her from head to toe and decide she was hardly worthy of Adam’s attention, much less his arm. The devil on her shoulder told her they were right. She tried to ignore them by going within as Brooklyn would tell her, to summon an inner angel to counter those negative voices with the truth, that she was enough, just the way she was.

      It also helped still feelings of inadequacy by looking past judgmental faces and focusing on the elaborate entryway. It was, in a word, magnificent, and the interior, too. She thought it impossible for any space to outdo Zest but that feat had been accomplished. When it came to glitz and glam, Las Vegas was known for its gaudy, sometimes garish displays. But in this room the theme of jewels was understated and sophisticated. The ceiling twinkled with them, like stars in the sky, a 3-D effect allowing one to believe they could reach out and touch them, while in actuality they were more than thirty feet away. They reached a center aisle dividing the orchestra section from the lower tier. Adam led them down that center aisle toward a curtained entry.

      “I probably should have warned you sooner,” he said softly as they passed through the curtain and mounted a short flight of stairs. “But you’re about to meet my parents.”

      She stopped their movement. “What?”

      “They won’t bite you,” he said, and the dazzling smile he shared with her chased the initial panic away. “But just so you know, my mom’s a matchmaker who’ll try to learn your life between acts. You’re under no obligation to allow her to pry, or to answer questions, no matter how skillful her attempted extraction. Are we good?”

      “I guess so,” she responded. They continued around the corner and up another short flight. “Though had I known I was going to be meeting your family I may not have drunk that last glass of champagne.”

      “Don’t worry, Ryan Washington. Just be yourself.”

      They entered a private box to the right of the aisle. It contained ten chairs, of which six were occupied. A beautiful couple sat in the two front left chairs. They turned and smiled. At once Ryan knew they were Adam’s parents. He had his dad’s eyes and his mother’s smile. There was another couple beside them of similar age and a handsome young man behind them stamped with the Breedlove beauty that the girl beside him clearly adored. She took in this tableau within the seconds it took to cross the wide aisle and enter the booth.

      Both older men stood. “Mr. Chapman!” Adam returned the middle-aged gentleman’s hearty greeting and kissed the hand of the woman smiling at them from her seat. “Sherry, you look lovely as always.

      “Greg, Sherry, this is Ryan Washington. Ryan, the Chapmans. Greg works at CANN and both are longtime friends.”

      Ryan shook their hands. “It’s a pleasure to meet both of you. Sherry, I love your necklace.”

      “I was just going to say the same about yours. I’ve never seen a design quite like it. So...bohemian chic!”

      Ryan’s hand went to the chakra necklace she’d purchased during a visit to Taos, New Mexico. Made with crystals ranging from amethyst to yellow topaz to trapiche emeralds, the jewelry had cost a small fortune, a graduation present to herself. “It’s one of my favorite pieces.”

      “Dear, you wear it very well.”

      They continued to where the woman Ryan assumed was Adam’s mother stood with his father, a thought that was confirmed when he gave both a warm embrace.

      “About time you got here,” the man said. “The doors will lock once the show starts and this is one you don’t want to miss.”

      “We were here,” Adam responded. “Just finishing dinner at Zest.”

      Ryan noted a suddenly raised brow above the kind eyes that viewed her. “You had dinner at Zest?” she asked. She looked from Adam to Ryan. “The lovely woman on your arm must be special indeed!”

      “Ryan had never been there,” Adam answered. “Mom, Dad, this is Ryan Washington. She’s Dennis Washington’s sister. Remember the guy who used to beg for Gabe’s cinnamon rolls every time he came to the house?”

      “The young man who that one summer practically lived in our pool?” Mrs. Breedlove asked.

      “That was Dennis,” Adam responded with a laugh. “Ryan, these are two of the greatest parents in the world, my mom, Victoria, and my dad, Nicholas.”

      Victoria stepped forward and pulled Ryan into a light embrace. “It’s wonderful to meet you, Ryan. You look lovely tonight.”

      “It is my pleasure,” Ryan responded. “I’m looking forward to the show.”

      She offered a hand to Adam’s father but he brushed it away. “Handshakes are for business deals,” he said, giving her shoulders an affectionate squeeze. “Hugs are for friends of the family.”

      “It’s nice to meet you, Mr. Breedlove.”

      “Please, call me Nicholas.”

      “Okay, Nicholas. Thank you.”

      “And I’m Victoria.”

      “All right.”

      “Had I known you were bringing a guest,” Victoria said to Adam, “I would have rearranged the seating. It would have been great for your date and me to get to know each other better.”

      “Exactly what I was afraid of,” Adam retorted, which earned him a frown from Ryan, a laugh from Nicholas and a slap on his forearm from Victoria. “Looks like the show will be starting soon. We’d better take our seats.”

      After a quick introduction to one of Adam’s younger brothers, Noah, and his date, the two settled into comfortable, spacious seating where Ryan proceeded to be mesmerized by the best and most beautiful show she’d ever seen in her life. Valdemar was more than a magician; he was a creative genius who transported the audience to imaginary worlds.

      A magnificently performed trick left Adam’s eyes bright with wonder, and Ryan even more thrilled to have been invited,