Free Filthy Rich by Dawn Ryder Page B

“I seem to recall your grandmother speaking English this morning.”
    The old woman smiled so widely that her eyes ended up nothing but slits in her face. Celeste got the sneaking suspicion that Nartan had learned a lot from his grandmother.
    Nartan lifted his hands in surrender when his grandmother looked back at him. “I’m not arguing with an elder. She wants me to translate.”
    Celeste couldn’t help but smile. Okay, the guy was presumptuous, arrogant, and pushy, but he respected his grandmother.
    That made him adorable.
    Crap .
    â€œThe sun is going down. She wants you to go get Sabra and help her change into the dress.”
    A younger girl stepped up and offered Celeste a bundle. She laid it in Celeste’s arms as carefully as she would have a baby.
    â€œThat was her mother’s dress,” Nartan explained. “Made by her mother.”
    â€œWow.” Celeste remarked, adjusting her hold to make sure she wasn’t crushing the bundle.
    His grandmother nodded with approval and chattered some more. Nartan listened before translating.
    â€œShe says to tell Sabra that Tarak is her son, no matter how he came to this world, so his bride will wear the dress from her family and that the English portion of the wedding is over, so she will speak Apache now.”
    A little tingle of suspicion touched her nape as Celeste watched the way the old woman’s eyes sparkled. The younger girl was looking back and forth between Nartan and Celeste with a smile that matched her grandmother’s.
    Celeste nodded before turning and moving off toward Sabra. Nartan fell into step beside her. A quick glance to the side showed her the stiff set of his lips, but she took a second look when she noticed the flush darkening the skin of his neck.
    She choked on a laugh.
    Nartan reached out and cupped her elbow. “Don’t be a bitch,” he warned in a low tone.
    â€œWhat? And notice that your grandmother is a formidable woman? Or that you respect her?” She offered him a genuine smile. “That part won you points in my book.”
    He made a low sound under his breath. “She’s also nosy. I forgot just how little respect she has for my privacy.”
    Celeste missed a step. “Are you saying…”
    â€œThat she followed me outside…yes,” he confirmed.
    Her mouth went dry. Nartan suddenly laughed. “You blush.”
    â€œWell, it beats having no shame,” she countered.
    â€œWhich is how you see me?”
    â€œYou’re the one who wants to approach sex like a business merger.” Why was the bloody warehouse so large? She picked up her pace. “Can’t help it if your grandmother doesn’t like your lifestyle choices.”
    â€œFifty percent of marriages end in divorce.” His fingers tightened on her elbow. “You’re a lawyer. You know that.”
    They’d almost made it to the head table. Celeste stopped and sent Nartan a hard look. “That’s a crappy thing to say at your best friend’s wedding. Sounds like you have your own trust issues.”
    â€œSo stop throwing stones because I live in a glass house?” He made a low sound that resembled a growl.
    â€œWe do have some things in common,” she replied without thinking. Once again, conversation was flowing between them, feeling so natural that she didn’t have the heart to stop. “Someone taught you to distrust relationships too. So you’re a playboy and I’m a recluse, but we’re both guilty of giving in to our… What did you call them? Ghosts.”
    There was a flare of surprise in his blue eyes before she turned and moved toward Sabra. Her friend looked up and one of the catering staff moved over to pull her chair back for her. There was a rustle of silk taffeta as she moved, and the candlelight flickered on the surface of the pearl necklace fastened around her throat. Deep-sea pearls and all perfectly matched.