Читать книгу The Tycoon Takes a Wife / His Royal Prize - Catherine Mann, Katherine Garbera - Страница 13

Jonah told the driver to wait, then pivoted toward Eloisa as she raced toward her town house. Hopefully he would be sending the driver on his way soon, because quite frankly, he didn’t trust Eloisa not to bolt the second he left.

Not that it was any great hardship to be with her. God, he could watch her walk all night long, the gentle sway of her hips and the swish of her ponytail illuminated by the street lamp.

He didn’t expect to get any further than talking tonight. He needed to take his time with her now in a way he hadn’t back in Spain.

Problem was? He could only afford to take these next two weeks off, then he needed to get back to work on his next restoration project. Working on architectural designs around the world fed his wanderer’s spirit.

Next stop? Peru in two weeks.

And if he hadn’t finished business with Eloisa by then? Could he just walk away?

He refused to consider failure. They would go to bed together again. And they would exorcise the mess from last year.

Hands stuffed in his pockets, he followed Eloisa along the walkway. Waves rolled and roared in the distance, the shore three streets away. She lived in a stucco town house, the fourth in the row. New, they’d been built to resemble older, turn-of-the-century construction. Each unit was painted a different beachy color—peach, blue, green and yellow.

She marched toward the yellow home, calling back over her shoulder.”Thank you for seeing me safely to my front stoop, but you’re free to leave now.”

“Not so fast, my dear wife.” He stopped alongside Eloisa at her lime-green door. Keys dangled from between her fingers but he didn’t take them from her. He wanted her to ask him inside of her own free will, no coercion. But that didn’t exclude persuasion.

She faced him with a sigh.”You managed a whole year without speaking to me. I’m sure you’ll do just fine without me for another night.”

“Eloisa, just because I didn’t contact you doesn’t mean I stopped thinking about you.” That was sure as hell the truth.”We left a lot unsaid. Is it so wrong for me to want these next couple of weeks to clear the air before we say goodbye?”

Eloisa studied her clunky key chain, a conglomeration of whistles, a lanyard from some children’s festival and a metal touristy-looking token.”Why a couple of weeks?”

Damn. It wouldn’t be that persuasive to say that was all the time he had available to pencil her into his work schedule. His brother Sebastian’s marriage had fallen apart because of his insane hours at his law practice.

“That’s how long my attorney says it will take to get the ball rolling.” He’d asked for Sebastian’s help this time, as he should have done a year ago.”You can’t blame me for wondering if you will disappear again.”

Sure the morning after their spur of the moment wedding, they’d both agreed it was a mistake. Okay, they’d both agreed after she’d slapped him. Then she’d gasped in horror and yanked on her clothes as she’d stumbled toward the door. He’d expected once she cooled down, they would at least talk about things, maybe take a step back—a few steps back.

Except once she’d left his place in Spain, she’d ignored any further communication other than mailing the paperwork his way. So actually, the crummy paperwork was her fault.

And his. He couldn’t deny it. He shouldn’t have been so damn proud he didn’t show his lawyer brother Sebastian.

Jonah tugged the dangling keys from her loose grip, sifting the bulk in his hands. The touristy token caught his attention. He looked closer and found … an ironwork reproduction of the house he’d worked on restoring the previous summer. Interesting. Encouraging.”Nice key chain.”

“I keep it as a reminder of the risks of impulsiveness.” She tugged her keys back, gripping them so tightly her fingers turned bloodlessly white.

“Risks?” Anger kicked around in his gut. She was the one who’d walked out, after all. Not him.”Seems like you walked away mighty damn easily. If it wasn’t for this inconvenient legal snafu—” not to mention her lies”—you would have gotten away scot-free.”

“Scot-free?” Her face went pale in the moonlight.”You can’t possibly think this didn’t affect me. You have no idea how deeply I’ve wrestled with what we did, the mistake we made.”

Confusion dulled the edge of his anger. She’d left. She’d never called. Why the hell had she been hiding out if their time together stayed with her this heavily?

“Well, Eloisa? What do you say we make every effort possible to put this to rest once and for all? For the next couple of weeks, you can just call me roomie.”

She gasped.”You can’t really expect to bunk at my place?”

“Of course not.” Jonah focused on the little piece of memorabilia on her key chain, a sign that she’d remembered and even cared. He let her relax for a second before retorting,”I could phone the chauffeur and we could be taken to my beachside suite.”

Shaking her head, she slid the key into the lock.”You’re outrageous.”

He clapped a hand over his chest with a half smile.”That hurt. I prefer to think I’m being considerate to my wife’s needs.”

“I’m just dying to hear how you reached that conclusion.” Shaking her head, she pushed her front door open and stepped inside without giving him the boot.

He took that as an invitation and followed. Victory pulsing inside him, he checked out the space she called home for clues about her. The more he knew the better his chances. He wouldn’t make the same mistake again of letting her keep him in the dark.

The living area was airy and open with high ceilings in keeping with the historic-reproduction feel. Her tastes ran to uncluttered, clean lines with a beach theme—white walls, wood floors and rattan furniture with cushions in a muted blue, tan and chocolate. And of course books—in end tables, shelves, curio cabinets. She’d always carried books in her purse in Spain, reading during breaks.

Her reed roll-up shades covered the windows from outdoor eyes. Only the French doors gave a glimpse to a garden patio with an Adirondack chair and ferns. Did she lounge there and read? Soak up the sun?

What he wouldn’t give to take her to his penthouse suite with a rooftop pool and deck where they both could do away with restrictive bathing suits.

He slid his jacket off and hooked it on the coatrack made from a canoe paddle.”Nice place.”

“I’m sure it’s not near the luxury level you’re used to, but I like it.”

“It’s lovely and you know it. Don’t paint me as a bad guy here just to make it easier to dismiss me.”

She glanced back over her shoulder, her purse sliding from her shoulder onto the island counter separating the kitchen from the living space. She tossed her keys beside the bag, the cluster jangling to rest.”Fair enough.”

He’d spent more than a few nights in tents or trailers during the early, intense stages of a restoration project, but he didn’t intend to make excuses to her.”Would you like more luxury in your life?”

His brothers showered their wives with pampering extras and while his sisters-in-law vowed they didn’t need them, he’d noticed they always used those spa gifts.

He thumbed a thick silver binder with an engagement photo of Audrey Taylor and her fiancé.”You said earlier you’re swamped with wedding plans.” He tapped the three-ring binder.”If we stay at my suite, you won’t have to cook or clean. You can indulge in the spa. A massage would take care of your stress at the end of the day. You and your sister and all the bridesmaids could avail yourselves of the salon the day of the wedding, my gift to the bride, of course.”

She slid out of her gold strappy heels and lined them up side by side on the floor mat by the patio door.”You can’t buy me off any more than my father could.”

He took his cue from her and toed off his python loafers, nudging them near the coatrack. How much further could they take this undressing together?”I was brought up to believe it’s not what a gift costs, it’s whether or not the gift is thoughtful. Needed.”

“That’s nice.” She relaxed a hip against a barstool.

“Then pack your bag and let’s go to my penthouse.”

She stiffened again.”I’m not leaving.”

“Then I guess I’m bunking on your sofa.” He stifled a wince at spending the night on the couch at least six inches too short.

“You can’t tell me you actually wanted me to stay together?” Her eyes went wider with shock.”Every woman on that site in Madrid knew what a playboy you are.”

”Were. I’m a married man now.” He still had his ring and hers in a jeweler’s box in his suite. He wasn’t sure why he’d brought them.

She shook her head slowly with a weary sigh.”I’m too tired for this tonight, Jonah. Go back to your hotel. We’ll talk tomorrow when we’ve both had a good night’s sleep.”

“Honestly? I don’t trust you.”

“Excuse me?” she gasped in outrage.

Then something else shadowed through her eyes. Guilt?

“You didn’t tell me about your father, a pretty major part of your past. You may have done a damn fine job hiding the truth over the years. But when my divorce attorney compared the information you filed on our marriage license at the church registry with your passport information, he found a red flag in the slightly different way you listed your name and your parents. He dug deeper and found your birth certificate. The original one, not the one reissued when Harry Taylor adopted you.” The shock he’d felt upon discovering the whole mess roared back to life inside him.”With a little help from a private detective, the rest of the pieces fell into place about your real father. I’m surprised you got away with it for this long.”

“You had no right to send private detectives snooping into my private business.”

Her words stoked his barely banked anger.”I’m your husband. I think that gives me a little latitude here. For God’s sake, Eloisa, what if I’d gotten married again, thinking we were divorced?”

“Are you seeing someone else?” Wow, she sure had that prim librarian gig down pat. She could have stared down an armed gang.

“Hell no, I’m not seeing anyone else.” He couldn’t keep himself from comparing other women to her and they all came up short.”Bottom line? Like I said, I don’t trust you. You ran once before. I intend to stick close until we have this settled.”

She pointed to the binder.”I have my sister’s wedding. I’m not going anywhere.”

“There are a lot of ways to lock a person out of your life.” He’d seen his brother Sebastian and his wife put a massive chasm between each other while living in the same town.

“You can’t really expect to stay here, in my town house.”

He would have preferred they stay in his suite where he could have wooed her with all the resort offered, but sleeping under the same roof would suffice.

Jonah picked up her keys from the island and held them up so the Spanish charm caught the light.”We both have a lot of unresolved business to settle in two weeks. We should make the most of every minute.”

She stared at the keys in his hand for so long he wondered if she was halfway hypnotized.

Finally, Eloisa pressed her fingers to her forehead.”Fine. I’m too tired to argue with you. You can stay, but—” she held up a finger, the stern glint in her eyes relaying loud and clear she was done compromising for the night”—you’ll be sleeping on the sofa.”

All the same he couldn’t resist teasing her, suddenly needing to see if her smile was as blinding as he remembered.”No welcome-home nookie?”

She frowned.”Don’t push your luck.”

”A guy can still hope.” He turned on a lamp, his gaze dropping to the glass paperweight sealing off a dried rose and seashell. He scooped it up, tossed it, caught it, tossed, caught …

“Could you put that down, please?” she snapped with an edge to her voice he hadn’t heard since the morning she’d left.

He looked back at the paperweight in his hand. Was it something sentimental? A gift from another guy perhaps? He didn’t like the swift kick of jealousy, but damn it all, she was his wife, for now at least.”Should I be worried about a boyfriend showing up to kick my ass?”

“Let’s talk about you instead. What have you been up to over the past year, thinking you were a bachelor?”

“Jealous?” God knows he was because she hadn’t answered his question. Except if there had been another guy, surely he would have been at the party with her tonight.

His conclusion wasn’t proof positive, but he took comfort in it all the same.

She snatched the paperweight from his hand.”I am tired, not jealous.”

Did he want her to be? No. He wanted honesty. So he settled for the same from himself.”I’ve spent the past twelve months pining for my ex-wife.”

As much as he’d meant to be a sarcastic joke, it hadn’t come out of his mouth the way he’d planned.

Confusion flickered through her dark eyes.”The way you say that, I can almost believe you. Of course I know better.”

“I thought you said we barely knew each other. We only spent a month together. And we spent most of the time in bed.” He sat on the sofa, stretching his arm along the back.”Let’s talk now.”

“You first.” She perched on the edge of the chair beside the sofa.

“You already know plenty about me. My family’s in the news and what you don’t see there you can find on Wikipedia.” He watched her chest rise and fall faster with nerves, lending further credence to his sense she disliked anything high profile.

“None of that information tells me anything reliable about who you are.” She counted on her fingers.”I remember you were always on time for work. You never talked on your cell phone when you spoke with the foreman on the site. I liked that you gave people your full attention. I remember you downplayed the Landis connection so well I didn’t even know you were related until three weeks into the job.” She folded her fingers down again.”But Jonah, that’s not enough reason to get married. Even with the divorce, we have a history now. We should know more about each other than our work habits.”

“I know you like two sugars in your coffee,” he offered with a half smile.

This didn’t seem the right time to mention he knew her heart beat faster when he blew along the inside curve of her neck. The sex part would have to wait.

Talking appeared to be the only way to get closer to her, so he would talk.”You want to know more about me? Okay. My brother Kyle got married recently.”

“You mentioned that already when you talked about their vows renewal.”

“They went to Portugal, which is how I ended up in Spain again.” Nostalgia had pulled him over there, the hope that if he revisited the places he’d been with Eloisa he could close the door on that chapter of his life.”The press doesn’t know the reason they renewed their vows so soon after saying them in the first place. They got married to safeguard custody of my niece, my brother Kyle’s daughter. Her biological mom dumped her on Phoebe, then disappeared.” Anger chewed his gut all over again when he thought of how close his niece Nina had come to landing in foster care.”The whole mess really rocked our family. Thank God little Nina is safe.”

“You love your niece?” she asked, her face inscrutable.

“Gotta confess, I’m a sucker for kids. I take pride in being the favorite uncle. Want to see pictures of the rug rats?”

“You carry family pictures?” she squeaked incredulously.

“Got a whole album on my iPhone.” He unclipped the device from his belt and tapped the screen until pictures filled the display. He leaned closer to her.”My brother Sebastian and his wife remarried after divorcing each other. They have a son.”

He brought up an image of his toddler nephew taking his first steps. Then clicked to an infant girl.”That’s Sebastian and Marianna’s daughter. They adopted her then her birth mother changed her mind.”

He swallowed down a lump in his throat and kept his eyes averted until he could speak again.”Here’s my brother Matthew—”

“The senator from South Carolina.”

“Yes. This is him with his wife and their daughter at the beach.” He shuffled to the next photo.”And this is a family portrait taken in Portugal. There’s Mom with her husband, the General, his three kids with their spouses and children.”

“Your family is huge.”

Her family wasn’t so small either, when taking into account her biological father and his three sons, but mentioning that didn’t seem prudent.”Christmas can be rather noisy when we all get together at the family compound in Hilton Head.”

“It’s amazing you can gather everyone for any event with all the high-profile commitments.”

“We make time for what’s important.” Would she see and understand that his family was about things more important than a press release or bank balance?

She leaned back in her chair, crossing her arms defensively.”Your brothers are happily married, which means your mother is probably riding your back to produce a happily-ever-after of your own with a wife and make chubby-cheeked cherubs, so you dig up me.”

Not even close to what he’d intended. He placed his phone on the end table by the glass paperweight.”That’s one helluva scenario to draw from a simple update on my brothers.”

“You’re not denying it.”

He was losing ground here and he wasn’t even sure why.”My mother may be a strong-willed politician in her own right, but I’m also very much her son, strong will and all. No one coerces me into anything.”

“Unless that influence comes from the bottom of a bottle.”

“I wasn’t drunk the night we got married.” He’d only had two of the local beers.”That was you.”

”Are you saying you actually wanted to be married to me?”

“I thought so at the time.”

Her mouth fell open, her eyes wide with horror.”You were in love with me?”

“The magnitude of your horror is positively ego deflating.”

She shoved up to her feet.”You’re playing with me.” She walked across the room and opened a closet full of linens.”I don’t appreciate your making fun of me.”

The way she so easily dismissed what had happened between them a year ago really pissed him off. Okay, so their wedding had been an impulsive mistake. His brothers had been getting married. He’d had this idea that what he felt around Eloisa resembled what his brothers described about finding”the one.” He may have been wrong about that. She may have had a couple of drinks, but she’d been clear about how much she wanted him, too, how much she’d needed him.

Need wasn’t love. But they had felt something for each other, something strong and undeniable.

“I would never mock you.” Frustration sliced through him with a razor-sharp edge.”There are far more interesting things I would like to do with you tonight. Let’s back up to the part about sex.”

She laughed.”At no time were we talking about sex.”

“You mentioned making cherubs.” Yeah, they were engaging in good old-fashioned bantering but damn, he found it arousing and a fine way to take the edge off his anger.”I’m sorry if your mother never got around to giving you the talk, but sex makes babies.”

Her face closed up again.”You’re not half as funny as you think you are.”

“I’m halfway funny? Cool.”

She dumped an armful of linens into his lap.”Make up your own bed on the sofa. I’m done here.”

He watched her grab her purse before pounding up the steps to her bedroom, and he couldn’t even rejoice over the fact she’d let him stay. Her door clicked shut behind her, the sound of a lock snicking a second later.

Somewhere along the line he’d misstepped. And he didn’t have a clue what he’d done wrong now any more than before.

Upstairs in her room, Eloisa sunk to the edge of her bed, sliding down to the floor. She clutched her knees, tears making fast tracks down her face.

Seeing Jonah touch that glass paperweight had almost driven her to her knees earlier. After she’d lost the baby four months into her pregnancy, she’d had a private memorial service all her own for her child. She’d taken a tiny nosegay of white rosebuds to the beach and let waves carry them away as she’d prayed.

She’d kept one rose for herself. The bloom had dried far faster than her tears. Then she’d had the bud encased in glass along with a couple of tiny shells and some sand from that stretch of shoreline.

Jonah obviously loved children, evident not just from his words but from the way his eyes had gone soft over that family photo album. Each beautiful baby’s face had torn a fresh hole in heart, tormenting her with what her child—hers and Jonah’s—might have looked like.

The doctors had told her it was just one of those things. There was no reason why she couldn’t have more children, but she couldn’t see any way clear to having forever with any man, much less starting a family.

Between fears about threats from her father’s enemies to even deeper fears about living out her mother’s legacy … Eloisa swiped her eyes with her forearm.

God, she was mess.

What would Jonah say if he learned she’d kept the pregnancy a secret from him?

She still didn’t understand why she’d delayed contacting him about the baby. She’d told herself she would let him know before their child was born. When she’d miscarried and her emotions had been such a turmoil of grief, contacting him seemed an overwhelming hurdle.

Every day that passed, it seemed easier to stay quiet. Telling him now wouldn’t serve any purpose.

Her cell phone chimed from inside her purse, startling her midsob. She definitely didn’t feel like speaking to anyone this late. Thank goodness the chimes indicated a text message.

She fished out her phone. Her sister’s name scrolled across the screen. Eloisa thumbed View.

R U home? Worried about u.

Eloisa clutched the phone. She’d never shared her burdens with anyone before. The secrets were too big, too deep. Unburdening herself would be selfish. She stifled back the crazy notion of what it might feel like to spill her guts to her sibling.

Eloisa typed out, Am home and ok. No worries.

She sent the message and pushed to her feet. She needed to splash water on her eyes and go to sleep. Would that be possible with Jonah downstairs on the sofa?

Her phone chimed in her hand. Audrey again.

What about tycoon hunk? Is he there?

She set the cell on the bathroom counter next to the sink. Her fingers hovered over the keypad. What should she tell her sister?

He was most definitely bothering her by his mere presence so much more than she could have even expected. But if she wanted time to figure out what to do about him, her father, her biology, she needed to play along with his bizarre game a while longer.

Beyond that? What did she want?

Eloisa looked at herself in a mirror framed with seashells and sand dollars. She picked at a strand of hair that had slipped loose from her severe ponytail, her face devoid of makeup. But her cheeks were flushed in a way they’d never been before—except for that too-short month in Spain.

The truth settled inside her with a resounding thud. She couldn’t be the sort of person who would walk into that living room, whip the covers off Jonah and say to hell with the consequences, she was making the most of her marital status. She’d gone that route before and it only led to their current mess.

A tempting alternative tickled at her brain. What if she did sleep with him again, but the next time was more about fun, with no ring? She’d let things get too serious before. That had obviously been a mistake on so many levels.

Could she forget the past and have an affair with her ex-husband?