Читать книгу Virgin Princess, Tycoon’s Temptation / The Secret Child & The Cowboy CEO: Virgin Princess, Tycoon’s Temptation - Джанис Мейнард, Michelle Celmer - Страница 12

Garrett had just walked in the door of his town house when his cell phone rang. He looked at the display and saw that it was Louisa’s personal line. When they had exchanged numbers earlier, he hadn’t expected a call quite this soon. In fact, he’d just assumed he would be the one calling her.

It shouldn’t have surprised him that she wouldn’t let him make the next move. This so-called shy and innocent Princess seemed to have everyone snowed, because as far as he could tell, she didn’t have a shy bone in her body. As for innocence, she certainly didn’t act like an inexperienced virgin.

When he answered, she asked, “I’m not bothering you, am I?”

“Of course not.” He dropped his keys and wallet on the kitchen counter then shrugged out of his jacket and draped it over the back of a chair. “I just walked in the door.”

“I wanted to tell you again what a wonderful time I had this evening.”

“I did, too.” Things were progressing even more quickly than he’d hoped.

“I was wondering what you’re doing Sunday afternoon. I thought you might like to come over.”

He chuckled. “I suppose it’s too much to expect that I might get to ask you on a date.”

“Am I being too forward?” she asked, sounding worried.

“No, not at all. I like a woman who knows what she wants.”

“I just wanted to catch you before you made other plans.”

“If I’d made other plans, I would cancel them. And in answer to your question, I would very much like to come over. If it’s all right with your family, that is.”

“Of course it is. They love you.”

That must have meant he’d passed the initiation. Not that he ever doubted he would. It was just nice to know that he’d scaled the first major obstacle.

“I thought maybe we could have a picnic,” Louisa suggested. “Out on the bluff, overlooking the ocean.”

“Just the two of us?”

“My parents and Anne will be leaving for England, and Chris and Melissa are going sailing. Liv will probably be tied up in the lab and lately Aaron has been down there assisting her. And as long as I stay on the grounds I don’t need security at my heels, so we’ll be alone.”

He didn’t miss the suggestive lilt in her tone, and wondered what she expected they might be doing, other than picnicking that is.

“Muffin will be there, too, of course,” she added.

“Muffin?”

“My dog. You would have met him today, but he was with the groomer and then his behaviorist. He’s a Shih Tzu.”

So, Muffin was one of those small yappy dogs that Garrett found overwhelmingly annoying. He preferred real dogs, like the shepherds and border collies they kept on the farm. Intelligent dogs with a brain larger than a walnut.

“He can be a bit belligerent at times,” Louisa said, “but he’s very sweet. I know you’ll love him.”

“I’m sure I will,” he lied, and reminded himself again that this relationship would require making adjustments. It was just one more issue he could address after they were married.

The front bell rang and Garrett frowned. He wasn’t expecting anyone. Who would make a social call this late?

“Was that your door?” Louisa asked.

“Yes, but I’m not expecting anyone.”

“Could it be a lady friend perhaps?” Her tone was light, but he could hear an undercurrent of concern.

“The only woman in my life is you, Your Highness,” he assured her, and could feel her smile into the phone.

The bell rang again. Whoever it was, they were bloody well impatient.

“I won’t keep you,” she said.

“What time would you like me there Sunday?”

“Let’s say 11:00 a.m. We can make a day of it.”

“Sounds perfect,” he said, even though he’d never really been the picnicking type. He would much rather take her out to eat—preferably at the finest restaurant in town—but the heightened security was going to make dating a challenge.

They said their goodbyes and by the time Garrett made it to the door, the bell rang a third time. “I’m coming,” he grumbled under his breath. He pulled the door open, repressing a groan when he saw who was standing there.

“What, you’re not happy to see your baby brother?”

Not at all, in fact, but he did his best not to look too exasperated. “Last I heard you were working a cattle ranch in Scotland.”

Ian shrugged and said, “Got bored. Besides, I have something big in the works. A brilliant plan.”

In other words, he was let go and had formulated some new get-rich-quick scheme. One that, like all his other brilliant plans, would undoubtedly crash and burn.

“Aren’t you going to invite me in?” Ian asked with forced cheer, but the rumpled clothes, long hair and the week’s worth of beard stubble said this was anything but a friendly social call.

Letting Ian in was tantamount to inviting a vampire into the house. He had a gift for bleeding dry his host both emotionally and financially and an annoying habit of staying far past his welcome.

It was hard to believe that he was once the sweet little boy Garrett used to sit on his knee and read to, then tuck into bed at night. For the first eight years of Ian’s life, he was Garrett’s shadow.

“Mum and Dad turn you away?” Garrett asked, and he could see by Ian’s expression that they had. Not that Garrett blamed them.

The cheery facade fell and Ian faced him with pleading eyes, looking tired and defeated. “Please, Garrett. I spent my last dime on a boat to the island and I haven’t had a proper meal in days.”

Or a shower, guessing by the stench, and it was more likely that he’d conned his way to the island than paid a penny for passage. But he looked so damned pathetic standing there. Despite everything, Ian was still his brother. His family. The only family who would bother to give him the time of day.

Knowing he would probably regret it later, Garrett moved aside so his brother could step into the foyer. The cool evening air that followed him inside sent a chill down Garrett’s back and when Ian dropped his duffel on the floor, a plume of dust left a dirty ring on the Italian ceramic tile. He would consider it a bad omen if he believed in that sort of thing.

“Spacious,” Ian said, gazing around the foyer and up the wide staircase to the second floor. “You’ve done well for yourself.”

“Don’t touch anything.” Things had a mysterious habit of finding their way into Ian’s pockets and disappearing forever. “And take off your boots. I don’t want you trailing mud on my floors.”

“Could I trouble you for a shower?” Ian asked as he kicked off his boots, revealing socks so filthy and full of holes they barely covered his feet.

“You can use the one in the spare bedroom.” It was the room that possessed the least valuable items. “Up the stairs, first door on the right. I’ll fix something to eat.”

Ian nodded, grabbed his duffel and headed up the stairs. Garrett considered wiping up the dust on the floor, but there would probably be more where that came from, so he decided to take care of it in the morning after Ian was gone. He walked to the kitchen instead and put a kettle on for tea, then rummaged through the icebox to see what leftovers his housekeeper had stashed there. He found a glass dish with a generous portion of pot roast, baked red skin potatoes and buttered baby carrots from last night’s dinner.

He reached for a plate then figured, why dirty another dish, and set the whole thing in the microwave.

While he waited for it to heat, he noticed his wallet lying on the counter and out of habit slipped it into his pants pocket. He wasn’t worried about the cash so much as his credit and ATM cards. The last time Ian had stayed with their brother Victor, he’d run off with his Mastercard and charged several thousand pounds’ worth of purchases before Vic even realized the card was missing. Electronic equipment mostly, which Garrett figured Ian had probably sold for cash.

Garrett wasn’t taking any chances. After a shower and a meal and a good night’s sleep, he would loan Ian a few hundred pounds—that he knew would never be repaid—and send him on his merry way. With any luck, he wouldn’t darken Garrett’s doorway again for a very long time.

Ian emerged a few minutes later, freshly shaven, his hair still damp, wearing rumpled but clean clothes. “Best shower I ever had,” he told Garrett.

“I made you tea.”

He saw the cup and scowled. “I don’t suppose you have anything stronger.”

Garrett shrugged and said, “Sorry.” Unless he wanted his liquor cabinet cleaned out, Garrett was keeping it securely locked for the duration of his brother’s visit. Besides, Ian probably had a bottle or two stashed in his duffel. Given the choice between a meal and a bottle of cheap whiskey, the alcohol always won.

“Well, then, tea it is,” Ian conceded, as though he had a choice. “You just get in from work?”

“Why do you ask?”

“Came by earlier, but you weren’t here. I waited for you in the park across the road.”

It was a wonder he wasn’t arrested for loitering. The authorities in this neighborhood had no tolerance for riffraff. “I wasn’t working.”

“Got a lady friend then, do you? Anyone I know?”

Garrett nearly chuckled at the thought of Ian socializing with the royal family. “No one you know.”

The microwave beeped and Garrett pulled out the dish.

Knowing Garrett couldn’t cook worth a damn, Ian eyed the food suspiciously. “You made that?”

“Don’t worry, my housekeeper prepared it.”

“In that case, slide it this way,” Ian said, rubbing his work-roughened hands together in anticipation. Garrett watched as he shoveled a forkful into his mouth, eating right there at the kitchen counter, standing up.

“Delicious,” he mumbled through a mouthful of beef and potatoes. He followed it with a swallow of tea. He wolfed down the food with an embarrassing lack of regard for the most basic table manners. Their mum would have been horrified. They may have lived like paupers but his mum had always insisted they carry themselves with dignity.

“So,” Garrett asked, “why did you get fired this time?”

“Who says I was fired?” Ian asked indignantly.

“Please don’t insult my intelligence.”

He relented and answered, “The owner of the ranch caught me in the hay barn with his youngest daughter.”

“How young?”

“Seventeen.”

Garrett was about to say that a twenty-eight-year-old man had no business chasing a girl more than ten years his junior, but that was almost exactly the age difference between himself and Louisa. But that was different. Louisa was an adult—even if her family didn’t treat her like one. Not to mention that Garrett intended to marry her, while he was quite sure his brother was only using the young girl in question.

“Don’t give me that look of disapproval,” Ian countered. “It wasn’t my fault. She seduced me.”

Of course. Nothing was ever his fault. Someone else was always to blame for his irresponsibility. “Did you ever consider telling her no?”

“If you’d seen her, you wouldn’t have told her no, either.”

Unlike his brother, Garrett wasn’t a slave to his hormones. He had principles. He didn’t take advantage of women. Not sexually, anyway. Besides, he wasn’t taking advantage of Louisa. If she married him, she would never be denied a thing she desired. With the exception of a few children, that is.

“What are you going to do now?” he asked Ian.

“Like I said, I have something fantastic in the works. A sure thing. I just need a bit of capital to get it off the ground.”

He didn’t say it, but Garrett knew exactly what he was thinking and saved him the trouble of having to ask. “Don’t look at me. I’ve thrown away enough money on your so-called sure things.”

Ian shrugged. “Your loss.”

Garrett doubted that.

Ian finished his dinner, stopping just shy of licking the dish clean. “Delicious. Best meal I’ve had in weeks.”

“I assume you need a place to stay.”

He leaned back against the countertop and folded his arms over his chest. “There’s a very comfortable bench in the park I could sleep on.”

“You’re welcome to use the spare bedroom. For one night,” he stressed. “And I expect everything to be as you found it when you go.”

“I’ll even make the bed.”

“Well then, I’m off to bed,” Garrett said.

“Already? I thought we might catch up for a while.”

“I have an early breakfast meeting.”

Ian looked appalled. “You’re working on a Saturday?”

“Sometimes I work Sundays, as well.” A concept Ian, who worked as little as possible, would never grasp. “Help yourself to whatever you find in the icebox, and I have satellite television if you want to watch it. I’ll see you in the morning.”

“See you in the morning,” Ian parroted as Garrett walked from the room. He felt uncomfortable leaving his brother to his own devices, but short of staying awake all night, he didn’t have much choice.

Consequently, Garrett didn’t see Ian in the morning. When he rolled out of bed at 6:00 a.m., Ian had already left. With half the contents of the liquor cabinet and Garrett’s car.

The e-mail showed up in Louisa’s personal in-box late Saturday afternoon. At first when she saw the blank subject line she assumed it was junk mail, then she noticed the return address—G.B. Man—and her heart nearly stopped.

That couldn’t be a coincidence. It had to be him.

Not now, she thought to herself. Not when things were going so well. She took a deep breath, preparing herself for the worst, and reluctantly double clicked to open it. The body of the e-mail read simply, Did you miss me, Princess?

No gruesome nursery rhymes or threats of violence this time, still a cold chill slithered up her spine. This was going to put everyone into a panic and security back on high alert. Which meant her chances of leaving the castle and going on a normal date with Garrett were slim to none. Why did the Gingerbread Man have to choose now to start harassing them again?

She leaned over for the phone to ring security, when she noticed the time stamp on the e-mail and realized it had actually been sent yesterday morning. Louisa didn’t check her in-box daily, but her brothers did. If they had gotten one, too, wouldn’t she have heard about it by now?

Was it possible that the Gingerbread Man had sent a message to her alone? And if so, was it a coincidence that it started at the same time she began seeing Garrett? Was he trying to complicate things?

She sat back in her chair, wondering what she should do. The e-mail hadn’t been threatening at all. Just a reminder that he was still there, which they all had assumed anyway. If he had planned to actually harm a member of the family, wouldn’t he have done it by now?

If she accidentally forgot to mention this to security, what difference would it really make?

She sat there with her finger hovering over the delete button, weighing her options. If it turned out her brothers and sister had gotten an e-mail, too, she could just tell them that she must have erased hers accidentally, assuming it was junk mail. She hated to lie, but this was her future on the line. Her relationship with Garrett might be destiny, but even destiny had its limits. Would Garrett want to court a woman who wasn’t even allowed to leave the house, and by dating her very possibly make himself a target?

It would be best, for now, if no one else knew about this.

Before she could change her mind, she stabbed the delete key, promising herself that if he contacted her again, threatening or not, she would let the family know. Until then, it would be her secret.