Читать книгу Under Her Skin - Susan Mallery, Susan Mallery - Страница 9

LEXI STOOD ALONE on the balcony at Glory’s Gate. She’d wanted to escape the crush of the crowd and find a private place to feel sorry for herself. Something that had lasted all of three minutes. She heard footsteps behind her and held in a sigh. So much for a little peace and quiet.

“You are looking especially beautiful tonight, querida.”

The man’s voice was low and sexy with the slightest hint of an accent. She recognized it, and him. Cruz.

She turned to face him, then wished she hadn’t. He stood closer than she’d expected, all tall and broad-shouldered, backlit by the light spilling through the large windows. The railing prevented her from retreating, and moving to the side seemed too much like admitting she was rattled.

“Mr. Rodriguez,” she murmured, then sipped her drink. She would play it cool. He didn’t have to know she wasn’t very good at the game.

He smiled, his teeth flashing in the shadows. “Now, Lexi. We both know we’re very much on a first-name basis.”

Her eyes widened. “What? Are you saying you remember?” She blurted the words before she could stop herself, then wanted desperately to claw them back.

He moved closer, which she hadn’t thought was possible, bent down and kissed the side of her neck. He barely touched her, but she had the impression of firm lips and warm breath. Heat and shivers raced through her, making her toes curl and certain parts of her want to beg.

“How could I forget?” he asked, his voice low and sexy.

Playing it cool be damned, she thought as she sidestepped him and put several feet between them.

“You didn’t say anything before.”

“I didn’t think you wanted to discuss our night together in front of your sister.”

He hadn’t even hinted, she thought, annoyed and reaching for mad. Anger was safe. Anger could protect her from tall, handsome men who stood too close and made her feel desperate.

“How thoughtful of you. Now we’re reacquainted. Why don’t you return to the party? The bidding will begin soon. You won’t want to miss that.”

“I’m not here for the auction, Lexi. I’m here for you.”

She’d never been a swooner, but a sudden faint seemed like a good idea. Unfortunately she was too practical and knew landing on the floor of the stone balcony wouldn’t be pleasant or pretty. Though those strong arms might lean in to catch her and…

Wait a minute. They hadn’t seen each other in ten years. He’d never once bothered to get in touch with her and she happened to know she wasn’t all that hard to find. The urge to swoon left quickly.

“You’re very smooth,” she said, taking another sip of her drink.

“Thank you.”

“I like the suit. Custom?”

He nodded.

“You wouldn’t have been invited unless you had plenty of money to give to my sister’s foundation. Her charity only extends to hungry children. Last time I saw you, you were racing cars for pink slips.”

“A hobby,” he told her. “I already had my business.”

“But it’s grown considerably,” she said, remembering Skye’s introduction. “You have it all. So why are you here, Cruz? Why now? We had one night, a very long time ago. Nothing more.”

It had been more to her, but he didn’t have to know that.

“Enough with the Spanish words and neck kissing,” she said. “What do you want?”

He leaned against the railing. “What makes you think I want anything except you?”

She wanted to believe. More specifically, her libido, and maybe pride, wanted her to believe. But the logical side of her brain pointed out that Cruz could have any woman on the planet. Why her? Why now?

She set her drink on the small table by the railing. “It was great to see you again. Enjoy the auction.” She turned to leave.

He grabbed her arm.

It wasn’t enough that she was going to lose her business. No. Fate had to get a good giggle over her very visceral, uncontrolled reaction to this man. She should get one of those Medica Alert bracelets. “In case of cardiac arrest, administer one kiss from Cruz Rodriguez.”

He stared at her. “Tell me about the money you need.”

She went cold inside. “How do you know about that? Who told you?” Was he the one? Was it possible Cruz was trying to screw with her business? But why?

“I overheard you speaking with your banker. I assume he’s your banker?”

“Yes,” she said absently. “John. He’s here because he knows everyone. Who else heard us talking?” She couldn’t let word get out. If her father learned about this…

“No one. You were alone.”

“Except for you.”

“Yes. Except for me.” His dark gaze seemed to see through her. “What’s wrong with your business?”

“Nothing,” she snapped, embarrassed he’d found out. “Look, I don’t want to talk about this. I appreciate the interest, but unless you have an extra two million dollars lying around, I need to get going.”

One eyebrow raised. “And if I do?”

“I’m not interested.”

“Are you sure?”

She folded her arms across her chest. “I don’t get it,” she said. “What are you doing? What’s the game?”

“Why won’t you go to your father for the money? He has plenty.”

“Not an option.”

“I can’t help you if you won’t talk to me.”

“I didn’t ask for your help.”

Noise from the party filtered out to them, but it was as if they were in another world. Just the two of them. She was aware of his breathing, aware of every part of him. He was a constant distraction, which made her crazy.

He stared at her, then nodded slowly, as if coming to a decision. “You know the senator who is here?”

“What? Sure. Be grateful you’re not female. He’d want to pat your ass.”

“I spoke to him earlier. Introduced myself. He was polite, then dismissed me.”

“He can be pompous,” Lexi said, feeling oddly protective of Cruz, which just went to show how very stupid her hormones could be.

“I could buy and sell him five times over, but that doesn’t matter. No matter how custom the suit, I’m still that kid from the barrio. But you know this world. You live in it.”

“Hey, I’m not like that.”

“But you’re one of them. Tell me why you won’t go to your father for the money you need.”

She wouldn’t have told him before, but now he’d exposed himself to her and she felt obligated to do the same.

“While there is family money,” she began slowly, “my father controls it and he’s not exactly giving us a million-dollar allowance. He is Titan World Enterprises, not me. I had a small trust fund from my maternal grandmother, which I used to start my day spa. Other than that, the only money I have is what I make myself.”

She sighed and looked into his eyes, then wished she hadn’t. Staring into the dark depths made her want to lean forward and kiss him. Maybe more.

Maybe? Who was she kidding?

“Jed Titan is a controlling bastard,” she said, wishing it weren’t true. “A few years ago he sat my sisters and me down and explained he would be leaving Titan World Enterprises to one of us and only one of us. We have a finite amount of time to prove our worth in the winner-take-all game.”

She still remembered being horrified by her father’s words. He was making them choose—the family business and fortune that went with it, or each other. The unspoken part of the bargain was that the winner didn’t just get the money—she got Jed, as well. The father who had always made it clear his affection was conditional.

“My two sisters and I had been close, but once that happened, everything changed. I realized that working for my father wouldn’t get me far in the competition. So I quit and started my day spa. Skye runs her foundation and Izzy…” She frowned. “Izzy defies death on a daily basis. My point is, if I go to my father, I’ve lost my chance to run the company.”

And her father, because Jed only ever cared about winners.

“I made a mistake,” she continued. “I got greedy and stupid, which means I now have a two-million dollar problem. I was offered a loan by a private investor. He didn’t want a piece of the business, which was great for me. I took the money and expanded my spa. The note was callable. I have three weeks to cough up two million dollars or lose everything.”

She turned away. “Now you know my deepest, darkest secret.” She was already regretting the confession. “How are you going to use it?”

“I’ll give you the money,” he told her.

She spun back to face him. Was it possible he meant it? “You mean you’ll loan it to me.”

“No. I don’t want it back. I want something else.”

Wariness replaced excitement. “What, exactly, do I have that’s worth two million dollars to you?”

He dropped his gaze to her bare toes and worked his way up. The meaning was clear. Even though nearly every cell in her body began to cheer, she ignored the liquid wanting pouring through her, raised her chin and said, “I don’t think so.”

He smiled. “Not sex, Lexi. I don’t have to pay for that any more today than I did ten years ago.”

She flushed. “Then what?”

His dark gaze sharpened. “Access. You’re a Titan. Your mother can trace her bloodline back to the American revolution. I have all the money I need, but I will always be a poor kid from the barrio. I want better for my children.”

She understood the words, but not the meaning. “How can I change that?”

“Marry me.”

She gripped the cool iron railing to keep herself from falling over in a faint.

Married? He wanted to get married?

“For a year,” he added. “That should be enough time for me to gain access to your world. You can introduce me to your rich and powerful friends, including the senator. They’ll accept me because of you. At the end of the year, we part. For that, I’ll give you two million dollars.”

“You’re buying a bride?”

“A temporary one.”

Right. Because after a year he would leave her to marry someone he actually cared about. She might not approve of his plan, but she appreciated his honesty.

“Your idea is totally impossible,” she said.

“It’s a business deal. Nothing more.”

“It’s marriage. It’s an institution. It’s meaningful and significant and I won’t get married for money.”

He looked at her as if she were both foolish and naive. Maybe she was.

“It is a means to an end,” he said. “Nothing more.”

At least not for him, she thought, realizing that despite having spent a night in his bed, she knew nothing about Cruz. The man was a mystery to her.

No. That wasn’t totally true. She’d just learned he would do nearly anything to get what he wanted.

“My father would be impressed,” she told him. “He would appreciate the bold plan, the total disregard for convention or feelings.”

Cruz shrugged.

She didn’t bother pointing out that being like her father wasn’t admirable. She’d had a lifetime of trying to prove herself to Jed Titan. She wasn’t looking for his worldview in a husband.

And she wasn’t going to marry Cruz for two million dollars. She still believed in love and being with someone forever. She wanted the magic, the promise, the future. She wanted a man who thought she was the best thing that had ever happened to him. She wasn’t interested in being part of a deal.

Which meant she was back where she’d started—desperate, with nowhere to turn.

She thought about all she’d worked for over the years. The mind-numbing hours she’d put in at her father’s company, desperate to be good enough. The risk of starting something of her own. Of how she’d built the business up herself. The hours were just as long as they’d been at Titan World, but this time she’d been doing it for herself. She’d survived and then she’d thrived. Until she’d put everything at risk for the chance to be bigger and more impressive.

She’d acted to win and she’d lost it all.

Or had she?

Cruz had proposed a business deal she couldn’t accept. But was there an alternative? Could she make a counter offer? Something that got them both what they wanted? That’s how business was done. She’d learned that and more while working for her father. Some days she’d even been damn good at her job.

“I won’t marry you,” she said, straightening and squaring her shoulders. “Besides, being divorced will make you less appealing.”

He raised an eyebrow, as if asking how that was possible.

“Trust me. Those DAR mommas are very protective of their daughters. A divorced man is a risk—he might leave their precious angel. But a man with a broken engagement is simply a man who wasn’t caught by the right woman. I won’t marry you, but we can be engaged. That will give you what you want. Entrance into the best houses and an introduction to every impressive bloodline in Texas.”

“An engagement?”

She nodded.

“For a year?” he asked.

“Six months. It’s more than enough time.” It seemed too long as it was.

He leaned against the railing. “You’ll agree to an engagement for six months on the condition that I give you two million dollars.”

He wasn’t asking a question, but she said “Yes” anyway. Maybe to prove to herself that she meant it.

“Interesting,” he said slowly. “I have conditions.”

Good for him. She was going to have a heart attack. What was she thinking? An engagement for money? Her mother would be horrified. Not that she would consider an engagement without love a problem at all, but that she would get engaged to a man like Cruz. Which was probably his point.

“You will come live with me for the time we’re engaged,” he told her. “In my house. In my room and in my bed. I have a housekeeper and various caretakers for my property. I’m sure they gossip. Everyone must believe our engagement is genuine.”

Oh. My. God. “You mean sex?” she asked, barely able to form the words. “You want us to have sex?”

One corner of his mouth turned up. “Yes.”

Why on earth would he want to do that with her again? Last time, he’d left so fast, there’d been skid marks on the floor. Did he think she’d gotten better? Had he forgotten what it was like between them? Did he want to humiliate her again?

“Us living together is not negotiable,” he added.

“Then there’s no deal. I won’t agree to that.”

He shrugged. “As you wish.”

He turned and walked away.

Lexi watched him go. But instead of Cruz’s broad shoulders, she saw the front entryway to her day spa. The gleaming hardwood floors with the stain she’d chosen herself. The collection of cosmetics and skin care. She could smell the fresh flowers, see the guests in the relaxation room, feel the breeze from the lazy ceiling fans.

If she got a conventional loan, her father would find out. He would ask questions and learn she’d made a mistake. She would lose her chance at Titan World Enterprises. She would lose everything.

Or she could get the money from Cruz and win it all. Was that worth six months of her life?

Indecision made her stomach hurt. It wasn’t the engagement, it was the idea of sharing a bed with him. Again. Even worse, she understood his point. Staff would talk. If word got out they weren’t really engaged, there was no point in the deal.

Could she do it? Was it worth it?

“Then I have conditions, as well,” she called, doing her best to keep her voice from shaking.

He came to a stop, then turned back to her. One eyebrow raised.

“Fidelity,” she said. “If you expect me to sleep with you, you won’t sleep with anyone else.”

For the second time his gaze dropped to her feet before slowly moving up her body. “Do you think you have it in you to satisfy me?”

Not even on her best day, but that wasn’t the point. “I don’t actually care. That’s the deal. Take it or leave it.”

“You’re not in a position of power, Lexi. You need the money.”

“I need a loan,” she bluffed, aware that going to a bank wasn’t an option. “Anyone can give me a check, but there aren’t that many women who can give you what you want. I am in a position of power, Cruz. Fidelity is not negotiable.”

He nodded. “As you wish.”

Just like that? He was an attractive man, with an explosive sex drive, from what she remembered. “If you cheat, I walk and I tell everyone what you did. That will slam shut all the doors I opened.”

“Agreed. And you’ll do the same. Give up your men.”

“Sure.” There wasn’t anyone to give up. Sad, but true.

“At the end of the six months, we’ll part,” he said. “It will end.”

“I get that.”

“There is nothing you can say or do to make me stay.” One corner of his mouth turned up. “Some have made the mistake of falling in love with me.”

She wanted to roll her eyes. “I guess the advantage of your ego is the workout you get from carrying it around. You probably never have to go to the gym. Don’t worry, Cruz. You’re not all that. At the end of the six months, I’ll let you go and never look back.”

“Good. Then we have a deal.”

“I want one more thing. I want to find out who’s trying to hurt my company. The way this was done feels personal. I want to know who did this to me and why.”

“What makes you think I have access to that kind of information?”

“Every fiber of my being. You can find things out. I want to know.” She wanted to understand and then, because she was a Titan, she wanted revenge.

“Done,” he said and moved toward her. “Anything else?”

It was impossible to think with him invading her personal space. She took a step back. “I, ah, think that’s everything.”

“Good. You’ll have a cashier’s check first thing in the morning.”

So they were finished. They should seal the deal somehow. But he was moving closer again and shaking on it seemed foolish. Especially when he put one hand on her waist and drew her toward him.

She wanted to hold back. Being close to Cruz had never been her smartest move. She needed to keep her brain functioning. Protect herself at any cost. The man was—

He lowered his head and kissed her. A deep, hot kiss that claimed and took and stole her will. His lips were firm and warm. His mouth moved against hers. The movement itself wasn’t all that different, all that spectacular. She should have been able to resist. But this was Cruz and she couldn’t.

His arms came around her, but there was no need for him to pull her close. She went willingly, wanting to melt into him, needing to touch everywhere. His hard, muscled body provided a safe haven, while the heat of his tongue on her lower lip promised plenty of good times.

She parted for him, then shuddered as he slipped into her mouth. Sparks jolted through her. She clutched at his shoulders, then ran her hands up and down his back.

He tasted like Scotch and sin and sex. However deeply he kissed her, it wasn’t enough. It could never be enough. Heat surrounded her. She wanted to breathe in all of him.

Need pulsed in time with her rapid heartbeat. She ached with a desperation that terrified her. She knew that if he took her right that second, she would come until she was screaming with pleasure and she didn’t care who saw.

The image was so real she shuddered, then pulled back, afraid she would give in. That she would beg. She who had always been so carefully controlled in bed…except with him.

They stared at each other. At least he was breathing hard. She wasn’t the only one affected by their kiss.

“We’ll have an interesting journey,” he said. “You have a week to get your personal affairs in order. I’ll leave my address and a house key with the check tomorrow.”

Then he was gone, fading into the night, leaving her alone on the balcony of the house where she’d grown up.

If it wasn’t for the sexual hunger coursing through her body, she could almost convince herself that none of this had happened. That she hadn’t really sold, if not her soul, then at least her body, to Cruz Rodriguez for two million dollars.

“It’s the price of doing business,” she murmured to herself.

And what her father had always taught her. To get what you wanted, then you had to be willing to pay the price.

As long as it wasn’t more than just her time and her body. As long as she remembered to make sure it was never her heart.

THE HEADQUARTERS for Cruz Control were between Dallas and Fort Worth, on a ten-acre plot of land that Cruz could easily sell for ten times what he’d paid for it. Developers constantly came calling. He listened, then tossed them out. He was plenty rich, so he didn’t need the money, although he did enjoy having what everyone else wanted.

Behind the five-story building was the garage he’d always dreamed about when he’d been growing up. But the five bays had grown into twenty. There was a test course behind the garage, a separate area for experimental cars and the constant sound of engines. It was his favorite place in the world.

He stopped just inside the garage to survey what he had built. Sometimes he forgot where he’d come from, but this morning the past seemed especially close and vivid—as if he could reach out and touch the angry twelve-year-old kid he’d been. The kid who’d vowed he would do more than survive and get by. That he would make it and command respect everywhere he went.

He heard someone call his name. Manny, his manager and best friend, waved him over.

“The brakes are screwy,” Manny said with a grimace. “The design is a mess. I need to go over it again, unless you want to.”

“Not today.” Cruz felt too restless to pour over a design. That kind of detail work required concentration and he couldn’t seem to control his thoughts.

As much as he had believed and strived and worked his ass off for years, at fifteen or even twenty, he never would have imagined this.

He’d started small—barely fourteen years old and racing a stolen Corolla against a Ford Ranger for pink slips. Everyone had laughed at him when he’d pulled up in the white Corolla. He thought he could win in that? What they didn’t know is he’d watched the guy down the street work on the car for months. The owner had added a supercharger and bumped up the compression ratio.

Cruz had been careful to drive slowly so no one would guess what he had under the hood. He’d won easily, taking the Ford Ranger as his own. Fortunately that driver hadn’t been lying about ownership. Cruz’s pink slip—required to get in the race—had been faked.

Later that night, he’d returned the Corolla and had gone to work on the truck. Two weeks later he was back, racing to win and winning often.

“…transmission left,” Manny was saying. “Are you listening to me?”

Cruz shrugged. “Sorry, no.”

Manny, ten years older and always the wiser, cooler head in the partnership, looked at him. “What’s your problem?”

“I’m engaged to Lexi Titan.”

Manny grabbed him by the arm and pulled him into his private office.

“What?” Manny demanded. “Tell me you’re kidding. What the hell have you done?”

“Don’t sweat it. We have a deal. Nothing more.” He explained about Lexi’s need for a fast two million dollars. “It gives me what I’ve always wanted.”

Manny stared at him. “You already have everything.”

“Not quite. She’ll be my ticket to that world.”

“You don’t really care about high society. Those women bore you.”

“It’s not about the women,” Cruz said, remembering how the senator had dismissed him.

Manny shook his head. “So some guy shakes your hand and that changes everything? You don’t need this, Cruz.”

“You don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Manny didn’t understand. He’d never wanted more than he had—a good job he enjoyed. He went home to a wife and family every night. Cruz wanted…more.

He wanted something more than he had. There was a nagging emptiness inside that he was determined to fill. Being part of a world that had always ignored him was a start. Finding the right woman with the right breeding and connections would cement his place there.

“This has nothing to do with Lexi,” he told his friend. “She’s a means to an end.”

“She’s a lot more than that and this is the wrong way to get her,” Manny told him. “She sounds more like the one you couldn’t have.”

Not in the way Manny meant, Cruz told himself. “Well, now I can get her out of my system. In six months, I’ll move on.”

“You’re making a big mistake. This is going to come back and bite you in the ass.”

Cruz grinned. “It won’t be the first time.”

Manny shook his head. “You don’t get it. You’re going to have to learn this the hard way. Good luck with that.”

“TWO MILLION DOLLARS,” Lexi said, passing the check across the desk to her banker.

John looked surprised. “That was fast.”

“I want this finished as quickly as possible. How long will it take until the paperwork is signed?”

“I’ll get it delivered today. You should have your copy by tomorrow.”

“Good.” Then she would be free of her mysterious and potentially devastating investor.

She still wanted to know who had tried to shut down her business, but that information would come. She knew Cruz would get to the bottom of it. Of course, that knowledge and the money had come with a price. She had six days until she had to move into his house, and more importantly, his bed.

And then what?

Not something she needed to think about today.

“Should I ask where you got this?” John asked, waving the check.

“You can ask, but I won’t be answering.”

“Fair enough. I’m glad you were able to come up with the money.”

“Me, too. Thanks, John.”

“You’re welcome.” He rose and they shook hands. “I’m sorry the investor was such a problem. He’s funded quite a few businesses through the bank and there’s never been an issue before. I’m not sure what happened this time.”

“It’s fine,” she said, knowing none of this was about John. Whoever the mysterious investor was, he’d wanted to take her down. Or at least scare her. But it didn’t answer the question of who or why.

THE CORPORATE offices for Titan World Enterprises took up a full city block in the Dallas financial district. The main lobby had been done in dark wood and marble, with huge murals depicting historic Texas events on the three-story high walls. Security guards protected those within and kept out the unworthy.

As a child, visiting Jed’s office had been a rare treat, one which Lexi had treasured. She’d enjoyed how everyone knew her daddy and, by association, knew her. She liked feeling like a princess. For those few, precious hours, her father acted as if she mattered. There was pride in his voice when he said she was his daughter. Strangers smiled at her, thinking she had to be someone special.

Once home, Jed returned her to the care of the current nanny and disappeared into his study. But while in the tall, impressive building, she was more than a child her father seemed to forget.

After college Lexi had come to work here—parking in her space, riding the elevator up to the junior management level, bypassing the main level. But every now and then she’d had reason to walk through the lobby and she’d remembered what it had been like to walk in when she’d been a little girl.

Now she moved to the security checkpoint and prepared to show her driver’s license. One of the guards there waved her through.

“Thanks,” she said, thinking that her father wouldn’t be pleased to know that family was treated differently. In his empire, privilege had to be earned. It wasn’t supposed to be a birthright.

She took the elevator to the top floor, where she was again waved through by the receptionist. The big desk in front of the double doors leading to her father’s office was empty, so she knocked once, then let herself in.

Jed Titan turned when the door opened. “You won’t believe it,” he growled. “I don’t believe it. Goddamn sonofabitch.”

At sixty-three, Jed was still a handsome man. Tall, commanding and powerfully built, he dominated any room, even one the size of a basketball court.

“What happened?” she asked.

He picked up a file from his desk and tossed it back down. “Doping. Doping! It’s beyond insulting. It’s a goddamn impossibility. Do they think I’m that stupid?”

Lexi didn’t understand. “Are you talking about your race horses?”

Jed stalked the length of the floor-to-ceiling windows, then turned back. “Damn straight. Who cheats to win? I want to win outright.”

It wasn’t possible, Lexi thought. Jed took good care of his horses. They lived like kings in their fancy stables, with the best of everything. He would never cheat or allow someone else to cheat. He wouldn’t want the win tainted with the possibility. He would fire anyone who did differently. First he’d probably beat the crap out of him.

“What happened?” she asked.

“Some random testing came back yesterday.” He jerked his head toward the folder on his desk. “When I find out who did this, I’m going to rip him apart with my bare hands. Then I’m going to make him sorry he was born.” He faced her. “You know what’s the worst of it? I had some Chinese business folks visiting me. I took ’em out to the stables to show them what it’s like here in Texas. I wanted to impress them with my fancy horses and what we’re doing there with the breeding program. And right in the middle of that, I got the news.”

He swore again. “Ruined everything. I couldn’t understand a word they were saying, but I knew what they meant. They’re not interested in doing business with someone who cheats. I wouldn’t be, either. I lost the deal. Lost it right there.”

Lexi didn’t like the sound of that. The timing was too perfect. It was as if someone was trying to screw up the meeting for her father. Or was that her looking for trouble where it didn’t exist?

“I’m sorry,” she said.

He shrugged. “It happens. I don’t mind losing out for good reasons, but this…When I get to the bottom of it, I’ll make whoever did this wish his mama had drowned him when he was born.”

Or worse, Lexi thought, knowing Jed wouldn’t rest until the problem was solved.

He returned to his desk and sat down. “This isn’t why you came by, Lexi. What can I do you for?”

She took the leather seat across from his and knew she had no idea how he would react to her news. He wasn’t the kind of father to hug her and wish her the best, so she wasn’t expecting that. But the possibility of him throwing a fit seemed high. “I’m engaged.”

Jed leaned back in his chair. His dark blue eyes didn’t flicker. “Anyone I know?”

“Cruz Rodriguez. He owns Cruz Control.”

“Rich?”

“Yes.”

“Mexican?”

“He was born in this country.”

Jed grunted. “You know what I mean and the fact that you avoided the question means yes. If he’s the one you want, I’ll check him out and make sure he can afford you.”

Which was just so typical. “I’m hardly a financial burden. My business is very successful.” At least it was now that she’d paid off the loan.

“I don’t want you marrying some jackass who’s only in it for the money.”

She thought about Andrew and understood her father’s concern. “I don’t want that, either.”

“Then as long as you’re happy, I’m happy.”

Seriously? That was all he was going to say?

“I’m happy.” Or at least content. The deal was for six months. She could endure anything for that amount of time. Then she remembered how Cruz had kissed her and knew enduring wasn’t really the right word.

“I thought you might be angry,” she said, still surprised everything had gone so smoothly. “You arranged Skye’s marriage.” Jed enjoyed making things work out the way he wanted. He wouldn’t let a little thing like his daughter’s personal feelings for a man get in the way.

“You’ve always been more independent than your sister. Would you marry anyone I told you to?”

“No.”

“So why would I waste both our time?”

She was surprised he knew her that well.

“Business is good?” he asked.

“Yes.”

“You still think you made the right decision, walking away from my company?”

“While I was here, I was only ever Jed Titan’s daughter. I needed more than that. I would think you would understand.”

“I do, little girl. Don’t get your panties in a bunch.”

“My panties aren’t in a bunch.”

He grinned. “Have you told your mother?”

“I’ll send her an e-mail.”

“What will her skinny-assed Yankee self think of her daughter marrying a man like Cruz Rodriguez?”

“I have no idea.” Lexi figured her mother had given up the right to offer opinions or suggestions when she’d left her only child and never once looked back. Lexi had been three at the time.

“Wish I could be there to see the explosion.”

“There won’t be an explosion. There won’t be anything.” That would require emotion and feelings. Two things her mother discouraged. It made Lexi wonder why Cruz had any interest in society like that.

“You’re right,” Jed said. “Congratulations. Tell my secretary what you want for an engagement present and she’ll order it.”

A familiar echo of all those years when she’d been growing up. Jed had instructed his daughters to tell the nanny what they wanted for Christmas so his secretary could order it. Santa hadn’t been on the agenda at Glory’s Gate.

Lexi wondered why she had to love her father. Jed wasn’t especially loveable. Her life would be a whole lot easier if she could simply see her father for who he was and not care beyond that. Wanting the impossible—him to love her back—made everything complicated.

“I’ll check with Cruz,” she said as she rose. She walked around the desk and kissed her father’s cheek. “Goodbye, Daddy.”

“’Bye. I’ll let you know when I’ve checked him out and seen whether you’ve picked a good one.”

“Oh, joy.”

He laughed, and she walked out.

Once in the thickly carpeted hallway, she released the breath she’d been holding. Her father had accepted the news more easily than she’d anticipated. Now she had to explain her make-believe engagement to her sisters, and that wasn’t going to be so easy.