Irresistibly Played

by Victoria Pinder

  At the front door Jake patted him on the back as a goodbye. “Well, we’ll continue on the Adam Lepour file. Beau is working on tracking IPs used so hopefully we will have some hard evidence soon.”

  Good. If they had one thread of evidence, then hopefully the rest might be uncovered soon. Once their names were cleared, the rest of the investigation would be easier. “Bye, Dylan.” He watched his brother pass security and head into the elevator.

  Once he was gone, Roy closed and locked the door. They’d all taken security very seriously. Caitlyn popped her head out of her bedroom, wearing her gym clothes, which meant she’d worked out with his mother, and said, “Your brother is leaving early.”

  Her genuine smile made him feel alive inside, like her nearness somehow made his soul brighter than the sun outside. Parts of his skin that never felt anything now had the pins and needles sensation while she walked closer to him. He widened his stance to balance himself as he asked, “How was my mother?”

  Caitlyn passed him, heading toward the kitchen as she waved for him to follow and said, “She’s good. She was complaining you haven’t come up to visit her as much as she likes but she’s getting stronger.”

  He followed her hips that swayed in snug black pants. “I see her every morning.”

  She opened the refrigerator and took out the unsweetened iced tea. “I know.” She took out two glasses and said, “I think her spirits are down because her sister-in-law is dead. Were they friends? She mentioned they used to go shopping together.”

  Once she finished pouring she handed him a glass as if he’d asked for it. He took it, letting her fingers brush against his own as he said, “My mother didn’t like Aunt Dinah much.”

  “Oh.” She took several long drinks and then topped off her glass. “Well, maybe it’s because she’s stuck in the house with your father and wishes they could go out? She’s not saying that or complaining at all so I’m trying to figure out what’s wrong.”

  “I’m working on proving our innocence which will help her sleep better.” Her words piled up higher on his shoulders, like rocks he needed to carry up a mountain.

  She finished her second cup and let out a sigh. She walked over to the sink as she asked, “Can I help?”

  Part of him believed Caitlyn could do anything, though she wasn’t a lawyer. He’d watched her with his mom and his family, and the other wives. His stomach churned. He was married to a saint. He put his glass on the counter untouched and spoke like he needed to confess. “I told Dylan that I wasn’t sure about your motives for marrying me.”

  She stopped cold from washing her glass and glanced up at him with confusion. “Last night you said you trusted me.”

  And this was why he was sick to his stomach. He walked over and took her glass to rinse it. “That’s just it. I do, but there is this huge hole in the story I don’t understand.”

  She crossed her arms but didn’t move away as she faced him in his kitchen. “I left Harry and went with Hannah to follow Reverend Jensen.” He put the glass in the drying rack. Her proximity made him feel hot and confused as she said, “We lived in his forest retreat for a while and we met Lois there. Then we left and for the first time in my life I had to work for a living. I’d graduated from nursing school.”

  This was the part that bugged him. She was free of her parents and free of living in the forest. She worked as a nurse in a hospital, so the pay wasn’t that horrible, compared to other jobs available. She lived in a studio, near her friends in a broken down area of DC. His mind swirled that she didn’t need to marry him at all—she’d gotten her freedom, as she’d said she wanted. “So you married me to avoid work? It was about the money?” That was something he could understand.

  She fixed her necklace around her throat as if it choked her. “No. It’s always been about my parents.”

  His chest rose but he shook his head and said, “This is why my head spins. You’re not a child and you were already free of them before we met.”

  She stepped backward, and the distance left him cold. “Listen, maybe we were better before last night when we were just friendly strangers.”

  His emotions didn’t match with his brain and he knew it, but his eyes widened anyhow as he asked, “And you’d be okay that way?” He’d felt her desire in her kiss.

  She hugged her waist and took another step back. “It’s clear you’re suspicious and don’t take things at face value.”

  The fact that she never explained the part that confused him for a month made his shoulders tighten. As a lawyer he was trained to ask the questions no one else asked to dig out the truth. He didn’t move. “So there is something?”

  She turned away and her face went into shadows as she said, “I’ve been honest as the day is long, but you doubt me, which means you don’t trust me at all.”

  If she left now, he might never get the chance to tell her that he wanted this to work out between them. And despite his one issue that bothered him, everything else about Caitlyn was a dream. He closed the gap in two strides and gently took her wrist. “There is one thing I know for a fact.”

  She crossed her arms like she needed to defend herself from attack as she asked, “And what is that?”

  The beat of Roy’s heart was steady and sure as he pressed closer and her soft body warmed next to him. “I want you more with every passing second.”

  “Oh.” She closed her eyes.

  Their lips met, and he was lost. Every part of him wanted Caitlyn. In her kiss he forgot the rest of his doubts and just focused on her when the thought that drove him hit him. Caitlyn was his and he needed to prove that to her. Whatever had happened before they met didn’t really matter.

  Caitlyn’s body felt jumpy and electrified from Roy’s touch but this new desire just made it more important for her to protect him from her parents—and yet, Roy was her main defense against them. He had no idea how bad they could be. Oh, they were society-polite and they might be nice to his face, but behind closed doors at the Cooper mansion, they’d whisper to each other how horrible Roy was—and now married to their daughter? She would do her best to help her husband.

  She knocked on his bedroom door and waited. Roy opened it holding his phone in his hand, dressed a gray business suit with no tie. “What are you wearing to the wedding?”

  He tugged his jacket and then looked her up and down. Her emerald dress clung to her figure and her body ached for his touch just from that single scan. “Do you want to coordinate?”

  And her lustful thoughts needed to go. She picked up a flounce at the hem. “Yes. I’m hoping you have a similar tie.”

  His phone rang as he dug around for socks in a drawer. “Go into my closet and find one you like while I take this call.”

  She bounced into his closet and hoped he had something that matched. She went through his tie rack but then stopped as she heard his conversation—unwittingly, as he’d put his brother on speaker.

  “Dylan, I thought you were going on vacation?”

  “Adam Lepour is in Miami,” Dylan said, “and he’s walking around town in a House of Morgan suit.”

  Adam? Seriously? She knew that name. So she held her breath as Roy asked, “Where is he getting the money?”

  Good question. Last year he’d done odd jobs for Jensen. Now he wore designer clothes? That made no sense.

  Dylan then said, “He works for Kirno. We have no evidence yet that he set us up, but Beau is following the electronic trail.”

  She stumbled backward but caught the door frame to use as leverage before she fell. Adam worked for Kirno? Last year she hadn’t thought much of him, but Lois had hated him so much that she’d left the commune with her and Hannah. All she’d say was that Adam wasn’t a good person.

  Roy asked, “How do you know he works for Kirno then?”

  Caitlyn grabbed a tie and intended to head out to see him so he remembered she was there. Dylan said, “Security and I have cross-referenced to amp up my investigation since my PI license was suspe
nded. However, I still have contacts and thanks to my wife’s brother, I have Adam’s bank statements. The day we were arrested, Adam raked in a 100 thousand dollar bonus.”

  Roy’s voice dropped with a groan. “We were betrayed for so little?”

  “Seems so.”

  Judging from their conversation, neither brother knew much about Adam. She walked out with her arms crossed, unsure how to join in with her observations.

  Roy buttoned his shirt and took the tie without a word to her as he said to his brother, “Keep me posted. We’re getting ready for the rehearsal dinner for the wedding.”

  “Have fun with Caitlyn,” Dylan said and they both ended the call.

  Roy tucked his phone in his back pocket and adjusted the black tie with emerald green designs. “Do you like this tie on me then?”

  She nodded but lifted her chin. A few months ago she’d given the police detailed reports about Adam Lepour, as she’d been suspicious of his actions in the commune. She hadn’t mentioned that to Roy but she’d sworn to keep talking to the police a secret from them. How to explain without revealing her position with the police department?

  “Why do you look confused?” He didn’t blink as he searched her face.

  She lowered her head, unsure why she was so shy, or why her heart sped up, but she forced her lips to open and said, “There was an Adam Lepour that lived in the commune. Lois left with us because she hated that guy. Has Dylan asked his wife about him?”

  Roy’s eyes widened but he dug his phone from his back pocket and said, “Texting him now. What do you know about him?”

  Roy looked at his screen while she swallowed and said, “Not much. Dark hair. Brown eyes…” He then held up his phone and showed her a picture. She nodded. “Yes, that’s him.” He put his phone away and she swayed on her feet. She wished she could repeat the reports but she’d promised and they used her reports to catch bad people, so she needed to keep her lips sealed. She swallowed hard. “He, Jensen and another guy named Sam Zandi were often together.”

  He brought out his phone again and she assumed Roy was texting his brothers Sam’s name. Roy took her hand. Her heart did a little flip as he asked, “Why didn’t you mention them before?”

  He sounded hurt, but she’d shared what she suspected with the police and then banished the three men from her mind. The police had instructed her to keep her eyes open for anything suspicious inside the condo with the Bentley family. No one knew she’d helped the police and no one needed to know. “You never asked.” Being near Roy made her feel safe. “Do you need us to write down everyone Jensen ever met with?”

  His smile made her insides feel like she just won the lottery before he said, “That might be helpful.”

  She quickly nodded and let the feeling she was showered in sunlight surround her. “I normally meet with the wives every day for tea. Let me get together with Hannah and Lois and we’ll make a list.”

  “Thank you.”

  Those simple two words were enough to make her long to explain more. She tugged on his tie and went closer to him as she asked, “So your doubts are dissipating?”

  His arms wrapped around her waist and for once she truly felt like his wife when he said, “I’m letting them go—it happened before we met.”

  Her heart raced. She stilled, wishing she wasn’t all fluttery inside and that she could be completely honest with him as she asked, “And you can do that?”

  “I can try.” He kissed her cheek, and his touch sent off a blaze. But then he stepped back and asked, “Are you ready for the rehearsal dinner?”

  Ready? She could float on air—but then she remembered her parents. Her spine stiffened until she rushed to the door and said, “Give me two minutes. I need to fix my face.” Her mother would be critical as always.

  “You’re already beautiful,” he called from his bedroom, but she was in the hall.

  Her pulse spiked near him and she needed to breathe. Tonight she would see her parents. She wasn’t sure what she’d do, but she needed to at least look good.

  She dabbed on makeup and checked herself in the mirror. Everything appeared in order and her eyeliner and mascara hadn’t run anywhere.

  Good. She bolted from the room and saw Roy in the kitchen with a glass of water. She walked to the door and took her emerald green heels out of the new cabinet she’d ordered to keep the shoes out of sight and slipped into them. “I’m ready now.”

  He rinsed his glass and joined her, putting his black loafers on as he said, “My brother talked to Lois and your plan is set to make your list together Monday.”

  Perfect. She figured it wouldn’t be an issue. She took his arm to straighten herself and checked the mirror near the door to make sure she was still put together. At her engagement party to Harry, her mother and father had both insulted her choice of an ice blue dress until she’d changed into the navy blue her mother had chosen for her. This time they’d not make her go and change like a child with all their negativity.

  Roy placed his hand on her lower back. “Caitlyn, anything you can tell me about your parents might be nice?”

  They walked out together, and security whispered to each other as she asked Roy, “Why?”

  “I’m about to meet them,” he said while they went down the elevator alone.

  The music that played seemed light, which was the opposite of the how she felt near Roy. “Just remember we’re happy and in love when we see them.”

  He offered his arm when the doors opened. “Are you sure that’s what you want?”

  “Positive,” she answered.

  A limo waited for them outside as well as various security officers.

  Roy had taken care of all the details. Neither said much as they rode the short two minutes to the nearby resort that was the venue for Harry’s wedding on the beach.

  Once there, Caitlyn clutched Roy’s arm as they headed into the resort.

  The sound of people in the lobby rattled her slightly. She hadn’t seen new people in a month now. Caitlyn held Roy’s arm a little closer.

  As they walked into the private party, her entire body became tight. Her parents spotted her and her heart raced. She whispered, “Here they come.”

  Roy stood straighter and patted her hand. If he was a life preserver and she was drowning, she couldn’t clutch any tighter. She swallowed, but Roy was faster as he held out his hand to shake and said, “Mr. and Mrs. Cooper. It’s nice to meet you.”

  Neither of them even glanced at Roy, never mind shook his hand. Her father’s full head of silver and gray hair, matched with cool blue eyes, like one of those silver foxes. Her mother’s dyed blonde hair and expert makeup designed to make her seem twenty years younger was still flawless. Her father blocked her view of the ballroom until he finally moved like he’d let them pass.

  Their rudeness was unforgivable and at last Roy withdrew his hand. Her mother gave her a once-over. “Caitlyn, we’ve missed you,” her mother said in chilling tones. “You’ve gained weight, haven’t you?”

  No. She clutched her stomach but then stopped. She’d no longer be a party to their intolerance and she wouldn’t listen to more criticism. She held her head higher and patted Roy’s strong, muscular arm as she saw the two-story, all-glass ballroom on the beach with a skyline that beamed sun or moonlight on the dance floor. “Mom. Dad. This is Roy Bentley—who’s hand you just refused to shake.”

  Her father gave her one of his “we care about you” looks that had once made her go along with their plans. “We know who he is, dear. We just need to know that you’re okay, though now I see why the wedding happened so fast.”

  Neither of her parents looked at her husband and the cracks about her weight weren’t nice.

  This was the last straw. She quickly met Roy’s big brown eyes and then turned toward her mother. “Better than okay. Roy and I just found out we’re having a baby.”

  Roy flinched but didn’t say a word.

  Her mother gasped and whispered with another look at Ca
itlyn’s waistline, “Oh!”

  Oh goodness, she never lied like this. Not telling Roy about the police investigation was helping the good guys, but now she’d crossed her own line. Why had that flown out of her mouth? She pushed forward with her bold statement, unsure how to take it back. Surprise didn’t sound right. She managed, “I know it’s a surprise.”

  Her father gave her that sympathetic look of his that he was so good at but then said, “Caitlyn, you’ve changed so much. We hardly recognize you.”

  What he meant was she wasn’t listening to his “advice” and now he couldn’t get her out of her own mistake. That statement was always what he said when he disapproved. Her free hand curled into a fist as she tried to smile. “You shouldn’t be. I’m still me.”

  “Caitlyn is the best wife I could ask for,” Roy said, his hand on her lower back. “She’s wonderful.”

  Her father then said, still not deigning to look at Roy, “We raised her as our princess. We didn’t want her to lower her standards.”

  “Father, Roy would be a prince if he was in his old country which makes me actually a princess now,” Caitlyn said. “And if you care at all, he’s innocent, the same as the rest of his family.”

  Roy’s touch moved from her lower back up her spine to her nape.

  Warmth grew inside her. At least she spoke the truth.

  “Now I’ve heard everything.” Her mother tugged her father to go with that pensive “we’re going to talk” thin-lipped face and Caitlyn understood they’d negate anything positive of the conversation while they drank.

  The moment they were alone again, Caitlyn shook her head and whispered, “I’m so sorry.”

  “Don’t be. I get it now.” Roy kissed her cheek.

  Roy had witnessed her parents’ behavior and their intolerance against her choices. Her face was still warm from his touch. Now if only she hadn’t said that stupid lie, the evening tonight and the wedding tomorrow might be easier.

  Caitlyn was huddled with Hannah and Roxy as they discussed the upcoming wedding so Roy walked over to the bar and his brother, Logan.