The Wedding Bargain

by Lee McKenzie

  Good luck with that, he thought, running a hand across the top of his head. “What about Ben? How’s he handling this?”

  “About as well as you’d expect. He was freaked out when he saw her on the stretcher, and he didn’t want the paramedics to take her away. After they left, we drove over to the hospital, and that scared him even more.”

  “Poor kid. Are you still at the hospital?”

  “No. There was nothing we could do, so I brought him back to the house. He and Poppy are out on the terrace right now.” She gave a wry laugh. “He’s processing everything. At least this will give him something other than the lost baby to talk about.”

  “Are you okay to stay there with him?”

  It was a few seconds before Ginny replied. “I’m fine with this for the short-term, a day or two. We’ve all known this day would come, but we’ve never decided how we’ll manage if something happens to Mom. I guess it’s time to make those decisions.”

  She was right. How were they going to handle this? Neither of them could take six weeks off from the winery, and Lexi was just as busy.

  “Have you called Lexi about this?” he asked.

  “No. You know I always go to you first.”

  Under normal circumstances he thrived on being everyone’s go-to person. Right now he didn’t feel like the person to be doling out advice. “Should we drive up this afternoon?”

  “There’s nothing you can do for Mom right now, but I’m sure she’d like to see both of you tomorrow. I’ll call you when she’s out of surgery and let you know how she’s doing.”

  “Thanks. I have some…ah…business to take care of this afternoon. Lexi’s in on it, too, so I can let her know about Mom. Then we should drive up tonight.”

  “That would be great. I’m sure Ben would be reassured to have everyone here, and I’d really appreciate it, too.”

  “No problem.” He remembered something else she’d said at the beginning of the call. “You said you had some good news, too.”

  “That’s right. I did.” Her voice sounded unexpectedly upbeat.

  “And…?”

  “And…I just found out I’m pregnant again.”

  “Oh, Ginny. That’s wonderful. How are you feeling?”

  “I saw the doctor first thing this morning and he confirmed it. He wants me to take things easy, especially for the first trimester, but otherwise I’m fine.”

  “Looking after Mom and Ben isn’t taking it easy, Ginny. Lexi and I will be there as soon as we can. We’ll stay with Ben tonight so you can go home and follow doctor’s orders.”

  “Now you sound like Paul.”

  “Paul’s a good guy.”

  “He is, and so are you. How’s Jess?”

  Under different circumstances he might have confided in her, but she had enough to cope with, and he wasn’t in the mood for another sisterly lecture. If she knew what he’d done, she would try to clean up his mess, too.

  “She’s fine,” he lied. “I’ll probably talk to her later this afternoon.”

  “Tell her I said hi.”

  “Will do. I’d better give Lexi a call. Let me know if you need anything, okay?”

  “Okay. See you tonight, Michael.”

  After he ended the call, he checked messages to see if Jess had left one. She hadn’t, of course. For once he had to wait for someone else to clean up the mess he’d made, and he didn’t like it.

  JESS WAS A WRECK by the time she got back to the bar. On the ride from Nob Hill, her thoughts had raced through a confused maze of anxiety about losing her grandfather’s business, having inherited her mother’s inability to judge a man’s character, and total disbelief that Michael had turned out to be so manipulative and deceitful. That was the part that hurt the most, because he’d seemed so sincere.

  Except for Eric, the place was empty, and for once she was grateful. His look of mild confusion at her early return quickly changed to concern when he saw her. “Jess? What’s wrong?”

  She wanted to say something, but she couldn’t speak. She shook her head instead, and then she burst into tears. Eric rushed over and put his arms around her. “Must be something big,” he said, holding her while she sobbed. “In all the years I’ve known you, I’ve only seen you cry once.”

  That had been at her grandfather’s funeral. Saying goodbye to him had broken her heart, but this was a million times worse. Michael hadn’t just broken her heart. He had ripped it out and smashed it into a bazillion little pieces. And he’d done it on purpose.

  After she sucked it up and got herself somewhat under control, Eric sat her in a chair. “I’ll be right back,” he said, looking mildly disgusted when she wiped her eyes and nose on the sleeve of her jacket. He locked the door and flipped on the closed sign, then he went behind the bar. He came back with a couple of ounces of Scotch in a glass and a handful of napkins. He pulled a chair around to face her and put the glass in her hand. “Drink some of this.”

  She took a generous gulp and sputtered a little as it heated her throat on its way down. Eric pressed some napkins into her hand so she could mop up the tears and blow her nose. She took another swig of Scotch, and felt herself slowly regaining some self-control.

  He gave her the time she needed.

  “It’s Michael,” she said.

  Eric’s concern shifted to alarm. “Did something happen to him?”

  “Not yet,” she said. “But it will.”

  “I don’t understand.”

  “He screwed me over.” She blew her nose again. “I was waiting for him…and then Lexi showed up…she’s the mystery woman who was here a couple of weeks ago…and…” She started to sob again, but still managed to tell Eric the whole crappy story.

  Eric took her glass and set it on the table, then took both her hands in his. “I’m so sorry, hon, but…are you sure? Don’t you think you should talk to—”

  “I am not talking to him ever again. When I met him, he asked if I would consider selling the place to him and my answer was no. So what did he do? He sent his sister here to snoop around. Then they sabotaged my chance of getting a building permit. Ugh!” She smacked her forehead. “I should have figured this out from the get-go instead of falling for his stupid pickup lines.”

  Eric wasn’t convinced. “I still think you should talk to him, get his side of the story. I’ve seen how he looks at you, hon. The guy’s crazy about you.”

  Jess swallowed the last mouthful of Scotch and set the glass on the table next to the pile of soggy napkins. “No, he isn’t. That was all part of the plan to trick me into letting him have what he wants. He’s not getting it.”

  Thank God she hadn’t slept with him. Except, damn it, even after what he’d done, that was something she would always regret.

  Chapter Twelve

  Jess changed into her work clothes and squirreled herself away in the bar’s dimly lit, cluttered little office, ostensibly working on the accounts but without actually accomplishing a damn thing. Eric, trying to make light of the whole horrible mess, had asked how long she planned to sulk. She wasn’t sulking, at least not yet. That would come, but it was still too soon. She was too mad, and too frequently on the verge of tears to feel sorry for herself. In the two hours since she’d stormed out of Michael’s restaurant, she had oscillated between blind anger and devastating disappointment.

  How could Michael do something like this? All the things he’d said to her in the past few weeks kept running through her head, as if they were on automatic replay. Had there been any truth in any of it?

  I had a hunch that discussing this project with you over dinner would pay off. You’re amazing.

  I’m a patient man and I’ll wait till you’re ready.

  The first time I make love to a woman, I like it to be in a bed.

  All lies. Why did she let herself fall for that crap? Because she was an idiot, just like her mother. She’d let herself get caught up in the dream that a man like Michael—an attractive, wealthy family man—was genuinely int
erested in her, and she had overlooked what he was really after.

  She thumbed through a stack of bills—bills she could have paid if she’d been able to get the building permit and qualify for a loan—and set them back on the desk.

  Face it, Jess. You’ve been living a lie. Even worse, she’d duped herself into believing she could make ends meet, that if she could just attract a few more customers, she could get caught up on the bills and fix up the place and, for the first time, her life would be perfect. She’d have a successful business and a man who loved and respected her. Now it was painfully obvious that if business didn’t pick up, there was no way she could make ends meet, let alone fix the plumbing. And if she didn’t get the restrooms working again, the city might shut her down.

  She stared at the computer monitor. She was not going to cry. There was no way would she give in to tears again. But the stupid columns of numbers blurred anyway. She wiped her eyes on the sleeve of her sweatshirt and covered her face with her hands. “I’m so sorry, Granddad. I never meant to disappoint you.”

  She thought about calling Rory or Paige, but they were both at work. Besides, she wasn’t ready to share this. They would insist on coming over and she was way too angry to be with anyone right now.

  Eric poked his head into the office. “How are you doing?”

  “Fine.”

  “Liar.”

  She ignored that. “Is it getting busy out there?” The front door had opened and closed a few times and she’d heard Eric chatting with customers.

  “I can handle it. And I know you’re busy cooking the books, but there’s someone here to see you.”

  To her annoyance, she felt her heart speed up. “I don’t want to see him. Tell him to take a hike.”

  “It’s not Michael. In fact, it’s not a him at all. Come and see for yourself.”

  “Did you call one of my friends?”

  Eric rolled his eyes. “Give me a little credit.”

  “Who is it?”

  He shrugged. “I’ve never seen her before. Now, get that adorable little tush of yours out there. Besides, I could use a break.”

  “Okay, I’ll be right there.” She straightened the paperwork she’d been attempting to work on and turned off the computer monitor. On her way out of the office, she glanced in the mirror. Her eyes were still a little puffy, but most of the redness was gone. She couldn’t imagine who wanted to see her, unless it was another health inspector, ready to slap a condemned sign on the door.

  She was completely unprepared to see Lexi Morgan sitting at the bar, drinking coffee. She had a lot of nerve, showing up here.

  “Hi, Jess. How are you?”

  “Did Michael send you?”

  She looked down at her cup. “No, I offered.”

  Jess spun around and would have headed back to the office if Eric hadn’t grabbed her shoulders. “I think you should hear her out.” He gently steered her behind the bar, poured her a cup of coffee and set it on the counter opposite Lexi’s. “Be nice,” he whispered. “And behave.” Then he disappeared into the kitchen.

  Lexi got right to the point. “Michael called me a while ago and told me that you were at the Nob Hill wine bar when I was there, and then you bolted. Figuring out you’d overheard my telephone conversation wasn’t much of a leap.”

  “You came here to admit you bribed someone at city hall to—”

  “Hey, I did not bribe anyone. I just…put up a few roadblocks.”

  “Oh, well, that makes it all right.”

  “I’m not proud of myself, but I was trying to help my brother, and he was trying to help you.”

  That was the lamest excuse ever. “How was that supposed to help me?”

  “You told Michael you were having financial problems. Selling to him would have solved that.”

  Jess picked up her coffee cup and sloshed some of it on the counter, her hands were shaking so badly. She set the cup down and wiped up the spill. “That’s an insult.” She tossed the cloth into the bar sink and turned to leave.

  Lexi reached across the counter and put a hand on her arm. “I know you’re disappointed—”

  Jess swung back to face him, angrier than ever. “Disappointed doesn’t even come close. I knew he wanted to buy the Whiskey Sour. I told him it wasn’t for sale and I thought he understood that, then this afternoon I find out that he’s still trying to swindle me out of this place.”

  Lexi withdrew her hand. “He bought the other building, you know. He put an offer on it this morning and it was accepted. The deal’s being finalized this afternoon. He was going to tell you about it at lunch today, and then he was going to make you a different offer. When we met this afternoon, he was going to tell me to back off. If he’d told me sooner, that phone call you overhead never would have happened.”

  They had been plotting against her, and that was unforgivable. Even so, she had to ask, “What was he going to offer me?”

  “You said something at Thanksgiving that changed his mind. So he bought the building on Folsom Street, and he was going to ask me to fast-track your building permit—as you know, I have connections.” She even looked a little sheepish as she said it. “And then he wanted me to work with you on the redesign.”

  “Oh.” That was a surprise, but why should she believe it?

  “Let me explain a few things about my brother. He’s been working in the family business since he was a kid, and he loves it. He did a business degree when he went to college and he was all for expanding the company then, but our father wanted it to stay the small family business it had always been. After he died, Michael took over and I have to tell you, that man has the Midas touch. He’s ambitious, sometimes aggressively so, but he’s also honest, Jess. He didn’t set out to do anything underhanded, and he would never do anything against the law. His biggest mistake was asking me to help. I took that and ran with it.”

  Jess wasn’t buying it. “That makes him just as guilty.”

  “No, it doesn’t. That’s not how Michael does business. If he was really determined to buy this place, he would have made an offer you couldn’t refuse. Instead…and I don’t know if I should tell you this, but what the hell. He was at the bank this morning, arranging financing for the new building, and he looked into backing a loan for you, too.”

  Jess was stunned. “Um…why would he do that?”

  Lexi shrugged. “You’ll have to ask him. He can be generous to a fault, but he’s never done anything like this before.”

  Jess relaxed a little and picked up her coffee again. This time it stayed in the cup. “He shouldn’t be doing any of this behind my back.”

  “I agree. It was an arrogant, macho guy thing to do and he realizes how dumb it was. While we’re talking about this, I’ll let you in on a little secret. Michael has a terrible track record with women.”

  That was hard to believe.

  Lexi leaned toward her and wrapped both hands around her coffee cup. “He’ll kill me if he finds out I told you this, but he was pretty serious about someone right after college and she really took him for a ride. Ever since then he’s been wary about women who are only interested in his money, and you’d be surprised how many there are.”

  “I’m not one of them!” She didn’t know why she was suddenly on the defensive, either, because she hadn’t done anything wrong.

  “No one thinks you are. Not me, and certainly not Michael.” She leaned even closer. “I hope you’ll give him a chance to explain…and to apologize…because he realizes he screwed up.”

  Jess didn’t know what to say. Was Lexi telling her the truth? Would Michael? She’d been falling fast and hard for Michael Morgan, and if there was a possibility that he felt the same way, maybe she owed it to both of them to give him another chance.

  “Will you talk to him?” Lexi asked. “At least let him explain.”

  “Fine. I’ll talk to him, but he has to come here…this afternoon…while Eric is still here.” She hiked a thumb in the direction of the kitchen. No
way would she agree to be alone with Michael. He was too charming and too damn sexy for his own good, and he had a way of distracting her….

  “I’ll let him know.” Lexi glanced at her wristwatch. “I’d better get going. I still have a lot of work to do this afternoon, and Ginny called to tell us my mom is having an emergency appendectomy, so Michael and I are heading up there this evening to stay with our brother.”

  Jess’s anger melted away. “I’m so sorry. Will she be okay? How’s Ben handling it?”

  “He’s a bit upset. My sister is staying with him right now, but she just found out this morning that she’s pregnant again.”

  “Wow, that’s exciting.” Jess was genuinely happy for her. Ginny would be a wonderful mother, and she certainly had a good role model.

  “I’m so thrilled for her. She and Paul really want to start a family, but she’s had two miscarriages, so her doctor is strongly advising her to take things easy, avoid stress and get plenty of rest.” Lexi took her wallet out of her bag.

  “Please, don’t worry about it,” Jess said, shaking her head emphatically. “I’m so sorry to hear about your mom.”

  “Thanks.” She put her wallet away and slid off the bar stool. “I’m sure she’ll be fine, but she’ll need some recovery time. The problem will be finding someone who can help with Ben.”

  Lexi shrugged. “It’s our fault. We’ve kept him pretty sheltered, though, and that was a mistake.”

  Jess came out from behind the bar and walked to the door with Lexi. “Poor Ben. I wish there was something I could do.”

  “For now, letting Michael set things straight will help.” Lexi offered her hand and Jess accepted the handshake. “You’re okay with me calling him and telling him to come and talk to you?”

  Jess nodded. “Thanks for coming,” she said a little reluctantly.

  “Thanks for seeing me.” She glanced around the bar. “If you decide to…well, I’ll just say this would be a fun project.”

  Eric reappeared after she left, and Jess could tell he’d listened in on most of their conversation. “Don’t start with me,” she warned.