by Kristi Gold
Thanks to that scenario, he was unable to get his mind on the recent deal he’d sealed in Europe involving a lucrative shipment of lace. The only lace he cared about at the moment was the kind that covered a woman intimately. See-through lace covering Kristina Simmons, his presumed fiancée. He needed to get that image out of his head and fast. Easier said than done.
He still couldn’t believe the way she had breezed into his life that morning, turning his world upside down, turning his libido into a time bomb in a matter of minutes. Thanks to his grandmother’s scheming.
Drew still had no idea how he was going to put an end to this farce, especially since his daughter seemed so taken with Kristina. He couldn’t blame Mandy, but he didn’t have to join her. As long as he remained objective, kept his head in the game, his hands to himself, and came up with ways to convince Kristina it would never work between them, then eventually he could go back to his life the way it was before he’d met her this morning.
And that was a life that included a few superficial women who demanded nothing more from him than an occasional escort and meaningless sex for the sake of physical gratification. No ties, no tear-filled goodbyes. Nothing complicated. Nothing that warranted any emotional commitment. Nothing but loneliness.
Now he sounded like Lilly. He didn’t need anything more. He didn’t need a steady relationship, a woman in his life. But Amanda did. She deserved that much. And Kristina Simmons deserved a man who could give her a commitment. He wasn’t that man, at least not at present.
For that reason, getting involved with Kristina was out of the question. Maybe someday, when the old wounds began to heal and the scars began to fade, Drew might consider settling down again. Maybe after the guilt over Talia’s death subsided. Maybe when he felt that he could give a woman all of himself—if and when that ever happened.
Until then, he’d go about his business, giving Amanda his unconditional love, exactly what she gave him, despite his many flaws. He’d let this thing with Kristina play out for a month, and by that time—if not before—she would come to realize that she was better off without him.
The sound of a voice coming from the hallway dragged him back to the situation at hand. His father’s voice, to be exact. “I’m telling you, something’s going on with Charlotte. Tom Reynolds told me she’s been acting very mysteriously, coming into the office while we’ve been at the lake on the weekends, avoiding people…”
Drew listened carefully, curious to find out what Tom Reynolds had said about Charlotte Masters, Drew’s father’s trusted assistant. The detective, along with another named Lucas Starwind, had been hired by the Connellys when Drew’s oldest brother, Daniel, now ruler of the kingdom of Altaria—his mother’s homeland—had been the victim of an assassination attempt. The investigation had widened, putting everyone under suspicion, including all of the Connelly clan. So far everyone in the family had been cleared, much to Drew’s relief. Still, the circumstances behind the attempt on Daniel’s life remained a mystery.
But Charlotte Masters a suspect? Surely not, Drew thought. Then something dawned on him. When Drew had been outside the building with his brother Rafe not long ago, Rafe had tried to talk to Charlotte and she’d avoided him like the plague. Drew had found that odd, since Charlotte and Rafe had always enjoyed engaging in friendly and sometimes acerbic banter. But that day she’d seemed aloof, as if something was bugging her.
“Grant, dear, think about it…”
Drew’s gaze snapped to the door when he recognized the feminine voice. What was his mother doing here? Must be something really serious, he decided.
“You know exactly what I mean,” Emma Connelly continued. “Having a baby can make you somewhat stressed. You should realize that after living with me through seven pregnancies. I’m certain that’s the case with Charlotte.”
Charlotte Masters pregnant? He’d spoken to his father on numerous occasions, and he couldn’t recall Grant saying a word about Charlotte’s pregnancy. That didn’t make any sense. But then his father had been rather distracted lately over the problems with Drew’s brother, Daniel. Still, the news came as quite a shock to Drew since Charlotte wasn’t involved with anyone, at least not that he knew of. But stranger things had happened.
Drew smiled when he thought about his twin brother and the rude awakening Brett was in for with a baby about to arrive in a matter of weeks. Drew couldn’t imagine his one-time playboy brother changing diapers, doling out bottles. He also couldn’t stop the little nip of envy over Brett’s good fortune in finding a loving wife in former police investigator Elena Delgado, a woman who would no doubt be a good mother.
Funny, he and Brett had reversed roles. Drew had become a father at twenty-one because he’d been a careless kid; Brett had spent years actively playing the field with women numbering close to the national debt. Now Brett had settled down with the woman of his dreams and Drew had been unexpectedly thrust into the dating scene. He never had been, or ever would be, as good at it as Brett.
The continuing conversation outside his door caught Drew’s attention once again. His mother was close to shouting, or as close as the genteel Emma could get.
“I don’t care if he’s working, Grant. We have to settle this with Drew now. And you’re coming with me to do that.”
Uh-oh, Drew thought. This couldn’t be good.
The door opened to his mother, former Princess Emma Rosemere of Altaria, dressed to the nines in Dior, elegant and regal as she stepped into the office with a grace be-fitting her royal status before his father had whisked her away to America to become a Connelly.
“Hello, Drew,” she said, nervously patting blond hair pulled up in a twist, the way she’d worn it for as long as Drew could remember.
Drew tossed his pen aside and straightened. For some reason he always came to attention in her presence like one of her royal subjects. “Hello, Mother. What brings you down to the office on a Saturday?”
She glided to the edge of his desk, her delicate features stern. “Your father and I need to speak with you.”
Drew leaned to one side and looked around her, toward the open door. “Fine, but I don’t see Dad.”
Emma glanced over her shoulder. “Where did that man go?”
“I’m right here, Emma, so don’t get your corset in a kink.” His father slipped in, looking decidedly uncomfortable. He tugged at the collar on his lucky green golf shirt then slicked a hand through his black hair.
Drew figured he might as well get it over with, although he had no idea what “it” was. “So to what do I owe this pleasure, playing audience to my parents?”
Emma’s eyes misted, indicating this was serious business. “I can’t believe you didn’t tell us.”
“Tell you what?”
“That you’re engaged.”
Good news traveled fast in the Connelly family. So did the bad and the bizarre. “How did you find out?” As if he didn’t know.
“Your grandmother told us.”
Lilly, Mouth of the Midwest, strikes again.
“It came about rather suddenly.” An understatement of the first order.
“Where did you meet her, son?” his father asked.
In my hallway this morning.
Nope, Drew couldn’t say that. The fewer people who knew about the scheme, the better. Not to protect Lilly, but to protect Kristina. “At a singles’ club.” That sounded logical and a modified version of the truth.
“A singles’ club?” His mother sounded exasperated and looked as though she might actually lose her composure. “What do you know about her? Is she suitable?”
Drew couldn’t contain his sarcasm over the third degree. “Well, Mom, actually she’s a stripper I picked up in some dive off Michigan Avenue. I tipped her good and she came home with me.”
Emma paled and laid a hand on her chest beneath the string of cultured pearls. “Oh…my…goodness.”
“I think he’s kidding, Emma,” Grant said. “If you’ll recall, Lilly told us she
’s a kindergarten teacher.”
“She is?” Drew blurted out, then cleared his throat. “I meant, yes, she is. A very good one. Amanda loves her.” That was the absolute truth.
Emma sank into the chair across from Drew’s desk. “I hope you know what you’re doing this time, Drew.”
In other words, Drew thought, don’t make the same mistakes you made with your first wife. “I know what I’m doing, Mother. I’m not some college kid caught in the throes of hormones.”
Emma once again composed her features. “What is this woman’s name?”
At least he knew that much. “Kristina Simmons.”
“Does she live in the city?”
Obviously Lilly had left out a few important details when she’d spilled the beans. “She lives very close to me.”
Emma’s smile was tentative. “In your neighborhood?”
No way around the truth since his parents would eventually find out. “Not just in my neighborhood. She lives with me.”
Emma’s eyes went wide. “Oh, Drew, that shouldn’t be going on with Amanda in the house.”
Little did his mother know, that wasn’t going on at all, at least not beyond Drew’s imagination. “Don’t panic, Mother. She has her own room. We decided on the living arrangement since we thought it best to get to know each other better, to make sure we’re compatible before we take the plunge.”
Drew felt as if he’d already taken the plunge, and he was damn near drowning in deceit.
His father moved behind Emma and rested his hands on her shoulders. “That sounds like a wise decision, Drew. We trust that you’ll do right by this woman and your daughter.”
“Thanks, Dad. I’ll try.” Little did they know that in a month’s time, maybe less, it would all be over.
“We really must meet her soon,” Emma said.
“You’re right,” Grant agreed. “And the perfect time to do that is next weekend.”
Great. All Drew needed was to have to put up a front with his whole family in attendance. He had to come up with something quick. “I was planning to take Amanda and Kristina to mine and Brett’s lake house for the weekend. Brett won’t be needing it since Elena’s not up to traveling right now because of her pregnancy, so I thought it would be a good time to show her the place.”
“That’s perfect,” Emma said. “We’ll come there, invite the family and make a weekend of it at the lake.”
Did she have an answer for everything? “Mother, the place isn’t big enough to house the whole family.”
“It’s big enough for a casual dinner. And after that’s over, we can go back and spend the night at the cottage. We have plenty of room there.” Emma stood. “I need to start making some calls to the children. I imagine some won’t be able to come until Saturday, so we’ll have a barbecue then. Friday night we’ll have a small dinner with just your father and I and Lilly and Tobias…”
Drew’s head began to swim, but he wouldn’t even try to come up with an excuse to get out of the little soiree. His mother was on a roll, and no one could stop Princess Emma when she was on a roll.
He would just have to convince Kristina to break off the engagement before the weekend. But he had to be in Canada on Monday, returning on Thursday. That gave him next to no time to change Kristina’s mind about the engagement, about him.
He’d simply have to work harder, beginning the minute he got home.
Three
Drew halted in the foyer at the sound of the bluesy voice singing an equally bluesy number. A fantastic feminine voice capable of making even the most stoic man stop to listen.
The song seemed familiar, but Drew couldn’t quite recall where or when he’d heard it. A sensual song that spoke of firsts. First encounters, first kisses. First lovemaking, although that came across with symbolism. But Drew didn’t have any problem interpreting the message in the veiled lyrics. If his hunches were correct, he knew who was singing, and it wasn’t his daughter.
He could only continue to listen, enthralled, until reality hit home when he noted the piano accompaniment.
Talia’s piano.
Drew strode toward the adjoining room that housed the baby grand, a room he intentionally kept closed off to avoid the memories.
With each step, the anger mounted, and so did the guilt that still lived deep within Drew. He had given Talia the piano on her twentieth birthday, and that same night had taken away her dreams of playing professionally by getting her pregnant. Then came Talia’s depression after Amanda was born, her inability to cope with the demands of being a mother and the end of her career, something Drew had disregarded. He’d been too involved in his studies, too caught up in his need to establish his position within the Connelly dynasty. Eventually he’d acknowledged that friends and family had been right about Talia’s problems, but not before it was too late.
As he’d suspected, he found Kristina sitting at the piano, the only thing of Talia’s he’d kept when he’d built this house after her death. A reminder of his failure.
Kristina’s back was to the door, her long fingers whisking over the keys with precise movements. Amanda was sitting beside her.
“What’s going on in here?” Drew asked lightly in an attempt to maintain some control over his temper.
Kristina stopped playing and glanced over her shoulder. Amanda did the same, a vibrant smile plastered on her face—a face much like her mother’s, calling up more memories.
“Hi, Daddy,” Mandy said. “Kristina sings so pretty, doesn’t she?” Her tone was full of awe, and so was her expression.
“I prefer something a bit more upbeat.” He preferred to leave this room.
Kristina only grinned, turned back to the keys, and immediately went into a lively rendition of “Chopsticks.”
Drew tried to keep calm, to moderate his tone. “I also prefer that Amanda not come in here. The piano is expensive, not a play toy. It belonged to my wife.”
Kristina swiveled around to face him with a remorseful expression. “I’m afraid that’s my fault. When I told Mandy I play, she told me about the piano. I asked her to show me.”
“She knows better.”
Amanda shifted around on the seat and hung her head, looking contrite. “But, Daddy, I wasn’t bothering Mommy’s piano. We didn’t hurt anything.”
Drew recognized that, but he couldn’t seem to get a grip on his turbulent emotions. “Go to your room, Mandy.”
“But, Daddy—”
“No buts, Amanda Elizabeth. I need to speak with Kristina.”
Kristina hugged Amanda close to her side. “Do what your daddy says, okay? I’ll see you in a bit.”
Amanda slowly scooted off the bench then turned back to Kristina. “Will you ask him?”
“We’ll see.”
Amanda brushed past Drew without looking at him. He’d been too hard on her, all because of his guilt, his anger. He’d have to apologize later. First, he had to talk to Kristina, set some ground rules.
Kristina stood, wringing her hands. “I didn’t know the piano belonged to your wife. If I had known, I wouldn’t have come in here without asking you.”
“From now on, I hope that you do ask.”
“I will.” Her features softened into sympathy. “I imagine it’s difficult facing reminders of a woman you loved, one who’s no longer with you.”
She had no idea how difficult, Drew thought. He didn’t want her pity, and he wasn’t in the mood to discuss Talia, yet he feared that’s exactly where this conversation was heading. Best to opt for a subject change. “What did Mandy want you to ask me?”
Kristina moved away from the piano but failed to look at him. “Actually, two things. First, her friend Sara called and invited her to a swim party.”
“Where?”
“At the Andersons’ home, two blocks away, Amanda said. It’s a sleepover.”
“She can go for a while, but she can’t spend the night.”
Kristina finally met his gaze. “Why not?”
; “I’m gone too much as it is. When I’m home, I want her here with me.”
“It’s only one night, and she’s really looking forward to it. She told me it would be her first slumber party.”
“I can’t let her do it.”
Now Kristina looked irritated, impatient. “I know it’s probably none of my business—”
“You’re right, it’s not.” Did he have to sound like such a jerk?
“For Amanda’s sake, I’m going to continue.” She paused for a deep breath. “I know it’s been hard on her, on you both, since her mother’s death. And I know it’s difficult for you to let go. But she needs to spend time with friends, not cooped up in this house with only her toys to pass the hours while you’re away.”
“She spends time with friends when she’s at school.”
“It’s not the same, Drew. It’s important that children socialize outside of school with their peers.”
“And what makes you the expert?” Man, that was a low blow. If he kept this up, Kristina might be out the door before day’s end. Exactly what he’d planned. But he didn’t want her to hate him, and if he didn’t calm down, she would.
“I’m a teacher, remember?” she said in an even tone, totally undaunted by his attitude. “I told you that in the e-mails.”
Those damned e-mails again. “This has to do with my daughter and what I think is best for her.”
“She needs you, Drew, but she also needs to establish some independence.”
God, he knew she was right. Still, he couldn’t stand the thought of turning Amanda loose in a world that was so full of disappointments, regrets, danger. “I’ll think about it.” For a minute, then he would gently tell his daughter no. “What’s the other thing?”
