Stranded with the Tycoon (Mills & Boon Cherish)

by Pembroke, Sophie

  ‘I think you’d be better off with me.’

  ‘Living out of hotel rooms? Never settling down? Isn’t that what you said you’d never do to a child?’ The words stung as she bit them out. ‘Or will it be you, gone for months on end, sleeping with every woman who smiles at you in a hotel bar? No, thanks. A family takes more than a one-night rule, Ben.’

  He swallowed back an angry denial, not least because he knew everything she said was true. His father hadn’t been able to do it, and Seb wasn’t even trying, for all his talk. Ben wasn’t content to be one of those once-a-month visiting dads. So maybe Luce was right. Maybe there was no place for him at all.

  ‘I can help. Financially.’

  She threw him a scathing look. ‘I don’t want it,’ she said.

  Ben heard, I don’t want you.

  ‘Money isn’t going to give you a quick fix this time.’

  Why was he even surprised? he wondered as Luce walked out, slamming the door behind her. He’d never expected his father to love him more than his work, or his mother to love him more than her freedom. He certainly couldn’t expect Luce to love him more than her child.

  Their child.

  ‘Hell,’ he whispered, and went to pour himself a very large whisky from the mini-bar.

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  LUCE REFUSED TO CRY.

  She stayed resolutely dry-eyed while flagging down a taxi. She remained calm as they drove through the dark Cardiff streets and as she paid the driver. She didn’t even give in while she fumbled with the keys to get into her house.

  But at the sight of Dolly, asleep on her sofa with a blanket over her knees, having obviously failed in waiting up for her to get home, Luce fell apart and sobbed.

  Dolly awoke with a start, jerking upright and tossing back the blanket even as she stumbled to her feet. ‘What happened?’ she asked, her voice bleary.

  Luce shook her head and pulled Dolly down to sit on the sofa with her. ‘I can’t... Just...don’t ask, please.’

  ‘Idiot,’ Dolly whispered. ‘Tell me he wasn’t more of an idiot than Tom?’

  ‘It’s a toss-up.’

  ‘Useless. All of them. We should run away to some women’s commune and raise her there.’

  ‘It might be a boy.’

  ‘Doesn’t matter. We’ll dress him in skirts.’ Dolly shook her head. ‘Except then Tom would just steal the house while we were gone, and that’s no good. So we’ll stay here.’

  ‘We?’ Luce blinked up at her sister

  Dolly took a deep breath. ‘I thought I could move in and help you. If you want me. And not at all in a house-stealing sibling way. Because you already have one of those. I know I haven’t always been much help in the past, but I think it might be time for me to grow up and take care of myself.’

  Luce tilted her head to look at her sister. ‘You have grown up. I don’t know what changed.’

  Dolly shook her head. ‘Doesn’t matter. The only thing that does is that I want to be here to help you with the baby. To look after you for a change.’

  ‘That would be wonderful.’ Relief started to seep into her chest. She didn’t have to do this alone. Even if Ben wasn’t there she still had Dolly.

  ‘And besides, I thought the rent money might help you with doing this place up a bit. Making it safe for the baby.’

  Luce stared at her. ‘You don’t have to pay rent. You’re still my baby sister.’

  ‘And I’m a grown-up now, remember? I can pay my own way.’ Dolly smiled a lopsided smile. ‘Maybe we can help look after each other. Because it seems to me that there’s going to be someone soon who needs your love and care a lot more than me or Tom or Mum.’

  ‘Especially if I’m the only parent it’s got.’ Luce slumped back against the arm of the sofa.

  ‘Idiot,’ Dolly muttered again. ‘But it doesn’t matter. You’ll be the best mum any child could hope for. And I’ll be the coolest auntie.’

  ‘Of course.’

  There was a pause, then Dolly asked, ‘What did he say?’

  ‘He’s got a lot of work on at the moment. He offered me money.’ That was a reasonable summary, Luce felt.

  ‘How dare he!’ Dolly’s voice grew ever more vehement.

  ‘The thing is, he’s not a bad man. He...he looked shell-shocked at the whole thing. Trapped. Like he couldn’t see a way out.’

  Dolly shook her head. ‘Doesn’t matter. He should have manned up and supported you.’

  ‘Yeah, I know.’ Luce twisted her hands in the blanket. He should have. Of course he should. And she couldn’t quite believe that he hadn’t.

  ‘But...?’

  Luce looked up at her sister. ‘The thing is, I think I might be a little bit in love with him.’

  Dolly laughed and pulled her into a hug, her arms warm and comforting around her. ‘Oh, Luce. Of course you are. I’ve known that for weeks.’

  ‘Then how come I only just figured it out?’

  ‘Because you were too busy trying to come up with a sensible plan for all this. Except love isn’t sensible, and it can’t be planned.’

  ‘Is that why you fall in love so often? Because you’re not sensible and can’t be planned either?’

  ‘Exactly.’

  How had her baby sister grown up so smart? Luce laid her head against Dolly’s shoulder and stared out into the darkened room. She knew where every stick of furniture was, exactly where each painting hung on the wall. They’d been there her whole life, after all. ‘What do I do now, Doll?’

  ‘You just take each day as it comes. It gets easier, I promise. And I’ll help you.’

  Luce nodded. Time to try life without a ‘To Do’ list for a while.

  * * *

  Ben woke feeling jet-lagged and hung-over, and cursed his alarm clock before he’d even opened his eyes. A headache pounded behind his temples, beating a rhythm that sounded like a door slamming over and over again. Still, he had work to do. And since, after last night, work was all he had, he supposed he’d better make the most of it.

  Dragging himself out of bed, into the shower and then into a suit took twice as long as normal. He skipped breakfast, his stomach rebelling at the idea. How much had he drunk after Luce had left? The mini-bar looked suspiciously empty.

  Seb was waiting for him in the meeting room and raised his eyebrows at the sight of him. ‘Jet-lag?’ he asked, pouring Ben a coffee.

  Ben dropped into an empty chair and pulled the saucer closer. ‘Amongst other things.’

  ‘Thought you’d be immune to that by now.’

  ‘Twelve time zones in eight weeks is hard on anyone’s body.’ Which was true. It just wasn’t why Ben felt so awful.

  Seb tilted his head, looking sympathetic. ‘You need some time off?’

  Ben shook his head. ‘I need to work.’

  ‘Why?’ Seb’s brow furrowed. ‘What’s going on, Ben? You’ve been different lately. First your trip away with your “university friend” then a sudden desire to revamp our hotels for the family market. Anything you need to tell me?’

  ‘She’s pregnant,’ Ben said, his voice flat.

  Seb’s eyebrows shot up. ‘Really? Well, that explains a lot. When did you find out?’

  ‘Last night.’

  ‘Oh. So the hotel thing was...?’

  ‘Coincidental. I hadn’t seen her since we came back from the cottage. She stopped by last night and told me. I...reacted badly.’

  ‘You were exhausted last night, Ben. I’m sure if you call her, talk to her...’

  ‘No. She’s right. It’s better that I’m not a part of the baby’s life.’

  ‘She said that?’ Seb shook his head. ‘That can’t possibly be true.’

  Ben shrugged. ‘What could I give a child? I have no
idea how to be a father, my job means travelling pretty much all of the time, and I won’t force a kid to come along with me like Dad did. This is something I can’t fix. She told me as much.’

  ‘You mean you won’t try.’ Seb’s tone was flat. Disappointed.

  Ben glared up at him. ‘You don’t think I would if I could?’

  ‘I think you’re scared. I think you’ve got so used to swooping in and solving a crisis before retiring victorious you’ve forgotten that some things take more than that. Some things are worth more than that. More than just throwing money at a problem, or hiring and firing people.’

  ‘That’s my job,’ Ben snapped.

  ‘Yeah, and this is your life. Your future. It deserves more than a quick fix. Your child deserves more.’ Seb stared until Ben flinched. ‘You need to decide right now that you’re in this for the long haul.’

  The long haul. For ever.

  With Luce.

  After the last couple of months of being miserable without her, how could he give that up without a fight?

  Ben swallowed. ‘Okay. Say I’m in. What the hell do I do? She still thinks I’m the same person I was at university, with no sense of responsibility. She thinks I’ve never grown up.’

  ‘Then maybe it’s time to prove her wrong,’ Seb suggested.

  Ben blinked at his brother. ‘What do you mean?’

  Seb got to his feet, coming round to lean against the front of the conference table, next to Ben’s chair. Ben appreciated the gesture. It made it easier to remember that Seb was his brother, not just his boss, and definitely not their father all over again. Brothers. That was good.

  ‘You’re not that kid any more. I remember you at university. You’re miles away from that now. You work hard, you value your friends, you want to make a home—’

  ‘Where did you get that one from?’ Ben asked with a laugh. ‘I live in hotel rooms.’

  ‘Maybe. But I’ve heard you talk about your cottage. About your plans for the château. What are they, if not homes?’

  An image of Luce, leaning against the kitchen counter in the cottage while he cooked, flashed into his mind. Then one of her curled up on the sofa with a book and a blanket. Working at the desk. Sprawled across his bed, smiling at him, waiting for him to join her.

  The buildings weren’t home. Whatever he did to them, however he filled them, they couldn’t be—not on their own.

  They needed Luce there. Luce was home. Luce and their child.

  ‘Oh, God,’ he said, collapsing back in his chair. ‘I’m in love with her.’

  ‘Well, I thought that was obvious,’ Seb said. ‘Now, what do you want to do about it?’

  ‘What can I do? She thinks I’m an idiot, and I still can’t imagine how I could have a family right now.’

  Seb picked up the phone. ‘Business Services? Could you get us some more coffee in here, please? And we’re going to need the room a little longer than anticipated. We need to have an important planning meeting. Right now.’

  ‘Do you want me to send in some pastries, too?’ came the muffled reply.

  ‘Definitely,’ Seb said, looking at Ben. ‘Now, come on. Let’s find a way to make this work.’

  * * *

  ‘I can help with that, you know,’ Luce called up the stairs, behind the struggling Dolly and her suitcase. ‘I’m pregnant. Not an invalid.’

  ‘You’re trying to save me again,’ Dolly yelled back.

  ‘No, I’m not. I’m...’ But Dolly had already reached the top of the stairs and disappeared into her new bedroom. Since she wasn’t allowed to help with any of the fetching and carrying, Luce decided to go and make tea instead. At least that was useful.

  As she entered the kitchen her phone rang, as if it had known she was coming. Luce stared at it, sitting on the counter, with Ben’s name scrolling across the screen. Just the sight of those three letters made her heart clench. She’d need to talk to him eventually, she knew. Give him another chance for some sort of involvement—with the baby, not her. She was all set without him, thank you. She had her own not-a-plan and she was sticking to it. Just her, Dolly and the baby.

  Ben had been right about one thing—even if he was wrong about almost everything else. She needed priorities and she needed to stick to them. And for the foreseeable future her priority was her child, and staying healthy and stress-free so she could look after them.

  Neither Ben nor her brother were conducive to that.

  The phone stopped ringing and Luce went to put the kettle on. She’d talk to him soon. Just not yet.

  ‘Anyone home?’

  Luce’s shoulders tensed at the sound of Tom’s voice. She hadn’t heard his key in the lock, but maybe Dolly had left the door open while she was dragging in her assorted bags and boxes.

  ‘In the kitchen,’ she called back, and schooled her face, ready for the showdown.

  ‘Oh, good. I’d murder a cup of tea,’ said Tabitha.

  Luce bit her lip. She hadn’t expected Mum, too. Oh, well, maybe it was best to get it all over with in one go, anyway.

  ‘I’ll make a pot,’ Luce said. Maybe she could busy herself with the teacups and cake until Dolly came down. Moral support was always appreciated.

  ‘I think that’s the last of it,’ Dolly said as she entered the kitchen. ‘And just in time, too. Hi, Mum. Tom.’

  Luce placed the tea tray on the kitchen table. ‘Help yourselves,’ she said, and settled into the chair at the head of the table.

  ‘Now, Lucinda,’ Tabitha said, taking a tiny sliver of cake. ‘We wanted to talk to you about Tom’s idea. He says you dismissed it rather out of hand, but I don’t think you can have listened to all the details. He’s put a lot of thought into this, you know.’

  ‘He wants to live in my house with his new girlfriend and her children,’ Luce summarised.

  ‘Well, yes. But we thought that you could have Tom’s flat in exchange! Wouldn’t that be nice? This house is far too big with just you rattling around in it, anyway.’

  ‘Tom’s flat is rented,’ Luce pointed out. Best to address all the problems with Tabitha’s statement in turn, she decided.

  ‘Well, yes, but the rent’s very affordable for you on your salary. And, after all, you’ve been able to live here rent-free for the last few years. Isn’t it time Tom had the same opportunity?’

  Luce blinked and looked over at Dolly, who appeared equally baffled by their mother’s attempt at reasonable argument.

  ‘She’s lived here rent-free because it’s her house,’ Dolly said.

  ‘Only because Grandad left it to her,’ Tom put in. ‘But it’s always been the family house, hasn’t it? Luce always says it belongs to all of us, really.’

  ‘Except for the part where it’s her house. Grandad left you other stuff. And me.’

  Dolly’s voice grew louder. Her grasp on staying restrained and reasonable wasn’t going to last long, Luce suspected.

  ‘Not a house, though,’ Tom said, his tone perfectly reasonable.

  Luce frowned. ‘Is that what this is really about? You’re jealous because Grandad left me more valuable property than you?’

  Tom straightened his back and stared at her. ‘It’s not about jealousy. It’s about fairness. I need the house more than you, that’s all. We’re a family. We share.’

  The really scary part, Luce thought, was that he truly believed this was a reasonable demand. She’d spent her entire life giving and giving to these people, and now they couldn’t imagine that there might be something she wasn’t willing to hand over to them.

  But Dolly had grown up, grown out of that dependence. She’d changed when Luce had never really believed it was possible.

  And that meant Tom could, too.

  ‘Do you know why he left it to me?’ Luce asked, mildly.
<
br />   Tom shook his head.

  ‘He left me a note in the will explaining. He said, “You’re going to spend the rest of your life looking after the lot of them, because God knows they can’t do it themselves. Think of this as your salary.” And I think I’ve more than earned it over the last few years.’

  Tom stared at her, his eyes wide and disbelieving, and Luce squashed down a pang of guilt. She needed to do this. For all their sakes.

  ‘Sounds fair to me,’ Dolly said gleefully. ‘And that’s another reason I have no problem paying you rent.’

  ‘Rent?’ Tabitha said, faintly.

  ‘Yep. I’m moving in with Luce. Figure that the rent I pay can help her fix up this place. Trust me, Tom, you wouldn’t want the house if you’d seen the damp in the attic.’

  Tom finally found his voice. ‘But I told Vanessa we could—’

  ‘Well, you shouldn’t have,’ Luce interjected. ‘This is my place, Tom. And while you, and Mum—and Vanessa, if she sticks around—are always welcome here, this is my house, my home. And I’m afraid all of you are going to have to get better at looking after yourselves. I’m going to have bigger concerns for the next decade or two.’

  ‘Like what?’ Tom asked.

  ‘Like my own family. I’m pregnant.’

  ‘You’re...? Well... That’s lovely, darling, I’m sure.’ Tabitha’s brows were furrowed, as if she were missing some vital part of the conversation.

  Luce wondered if hearing what Grandad had really thought of her had sent Tabitha even further into her own world, reliving past events with new eyes. She was sure her mother would catch up later and demand answers and information. But for now Luce was glad of the respite.

  Tom, however, had no such reserve.

  ‘Pregnant! You can’t be. Who’s the father? Or is this some desperate attempt to find love from a child instead of actually falling in love? Some “must start a family by the age of thirty” plan?’

  Anger bubbled in Luce’s stomach, acid and biting. She’d known Tom wouldn’t take the change in the status quo well, but to hear such words from her own brother—the brother she’d tried so hard to look after and protect—it made her heart ache. And told her it was past time to cut him off. Fighting to keep her voice even she said, ‘That’s none of your business. Now, get out of my house.’