The Parent Pact (Book Three of The Return to Redemption Series)

by Laurie Kellogg

  As they stepped back into the family room, Ben handed Annie his business card. “I’ll take care of everything. Call me on Wednesday for the details.”

  Tyler grabbed his friend’s arm and spun him around to face him. “Call you for what?”

  “Isn’t your housekeeper entitled to have a private conversation without you sticking your two cents in?”

  “Absolutely. And you know I think of her as more than my housekeeper. I’m just curious about what you’re taking care of.”

  Annie waved her hand between them. “Hull-O. I’m standing right here.”

  Damn. Why couldn’t he simply admit it made him crazy that she’d asked Ben for help instead of relying on him?

  “It’s nothing you need to concern yourself with,” Ben said. “By the way, I forgot to ask you last week—can you free up this Friday afternoon and evening?”

  “I think so.” Tyler shrugged. “What’s up?”

  “Why does something have to be up? I’ll have Thomas come for you at your office in the limo. About one-thirty?”

  It wasn’t like Ben to be so cryptic or defensive. “So who’re we meeting with?”

  “Who said we’re meeting anyone? Can’t I ask for a little of your time without getting the third degree about it?”

  “Well, sure.” Tyler glanced over at his sister laughing behind her hand. “Do you know what this is all about?”

  “Why in the world would I know anything about your business with Ben?” Sabrina smiled a little too brightly.

  “I don’t know. I feel as if I’m doing the Socratic do-si-do with all of you.”

  Annie wrinkled her brow. “What’s that?”

  Another question. But of course, she wouldn’t have the vaguest idea what he was talking about. “The Socratic method is a debating approach in which a person attempts to defeat his opponent by countering his questions with other questions,” he explained. “College and particularly law professors are fond of using the method to force students into the defensive position in philosophical discussions.”

  “And you think that’s what we’re doing?” Annie chuckled, her eyes wide. “Did you consider that maybe you’re simply asking the wrong questions?”

  He blew out an exasperated huff. He had to hand it to her—she caught on quickly.

  Chapter 9

  At one-thirty on Friday afternoon, Tyler finished changing into the freshly pressed suit and clean shirt he’d brought to the office. When the intercom buzzed, his assistant told him, “Mr. Elliott’s chauffeur is downstairs. He says the lady is waiting.”

  Ben had been acting weird all week.

  “Thanks, Connie. Tell him I’ll be right down.” He drew his eyebrows together as he straightened his tie in the mirror. Wait a second. Connie had said thelady was waiting? What about Ben?

  A hard knot formed in Tyler’s gut as he recalled the number of times in the last several months his friend had tried to set him up on blind dates. He picked up his cell phone and punched BJ’s picture. When he answered, Tyler barked at him, “What’re you trying to pull? You know I’m interested in Annie.”

  “Tyler? Hasn’t Thomas gotten there yet?”

  “He’s downstairs. Connie told me he said the lady is waiting. That’s when I realized what you’re up to. If you think I’m going waste my evening with some blind date when I could be home with Annie and the kids, you have—”

  “Fitzpatrick, shut your yap and go downstairs. I want you to check this woman out. I think she’d make a perfect wife.”

  Tyler closed his eyes. “I thought you were soured on the idea of marriage.”

  “I was. But this girl’s different. If you like her, you have my blessing to take her out.”

  When the line disconnected in his ear, he stared at the receiver. Why would Ben give him the green light to date someone with whom he was contemplating marriage?

  He ran a comb through his hair and took the four flights of stairs to the lobby rather than waiting for the elevator. Right outside the door, Ben’s silver-haired chauffeur lounged against the white stretch limo, apparently enjoying the warm sunshine.

  “Hello, Thomas. How have you been?”

  “I’m doing well, Mr. Tyler. It appears Master Ben ordered a touch of Indian summer for you today.”

  Tyler glanced at the smoky mirrored glass surrounding the rear passenger compartment and turned his back to the Lincoln so the woman couldn’t see his lips. “So what’s the story? Do you like this woman?”

  “Very much. She’s quite beautiful.”

  “But does she care two bits about Ben?”

  “I highly doubt that. But after the amount he spent on her today, one never knows.”

  “That’s what I was afraid of. Ben never gives them the chance to fall for him rather than his wallet.”

  Thomas smiled and opened the rear door for him. “We’d best be going.”

  When Tyler ducked into the car, he turned to confront the woman about her intentions and nearly choked on his tongue.

  “Annie,” he whispered. “You look....amazing.”

  Other than the light coat of mascara and lip-gloss she’d worn on her date with Will, Tyler had never seen her apply much make-up. She had a natural kind of beauty that didn’t need cosmetics. However, he had to admit, she looked like a beautiful magazine model today. Her thick lashes were longer than ever. The shape of her tempting mouth had been outlined and her lips coated with a decadent kiss-me shade of red that matched the polish on her nails. His tongue raced around his mouth, trying to work up enough saliva to speak.

  Her dark glossy curls had been blown into a smooth sophisticated style that gave her face an exotic appearance. He dragged his gaze down to her black beaded cocktail dress and continued on to the painted toes peeking out of her strappy sandals. She smelled incredible—not that her naturally sweet scent didn’t always entice him to inhale a little deeper whenever he got close to her. However, today her fragrance smelled more sophisticated—like Coco Chanel incredible.

  Knowing the upscale stores his buddy routinely shopped in, he could imagine how much Annie’s come-hither transformation had set Ben back.

  Apparently, he owed his friend a huge apology.

  ~*~

  Annie’s breath caught when the spark of desire in Tyler’s eyes flared into a bonfire as he checked the lock on the privacy panel between the driver and the rear of the limo. She opened the refrigerator and drew out a sweating bottle of champagne. “Would you like a drink?”

  When he nodded mutely, she popped the cork and slurped up the froth as it erupted from the bottle’s neck. Tyler leaned in to help lap up the foam and kissed her with a mouthful of bubbly, sliding his palm up her leg. As his hand reached the top of her black sheer stocking and squeezed the flesh above the elasticized lace, she grabbed his wrist.

  “That’s far enough, Mr. Fitzpatrick.”

  “No, it’s definitely not far enough.” Tyler nipped at her throat while dragging off his suit jacket. “You make me so hot. If we’re not going any further than a few kisses, I need to know right now so I can dump that bottle in my lap. Otherwise—”

  “I just don’t want our first time to be in the back of a limousine.” She nibbled his lips, and murmured, “I think we should pace ourselves. We’ve got a long weekend ahead of us.”

  “Weekend? What’d you do with the kids?” He filled two crystal flutes with champagne and handed her one of the glasses. “I hope you got a good price for them.”

  “No, actually I gave them away. Sabrina and Ben are staying with them until Sunday evening.” She smiled and sipped her drink, wrinkling her nose from the bubbles. “It’s my turn to do a little seducing.”

  He lounged back against the seat and spread his arms. “Okay. Have your way with me, woman.”

  “Unh-uh.” She pulled him closer by his tie and brushed his lips with hers. “I want to watch you squirm for a while,” she whispered. “The same way you’ve been torturing me the last few weeks.”

  She
gulped her champagne, hoping to find some courage at the bottom of the glass. She couldn’t believe how sexy she felt wearing the nearly nonexistent underwear the salesclerk had talked her into when Ben and Thomas had taken her shopping in Manhattan previous day. The miniscule silky scraps made her feel daring.

  “Okay, I can be patient.” He chuckled, sipping his drink. “Now I get why Ben was so eager to help you. He’s getting an evening with my sister out of the deal. But I’m wondering if you’re doing this simply to play matchmaker between them.”

  “No. Sabrina convinced me I shouldn’t avoid getting involved with you simply because I have doubts about the outcome.”

  “She should take her own advice,” he murmured. “Did I forget to mention you look absolutely stunning?”

  “It was the first thing you said. But even Freddie Kruger would look good if Ben spent as much on him for beauty treatments and a designer outfit.”

  “You’re always beautiful even without all of that. But today you’re....WOW.”

  “I’m glad to hear all that waxing, soaking, and massaging this morning was worth it.” As soon as she’d taken the kids to school that morning, Thomas had whisked her off to a luxurious day spa in Princeton. “I felt like a Thanksgiving turkey being prepped for the oven.”

  “I promise, you look nothing like a turkey,” he said, sipping his drink.

  “That’s now. You should’ve seen me when my face was covered in mud marinade.”

  Her analogy must have hit his funny bone at the exact second he swallowed, sending him into a laughing and coughing fit. When he finally composed himself, he said, “I thought women enjoyed all that primping.”

  “Now I didn’t say it wasn’t a lot of fun. However, I couldn’t stop thinking about how much it was all costing Ben.”

  “He can afford it.” Tyler set his glass down on the tiny side table and turned in his seat to face her. “You know how a year is like a second to God?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Well, BJ’s attitude about money is like God’s sense of time. They both have an infinite supply, so they don’t even notice when they’ve spent a lot of it.”

  “If that’s true, I don’t see how Ben could possibly be successful at what he does. Money is his business.”

  “Business is whole other matter. That’s all about raking in the dough, not shelling it out. And the number one rule is sometimes you have to spend money to make money.”

  “And that’s what you’re doing when you buy that old table at a garage sale and then sell it as an antique for a lot more,” she repeated the analogy he’d used the night he’d told her what he did for a living.

  “Right. Finance is just a lot of numbers on paper. Our goal is to get the balance on the right side of the page to come out higher than the total on the left.” He glanced out the window as Thomas pulled the limo into Princeton Airport. “By the way, where are you taking me and what are we doing when we get there?”

  “I haven’t the vaguest idea. Ben planned our mystery date.”

  “Ahh.” He smiled and eagerly rubbed his palms together. “In that case, the possibilities are endless.”

  ~*~

  About an hour later, Annie peered out the helicopter’s window. She’d never flown before, even on a plane, so the trip alone was exciting. Evidently, Ben’s chauffeur was also licensed to pilot helicopters and small planes.

  “Where are we?” she spoke into the microphone on the headset Thomas had given her when she boarded the aircraft.

  “I suspect we’re on our way to the Elliotts’ country estate in the Pocono Mountains.” Tyler pointed to the huge body of water below. “If we are, that’s Lake Wallenpaupak down there.”

  “I don’t understand. Ben told me he lives in Princeton.”

  “He does during the week. He also has a penthouse in Manhattan. This is the family’s weekend and summer residence.”

  “The lake is thirteen miles long and has fifty-two miles of shoreline,” Thomas told her. “Master Ben’s father retired a few years ago and now splits his time between his homes in Hilton Head and Boca Raton. The senior Mr. Elliot only stays at this estate for a few weeks during the summer, so the property is mostly used by Master Ben to entertain friends and business associates.”

  “Luke and I used to visit several weeks each summer while we were in college. Fifty years ago, when Ben’s dad built this place, lakefront property was a steal here compared to a lot of other large lakes in the northeast. Mr. Elliot had the foresight to see the area’s potential, and he bought two hundred acres. It’s more of a private resort than a home.”

  Her mouth dropped open. “Wow.”

  The helicopter banked and began its descent over an emerald expanse of lawn that resembled a golf course. They flew low over a set of wrought iron gates with the name, Elliott, topping the metalwork and followed a winding private road lined with hundred-year-old shade trees past a stone caretaker’s cottage. When Ben told her he would arrange everything for their date, she’d thought he would make restaurant reservations or get theater tickets.

  The chopper set down on a landing pad twenty yards in front of a Tudor style mansion, and she turned to Tyler. “This is like something out of a fairytale.”

  After opening the aircraft’s door for them, Thomas unlocked the house. “Mr. Elliott wants you to enjoy his hospitality and the attention of his staff. If you’d like to go boating or riding, the caretaker will see to the arrangements.”

  “There’s a stable?” she asked in awe.

  “Oh, yes, Miss Annie, as well as tennis courts, indoor and outdoor pools and a small marina.”

  “There’s also a bowling alley and recreation room in the basement that rivals any arcade I’ve ever been in,” Tyler told her.

  Thomas held the front door open for them to enter. “Make yourselves at home. I’ll be in the kitchen with Mr. Elliott’s chef. We’ll be serving afternoon tea in about fifteen minutes in the drawing room.” He gestured toward a large inviting sitting room to their right. “Will eight o’clock suit you for dinner, Mr. Tyler?”

  “That’ll be fine,” Tyler agreed.

  After Thomas left, Annie gawked at the wide mahogany staircase and crystal chandelier that lit the enormous front hall. The foyer was nearly as large as her entire house. She wandered through several rooms on first floor in a daze and finally returned to Tyler in the drawing room. “How big is this place?”

  “I think Ben once told me it has thirty-four rooms. But who knows what he’s counting as a room. The ballroom is the size of a regulation basketball court. It has a hardwood floor, so Ben shoots hoops and plays volleyball in it when he’s not entertaining. There are four luxury suites on the second floor and eight regular guest rooms on the third, each with a private bath.”

  She glanced around the drawing room where every corner and flat surface seemed to hold some priceless antique or piece of art. The lavish surroundings made her stomach perform a gymnastic routine that would put an Olympic contender to shame. Her nervousness would undoubtedly make her break something before their date ended.

  She sank onto the brocade sofa and folded her hands in her lap to keep herself from knocking anything over. When she’d hatched this plan on Sunday with Sabrina, it’d seemed like a much better idea than it did right now.

  Despite how much she longed to make love with Tyler, the prospect scared her. What if she disappointed him? At least a dozen times during the last month he’d insisted they would be phenomenal together.

  Considering the way he’d been anticipating this moment, his imagination had probably built their tryst into something beyond what even a high-priced call-girl could deliver. How could someone as inexperienced as she possibly fulfill his overblown expectations.

  Thomas wheeled in a cart carrying a gleaming silver tea service and an assortment of savory delicacies. Included were a basket of toasted rounds of French bread and a plate of liver paté garnished with slivers of red onion. Next to that was some type of pink mousse mo
lded in the shape of a fish and sprinkled with fresh dill. A small chafing dish held hot artichoke/spinach dip.

  She wanted something ordinary to calm her nervous stomach. Maybe a cup of tea. She spied chunks of fresh fruit on bamboo skewers and the breath she’d been holding rushed out.

  Tyler sat beside her, and her heart leapt into her throat as he took her hand. “The chef went a little gourmet for your taste, didn’t he?”

  “That’s okay. I like fruit.”

  “I think you’ll like the rest, too, if you give it a chance.” The look in his eyes suggested he wasn’t only referring to the food.

  Did he sense how nervous she was? The thought of eating liver paté with her stomach doing somersaults was too much.

  “There’s also an assortment of petite fours, scones, and tarts,” Thomas explained, pulling a three-tiered china plate from the cart’s lower shelf and placing it on the coffee table.

  “Let’s start with this mousse on the crostini.” Tyler stood and scooped up some pink glop that had a slightly fishy odor. “Be adventurous. Alain’s whipped smoked salmon is legendary. Once you try it, you won’t be able to get enough.” He held the toasted bread to Annie’s mouth, and she took a nibble.

  “Ummm,” she murmured. “You’re right. It’s scrumptious. The dill adds a great zing to it.”

  In between munching on the mousse, paté, and cheesy artichoke/spinach dip, they enjoyed the fruit, and finished with a couple of little iced cakes, a shared scone, and piping hot tea.

  As soon as she drained her cup, Tyler slid his arms around her waist and murmured, “Okay, I’ve demonstrated the patience of a saint. You promised to seduce me.”

  “I know. But I’m not sure I should right now,” she whispered. “I’ve got liver-onion-fish breath.”

  ~*~

  “I ate the chopped liver and salmon mousse, too, so I won’t even notice.” Tyler stared down at Annie trembling in his arms. Her rigid spine told him she’d suddenly developed a case of cold feet and had no idea how much he cared for her. “Admit it. It’s not your breath that’s holding you back. What are you really afraid of, sweetheart?”