The Billionaire's Bride of Innocence

by Miranda Lee

  Without hesitating, Megan picked up the kitchen extension and punched in her home number.

  ‘Logan residence,’ Roberta answered brightly.

  ‘Roberta, it’s Megan. Is James there?’

  ‘No, love, he’s not. He’s just left for work. You could possibly catch him on his car phone.’

  ‘No, I don’t like to ring when he’s driving. I’ll wait till he’s in the office. Oh, and, Roberta, you were right. James does love me. He came to visit me last night and we’ve decided to try again.’

  ‘I knew something good must have happened. He was so chipper this morning. So when are you coming home?’

  ‘Not just yet. Soon, perhaps. I’m playing hard-to-get.’

  ‘That’s never a bad thing where men like your James are concerned. But don’t play too hard. I don’t think patience is one of Mr Logan’s virtues.’

  Megan laughed. ‘I don’t think so, either. Will be in touch, Roberta. Bye.’

  Megan hung up, still smiling. It was good that people like Roberta also thought James loved her. It made her feel better about believing him.

  It wouldn’t take her husband too long to get from Bellevue Hill into the CBD, she deduced. Half an hour at most, allowing for the traffic. Images occupied one of the top floors in an office block in Goulburn Street, right opposite a multi-storey car park. His habit was to always be in his office by eight-thirty on a weekday. She would have breakfast first, then call him on his mobile.

  Twenty minutes later she was doing just that.

  ‘Megan! How lovely to hear from you so early.’

  ‘James, I’ve been thinking.’

  ‘Yes?’

  ‘I was horrible to you last night.’

  ‘No, no, you were perfectly reasonable. And sensible. I admired the way you acted.’

  ‘You did?’

  ‘Absolutely. You are totally justified in not trusting me. Or believing me.’

  ‘But I do. Believe you, that is.’

  ‘What about trust?’

  ‘That, too.’

  ‘Oh, Megan…darling…’

  He sounded all choked up, which choked her up.

  ‘Take me out to dinner tonight,’ she said huskily. ‘Somewhere special and romantic.’

  ‘You’re on. Seven-thirty do?’

  ‘Yes.’

  ‘Great.’

  ‘I have my period,’ she blurted out, wanting to get rid of that one last shred of doubt. ‘When you suddenly stop taking the Pill, you usually get a period a couple of days later. Unless, of course, you’ve accidentally fallen pregnant.’

  ‘Well, that couldn’t have happened, could it? I mean…we didn’t have sex after I threw your pills away.’

  She didn’t much like his calling it having sex. ‘Sperm can live for forty-eight hours, James. I would have thought you’d have known that.’

  ‘Oh. Well, I guess I did. In theory. But I didn’t think of it at the time.’

  ‘I did.’

  ‘Oh, Megan, I’m sorry. You must have been worried.’

  ‘I was.’

  ‘Megan…’

  ‘Yes.’

  ‘I want you to know that I love you and want you back, even if you don’t want to have children.’

  ‘I really appreciate your saying that, James. But it’s all right. I do want children. In fact, getting my period today made me realise how much I do. As perverse as it sounds, I was a bit…disappointed.’

  ‘You’ll make a wonderful mother.’

  ‘I hope so.’

  ‘Megan, I must go, darling. I’ve called a meeting this morning for an update on what happened whilst I was away. Sorry.’

  ‘That’s all right. I’ll see you tonight.’

  That thought satisfied her till later that morning, after she received an amazing phone call from Nathan, telling her that an American lady was in his gallery and had fallen in love with one of the paintings. The one titled Despair.

  Two things persuaded Megan to sell it. First was the amazing offer of forty thousand dollars. Second was the fact that the woman was flying back to Los Angeles that day, meaning no one around Sydney would ever see it.

  ‘But I want you to withdraw my other painting from sale,’ she’d told Nathan. ‘Please take it down and wrap it up for me. I’ll be in there shortly to pick it up.’

  It was during the drive to Bondi to collect her painting that Megan decided that dinner tonight was way too many hours off. She wanted to see James now. So instead of driving back to her parents’ place after picking up her painting, she headed for the city, and Images.

  It would be lunch-time soon, she reasoned. She would take James out for coffee and a bite to eat. And she’d tell him finally about the paintings. He’d seemed genuinely confused over her mentioning them last night. Nicole clearly hadn’t said anything about them.

  She was no longer angry at Nicole for telling James she still loved him. How could she be when everything was turning out so well?

  Megan found a spot on the roof of the car park opposite James’s building, walking briskly on her high heels to the lift, which carried her quickly to the ground floor. Five minutes later she was riding in another lift up to James’s floor.

  Images was unlike other advertising agencies, she’d once been told. No one was allowed to go to work looking sloppy, not even the creatives. Ripped jeans were out. Suits were in. Or at least decent trousers and a jacket. James demanded that his staff dress well.

  So when Megan pushed open the glass doors which led into the plush reception area with its picture window, she was glad that she was dressed nicely, with her hair done properly and full make-up on.

  Megan didn’t recognise the young but very good-looking blonde manning the front desk.

  ‘Where’s Sheryl?’ she asked straight away.

  ‘Out to lunch,’ came the crisp reply. ‘I’m filling in. Can I help you, ma’am?’

  Clearly, she was new. Or, at least, fairly new. Megan hadn’t been into Images for some time.

  ‘I’ve come to see my husband,’ Megan said, resenting this teenager making her feel like some middle-aged matron.

  ‘And your husband is?’

  ‘Mr Logan.’

  Her big blue eyes widened. ‘Mrs Logan! Oh. I’m so sorry. I didn’t realise…I thought…I mean…Oh golly, I must have made a boo-boo. Look, I think Mr Logan is busy with someone right now.’

  Megan sighed. She supposed she should have rung. But she was here now. She wasn’t going to go away till she saw James, at least for a minute or two. ‘Who is it, do you know? Someone important?’

  The girl seemed flustered. ‘I—er—I’m not sure. But his secretary told me not to put any calls through for her boss for a while.’

  ‘It’s OK, dear. I’ll ask Rachel’s advice before I go barging in.’

  The girl seemed relieved to pass the problem on to someone else.

  ‘Oh, yes, that would be the best. Rachel will know what to do.’

  Megan made her way from Reception down the corridor that separated the executive offices from the main working floor, which was open-plan and always a bit of a madhouse. She could hear the noise through the walls. James’s rooms were at the end of the corridor, the door there first leading into his PA’s office, which in turn led into his.

  Rachel’s office was vacant, however. It seemed she’d stepped out, more than likely to get James some of his much loved working lunch of coffee and bagels. Megan decided to sit down and wait for her return. She settled on the leather settee, the silence in the room slowly increasing her awareness of two voices coming from James’s inner sanctum. She could not quite make out what they were saying but one was definitely that of a woman.

  When she heard the words ‘I’m so sorry’, her ears pricked up. But it was the sound of the woman’s sobs which sent her leaping to her feet. Who on earth was in there with James?

  She had to find out. Had to!

  James had just taken a weeping Jackie into his arms when the door to hi
s office burst open and there stood Megan, her eyes flaring wide as she took in what must have looked like a very damning sight. For a split second she just stood there, her face a perfect picture of the wife betrayed. And then she whirled away and was gone.

  James put Jackie aside and rushed after her, catching her before she’d gone too far down the hallway.

  ‘Don’t jump to conclusions,’ he said, and pulled her back into Rachel’s office, kicking the door shut behind him.

  ‘You unconscionable bastard!’ she spat at him, arms flailing wildly, hitting him on the chest and face.

  He took the blows without flinching.

  ‘It’s not what you think!’ he told her firmly. ‘Let me explain.’

  ‘No!’ she screamed, her face flushed, her breathing heavy. ‘I won’t let you explain.’

  ‘Then let me explain.’

  Megan froze at the sound of Jackie Foster’s voice. The last person she wanted to explain anything to her was James’s ex-wife. The woman he probably still loved. Why else would he have been holding her so tenderly?

  ‘Why should I listen to you?’ Megan threw at her.

  ‘Because by tomorrow night,’ the woman replied in a rather odd but very calm voice, ‘I’ll probably be dead.’

  Dead!

  Megan stared at her. She didn’t look sick. Maybe a little thin. And strained. Yes, she did look strained. Her face was pale and her eyes puffy. But, of course, she had been crying.

  ‘I have no reason to lie to you,’ Jackie continued. ‘I have a malignant brain tumour. I’ve come home to Sydney to have a very risky operation tomorrow, which is my only hope of survival. But my chances are slim, I’m told. So I couldn’t take James away from you, even if I wanted to. Which I can’t, I assure you. James loves you, Megan. You and only you. He told me so less than five minutes ago. What you saw was him just being kind, and forgiving.’

  Megan glanced at her husband, who nodded slowly.

  ‘I needed his forgiveness,’ Jackie went on. ‘I couldn’t face death without it. I wronged him terribly, you see.’

  Oh, God. Megan sent James a despairing glance.

  His former wife smiled a sad smile. ‘It would weigh heavily on my conscience if my coming here today caused a rift between you. Please don’t let it, Megan, I beg of you. Your James is a wonderful man. My biggest regret is that I didn’t appreciate his full worth when I was married to him. I have no real excuse except one which has become rather clichéd. I came from a dysfunctional family, you see. Very dysfunctional. There were things I had to endure as a young girl, the result of which left me unable to have children. I was extremely bitter by the time I grew up. I hated all men. But then my physical beauty gave me the opportunity to make them pay. And pay. And pay. I should never have married you, James. But I was obsessed with revenge, plus the idea of having it all, materially speaking. I hurt you, I know, and I’m very sorry. The man I’m with now…he knows the truth about me and he loves me, despite everything. He’ll be with me tomorrow at the hospital. I hope I wake up for him. But if I don’t, I’d like to die with a clear conscience. I already have James’s forgiveness. But I would like yours as well, Megan.’

  ‘Mine?’

  ‘Yes. I have a suspicion that what I did might have impacted on your marriage to James. I hope not, but your reaction today makes me wonder. Don’t let anyone or anything stop you from loving this man. He deserves to be loved. And he deserves to have children. He’d make a fabulous father.’

  ‘I think so too,’ Megan said, and reached for James’s hand.

  They exchanged glances, then loving smiles.

  ‘That’s good, then. Look, I have to be going. I have to be at the hospital by three.’

  ‘Which hospital?’ James asked.

  ‘The Royal Prince Alfred.’

  ‘We’ll visit you tomorrow,’ he said.

  Jackie’s eyes were so sad that Megan almost burst into tears.

  ‘I’d rather you didn’t,’ Jackie said. ‘I will be in good hands. Take care.’

  ‘You too.’

  ‘Oh, James,’ Megan choked out when she was gone.

  He didn’t say a word. Just took her in his arms and held her close.

  ‘I love you so much,’ he murmured at long last.

  Megan glanced up into his eyes and there it was, that look she’d always longed to see. Not desire. But love, true and deep.

  Her sigh was one of total contentment.

  CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

  THE invitations for their renewal of vows went out a week later, the date set for a fortnight after that. Not a huge number of guests—only six: Nicole and Russell, Hugh and Kathryn, not long back from their rather extended honeymoon, and Megan’s parents. Though of course Roberta and Bill would also be there.

  The minister who’d married them agreed to come along to the house in Bellevue Hill and conduct a simple ceremony by the pool. James insisted that up till then, Megan stay on at her parents’ place. He wanted to show his wife that it was her he loved. Not sex with her, or the possibility of creating a child. He took her out on dates during the intervening weeks, as he’d promised, and restricted any physical contact to a simple kiss goodnight.

  Megan felt both touched and extremely grateful that she had finally found the happiness which she thought was impossible. It made her all the more determined to give James what she was sure he still wanted. A child.

  So, of course, she hadn’t gone back on the Pill. She really could not wait to start making love again, and hopefully make a baby.

  It was a shame, then, that she woke on that important morning in June feeling sick as a dog. After vomiting for most of the morning, her mother appeared at her bedroom door with a small package in her hands.

  ‘I think you should do this test,’ she said, and handed over a home pregnancy-test kit.

  ‘But I can’t be pregnant!’ Megan protested. ‘I had a period.’

  Her mother was nonplussed. ‘I’ve known several women have periods when they’ve been pregnant. You said you were on the mini-pill, didn’t you?’

  ‘Yes.’

  ‘Then it could have just been some break-through bleeding. Do the test and then you’ll know for sure.’

  Megan could not believe it when the line was blue. She almost fainted with shock, and then joy.

  ‘It went blue!’ she exclaimed as she burst from the bathroom. ‘James and I are going to have a baby.’

  Her mother hugged her. ‘The Lord works in mysterious ways.’

  ‘I’ll have to ring him straight away and tell him.’

  James was upstairs, deciding what to wear that day, when his mobile rang. ‘Hello?’

  ‘James!’ Megan began breathlessly.

  ‘Megan, darling, what’s wrong?’

  ‘Nothing’s wrong. I mean, I don’t feel all that well, actually. I thought I had a vomiting virus but it’s nothing of the kind. I’m pregnant, James. We’re going to have a baby!’

  A stunned James wasn’t sure what to say at first. ‘Are you sure, Megan?’

  ‘Absolutely. The test went blue. Very blue.’

  ‘And…you’re OK with that?’

  ‘OK? I’m delirious with joy! Aren’t you happy, James? I thought you’d be happy.’

  ‘Megan, I’m so happy I could burst. But it’s not just any baby I want. You do know that now, don’t you? It’s our baby that I want.’

  Megan heard the worry in his voice and felt chastened. She should have told him more often that she was happy to have his baby now. ‘Yes, James, I do know that. I feel exactly the same way.’

  ‘That’s good, then. But are you going to be well enough for this afternoon? Do you want me to cancel it?’

  ‘Over my dead body.’

  James grinned. ‘Thatta girl. Can I tell Roberta the good news?’

  ‘You can tell everyone.’

  ‘I just might do that.’

  ‘I’d better go. I think I’m going to chuck up again. See you just before two.’ And she hun
g up.

  James could not believe it when tears came into his eyes. He was going to be a father. And Megan was going to be the mother. Life could not come any better than that. He just had to tell someone. And not over the phone. Suddenly, he was running down the stairs, shouting out to Roberta.

  She ran out into the foyer, wiping floury hands on her apron. ‘What is it? What’s happened?’

  ‘I’m going to be a dad. Megan’s pregnant!’

  ‘Oh, Mr Logan. That’s just wonderful.’

  James didn’t ring Russell. Or Hugh. He wanted to tell them in person. After the ceremony.

  Megan felt much better by the time set down for the ceremony. She stood by smiling at James’s side, holding his hand and repeating her vows to love, honour and cherish her husband. Then he did the same.

  ‘You may kiss your wife,’ the minister finally said.

  Which James did, at length, making Megan glad that she was feeling so much better. By the time the kiss ended, she was very much looking forward to tonight.

  Hugh immediately came forward with a broad smile on his handsome face, dear, sweet Hugh, who was nothing like his playboy reputation.

  ‘I’m so happy for you,’ he said, clasping both her hands in his.

  ‘Here, here,’ Russell concurred.

  ‘We had some unexpected but great news this morning,’ James said, a wide smile splitting his face. ‘We’re going to have a baby.’ And he curved a tender arm around Megan’s waist, pulling her close.

  Nicole gave a small scream of delight, whilst all the others looked very happy for them.

  ‘Now we can tell you our good news,’ Nicole said.

  ‘You’re going to have a baby too!’ Megan broke in, noting that Nicole’s hand was resting on her slightly rounded tummy.

  ‘Yes. A boy. Some time in October.’

  ‘How wonderful! Congratulations,’ James said, and pumped Russell’s hand.

  ‘Kathryn’s up the duff too,’ Hugh piped up, his chest all puffed out with pride. ‘She was a week late and if you knew Kathryn, you’d know she’s never late for anything. So we went to the doctor yesterday and he said to start making plans for a baby arriving around February next year.’

  ‘Good heavens!’ James exclaimed. ‘All three of us are going to be fathers at the same time.’