The Millionaire's Convenient Bride

by Anderson, Larisa

  So it was with confusion that Louisa descended the carved oak stairs to the kitchen to meet the man who had ignored her for the better part of ten years. Her breath caught as it always did at the sight of him. He was three inches taller than her own 5’8”, with dark, almost black, hair and a short beard, which he must have grown in the past few weeks as recent photos of him showed a clean, smooth chin. Today he wore black business pants and a tailored black jumper with a v-neck that just covered the fine layer of dark hair that she knew covered his chest. His gaze flicked to her and then away again to the sheaf of reports lying in front of him. She saw something in those green eyes before he looked away. She didn’t know what, but it was not anger as she had expected after their conversation last night.

  Sophie motioned for her to sit opposite her where a plate of fried eggs, bacon, and toast had been prepared. Sophie was dressed much the same as Louisa in jeans and a light shirt. Louisa would never possess Sophie’s presence or beauty. Her hair was as dark as her brother’s and cut short around her shoulders. Her eyes were brown like her mother’s had been, and she possessed her mother’s pale skin whereas both her brothers had taken their father’s olive complexion. The house was warm despite the storm raging outside the tall windows. Every room held a majestic fireplace, each blazing with heat from its gas-fuelled flames. Carpets and soft mink throws covered dark stained floorboards and draped the corners of lounges each retaining the warmth of the fires. She longed to move and wrap herself in the throws, feeling the soft fur between her toes and snuggling down into its warmth. The idea was a childish one. She would never do such a thing in front of Dominic. It would remind her that this was no longer her place of refuge as it had been. It was now nothing more than her client’s home.

  “What did you wish to speak to me about?” Louisa asked, looking from Dominic to Sophie as she cast thoughts of home aside.

  Dominic made to say something, but Sophie cut him off.

  “Eat first to gain your strength, and then we can talk business.”

  Dominic spared a glare for his sister but made no comment, turning back to his papers, which Louisa now noticed were stacked around his breakfast plate. The three ate in silence. Louisa’s gaze was drawn back to Dominic’s face. She knew he was not looking at her, but she felt uneasy to be so close to him.

  “I would like to see the will,” Dominic said as soon as she had placed her fork back on her plate.

  “Well I don’t have it. There was a copy in the car, which I assume is ruined?” Louisa said.

  His eyebrows lifted in surprise, and he leant back and crossed his arms at the refusal.

  “The original will is back at my office. The papers I had with me for Sophie to sign I assume were destroyed in the crash.” She looked to Sophie for confirmation.

  “We had a man go to check on your car yesterday while you slept. They found nothing else salvageable in the vehicle.”

  “I have contacted my office to have them faxed,” Louisa said. This conversation was wiping away all of the calm that the shower had filled her with and was only succeeding in reminding her that she was injured, weak, and tired. She didn’t have the strength to argue, but she couldn’t stop herself. How was it that whenever she was around this man she lost herself in one way or another?

  “The telephone lines went out early this morning,” Dominic said shaking his head.

  “Then I don’t know what else we can do except wait for them to come back online.”

  Dominic seemed to think on that. She could see him battle with himself, and she wondered what bothered him so much. Was it that he wanted her gone so bad that he was considering going outside in the storm to attempt reconnect the line, or was it that he feared for his money? Either way it was not Louisa’s problem. She had done what she thought best. The fact was that she was just as eager to be away from the man who tempted her with his every glance and movement, who drove her mind in circles of passion.

  “I would like to see the original. As soon you can arrange it.”

  Louisa was taken aback at his abrupt need to check up on her work. No one in the McKillip family had ever even been to her office or questioned her work for them. For Dominic to do so now put Louisa on the defensive, but more than that it hurt her pride. Louisa nodded. If this was business then she wouldn’t allow herself to become distracted by his presence. As she had the thought he rose and paced to the window, leaning against its frame. She watched as his broad shoulders filled out his shirt and tapered to a thick, well muscled waist. She had once lain upon his stomach and run her hands over that chest, feeling the muscles flex and relax under her touch. Did he remember? Did her own body drive him to distraction? No, she must not think on it. He had closed himself to her. He said so in his note. She was nothing to him.

  Sophie seemed shocked at her brother’s behaviour. “Dominic! It’s not that we don’t trust your work, Louisa, but it is a lot of money, and we are concerned that it may take a great toll on the business.”

  Louisa nodded. She understood. She did, but that didn’t stop the sting from seeping under her skin.

  “There is nothing we can do until this weather lifts, so if you would both put your claws away we should play nice for the next day or so,” Sophie said firmly.

  Louisa looked at the younger woman who never said a harsh word in her life. She hadn’t imagined the scolding she just received, and worse was that Sophie was right. Dominic’s reply to her words was a slight smirk, which was whipped from his face with Louisa’s next words.

  “You are right, Sophie. Just because your brother is being an ass is no excuse for me to be one also,” Louisa stood and left the room. She didn’t know where she was going, only that she couldn’t bear to be in the room with that insufferable man any longer. She paced the lodge for half an hour before she became tired as the pain crept into her bones from standing for too long, and she sought out her favourite room from her visits. She was not alone in her thoughts and found Sophie and Dominic already inhabited the space.

  “I ordered you some strong tea. I thought you might be tired,” Dominic said before striding to the other side of the main room and sitting down with his book.

  Sophie appeared much calmer, and besides, Louisa couldn’t bring herself to make it to her room. Grudgingly she sighed and went to the lounge where the tea sat steaming on the coffee table.

  The remainder of the day was spent out of Dominic’s immediate company. She and Sophie played games of chess and backgammon in the large, wood panelled room whilst Dominic ignored them to work on his sums on his laptop alternating between his office and the lounge when they ate.

  “Are you cross with him?” Sophie asked as their dinner was cleared away and they once again sat before the fire playing games.

  “It’s his arrogance that bothers me, not his tone.” She glanced at Dominic, who sat on the other side of the fireplace his nose buried in a book.

  “Try not to be harsh with him. Remember how it was when your mother died. He is hurting for Father although he won’t tell anyone. He also longs for the freedom he had before he was forced to take over the business.” Sophie paused as Dominic shifted in his seat.

  “I know that,” Louisa said keeping her voice down. “But just being around him puts me on guard, and I speak without thinking.” She considered what the other woman said about Dominic giving up his freedom. She hadn’t given much thought to how Dominic might feel about taking over the business. It was true that he worked closely with his father, but he never put his hand up to offer to take over his father’s position in all his years with the company. He was the only person left for the job now. Still, he took it up without so much as a word about what he gave from his own life to do so. She herself had to grow up too fast once her mother died, and she had resented that for a long time. Dominic was an adult, but that didn’t stop him from having to grow up also. His life used to be about doing what he wanted when he pleased. Trips to private islands, parties every night of the week and the fre
edom to choose how his life turned out. Still, he gave all of that up to support his sister and brother and keep his employees and company in business. He could have refused, but he didn’t, and now he was trapped in a job he didn’t like or want.

  ****

  Dominic watched the two women talk over his book. He saw Louisa’s gaze flick to his once before she looked away as if they spoke about him. She still sported a heavy bruise over one eye, which was thrown into relief by the firelight. His stomach turned over to see her this way. He flexed his hand to keep from reaching out to her. His whole body was tense being around her. Having her so close to him, every nerve in his body came alive at the full curve of her hips as she leant forwards intent on her game. She obviously had no idea the effect she had on him, and that maddened him more than her sharp tongue. His anger didn’t allow him to sit, so he rose and went to tend the fire. The women’s conversation dropped off as he drew nearer to them. He imagined they were speaking of him again and cursed himself as a fool for caring.

  “Sir?” One of the service people stood at the door. As he passed Louisa he could feel her gaze on him. He passed close enough to feel her shiver as his hand brushed her shoulder.

  “Yes.”

  “The weather is letting up downhill of here. If you would like to leave tomorrow it should be clear enough for the chopper to land out by the fields.”

  He thanked the man and left the room, which was becoming uncomfortably heated, and made for his office to make the arrangements.

  He didn’t get as much work done as he would have liked. With the telephone lines still down he could only review the files he already had. One thing troubled him. He had received an email earlier in the week from a friend who received an anonymous email the previous day. It told him not to use the Callum law firm as it was involved in bribery and criminal practices and might soon close. He had thought to tell Dominic as he knew that he used the firm for his own business. His friend didn’t know that the Callum Law firm was Louisa’s own firm.

  He wanted more information about this correspondence, but after receiving the email the lines went down. Now all he could do was speculate whether it was a hoax or if all of Louisa’s had clients received the same message. More disturbingly, as her biggest client he should have received one also, not just from his friend. The fact that he hadn’t showed that the person behind them might know of Louisa’s and his past. He couldn’t do anything about it now though. The computer blinked out as he hit the shut down button and walked back to his room. The sheets were warm as he lay for a while waiting for sleep to take him, listening to the wind outside his window. He wasn’t tired.

  The vast oak door stood before him as he approached Louisa’s room. Without knocking, he let himself in, knowing that like him, she read long after she had gone to bed. His brain scrambled to think of an excuse to see her at this late hour as he walked the short distance between her room and his. None had come to mind until he had entered her room, and he said the first thing that came to him.

  “The chopper will be here by lunch time if the weather holds. I’ll meet you on the landing at noon,” Dominic said, as he entered the dim lit room. She had left the door ajar, or he would never have entered unannounced. Her light was visible from his room. He had fought with himself for an hour before making his way across the hall.

  Her eyes roamed the pages of the borrowed book but widened as he entered. He cursed to himself, having forgotten that he wore no shirt as he had been intending to go straight to sleep. He felt a pressure as his manhood grew with her eyes roaming his naked form, resting on the trail of fine dark hairs leading beneath the waist of his pants. She seemed to catch herself and made an effort to control her expression before she answered.

  “Will we go straight to my office?” she asked her voice little more than a whisper, matching the calming vision of her curled up in the heavy bed sheets.

  “Yes, I want this out of the way as soon as possible.” He imagined a brief expression pass her face that made him hope that she might have wanted to spend more time with him. But it was gone before he could be sure, to be replaced with a smooth look of indifference.

  “Okay,” she said, and bowed her head to return to her reading.

  He pulled the door closed behind him and stood for a moment listening to the rustle of the sheets as she shut off the reading light and settled down to sleep. His feet padded across the cool floorboards as he moved back to his room. He was thankful for the effect the cool air in the house had on his rapid heartbeat, which throbbed around his body and sent heat to the long-dormant mass now twitching with desire in his pants. His thoughts drifted to her bare shoulders and how her hair curled from the damp of her shower. It lay against her chest just above the covers with loose tendrils sticking to her pale pink cheeks. It was an image that he clung to, fearing that he might never get another.

  ****

  Another knock on Louisa’s door just moments after Dominic left made her pulse beat in her ears. Could he have come back? Her body pulsed at the thought of him standing at her bed, half naked, his chest as wide and perfect as she remembered it.

  “Louisa, are you awake?”

  She let out the breath she hadn’t realised she was holding. It was just Sophie.

  “Yes,” she called out switching the lamp back on. Sophie came in, and Louisa wondered if she had passed her brother on her way here. The idea of what the younger girl might think of the late night visit made her smile at the scandal it would cause.

  “I just wanted to tell you that my brother has arranged a chopper for you both tomorrow to take you home,” she said, sitting on the end of Louisa’s bed.

  She stopped herself from saying that Dominic had already told her the news, not wanting the inevitable questions that would follow as to why Dominic had gone into her room after she went to bed.

  “No problem, thanks,” Louisa said, and expected the other woman to leave.

  She made no move only shifted so that she could fold her legs up under her on the covers. Her eyes seemed to plead with Louisa to hear her out, which made her more nervous as the younger girl picked at the covers as she waited.

  “Please try and understand how it is,” she said, her hand resting on Louisa’s leg through the covers. “Cole and I have our own lives and hobbies to keep us occupied. Dominic was taken from his life of carefree heir and thrown into the head of a business he never liked, as well as having to deal with Father’s passing. He hides it well but has been taking his frustrations out on those who mean to care for him.” Her large brown eyes pleaded with Louisa to understand.

  She had never seen Sophie in such a state and was certain what she said must be true for her to be so anxious. She was concerned for her brother.

  “It’s okay. I understand. It was hard on all of us when he passed.”

  “Not all of us.” Sophie smiled, the corners of her mouth wavering at the effort.

  It was true that her father had never liked his daughter, but had she really not cared about his death? She already knew that Dominic put a mask on every time his father’s name came up. Could Sophie be doing the same?

  “It’s more than that with Dominic though. You broke his heart, more than I think you, or he, realise. He wasn’t the same after you left. He went inside himself and put on a face that didn’t suit him. He slept with any woman who would have him. Regardless if they liked him he would eventually leave. No one woman lasted more than a month.”

  Her words stung Louisa, and she wished she would stop. When had Sophie gotten so involved with her brother’s life? And what right did she have to lecture Louisa about something that happened so long ago? Her fist balled on the covers at the injustice. Dominic was as much at fault as she was. Didn’t Sophie understand that? Through their teenage years they had flirted until things had come to a head in college and they had let their feelings show. But he tried to control her from the first date. He had held too hard, and she had fled, scared of the life she wasn’t ready for perhap
s. It was childish, but at the time it had seemed like the right decision no matter how had it had been to make. Still, she had expected him to show some pull for her. Maybe a phone call to try to convince her to stay. All she had received was that stupid note saying he had moved on. She felt it was clear he had never loved her at all.

  “I'm tired,” Louisa, her voice tight with emotion, said by way of hoping the other woman would leave.

  Sophie, always alert to others feelings must have sensed that her message had gotten through. She rose and kissed Louisa’s cheek, and without another word she left her to her thoughts.

  ****

  Louisa stood to the side of the landing pad at the back of the lodge. It was just a raised platform that they used so that the chopper wouldn’t have to land in the deep snow that covered the ground and weighed down the trees. Dominic climbed aboard first to speak with the pilot as Louisa kissed Sophie goodbye. It had been a surprise to hear that she wouldn’t be travelling back with them, but this was her home after all.

  “Don’t let him get to you,” Sophie said as she hugged Louisa. “Remember what I told you last night.” She waved from the platform, her hair blowing in the wind from the chopper blades as she pulled her coat tighter around her small frame.

  The ride to the airport was a fast one. The view from the chopper was spectacular with the snow-capped houses, which was lucky as the conversation was non-existent. The noise from the motor was not so loud that they couldn’t be heard over it, but neither Dominic nor she made any attempt to spark a conversation. They boarded the private jet that Dominic requested as soon as they landed. This would be her first trip in it as they had spent those lost days so long ago in his penthouse, not at the lodge. The interior was much as she had expected, but she still felt impressed by its comfort. Cream leather chairs lined the sides for take-off and landing. Small plasma screens sat at the front and rear of the cabin, displaying the local weather. A small wet bar sat in the middle where the two flight hostesses stood to take their belongings. Dominic selected a seat in the centre. Louisa sat herself opposite him so they wouldn’t be in each other’s way. She prayed the flight was a short one as she didn’t know if she could handle being alone with him for long in such a confined place.