Louisa nodded and tried to look away, but he held her firm.
“We need to get married,” he said, hoping that she didn’t hear the lust in his voice at the idea. “It makes sense, Louisa.” He continued quickly. “You need money, and the best and fastest way to get that is for me to give it to you from my inheritance, which I can only get if I’m married.” He spoke fast and with conviction now as he could see she was about to refuse. “Once the paperwork is complete we can have the marriage annulled. Do you see? This is the best way to help both of us. I can use the money to increase my company’s business once you are on your feet again.”
****
Louisa sat in a stunned silence. A small part of her knew that what he said made sense. The other part was screaming that someone had just proposed to her out of pity, and she despised herself just for considering the offer. Could she marry a man just for his money? For business? Dominic still held her chin. She reached up and removed his hand, clutching it in her lap, savouring the heat in his skin and the calluses on his palm. She needed time to think about this, time she knew she didn’t have. If they were to save the firm they needed to act now.
“I won’t marry anyone for money. You of all people should know that.” Her eyes snapped up to his. There was a glint to them that made her take a deep breath to shake the drug effect from her body. What was he thinking? Did he not know her at all? This was the very reason she had left him the first time. She couldn’t be bought. She had liked him for a long time before they had given in to their feelings. Even then, though, she had known that she would never be able to stay with him. He wanted a woman to stay home and cook, like his mother had, while he went off to work. It had hurt her badly to get up and leave that night, but she had known even from their first kiss that it wasn’t what she needed. He took her to fancy restaurants each night, and even offered her expensive jewellery, which she refused. He tried to show his love with money, and she could see her life before her eyes. Rich trophy wife on the arm of her businessman husband. Even now the idea made her shudder. Love had not played a part.
“Louisa, see reason. There’s no bank that will lend you the money in such a short frame of time.”
She knew that, but she still resisted the urge. Marriage was for people who loved each other. But was she willing to give up all she had worked for? Her stubbornness had been her weakness through school, and she had learnt to override its pull. It got her into as much trouble as it got her out of. It also nearly resulted in her flunking out of school. Her friend, Cassandra, helped her through it, convincing her to let go of her pride and continue on, even though her teacher had given her an unfair mark.
Was this the same? Was she just being stubborn not wanting to let this man take over her life and her business? Because that was what marriage was, allowing a man to take control of your life, to make decisions for you, to support you. Dominic’s offer was more than a business proposal. The fierce fire behind his eyes as he looked at her from under his heavy brow was enough to convince her that the idea of what came with marriage excited him as much as it did her.
She pulled her hand from his. “I won’t do it.”
“Louisa, don’t be stubborn. Think of Margaret. If your company goes under what will happen to her and the rest of your staff?”
She knew he was right. That was what made saying the words she knew she had to say so much harder. She closed her eyes and tried to see another way out of this. She knew there was no other way, no loophole or surprise witness. She was still shaking her head even though she knew she would say yes.
“Okay,” Louisa whispered, not meeting his eyes. “If it will save my company I’ll do it.” The words tasted bitter on her tongue. Louisa saw something flint across his face at her last words. Had she hurt him? She accepted his deal, so why would her words cause him to flinch? She dared to hope that this man would want to help her because he loved her, but she forgot that he was not the carefree bachelor he had been when she knew him. He was a man now, and he had just got his way.
“We’ll need to apply for a marriage licence as soon as we land in order for us to have time to gather all the necessary paperwork.” He got up and made to move to his laptop.
“Dominic, wait.” Louisa met his eyes and held them. “If we are going to do this I want your family and anyone else who will be affected to think that we’re really getting married. If we don’t, someone could tell the wrong person, and your inheritance will be withdrawn again.”
God, was she really going to go through with this? She closed her eyes and tried to pretend that this was a business arrangement like any other she dealt with on a daily basis. It was a contract, a legal contract which she would sign, and that would be the end of it. She felt Dominic’s hand rest on her arm and opened her eyes.
Dominic nodded. “I agree. You let me handle my family, and you tell whoever you feel needs to know.”
He paused, and Louisa sensed him hesitate. He seemed to lean in closer to her before he spoke again. “Louisa, are you sure about this?”
No, she knew this was a bad idea, yet it was the only hope she had of saving her firm. As long as they kept it that way no one would be hurt, and she wouldn’t have to send anyone to the streets where she would have been if not for the kindness of the McKillips. She knew that she would be okay. She had a nest egg put away that would see her through until she could get another job, but her employees would suffer.
“Yes, I’m sure.” She held his eyes for a moment longer before pulling her hands away. She crossed her arms across her chest and took a deep breath to clear her head. She could still feel the warmth of his skin against hers. She ignored the feelings that it stirred within her and tried to close her heart to him. She couldn’t let her feelings get in the way of business. He was still watching her, a slight frown touching on concern that Louisa couldn’t bear right now. She rose and went to the plane’s phone. She needed to call the office and arrange for the appropriate documents to be drawn up and faxed to Dominic’s office. They would have to announce their engagement right away if anyone was to believe them.
Her hands shook as she dialled the number. She steadied her voice as she announced the good news to Margaret. She tried to act as excited as the other woman, but it was hard with Dominic making his own calls behind her. She could feel the heat from his body so close to hers, and a kind of electricity built between them that threatened to pull her into his arms unless she kept a hold on it.
The tone of his voice was lighter when he spoke to his sister of the happy news. She could almost believe that he was genuinely happy about the marriage. She listened to him speak of their rekindled feelings on the flight and of how he could no longer bear to push her away. Margaret was still babbling away about dresses and flowers, so Louisa was free to listen to Dominic’s conversation. She couldn’t make out how Sophie was taking the news, but if Dominic’s carefree laugh and body language were anything to go by, she believed that they were truly in love and about to be married.
Chapter Five
They entered Dominic’s apartment to the sound of the coffee machine softly whirring in the kitchen somewhere to the right.
“Here they are, the happy couple,” a booming voice called.
Dominic’s older brother, Cole, came striding into the entry and swept Louisa up in a hug that would never fail to put a smile on her lips. The man was the size of a bear, but the effect was softened by the dish cloth thrown over his broad shoulder.
“I’m so glad that he finally proposed to you. I have been watching him mope around for the last ten years after you left. It’s about time you were officially my sister.”
He beamed at her, and she smiled back, her heart thudding loudly in her chest. It was hard to not be happy around Cole. He was always so joyful and good spirited and often a little too loud for his surroundings. Had this been a real engagement she would have lapped up his joy and returned the hug with more spirit than she could currently pretend she had. As it was she co
uldn’t help but focus on those words it’s about time you were my sister officially as if he had expected her to marry into the family.
“How did you get here so fast?” Dominic asked as he shook his brother’s hand.
“I was already in New York smoothing over the last details of the merger. When Sophie called I came right over.”
Cole moved back to the kitchen to finish making them all something to drink. Dominic gestured for Louisa to follow him to the other end of the house. She followed through the main room, which had a full wall of glass to take in the skyline and amazing city lights.
“Great view, isn’t it?” Cole asked, returning carrying three mugs of coffee.
The smell drifted across Louisa’s senses, and she sighed in appreciation. Cole grinned at her as she took her cup from him. Placing his big hand on the small of her back he guided her to the large lounge.
“Sophie told me you were in an accident.” He pointed to the gash along her hairline. “Does it still hurt?”
“Only a little, it’s only a flesh wound.”
He didn’t look as if he believed her but kept his opinion to himself. “So, how did my great lug of a brother convince you to marry him?” he asked playfully.
Louisa’s voice stuck in her throat, and she looked back to Dominic who still stood by the window to see that his own features had frozen.
He recovered before her, fortunately. “I asked her to marry me. There was no convincing required.” He laughed, the gesture not reaching his eyes.
Cole studied him for a moment before pushing himself off the sofa and bounding from the room like an oversized puppy. Louisa looked to Dominic, but he only shrugged and turned to gaze out of the window again. Cole returned a moment later with something small and fuzzy in his giant hand. He passed it to Louisa. In her own hand it didn’t look nearly as small as it had Cole’s. A small ginger kitten stared back at her. Its eyes were large and brown, and it wasn’t long before his little pink mouth opened and the smallest mew escaped it.
“A kitten? Is he yours?” she asked, stroking his tiny head with a finger.
“Nope, he is yours. Found him in the park this afternoon. Thought you might want him as an engagement present.” He grinned, obviously pleased with himself.
Louisa held the little creature up to her face. He struggled a little and yelled at her in cat speak. “Poor little guy can’t be more than three weeks old.” Standing with him cradled to her breast, she walked to the kitchen. She heard the two men talking as she went the fridge for milk.
“Rescuing strays again?” Dominic asked his brother.
“Seems to run in the family wouldn’t you say.”
Louisa smiled a she imagined the expression on the two men’s faces. Her attention was drawn back to her little man, assuming he wasn’t a she. She lifted his tail to protests from her new friend. She thought he might be a he, but a few more weeks and she could be sure. Searching the kitchen she found the medicine cabinet and retrieved an eye dropper from a first aid kit. Pouring some boiling water from the already hot kettle she sterilized the implement before filling it with a mix of water and milk. She fed him until his belly bulged, and he tucked himself into her chest and went to sleep. Making a mental note to get some proper cat milk for him tomorrow she began cleaning up after herself. All anxiety about her situation seemed to have disappeared with her new friend’s arrival.
****
“A cat, really, Cole? What will she do with the creature?” Dominic asked his brother quietly so that Louisa wouldn’t over hear them.
“Sophie also informed me of her business troubles,” Cole said, turning serious for a moment. “I learnt from my charming ex-wife Fiona, that in times of stress women need a project, a distraction. The little guy needed a helping hand, and Louisa can play nursemaid for a time to take her mind off things. He will only need care for a few weeks, and then, if she decides not to keep him, she can give him to a good home. By then this whole mess should be taken care of, wouldn’t you agree?”
Dominic thought on it. He decided that his brother may be correct as Louisa came back in with a towel and pot in hand, he assumed to make a bed for the pathetic creature nestled in her ample bosom. How he envied it at that moment. He had found lying with her as a teenager to be an arousing experience, and now as a man he longed to take those supple breasts in his mouth and show her what a man knew of love. Instantly angry with himself for daring to believe such fantasies he stalked across the room, snatching his coffee from the table.
“How’s he doing?” Cole asked clapping his hands together, obviously pleased with his own plan as he watched Dominic brood.
“He’s sleeping for now.”
“Thought of a name?” Dominic asked, slightly amused at the business-like way she handed the kitten. Perhaps his brother was correct. This may be just what she needed to distract her from fretting over everything and make the whole process easier on all of them.
“Milo I think.” She turned him so that they would see his face. His nose was spotted with brown smudges of colour against his ginger body.
“I’ll show you to your room, and you can both get settled.” Dominic turned and assumed she was following as he made his way into the bedroom wing of the apartment.
They came to a corridor, which opened to several rooms. One he showed her was where his brother stayed. The next was the guest bathroom. The following was the master suite.
****
He led her through the room to a connecting bathroom that would have fit nicely in Louisa’s living room. A spa bath took up most of the grey marbled floor, and on the far side was a double shower with more shower heads than Louisa could count. Next to that was another door, which was open to reveal a guest room a little smaller than the master with a queen bed and beautiful crisp red sheets.
“It would look odd for us to sleep in separate rooms when we are supposed to be madly in love. This way we can have separate rooms and still save appearances. This door is always kept locked.” He gestured to the main door to the room and gave her a key to her room’s outer door.
“Both rooms were used by my parents when they lived here. My mother preferred her own room as my father snored, but they both used the main bedroom door to enter and exit.”
Louisa understood now. This room was indeed designed after his late mother’s style of clean lines and comfort. It would suit their needs well. The bathroom would be a problem, but Louisa was growing tired again, and she decided that it could wait until tomorrow.
“I will call for the doctor first thing in the morning,” Dominic said as he watched her move to the bed.
“Thank you,” she said as she settled Milo in his makeshift bed on the floor beside her. “I think I just need to rest for a few hours and I’ll be fine.”
“Yes, I imagine it has been a long few days for you. Good night, Louisa.”
She mumbled good night to him as he closed the joining door casting her into the warm blackness of the room. She padded slowly to the bed, a little light entering through a gap in the curtains. She changed her mind as she made it to the bed. The air was too thick, and silence wrapped around her allowing the thoughts she had been suppressing all day to swim to the surface. She couldn’t breathe, and her thoughts swirled through her head too fast to pick one to concentrate on. Her chest tightened, and her heart seemed to pump harder against her ribs. She ran to the window and pulled open the drapes stepping out onto a small balcony and sucking in the icy night air.
How had this happened? Just days ago she was happy. She had just earned a big win for a client. Now, she was at risk of losing all she worked for, and she was marrying a man just to save the jobs of people who would never know what she was giving up for them. She kept thinking it wasn’t worth it, but she knew it was. Those people counted on her for their rent, for food and their lifeblood. She was just one person. In the scheme of things why should it matter if she signed a piece of paper with a man who had been nothing but supportive of her? She brea
thed in the smell of the city again and knew that she was just getting worked up. She would sleep on it, and it would all be clear in the morning. She turned to move back inside, but the movement of a curtain caught her eye. The balcony door next to hers was open. She could just make out the shape of Dominic moving back inside before he was lost in the dark again. How long had he been there, watching her?
“Dominic?” she called softly. There was no answer. She waited a moment until the cool air made her shiver. She moved back inside and closed the door behind her so that Milo couldn’t escape, leaving it unlocked as she climbed beneath the plush covers and stared at the ceiling above her.
She lay for at least an hour in the dark trying to find sleep that wouldn’t come. She felt so tired. Her eyes ached and her body lay still ready for sleep, yet her mind wouldn’t stop working long enough for her to pass out. In frustration she got up, dressed, and slipped her shoes back on. She listened for a moment at the door before going out into the family room. The lights were off allowing the city lights to shine brightly through the glass wall, illuminating her path across the room.
A light was still on in the kitchen at the other side of the apartment. She waited a moment to ensure no one had heard her, before leaving the apartment. Ensuring the door was left a little ajar she left the building. The doorman assured her that he would remember her and allow her back in later when she returned. The city was busy even at this time of night. The feel was different from Washington. The people were different, she decided. She knew not to go far. She was still tired even if she couldn’t sleep. The air was frigidly cold, so she was soon shivering and took the time to find a Starbucks where she could warm up in. She didn’t order anything and hoped they didn’t think to throw her out for it. The low murmur of people coming and going helped her to relax again. She listened to the conversations going on around her to stop from thinking on her own problems. The couple next to her discussed the coming of their second child. The woman looked like she might be ready to give birth today she was so full and round. They seemed to be arguing about what colour to paint the nursery. They eventually left and were replaced by two women who discussed their careers loudly and with no laughter. Louisa decided she preferred the other couple to these two. They had no joy in what they did, no matter how animatedly they spoke of it. The joy they had was for a challenging client. Louisa couldn’t work out from their conversation what they did for a living, but it didn’t matter. She knew that no matter what they did they would see no fun in it. Out of curiosity she peered over to where they were sitting and noted that they were not as young as she would have thought, maybe late forties. Neither wore a wedding ring, and both had more wrinkles than their age should have allowed. It made Louisa uncomfortable to watch them.
The Millionaire's Convenient Bride Page 5
