by Aubree Lane
Terence nodded and accepted her decision. “I made an appointment with a therapist. I don’t want to keep taking my anger out on you.”
She brushed his shaggy hair away from his face. “You have every right to be angry, especially with me. Everyone does.”
“Stop it. It was an accident.” He grabbed her hand and pressed it to his lips. “We’re engaged. This should be a happy time for us. We should be off somewhere making love and planning our future, not dealing with this.”
Annie stood up. “Terence,” she explained firmly, “dealing with this is our future. You have faced every aspect of Erika’s paternity head on, and you’ve handled it pretty well. It was bound to catch up with you. Seeing Erika bond with Larry is ripping your heart out and you took it out on me.” She wanted him to know that she truly understood. “I don’t want you to get in the habit of dumping on me, but it’s kind of a compliment. You felt safe enough with me to let out some of your anger.”
Terence got up and shook the sand out of his hair. “Now you sound like a therapist. How did you get so smart?”
“I’m not, Marissa is. She told me her kids act the same way after a rough day at school.”
“So basically you’re saying I’m being childish and immature.”
Annie sucked in a breath and braced herself for another fight, but when she looked up, she saw the twinkle in his eyes. “Babe, please don’t tease me when things are so shaky between us. I thought we were about to have another argument.”
Terence nodded solemnly. He took her hand and led her to the dock where the Erika Rose rocked gently. “Are you up for another excursion? Remember that cove I told you about? We should go skinny dipping and shake our relationship up in a more positive direction.”
They climbed on board, and just before he stuck the key into the ignition, Annie remembered the last time she was on the Erika Rose and the storm they outran. Silently, she sent a little prayer out to the universe and asked for calm weather and for them not to be disturbed.
Chapter 19
“Nathan to Annie.”
Annie looked up from her desk and saw Nathan’s glaring eyes.
“Why did you come back if all you were going to do is sit there and sulk? I need your help. Now get off your duff and draw something!” he scolded. “There are a million things to do and I am only one person. I wish Phoebe and Alan had come back, too, but since they didn’t I seriously need you to focus. This is your show. Our customers want you, not me. I’m tired of doing it all.” He gently placed a list of names and phone numbers in front of her and handed her the phone. “If you’re not going to actually design something, then call these people and make nice. Maybe you can afford to lose their business, but I like my paycheck. Bankruptcy is not in my vocabulary.” He walked out of her office and slammed the door behind him.
Bankruptcy! Who was going bankrupt? She hadn’t been gone that long. Had she? She used the phone Nathan handed her and called her accountant. The news she heard was not good, but thankfully, it was not nearly as dire as Nathan had made it out to be. They had lost a few clients, but they were still solvent and healthy enough to survive her recent lack of interest.
The accountant had driven home one lesson Annie didn’t plan on forgetting again. She was Annie H. Designs. No matter how competent Nathan was, he could not be expected to run her business all by himself. She, not Nathan, had earned the firm’s reputation. If she planned on maintaining that stellar standing, one which had taken her years to build, she had to get back to work, and she had to do it in a big way.
Larry’s assessment of the situation had been spot on. He tried to warn her and she showed her gratitude by being suspicious and defensive.
She felt like crying, again. She had been doing that a lot lately. Annie looked back and doubted she had made one single solitary correct decision since the day Marissa called and told her she had met Terence. It had been a mistake sending Phoebe to Hawaii. If Phoebe had stayed in San Diego, then she wouldn’t have recruited Alan to help her with Lena’s B&B, and the slight financial crisis Annie H Designs was facing wouldn’t have occurred. As it stood, Annie had stripped her core team down to a single person. How could she have possibly thought Nathan would be able to do everything by himself?
The answer was simple, she had not been thinking. She had, once again, thrown caution to the wind and flown off to Hawaii. Once there, she became so immersed in Terence’s world she lost sight of her own. Then she made a mess of his life, too.
Annie glanced down at the ring on her finger. It was beautiful and sometimes comforting, but at the moment, it only served as a constant reminder of the man she loved and missed, and right now she needed to concentrate on work.
She misjudged how her actions would affect Annie H. Designs. Maybe she misjudged Terence as well. Now that she was home, and away from him, everything inside her believed that he would never be able to forgive her. The fairytale was over, and it was time to face reality. And the reality was she and Terence might not be able to fix their relationship. No matter how glorious he made her feel in bed, sex was not going to see them through the long haul.
There had to be more. Knowing the uphill climb they faced, she realized how stupid it would be to give up Annie H. Designs for him, or any man. Sadly, she took the ring off and placed it inside her desk drawer. She picked up the phone and called Terence. It was time to face the inevitable. This was not the right time for them to be married, and with both the physical and emotional distance between them, that time might not ever come.
“Javier,” Terence barked into the phone.
It sounded as if he was having a bad day, too. “If this is a bad time I can call back,” Annie replied, secretly hoping that was the case. She didn’t like coming to terms about the truth of their relationship, and an extremely large part of her wouldn’t mind putting off this conversation.
“Annie,” he said softly, “I thought it was going to be this jerk technician again. He keeps calling and asking stupid questions about a program I set up for their company. I’ve gone over everything at least three times. This guy is supposed to train the rest of their staff. He’s going to screw it all up. I’m going to have to fly out to Ohio and train them myself.” Annie heard him pound his fist on his desk. The line went silent for a moment as Terence regained his self-control. “Sorry I sounded gruff. I’m just frustrated.” He took a deep breath. “I’m happy you called, though. What’s going on in San Diego?”
A tear slid from the corner of her eye. There was no way she could call off their engagement right now. She couldn’t hurt him like that. Not when his day was going so horribly wrong. “Nothing. What’s this about going to Ohio?”
“Yeah,” he said sounding a little more resigned to the trip. “I’ll leave as soon as I can arrange it. Larry has already agreed to take care of Erika while I’m gone.”
There was a hint of disgust in his voice. She grabbed a tissue out of the box on her desk and tried desperately to disguise her weeping emotions. “You don’t sound particularly happy about that. How are your appointments with Lena’s brother-in-law going? Is he helping?”
“His name is Frank. Don’t you have all the in-law’s names down yet?” he teased. “Yes, I think it’s helping, but I don’t think I’m ever going to like the idea of losing Erika. I watch Larry and Erika, and I can see him winning her over a little bit more every day, and now that Marissa and her family are back in San Diego, the time he spends with her is much more concentrated. What really drives me insane is that he’s being nice to me, too. He’s making it difficult for me to stay angry at him, but it’s the anger that helps me make it through the day.”
His pain cut deep into her soul, and she wished she could take it away. She couldn’t, so she stated one simple truth instead. “Erika will always love you. She will just love Larry, too.”
“I know,” Terence continued. “But it won’t be the same. I have fought so long for her. She has been my mission, or as Frank calls it, my obsessi
on. I don’t know how to stop and accept the fact that Larry is replacing me.”
“How can I help?” she asked sympathetically.
“You can get back here, marry me, and make us some babies,” he said firmly.
Annie bit her lip. That wasn’t going to happen, not now anyway, and now that she let herself off the hook about discussing their marriage, she skirted the issue and diverted their conversation once more. “Erika can’t be replaced with another child, she’s your daughter.”
His voice turned even more despondent. “Maybe, but it’s the only thing I can think of that will fill this hole inside me, besides, as everyone keeps reminding me, Erika is not actually my daughter.”
His mood was becoming more forlorn. It was time to change the subject. “How long will you be in Ohio? Can you stop here on your way home? Maybe we can have a few days together before you fly back to Hawaii?” It would give them a chance to talk in person.
His voice brightened. “A few days to work on those babies. I think that could be arranged.”
Without meaning to, Annie heard her voice match Terence’s own happier tone. “Can we not talk about babies right now? I haven’t lived in Hawaii for a million years. I need at least a year or two with my bikini body before my ankles swell up and I get fat.”
Annie cringed. She made it sound like everything was fine. It wasn’t fair to either of them to continue this farce, and her words had only bolstered his belief that their relationship was on firm ground when it wasn’t.
“Okay, but you’re going to have your work cut out for you. I don’t think you’ll be able to keep my hands off you, and there’s not a birth control out there that can withstand what I plan on doing to you. See you soon.”
Then the line went dead.
Annie picked up the list Nathan had given her and stared blindly at it. The hole inside her ran deep. She felt torn in so many different directions. Terence and Erika topped the list, she loved them both, but coming in close behind them was her business. Annie H. Designs was her baby. It was her obsession. She worked extremely hard to get where she was and couldn’t let it all fall by the wayside, not even for Terence. Nathan jolted that reality back into her loud and clear. Even Larry and Marissa were tugging on her strings. The two people in the world she never thought would try to manipulate her. Now Terence was talking about having babies.
Her problems weren’t going to be solved by staring at the list of people in front of her. She picked up the phone, knowing she couldn’t remain idle any longer. She made two appointments. The first was with Hannah Turner, the second one was with Mrs. Barrington. Annie didn’t want to deal with either one of them, but they were the two people she absolutely needed to get crossed off that blasted list!
Chapter 20
The Turner mansion soared out in front of her. It looked like something out of Gone With the Wind. Annie was not looking forward to this confrontation with Hannah. She pushed the doorbell several times, then stepped back and waited.
Then she waited some more.
Every second she was left standing on the porch was more agonizing than the last.
Hannah was supposed to be here. She called earlier to make sure of it. It was just like Hannah to purposely keep her waiting. That conniving little witch was trying to knock her off balance and gain the upper hand.
Annie reined in her overactive imagination. Hannah couldn’t possibly know the reason for her visit. It was silly to think the woman was trying to out maneuver her.
The towering double doors opened, and there stood Hannah with a crystal drink glass in her hand. The woman had actually answered the door herself. With all the servants the Turner’s employed over the years, Annie was surprised Hannah even knew how to operate them.
Hannah wore a cream-colored cashmere sweater with coordinating wide-legged linen trousers. Annie remembered Hannah’s favorite color had been navy blue back in high school and now she knew the reason behind it. Hannah’s complexion was thoroughly washed out in the light colored apparel. As inappropriate as it had been, Hannah had looked much more appealing dressed in the slinky black outfit she wore at her father’s funeral.
Hannah threw a halfhearted air hug in her direction. “Annie! What a nice surprise.”
The ice cubes inside the glass tinkled in Annie’s ear and she prayed the amber liquid being chilled by them would stay inside the glass and not slop out onto her silk blouse. “I called a while ago. Didn’t you get the message?”
Hannah cocked her head. “Really, I wonder who you talked to. Never mind, come on in. I’ll get us something to drink.”
Annie could smell the liquor on Hannah’s breath and didn’t think she needed another one. She stepped into the foyer. “Nothing for me, but thanks for the offer.” Even though Annie was aware that most of the household furnishings had been put up for auction, she was shocked to see the house so empty. “Are you getting ready to redecorate?” Annie cut sarcastically. Her question was asked a second time as her words echoed off the vacant walls.
Hannah laughed. “Now I understand. You’re here trying to drum up a little business. Sorry, I’m selling the place.” She proceeded to the parlor. Her heels clicked loudly with each step when they connected with the floor. “As you probably heard, my father left me in the poor house.”
Hannah sat in the only remaining chair and crossed one leg over the other, her pant leg gracefully swaying back and forth with the motion.
Annie looked around and hoped she wasn’t going to have to sit on the floor. Her only other option was the hard, white, brick of the raised fireplace. “That’s why I’m here,” she began nervously. “As you probably heard, Terence and I are engaged. We are willing to help you out financially if you are willing to give up custody of Erika.”
Hannah gave Annie a suspicious look. “You’ll give me money if I agree to give up Erika?” She shook her head. “I’m a terrible mother and Larry’s old enough to be her grandfather. I thought you and Terry would be a shoe in for custody. Why would you feel the need to offer me money?” Then a knowing grin swept over her pale intoxicated face. “I don’t believe Terry knows anything about this visit.”
Annie eyed Hannah suspiciously. She doubted Hannah was as drunk as she appeared and she didn’t seem to know much about the law. That seemed a bit farfetched. Hannah had to be getting some topnotch advice from her father’s firm. Hannah was playing with her, and Annie knew she had better tread carefully. “Actually, it’s just me,” Annie confessed. “Terence doesn’t know I’m here.”
Hannah laughed mockingly. “And he’ll flip when he finds out. Are you sure you wish to continue with this conversation?”
“Our negotiations would have to remain between the two of us.”
Hannah leaned back in her chair and crossed her arms. “I see.” She paused, sizing up the situation. “So what kind of money are we talking about?”
“Two hundred thousand dollars,” Annie said firmly.
“Is that all?” Hannah mocked. “That doesn’t sound like very much for the price of a child, especially for one as precious as mine.”
“That’s all I have.” Annie got up to leave. “I guess we’re done here.” She tried and failed. Annie was okay with that, what she wasn’t okay with was playing cat and mouse with Hannah. They would have to find another way to keep Erika away from this witch.
“Now don’t get all huffy,” Hannah said, pulling Annie back into the conversation. “Let’s think about this for a minute. You might only have two hundred thousand, but is that all you can get? You just called this a negotiation, so let’s negotiate. If you were to bump that number up to around five hundred thousand dollars, then I think I would be much more inclined to listen to your offer.”
Annie couldn’t believe what she was hearing! Hannah was actually considering giving up Erika in exchange for money. But it was out of the question. There wasn’t any way she could come up with that amount.
“I hear you have a pretty successful business,” Hannah
continued. “Perhaps you would consider selling it.” She shot Annie a sly smile. “You sell your baby, and I’ll sell mine. What do you say?”
Annie was too shocked to answer. She just stood there staring blankly in Hannah’s direction. Giving up a business was nothing compared to giving up a child. How could Hannah possibly compare the two? She would gladly sell her business if it ensured Erika’s future, but with Hannah there were never any guarantees.
“Would you like that drink now?” Hannah asked.
“No, thank you,” Annie said, finding her voice. “And no deal, you can’t be trusted. For all I know, in a couple of years you’ll come back and ask for more money. It’s the two hundred thousand or nothing. We will take our chances in court.”
Hannah shrugged and got up to refill her glass behind the built in bar. “Well, I must admit that was true when we were only talking two hundred thousand. Not to worry, though. Nothing we can’t work out. You could give me the two hundred thousand now and the rest when I fail to show up for the custody hearing.” She glanced over at Annie and whispered harshly, “I don’t think Judge Sanchez likes me very much.” She turned her gaze back to the liquor bottle and her glass, which had begun to overflow, and continued on more forcefully. “My lawyer has informed me that if I fail to appear, then it’s all over, custody will automatically be awarded to Larry. Then it’s a simple matter of Larry and Terence working things out from there. I understand they are thick as thieves these days.”
Annie sat down. Where was she getting her information? Terence and Larry barely spoke to one another. “Did you know why I was coming here today?” she asked Hannah. “You seem awfully prepared.”
Hannah snorted into her glass. “I’m not stupid. I told everyone the condition of my father’s estate. I’ve just been sitting here waiting for someone from your camp to approach me.” She wobbled back and sat down in her chair. “You were the last person I expected to show up. I didn’t think you had a pot to pee in, but look at you, Miss Money Bags. I’m impressed.” She raised her glass in salute to Annie’s accomplishments.
