Billion dollar baby bargain.txt

by Неизвестный

  her to go along with his plan.

  But he hadn’t even bothered to buy her a wedding ring. Would it be such a crime for him to refer to her

  as his wife for however long their union lasted? Couldn’t he at least give her that much?

  “What are you doing out here, Haley?”

  At the sound of Luke’s voice, she quickly tried to wipe away the evidence of her emotions with the back

  of her hand. “I just needed a little fresh air. I hope I didn’t wake you.”

  “No. What woke me was rolling over and not finding you there beside me where you’re supposed to be.”

  When he came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist to pull her back against his chest,

  she closed her eyes and willed away a fresh wave of tears. No matter how he introduced her to people or

  how brief their marriage, she was in his arms now and she would have to content herself with that fact.

  “What’s wrong, sweetheart?” he asked, holding her close.

  “N-nothing.”

  “Don’t give me that. You’ve been crying. I can hear it in your voice.” Turning her to face him, he shook

  his head. “And I want to know why.”

  Unable to meet his questioning look for fear of giving herself away, she focused on his wide bare chest.

  “Women cry for a variety of reasons. It doesn’t necessarily mean that there’s something wrong.”

  He tilted her chin up until their gazes met. “Could one of those reasons be a hormonal thing?”

  “Sometimes.”

  Looking thoughtful, he stared at her for several long seconds. “Do you think we’ve achieved our goal?”

  “It’s probably too early for any symptoms indicating that I’m pregnant.”

  He was silent for several moments before his amiable expression turned to a dark frown, as he

  contemplated something.

  “Luke?”

  Taking a deep breath, he finally explained. “When Jake called the other night, it wasn’t just to catch up

  with each other. He told me he’d talked to Arielle and she was sobbing her heart out. But she wouldn’t

  tell him why.” He shook his head. “We figured something had to be wrong.”

  “I suppose that could have been the case,” Haley conceded, nodding. “But women aren’t like men. We

  don’t keep things bottled inside. There are times when we cry simply to relieve tension and stress.”

  Luke mulled over what she’d said, then running his hands over her back in a soothing manner, he asked

  “Is that why you were crying just now?”

  “Yes.”

  It was as good an excuse as any she could come up with. And in truth, she had been stressing. But his

  refusal to acknowledge her as his wife was something he wouldn’t want to discuss.

  “I think I know what you’re worried about,” he said, pulling her close.

  “You do?” She seriously doubted he’d understand even if she told him what the problem was.

  He nodded. “I’m sure it’s normal to be frightened about getting pregnant and all the changes your body

  will go through.” Kissing her tenderly, he held her to him. “But you aren’t going to be alone, Haley.

  Unlike a lot of men, I don’t consider my job finished once my son is conceived. I’ll be with you

  throughout this whole thing.”

  The sudden tension she detected in his large frame confused her. “Is there something going on that I

  don’t know about?” Haley asked.

  Pausing, he finally took her by the hand, walked over to a grouping of patio furniture, then lowering

  himself into one of the wrought iron chairs, pulled her down to sit on his lap. “I believe I’ve told you

  before about me and Jake raising Arielle after our mother was killed in a car accident.”

  Haley nodded.

  “Do you know why we were left with that responsibility, instead of our father taking care of our sister?”

  When she shook her head, he continued. “Because the bastard wasn’t anywhere around. He took off

  shortly after our mother learned she was pregnant with Arielle. The same as when he learned she was

  expecting me and Jake.”

  “Your father left your mother—”

  “Twice,” he finished for her. “She loved him with all of her heart and trusted that he cared the same way

  about her. But all she got out of the bargain was three kids to raise alone and the heartache of watching

  the jerk continually walk out on her.”

  With sudden clarity, Haley saw the reason behind Luke’s avoidance of relationships. He obviously never

  intended for anyone to have that kind of power over him.

  “Oh, Luke, I’m so sorry. That must have been so difficult for all of you.”

  He shrugged his shoulders. “There’s no reason to be sorry. We did just fine on our own and I’m

  thoroughly convinced we were better off without him.”

  She didn’t know what to say. Her father might have completely ignored her after her mother had left

  Haley on his doorstep, but he’d at least furnished a roof over her head and food for her to eat.

  Apparently, Luke’s father hadn’t even bothered to stick around long enough to see to his children’s basic

  needs.

  “But the story doesn’t end there,” Luke continued, staring out at the gardens beyond the balcony railing.

  “We recently learned our mother wasn’t the only woman to fall for his line of bull.”

  “You have another sibling?” she guessed.

  Shaking his head, he sighed heavily. “More like three. All brothers. All from different mothers. And all

  from different parts of the country.”

  Shocked, Haley could well understand his bitterness. “Your father certainly believed in sowing his share

  of wild oats, didn’t he?”

  “Oh, yeah.” Luke was silent a moment before he went on. “I suppose you could consider Jake and I the

  lucky ones. At least we got to meet the man once when we were ten. The others never had that

  opportunity. They didn’t even know his name.”

  “Why did your father return after all those years?” she interjected.

  “He just showed up at the house one day, stuck around long enough to impregnate our mother with

  Arielle, then took off again.” A chill slithered up her spine at the sound of Luke’s harsh laughter. “Of

  course, Jake and I may have met him, but we didn’t really know who he was, either. It wasn’t until we

  learned about our half brothers that we discovered he’d been using an alias when he was with our

  mother. Instead of the starving artist he’d portrayed himself to be, he was a notorious womanizer with a

  bottomless bank account.”

  “When and how did you find out about your brothers if they didn’t know who their father was?” she

  queried.

  “After he was killed in a boating accident somewhere in the Mediterranean, our paternal grandmother

  hired a team of private investigators to look into her son’s past escapades to see what damage he’d left in

  his wake throughout the years. She knew all along about the other three boys he’d fathered. But she only

  recently discovered that Arielle, Jake and I were also illegitimate grandchildren.”

  “That must have been heartbreaking for her,” Haley said, feeling compassion for the poor woman. “She

  was cheated out of watching all of you grow up and being part of your lives.”

  “Believe me, that old bird is a survivor,” he corrected, his tone indicating he had no pity for his

  grandmother. “She probably wouldn’t have taken the time to pay much attention to us anyway.”

  They fell silent for several minutes
before Luke asked “Now that you’ve learned all about my family

  secrets, what about you? Why wasn’t your mother part of the family picture?”

  His question caused a knot to form in the pit of Haley’s stomach. Millie Sanford may have given her

  life, but the woman had never been a mother to Haley.

  “There really isn’t a lot to tell,” she began, wondering if Millie ever regretted her decision to give away

  her baby girl. “Shortly after I was born, she showed up and told my father that I was the product of their

  one-night stand and she was going to put me up for adoption if he didn’t want to claim me.”

  “I’m sorry, sweetheart.” Luke’s arms tightened around her. “But if she didn’t intend to keep you, why

  did she go through with the pregnancy?”

  Haley had asked herself that a thousand times over the years and never came up with any answers. “I

  don’t really know. I’ve often wondered if she thought she’d make it on her own with a baby, then

  decided it was too difficult once I was born. Or maybe she gave me up because she wanted me to have

  all the opportunities she couldn’t give me.”

  His strong hands massaged the tension in her lower back. “I’m sure it was something like that.”

  She sighed. “But if that had been the case, you’d think she would have stayed in touch with my father to

  see how I was doing throughout the years.”

  “Have you tried to get in touch with her?” he asked, quietly.

  “I’ve thought about it, but I don’t even know where she went after she left me with Dad. Besides, what

  would I say? Oh, by the way, I’m the little girl you abandoned all those years ago.” She shook her head.

  “If she’d wanted anything to do with me, I’m sure she’d have contacted me by now. After all, it’s not

  like she didn’t know who she left me with.”

  They fell silent before Luke asked “So it was just you and your dad all these years?”

  “More like just me.” She tried not to think of how lonely she’d felt growing up. “Dad was married to his

  work—always at the office or on a business trip—and even when he was at home, he never seemed to

  know what to do with me or how to relate to me. He left my care to our housekeeper, Mrs. Arnold.”

  “In other words, she raised you.”

  “Yes.” Her chest tightened. “And now that I’m older, it’s too late. My father passed away while I was in

  college and we’ll never be able to have a relationship.”

  “Is that why it’s so important for you to be a mother to the baby we’re going to have?” Luke coaxed, his

  tone so gentle and caring that she couldn’t stop a tear from slipping down her cheek.

  “Yes.” Suddenly feeling as if every ounce of her energy had been drained away, she laid her head on

  Luke’s shoulder and snuggled into his embrace. “I don’t ever want my child to go through the

  uncertainty of not feeling loved…and wanted,” she revealed haltingly as sleep began to overtake her. “I

  intend for my baby to feel secure in the knowledge that she’s the most…important person in my life.”

  Long after Luke heard Haley’s breathing become shallow, indicating she’d drifted off to sleep, he sat

  holding her securely against him. He understood now more than ever why she’d been adamant about

  what it would take for her to have his son and why she’d insisted on joint custody. She wanted to protect

  his heir from the same type of loveless existence she’d been forced to grow up in.

  Cradling her to him like a small child, he rose from the chair and carried her into his bedroom. He and

  his siblings had been lucky compared to Haley. They might not have had a father, but they’d had each

  other and they’d certainly known their mother. From the moment they were born until the day she died,

  Francesca Garnier had devoted herself to her children and left them with no doubt about how much they

  meant to her.

  But Haley hadn’t had that kind of childhood. She’d had no one to love her the way a child needed to be

  loved.

  As he placed her on the bed, then stretched out beside her, Luke gathered her close. Emotions he wasn’t

  at all comfortable with and certainly wasn’t about to acknowledge filled his chest almost to the point of

  bursting.

  But he stubbornly willed them away. He’d seen firsthand the emotional pain his mother suffered when

  his father rejected her love and there wasn’t a chance in hell that he’d ever open himself up to that level

  of devastation.

  Haley was a warm, compassionate woman who had a lot of love to give and deserved a man with the

  capacity to love and cherish her just as much in return. Unfortunately, he just wasn’t the right man for

  the job.

  “Mr. Lucien Garnier, please hold for a call from Mrs. Emerald Larson.”

  Luke rolled his eyes at the sound of the stiff, formal voice of Emerald’s personal assistant, Luther

  Freemont.

  “Lucien, I’m so glad I caught you before you left the office for the day,” Emerald said, coming on the

  line. “Did the transition from our management to yours go as smoothly as anticipated?”

  “There were a couple of minor issues with the labor force, but nothing I couldn’t straighten out,” he

  responded, wondering why the old girl was fishing for answers from him, when they both knew she still

  had her share of loyal contacts in the Laurel offices.

  “Excellent. I’m happy to hear things are moving along on that front.”

  “But you aren’t calling to find out how I’ve done with Laurel Enterprises, are you?” Luke asked,

  running out of patience.

  “No, I’m not.”

  “Why are you calling, Mrs. Larson?” he demanded.

  “Considering our relationship, don’t you think calling me ‘Mrs. Larson’ is bit formal, Lucien?”

  “I’ve only known about you for a few weeks. Surely you don’t expect me to call you Grandmother,” he

  declared. “I told you when we first met that building a relationship at this stage of the game would be

  next to impossible.”

  “And I completely understand,” she agreed, sounding as if she really meant it. “If you’d like, why don’t

  you call me Emerald, dear.”

  “All right, Emerald. And for the record, most people call me Luke.”

  “I prefer calling you by your given name.”

  “You’ll do whatever pleases you anyway,” he retorted, using his hand to rub the tension building at the

  base of his neck.

  She laughed. “Of course, I will.”

  “Now that we have that settled, to what do I owe the pleasure of this call, Emerald?” he asked, wishing

  he’d ducked out of the office ten minutes earlier. If he had, he wouldn’t be having this chitchat with her.

  “I’m going to be in Nashville this weekend and I would very much like for you to attend a reception

  being held in my honor.” She paused. “Your three other brothers will be in attendance and this would be

  an excellent opportunity for you, Jake and Arielle to meet them.”

  “Half brothers,” Luke corrected.

  “Yes, of course.” To her credit, the old gal didn’t even try to pretend she was offended by his bluntness

  and continued as if he hadn’t pointed out the obvious. “Arielle is coming with me from San Francisco to

  fly into Nashville and I’m certain your twin brother plans to come from Los Angeles for the occasion.

  Will I be able to count on you, as well?”

  He should have known when they all agree
d to Emerald’s offer that it would come with a considerable

  amount of strings. “I’ll have to check my calendar and get back with you,” he hedged.

  “Wonderful. I’ll expect to see you at eight on Saturday evening in the main ballroom at the Gaylord

  Opryland Hotel.” Before he pointed out that he hadn’t committed to anything, she added, “And of course

  it goes without saying you’re more than welcome to bring a guest.”

  “Of course,” he repeated, rolling his eyes once more.

  “I look forward to seeing you again, Lucien. Goodbye.”

  As he hung up the phone, he shook his head. He had to give her credit for one thing: Emerald Larson

  was damned good at getting what she wanted. Unless he missed his guess, Jake had been fed the same

  line of bull about her being certain Luke would be attending and now they’d both been roped in.

  But the more he thought about it, the more it could work to their advantage. If Arielle was going to be

  there, maybe he and Jake could pull her aside and get to the bottom of what was going on with her.

  And Luke had no doubt she was hiding something. She’d been avoiding his calls the past couple of

  weeks and that was the longest they’d ever gone without talking.

  Checking his watch, Luke turned off his computer and rolled down his shirt sleeves. Haley had left an

  hour ago to run a couple of errands and it was time he called it a day, as well. He had a soft, sweet

  woman waiting on him at home. And he couldn’t wait to get their evening started.

  Eight

  “I t’s negative,” Haley announced, peering at the results window on the little white stick in her hand.

  “Are you sure these things are accurate?” Luke asked, looking over her shoulder. “Maybe another brand

  would be better.”

  “From everything I’ve read, this test is the most accurate,” she answered, checking the back of the box

  for the second time.

  She picked up the instruction insert from the early pregnancy test and read through it again. “It says to

  retest a few days later if there are doubts about the results.”

  “You might still be pregnant.” He grinned as they walked out of the master bathroom and over to the