“It’s nice to meet you, Faith. Please tell me you aren’t here with anyone.”
Vaguely alarmed, she released his arm. “Sorry,” she said. “My husband is here with me.”
“He doesn’t seem to be taking very good care of you.”
“He is now.”
Faith jumped and half turned. Stone had approached behind her. His voice was distinctly chilly. She felt his left hand settle at her waist; the right he extended to the other man. “Stone Lachlan. I take it you’ve met my wife.”
“Sorry,” said the actor, backing away, a wry grin on his face. “She was alone. I assumed she was single because no man in his right mind would leave a woman like her alone…” and he turned and headed in the other direction.
Stone’s hand slid from her waist and he braceleted her wrist with hard fingers. “Dance with me.”
“All right.” But he was practically dragging her toward the dance floor.
“Did you tell him,” he said through gritted teeth as he swung her into dance position, “that in eleven more months you’ll be free to flirt with anyone you want?”
What? She was so shocked by the unexpected attack that she was speechless as he took her in his arms and began to move across the dance floor. “I wasn’t—”
“Save it for later, when we don’t have an audience,” he said curtly.
“I will not!” Finding her voice as outrage rose, she stopped dancing, forcing him to halt as well.
“Faith, you’re making a scene.” His voice was tight.
“Maybe you should have thought of that before you started slinging around unfair accusations.” She tugged at his arm around her waist but it was like pulling on a steel bar. He didn’t give an inch. “Let me go,” she said. “I want to go home.”
“Fine. We’ll go home.”
“I said I, not we.” To her utter mortification, tears rose in her eyes. “I did nothing to deserve to be treated like that. Let me go!”
“Faith—” He hesitated and there was an odd note in his voice. “Don’t cry.”
“I’m not crying. I’m furious!” But that wasn’t strictly true. She was devastated that he would accuse her of such a low action. “I wasn’t flirting. And if you didn’t want me talking to other people, you shouldn’t have left me sitting alone for an hour.”
She tried to wrench herself away from him but instead of releasing her, Stone merely wrapped his arms around her and lifted her off her feet, moving from the dance floor to a partially private spot beside a large pillar. “Baby,” he said roughly, “I’m sorry—”
“Not as sorry as I am,” she said. She deliberately made her voice and her face expressionless, retreating in the only way she knew how, forcing herself to ignore his big, hard body so intimately pressed to her own.
“Look,” he said desperately, “I was wrong. I was jealous and I didn’t handle it very well. Please don’t cry.” And before she could evade him, he bent his head and covered her lips with his.
She’d longed for his kisses, dreamed of them constantly. As his warm mouth moved persuasively on hers, she tried to hold onto her anger but it was quickly overridden by her body’s clamoring response to the man she loved. With a small whimper, she put her arms around his neck and tried to drag him closer, and between that heartbeat and the next, the kiss changed. Stone growled deep in his throat and his arms tightened. He slid one hand down her back to press her up against him and she gasped as his tongue slipped along the line of her lips.
Oh, she wanted him! Her pulse beat wildly at the realization that he wanted her, too. I was jealous… The husky words echoed in her head, melting her anger and softening her heart as wonder stole in. He’d been jealous. She could hardly credit that in light of the way he’d been carefully avoiding any contact with her, but…he was kissing her now, his mouth moving possessively, his big hands splayed over her body, holding her tightly against him.
But in a moment, he began to lessen his grip and his kisses became shallower and more conventional. “My wife,” he murmured against her lips as he finally set her free. “You’re my wife.”
His wife…was that all she was to him? Her rising hopes crashed into a flaming abyss once again. Had he only kissed her to establish a claim? To show the world that she was his?
She couldn’t quite let herself believe that, not after that kiss. She looked up at him, but he already was leading her out of the ballroom, claiming their coats, hailing a taxi and bundling her in. As he tipped the parking attendant who’d gotten the cab and slid in beside her, she cleared her throat. “Stone?”
“Hmm?”
“Where do we go from here?”
He looked at her questioningly. “Home.”
“No.” She waited until he braked at a red light and she caught his eye again. “I mean, you and I. Our relationship.”
“Faith.” His gaze slid back to the street and his voice was firm and resolute. “We’ve had this discussion before.”
“Yes, but—”
“The answer is no. It doesn’t matter what you want, or what I want. It would be a huge mistake for us to get involved in a physical relationship.”
“Are you trying to convince me or yourself?” she challenged, frustrated beyond belief by his hard-headed refusal to see what they could have together.
“Both, probably,” he said grimly.
Six
“Hello, Faith. Thank you for inviting me.” Eliza Smythe entered the foyer two weeks later and handed Faith her coat and handbag. “I’ve been hoping we could get to know each other better.”
“So have I,” Faith responded, leading her mother-in-law into the dining room, where she had set two places at a small round table near the fireplace. “Please, sit down.” She waited until the older woman was seated before she took her own place. “I’m so sorry Stone couldn’t be here. He had some pressing things to take care of at his office.”
“Pressing things?” Eliza laughed cynically. “I bet they became a whole lot more pressing when he found out I was coming for lunch.”
Faith felt herself flushing. She was unable to deny it.
Eliza leaned forward, her face growing serious. “I hope your invitation didn’t cause trouble between you and Stone.”
“It didn’t.” That was perfectly truthful. For there to be trouble between them, they first would have to talk. Stone’s only reaction, when she’d told him his mother would be coming to lunch was a curt, “I have meetings all day, so count me out.” Gee, what a shock.
“Good.” Faith’s mother-in-law smiled warmly at her. “So tell me how you like married life. Has the press been too intrusive?”
“Not as bad as I feared, actually,” Faith confessed. “But Stone has taught me to keep a low profile in public. That’s helped.”
“He’ll be less interesting now that he’s married,” predicted Eliza. “Unless,” she added, smiling wickedly, “you keep giving them moments like those photos from the Lincoln reception. That was hardly what I’d call low-profile.”
Faith felt the heat rise in her face. The week after the disastrous evening, there had been a series of three photos of them in the Star Tracks section of People magazine. In the first frame, Faith was with the actor she’d met, with her arm tucked warmly through his. The man’s head was tilted down so that he could hear something she was saying. It was a decidedly intimate-looking pose.
The second photo showed Stone, scowling, pulling her toward the dance floor and the other man could clearly be seen walking away in the background. But the third shot was the one that had made her cringe. It had been taken during their heated kiss behind the pillar. Stone had her locked against him, nearly bent backward beneath the force of his kiss. She clung to him on tiptoe, one hand in his hair. The sly, amusing captions had mentioned his jealous reaction—and she doubted the author would ever know how true it had been. Unfortunately, she thought, Stone hadn’t been reacting out of any personal feeling. He just didn’t want anyone coming on to his wife. She was pre
tty sure he viewed her as an extension of property.
She ducked her head. “Stone wasn’t very happy with that,” she admitted. “We’ll have to be more careful in the future.” Her mother-in-law was still smiling, though, and she decided that the revealing photos probably had helped Stone’s cause in his quest to convince his mother of the authenticity of his marriage.
Faith picked up a spoon then and started on the soup she’d set out for the first course. Her mother-in-law followed suit and they talked of other things during the meal. Eliza asked after Faith’s mother, and Faith found herself sharing some of her concerns about the future. To her pleasure, Eliza spoke freely about her business. If only Stone would do the same! She longed to share his life, but it seemed he was never going to give her the chance.
“So,” the older woman said as they relaxed with coffee an hour later, “we got sidetracked after I asked you how you liked married life. Has it been a big adjustment?”
“In some ways.” Faith hesitated, then decided it wouldn’t be inappropriate to share her feelings with her mother-in-law. “The boredom is driving me crazy,” she confessed, “if you want the truth. I can only spend so much time with Mama—she needs a lot of rest and quiet.”
“I thought you were a student. Don’t you have classes?”
“I took this semester off.” Faith doubted Eliza even knew about Stone taking on financial responsibility for two additional people. In any case, she couldn’t explain the details of her “semester off” without the risk of giving away the true reasons for her marriage. “My classes don’t start again until June.”
“That’s not so far away,” Eliza pointed out.
Faith raised her eyebrows. “You wouldn’t say that if you were the one sitting here twiddling your thumbs. I’ve asked Stone if I could help at the office but—” she rolled her eyes and tried to sound mildly aggravated as an indulgent wife might “—he told me to redecorate the den.” Her opinion of that was evident in her voice.
“Well, it is a project,” his mother said, playing devil’s advocate.
“One I accomplished in a few days,” Faith said. “The painters are here right now. The wallpaper, carpet and new furniture have been ordered.”
Eliza chuckled. “And you’re twiddling your thumbs again.” As Faith nodded, the older woman cleared her throat. “I might have a project for you, if you’re interested.”
A project? Faith was cautious. “Such as?”
“I have a significant amount of data from one of my plants that recently was restructured. The last man was an incompetent idiot and he left a huge mess with a number of damaged files that need to be recovered. It needs to be straightened out. It would be a short-term job, of course, but it might be perfect for your situation.”
Faith’s spirits soared immediately. She nearly clapped her hands. Then something occurred to her. “Wait a minute. How do you know I’m capable of doing this job?”
Eliza’s slim shoulders rose and fell in a wry gesture. “I confess I did look into your background a little bit. You have quite a gift with computers, it seems.”
She didn’t know whether to be flattered or annoyed. “I’m beginning to see where Stone gets his autocratic nature.”
Her mother-in-law winced. “I’m sorry if I’ve made you angry.”
“It’s all right.” She wasn’t really angry. “The job sounds like a challenge. I like challenges. But I’ll need to talk to Stone about it.”
“All right.” Eliza rose. “Thank you for lunch. Whether or not you take the job, I hope we can continue to get together from time to time.”
“That would be nice.” And it would be. “Perhaps Stone will be able to join us next time.”
Eliza made a distinctly unladylike sound. “Not if he finds out I’m going to be there.”
The words were filled with pain, as were her eyes. Faith hesitated. She knew Stone wouldn’t thank her for getting in the middle of his relationship with his mother…still, she couldn’t simply ignore this. “I’m sorry,” she said. “Maybe, in time, he’ll soften.” But she doubted it.
Eliza sighed. “You don’t believe that and neither do I. Stone thinks I abandoned him. And he’s right. I did.” Her face looked as rigid as marble. The only sign of life was the leaping, snapping flames in her eyes. “When my father died, I was a young wife with a small child. And suddenly, I was the heir to this company—which was struggling to keep its head above water, something my father had never told me. I was determined to keep Smythe for my son. Maybe I should have hired someone else to lead it, but at the time I felt like…oh, I don’t know, like it was my destiny or something.” She tried to smile. “Or maybe it just makes me feel better to tell myself I had no other choice but to take over and lead the company myself.”
“It must have been a good decision,” Faith said, realizing what a difficult choice Eliza had been forced to make. “Look at what you’ve accomplished.”
The Smythe Corp. CEO shrugged. “But look at what I sacrificed. My marriage fell apart when my husband realized I had no intention of walking away from Smythe Corp. I should have refused to cooperate when he told me to leave. I should have taken Stone with me. But he was so close to his father…I didn’t think it would be fair.” She shook her head. “Of course, I never thought my husband would try to keep me from seeing my son, either. And once I’d moved out, the courts did view me as a poor parent.” Her shoulders slumped. “I guess we all have things we wish we had done differently.”
Faith was stunned. Stone thought his mother hadn’t wanted him! All these years he’d thought she didn’t care…he couldn’t have been more wrong.
“You, ah, wanted to see him more often?”
His mother looked beaten. “Yes, but when his father got full custody he was able to severely limit the time I spent with Stone. After a while, Stone seemed to view my visits as a chore and it was easier not to go as often.” She shook her head regretfully. “I’m very sorry now that I didn’t continue to be a presence in Stone’s life no matter what.”
Then she glanced at her watch, and Faith could see her shaking off the moment of painful truth. “I have enjoyed this tremendously, Faith. Thank you again for inviting me. It’s time for me to get back to the office.”
“Thank you for joining me.” Faith rose and laid her napkin aside, then led the way to the front door.
Eliza put on her coat, then turned once more. “Let me know if you’re interested in that job. It wouldn’t just be something I’ve made up to keep you busy. I really do need to get someone on that project soon.”
“I’ll let you know by the end of the week,” Faith promised. “I appreciate the offer more than you know.”
She was just coming down the stairs to breakfast two days later when she heard Stone calling her name. His voice sounded alarmed, unusual for him, and immediately she doubled her speed.
He was in the breakfast room. So was her mother. But Naomi was lying on the floor near the table with him crouched at her side.
“Mama!” Faith rushed forward, taking in the scene. Her mother was conscious, though she lay awkwardly on her side. “What happened?”
“She says she was transferring from her scooter to the table. She had a muscle spasm and she slipped,” Stone said. As Faith dropped to her knees, Stone rose and left the room, returning a moment later with the telephone as well as a blanket, which he draped over her mother. “It’s a good thing it’s Saturday,” he said, “or I might not still have been home. She could have lain here for a while except that I was in the kitchen and I heard her.”
“Where’s Clarice? And why were you trying to do this alone?” Faith knew her voice was too shrill but she was frightened. Naomi shouldn’t have been trying to move without supervision.
Clarice had agreeably offered to work six days a week. Sunday was the only day she took off and even then, she often was gone only a few hours. She had no children and, Faith assumed, no other family.
“I sent her to the deli,” said
Naomi. “They have wonderful fresh bagels. I thought I could…I thought…” Her voice trailed off and she started to cry.
“It’s okay, Mama.” Faith stroked her hair. “It’s okay. How do you feel? Do you think anything is broken?”
“Don’t try to move.” Stone’s voice brooked no opposition. “Let me call an ambulance and we’ll go to the hospital so you can be checked.”
“No emergency service,” Naomi begged.
Stone shook his head as he punched a speed dial button. “I won’t call 9-1-1. I’m calling your doctor first.”
Clarice returned just as Stone hung up from explaining the situation to Naomi’s doctor. The caregiver was as upset as Faith had ever seen her, and it was as much work to calm Clarice as it was to comfort her mother. Things moved rapidly after that. Naomi’s doctor sent a private ambulance and she was transported to the hospital where she was met by her doctor. Faith, Stone and Clarice waited impatiently until a nurse appeared to take them to the room in which they’d settled Naomi.
The doctor who oversaw her care met them in the hallway and took all three of them into a small visitors’ lounge before they saw Faith’s mother.
“Your mother is experiencing an increase in spasticity that worries me. It’s important that we begin a physical therapy program in order to keep it from worsening. Passive stretching, maybe some swimming, that kind of thing. Also, she absolutely should not attempt transfers from one place to another without physical assistance. Sometimes the spasms can be severe enough to knock a patient right out of their wheelchair.”
“Is she going to have to start using a wheelchair now?” Faith asked apprehensively.
“I’m not ready to take that step yet,” the doctor replied. “Let’s see if we can’t control the spasticity first.”
“Exactly what do you want us to do?” Stone’s voice was authoritative and Faith was happy to let him direct the conversation.
“I would recommend one of two things: either hire trained therapists who can work with Mrs. Harrell, or consider placing her in a facility where she can be cared for.”
Billionaire Bachelors: Stone Page 10
