Because I Love You

by Jeannie Moon

God, she loved this. He was in agony and it was all her doing. “It’s not my fault you find me irresistible.”

  Groaning again, he grabbed at her as she rose from the bed.

  “Come with me today?” she asked.

  “To your parents’ house? I dunno, they might have it out for me now that I want to marry their precious daughter.”

  “Wait. You didn’t tell them?”

  Drawing a deep breath, he looked away.

  “You did tell them, right? Tris, they’ll be crushed.”

  “Oh, for Christ’s sake.” He sat up and threw the covers back. “Of course I did. You think I’m daft? Your father would feed me to that demon horse who threw me if I didn’t get your parents’ blessing first.”

  “You did?”

  “I know it’s important to you, too. Your brother even gave me his blessing.”

  “He did?”

  “Yes. Now go get dressed.” He gave her a light smack on the ass. “I’m going to take a cold shower.”

  There was a giddy, excited feeling filling Leah’s chest and a weightlessness all around, like she was floating. He made her so happy. Finally.

  Leah was happy.

  * * *

  Preparation for the Thanksgiving holiday was a major undertaking at the Bayard household. Told there would be over twenty-five people in attendance for dinner, Tristan was amazed to find the cooking was done by the family with Sally firmly in charge. Today they were baking pies and desserts that would keep until Thursday.

  When they arrived, the kitchen was buzzing with activity. Ingredients were being chopped, kneaded, or mixed, and through it all Sally’s lilting voice rose above all the noise.

  This was a grand family. Close, loving, and he was going to be part of it. Tristan hoped he was up to the task. He did notice Leah’s father was conspicuously absent from the kitchen, probably chased out by Sally herself.

  “Hey!” Leah called, deliberately waving with her left hand as they crossed the threshold to the kitchen. Her ring reflected off the sun shining in through the windows, and everyone’s heads turned.

  “OH, MY GOD!” He’d never heard Liz Bayard raise her voice, but as with most things in life, there was a first time for everything. She shrieked. “He asked? Oh, honey.” She was still holding Leah’s hand when she flashed Tristan a warm smile. “It’s a beautiful ring, Tristan. Just beautiful.”

  Jenna leaned in and wrapped an arm around Leah, pulling her in. “This is wonderful! I’m so happy for you two!”

  While her mother and sister-in-law were gushing, Sally stepped toward Leah, who held out her hand for the elder woman’s inspection. “Isn’t it perfect, Sally?”

  Expecting her to wonder if the diamonds were real, or make some crack about the size, Sally smiled and reached out to Leah, folding her in her arms. “You’re going to be a beautiful bride. And you—” she turned to Tristan, and hugged him hard. “Welcome to the family.”

  He’d never been more stunned. Or happy.

  “I wonder where Amy went,” her mother glanced around. “She was here a minute ago. Huh. That’s odd.”

  “She’s probably wondering if I turned tricks for the ring,” Leah mumbled to Tristan. Amy’s comments from the night before about Leah’s jewelry still stung, and it was going to be a while before Leah forgot about it.

  “Tristan,” Liz said. “Could you go fetch Liam and Nate from the barn? They need to see this.”

  Tris nodded, happy to let all the women gush over Leah. Lord knew she deserved it. Walking out the back door, he turned to head down the path to the barn, when he saw some movement out of the corner of his eye by the guesthouse. Making his way toward the stone structure which housed him for several days after his fall, he didn’t know exactly why he was checking things out, but he had a feeling he knew who was up here. The closer he got to the house, the more he smelled it . . . someone was sneaking a cigarette.

  Sure enough, as soon as he rounded the building he saw Amy, sitting on a bench in the garden, taking a long drag.

  “And here everyone thinks you’re the nice girl, and Leah’s the hell-raiser.”

  Pulling a hand to her chest, Amy jumped. “Shit. You scared the crap out of me.” Stubbing out her cigarette, she put the butt in a bucket filled with sand.

  “Your mum is looking for you.”

  “How nice,” she replied, not making eye contact.

  Sitting in a chair across from her, Tristan was trying to get a handle on the two sisters. “I never pegged you for a smoker. I quit five years ago.”

  “I went back about six months ago. It makes my parents crazy, and since Mum’s cancer diagnosis, it really doesn’t sit well.” She stood and walked to the edge of the stone patio and fingered a plant that was starting to fade. “I don’t smoke much, but when I get stressed . . .”

  “You mean like having to face your sister after you basically called her a whore?”

  Amy was poised to strike back, but the fire in her eyes died down when she realized there was no way to defend herself. She really was not the well-mannered, blond socialite he’d met at the party last July. This sister had the instincts of a viper.

  But Tris could see the viper had feelings. Especially where her sister was concerned.

  Amy turned away. Sniffled. “Yeah, like that.”

  “You could apologize. Seems like you know you should.”

  “She won’t listen. I crossed the line. Hurt her feelings.”

  “You did. You also hurt her when you told her you were leaving and said something like it was good that you would have distance, or some shit.”

  “I thought that was true,” Amy defended. “She’s very dependent on me.”

  “Is she? Because as soon as she didn’t need you so much, you lashed out.” Tristan was not feeling the love for his sister-in-law-to-be. He was finding her to be rather a bitch.

  “You really don’t get this, do you? She moved from me to you. She can be needy. She has to be able to stand up on her own!”

  “Christ almighty, you need to get a hold of yourself, Amy. No she didn’t. She jettisoned me the minute I tried to tell her what to do. I had to beg her to come back to me. Beg. I’d be the one lost without her. But let me tell you something, being alone is a shitty place to be. That’s why your big, close family is such a blessing. You never have to be alone.”

  There was no response, just a look of distance. “She’s so emotional. I don’t know how she does the job that she does. I thought for sure she’d be a teacher, or a doctor, something that would bring her in contact with people.”

  “She has a huge heart. It’s one of the things I love about her.”

  “I just, I don’t . . . I don’t know how to handle it. She feels so much. Loves everyone so much. I don’t know how she does it. It would overwhelm me.”

  “So now you’re running across the ocean, but you’re scared. Your family won’t be there. Your sister won’t.”

  “I guess. There’s some truth in that.”

  “You made a choice, but you have family to support you, even if they’re an ocean away.”

  “My sister, too?” Amy sounded skeptical.

  “Yes. Your sister, too. However, you need to be happy for her, even if you aren’t happy for yourself.”

  Amy nodded. “I guess I’d better get in there. So, can the ring choke a horse?”

  He couldn’t help but smile. “Two or three.”

  “Jesus. Flashy asshole.”

  “I’m a billionaire. It’s a job requirement.” Standing, he turned toward the barn. “I’ve got to go retrieve your father and brother. Go talk to her, Amy. You’ll solve nothing if you don’t.”

  Taking a breath, Leah’s sister straightened her back and started off toward the house. He was quickly learning that family politics were a tricky business, just like the relationships amon
g the partners. He and his siblings got on fine, but everyone had gone in their own direction and they were lucky if they saw each other once a year. It was no wonder Mum wanted him home for Christmas. She missed them. Missed the chaos, the bickering, the love. He was going to have to go. Of course he’d ask Leah to come so she could meet his family. The Bayards were going to play a big role in his life from now on, but it was time for Leah and him to establish their own life, together, and that meant family on both sides of the Atlantic.

  * * *

  There wasn’t enough moisturizer on the planet for Leah’s poor hands. She’d done more dishes today than she’d done in the past five years. Yeah, some heiress she was—dishpan hands. Lovely.

  But it was a fun day, and Amy even apologized, such as it was. She didn’t know if her sister meant everything she said, but she’d tried to make peace and that was better than nothing.

  The house was still full of people. The rest of the Reliance partners all showed up with their wives, and kids, and Harper stopped by with the baby, which had everyone falling all over themselves. Leah made her way up to her old room not only to find something for her chapped hands, but for a little quiet. The Bag Balm ointment she’d always used for her barn hands solved one problem, coming to her room on the third floor solved the other.

  Holding the baby today triggered a severe case of mother lust. Leah wasn’t getting younger and she was terrified she wouldn’t be able to get pregnant when she and Tris were ready. They didn’t want to wait a long time, and there was no denying she wanted children sooner rather than later. Then there was her career. She’d just gotten back on track and was going to make partner within the next year. Did she walk away from that?

  Sure, she knew she didn’t have to. They had the resources to have a live-in nanny, but was the high-pressure life of a securities attorney really what she wanted? Leah loved the law, but maybe she had to find another way to practice.

  She’d never been faced with so many changes so fast and, as happy as she was, it was overwhelming. How did women do this? Manage everything, and stay true to their goals, professionally and personally? God, it was a lot to think about.

  As if on cue, the poster child of working mothers—Harper—poked her head in Leah’s room. “Damn, girl. You’re hard to find. Wanted to escape the madness?”

  “Yeah. I needed to think.”

  “Well, you can’t do that with all the chatter going on downstairs, that’s for sure. So, let me see that ring again.”

  Harper examined Leah’s hand and smiled. “He’s a keeper, that one. But I’m here mostly because I have a proposition for you from the partners.”

  “What?” Something from the partners? “This sounds official.”

  “It is. Look, I saw you holding the baby. You want to be pregnant like yesterday. I’m going to offer you a way to have both your career, and your children.”

  “Do you have ESP or something? Holy shit.” These people at Reliance had some kind of woo woo going on.

  “No, Leah. I saw you. And I know how you feel, juggling sucks. But I’m lucky. I can do both. I have a support system, and a job that respects my work and my motherhood.”

  “So what’s the proposition?”

  “Corporate counsel. Our current attorney, James, is leaving once Tris takes Nate’s place. We’ve known for a month and didn’t quite know what to do. We were thinking about outsourcing the legal work, but we like having an attorney in-house, on the administrative team. You’d be perfect.”

  “Why is James leaving?”

  “He hates Tris. Said he won’t work with him. The two have knocked heads over some things, internal stuff. Jason and Owen sided with Tris, and told James to resign. He’s getting a nice package, but he’ll be gone after the New Year.”

  “Wow. I never imagined . . . thanks, Harper. I’ll think about it.”

  “You’ll have a stellar salary—it’s probably a raise—a title, office suite with a staff of two attorneys, a paralegal and three administrative assistants. The benefits are generous.” Dropping a folder on the bed next to her, Harper grinned. “Here’s the offer. Call me in a few days and we can talk. I’m working from home for a couple of months. If you want more money, we’ll see what we can do. We want you, Leah, and it’s not because you’re related.”

  “Whoa.”

  Before she closed the bedroom door, Harper smiled. “Please consider it.”

  “I will.” She most definitely would.

  Chapter Sixteen

  Leah hadn’t been able to keep her mind on work since Harper had presented her with the opportunity of a lifetime a few days ago. The offer to work as Reliance’s corporate counsel was more than generous and the work was varied and interesting. Even better, she’d be in control of her own department. She knew the company culture valued autonomy and independence, and that was something Leah was sorely missing where she was working now.

  More and more, she was seeing that her professional life was lacking. She thought she was on the fast track, but she was seeing more and more that she was nothing but a minion. Everything was dangled like a carrot—staff, partnerships, bonuses, money. And like lemmings, the associates followed wherever the carrot led them. She liked the people, mostly, but it wasn’t enough to keep her from breaking ties with her firm.

  She just didn’t know how.

  It wasn’t only about leaving her current job. She’d be blowing away every goal she’d set for herself. Was she ready to do that?

  Normally, she’d bounce this off Tristan, but he was too close to the situation. She needed to make the decision without him, without her family. For the first time in her life, Leah was on her own.

  It was scary shit.

  And it was exactly what she needed.

  Standing, she stretched, grabbed her coffee mug, and hoped the walk would do her some good. The break room was on the other side of the office complex, so she’d be able to shake out the cobwebs. Her phone buzzed in her pocket.

  It was Nate. A text. Shit hitting the fan. Need some advice.

  What’s the problem?

  Tristan. That was all he wrote.

  Leah’s heart jumped into her throat and she texted back. I’ll call later.

  Standing in the break room, she looked out at the skyline of downtown Manhattan, which was now dominated by the Freedom Tower at One World Trade Center. It had been fourteen years since the towers fell. She was in high school when it happened and everything changed. She remembered the day. The school going on lockdown, the fighter jets flying patrols over Long Island. She remembered her mother’s tears as she heard of more people from church, or school, who had been killed when the towers fell.

  Maybe it was time for a change of scenery. Reliance’s offices were built in a converted shipyard, on the North Shore. She’d have a water view right outside her office. That wasn’t a bad thing.

  “Leah!”

  Tad. Help me, Lord.

  “Hi, Tad.” She’d expected only Tad’s smarmy face when she turned, but he wasn’t alone. Candace Hopkins with him. “Hello, Candace, how nice to see you again.”

  “Lovely to see you, Leah. It was lovely meeting you the other night. I’m sorry we didn’t get to talk more.”

  “Yes. However, I’m glad you had a nice time. Networking events can be so deadly dull, it’s nice when the venue takes your mind off of it.”

  “Yes, and in your case, I hear congratulations are in order. You’re engaged to Tristan.”

  Leah nodded. Why did she leave her office?

  “I hope you have better luck getting him to the altar than I did. Well, I was the one who broke it off. Let me see your ring.”

  What the fuck?

  Leah held out her hand, more shell-shocked than anything.

  “He does have excellent taste. He really loves Harry Winston. I still have the bracelet he bought me from
there.” She took a few steps and travelled the room while she talked. Candace’s hair was pulled back in a tight ponytail, and she was wearing a red power suit with mile high heels. She looked like a woman you didn’t want to mess with. Leah actually started to hate her.

  “I just didn’t feel it was right to keep the ring since I broke things off. Although at that point, we didn’t know if he was going to go to prison. I had such a taste for bad boys. I’m over it now.”

  “Well, it’s good when you can get past something like that.” Good grief. What else could she say?

  Get out of there, Leah. Get out before she says it!

  But it wasn’t to be.

  “Look, Leah, we’re friends. I feel like we’re kind of bonded since, you know, we slept with the same guy, but I know you were hoping to find out why the IPO at your brother’s company wasn’t getting approved.”

  “They’re curious. What do you know?”

  “It’s Tris. He has a major black mark against him from the 2008 crisis. Lots of questions. He was arrested. The charges were dropped in London, but your government has been doing some digging. It’s not going to help Reliance.”

  “How interesting.” She had to keep her mind focused on this harpy who was playing fast and loose with information with the sole intention of pissing Leah off. “Well, thank you for that. I’ll also thank you to keep speculation to yourself, as this kind of chatter could not only hurt Tristan, but the company, and you wouldn’t want that on your conscience, would you?”

  Tad was leaning into a table on the far side of the room, arms folded, listening. Candace was trying to do the whole sister-bonding thing but she was full of shit. “Look, Leah, you don’t know me, so I’m going to give you some advice. Tristan is charming, but he gets bored easily. He’s like a puppy and you’re his newest thing. He likes to throw around diamonds and gifts, but don’t let it go to your head. He jerked me around for a year and half.”

  “Thank you, Candace. Tad. That was interesting. I hope you both have a good day.”

  Leah didn’t just leave the break room, she gathered her things and left the office, telling her secretary she could be reached on her cell if needed. She could not stay in that space. The Reliance offer was looking better and better, but what about what Candace said about Tristan? They were engaged? They were together a year and half? He said they’d just dated for a while.