by Day Leclaire
"Aunt Nikki!" a childish voice declared. "You're home. I've been waiting and waiting— Oh!"
"Jonah!" Nikki whispered frantically, shoving at his massive shoulders. "Let go."
The little girl began to giggle. "Mommy! Come quick! There's a strange man kissing Aunt Nikki."
"My goodness! So there is." Another voice had joined the party.
Nikki managed to wriggle free of Jonah's hold. Turning, she offered her sister a flustered smile, then had the breath knocked out of her as the child launched herself at her aunt for an exuberant hug.
"What's your surprise?" Keli demanded, wrapping her arms around her aunt's waist.
"I think that's me," Jonah confessed, lowering himself to her level. "You must be Keli. I'm your Uncle Jonah."
Nikki watched as her niece peeped shyly up at him. Even in a crouch, Jonah's impressive size tended to overwhelm, and Keli studied him uncertainly for a long moment. Wisps of strawberry blond curls floated in a brilliant halo around her face, highlighting the doubt written all over her dainty features. Then, like a shadow floating clear of the sun, the doubt vanished and she grinned.
"Hi," she said. "I didn't know I had an uncle."
"Neither did I," Krista said in a confused voice. She offered a hand to Jonah as he stood. "I'm Krista Barrett, Nikki's sister. And you are...?" She lifted a winged eyebrow.
"Jonah Alexander," he said, accepting her hand. "Your brother-in-law."
"Oh, good heavens!"
"We are not doing this on the doorstep again," Nikki interjected.
He grinned. "I believe we just did."
"Everyone inside," Nikki snapped. "We'll talk there."
With a shrug, Jonah picked up the bags and stepped across the threshold. Keli trotted after him, studying her new uncle with unabashed curiosity.
Krista caught Nikki's arm as she started past. "What's going on?" she demanded softly.
"I'm married."
"For real this time?" Krista questioned, not bothering to conceal her concern. "This isn't another scheme you've dreamed up because of that Eric Sanders?"
"The marriage is real enough." Nikki took a deep breath and fought to put as much conviction and enthusiasm in her voice as possible. "And just so you know, I love him. In fact, we're both madly in love. And it's permanent. 'Til death us do part and all that."
Krista's brows drew together. "Uh-huh."
"I mean it!"
Nikki sent Jonah an uneasy glance. He stood with Keli, listening to her excited chatter. "And this is the living room," the child was explaining earnestly. "We keep it all picked up for Aunt Nikki. She works real hard and it helps her when I keep my toys in our bedroom."
"The one you share with your mom?" he asked.
"How'd you know that?"
"A lucky guess." An odd expression had crept into his gaze, Nikki realized with a tinge of apprehension. They'd taken on that autumn chill again, the brown-gold appearing rock hard.
"Well," Krista said in bewilderment, "I guess congratulations are in order. I'm sure we have a bottle of champagne around here someplace." She stared at Jonah. "Your name is familiar. Do I know you from somewhere? Do you live nearby?"
"No, you don't and no, he doesn't," Nikki answered with more haste than grace. "He's just come back from overseas. He doesn't have anyplace to live, which means he'll be moving in with us."
"That's going to make it a bit crowded," Krista observed, then offered, "Why don't I put out some feelers to some of my friends? I'm sure I could find another place."
Nikki wrinkled her brow in what she hoped was a thoughtful frown. "That's a possibility. But there's no hurry."
"No hurry at all," Jonah cut in coldly. "In fact, we want you and Keli to stay put. We'll be moving into my apartment."
Nikki's mouth fell open. "But—"
"I was keeping it as a surprise wedding gift, sweetheart. Krista, the place is all yours," Jonah stated in an intractable voice. "We just stopped by to give you the good news and to pick up some of Nikki's clothes." His hand clamped down on her arm as she started to protest. "Didn't we?"
"I'm so pleased you let me do the talking," she bit out, watching all her plans dissipate like smoke in a high wind. Aware of Krista's worried stare, she added a terse, "Darling."
"My pleasure." He bared sharklike teeth. "Honey."
CHAPTER SIX
"How could you?" Nikki demanded furiously.
"How could I? How could you?"
"You don't understand!"
"You're damned right I don't," Jonah snarled, tossing their luggage into the spacious elevator. Inserting a key in the floor-selector panel, he slammed his palm against the button for the penthouse. "Krista is a member of your family. Doesn't that mean anything to you?"
"Of course it does—"
"And yet you'd still toss your own sister and niece out of their home?"
He swiveled to confront her, and the spaciousness of the car instantly shrank. She felt as though she'd stumbled into a lion's den and found herself face-to-face with the top cat—a savage, ill-tempered beast only too happy to shred some flesh from her bones. It wasn't a pleasant sensation.
"I'd never force Krista to leave," she insisted.
"But you'd make it so uncomfortable for her, she'd vacate of her own accord, right?" The contempt in his voice ripped at her self-control. "I'll bet it's the only home those two have ever known, isn't it?"
She didn't dare answer that one, not when her response would further incite him. "Krista doesn't want to live with me anymore," Nikki attempted to explain. "She wants to move in with a friend. I'm just trying to give her a gracious way out."
His eyes flashed with gold fire. "Oh, you're giving her a gracious way out, all right. Right out the door and onto the street."
"That's not true! The problem is, she won't leave because she doesn't want me to live alone. She's got this crazy idea that she owes me."
He folded his arms across his chest, drawing her attention to the imposing width of his shoulders. Where once she took comfort in his size, now it only served to intimidate. "And who gave her that idea? You?"
She wouldn't explain, and no amount of baiting on his part could force her to. "I don't care what you think," she said tightly. "I told you from the start that I needed a husband in order to resolve two problems."
"Eric and a personal matter. I remember." He speared her with a flinty look. "If I'd had any idea what that personal matter involved or how you planned to rectify it, I'd never have married you."
"And if I'd known you'd end up interfering in something that's none of your business, I wouldn't have married you, either," she flashed back, her temper smoldering. "Krista and Keli are the two most important people in my life—"
He gave a short, hard laugh. "You have a funny way of showing it."
"I let you handle Eric the way you thought best. But you didn't grant me the same courtesy, did you?"
"There's one important difference. I had Eric's best interests at heart."
"Just as I had Krista's! If you'd let me do the talking instead of butting in the way you did, it would have all worked out fine. But now you've ruined everything I worked so hard to arrange. I went to all the expense and awkwardness of marrying for nothing. Nothing! And it's all your fault."
He turned to stare at the elevator doors, the muscles of his jaw flexing. "Fine. It's all my fault. I can live with that."
Fury exploded to life with all the force of a wildfire. She fought to control the rage, to dampen it with cool, calming logic and reason. For the first time in recent memory, she couldn't. "You had no right to interfere! None. I'd planned it so carefully, taken away every last excuse she could dream up. And thanks to you, my plans are ruined."
"You think I give a damn about that?" He turned sharply to face her. "Don't expect me to apologize for protecting Krista and Keli from your machinations. I'm glad I interfered."
"You don't understand." She closed her eyes to hide her frustration. Because of Jonah, Krist
a wouldn't be moving out anytime soon. That was quite clear. Why fly the nest when it was so convenient and safe to remain? Why risk the pain and sorrow of a cruel world when she could use Nikki as the perfect excuse for staying put? Nikki needed her. She owed Nikki. Nikki had saved her life. "Now she'll never leave."
"Tough."
"Tough?" She stared at him in disbelief. "What am I supposed to do when our marriage ends? I can't move back in with Krista. She'll never get on with her life if I do."
"All I've done is prevent you from throwing your sister and niece onto the street." The elevator doors slid open and once again he picked up the luggage, transferring it to the door of the penthouse. "Why not let your sister continue to use the brownstone? Kids should have a house to call their own. When we divorce, you can find an apartment. Something immaculate where you won't have to worry about a kid cluttering up your space with her toys."
"You still don't understand," she repeated.
"You're right. I don't." He keyed open the door and swept her into his arms.
"What are you doing?" she demanded in alarm.
"Carrying my bride over the threshold. Welcome home, Mrs. Alexander." Then he dumped her onto her feet. "Don't get too comfortable."
Nikki blinked hard, fighting the unexpected rush of tears. Turning away so he wouldn't see how much he'd upset her, she crossed the black marble entryway into the living room. A bank of windows lined one wall, offering a stunning panorama of Manhattan. It was clearly the focal point of the room. The furniture had been artfully arranged to take advantage of the view while still maintaining an air of intimacy. It was beautiful and expensive and chillingly cold.
"It must have been pricey maintaining this place while you were in England," she commented without turning around. Though she hadn't heard him enter the room, the shiver that slid down her spine gave her all the warning she needed.
"It's not mine. International Investment uses it for entertaining," he replied. "Or we'll allow the occasional client to stay here when he or she flies in from out of town."
"Won't Delia and Loren object to our using it?"
"It's my decision. Why would they object?"
She turned around, regarding him curiously. "Isn't it Loren's call? Isn't he the CEO?"
"Don't you know?"
"Know what?"
"I'm CEO. It's a recent change, I'll admit. But still, a woman in your position should have made it her business to stay current."
"Eric never said and I assumed..." She shrugged. "My mistake."
"One of many, it would seem."
She refused to allow him to get under her skin again. "So what now?"
"Now we have lunch and then go to work. I expect Eric will have gone in bright and early this morning and leaked the news of our marriage. Once there, we introduce you as Mrs. Alexander. We accept the employees' congratulations, ignore their curious whispers and stares and get down to business."
"What about after we make the big announcement?" she asked. "I mean, what happens when you return to England?"
"I don't go back until some time after the holidays. We'll have plenty of opportunity to discuss our options."
Her eyes narrowed. "Why so long? At the Montagues', you claimed you'd only be in the country for a few weeks."
"My plans changed when we married."
"Why?" she repeated baldly.
"It would look strange if your husband missed out on your big night." At her blank look, he prompted, "You know. The LJB Award."
With all the furor of the past several days, she'd forgotten about the award ceremony. But Jonah hadn't. And with sudden, devastating insight she realized that her nomination must have played an important part in his choosing to marry her when Eric made his unexpected appearance. "It wouldn't do for International Investment to lose an LJB nominee, would it?" she asked.
"I prefer not to."
"But if the nominee isn't a winner? What then?"
He tilted his head to one side. "I'm not certain," he admitted frankly. "I'd like to see the quality of your work before I reach that decision."
"You won't be disappointed," she informed him confidently. "I'm good at what I do."
He didn't appear convinced. "We'll see."
Krista hesitated in front of the reception desk of International Investment, not quite certain whether she had to check in before going in search of Nikki's office. But since the desk wasn't occupied, she couldn't ask for either directions or instructions.
She'd never bothered her sister at work before, but the past three weeks had been odd. Something wasn't right. The few times she'd been over to Nikki's new apartment, there hadn't been an opportunity for private conversation. So she'd decided to hold the discussion here. Noticing a small crowd clustered near a huge double door at the far end of the hallway, she decided to ask one of them for directions.
"Excuse me," she began, tapping the shoulder of a tall man with golden brown hair.
"Sshh." He waved her silent without turning around. "This is too good to miss."
"What—" And then she heard it—shouting coming from the far side of the door. Her eyes widened. Good gracious, that sounded like...
Nikki.
"What do you mean you've reassigned the Stamberg account?" her always-in-control, emotions-on-ice sister shrieked. "That's my account!"
"Well, now it's Meyerson's," a masculine voice roared back. Krista's mouth dropped open. If she wasn't mistaken, that sounded very much like the brother-in-law she'd gained three weeks ago. Her brow wrinkled in confusion. She hadn't realized he worked with Nikki.
"Meyerson? That idiot? He can't tell a put from a place, much less organize a portfolio as complicated as Stamberg's. I thought you wanted to improve business."
"I do."
"Well, guess what? This isn't going to do it."
"You seem to forget who's working for whom around here," Jonah snarled.
"I doubt that will be a problem much longer."
"And just what the hell does that mean?"
"It means that a few more asinine decisions like this one and you won't have to worry about impertinent employees, portfolios, accounts, or who's working for whom at International. Because we'll all be out of work!"
"You don't know what the hell you're talking about."
"I know one thing. Appointing Meyerson is the biggest mistake you'll ever make."
"Meyerson will double Stamberg's profits."
"Don't make me laugh. Meyerson couldn't double his own age."
"Shall we make a small wager about that? Or are you all talk and no action?"
"You want action? I'll give you action. Not only won't Meyerson double so much as one of Stamberg's stock picks, but he'll lose money on the few investments he does make."
"And if you're wrong?"
"Then I'll...I'll..."
"You'll what?"
"I'll dance naked on top of your desk!" Krista heard her sister declare rashly. "But if you lose, you do the honors on top of mine."
A collective gasp rippled through the crowd, and Krista leaned against the wall, torn between shock and amusement. This was a side of Nikki she'd never heard before.
"What I wouldn't give to see that," one of the men muttered.
"Shut up, Bently," the man she'd first approached growled.
"Oh, dear, oh, dear," a balding man groaned. "What will I do?"
"You'd better win that bet, Meyerson, or Alexander will have your head on a platter," Bently warned.
There'd been several minutes of silence behind the door. Then Krista heard the sound of a chair being shoved back. "You've got yourself a deal," Jonah said. "Prepare to lose, wife."
"Hah! There's not a chance in hell you'll win this bet."
Her voice grew louder as she approached the door and everyone hastily dispersed. The man who'd told Bently to shut up turned, catching her off guard. "Don't just stand there," he said, grasping Krista's arm. He thrust open the nearest door and practically shoved her over the threshold.
"Nikki won't appreciate our eavesdropping on her conversation."
He crowded in behind her and Krista found it difficult to breathe. He couldn't be aware he still held her, she decided, closing her eyes against the unexpected warmth pooling in her stomach. Or that he'd molded her so tightly against his lean form. Feelings she hadn't experienced in almost seven long, lonely years stirred, disconcerting her. "Please—" she began.
"Wait a sec," he murmured close to her ear. Opening the door a crack, he glanced into the hallway. "Here she comes."
"Oh, really?" Nikki was saying, fury rippling through her voice. "Well, we'll just see about that." A door opened and then slammed closed. She swept by, rich color blooming in her face. Never had she looked so alive, or so beautiful, Krista thought.
The door opened once again and she caught a glimpse of Jonah. "Yes, we will see. And in the meantime, prepare to start stripping!" The door slamming punctuated bis final taunt.
Krista wriggled. "If you don't mind," she said.
"Oh, sorry." He stepped back, his hands falling slowly away. Gazing down at her, he frowned. "You look familiar. Do I know you?"
"I don't think so." She held out her hand and gave a rueful smile. "I'm Krista Barrett. Nikki's my sister."
He blinked in surprise, then began to chuckle. "No kidding. I'm Eric Sanders. Jonah's my brother."
Startled, she stared at him. This was the man who'd been infatuated with Nikki? The man who'd made her so uncomfortable she'd invented a husband? And he was the brother of Nikki's new husband? Something strange was going on here. This had to be more than a coincidence. Which meant that Nikki's marriage might not be a simple love match as her dear sister had claimed. Krista eyed Eric speculatively. Maybe he knew what was up. And maybe, just maybe, he'd clue her in.
"Listen, I know this is a bit unexpected, but... would you care to have lunch with me?" Eric offered.
