His Marriage Bonus

by Cathy Gillen Thacker

  Even if he had, Mitch knew that Payton was at least headed in the right direction. Deveraux Shipping was still lagging behind.

  Mitch went on to the next component of his business case. “If our two firms joined forces, we could cut back where we both compete. Divide our resources so we’re no longer vying with each other, and that would start bringing costs down for both of us.” And hence make those ships Payton had bought suddenly a lot more affordable.

  Tom regarded Mitch with respect. “You’ve given this quite a bit of thought,” he noted quietly.

  “Yes. It’s all in there.” Mitch inclined his head at the folder his father was holding. “Why don’t you read it, and then we’ll talk some more.”

  Mitch could see his father was taking his proposal seriously for the first time. “All right,” Tom said thoughtfully. “I’ll let you know what I think as soon as I’ve had a chance to give your plan the kind of thoughtful consideration it deserves.”

  Mitch knew there was one more thing he had to talk to his dad about before Tom holed up in his office. “Have you been home yet?” Mitch asked reluctantly, still hoping he wouldn’t have to be the one to break the news.

  “No,” Tom replied, obviously perplexed. “I came straight from the airport. Why? Everything’s all right with your mother, isn’t it?”

  That, Mitch really didn’t know. “She moved out while you were gone, Dad.”

  Tom blinked, stunned. “Back to New York?” he asked hoarsely.

  Mitch shook his head. “No. She’s leasing Lauren Heyward’s home from her.”

  Mitch noted that once his father had absorbed the information he didn’t look as surprised as Mitch would’ve expected him to look. “I thought this might happen,” Tom said eventually.

  “Why did you leave like that?” Mitch decided to confront his father point-blank. “I’ve never known you to just walk out on everything for three days before.”

  “I had some—” Tom stopped, looked as if he was mentally kicking himself for nearly having said too much, and then tried again. “There were just some things I needed to do,” he said finally.

  Mitch had only to look at the inflexible expression on his father’s face to know it would do no good to press for further information. Tom had said all he was going to say on the subject.

  “How are things going with you and Lauren Heyward?” Tom asked, changing the subject smoothly.

  That was something Mitch would like to know. He’d thought they were going great—until they’d made love for the first time, anyway. Since then, Lauren had kept him at arm’s length, both emotionally and physically. “We have our fifth date this evening,” Mitch said.

  “And then, two more, and you’ll get what you want out of this arrangement,” Tom surmised.

  Not exactly, Mitch thought, because what he wanted was Lauren. And given the way she had shut him out of her home, her heart and her thoughts last night, that was not likely to happen. The way things stood at the moment, Mitch wouldn’t even be able to claim the prize he was to be awarded for dating Lauren for one week. Which meant, of course, that after all this effort, not to mention the way he had begun to open himself up to Lauren, heart and soul, it was all going to be for naught.

  Mitch sighed. “Just because Payton Heyward will be willing to merge shipping companies at that point doesn’t mean it will happen, Dad. You are going to have to want it, too.” So far, Mitch knew, his father wasn’t convinced a merger was either necessary or desirable. But maybe Tom’s feelings would change once he read Mitch’s detailed pitch of the potential benefits of the merged businesses. And maybe if Tom could be convinced to change his mind, Lauren could be persuaded to change her mind, too.

  “If I agreed to this—and I am speaking strictly in the hypothetical,” Tom stipulated bluntly, tapping the file folder in his hands, “I’d want to keep up a firewall between the organizations, at least for a while. And I’d want one of our executives on his executive team, and I’m sure Payton would want one of theirs on ours, as well.”

  Realizing that was the least of their worries, Mitch broke in, “He’s already thought about that, Dad.”

  Tom lifted a speculative eyebrow. “And…?”

  “He wants it to be me.” But only, Mitch thought, suddenly feeling as if he had the weight of the world on his shoulders, if I follow up this week of courtship by marrying his daughter.

  “THOSE TWO SECURITY GUARDS you brought in last night were completely unnecessary,” Lauren said the moment she and Mitch met to collect books for the literary drive.

  Maybe for her, Mitch thought as he helped her carry some empty boxes to his car. He had needed to know Lauren was safe, and since she wouldn’t let him stay…

  Trying not to notice how pretty she looked in a lavender boat-necked sweater and matching linen jeans, Mitch turned his eyes to hers. “Did they bother you?”

  “No.” Lauren scowled at him as she tucked her shimmering golden-brown hair behind her ear and waited for him to unlock the trunk. “I didn’t even know they were there until this morning, when I walked outside and saw the locksmith.”

  Mitch lifted the trunk lid, placed his own boxes inside, then turned to help her with hers. “Did you get all the locks changed and a dead bolt installed on the secret passageway?”

  Their hands brushed as Lauren handed over her boxes to him. “Only because the locksmith refused to leave until he’d done the work,” Lauren bit out.

  Mitch shrugged, not about to apologize for his efforts to keep her safe. She was beginning to mean a lot to him and he wanted her to know it. “I told him if you protested, to give me a call and I’d come over.”

  “So he said,” Lauren retorted dryly as she reached into her pocket and produced a check. “Here is what I owe you.”

  “You don’t have to do that.” Mitch pushed her check back at her. “It was a gift.”

  Lauren’s eyes gleamed with resentment as she stuffed the check into his sport-shirt pocket anyway. “One my father would approve of, no doubt,” she said sarcastically.

  “You’re angry,” Mitch noted calmly as the two of them went toe to toe and nose to nose.

  “Oh yes.”

  He continued to study the flushed contours of her face. “How come?” he asked curiously. Most of the women he knew would be flattered a man cared about their safety.

  Lauren squared her shoulders defiantly and took a small, self-conscious step away from him. “For starters, because it was so presumptuous of you,” she stated furiously. “Deciding, not asking, what I wanted to do about my safety.”

  Mitch shrugged again and leaned against his car, crossing his legs at the ankles and folding his arms in front of him. “I would have been happy to ask you if you had still been speaking to me, but you weren’t.”

  Lauren slanted a glance at the couple strolling along the sidewalk a few houses down, on the other side of the street. “I said good-night!” she reminded him.

  Mitch retorted, “Right before you escorted me out the door.”

  “With good reason,” Lauren insisted stubbornly. “Our date was over.”

  Mitch shook his head at her. “That’s not why you threw me out and you know it.”

  The flush in Lauren’s cheeks deepened attractively. “Then what was the real reason?”

  Mitch grinned triumphantly. “Because you knew if I stayed any longer we would end up making love again.”

  Lauren took another step back. “Don’t be ridiculous.”

  Mitch straightened, and not caring who might happen along and see them, closed the distance between them and took Lauren in his arms. “You’re the one who is being ridiculous if you think it’s not going to happen again.”

  “It’s not.” Lauren splayed both her arms against his chest.

  “Maybe not tonight,” Mitch allowed, knowing—given Lauren’s current mood—that he had some cozying up to do.

  “Maybe not ever,” Lauren scoffed.

  “But it will happen,” Mitch promised, tighten
ing his arms around Lauren protectively.

  Lauren tilted her face up to his, but made no further effort to move away. “Dream on.”

  “I intend to,” Mitch said. He would also work to make those dreams a reality—soon. Because right now, Lauren—not work—was his top priority.

  Lauren’s soft lips curved resentfully as she stepped out of the circle of his arms. “Much as you might want to, Mitch,” she told him ruefully, “you can’t control what happens between the two of us.”

  “I don’t want to control it,” Mitch said, ignoring the truculent set of her chin and the turbulent emotion churning in her dark brown eyes. “I want whatever happens to just happen.” He leveled a lecturing finger at her. “You’re the one who wants to control events. Make rules. Decide with some random or obligatory standards what is going to be allowed and what is not allowed between us.”

  Lauren’s shoulders stiffened as she brushed his hand away. “Someone has to exercise a little judgment,” she said defensively.

  Mitch found it odd to be making the exact opposite of the argument he would usually make. But then, being around Lauren…falling hard for her…was changing him. Maybe more than he’d realized up until now.

  “Is that what this is?” he demanded hotly, wishing he didn’t recall how soft and luscious her lips were or how well she kissed. He stepped even closer. “Because I’d say what you are doing is refusing to listen to that little voice that tells you what you should really be doing. And that’s another thing we executives learn to do—follow our instincts.” And right now his instinct was telling him that Lauren was having to work overtime to keep him at bay.

  Lauren swallowed. “Listen to me, Mitch. We have three dates left, if you include tonight. When that ends, I’ll have my house. You’ll have your merger—”

  Knowing what she was about to say, knowing he didn’t want to hear it or even consider it, Mitch cut her off. “If I can get my father to agree to it,” he delineated just as stubbornly. “So far that isn’t a done deal.”

  Acting as if he hadn’t spoken, Lauren continued firmly, deliberately, as she got out the list of places they were supposed to go to collect books for the literacy drive. “And then, that will be the end of us.”

  No, Mitch thought, it wouldn’t, not if he had anything to do about it.

  TO MITCH’S DISAPPOINTMENT, picking up the donated books and taking them to the community center took up the first two-thirds of their date, and Lauren had plans for the other half that didn’t include anything the least bit romantic or intimate in nature.

  “You want to go and buy a refrigerator now?” Mitch asked in disbelief as soon as they had returned to her house.

  “A mini-fridge,” Lauren specified cheerfully. “The kind college students have in dorm rooms. I’m going to put it upstairs, in my suite.”

  Mitch watched Lauren get out of his car and rifle through her purse. “I thought you were going to have a refrigerator delivered to the house today.”

  “I meant to.” Lauren plucked her keys from her shoulder bag, then zipped it shut. “But between dealing with the locksmith first thing this morning, and showing property to a prospective buyer all afternoon, I never got around to it.”

  Mitch consulted his watch. “It’s almost ten-thirty.” They’d had a dinner of hamburgers and fries, between stops, but he had hoped to make that up to her by taking her somewhere really romantic for dessert and a glass of wine as an end to their fifth date.

  Unfortunately, Lauren was thinking along completely different lines.

  “The electronic-superstore is open until midnight.” Lauren gave him a cheerful, efficient glance as she headed for her own car, which was parked in the driveway. She unlocked all four doors with a click of her remote keypad. Then tossed her purse, the award certificate and the travel book-light they had given her for volunteering in the back. “So, if you want to follow me over there…”

  She wasn’t getting rid of him that easily. Mitch followed her. “Nah,” he said, already opening the passenger door and getting in. “I think I’ll ride with you.”

  Her expression composed, Lauren slid into the driver’s seat. “You’re going to leave your car here?”

  Mitch pushed the seat back as far as it would go, to make room for his long legs. “I’ll get it when we come back.” He reached for his seat belt and fastened it around his middle.

  “But that’ll be inconvenient,” Lauren protested.

  “I don’t mind.” Mitch smiled, noting how fresh and pretty Lauren looked, even after all the running around and hard work they had done. “Besides—” he inclined his head at her seriously “—you’re going to need someone to carry that refrigerator up the stairs.”

  “I’ll have it delivered.”

  Mitch stretched and rested his left arm along the back of the front seat. “Why, when I can easily do it for you?”

  Abruptly, Lauren seemed to realize this was not an argument she would win with him. “Fine. Whatever,” Lauren said, looking openly annoyed as she put the key in the ignition and started her car.

  “Aggravated again?” Mitch observed as he settled more comfortably in his seat.

  “Exasperated,” Lauren corrected through mutinous lips. “And yes, I am.”

  “Why?” Mitch asked, wondering just what it would take to make her weaken.

  Lauren kept her eyes trained away from him. “Because you make everything so difficult.”

  Difficult to be together and ignore each other, you mean. “I’m just trying to follow the spirit of the agreement we made with your father in regard to our dates.” He narrowed his glance at her teasingly. “And that probably means riding in the same vehicle for the duration of the social engagement.”

  “Probably,” Lauren agreed dryly.

  Although, Lauren thought grumpily, the enforced intimacy wasn’t doing much for her attempts to put up an emotional wall between her and Mitch that could not be crossed. Whenever he talked to her, or engaged her in even the most trivial of conversations, she found her resistance to him fading just a little bit. She knew if she allowed the seductive mood to continue, she’d be back in his arms and in bed with him again in no time.

  To prevent that from happening, she punched the stereo button. “Would you mind if we listened to this?” she said, and then the book on tape began playing. And Mitch was finally quiet.

  Not that this was necessarily a good thing, Lauren reflected as she turned her car into the superstore parking lot some fifteen minutes later. Mitch wasn’t interested in the mystery novel she was listening to. Instead, he focused all his attention on watching her drive. The lack of conversation had only served to heighten the physical awareness and resulting tension between them.

  “Well, here we are!” Lauren said brightly, parking in the spot closest to the door.

  “Awfully busy for this time of night,” Mitch said.

  Lauren shot Mitch a curious glance. This time of night and on weekends was when they were busiest. “You must not do a lot of shopping at night.”

  “I don’t do a lot of shopping, period,” Mitch said.

  Lauren could believe that. Just as she believed Mitch ought to make a lot more time in his schedule for leisure activities.

  Together, they walked past the cash registers. They were making their way to the appliance section in the back of the store, when they saw Grace Deveraux. She was wearing a nylon jogging suit and sneakers. Beside her was a very handsome twenty-something man with shoulder-length, sun-bleached hair. He was dressed in a white tank top and navy-blue athletic pants that revealed his fantastic body and tan.

  Mitch did a double take, as did Lauren. “Who the heck’s that?” Mitch asked, gaping at the Fabio look-alike who was standing very close to his mother.

  “His name’s Paulo. He’s the hottest yoga instructor in Charleston,” Lauren said in a low voice only Mitch could hear. “I think your mom is taking private lessons from him.”

  “He looks like a guy on the cover of a romance
novel,” Mitch said.

  He was also standing close enough to Grace to hint at some sort of intimacy between them that went beyond whatever lessons Paulo was giving Mitch’s mother. And that surprised Lauren. Grace Deveraux had never had a reputation for chasing after younger men. Nor had Paulo ever been known to date his clients.

  Abruptly aware she was being watched, Grace turned and caught Lauren and Mitch gawking at her. For a second, she looked guilty—as if she’d been caught doing something she would rather her children not know about—then her pretty face regained the pleasant composed look she always wore on morning TV. “Hello, Mitch, Lauren.” Grace strode forward and introduced everyone politely.

  “What are you doing here?” Mitch asked his mother as he shook Paulo’s hand.

  “We’re buying some music for my yoga sessions,” Grace explained.

  Lauren noticed, as did Mitch, that Grace had quite a selection in her handheld basket.

  “If you want, Lauren and I can run you home when you’re done,” Mitch offered helpfully.

  “Thank you, darling, but that won’t be necessary,” Grace said just as politely. She looked Mitch in the eye. “Paulo and I are having a late dinner together when we’re finished here.”

  Lauren felt Mitch tense. Sensing a storm coming on if she didn’t get him out of there before he said something he would regret, Lauren took Mitch’s hand in hers. She smiled at Grace Deveraux and Paulo. “Speaking of late, we really need to go pick out a mini-fridge for me. So, later, everyone…”

  “That was a little abrupt,” Mitch complained as Lauren tugged him out of the music section, toward the vacuum cleaners.

  “You were about to put your foot in it.” Lauren led the way past the washers and dryers.

  Mitch’s lips set unhappily. “My mother’s got no business gallivanting around with someone that young.”

  Lauren took a deep breath, figuring now was probably not the time to tell Mitch she had once taken lessons from Paulo, too. “Paulo’s a nice man,” she said.

  Mitch smirked, and still holding on to Lauren’s hand, doubled back around to the front of the store. “He’s half her age. And I doubt she would be doing this if Dad hadn’t left town without telling anyone where he was going or when he’d be back.”