“It sounds like you didn’t stand a chance,” Erika said.
“Oh I didn’t. Patrick, he was already too handsome for his own good. A bit like this one here,” she said, pointing to Gannon. “But it was his personality, his will. He had the energy of a summer storm.” Maeve smiled. “He still does,” she said, her smile fading slightly as she touched the locket hanging around her neck. “We’ve had our losses, but we have a lot of joy.” She glanced at Gannon and squeezed his hand. “It’s good to see you. You should take tea more often.”
“I should,” he said and kissed her cheek. “Thank you for having us.”
“I’m always happy to see my grandchildren. And you’re right about Erika. Smart and lovely. I can see the good heart,” she said.
“Thank you, Mrs. Elliott. This was such an honor and a pleasure.”
“I can give you a ride,” Gannon said. “My car’s waiting.”
Erika opened her mouth to protest but didn’t want to appear ungrateful in front of Maeve. She bit her tongue. “Thank you.”
Maeve led them to the door. As soon as Erika stepped outside, she shot toward the street, feeling a misty moisture in the air that she hoped wasn’t a preface to a rainstorm.
“Hey! Wait up,” Gannon said, his long stride catching up with hers in no time. “What are you doing?” he asked when she lifted her hand to hail a cab.
“I’m getting a cab.”
“I said I’d give you a ride.”
“I don’t want one from you,” she told him, although the misty moisture turned to drizzle.
“Don’t be ridiculous. It’s almost rush hour. It’ll take forever to get a cab and you’ll end up paying a fortune.”
“I can charge the company,” she said, throwing him a dark look. Several taxis passed her by, and getting a taxi in the rain was nearly impossible.
He stood and waited while she waved her hand for several minutes. Frustration ground her down.
“Okay,” she grumbled, her tiredness winning. “Thank you. I was going back to the office, but I think I’ll just head home.”
Gannon opened the door for her and she got in, moving as far to the opposite side of the seat as she could and placing her purse on the seat beside her as a puny barrier.
“I thought you would enjoy meeting Maeve.”
She crossed her arms over her chest and stared straight ahead. “I did. Thank you for arranging the visit. I didn’t know you were going to be there.”
“Would you have turned her down if you’d known I was going to be there?”
“It would have crossed my mind,” she muttered.
“But you still would have gone,” he said. “Because you’ve been dying to meet her.”
“The meeting gave HomeStyle a terrific feature. What’s not to like?”
“What did you think of her personally?”
She wished he would stop trying to engage her, but at least he wasn’t talking about their relationship. Or lack of it. Erika felt as if a hard rock was lodged in her throat. Every time she breathed it hurt.
“Maeve was lovely and warm. I bet she was always an openly affectionate grandmother.”
He nodded. “She was.”
“So what happened to you?” She bit her tongue too late. The flip comment flew out of her mouth before she could snatch it back.
Gannon pinned her with his gaze. “Is that a request or a challenge?”
His stormy expression made her a little nervous. “Neither. Forget I said it.”
“No. I want you to explain.”
“Well, we just don’t always get what we want, and it may be hard for you to accept, but that includes you, too.”
“Are you saying I’m not affectionate enough for you?”
The interior of the car seemed to close in on her. She became aware of his aftershave and his long legs just inches from hers. She saw one of his hands on his leg and remembered how that hand had felt on her bare skin, how he’d held her and touched her intimately.
She inhaled slowly. “I didn’t say you weren’t affectionate.”
He paused a half beat. “Openly affectionate.”
Silence hung between them and her hurt bloomed like a man-eating flower. To be openly affectionate you had to be willing for everyone to know how you felt.
Gannon wasn’t. After this second go-round, Erika couldn’t pretend his insistence for a secret relationship didn’t signal a huge lack of commitment.
“Have you missed me?”
“Like a toothache,” she said, refusing to let him get at her one more iota.
He gave a rough chuckle. “I miss you,” he told her. “I don’t want to do without you.”
Her heart twisted. “That was your call, not mine.”
He took her hand. “All I said was that we needed to cool things down for a while.”
Her resentment rose inside her like a bubbling volcano. “Have you successfully cooled off? Has it been that easy for you?”
“No,” he said, his eyes changing colors like a turbulent sea. “I’m still burning up for you and I bet you’re still burning for me.”
He lowered his head and took her mouth in a carnal, possessive kiss that rippled with emotion. She could feel the want and felt an echoing response inside her. With that caress, he ripped aside the fragile construction of her protection against him, and she felt the aching need tear through her like a hurricane out of control.
He pulled back slightly and whispered against her lips. “You still want to be with me. I can taste it.”
She pushed against him, upset with herself for giving in so quickly. “Just because I want you doesn’t mean I’ll be with you. Trust me. I’m used to wanting you and not having you.”
Twelve
The crowd roared as the Knicks scored again, putting the home team ahead by six points. Gannon automatically stood, but he couldn’t muster much enthusiasm.
Gannon had never lost at anything that was truly important to him, but he was starting to feel as if the wind was turning against him. He had a bad feeling in his gut about his mother’s medical tests. His father had seemed distracted the past few days and he still refused to discuss the subject with Gannon.
And there was Erika.
Rather, there wasn’t Erika. Every time he thought of her, his chest squeezed so tight he felt as if he were caught in a vise grip.
After he’d given her a ride home following the tea at his grandmother’s, he’d called her, but she hadn’t picked up her phone or returned his call.
She’d meant it when she’d said no more. She might still have feelings for him, but she’d given up on him.
The reality alarmed him. Unaccustomed to that emotion, he struggled with a sense of emptiness that went deeper than his bones.
He had thought he could reason with her, negotiate, but she was slamming the door in his face every way it could be done.
Damn, he hadn’t realized he’d gotten this involved with her. He’d thought he’d been in better control of his emotions than this. He always had before.
Even now, as he sat in prime seats in Madison Square Garden watching the Knicks with his uncle and a few cousins, he felt completely disconnected.
The half-time buzzer sounded and his uncle Daniel nudged him. “You look like you need a beer or two,” he said. “We’re going to the VIP lounge. Come on.”
He opened his mouth to make an excuse, but Daniel interrupted. “No. We’re not letting you stay here looking like that.”
Gannon reluctantly got to his feet and joined his cousins and uncle for the mob-filled trek to the VIP room. His cousins scattered while Daniel and Gannon nursed beers at a table near the bar.
“You going to tell me what’s wrong?” his uncle asked.
Gannon shook his head.
“Then push aside your sadness for the moment and celebrate with me. I’ve finally found a way to get my estranged leech of a wife to agree to a divorce.”
Surprised, Gannon automatically lifted his beer in sal
ute. Everyone in the family knew that Sharon, Daniel’s second wife, had clung to him and everything she could get from being an Elliott despite the fact that Daniel had wanted a divorce for years. “That’s great news. How’d you do it?”
“Paid her off. She finally realized there was no way I would reconcile. Word of advice—don’t let your father choose your wife. Choose your own. You have to live with her. Your father doesn’t.”
Daniel’s words struck him like a two-by-four. Even though Gannon’s father wouldn’t dream of choosing wives for his sons, Gannon couldn’t help feeling that he was putting off being with the woman who made him feel happier than he’d ever been because of his grandfather’s aversion to scandal and the recent CEO challenge.
Daniel paused midgulp, studying Gannon. “You look like you just took a right hook to the jaw.”
“Close,” Gannon said, a dozen emotions churning inside him.
Daniel narrowed his eyes. “I’m not the most intuitive guy on the block, but this is looking like a woman problem.”
Not bothering to deny it, Gannon nodded.
“I haven’t seen you take much of a fall for any woman,” Daniel said, then gave a rough chuckle. “I guess it’s your turn.”
“It sure is bad timing,” Gannon said, shaking his head.
“It’s almost always bad timing. Bad timing is easier to deal with than the wrong woman, though. Trust me.”
Gannon took another long swallow. “What are you saying?”
“Despite the fact that I’m facing my second divorce—or maybe because of it—my advice is simple. If you find a woman who makes you whole, do what ever it takes to get her and hold on tight.”
At five after ten on Tuesday morning a dozen beautiful red roses blooming with fragrance arrived at Erika’s office. There was no card attached.
Erika felt a sinking suspicion Gannon had sent the flowers. The absence of a card was consistent with his goal to stay under public radar.
The notion filled her mouth with a bitter taste and she considered tossing the arrangement out the window. But the roses were so pretty and smelled so lovely.
She could pretend anyone had sent them.
A second bouquet of roses arrived at ten-thirty. Again no card.
A third bouquet arrived at eleven. No card. A fourth at eleven-thirty. A fifth at noon.
Erika began to feel self-conscious. Her office smelled like a florist’s shop, and coworkers knocked on her door to see the arrangements placed on every available surface.
Another dozen roses arrived at twelve-thirty. Furious that Gannon had made a spectacle of her, Erika dialed his extension. When his assistant picked up, she demanded to speak to him.
“I’m sorry. He’s on another line right now. I’ll give him the message that you called.”
A knock sounded on the door and Erika ground her teeth and hung up the phone. Her assistant, Cammie, peeked inside, her face lit with excitement. “More roses!” she said and brought in yet another bouquet.
Erika swore under her breath. “I want these taken to the hospital.”
Her assistant gaped at her. “What? But you can’t. They’re for you. And they’re beautiful.”
“And I have too many,” Erika said. The flowers made her nervous. Red roses signified love, the long-lasting kind, and being surrounded by all these American Beauties underlined the fact that Gannon didn’t love her the way she loved him. “Call the closest hospital and ask if there are four people who could use some roses to cheer them up.”
Her assistant looked crushed. She sighed. “Okay. If you really want me to.”
“I really want you to,” Erika said firmly and closed the door after her assistant left.
Seconds later another knock sounded at her door. Her temper ratcheted up another notch. Another interruption. Probably another coworker wanting a look at her office full of roses. She jerked open the door. “This is not the company sideshow provided for your viewing entertain—” She broke off when she saw Gannon with a man she didn’t recognize by his side, along with his assistant and hers.
They were all staring at her.
She cleared her throat, embarrassed and more rattled than she could recall. If it had just been Gannon, she would have verbally scalded his gorgeous self. But there were others. She was forced to save her blasting of him for later. “Is there something I can help you with?”
“Yes, there is,” he said, his gaze deadly confident.
Erika’s nervousness intensified. That expression of his had always foreshadowed trouble for her. Big trouble. “I’m busy this afternoon, but—”
“This will just take a few minutes,” he said and led his troops into her space. “Nice roses.”
“Beautiful,” she said. “But a little overdone considering there was no card. Anonymity requires less courage, don’t you think?”
His lips twitched slightly. “I agree. That’s why I brought along my personal attorney, Harold Nussbaum, and my assistant, Lena, and yours. I wanted witnesses.”
Confusion raced through her and she swallowed an oath. Had he changed his mind about the insemination? And was he going to let the whole office in on it? She glanced past him to the open door.
“Should we close the door?” she asked.
He shook his head. “The more, the merrier.” He moved closer to Erika, his gaze purposeful.
Her heart rate picked up.
“I’m here to tell you in front of witnesses that I love you.”
Her assistant, Cammie, gave an audible gasp.
Erika’s heart shot into her throat. She stared at him in shock.
“You make me laugh. You make me think. You make me feel more than I ever thought I could. I want to be with you all the time. I want the chance to love you for ever. I think you’re better at this loving thing than I am, but if you’re patient with me, I know I can learn.”
A well of emotion expanded in her chest, making it impossible for her to breathe. Was she hearing things? Was this really happening?
He got down on one knee and she felt light-headed. She had to be dreaming.
He extended his hand toward her, waiting for her to reciprocate with her own hand, but all she could do was stare.
“Give him your hand,” her assistant whispered.
Erika tentatively slid her now ice-cold fingers onto his warm palm. His hand enclosed hers and she met his gaze, swallowing over the lump of emotion in her throat.
“I love you. I want us to be together always. Will you marry me?”
She met his gaze and could have sworn all the clocks in the world stopped. But she was still afraid. Was she having a monster delusion? “Could you please repeat the question?”
She heard his assistant give a nervous giggle.
“I said, will you marry me?”
“Are you sure you want this?” she asked, ignoring everyone but Gannon.
“More sure than I’ve ever been about anything.”
“Why? Why are you so sure?”
“Because I’ve found the woman of my dreams—you. And I don’t want to waste one more minute of my life without you.”
His words filled her like a warm breeze. His hand holding hers and the commitment in his gaze told her she wasn’t having a delusion. He was real and so was his love for her.
Her eyes burned with a sudden infusion of moisture. “I feel like I’ve been waiting for you forever.”
“Thanks for letting me catch up,” he said. “Will you?”
She nodded. “Yes, yes, yes.”
His assistant and hers made sniffling sounds as he rose to his feet and took her in his arms.
“This was lots better than any card you could have sent with the roses,” she said. “But you didn’t have to bring witnesses.”
“I didn’t?” He held her tight against him, making her feel cherished.
“No, but I’m glad you did. If I’m afraid I dreamed it, I have someone to call.”
“You won’t need to call anyone,” he said and
pulled a black velvet jeweler’s box from his pocket. He flipped it open to reveal a huge diamond ring, then he lifted her hand to put it on her finger.
“That stone is ridiculously large,” she murmured.
“I wanted you to have a tangible reminder of this day.”
She was so full of joy and amazement and love. “I want you to be my tangible reminder.”
“Oh, sweetheart, you can count on it,” he said and took her mouth in a kiss. A crowd of coworkers craned to see inside, but Erika didn’t care if anyone else saw what she and Gannon had going on. The most important person in the world had just told her that he loved her. Nobody could top that.
A crazy question nudged at her. “Which magazine will I work for? Pulse or HomeStyle?”
“Whichever one you want. As long as you remember that you and I will be working on making a baby every night,” he whispered.
Erika felt every cell in her body smile. “Something tells me you won’t let me forget.”
BRENDA JACKSON
Taking Care of Business
Published by Silhouette Books
America’s Publisher of Contemporary Romance
A special thank-you to the interracial couples that I interviewed who provided the feedback I asked for. It was deeply appreciated and proves that true love is color-blind.
Live happily with the woman you love through the fleeting days of life, for the wife God gives you is your best reward down here for all your earthly toil. Ecclesiastes 9:9
Special thanks and acknowledgment are given to Brenda Jackson for her contribtion to THE ELLIOTTS series.
Contents
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Dynasties: The Elliotts, Books 1-6 Page 13
