by Susan Meier
“If nothing else, let’s get souvenirs.”
Her eyes narrowed. That was about as far from the afternoon she thought they both wanted as he could get. “You mean like get T-shirts?” She frowned. “My mom might want one.”
He nodded. “I think my assistant would too.”
She said, “Okay,” and Danny let her lead them down the street. They eased in and out of the local shops. First buying T-shirts, then Marnie buying crazy things. Knitted scarves. Rain boots. Things that made him laugh. But when they came to a shop dedicated to menswear and she zeroed in on the kilts, she decided she’d found the way to give him a more direct clue that everything had changed.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
DANNY FROWNED AS she pointed at the row of kilts. “You should have worn one yesterday. Jace and his brother did.”
“I’m not Scottish.”
She ignored him, sliding kilts along the rack until she found one that resembled the plaid of Jace’s family. “You should try it on.”
“Are you kidding?”
“You’d need a white shirt...” She rummaged some more. “And this sash.”
He gaped at her. “No!”
Her voice dipped and she leaned in closer. “I think you’d look incredibly sexy.”
His heart fell to his stomach. She’d never flirted with him before, always been too careful. “If you don’t stop that, I’m going to kiss you right here.”
Her eyes lit with mischief. “Well, for once, you’re allowed, correct?”
She was right. No one noticed them. No one knew or cared who they were.
He moved in swiftly, didn’t give himself time to think, just let his lips meet hers, linger sweetly for a second, then go in for what he really wanted. The desire. The heat. The arousal that raced through his blood and set his nerve endings on fire.
Remembering they were in public, he pulled back, bumped his forehead to hers with a laugh. “Why’d you do that?”
“To push us to where we really wanted to be. We have one day.” She shook her head. “No. We have a couple of hours. I don’t want to waste them being polite. I just want a taste of what it would be like if we didn’t have to care.”
His inner self suggested he take her to a hotel, to ravage her, to give them both what they really wanted. But there were no hotels in the small town. Instead, they made the twenty-minute drive back to the carriage house and pulled inside the garage.
“What are we doing?”
“Jace and Charlotte left for their honeymoon today. All the parents went with them to see them off. My parents told me about it when they agreed to watch Rex. They said they needed the car seat so he could go too.”
She licked her lips. “We’re staying here?”
He opened his car door, stepped out. “Yes,” he said as she got out of her side before he could open her door for her. “But there’s a lock on the suite door and one on each of our bedrooms.”
She finally got it. “Ah...”
They made short order of the steps, and once inside the cozy suite he locked the door. Before she could say anything, he pulled her to him and kissed her, long and deep, looking inside himself for that place of slow-build passion. There’d be no rushing this time.
He let his hands roam her back, ease her closer to him. He knew they didn’t have all day, but they had hours. Hours to themselves. Something they’d never had. And he intended to enjoy it.
He slipped her pretty pink shirt over her head and tossed it to the sofa. She reached for his shirt, but he was faster.
She smiled. “I thought we had a few hours?”
He winced. “We do.”
“So, what do you say we put on some nice music, maybe go to your room and talk—”
He hauled her to him and kissed her greedily. She laughed, but she was with him all the way. He walked backward to his room, kicked the door closed, locked it and fell with her to the bed.
He tried to slow them down twice, but there always seemed to be a ticking clock. Still, when she was warm and naked beneath him, everything decelerated to a crawl and he let himself savor. He took in her face, her sparkling eyes, the curve of her mouth and let them imprint themselves on his brain.
The fact that he felt the need to create a memory sent a shaft of sadness through him. He forced it aside, running his hands down her torso, luxuriating in the feel of her hands on him.
The sense of time standing still filled him. The feeling of eternity. The essence of forever. He relished it. Let it waft through him like a warm summer breeze before the need rose swift and sharp and they tumbled on the bed, each fighting for supremacy. He won, pinned her hands to the pillow and joined them. But the attitude of forever trembled through him again. For as much as he liked her sweetness, he also loved her sense of whimsy, balanced by her seriousness about Rex, about schedules, about them. She was small and soft and, oh, so warm. Sensual. Subtly daring. Fun. Interesting.
Longing filled him at the same time that they reached the peak. The word mine roared through him, along with a contentment so fierce he believed he could reach out and touch it. He could be anyone with her. A sharp lawyer. A single dad. Even a crazy billionaire’s son. Being with her made him realize Mark, his job, even how he and his adoptive parents mended their relationship were all secondary to having her in his life.
He thought all those thoughts and feelings would disappear when they were cuddled together, drowsy, ready for a nap even though they’d probably have to get up soon and dress for when Rex returned.
But none of it disappeared. The feeling of completion, of accepting who he was and wanting her to be part of it wouldn’t go away.
He told himself it was wrong.
He told himself he was going to be disappointed.
But he couldn’t stop the happiness or the surety that he could make this work. Then he kissed her, and she laughed and the sense that this would last forever overwhelmed him to the point that he forgot how quickly time was passing and that his parents would be home with his son.
He took them to the place of passion and need quickly, easily and completely. They both rode the wave, longer this time, so that the end was deep and fierce. Stronger than any he’d ever felt. Sending the word mine through him again, and again, and again.
He barely had enough time to get his breathing under control when his phone rang. He gave himself a second to simmer down, closing his eyes, before the phone rang again.
Rolling to the side, he picked up the phone, saw it was his dad and answered. “Everything okay?”
“Yeah. You know, since Rex is fine, the group decided we’d get lunch.”
“The group?”
“Everybody just piled into a couple of limos to see Jace and Charlotte off at the airport. The MacDonalds mentioned a place up the road, a B and B that serves lunch and dinner and we thought we’d all go there.”
“Rex will be tired at two.”
“We should be back by three.”
Danny smiled at Marnie. “Good enough.”
He disconnected the call, glanced at the clock and rolled over to kiss Marnie. “We have two hours.”
She laughed. “Want to go back to town and get lunch?”
“Maybe.” He flopped down on his pillow, enjoying the feeling of her skin skimming his as she settled beside him. “But first I just want to do nothing for a few minutes.”
She levered herself on her elbow, so she could look into his eyes. Her hair fell across her shoulder. Her beauty took his breath away. The ease of their connection, the easy contentment, always amazed him.
“When was the last time you took a vacation?”
He snorted. “You sound like Mark.”
She ran her hand along his chest, sending soothing chills down his spine. “Which isn’t such a bad thing from my point of view.”
He gaped at her.
“Really?”
“Yeah. I mean, I definitely get that he’s out there. And I absolutely understand how what he did embarrassed you. But I see him pulling your family together.”
His eyebrows rose.
“I’m serious. He’s included everyone. He doesn’t act like he’s supreme, almighty biological dad who doesn’t want the adoptive parents around. He wants everyone around. He wants everyone to be whole and happy.”
He remembered the joy on his parents’ faces the day before. “My mom and dad would have never visited Scotland had it not been for Mark.”
“And I’ll bet they will be going to Paris next month for the wedding.”
“They are.”
“Sometimes when I look at your family, I see a puzzle. There are five hundred scattered pieces and you guys are the ones who have to figure out where they fit. Mark brought you all together. He’s giving you every opportunity to simply enjoy it. But you guys are the ones who have to make the picture.”
He thought about that for a second. It was exactly what Mark had done. And it was exactly what he, Charlotte and Leni had to do. Make the picture.
A sense of wonder tiptoed through him. Not just the rightness, but the perfection of Marnie. How she understood him. He’d never met anyone he wanted as much. Never had this feeling of a partnership before.
He caught Marnie’s shoulder and brought her down for a kiss. “When did you get so smart?”
She laughed. “I have always been smart. I just don’t get the opportunity to use my smarts very often.”
Because of her past. Because she hid. She was an excellent nanny, but she could be so much more. She knew it...
And it hurt her.
For the first time, he saw that in her eyes.
And he cursed it. Without Mark’s money, he wouldn’t have thought twice about dating her. No one would have cared about her past. But now they had to. He wouldn’t care if a reporter did a huge write-up about it, but she did, and he would swim the deepest sea, fight the biggest battles to protect her.
Even if it meant staying away, when he wanted everything.
The thought filled him with indescribable loss. Emptiness so deep, his soul blackened as if lost in a storm.
But there was no shelter. For the second time in his life, he had no idea what to do. He’d been gobsmacked when he’d discovered Mark Hinton was his dad, and he’d floundered. Now he wanted Marnie but there was no open door. No way to make it work.
And the loss felt like one from which he’d never recover.
The truth of the thought brought him up short. Forced a decision he never thought he’d make. He couldn’t let this be a loss.
He’d fight for this.
* * *
They flew home the next day, and Marnie had never been so depressed to see Manhattan. They settled Rex in the limo that awaited them at the private airstrip, silently drove to Danny’s building and got out as quiet as two church mice.
Danny carried Rex to the elevator. Marnie followed behind, her head down, her thoughts going a million miles a second. What had felt like home when they left now felt cold and empty. Scotland had been full of people and fun. Green grass. Big blue sky. Wide-open spaces with no media. People she could talk to without worry. Fun dinners.
And love. Danny hadn’t said the words, but she’d felt it in his touch. They’d slept together in her bed that night. Not for sex, though that had happened naturally, but to be close. Gloriously close. Connected. Secure.
To return to a building with a doorman and bodyguards and millions of people with a phone was a potential disaster. No matter how beautiful the penthouse, it was a prison.
The driver carried up their luggage. Instructing him to leave the luggage by the elevator with a wave of her hand, Marnie told him they would take care of separating it and getting it to the appropriate rooms.
When he was gone, Danny laughed. “Do you see how easily you just gave orders to your bodyguard?”
She walked over and into his waiting arms. “I thought he was Rex’s bodyguard?”
“Doesn’t matter whose bodyguard he is. You just gave him orders.” He dropped a quick kiss on her lips. “But in a way that’s good because I wasn’t sure you’d be happy if I told him to take your bags to my room too.”
She pulled back. “Seriously?”
“You don’t want to sleep with me?”
She wanted to everything with him. She simply wasn’t sure how long it would last. And every time she thought that, her chest hollowed out. Her breaths hurt. Still, that was a worry for another day, wasn’t it?
She peeked up, met his eyes and smiled. “You know I do.”
He kissed her and she returned his kiss, but the sound of Rex pounding on his highchair tray reverberated through the open space. They broke apart and she walked into the kitchen.
“Did Daddy forget to give you juice?”
Danny walked in behind her, slid his arms around her waist and pulled her back against him. “You know with the time difference he’s going to be ready for bed soon and sleep all day.”
She turned in his arms. “I’ll handle it. I’ll let him sleep long enough this morning that he’s got some energy, then give him his usual nap this afternoon and, voilà, he’ll be ready for bed at eight.”
He laughed and he kissed her. “You’re such an optimist.”
“No. I’m just really good at what I do.”
“Okay, then I’m going to change and head to the office.”
She nodded. “We’ll be fine.”
Danny’s smile said he knew that. Because they had bodyguards and security protocols in place.
And maybe she was being ridiculous?
They could be anyone they wanted behind the closed doors of his penthouse, and that’s what she should focus on. That happiness. That joy. And not worry about the future.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
DANNY WAITED TWO weeks for Jace to return from his honeymoon with Charlotte. He walked into the spare, but adequate workspace Jace maintained as a home base for his staff and was immediately ushered back to Jace’s private office. Decorated with modern furniture in coral, aqua and beige, the place was almost beachy. Until Danny sat on one of the chairs.
“These are the most uncomfortable seats in the world.”
Jace laughed. “I know. It keeps visitors’ stays to a minimum.” He leaned back in his obviously comfortable desk chair. “What can I do for you? You said it was urgent. Something happen with Rex?”
“I’d like you to investigate Marnie.”
He came to attention. “Why? What did she do?”
“It’s not something she did. It’s what she told me.”
“Something from her past?”
“Yes.”
“High school?”
“Yes.”
Jace leaned back again. “We already know.”
“You do?”
“Of course, we do. You don’t think I’m going to let someone near Mark’s grandson without knowing every little detail of her life, do you?”
He squeezed his eyes shut. “I was hoping you wouldn’t be able to find that.”
“It was an easy leap, Danny. Her name seems to appear out of nowhere when she turns sixteen and enrolls in high school. But she had records from another high school. We quickly realized she’d begun using her mother’s maiden name. We found her mom’s married name...realized her dad was Eddie Gouse. Followed that name and, voilà, there she was.”
“So you know what happened to her?”
“Yes.” Jace sat forward again, put his arms on his desk and said, “Danny, she’s a good person. No trouble. But from what I’ve read, women who go through that kind of harassment can end up with post-traumatic stress disorder. Her mother got her out of the situation very quickly, but who knows the impact of being violated that
way.”
“She worries.”
“That the pictures will come forward?”
“That it will ruin her life.” Danny pulled in a long breath. “And your team being able to dig up her past so easily doesn’t help.”
“Maybe just don’t tell her that we know.”
“I was going to use you not being able to find anything as a way to convince her that she shouldn’t worry.”
One of Jace’s eyebrows rose. “Worry about dating you?”
Danny rose. “And other things.”
Jace stood too. “Danny, she’s a really, really nice woman. But if she can’t face this, she’s not the one for you.”
Not the one for him? He wanted her. Wanted everything they had in secret. Casual happiness. An easy, loving relationship. He could not let her get away. He had to find a way to make this work.
“She’s faced it once. She shouldn’t have to face it again.”
“Yeah, but she’s never been under the kind of media scrutiny she’d get as your girlfriend.”
“So, it’s my fault?”
“Actually, if you’re going to place blame, put it on the ill-mannered teenage boy who took the pictures. Or Mark for making you a celebrity of a sort.”
Danny fell to his seat again. “I’ve just started to make my peace with Mark. But I don’t want this position anymore. I don’t want to be an heir. I don’t want to be a Hinton.”
“You can’t go backward.” Jace sat too. “That was Charlotte’s big plan. She’d renounce the estate and return to being a vice president at her development company. But that’s not how it works. The press would be even more interested in someone who refused billions of dollars.”
“We could move to Scotland.”
Jace laughed. “And they’d find you. They’ll always find you if you’re part of a delicious story. Frankly, you’re less interesting as someone who accepts he’s an heir and takes the money.”
“Except for Marnie.”
“Except for Marnie.”
Danny drew a long breath. “I hate everything you just said.”
Jace put his hand on his chest. “Hey, I don’t make the rules. I just know them and know how to work with them. I can tell you exactly what’s going to happen here. If the press gets suspicious, somebody’s going to start poking, the way they did when Leni first got here. All it takes is one person to find one thread. To go to the high school in the school district for her mom’s apartment, the one she’s rented for over fifteen years, realize Marnie Olsen just appears one day—but with transcripts from another school that doesn’t have a Marnie Olsen—which means she used another name, figure out who her dad is, look under Marnie Gouse and, voilà. Once a smart reporter or investigator gets her name...she’s out.”
