Now he crossed the room and took her shoulders in his hands. His thumbs caressed her collarbone. He was so close she couldn’t breathe.
“That makes sense, I suppose,” she said.
“Look at me, Lisette.”
Reluctantly she tipped back her head and met his brown-eyed gaze straight on. “What now?”
“You don’t seem like a woman who’s excited about taking a break from work.”
“I haven’t taken a real vacation in a very long time. I’m not good at relaxing. A definite character flaw.”
“Are you worried because I’ll be with you?”
She felt naked beneath his intent stare. “I’m sure we can do our own thing and not get in each other’s way.”
His chest rose and fell in a mighty sigh. He tucked her hair carefully behind her ears. Then he pressed a gentle kiss to her lips. “Thank you, Lisette. For everything.”
Her immediate instinct was to pull back. Not because she didn’t want the kiss, but because she wanted it far too much.
But she didn’t jerk away, and she didn’t refuse his overture. This was the man she was going to marry on Saturday.
When she kissed him back, he was the one who seemed startled.
He made a noise low in his chest. A groan. Then two big hands came up and cupped her cheeks. “God, you’re sweet,” he muttered.
The kiss deepened. Lisette allowed herself to relax in his embrace, to enjoy the novelty of having a man—this man in particular—hold her and let her know without words that he wanted her. She felt the urgency of his arousal.
Men could enjoy sex without involving their emotions. She knew that. Even so, Jonathan’s desperation slid beneath her defenses and made her believe this marriage might have a chance of becoming real.
His tongue moved between her lips and stroked hers, taking the starch out of her knees and stealing her breath. Her arms encircled his neck. Her fingertips found the silky hair at his nape and played with the baby-fine strands.
Jonathan took the kiss deeper, more dominant now, less afraid perhaps that she might not want what he had to offer...that she might not want him.
She moaned, pressing ever closer. She wanted this and so much more. But how could she protect herself?
Suddenly, she saw the clock on the wall behind his shoulder. Like Cinderella, her time was up. She pulled away, smoothing her hair awkwardly. “I have to go,” she said. “The driver will be waiting at the gate.”
“You asked him to come back? Why? You knew I would take you home.” His frown was black.
“I wasn’t entirely sure how the evening would go,” she confessed. “It seemed better this way.”
“You’re afraid of me?” He was visibly insulted.
She touched two fingers to his lips, lingering there for a moment before stepping back from temptation. “I was afraid of us,” she said.
Eight
The next day, Jonathan sat opposite his sister and his best friend and watched them process the news. He’d tried to phrase things diplomatically. He’d wanted to spare them the worst of what he knew. But despite his best efforts, it was what it was. The end.
Mazie wept openly. J.B.—his arm around his wife—looked as if he’d been kicked in the chest by a horse.
The three of them had just finished dinner. When Jonathan had phoned his sister and told her he wanted to come over, she had insisted on cooking...claimed she rarely had the chance anymore.
Her business kept her tied up most days.
Now they all sat in the beautifully appointed living room with the veranda that overlooked Meeting Street, and Mazie cried.
J.B. cleared his throat. “Are you sure?”
It was the same question Lisette had asked in the beginning. Maybe it was the question all families asked when faced with a difficult diagnosis. A plea for a help and a way out.
Jonathan nodded. “I’m sure. Multiple doctors. Multiple tests. I didn’t want to tell you both yet. I didn’t want to ruin your trip. But Lisette insisted.”
J.B. narrowed his eyebrows. “Lisette?”
“His executive assistant,” Mazie croaked, wiping her eyes.
“I know who she is. Nice lady. Smart enough to keep Jonathan in line.”
“I hope so,” Jonathan said. “Because I’m marrying her on Saturday. And I need you both to be there.”
J.B. snorted. “Has your brain started shutting down? You can’t get married Saturday. That’s ridiculous.”
Mazie slugged her husband’s arm. “Not funny.” Then her expression faltered. “But I don’t understand, Jonathan. You’ve never given me any hint that you thought of Lisette romantically. Besides, isn’t she quite a bit older than you?”
He shrugged, irritated by that same stupid argument. “Five years. It’s not a big deal. But no. We’re not in love. I asked her to marry me so I could appoint her as a partner in the company. As my health fails, Lisette will be deputized to make decisions. And in the short term, she can cover for me if I have bad days. It’s imperative that we stave off news of my illness as long as possible so our stock prices aren’t affected.”
J.B. folded his arms across his chest, for once his expression deadly serious. “What’s to keep her from ruining you financially? I have some experience in this arena. How well do you know her? Can she be trusted?”
Jonathan reached for patience. J.B.’s first wife had been in it for the money and had made his life a misery. It was understandable that J.B. had issues when it came to women and marriage.
“I’d trust her with my life,” Jonathan said. “I suppose I literally am. But there’s a prenup, so you can stand down. I love you both, and I want you to be with me Saturday when I tie the knot. The only other person who’s going to know the whole truth is Lisette’s best friend. Rebekah will there, too.”
Mazie stood and wrapped her arms around him. His baby sister’s tight hug threatened to shake Jonathan’s hard-won composure.
“So do I throw you a big reception?” she asked, the words muffled against his shirt. Her wet face had dampened the fabric.
He leaned his cheek on the top of her head. “Thanks, sis, but no. We’re heading off immediately for a honeymoon in Antigua. I want the whole newlywed thing to look as real as possible.”
J.B. stood as well, grim faced. “What if your health takes a bad turn when you’re out of the country?”
Jonathan straightened and patted Mazie on the back. He didn’t need sympathy right now. He needed everyone to treat him like normal; otherwise, he’d never make it through these next few months.
“It won’t be that fast, according to the doc. Even the headaches have been irregular. Some days I feel fine.”
“But you’re definitely not fine.” His sister pulled herself together visibly. “We should contact Hartley.”
“No.” Jonathan shouted the word, his neck tight with rage and the deep hurt he had felt ever since his brother’s betrayal. At Mazie’s stricken expression, he tempered his tone. “I can’t deal with him right now. I’ll need all my energy to keep the company afloat and to deal with whatever physical symptoms come my way. My brother is not part of the equation. Promise me you won’t try to contact him, Mazie.”
He could see the struggle on her face. At last she nodded. “If that’s what you want. And Daddy?”
Jonathan shook his head. “I have no idea. He’ll have to be told...eventually. But I think in these early days it’s best to pretend everything is normal.”
“You’re probably right.”
The three of them stood there in a small circle. For a moment, Jonathan could almost glimpse the children they had been so long ago. These were two of the most important people in his life.
He sighed. “I want you to be kind to Lisette. This will be extremely difficult for her. She’ll need your support and friendship.”
&
nbsp; “I wasn’t going to run her out of town,” J.B. groused. “But I’m still not comfortable with you giving her so much power.”
Mazie patted her husband’s hand. “We’ll have dinner together. You’ll see how great she is.” She glanced at her brother. “As soon as you get back? We won’t go to a restaurant, though. It needs to be here. So we can talk freely.”
“I’d like that, Maze,” Jonathan said. “Honestly, right now I’m taking things one day at a time. It’s not a great feeling.”
The conversation gradually moved to other topics, but Jonathan wasn’t fooled. His illness was the enormous elephant in the room.
The news had changed both his sister and his best friend. Mazie was shocked and subdued and very upset, but trying not to show it. J.B.—who was the life of any party—had morphed into an unusually serious man, one with pain in his eyes.
Jonathan struggled with inexplicable guilt. He was strong. He would handle whatever was coming. But hurting the people he loved was a consequence no number of pep talks could soothe.
As the evening wore on, he realized he needed to leave them alone to process the difficult news he had shared. Besides, it was late, and he was exhausted. Not from any physical exertion today. But from the effort to carry on as normal when his emotions were all over the map.
He didn’t want emotions. He didn’t trust them. From the time his father had tucked his so-very-ill mother away in an institution, Jonathan had learned that life was easier when he bottled up all his pain and refused to acknowledge its existence.
J.B. walked him down to the car. The two men stood in silence beneath the neon glow of a security light.
J.B.’s expression was equal parts angry and determined. “Are you holding anything back? You can protect Mazie, but I won’t have you lying to me, even if you think you have a damned good reason.”
Jonathan leaned against the car, jingling keys in his hand. “Swear to God, that’s it. No cure. No hope. And worst of all, no timetable. They’ll repeat my scans every two months. So we’ll know where things are.”
“Son of a bitch.” J.B.’s vehement curse was weirdly helpful. It expressed the utter outrage and incredulity Jonathan felt, the gut-level response he hadn’t allowed himself.
“I’m heading home,” he said. “Dad will wonder why I’m so late.”
“And your bride-to-be? What about her?”
“We’ll see each other at work in the morning. Back off, J.B. She’s doing a wonderful thing for me.”
“And she’ll be a wealthy widow in the end.”
The sarcasm wasn’t veiled. Jonathan’s temper boiled. “Of course she will. Because that’s the way I want it. I have no idea how this is all going to go down. I asked a woman who’s been through hell with her own mother to do it all over again. That makes me the villain in this scenario, not Lizzy.”
“Lizzy? You’re cozy enough for nicknames?”
“We’ve worked together a long time. We’re friends.”
“Just friends?” J.B. didn’t bother to hide his skepticism. “Or is there more to this than you wanted Mazie to know? Have you and your executive assistant hooked up now and again?”
“Not that it’s any of your damned business, but no. It’s not like that.”
“Sorry, bud. You don’t sound convincing at all. I’m guessing you have a thing for her, and when your world got caught up in this wicked undertow, your subconscious grabbed onto the nearest lifeline.”
Jonathan sucked in a sharp breath. J.B. had known him since they were both five years old. J.B. was smart and extremely perceptive, despite his genial, good-ole’-boy demeanor. There might be a kernel of truth in his summation of the current situation.
“Well, hell.”
J.B. chuckled, this time with no sympathy at all. “You want her, don’t you?”
Jonathan rubbed the back of his neck. “I’d be lying if I said I hadn’t fantasized about her now and again. But I swear I never stepped over any line at work. Never. Not once.”
“Settle down. I believe you. But the bigger question is, what does Lisette think about you?”
“Hell if I know. She has a big heart. And she feels sorry for me.”
“It wouldn’t be entirely surprising if she had a thing for you. Some women go for the buttoned-up, way-too-serious type.”
Jonathan choked out a rusty laugh. Trust J.B. to make him see the humor in a dire situation. “Thanks for the ringing endorsement.”
“When you remember to smile and you tear yourself away from spreadsheets and budgets, you’re not half-bad.”
“I’ll put that on my tombstone.”
“Shit, Jonathan. This can’t be happening.” In a completely atypical move, J.B. grabbed him close and gave him a crushing bear hug. “I’m here for you, man, day or night. You know that, right?”
Jonathan pulled away, both deeply touched and deeply despairing. “I do.”
They stood there in silence, forever it seemed, neither of them willing to walk away. J.B. finally cursed beneath his breath. “If I fly in another specialist, will you see him or her? I’ve got the money. You know I do.”
“And so do I. Your generosity is duly noted. But I swear I’ve seen the best. No one thought the headaches were anything serious, because they come and go. I’m healthy as a horse by any other metric. It took this last round of tests to get at the truth. My doctor is a professional. It’s hard to miss a giant fucking tumor...” His voice cracked embarrassingly.
J.B. stared at the ground, and then his jaw thrust out the same way it had every time he’d been thwarted as a kid. “You’re the best damn man I’ve ever known, hands down. If there’s even a shred of a chance, you’ll find it. I’d lay money on it.”
Jonathan’s eyes burned. “Oh, crud, J.B. If this is some kind of wind-beneath-my-wings speech, quit embarrassing yourself. Besides, I’m not riding off into the sunset yet.”
“We’re a team, bro. Wherever it takes us.”
The team had once included Hartley. Jonathan shoved the random, painful thought aside. “I’ll see you Saturday,” he said gruffly.
“We’ll be there.”
“I’ll text Mazie the details.”
“You know she’s going to smother you, don’t you? The woman is a born nurturer.”
“She definitely is. No news on the fertility front?”
“Not yet. But it’s early. We’re supposed to relax. The doctor says that’s important.”
“It will happen.”
“I think so, too.”
“I wish I could have kept this from her. The worry can’t be good when she’s trying to get pregnant.”
“Mazie would have killed you herself if you’d kept her in the dark and she found out. We’ll be fine.”
Jonathan climbed into his car, started the engine and lowered the windows. Immediately, the scent of roses seeped into the hot interior. “Take care of my sister, J.B.”
His friend’s nod was curt. “Always.”
* * *
Thursday morning at ten, Lisette brought Rebekah downstairs in front of the Tarleton Shipping building to meet Jonathan. After a brief, awkward round of greetings the three adults piled into Jonathan’s car. Lisette sat in the back with Rebekah.
When Lisette’s eyes met Jonathan’s in the rearview mirror, his intense gaze made her stomach flip. Yesterday had seemed a million years long. Though Jonathan had been in and out of the office, they barely spoke to each other. She knew he had met with his sister and brother-in-law last night, but she hadn’t found the opportunity to quiz him about how things had gone.
And as for Rebekah... Lisette’s poor friend was confused and apprehensive and trying not to show it. All Lisette had been able to tell her was that she was going to be brought in on some company secrets and that it would require her to sign a nondisclosure agreement.
The trip to the lawyer’s office was little more than ten minutes, even in traffic. Jonathan’s lawyer was an extremely attractive blonde who might have been Lisette’s age. Maybe even a bit older. After she greeted Jonathan, he volunteered to step into an outer office while the three women met.
Lisette appreciated his courtesy. Rebekah’s eyes had grown wider and rounder with every step of the process. She would be more comfortable without the head of Tarleton Shipping in the room.
When the three women were alone, the lawyer jumped right in. “Thank you for coming today, Rebekah. Jonathan and Lisette want to share some information with you, but the subject matter is sensitive. If you choose not to be brought in at a higher level, you may say so, and we won’t go any further.”
Rebekah looked at Lisette. “Do you need me to do this?”
For a moment, Lisette felt the weight of guilt. Keeping secrets was not easy. She desperately wanted to be able to talk to her friend about all that was going on. “I do,” she said. “We’ve always shared everything. This is important, or I wouldn’t ask.”
Rebekah turned back to the lawyer. “Give me the papers. I’ll sign whatever Lisette wants me to.”
The document was at least a dozen pages long...legal-size pages. The lawyer flipped; Rebekah signed again and again.
When it was done, the lawyer gathered the document into a folder. “I’ll have my staff make copies. Each of you will receive one, as will Jonathan.” Her businesslike demeanor softened. “I’ll leave you two to talk for a few minutes. With the door closed, no one will disturb you.”
The room was silent. Rebekah put her hands to her flushed cheeks. “Say something, please. I’m freaking out over here. I feel like I’m in a spy movie. What the heck is going on?”
Lisette started talking and couldn’t stop. She hadn’t realized what an enormous relief it was going to be to finally share the details of the past few days with someone who really cared and could actually help her work through the morass of personal and ethical dilemmas she faced.
A Contract Seduction (Southern Secrets Series Book 2) Page 8
