The Millionaire's Unexpected Proposal (Entangled Indulgence)

by Jane Peden

  Sam handed her the latte.

  “Decaf?” she asked.

  He grinned. “Of course. I pay attention.”

  She sat up straighter in the bed and took a sip of the hot, smooth liquid, and sighed as it slid down her throat. Amazing. She looked at the clock on the bedside table and realized she’d slept almost twelve hours, and she still felt tired.

  Sam balanced a tray on the side of the bed.

  “Are those bagels?” Camilla felt herself perking up a bit. All of a sudden she was ravenously hungry.

  “Thought I better bring you something before you slept through another meal.”

  “Mmmmm.” Camilla picked up a half a bagel, spread some plain cream cheese on it, and felt herself almost purring with contentment.

  “I thought we might do something today. The four of us.”

  “You’re not going into the office?”

  “It’s Sunday.”

  “And your point would be?” Camilla smiled when she said it. At first, she’d thought Sam spent so much time at the office just so he could avoid being with her. But she’d come to realize that was how he always worked—and in large part one of the reasons the firm he and his two partners had founded was so successful. With his cover-model good looks and his reputation as a highly successful lawyer, he could easily have spent his nights at the hottest and most exclusive Miami clubs, with a socialite on each arm. Instead, he spent most evenings with his sleeves rolled up working late at his office, returning home only to continue working into the night.

  So, yeah, she was more than a little surprised that he was home midmorning, and that he was talking about the four of them actually spending the rest of the day together.

  Sam was looking sheepish. “Well, I actually did stop by the office this morning while you were sleeping,” he confessed, “but I’m done now.”

  He flashed a smile at her—that slightly crooked smile that made her knees go weak—and suggested that the kids might like going out on the boat. Or if she’d rather, they could spend the day doing the whole tourist thing, him showing her what her new city had to offer.

  “Let’s do the tourist thing,” she said quickly. Camilla wasn’t about to press her luck with morning sickness by agreeing to another day on the water.

  He leaned over and kissed her on the forehead. “Finish your bagel and get ready. I’ll round up the kids and we’ll meet you downstairs.”

  If she weren’t already in love with Sam, she would have fallen in love that afternoon, as she watched him pedaling his bike through the art deco district of Miami’s South Beach. The bike rental shop had provided one of those extender bikes for kids that converted the adult touring bike into a bicycle built for two. JD was pedaling diligently behind Sam, in his little bike helmet with his own personal water bottle tucked into a holder, and a tall narrow safety flag swaying behind him. After about the first twenty minutes, though, JD apparently realized that he could stop pedaling anytime he wanted to and just coast along while Sam did all the actual work propelling them forward.

  The art deco buildings they passed were a vision of Miami the way Camilla had always imagined it, and the fact that most of their ride followed a path directly along the Atlantic Ocean kept JD entertained. But when they turned inland and came to the pedestrian mall at Lincoln Road, Olivia literally squealed with excitement.

  Everyone was ready for a break—not the least Camilla, who was feeling hot and tired despite her floppy straw hat, the flat terrain, and the gentle breeze that been coming off the water They parked their bikes and got in out of the sun in an air-conditioned café. Olivia, however, said she wasn’t hungry at all, and by the time their cold drinks came was already fidgeting and complaining that she wanted to go check out the shops. When Sam described how the original developer of Miami Beach had envisioned this shopping district as rivaling L.A.’s Rodeo Drive and New York’s Fifth Avenue, Olivia looked like she was about to burst out of her seat.

  “Come on, Olivia,” Sam said, and the two of them left together to explore the shops. They agreed to meet up for dessert in an hour at a little Italian ice cream parlor.

  Camilla didn’t want to be anywhere except sitting in the cool café, and JD was happy nibbling at his lunch while he played games on her iPhone, even though she knew he’d never admit he was tired out. Camilla sighed at how quickly he was growing up, already losing his rounded baby features.

  By the time they wandered from the café to the picturesque ice cream parlor, JD’s energy was on the rebound. They sat down just as Olivia and Sam came in. Camilla stared. They were literally weighed down with bags and bags from 7 for All Mankind and BCBG. And Olivia looked like she’d died and gone to heaven.

  “Umm,” Camilla started, and Sam interrupted.

  “Now don’t be mad if I just wanted to spoil my little sister a bit.”

  Camilla looked from Olivia’s beaming face to Sam’s sheepish one.

  “Sam…did you forget we came here on bicycles? How exactly are we supposed to get all that stuff back to the car?”

  The looks on both their faces were priceless. Camilla would have laughed out loud if she wasn’t actually picturing herself riding her bike with shopping bags draped over and flapping from every appendage. You’d think a trial lawyer who routinely pulled in million-dollar verdicts would have more sense.

  As it turned out, the solution suited Camilla just fine. Nobody was all that excited about getting back on the bikes anyway, and a phone call to the bike shop with the promise of a hefty tip was all it took for them to find themselves riding in a comfortable van, the array of shopping bags taking up an entire bench seat. And the ride was just long enough for Olivia to pull out three or four pairs of jeans, assorted tops, three—yes, three—designer bags, four pairs of shoes, a fancy dress—where exactly did she plan on wearing it? Camilla wanted to know—three skirts, two jackets, and an entire bag full of necklaces, bracelets, and hair accessories.

  Camilla looked at Sam, aghast. “You must have spent—”

  “Don’t ask, don’t tell,” he said, winking at Olivia. “Put on a fashion show when we get home,” Sam suggested. “Then she’ll see…we couldn’t help ourselves.”

  “Okay,” Olivia said, smiling happily, and Camilla thought, I wish I could just freeze this moment and keep it forever.

  Sam was turning out to be the perfect father and the perfect husband. Now, from all indications, he was the perfect big brother to Olivia as well.

  Unfortunately, once she told him she was pregnant again she was very much afraid he would see her as far from the perfect wife.

  By the time they had loaded back into Sam’s car and headed off to the Children’s Museum, Camilla had tried to convince herself that things might work out all right after all. Maybe by being with her through this pregnancy, Sam would be able to finally let go of everything he’d missed with JD. For the first time, today, she’d really felt like the four of them—soon to be five—were a family. During the short car ride she leaned back against the seat and allowed herself to dream about what the future could be, with Olivia attending high school here in Miami, she and Sam sitting together at kindergarten orientation for JD, applauding with the rest of the proud parents at the school holiday program as a chorus of smiling five-year-olds sang off-key, smiling and taking photos when Olivia’s date picked her up for the prom… Sam, beside her in the delivery room, holding her hand and a look of amazement spreading across his face as their baby came into the world.

  She gave a contented sigh, and Sam looked over at her and smiled.

  Later they sat together on a bench, and Olivia chased after JD while he experienced everything from the giant two-story sand castle to the undersea world that only children under age five could enter. When Olivia dragged him off for some “messy creative fun time,” Camilla wisely decided to stay put on the bench.

  “I think I’ve had about all the fun I can take for now,” she said to Sam.

  Then she caught the serious look in his e
ye and suddenly it was as if they were in their own private bubble, while the rest of the people at the crowded museum seemed to move past them in slow motion, their chatter fading into background noise. The urge to tell him right now was suddenly overwhelming.

  “There’s something I need to tell you—” they both began at once.

  “You first,” Sam said.

  Camilla took a deep breath and put her hand on his arm. “Sam, I—”

  “Mommy!” JD came running back, and Camilla pulled back from Sam, turning to catch the little torpedo that hurled itself at her.

  “The pet place tells you the perfect pet for your family, and you have to come see! Come see right now, can we get one?” JD grabbed Camilla and Sam by the hands and started tugging them down the hallway.

  “I’m sorry,” Camilla said to Sam as they let JD pull them along.

  “We’ll talk later,” Sam said. “This really isn’t the place for what I want to discuss with you.”

  No, it wasn’t the place for what I wanted to discuss with you, either.

  “I think I’d rather talk to you alone,” Camilla said, and Sam nodded.

  “We’ll go out on Friday, have a quiet dinner. Maybe somewhere here at South Beach.”

  “All right,” she said, and resolved not to spend the week second-guessing what Sam wanted to talk to her about. But she didn’t know how she was going to get through all the days until Friday.

  Chapter Twenty

  Sam was having the week from hell. There were hearings, depositions, and deadlines, and two paralegals and an associate who normally worked on his cases were out with some sort of virus. And it was only Wednesday.

  The only thing that was getting him through the week was thoughts of the reservation he’d made for Friday night. For two. At a world-renowned art deco hotel and celebrated restaurant. In the heart of South Beach’s historic art deco district, it was a quiet oasis of old-fashioned style and timeless sophistication. Or at least that’s what the website promised. The architecture had caught his attention on their bicycle tour, and he’d decided right then that it was the perfect place to return with Camilla and share his new plan for their future.

  He realized now that Camilla was nothing like he had believed initially. His first thought on Sunday, as they sat together in the Children’s Museum, had been that he would take her to dinner, tell her that he’d been wrong about her on so many counts, and ask her finally to tell him why she’d kept JD’s birth a secret from him. And he’d listen with an open mind and forgive her—whatever her reason was—and they’d put it behind them forever. But as the week went on he realized that he didn’t want Friday night to be about Camilla explaining herself. What difference did it make? He knew now what kind of person she was, and there was no way to go back and undo the past. It didn’t matter why she hadn’t contacted him five years ago. The only thing that mattered was that she and JD and Olivia were here now. And they had a real chance to be a family. So he would tell her that the past was over and the future started today. That he loved her and wanted their marriage to be real.

  Part of him must have known for some time that he loved her, before he even admitted it to himself. He felt a little guilty that he’d let Camilla continue to fear that her former in-laws were poised to file a custody suit. But he hadn’t been ready to tell her how his feelings for her had changed and the threat of the Winthrops lurking out there with their high-priced lawyers was one guarantee that no matter how angry Camilla might be with him, she wouldn’t leave him.

  Now he wanted her to stay out of love, not because she was afraid to leave his protection. God, he’d been a jerk. But he’d make it all up to her, starting with a romantic dinner, followed by an even more romantic evening in the oceanfront suite he’d booked.

  He nodded, satisfied, as he packed up his files to leave the office for the deposition that would take up the remainder of the day.

  “Have you seen Olivia around?”

  His legal assistant looked up at him, her face pale, and told him Olivia was down the hallway.

  He nodded and started to walk away, then looked back. “You don’t look so good.”

  She stared back at him glumly, and said she thought was getting the same virus that had been running through the office.

  “Go home,” Sam said. “I’ll be in depos all afternoon. Anything we didn’t get done today can wait.”

  His grateful assistant logged off the computer, grabbed her purse, and was halfway to the elevator by the time Sam collected Olivia from a nearby office. He’d thought it would be good experience for her to go to a deposition with him, see another aspect of his law practice.

  As they walked to the court reporter’s office in a nearby office tower, he was tempted to say something to Olivia about the plan he had for them all to be together, for her to transfer to a local high school right here in Miami, and for the four of them to permanently be a family. Because he could no longer imagine life without Olivia any more than he could imagine life without Camilla and JD. But he stopped himself. He wanted to do things right with Camilla this time. Not blurt out his plans without discussing them with his wife.

  Maybe he’d get the hotel suite for the whole weekend, he thought. They could pick up Olivia and JD after brunch on Saturday, go spend the afternoon at Jungle Island, just like any other vacationing family enjoying the tourist attractions. He liked the picture that formed in his mind.

  “What are you looking so pleased about?” Olivia asked him.

  Christ, he’d gone from being an intimidating trial lawyer to a guy walking around with a silly grin on his face. That must be what falling in love did to you. Everything just seemed crisper and clearer; even the sun looked brighter as it beat down on the Miami skyline. How could he have lived more than thirty years and never had a clue what it was like to feel this way? He wished he could take the rest of the day off and spend it with Camilla. Why wait until Friday to tell the woman he loved that he was determined to spend the rest of his life with her?

  But he had work to do, and depositions didn’t take themselves. There was time enough to tell Camilla how he felt.

  He turned to Olivia. “I’m pleased about how we’re going to kick ass in this deposition, and watch the manufacturer’s rep and his lawyer squirm.”

  “Yeah,” Olivia said, her face lighting up. “This I want to see.”

  By the time he was an hour into the deposition, Sam was feeling even better about the case. But when they took a break, he realized he’d left one of the files with a set of exhibits back in his office. Olivia said no problem, she’d run back and get them. He appreciated the help, and realized she was probably grateful to get a little break and get some air. Since the office was only about five blocks away and he was pretty sure he’d left the file sitting right there on the middle of his desk, she would be back soon and he wouldn’t even miss a beat in his questioning of the witness.

  He was starting to get concerned when thirty minutes later she still hadn’t returned. He went through the litigation briefcase he’d brought with him one more time just to make sure he didn’t really have the file after all, and checked his phone for text messages. Surely if Olivia couldn’t find the file, she’d text him and let him know.

  Sam continued the deposition, but he was getting more and more concerned as the time went by. Damn. If his associate wasn’t out sick, he could have passed the questioning on to him while he found the file himself. Of course, if his associate wasn’t out sick, he wouldn’t have misplaced the file in the first place. It probably hadn’t been on his desk after all, and Olivia was frantically searching the entire office.

  He took another break in the deposition and texted Olivia, but didn’t get any response. He called the receptionist and learned that Olivia had, in fact, made it back to the office, and then left again about ten minutes later. Sam arranged for someone else to locate the file and fax the documents to him at the court reporter’s office, but he was worried about Olivia. Had she suddenly go
tten sick like his legal assistant? Called Camilla to come pick her up at the office? Surely she’d have at least sent him a text or left a message for him with the receptionist.

  He called Olivia’s cell phone and got no answer, then tried Camilla’s, which went directly into voicemail.

  There was probably some perfectly reasonable explanation for Olivia going AWOL on him, but for the life of him he couldn’t think what it could be. Then he reminded himself that she was, after all, only fifteen years old. He’d have a talk with her tonight and get it all straightened out.

  Three hours later he’d completed the deposition, it was close to 6:00 p.m., and he still hadn’t had a callback from either Camilla or Olivia. Now he was worried. Had Olivia suddenly gotten so ill that Camilla had taken her to the emergency room?

  Sam headed back to the office and checked his voicemail. There were no messages from Camilla or Olivia, only a message from the attorney handling his adoption of JD, asking Sam to call him immediately. Had something gone wrong there?

  He felt his face harden as he picked up the phone to return the call. He wouldn’t tolerate any delays.

  The other lawyer came on the line right away.

  “What’s going on?” Sam asked.

  “That’s what I was about to ask you.” Then Sam heard something that was so unbelievable that he made the other lawyer repeat it twice. Camilla had withdrawn her consent to the adoption.

  “Did she tell you why?” Sam was reeling. What the hell was going on?

  “No, she was very curt. And I received a fax from her within about ten minutes of the phone call confirming it. Sam, I had no choice but to call the judge’s office and hold the file until we sort this out. Everything was good to go—we were just waiting for the judge’s signature.”

  “There has to be some misunderstanding,” Sam said. “I’ll call you back tomorrow. Don’t do anything else until you hear from me.”

  Sam racked his brain for what could have happened.

  Jonathon stuck his head in. “Oh, good, you’re back. You got the file, then?”