by Anna Mara
"Jenny!" But this time, Christina blushed and her shrewd friend caught it.
"You have!"
"He kissed me, all right?"
"And you kissed him right back, didn't you?" Christina remained silent. Jenny smiled and continued. "I knew it. I knew you liked him on account of how much you hated him."
"Jenny, stop this. He's a super rat, alcoholic scumbag and you of all people know what he did to me."
"You had a crush on him in high school before he pulled that prank on you, admit it."
Christina wasn't admitting anything. "Everybody had a crush on him back then; even you."
"Not me. I liked his buddy, Jake."
Christina was shocked. "Jake Monroe? That drunken idiot?"
Jenny nodded, "He was cute. Has Bill ever mentioned him now?"
Christina shook her head. "No. They've probably lost touch over the years."
"Probably." Jenny took a moment to assess her friend. "I know you Chrissy better than you know yourself, so you listen to me. Love and hate are the flip side of the same coin. Be careful which side you land on; I don't want to see you get hurt."
"Jenny, stop being such a mother hen."
"And if you like him and you think he likes you, grab him. I saw his face in that newspaper today. He wants you badly, mark my words."
Christina was skeptical. "And you could tell all this from a blurry newspaper picture?"
"Of course; men don't carry women like that unless they really care for them. So forget about all this revenge business, forgive him for the past and marry the prick for real. He's a good catch."
"Marry Bill Havenwood?" Christina burst out laughing. "Oh Jenny, you're crazy!"
* * *
Driving the BMW back to the mansion that night, Christina was still laughing to herself. Marry Havenwood for real? What an imagination Jenny had!
Bill Havenwood was a drunk, lazy, good-for-nothing womanizer that never showed up for work—even his own father said so—not to mention the fact that she detested him and had vowed revenge on the idiot.
But on the plus side? Wait—there was no plus side.
Okay, he was rich but he wasn't really. His father was. And that meant he and his 'wife' would always have to dance to the old man's manipulating tune.
Okay, he was drop dead gorgeous but looks fade over time. The heavy drinking and constant partying would probably take their toll and he'd end up bald and fat—and still drunk.
There was this physical attraction thing she seemed to have for him. Every time she was within his orbit, she felt an intense magnetic force that pulled her to him. It disgusted her, of course. How could she be attracted to such a slime?
And this morning—when she'd kissed him for Eudora's sake—she really shouldn't have done that. But she'd acted on instinct—and every instinct in her body kept wanting him.
What would sex with him be like, Christina wondered, as she let her mind wander? Probably incredible; and delicious; and hot, if his passionate, sweet kisses were anything to go by. She gave herself a small shake. Yuck—now she'd grossed herself out!
Stop it, Cristina. You have a job to do. Focus on that.
She reached into her pocket and pulled out the slip of paper she'd found in Bill's jacket pocket when she'd been snooping in his bedroom last night.
1625 Shelley Avenue, it said.
Okay, she wasn't too far from that area now. It might be a good time to go and have a look. What was 1625 Shelley Avenue and what did it have to do with Bill Havenwood?
* * *
1625 Shelley Avenue was an old, empty, abandoned warehouse.
Christina parked the BMW under a streetlamp for safety purposes. This wasn't the best part of town and it was almost 10 p.m. at night. Stepping out of the car, she began to take pictures of the building with her camera.
Approaching it, she peered through the dirty windows.
Not much in there. She could make out an old desk and several chairs. The rest of the cavernous interior was bare.
She moved to one of the doors and pulled. It was locked—of course.
Why would Havenwood have this address in his pocket?
Was his father's company thinking of buying it? Did they own it already? Was the property it sat on valuable?
Taking a few more pictures, a disappointed Christina went back to her car. This had been another dead-end. Damn!
* * *
It was almost 11 p.m. and Cristina turned onto the road that led to the Havenwood mansion. Getting closer, she suddenly spotted Bill's Jaguar zooming out of the front gates and accelerating away. Where was he going again at this hour? Pressing her foot on the gas, Christina took off after him.
Keeping a safe distance behind other cars, she followed him into the city, undetected. But city traffic was heavier and Christina soon lost him. The Jag disappeared.
Where had he gone? And why was he always going out at night—sometimes at 7 p.m. and sometimes at 11 p.m. Was he seeing his snooty girlfriend? Was he drinking, clubbing and partying with friends?
What was really odd, though, was that not once, since she'd been at the mansion, had she seen him come home drunk. She'd never even smelled any alcohol on him. If he was partying, he hid the effects very well.
Well—whatever he was up to, she was going to get to the bottom of it—no matter if she'd have to spy on the louse 24/7.
She pulled a U-turn and headed back to the mansion.
What Christina didn't know was that there'd been a mysterious car following her all night long too.
Chapter 29
Her cell phone was ringing.
Christina opened one eye and looked at her beside clock. 6 a.m. Who was calling her this early? She reached for her phone and croaked out a sleepy, "Hello," into it.
"Christina, oh my God, your Aunt Sylvia just called! She told us that you’re pregnant??!"
Jumping jelly beans! It was her mother.
"Mommy!" Christina bolted upright.
"Why didn't you tell us? I had to find out from that cow?" Gabriella was clearly upset.
"Mommy, it's not what you think…"
"And you're getting married too?"
"Were you going to send us an invitation even?" That had been said by her dad, Nunzio, who'd been listening on another extension in their Florida condo.
"Pop, I was going to tell you but…"
"When's the baby due?" her mom interrupted.
"Mommy, there is no baby."
Her mom gasped in shock. "Oh my God, you lost the baby? Oh my poor Christina…"
"Mommy, I didn't lose the baby. There is no baby." Christina was now shouting. "The newspapers got it all wrong."
Her mom was confused. "But are you getting married? Sylvia said she saw your picture in the paper."
Christina paused. What was she going to say? That it was all a scam—that she was doing it for money? This entire mess was spinning out of control and it was all Havenwood's fault! Her anger at him soared as she re-focused on her parents.
"Yes, mommy, I am getting married." Christina crossed her fingers, hoping that would cancel her lie.
"And who's this Havenwood? What's he do?" Her father jumped in.
"He works for his father's company, Fido Foods."
"Fido Foods?" Her father was impressed. "We did some construction work for them. They're big."
"When's the wedding? We have to invite your aunts, uncles, cousins…" Gabriella started rattling on.
"Mommy, nothing's been decided yet." Hopefully, in a couple of week's, this fiasco would be over and she'd just tell everyone that the wedding was called off.
"Okay, we're flying back tomorrow and start planning everything."
"No!" Christina shouted. "Just wait until I give you the date."
"But, Christina, we want to meet our son-in-law and his family too," her mom insisted.
"Don't push me, mom. Just wait until things are more settled, okay?" That's all she needed; to have her parents show up and create more of a
disaster than this was already turning out to be.
Gabriella sighed, "Okay, then. But you call and tell me what's going on. I don't want to find things out from Sylvia anymore."
"I promise, mom." Relieved, Christina sighed. Saying good-bye to her parents, she shut her phone.
Bill Havenwood! That bastard was really putting her through a meat-grinder and she'd had enough!
There'd been a message on her voicemail last night from Mindy, the wedding planner. She'd said that the engagement party was set for the following Saturday on the mansion grounds and the caterers would soon set up the tents—and now, this morning— this???
Yanking off her bedcovers, she donned her silk robe over her baby doll p.j.'s and marched to the door. She was going to give that jerk a piece of her furious mind before telling him to take his devil's bargain and shove it!
Christina was so mad that she didn't even bother knocking on his bedroom door. Too enraged to care whether he was sleeping or naked or what, she threw his door open.
His bed was rumpled but he wasn't in it. She could hear the shower running in his bathroom. Stomping inside his bedroom, she slammed his door shut. Crossing her arms across her chest, she waited for the asshole to appear.
She didn't have to wait long. She heard the water shut off. A minute later, the bathroom door opened and he appeared with a towel wrapped around his mid-section.
His hair was wet and slicked back, and his chest was chiseled. His body looked lean—not thin—but lean. The bastard obviously worked out but that was easy to do when you never showed up for work and spent your nights partying, Christina bitchily mused.
Bill suddenly spotted her—near his bed—dressed only in a flimsy robe and who knew what underneath, obviously fired up about something. God—she looked magnificent! All his senses sprang to life. He wanted her so badly, he ached for her but he wasn't going to do anything to scare her off so Bill calmly walked into the room as if it was the most normal thing in the world to have her show up there.
"Good morning, Christina. What can I do for you?" He gave her a sensual smirk. He knew exactly what he 'wanted to do' for her. He'd been thinking of nothing else for the past few days.
"Our deal is off." Christina yanked off her ring and threw it at him. It bounced off his firm chest and fell to the floor.
Bill's stomach lurched at her words. He studied her angry face before picking up the ring. The diamond glistened in the room's light as he held it up. "We have a contract."
"You can take your contract and shove it! I'm outta here; today." And with that Christina turned and started marching towards the door.
Bill, quickly, grabbed her arm and spun her around to face him. "Tell me what's happened," he forcefully demanded.
"Go to hell!"
"That's exactly where I'll be if you leave me." Christina didn't realize that he meant more than just the consequences of losing his father's money.
"I'm not playing your game anymore, so let go of my arm," Christina spouted through her gritted teeth.
But he didn't let go; he was hanging on for dear life. "What's changed between yesterday and today? Did my father say something to make you upset? Because if he did, I'll…"
"I haven't seen your father since yesterday morning."
"Then what? Tell me." He was shouting now.
"I don't have to tell you anything except that our contract is null and void."
"No." His voice was firm. His hand slid down to her wrist and brought her left hand up. Before she realized what he was doing, he'd slipped the ring back onto her finger.
She went to yank it off again but he stopped her. She was now trapped in his arms and he wasn't letting go. She could feel the steel strength rippling through his muscles.
"Let me go now."
"Did your boyfriend say something to you last night? Is that what this is all about?"
Bill was still under the mistaken impression that she'd had a date with her mysterious 'boyfriend' as he'd overheard her making plans with Jenny when she'd been sick.
"That's none of your business." Christina had no intentions of correcting him.
He yanked her left hand up between them. "The only ring I see on your hand is mine. Where's his? If he truly cared about you, he would have helped you out in whatever jam you were in and not let you handle it all on your own."
"Leave him out of this." God—what was she saying? This was insane. There was no boyfriend and he was making her crazy.
Bill, on the other hand, was jealous—white hot jealous. He, suddenly, knew he wanted Christina all for himself and he wasn't a man who shared.
He yanked her closer to him. "So how come your white knight boyfriend isn't saving you from my evil clutches, then?" he threw at her.
"Because… because… fifty-six grand may mean nothing to you but it's a lot of money to people like us. But you wouldn't understand, living in your cushy world, always having everything handed to you on one of your father's sterling silver dinner platters. What do you know about it?"
Christina tried to yank her hands out of his grip but he was holding on fast.
"I know this. If you leave today, my father's gonna throw me out. And if he does, I'll have nothing and I won't give a damn if my insurance company sues your pretty, little, well-shaped ass to get their money. And your wages will be garnished for the next sixty years, make no mistake."
Bill was desperate and he was going to say whatever he had to, to stop her from leaving. This was more than just losing his father's money. He didn't want to lose her either.
Christina stared back into his determined, gorgeous green eyes and knew he meant every word. "You really are a bastard. You always were and you still are."
"What do you mean by that?"
Oops—she'd slipped up. How did she know he used to be a bastard if she'd only met him a few weeks ago?
"I… mean that I've heard the stories about you…from your father; about your drinking, your partying and your army of girlfriends."
"You wouldn't by chance be jealous of my harem?" He gave her a half smile, as his eyes glued themselves to hers.
He was still holding her strong against his chest and Christina felt his heat suddenly engulf her body. Or was that hers engulfing his? She didn't know anymore and her breathing began to synchronize with his.
But in a flash, a light bulb went on in her brain. What the hell was she doing here—in his bedroom—in his arms—dressed in a flimsy baby doll and robe, and he—half naked?
This was too intimate, too dangerous. It wasn't that she didn't trust him—she didn't trust herself.
"Me? Jealous of your easy conquests? I don't think so. Now let go of me," she bravely retorted.
Bill stared deeply into her eyes. Did she really have no feelings for him? He wasn't sure. He did know however, that she wanted him as much as he wanted her—whatever she said. He'd had enough experience with women to know that. When they came anywhere near each other, they were both on fire. He could feel it.
Suddenly, he released her and she took a step away from him. But her kitten heel on her right slipper caught in the carpet pile and Christina lost her balance. She began to fall backwards.
Quick as ever, Bill reached for her to prevent her fall but she was already on a downward trajectory and pulled him with her. Luckily, his bed was positioned behind them and they both fell on it, with Bill on top of Christina.
They were both stunned at how fate had made them end up this way—on the bed and in each other's arms. He had his arms around her waist, from trying to break her fall, and she had her arms around his neck, from trying to grab on.
They stared into each other's shocked eyes. How had this happened?
Christina didn't know who started first but they both suddenly burst out in a fit of laughter and they couldn't stop.
They just kept laughing and laughing… together.
And it was the most erotic thing they'd ever both experienced.
They stopped laughing suddenly—a
nd gazed into each other's eyes. A moment of unspoken understanding passed between them. Christina knew she had a fraction of a nanosecond to make a decision. Here she was, lying on his bed, in his arms and already her legs were itching to wrap themselves around him.
He lowered his lips to hers but stopped an inch away.
His eyes flirted upwards to hers and he was silently asking her for permission to go on. What did she want to do? It was clear what he wanted. Christina could already feel him getting hard underneath his towel.
So—what did she want? Should she give in to her desire and make love with him? Or should she stop this right now?
Christina was almost at the point of no return but not quite.
Suddenly, her rational, logical brain began to function.
Was she crazy?
This was Bill Havenwood, her avowed enemy. She'd promised to exact revenge on him for what he'd done to her and she never broke promises to herself. NEVER. She had more respect for herself than that.
Besides, it wouldn't be making love—it would be having sex. And there was a world of difference in that. She was worth more than a cheap lay.
But those tempting lips of his looked so delicious—and soft and hard—all at the same time, promising her pleasures like she'd never experienced with anyone before.
A moan escaped her lips before she uttered the word, "No."
Bill remained still. He'd watched her thoughts race across her beautiful face when she'd been trying to decide. He knew he'd almost won—almost—and he wanted her so badly. But he released her and rolled away.
She got up and started walking to the door.
"Christina?" At the anguished way he said her name, Christina turned to him. He was sitting up on the bed, focused on her. "Are you leaving?" He was asking her whether she was going to continue with their deal or not.
"I don't know," she replied softly. She was so confused right now and needed to retreat to her own bedroom to think.
"Don't go; I need you," his voice sounded hoarse and strangled as the words spluttered out of him.
Christina had the oddest sensation that he wasn't just talking about her helping him get his father's money.
