The Million Dollar Catch Bundle

by Susan Mallery

  She stepped back and let them both in. Kane set down the puppy, who ran to her and began licking her bare feet.

  She dropped to her knees and gathered the puppy close. “Does he have a name?” she asked because talking about the dog was a whole lot safer than talking about anything else.

  She wanted to believe that Kane’s presence here meant something, but she wasn’t sure. And she hurt too much to hope.

  “Not yet. I thought you’d want to name him.” Kane crouched next to her. “He’s yours. I bought him for you. But he lives with me, so if you want him, you’re going to have to come back to me.”

  She swallowed. Okay, sure, now there was hope, but there was also fear and a broken heart. “You want me back?”

  “Want?” He shook his head. “Want is such a small word, Willow. I thought I knew what I wanted. Solitude. My peaceful world. I had it all planned out. I was careful—I never got involved. I knew what caring meant and I wasn’t going to be a sucker twice. No one got in, ever. Until you.”

  The hope got a little bigger and brighter. Her breathing quickened.

  “I thought I wanted to live on an island somewhere, by myself. I thought I wanted what I had. I did—until I met you. Everything changed after that. Now I want noise and confusion and conversation and laughter. I want candles and plants and food and your mess everywhere.”

  “I’m not that messy.”

  He smiled, then reached out and stroked her cheek. The puppy licked them both. “I’m sorry. I’m sorry for what I said and I’m sorry for how I hurt you. The pain in your eyes, pain that I put there, haunts me. I miss you, Willow. I don’t just want you. I ache for you. I need you with a desperation that leaves me weak. You made me into a man I never thought I could be. You have changed me as fundamentally as a man can change. It took me awhile to figure all that out. I’ve never been in love before, so I didn’t recognize the signs.”

  Love? Love!

  She released the puppy and reached for Kane. “So you’re saying…”

  “I love you.” He gathered her close and held on tight. “I love you. For always. Through sickness and in health and through babies and houses and whatever else happens. If you can forgive me. If you still love me.”

  She pulled back and stared at him. “What? Because you thought I might just fall out of love with you?”

  She saw the fear in his eyes and knew he’d been afraid of just that. “I hurt you,” he said. “I was cruel. I can’t excuse what I did. I can only promise I’ll never do it again.”

  He was not a man who gave his word lightly. She trusted him to love her for always, just as she trusted him to be there for her and their children and pets and whatever else might enter their lives.

  “I do love you,” she said.

  “Will you marry me?”

  She smiled. “Yes. Do we get to keep Jasmine?”

  He grinned. “Of course.”

  “And at least one of the kittens?”

  He sighed. “It’s your life, too. You get to decide.”

  “I hope they like Bobo. He’s got some big paws on him. I’m thinking he’ll get to fifty or sixty pounds.”

  He closed his eyes and groaned. “We’re not calling the dog Bobo.”

  “Muffin?”

  “It’s a boy, Willow. Can he have a little dignity? What about Blackie?”

  “Oh, that’s original. I’m thinking he looks like a Stan.”

  Kane groaned.

  Willow curled up in his arms. “We’re going to need a bigger house. Not that I don’t love Todd, but do we have to live that close?”

  “We’ll move. And since when do you love Todd?”

  “It’s family love. Don’t worry. He’s not a threat.”

  “Good to know. We’ll buy a bigger house on its own lot.”

  “With a yard,” she said.

  “And a garden.”

  “Ooh, yeah. A big garden. And a big bedroom, because we’ll be spending lots of time in it.”

  “I like the way you think.” He stared into her eyes. “I love you, Willow. You’ve changed everything for me.”

  “I rescued you.” She grinned. “Although I’m retired now. The world will have to get by without my rescuing skills. Except for plants and pets. We’re going to have kids, right?”

  He began unbuttoning her blouse. “Of course.”

  “As many as I want?”

  “You’re the one who has to carry them.” He removed her blouse.

  She glanced over his shoulder and saw Stan had collapsed on a cushion by the sofa.

  “We’ll have to be very quiet,” she whispered.

  Kane stood, then picked her up in his arms and carried her down the hall. “I was thinking we’d just leave the room.”

  “That works, too.”

  The Ultimate Millionaire

  By Susan Mallery

  Contents

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  One

  “Would you do it if I beg?”

  Marina Nelson was careful to keep from smiling at Julie’s dramatic plea. Of course she was going to agree to help her sister, but not right away. After twenty-four years of being the baby of the family, it was nice to finally have a little power.

  “You know I’m busy,” she said slowly. “It’s the start of a new quarter and I have a full class schedule.”

  Julie sighed. “Yes, and your work is very important. But so is this. I wouldn’t ask if it wasn’t. I really need someone to take charge while I’m on this business trip. We have similar taste and you’re organized and I thought…” Julie tucked her blond hair behind her ears and looked sad. “Am I asking too much? I am. I know it’s crazy. I’m the one getting married, not you. So I should do the planning. But this trip to China is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Six weeks of Ryan and I working together before we settle in to being married and parents.”

  Marina glanced down at her sister’s stomach. Julie was only about three months along and not showing at all. One of the advantages of being tall, she thought humorously—it takes longer to see the bump.

  “I can see how a trip to China would be far more thrilling than the messy details of choosing a menu and picking out flowers,” she said, still not allowing herself to smile. “Not to mention deciding on a dress. What if you hate what I pick?”

  They were close enough in size for the actual gown itself not to be a problem. Any minor tailoring could be done right before the wedding, after Julie got back.

  “I won’t,” Julie promised earnestly. “I swear, I’ll love it. Besides, you’ll send me pictures, right? We talked about that. You’ll upload them into e-mail and I’ll write back with my opinion.” Her blue eyes widened. “Marina, please say yes.”

  Marina sighed heavily. “No. I can’t. But thanks for asking.”

  Julie’s mouth dropped open, then she reached behind her for one of the small, floral sofa cushions and swatted Marina with it.

  “You’re horrible! How could you let me go on and on like that? I was practically begging.”

  Marina laughed, then grabbed the cushion. “There’s no ‘practically,’ Julie. You begged. You whined. I have to tell you, I was a little embarrassed for you.”

  Julie sighed. “So you’ll do it?”

  “Of course. You’re my sister. Just give me a list and I’ll take care of everything.”

  “You have no idea how you’re helping. Between getting married and our trip and closing on the new house, my life is a nightmare.”

  They sat in Ryan’s study—an uncomfortably modern condo in West Los Angeles. It had a great view and electronic everything, but it lacked color and soul, except for a few throw pillows Julie had contributed.
Rather than try to make it homey, Julie and Ryan had decided to buy another house that they both liked. Marina knew that Willow, their middle sister, was going to oversee the minor renovating Julie and Ryan’s new place needed, which left the wedding to Marina.

  “I think of this project as practice,” Marina said with a grin. “I can figure out what I want and don’t want should I ever take the plunge.”

  “Oh, please. You’ll get married,” Julie said confidently. “The right guy’s out there somewhere. You’ll find him.”

  Marina wasn’t currently looking, but it would be great when it happened. Assuming she could trust herself to fall in love without losing her soul in the process.

  “Until then, just call me the wedding planner,” Marina said. “Now, where’s that list of yours?”

  Julie reached into her purse, then straightened without removing anything. “There’s just one other thing.”

  “Which is…”

  Julie drew in a breath. “Okay, so this is Ryan’s wedding, too, and he’s a little nervous that it’s going to be too girly. He wants a vote in what’s happening.”

  Marina didn’t get the problem. “Fine. You two can argue all you want, then e-mail me the compromise. I don’t care.”

  “Um, yes, well, that’s not exactly the plan. Ryan wants a representative to be with you for all the important decisions. The food, the cake, the band, the decorations, the flowers.”

  “A representative? Like his mother?”

  Marina had never met the woman. No doubt she was perfectly lovely, but another opinion could seriously slow the process.

  Julie tried to smile and failed miserably. “Actually, no. More like Todd.”

  “Todd? As in Todd Aston the Third, all around rich guy and jerk?” Marina couldn’t believe it. “Anyone but him,” she muttered.

  “He’s Ryan’s cousin and they’re as close as brothers. You know that. Todd is the best man and he offered to help. Do you hate me now?”

  “No, but I should.” Marina sighed. “Todd? Yuck.”

  Nearly six months ago, the three sisters had been introduced to their maternal grandmother for the first time in their lives. Grandma Ruth had been estranged from her only daughter, the girls’ mother, ever since Naomi had run off and gotten married.

  Now Ruth was back and she wanted a relationship with her daughter and granddaughters. In addition, she had a burning need to connect her family with her second husband’s family through marriage.

  In a moment of dinner conversation that Marina was confident would go down in family history, she’d offered each of her granddaughters a million dollars if one of them would please marry Todd Aston the Third, her nephew—or maybe great-nephew, no one was sure—through marriage.

  Julie had fallen in love with Ryan and Willow had found Kane Dennison, which left only Marina for toady Todd. Talk about bad luck.

  For reasons she was still trying to figure out—maybe it had been a momentary brain injury—Marina had agreed to one date with the obnoxious Todd.

  It’s not that the guy wasn’t good-looking—at least, that’s what Marina had heard. She’d never actually seen the man. He was also wealthy and successful in his own right, rather than just inheriting from Mommy and Daddy. Ryan liked him and Marina thought Ryan was okay—especially after he’d shown the good taste to fall for her sister. But Todd?

  His idea of a significant relationship was to date the same woman twice in the same week. He went out with models. How could she ever have a serious conversation with a man who dated women who were paid to starve for a living? It violated the female code.

  Plus, initially he’d tried to break up Julie and Ryan. Marina thought that was pretty low.

  “I’m not asking you to have his baby,” Julie said. “Just work with him on the wedding. Besides, it won’t be too bad. He’s a guy. He’ll get bored at the first meeting with the florist and disappear. You’ll have to deal with him once. Twice at the most.”

  “I don’t want to deal with him at all,” Marina said mournfully. “He’s everything I don’t like in a man.” Talk about emotionally useless. Or so she imagined.

  A sound came from the doorway. It sounded like someone clearing his throat. When Marina looked up she found a pretty good-looking guy leaning against the door frame.

  He looked more amused than annoyed, but based on Julie’s gasp and sudden blush, Marina was willing to go out on a limb and figure this was the infamous Todd Aston.

  “Ladies,” he said with a nod. “Ryan let me in and said you were meeting in here. I’ve shown up for wedding duty. I’m also accepting a humanitarian award at the end of the month. Perhaps the two of you would like a shot at writing my bio for the event. It would certainly be entertaining.”

  “Oh, man,” Julie muttered. “I’m sorry. That all came out more harshly than I meant it to.”

  Marina studied him. He was the walking, breathing definition of tall, dark and hunky. Great face with soulful eyes and the kind of mouth that made a woman dream about being taken against her will. Broad shoulders, a muscled chest and jeans skimming over narrow hips and yummy thighs. All in all, a great package. Too bad Todd’s personality was stuck inside it.

  He smiled at her. “You must be Marina.”

  “I am. Nice to meet you, Todd.”

  “Nice?” He raised one eyebrow. “That’s not what I heard. You’ve already decided I’m an ass. Or is it an idiot?”

  She shifted on the sofa, feeling just a tiny bit uncomfortable. “You go out with models. Their airbrushed perfection in magazines make regular women feel bad about themselves.”

  “Because of that, models shouldn’t be allowed to date?”

  Logic? He wanted to use logic in a discussion about the objectification of thin, young women in modern society?

  “Of course they should be allowed to date,” she said smoothly. “I’m simply not interested in someone who’s interested in them.”

  “Right,” he said folding his arms over his chest. “Because you assume that if they’re beautiful they must be dumb. Therefore I like dumb women.”

  “I didn’t say that, but thanks for clarifying.”

  His mouth twitched as if he were holding in a smile. “I don’t date dumb women.”

  “You should probably make up your mind about that,” she told him.

  “I’ll get right on it.”

  “If you two are finished…” Julie pointed to the chair opposite the sofa. “Okay, then. So, we should get started with all this. The wedding.”

  Todd strolled across the room and took the seat offered, then pulled a PalmPilot out of his shirt pocket. “I’m ready.”

  Marina looked at him. “You’re actually going to participate?”

  “Right down to the organic seed we’ll be throwing at the happy couple when they head off on their honeymoon.” He leaned forward and lowered his voice. “We don’t use rice. The birds eat it and it’s bad for them.”

  She opened her mouth, then closed it. “Someone’s been spending a little too much time on the Internet.”

  “Internet, bridal magazines, whatever. When it comes to wedding planning, I’m your guy.” A challenge brightened his dark eyes. “I’m in this all the way. Are you?”

  If he thought he could scare her off, then he was in for a wild ride. “I’m in. And just for the record, I define stubborn.”

  “Me, too.”

  Ha! No way. He might think he was all that, but Marina was more than willing to take him on and win.

  Julie sighed. “I thought you two might not get along, but I never considered this might become a competition. Listen. We’re talking about a wedding. My wedding to Ryan. We need help, not a Las Vegas-style show. Bigger is not better. Don’t be too creative. Let’s just make it low-key and elegant, okay?”

  Marina felt Todd’s gaze shift to her. She stared right back at him and refused to be the first one to blink. “Julie, have I ever let you down?”

  “No,” Julie said slowly, as if she didn’t w
ant to admit it.

  “So trust me.”

  Julie gave them each a copy of her list. Todd scanned his, then turned his attention back to Marina Nelson.

  She was blond like her sisters, only her hair was darker—more honey-gold. She was about an inch taller than Julie, with the same curvy build. They were obviously sisters and could almost have passed for twins. The main difference—aside from hair color—was the “I’m willing to take you on, big guy” attitude in the set of her chin. Julie was far more agreeable.

  Todd had a rule when it came to women—why work hard? There were plenty of attractive females more than happy to come on to him. Some of it was due to his success as a businessman, some of it was his looks. Most of it was about the family fortune.

  Whatever the reason, he rarely had to go searching for company. His romantic life was an ongoing series of short-term relationships with minimal commitment and effort on his part. That was how he liked things.

  Marina was going to be anything but easy and he wasn’t even trying to get her into bed. But Ryan had asked for his help, so he would put up with the overly verbal Nelson sister for the sake of his cousin.

  He was even willing to admit—only to himself—that he was looking forward to taking her on. It had been a long time since a woman had done anything but let him get his way. Working with her would be good for his character, even if he did plan to win in the end.

  “Basically we have the invitations done and that’s it,” Julie said as she studied her own copy of the list. “Grandma Ruth offered her house for the wedding and Ryan and I agreed it’s an amazing place. But there are decisions to be made. It’s a winter wedding. Do we want to risk the outside thing? It could be seventy-five or it could be raining.”

  “She mentioned something about a ballroom,” Marina said. “On the third floor. Want us to check that out?”

  “I’ve seen it.” Todd kept his attention on Julie. “It would easily hold three or four hundred. A few less if you’re interested in a sit-down dinner.”