The Million Dollar Catch Bundle

by Susan Mallery

  “Which means Julie e-mailed our sizes,” Willow murmured when they’d slipped into the dressing rooms. “Does her level of organization ever worry you?”

  “Not too much.” Marina pulled off her T-shirt and unfastened her jeans. “They have shoes here that we can try on. Just to see how the dresses look in heels.”

  The door to her dressing room opened. Willow stepped inside and closed the door behind her.

  “Okay,” she said flatly. “What’s wrong?”

  Marina stared at her. “Nothing. Why? I’m fine.”

  “You’re not fine. You’re…” She frowned. “I don’t know. I can’t put my finger on it, but fine isn’t applying. Are you upset? Did something bad happen? Do you need Kane to kill someone?”

  “While I appreciate the offer, and I’m sure he does, too, I’m good. Really.”

  Willow folded her arms over her chest. “I’m not leaving until you confess everything.”

  “There’s nothing to…” Marina sighed. “I’d been so determined to act normal, too.”

  “You didn’t quite make the goal.” Willow’s mouth twisted. “What happened? Is it Todd? Did he hurt you?”

  “No. Of course not. He didn’t do anything wrong. It’s just…”

  Willow moved closer and touched her arm. “You don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want to.”

  Marina managed a smile. “Oh, sure. Say that now. I just…We…” She swallowed. “I’m in love with him.”

  Willow continued to stare at her. “And?”

  “And nothing. Isn’t that enough? I’m in love with Todd Aston the Third. How crazy is that?”

  Willow grinned, then hugged her. “Not crazy at all. It’s great. You’re in love. You’re single, he’s single. You’re amazing, he might be someone the rest of the family can tolerate. What’s the problem?”

  Marina sank onto the bench in the room and covered her face with her hands. “I’m terrified. What if I’m just like Mom? What if I get lost? What if I let him treat me horribly and I pretend it’s enough because it’s better than being without him?”

  Willow sank down next to her. “What if you don’t?” she asked as she put her arm around Marina. “What if you’re strong and grown-up and you just let yourself be happy?”

  While she appreciated the support, happy didn’t seem like much of an option. “He has issues.”

  Willow rolled her eyes. “Of course he does. All men do.”

  “His are complicated. He doesn’t trust women. At all. Ever. No female trusting by the rich guy.”

  “Sounds simple to me,” Willow said. “Fine. He doesn’t trust. I’m sure other women have taught him that. But what have you ever done to make him not trust you? Nothing. So it may take some time and a little work, but you’ll bring him around.”

  Marina wished it was that easy, but something in her gut told her that Todd wasn’t going to be convinced by a lack of action on her part.

  “Have you always been this optimistic?” she asked.

  “I think so,” Willow told her. “I’m the middle child. It’s my job to see both sides of things. Although in this case, I’m only seeing yours. Have a little faith. I doubt your feelings are one-sided. You’re pretty amazing. He’s lucky to have you in his life.”

  “I don’t think I’m the problem. He is and I don’t know how to fix that.”

  “You don’t have to. That’s his job.”

  Marina looked at her sister. “I’m not like Mom, am I? Falling for a guy who can’t commit?”

  “You’re nothing like Mom. You are your own person. Have a little faith in yourself.”

  Faith sounded easy enough, but Marina wasn’t sure how to put it into play.

  “You okay?” Willow asked.

  Marina nodded. “We have dresses to try on.”

  A few minutes later they met by the large three-way mirror.

  “This is not flattering,” Willow grumbled as she tugged on the spaghetti straps of her dress. “The tulip hem thingy makes me look short.”

  “You are short,” Marina teased. “But the dress isn’t the right one. We both looked better in the strapless one. I hope Julie doesn’t mind that the waist is so fitted.”

  Willow grinned. “You mean she’ll be bitter because her tummy is growing? Hmmm. I hadn’t thought of that. But it’s okay. She can be bitter for a while. She’s getting a baby.” She smoothed the front of her dress. “After Kane and I get married, we’re going to try for children right away. I’m really excited. I feel like I had my first taste of pregnancy the first couple of weeks I was on the pill.”

  “Bloated?” Marina asked sympathetically. “That’s why I’m not on it. Plus, I felt yucky.”

  “Me, too. But the yucky part passed. Good things, too, because of the whole condom problem.”

  Marina stared at her. “What condom problem?”

  “You know. That they’re not a hundred percent. If used perfectly, in controlled studies, they’re like ninety-seven percent effective. But in real world use, it’s a lot lower than that.”

  Willow kept on talking, but Marina wasn’t listening.

  Less effective? As in more chance of getting pregnant?

  All she and Todd had used were condoms. She wasn’t on anything else and he’d never asked. Not that there was a whole lot more he could have done, but still.

  She touched her stomach and tried to relax. So they weren’t a hundred percent. She and Todd had only made love a few times. Nothing could have happened. Not really. Could it?

  Two and a half long hours later, Marina finally escaped the bridal shop. She’d had to suffer through the wedding gown fitting, which Willow had stayed for. In the end she, Marina, had gotten away only to drive to a drugstore and buy two different pregnancy tests. She was positive she was fine, but a little scientific evidence never hurt.

  Now she counted out days on her calendar and had to admit that maybe she was a little late. Just by a couple of days, but still.

  Her chest tightened until she found it hard to breathe. Pregnant? She couldn’t be. Not that she didn’t want kids, but not now. Not like this.

  She remembered all the horror stories Todd had shared. If she were pregnant, he would think she was just like the other women in his life. He would never trust her.

  Scared, shaking and terrified of the outcome, she opened both boxes and took the test. When the needed time has passed, she stared down at two plastic sticks and groaned.

  One said she was pregnant, the other one didn’t.

  “Just so how my day is going,” she said, fighting tears of frustration. “I have to know.”

  She grabbed the first of the boxes and dialed the 800 number for customer service.

  “Hi,” she said, when a woman answered. “I took one of your pregnancy tests a few minutes ago. I also took another brand. Your test says I’m not pregnant and theirs says I am. Who should I believe?”

  “Oh, no,” the other woman said. “That’s not good. How late are you?”

  “Just a couple of days.”

  “Okay, you have a couple of choices. You can buy more tests and see what they say, or you can wait. I know it’s hard, but that would be my advice. Wait about a week and take the tests again. Your final option is to make an appointment with your doctor.”

  Marina thanked the woman and hung up. Going to her doctor wasn’t an option. He was practically a friend of the family and her mother worked in his office. That was a little too close to home for this situation. She could find another doctor, but by the time they fit her in, at least a week would have passed anyway. Waiting and taking the tests again made the most sense.

  But being sensible didn’t ease the knot in her stomach to make her breathe any easier. Pregnant? Was it possible?

  She was torn between the maternal thrill of a baby and the horror of knowing what Todd would think about her. That she’d tricked him.

  Needing to talk to someone, she picked up the phone and called Willow.

  Her sister�
�s cell went right to voice mail, which meant Willow was probably with Kane and they were practicing for making babies of their own.

  Restless and still needing to talk, Marina walked to her laptop and turned it on.

  To: Julie_Nelson@SGC.usa

  From: Marina_Nelson@mynetwork.LA.com

  Hi. It’s the middle of the day here, so I’m thinking it’s the middle of the night there. Which is a serious drag because I really need to talk. Not that we will, and I don’t want you to call. It’s about a billion dollars a minute and I’ll be in class most of tomorrow. It’s just…

  Okay—don’t be drinking your morning coffee when you read this. I’m late. As in…late. So I got a couple of pregnancy tests and took them. One says I’m pregnant, one says I’m not. The lady at the company suggested I wait another week and retest, which really makes sense. Except wait a week to know? How is that possible?

  I want kids. I really wouldn’t mind being pregnant—except for Todd. He’s not a trusting guy and while I don’t blame him, I can’t begin to imagine what he would say if I told him I was pregnant. He would think I was trying to manipulate him or trick him. It would be awful.

  Even worse…and you can’t tell anyone about any of this, but especially what I’m about to say. I think I’m in love with him.

  Marina paused in her typing, then sighed.

  No. That’s wrong. I know I’m in love with him. I’ve been in love with him for a while now. Maybe from the beginning. I’m excited and scared. I mean, what if I’m like Mom? But what if I’m not? What if I can’t be strong? So that’s a good possibility. But this is Todd. Would he ever trust me enough to have a real relationship? Is he even interested in a real relationship? And if he could be, being pregnant will ruin everything.

  So that’s how my day is going. E-mail me back when you can. I feel better now that we’ve “talked.” Thanks for listening.

  Marina didn’t sleep much that night, which made her morning class on the physical aspects of Inorganic Chemistry class tough. She did her best to clear her mind of all that was currently going on in her life and pay attention to the lecture. She seemed to do okay, because Jason, one of her deaf students, only frowned at her twice.

  When class ended, she made arrangements to meet him in the lab later that week, then walked toward her car. As she moved through the crowd of students, her mind swirled and dipped and raced in a hundred different directions.

  What if she was pregnant? How would she tell Todd? What if she wasn’t? Would she be sad?

  She felt her emotions being ripped in two. She loved Todd and would be thrilled to be having a baby with him. But with his past, she doubted they could ever get past his inherent mistrust of all women, including her. So the most sensible thing to hope was that there was no baby. Except she couldn’t quite bring herself to want that.

  Sleep, she thought as she walked across the parking lot. She needed sleep.

  What she got was a familiar expensive convertible pulling up next to her. The driver’s window rolled down and a very angry-looking Todd stared at her.

  “Get in,” he said flatly. “We have to talk.”

  Eleven

  He knew. She could read it in the coldness in his eyes.

  Marina wasn’t surprised. There was no way Julie wouldn’t have told Ryan, and Ryan and Todd were as close as brothers.

  “I’ll follow you to your place,” she said, knowing there was a very good chance that any conversation with Todd right now wasn’t going to go well. Better to be able to leave and not have to wait for him to drive her anywhere.

  He opened his mouth, but before she could speak, she added, “I’ll follow you there. You should at least trust me that much.”

  “Why?” he asked bluntly. But he also closed the window and drove a few feet forward so she could back out her car.

  Twenty minutes later she drove onto the familiar circular stone driveway in front of the massive house she’d actually grown to like. But as she climbed out her car, she felt an uncomfortable combination of apprehension and panic. Based on all that she knew about him, Todd wasn’t going to handle any of this well.

  They walked inside without saying anything. She figured that she should probably be the one to start the conversation, but she didn’t know how. Nor did she know what he knew. Which might be a good place to start.

  She followed Todd into his study and set her purse on one of the leather chairs in the book-lined space.

  “Did Ryan give you a recap or just forward my mail?” she asked, suddenly remembering her confession of love. Surely Julie hadn’t shared that with her fiancé.

  “He gave me the facts.” Todd’s dark gaze dropped to her midsection. “That you think you’re pregnant.”

  She couldn’t figure out what he was thinking from his tone. So far, his body language seemed controlled enough, so she should be feeling better. Except she wasn’t. There was a coldness, a bitterness, that seemed to steal all the warmth from the room. Despite the pleasant temperature, she found herself shivering.

  “I don’t know if I am,” she said. “He told you about the two pregnancy tests?”

  Todd moved behind his desk, then turned to face her. “Let me be clear. I’ve been manipulated by women far more experienced than you, Marina. You will not win this game.”

  She felt as if she’d been slapped. “I’m not playing a game. How could I be? I’m not like that and you know it. You know me, Todd.”

  “Do I? You’re the one who’s in this for a million dollars.”

  She stared at him. “Don’t be ridiculous. That’s just a crazy idea of Ruth’s.”

  “She offered to take the money off the table, but you told her no.”

  Coldness eased down her spine. “I was kidding. It was a joke.”

  Nothing in his expression hinted that he believed her. The walls seemed to close in a little.

  She took a step toward him. “This is crazy. We’ve become friends. We’ve laughed together, we’d talked about our hopes and dreams. I’m not some manipulating bitch out for the money. Dammit, Todd, I didn’t trap you. You wanted us to make love, too. You were a more than willing participant.”

  He opened a desk drawer and pulled out a pad of paper. “If you continue to claim to be pregnant, I’ll want the condition confirmed by an independent test performed by a doctor of my choosing. I will be there for the test, as will my attorney.”

  “Claim to be pregnant?” she asked, her voice low and shaky. “I’m saying I don’t know. How much more honest can I be?”

  He ignored that, too.

  “If you are pregnant, I want paternity determined by a DNA test upon birth. If I am the father, we’ll have to negotiate some kind of custody arrangement.” He stared at her. “I wouldn’t count on winning that battle if I were you.”

  It was like being locked in a freezer. The chill made it nearly impossible to breathe.

  She closed her eyes as she remembered his words about wanting children, but not a mother. Was that really his plan? To take her baby?

  “This isn’t about me,” she told him. “None of this is. This is about your past. You’re making me pay for what those other women did to you.”

  “Did my aunt offer to withdraw the million dollars?” he asked.

  She couldn’t win. He wouldn’t let her. “Yes.”

  “Did you tell her to keep it on the table.”

  “Yes.”

  There was no point in explaining she’d been kidding. That she’d never imagined even liking him, let alone falling for him.

  “It’s like asking for the moon,” she said, even as she knew she was wasting breath and energy. “Sure, I said I’d take it but it was like accepting an offer to raise the Titanic. It’s not going to happen. The money isn’t real.”

  She took another step toward him, although with a giant desk between them, it was a pretty useless gesture.

  “I wanted to give my sister a great wedding,” she said. “Just like you wanted to give that to Ryan. We h
ad to work together. At first I didn’t like you very much, but then we became friends and it was great. That’s all, Todd. Don’t make it ugly now.”

  “Give me one reason why I should trust you.”

  “You can’t argue trust. It has to be earned over time. Tell me one thing I’ve done to violate your trust.”

  “I can give you a million of them. You getting pregnant only confirms what you wanted all along.”

  Horror swept through her. “It was a joke,” she began, then stopped. What was the point?

  She grabbed her purse and pulled out her cell phone. Ruth’s number was in her address book. She hit Send.

  “Hi, it’s Marina,” she said, when Ruth had answered. “I need to tell you I’m not interested in the million dollars. Whatever happens, I don’t want it.”

  Her grandmother sighed. “You never did want it, dear. I knew that.”

  “Todd doesn’t.”

  “Oh, yes. He can be stubborn. But he’ll come around.”

  Marina stared at his stern expression, at the starkness in his eyes. “I’m not so sure about that.”

  “I know he seems like he’s too much work, but he’ll be worth it in the end. Have a little faith.”

  “I’ll try.” She hung up.

  Faith. Was there enough of that in the world?

  “It doesn’t mean anything,” he told her. “You know you can get even more money from me.”

  And then she got it. She couldn’t win. That was the point.

  “If it wasn’t the pregnancy concern, it would have been something else,” she said, more to herself than him. “You’re determined to never trust me and people always find what they go looking for. If you expect the worst, you’ll find it.”

  She drew in a breath. “Someday I’ll appreciate the irony of this situation. I’ve been so worried about being like my mother. I’ve been terrified I’ll lose myself in a man. I never stopped to think about the danger of falling for someone who couldn’t love me back. In my head, I was the one with the big problem.”