Nine Months Part 2 (36 Hours)

by Beverly Barton

  She tried to get up; he held her down. “You can’t force me to marry you,” she said.

  He pulled her into his arms. “No, but I think I can persuade you.” When he tried to kiss her, she thrashed around, twisting her head from side to side.

  Laughing, Jared released her and leaned his head back against the sofa. “You don’t want to disappoint your parents, Paige. They’re the kind of people who expect their daughter to be married when she has a child.”

  “I know what my parents expect,” she said. “But they wouldn’t think I was going to marry you if you hadn’t lied to them.”

  “Look, I like your parents. I wouldn’t intentionally hurt them. They’re warm, loving people and I envy you the life you must have had growing up in such a caring, supportive environment.”

  “I’m very lucky.”

  “Yes, you are. My parents were always too busy for me when I was a kid. My father didn’t have time for anything except working and chasing women. And my mother didn’t have time for anything except her social obligations.”

  “I’m sorry, Jared, you must have been a lonely little boy. Were you an only child?”

  “Yep, I was the only heir to the throne. But don’t feel sorry for me. I had everything money could buy.”

  Paige glanced over at her purse lying on the coffee table and thought about the sonogram pictures and video. Her family had been so excited about her “engagement,” she’d never had a chance to bring out the sonogram results. How would he feel if she told him about his child? If she did, maybe he wouldn’t be so eager to marry her. “You want a son, don’t you? An heir for all your millions.”

  “Of course that’s what I want. It’s what every man wants.”

  “You won’t get what you want if you marry me. I’m totally unsuitable to be L. J. Montgomery’s wife. You said so yourself. You need to follow through with your five-year plan and find another woman to give you a son. You see—” she looked him straight in the eye “—the baby I’m carrying is a girl.”

  “A girl?” he asked. “Are you sure?”

  “Yes. I had the sonogram today. Remember? I’m going to have a daughter, not a son.”

  “Well, I’ll be damned.”

  Jared had never for one minute considered the possibility that he might have fathered a girl. Hell, he’d never even thought about having a daughter. He had planned for a son. He had also planned to wait another five years to marry and produce an heir. But Paige Summers had changed his plan. He was going to marry now, instead of in five years. He was going to have to mold Paige into the kind of wife he wanted and needed, instead of choosing someone already suitable. And he was going to have a daughter and not a son.

  “Well, I suppose things have a way of working out, don’t they? You want a son,” Paige said. “I’m having a daughter. So, I’ll have my little girl and one day you’ll marry someone else and she’ll give you a boy.

  “I’ll explain to my parents that we reconsidered marrying just for the sake of the baby and decided not to trap ourselves in a loveless marriage. I know my father will be disappointed, but in time, he’ll understand. And my mother will—”

  Jared grabbed her shoulders and kissed her soundly. She was too startled at first to resist, and by the time she realized what he was doing, he ended the kiss and stared at her, a self-satisfied smile on his face.

  “Little girls adore their fathers, don’t they,” Jared said, a dreamy look in his eyes. “You adore yours. I could tell tonight that you’ve got him wrapped around your little finger.”

  “Yes, I adore my father,” she agreed. “But what does that fact have to do with anything?”

  “I was just wondering if my little girl will adore me.” He had sworn that no woman would wrap him around her little finger, not ever again. But a man’s daughter—his own child—was something entirely different. He sort of liked the idea of doting on his child.

  “You don’t want a little girl. Remember? You want a son. Someone to fill your shoes when you’re gone.” Paige didn’t like the way Jared was smiling, all goofy and soft and silly, as if he’d been hit in the head.

  “The more I think about having a daughter, the better I like the idea.” Yes, sir, he couldn’t think of anything nicer than having a little redheaded toddler in a frilly dress put her arms around his neck and call him Daddy. There wasn’t anything in this whole wide world he wouldn’t do for his little angel. He’d give her the world. Hell, he’d buy her the moon and the stars!

  “But—but you said you wanted a son, that you’d planned for a son!” Dammit, she was not going to let him do an about-face on this issue. How could a man, who had his whole life mapped out in detail, adapt to so many changes so quickly?

  “Maybe we’ll have a boy next time.” Jared ran his hand down her arm, over her waist and across her stomach. He caressed the tiny bulge. “Let’s name her Angel.”

  “What?” Paige grabbed his hand and tried to lift it off her stomach.

  Clasping her hand, he draped her arm around his neck. “Well, if you don’t like Angel, I suppose we could name her Angelica or Angela or—”

  “What do mean we’ll have a boy next time?”

  “You don’t want our Angel to be an only child, do you?” Jared lifted Paige’s other arm and draped it over his shoulder so that her hands overlapped across his neck. “If this marriage thing between us works out, I’m sure we’ll both want more children.”

  If this marriage thing works out! “There isn’t going to be any marriage thing between us. We aren’t in love. No love. No marriage. We can’t give a child the kind of family life I had because we don’t love each other the way my parents do. And that’s what I want. I’m not going to settle for anything less!”

  “Why are you being so stubborn, honey?” Jared drew her into his arms. “You’re just making things more difficult for yourself. I’m not going to give up. And in the end, I’ll get what I want.”

  He was too close, far too close for comfort. Her heartbeat roared in her ears. Her stomach churned. Her nipples tightened. “I’m not what you want. Remember your five-year plan? I’m the woman who messed up everything for you. You want a suitable wife and a son, not me and my baby girl.”

  He nuzzled her neck. Paige moaned. He ran the back of his thumb across her lower lip. She sighed.

  “But I do want you and our little girl. We can have a son later. And as far as your not being suitable, we can work on that. You’re young and bright and lovely. With the proper tutor, you can learn how to be the perfect wife for me.”

  Before she could utter a word of protest, Jared covered her lips with his. Her mind warned her to fight, but her body melted against his and she returned his kiss with equal fervor. Every time he touched her, she fell to pieces. It just wasn’t fair that she had no control over her response to him. This wild, crazy passion between them was what had gotten her into trouble in the first place.

  Breaking away, she shoved against his chest. “No! I can’t do this. I can’t let you seduce me into agreeing to marry you.”

  Paige jumped up off the sofa. “Go home, Jared. Please. Go home and leave me alone. I can’t think straight when you’re around. Every time you get near me I either get so angry I want to strangle you or I get so…so—”

  “Aroused?” he offered her a suitable word.

  “Yes, all right, damn you. I get so aroused that I’m tempted to…to do what we did in the elevator.”

  “Make love?”

  “Have sex.”

  Jared stood, picked up the diamond from the end table and reached out for Paige’s hand. She tried to avoid his touch, but he grabbed her hand, slid the ring on quickly and folded her fingers over into a loose fist.

  “Marriages have succeeded on a lot less than fantastic sex. Just think about what it could be like for us, honey. Sleeping in the same bed every night. Setting the sheets on fire every time we make love.”

  Paige stood in the middle of her living room and watched Jared open the door
and walk out. He didn’t look back or even say goodbye. When he disappeared from sight, she rushed over and slammed the door closed, then locked it.

  She shook from head to toe. Why did she let him get to her that way? Because you’re probably in love with him and you don’t want to be.

  Paige held out her hand. Jared’s big diamond twinkled brightly, as if it were winking at her. She dragged the ring to the tip of her finger, then stopped and slid it back into place. She’d wear it, just for tonight. It was beautiful. And it fit her finger perfectly. If only it were a symbol of Jared’s love, instead of an emblem of his victory. If only he had chosen it specifically for her and not for the future Mrs. L. J. Montgomery.

  Tomorrow, she promised herself, she’d give the ring back to him.

  Chapter Five

  Paige arrived at work early, put on a fresh pot of coffee in the employees’ lounge and began her daily routine. She had gone over what she wanted to say to Jared at least a dozen times, determined to get through to him this time and make him understand her point of view. But the very thought of another confrontation with him twisted her stomach into knots. To be totally honest, the very thought of being alone with him in his office unnerved her. Every time they were alone, sparks flew. The same highly charged, sexual sparks that had ignited a forest fire between them four months ago in the elevator threatened to set them afire again.

  Paige had to admit that she was tempted to accept Jared’s proposal. Marrying him definitely would solve all her immediate problems. And he’d been right about the fantastic sex. Every time he touched her, it took all her willpower not to crawl all over him. And he certainly never tried to hide the fact that he wanted her. He’d even said that just hearing her voice over the phone aroused him. But Paige knew herself too well. Great sex might be enough to hold their marriage together for a while, but sooner or later, she’d want more. If Jared couldn’t give her the love and unconditional acceptance she needed, she could never be happy with him. And when Jared realized that he couldn’t transform her into the perfect wife, he’d know what a mistake their marriage had been.

  No, she couldn’t marry him. It wouldn’t be fair to either of them and certainly not to their little girl. Angel, he’d called her. Or Angelica or Angela. Damn him for acting as if he were enchanted with the thought of having a daughter. Little girls adore their fathers, don’t they?

  Paige shook her head, trying to dislodge the image of a little redheaded girl sitting in Jared’s lap, looking up at him with green eyes identical to his and saying, “Daddy, please. I really, really want a puppy.”

  “Good morning. You’re here bright and early.” Kay Thompson stood in the open doorway of Paige’s office.

  Glancing up from her desk, Paige smiled at her friend. “You’re here early yourself. It’s barely eight-thirty.”

  “I called your apartment and got your answering machine, so I assumed I’d find you here.” Kay walked in and sat down in a leather chair across from Paige’s desk. “Let’s see it.”

  “See what?”

  “The diamond L.J. gave you last night.”

  “How did you know? Who told you?”

  “The boss man himself called me last night, after he left your apartment,” Kay said.

  “He called you? Why? What did he say?”

  “He said that since you and I were friends, he needed my help in persuading you to marry him.”

  “I cannot believe he tried to enlist your help.” But she could believe it. She could believe he was capable of doing just about anything in order to get his own way. Jared was arrogant, self-centered and demanding. But he also had an old-fashioned sense of honor that dictated his actions.

  “Show me the ring,” Kay said, repeating her request. “You are wearing it, aren’t you?”

  Paige laid her left hand on the desk. “I’m giving it back to him as soon as he comes in this morning. I tried to give it back to him last night, but he wouldn’t take it. He’s very forceful and very persuasive.”

  “So I’ve heard. Greg has told me that L.J. never loses. He’s so single-minded and determined that he won’t give up when he wants something.” Rising out of the chair, Kay leaned over and looked at Paige’s engagement ring. She let out a long, low whistle. “That’s the reason he was able to start his own business, straight out of college, and in fifteen years’ time become a multimillionaire in his own right.”

  “I’m not going to marry him.” Closing her fingers over her palm, Paige swept her hand off the desk and onto her lap.

  “Why ever not? He’s gorgeous, rich, charming and obviously wild about you.” Kay glanced meaningfully at Paige’s tummy. “And you are pregnant with his child.”

  “He doesn’t love me.” Paige lifted a pencil off a stack of file folders and repeatedly tapped the edge of her desk.

  “What makes you think he doesn’t love you?”

  “He told me he didn’t.” Gripping the pencil in her hand, Paige rubbed her thumb up and down the smooth wood surface. “L. J. Montgomery doesn’t believe in love. He never planned to marry for love. Besides, if he loved me, he wouldn’t want to change me into his idea of a perfect wife. He’d accept me for exactly who I am. I tried to change myself for Keith and he dumped me for someone else. Someone more suitable. Believe me, I learned my lesson. I’ll never try to be someone I’m not.”

  “Oh, Paige. You poor little romantic fool.” Kay sighed dramatically. “Millions of people marry for love, and what does it get them? Half those love matches end in divorce, like mine did. L.J. is offering you something better than love. He’s offering you a lifetime of security. For you and your baby.”

  “It’s not enough. Call me a romantic fool if you want to. Maybe I am. But I grew up with two parents who, after nearly thirty years of marriage, are still deeply in love. That kind of relationship is what I’ve wanted all my life. Jared sees me and this baby—” Paige circled her palm over her tummy “—as a mistake he has to correct. He wants to marry me for the baby’s sake and then make me over to suit his idea of a perfect wife.”

  “So, you’ve made up your mind not to marry him?”

  “I have. Now all I have to do is convince Jared that I mean what I say.” Paige snapped the pencil in two, then threw the halves into the wastebasket.

  “You may be fighting a losing battle.” Kay gazed sympathetically at Paige. “After all, let’s face it—what woman could resist L. J. Montgomery indefinitely? Especially a woman who’s already halfway in love with him. And you are, aren’t you?”

  Before Paige could reply, someone knocked loudly on the door. Paige jumped. Gasping, Kay jerked around in her chair.

  “‘Morning, ladies.” A clean-cut young man stood in the doorway holding a vase filled with a large number of red roses. “I’m looking for a Paige Summers. These are for her.”

  “Bring them in here, sonny,” Kay said. “This—” she pointed at Paige “—is Ms. Summers.”

  “Where do you want them, ma’am?” he asked.

  “Just put them here on my desk,” Paige said.

  The minute the deliveryman left, Kay snatched up the attached card, opened it and handed it to Paige. “So, what does it say?”

  Paige read aloud. “Marry me.”

  Fingering the petals on the long-stemmed beauties as she silently counted them, Kay sighed. “You’ve got to give Jared credit. The man knows all the tricks. What woman doesn’t love red roses. And two dozen!”

  “This is a perfect example of how little Jared knows me,” Paige said. “He chose red roses for his ideal fiancée, but I prefer white roses. If he cared about me, truly cared, he’d bother to find out who I am and what I like.”

  Greg Addison marched into Paige’s office, followed by a young woman wearing brown slacks and matching shirt, the emblem of a local delivery service stitched on her shirt pocket. She carried two boxes wrapped in pink paper and tied with white ribbon.

  “So the campaign begins.” Greg eyed the roses, then pointed to Paige. “There
she is. The beautiful redhead behind the desk is Ms. Summers.”

  The deliverywoman asked Paige to sign for the two items, then as soon as that requirement was out of the way, she handed the gifts to Paige and left.

  Paige stared at the boxes, knowing that Jared had sent them. Flowers. Gifts. What next? she wondered.

  “Go ahead and open them,” Greg said. “I’m eager to see what the father-to-be has sent the mother-to-be.”

  Paige glared at Greg. “How did you know? No, no, don’t tell me. Jared shared the news about our blessed event with you, too, didn’t he.”

  “Yep. He came by my apartment last night and confessed all.” Shaking his head, Greg clicked his tongue. “My, my, Ms. Summers, you amaze me. You, a lowly working girl, have accomplished what every wealthy debutante and society maid in two dozen states have failed to accomplish. You’ve brought the great man to his knees.”

  “Quit being such a jerk,” Kay said. “She didn’t get pregnant by herself, you know.”

  Paige gasped, amazed that Kay would speak to her boss in such a way.

  “The woman knows I won’t fire her,” Greg said. “I can’t get along without her. She knows more about Montgomery Real Estate and Land Development than I do. And I’m sorry, Paige, if what I said offended you. I didn’t mean it that way. You’ll have to pardon me if I find this whole situation rather amusing and if I milk it for all it’s worth.”

  “I’m afraid I fail to find the humor in all this, Mr. Addison,” Paige said.

  “Greg has a rather warped sense of humor.” Kay stood, slipped her arm through Greg’s and nodded toward the open door. “Why don’t we leave Paige alone and let her open her gifts?”

  “Is it true that you turned down his marriage proposal?” Greg asked.

  “Yes.” Paige wondered who else Jared had shared their little secret with. Had he taken out an ad in the paper?

  “Then be prepared,” Greg told her. “He’s mounting a full-fledged attack. L.J. is a man with a mission, and you, little lady, have no idea what you’re in for. I’ve seen him in action before. He always gets what he wants, and he wants you.”