The Double Deal

by Catherine Mann

  “You’re intuitive for a man.”

  “I think that’s supposed to be a compliment.”

  “It is.”

  “I’m only drawing logical conclusions.”

  “Not everyone makes those connections. And yeah, I needed my mother so much then. My grandmother was around and she was great...” She shook her head. “I’m here. And trust me, I was pampered to pieces...still am.”

  “It’s reasonable that your family would be even more protective after so much loss.”

  “I guess what I’m trying to say is I am a strong person. I can’t take being smothered. I need to be valued for who I am and the work I do, like my siblings. I’m a lawyer. I graduated magna cum laude. And somehow, it’s never dawned on my father that I could play a major role in the company beyond litigating legal issues. I know he loves me and that I’m not a replacement for my sister who died, but somehow our relationship got stuck in those teenage years. It’s like if he can freeze me at that age, he can keep a piece of her alive...” She pinched the bridge of her nose, clearly holding back tears.

  A slow understanding dawned on him as he made the connections. Understanding the broader implications of what she said. In a softer voice, he continued, “And that’s why you’re here.”

  She nodded slowly. “Well, that’s why I’m here at your retreat. But it’s not why I’m—” she pointed to the bed “—here, here.”

  “Heard and understood.” He tucked the hair that had fallen in front of her face behind her ear, the need to touch her inevitable, irresistible, like a force of nature. “You don’t have to prove yourself to everyone.”

  “Easier said than done when people don’t have faith in me. You sure could help with that if you would at least meet with the heads of Alaska Oil Barons. Just listen, no obligation. I need to prove myself. You’re my key. If I can get you to give our company an exclusive on your research—”

  He shook his head. “I’m not ready.”

  “Whatever you have for safety upgrades is already better than what’s in place.”

  “And the time I’ll lose putting those in place will be time and energy better spent getting to the answers I want. Committing too soon will cause a delay in the long run. I have my eyes on the big picture.”

  Tessie moved from under his hand, running to the door, emitting a slow but insistent whine. She pawed at the door, scratching against the white paint. Turning her big head back to Royce, Tessie let out a low bark.

  “We can give you people—”

  He shook his head, the emotional pressure too damn much. He wasn’t her answer. Couldn’t be her answer. He had to end this conversation. “Stop, Naomi. We’re done talking. I’m taking Tessie outside.” He shot to his feet and closed the distance between himself and the door. He pulled on his boots and grabbed his jacket. Maybe for the first time ever, he was thankful to head out in blizzard-like conditions.

  * * *

  Royce’s sudden move to the door set Naomi into motion. She sprang up from where she’d been seated. Practically tripped over her own two feet as she too made her way to the door. Stuffing her feet into her fluffy lined boots and shoving her arms into the pink parka’s sleeves, she readied herself for the freeze-out—both from the Alaskan wilderness and from Royce.

  She couldn’t just leave things this way between them. She’d mishandled the situation and she needed to do her best to set things right.

  Making her way out the door, she put her suddenly cold fingers into the gloves that she’d stuffed into her parka’s pocket.

  She was surprised he hadn’t evicted her altogether, or at the very least banished her to sleep in the bathtub. She was mad at herself over the way she’d handled this, the way she’d lost control.

  How frustratingly ironic that in working to be taken seriously, she’d done the most reckless thing she’d done since she was sixteen and snuck out of the house to joyride with friends after curfew the day she’d received her license. Not because she hadn’t been allowed to take the SUV if she’d asked. But because she wanted to prove she was invincible. Naomi had wound up spinning out and driving into a snowbank that day—and she never forgot the anger in her father’s face when he arrived on scene, reminding her of how many lives she’d put at risk.

  And how many people would be hurt if something happened to her.

  Since then, she’d cultivated the image of being a party girl—in appearance more than reality. Sure, she enjoyed flaunting convention, but she actually preferred her confrontations and emotional drama be contained to the courtroom.

  Snatching up his gloves, she made her way to him and Tessie. Snow collected on his shoulders. A lot of snow for the relatively short amount of time he’d been out there.

  Twenty feet between them, but it might as well have been half the globe. As her boots sunk into drifts, she accepted the possibility that maybe he wouldn’t work with her because he believed the sex between them was motivated by business. The thought sickened her. Naomi didn’t want to disappoint her family, but she also didn’t want Royce to think she’d use their lovemaking as a strange kind of leverage.

  Taking a steadying breath of ice-cold air, she felt awake, at home and grounded. Ready to try to talk to him, to make him understand the stakes of her offer and her attraction to him were not one and the same. Tall trees cast her snow-crunched walk in shadow. Glancing behind her shoulder, she looked back to the glass igloo in the clearing, appreciating the way it stood apart from the woods. The small building didn’t intrude on the natural surroundings. No—the economic igloo seemed to mirror Royce’s outlook. Understated yet impactful.

  Turning her attention back to the path to Tessie and Royce, she let out a deep breath she hadn’t realized she’d held. He turned, snow spilling off his shoulders. Dark eyes met hers, and that spark of familiarity and excitement danced in her.

  She gestured to his dog, currently walking in circles sniffing the ground. “Tell me about Tessie.”

  “Tell you what exactly?” He broke eye contact, his gaze focused somewhere along the tree line.

  “I was hoping my open-ended question would lead you to reveal things I didn’t expect.” She thrust his coat and gloves toward him.

  “Open-ended questions, huh?” He pulled his hands from his pockets and slipped on his jacket and gloves. “Showing off those lawyer skills of yours?”

  A small joke. The ease warmed her core. “Not showing off if it didn’t work. How long have you had her?”

  He held out his hand, holding it steady while snow gathered in his gloved palm. “Since she was a puppy. A backyard breeder got busted, and the shelter needed to place nearly a hundred puppies, all different kinds. The little breed ones went fast, but it was tougher to place the larger dogs. Tessie also had a broken back leg. So, I picked her and headed straight for a veterinarian’s office. She spent her first six weeks of ‘freedom’ wearing a cast. Luckily though, she healed up just fine. No lingering effects.”

  She smiled and, yes, her cheeks were already starting to sting from the blustering cold wind, but she couldn’t resist the allure of his sweet story. “You have a soft heart.”

  “I like dogs.” He shrugged, more snow falling from his broad shoulders. “That doesn’t make me a softhearted individual. Just human.”

  “You’ve had other dogs?”

  “Yes.” His gloved hand clenched the collected snow into a ball that he then tossed toward Tessie.

  The Saint Bernard pounced with two large paws, sending a shower of white powder poofing upward.

  “Just ‘yes’? I’m glad you’re not on the witness stand.” She knelt to pet Tessie with one hand and started gathering a snowball with the other. “I’d have to ask the judge for permission to treat the witness as hostile.”

  He looked at her sidelong, brow arched. “Not hostile, just guarded.”

  “I could have kept quiet
and we would be playing in the snow, then warming up in the shower before eating supper by the fire.”

  “Almost makes me wish you’d kept quiet.”

  “We could pretend.” She scooped at the snow absently. “But pretending is what got me in this position. And for that I am so very sorry. I never anticipated the powerful attraction between us. I only hoped to learn something insightful about what it would take to appeal to one of the finest minds in the field, what it would take to lure him into working for the company.”

  He hissed between clenched teeth. “I want to believe you.”

  “Then do,” she said simply, and lobbed a snowball for a square hit at his chest.

  “Damn. You’re good at that.”

  “I have three brothers.” Standing, Naomi took a mock bow. “I had to be good if I wanted to survive snowball fights.”

  “You’re competitive.” He stepped toward her, eyes narrowing.

  “Very.” The wind practically pushed her into him. Not that she put much effort into resisting.

  Skidding forward a bit, she found herself pressed into his chest, his arms suddenly around her. Silence echoed between them as his eyes held hers. Heat built inside her and she saw it returned in his gaze. The cold air seemed to lose its potent punch—

  A rapid succession of cell phone chimes split the air. She couldn’t make herself move.

  Royce patted her coat pocket. “Now your great equipment makes sense.”

  “That’s the ringtone I use for calls from my brother. I don’t have to take it if it bothers you. I realize I’ve thrown a lot at you today...”

  “Naomi,” Royce whispered, the warmth of his breath on her cheek. “Take the call.”

  She shook her head. “No, I’m here with you. We’re talking and playing with Tessie. I’m enjoying myself and I think maybe you are too. I’m not letting a phone call mess with that.”

  He smiled in a slow, confident way that lit all the way up to his brown eyes. He squeezed her tighter, and she melted into his touch. Aware of nothing but the glint of promise in his eyes. The way his face moved to meet hers. A thrill tingled along her skin, so intense it was almost like flesh coming back to life after frostbite.

  She would only have to move a whisper more and they would be kissing, except she needed him to make the move this time, to know that he’d found some sort of resolution to how she’d played with the truth in her reasons for coming to his cabin. Their breaths puffed white clouds in the cold air, the bursts mingling, making her ache for that connection to be real.

  Royce shook his head slowly. “Ah, hell, Naomi Steele.”

  His arms went around her and he sealed his mouth to hers, fully and confidently. Sighing, she leaned into him, heat rekindling through her. Her thoughts about practical reasons for being here scattered like the snowflakes swirling away as she and Royce toppled backward. The warmth and weight of him was intoxicating and she wanted more, so much more—

  An insistent ding sliced the air. The sound of her text messages. But she was here. In the moment. Whatever her brother needed could wait.

  Ding.

  Ding.

  Royce elbowed up, the strong lines of his handsome face only inches away. “Someone’s eager to get in touch with you. Maybe you should check.”

  Another ding echoed. The insistence was unmistakable.

  She sighed in frustration. “I’ll look at the messages, then turn the phone off.”

  Naomi, call me.

  Call back. Important.

  Call ASAP. Emergency.

  Not something I want to text, but you need to call me. Dad had a horseback riding accident. Spinal injury.

  Her whole body went numb. Except for her eyes. They burned with tears. Her father. Dread weighed her deeper into the snow, her mind filling with horrific scenarios.

  As she tried to process what she’d read, a wave of nausea slammed into her, roiling hard and fast. With her tear-stained eyes, she thrust her cell at Royce and made fast tracks toward the igloo.

  Not an outright run, but a lifetime of Alaskan winters gave her sure-footed steps along the icy path. Fear propelled her, along with an untimely round of pregnancy sickness.

  Inside, she ripped off her parka on her way toward the bathroom, leaving a trail of gloves and boots behind as she—thank God—made it in time.

  After there was nothing left and her stomach settled, she leaned against the cream-colored wall, eyes closed. Naomi set her hands over her mouth, taking a few deep breaths before forcing her eyes open.

  Adjusting to the light, she blearily registered Royce in the doorway, concern in his eyes, in the way he crossed his arm. He moved toward her, sliding into the small space between her and the sink. Royce set her cell phone on the countertop, exchanging it for a washcloth. He ran the warm water, dampening it to put on her neck.

  He sat next to her, leaning against the door frame. “Food poisoning?”

  Weary and drained, she scrounged for the will to shrug off the question. But fear still snaked around her—fear for her father.

  Staving off panic, she took a deep breath. Exhaled. Then another until she realized this was the end of the road for her games and her plans to win over the reclusive scientist.

  The business just didn’t seem so important, considering what had happened to her father. She’d wanted stability and, instead, what she’d gotten from the universe was even more uncertainty. An attraction so big it frightened her. A man who didn’t trust her. Plans that came apart. And now her dad...

  She surrendered, spilling her last secret, one she hadn’t even told her family yet. “It’s not food poisoning. It’s pregnancy.”

  Six

  Stunned, Royce processed the twelve letters Naomi had spoken.

  A breath tumbled out of his nose as he scrubbed a hand over his windburned cheeks. Slowly, he looked around the small bathroom. Feeling like they needed more space than an efficient bathroom like this could provide. He blinked. Once. Twice.

  She buried her face back in her hands, collecting herself.

  As Naomi drew in deep, measured breaths, Royce wished he could find some of that ease for himself. He was reeling.

  His effort to view the situation from an objective—indeed distanced—lens proved more challenging than he cared to admit. So Royce did what came naturally. He cataloged the world around him, made sense of existing order and structures. The bright light in the stainless steel fixture drew his eyes up to the glinting white tile that surrounded them. Huge squares were arranged in a pattern on the walls, and on the cool ground beneath his fingertips.

  This was the only room in the studio igloo without a full skylight. Instead, the slanted roof was kissed with stripes of glass panes. He’d never noticed that the quality of natural sunshine had a dizzying effect.

  This mental exercise of grounding always left his mind refreshed, ready to tackle a difficult theoretical or mathematical problem.

  Hopefully, that would also extend to this particular situation. “You’re pregnant.”

  “Yes. Two months along. And I haven’t told anyone about the baby yet. I certainly wouldn’t have expected you to be the first I told.” She swallowed hard, something like pain twisting in her beautiful features.

  A gut punch rocked through him. She was pregnant? And the father? There was no ring on her finger and no hesitation in the way they’d slept together. Still, so many questions. He didn’t want to risk upsetting her and unsettling her. She looked so pale already.

  He would tread warily. In a softer voice, he began again, “Naomi.”

  “What?” Those dark eyes of hers, red rimmed, made her seem worn-out.

  How had he not noticed her fatigue before? “I’m worried about you.”

  “My doctor says I’m in perfect health. Morning sickness is normal and, yes, I’ve been dealt a shock too.”

>   Events from a lifetime ago scrolled through his mind. He recalled another time—when he was another person—with his former fiancée.

  Carrie Lynn had been so upset after her father’s funeral. The day after, she’d gotten in a car wreck on her way home from the grocery store and lost the baby. The cops had ruled it a no-fault accident, but she’d blamed herself, sunk into a depression and broken things off from him. He didn’t blame her for the accident, even for a second, but he did blame himself for not being there to help her more. If he’d been driving that day, things well could have turned out differently.

  Tamping down thoughts of the past to deal with the present, he took Naomi’s hands in his. “It’s not about your health. It’s about you being careful. For your child. You went barreling off into a blizzard by yourself. Anything could have happened.”

  She tugged her hand back, eyes narrowing. “I don’t answer to you.”

  So much for offering comfort. All he could do was nod. “Fair enough.”

  Silence passed between them. He glanced at the counter where he’d laid her phone. Reaching forward, he grabbed it and handed the device to her.

  A half smile of a thank-you. She looked down at the still-dark screen. Without looking up at him, and in a voice uncharacteristically small, she asked, “Did you read the texts?”

  “I assumed you meant for me to read them since you gave me the phone rather than stuffing it back into your coat pocket.”

  She clutched the device. “I should call my brother.”

  “Yes, you should, but I need to tell you, right after I read the messages, the storm picked up. The connection is down again.”

  Her face scrunched with frustration, her eyes blinking fast against pooling tears. His gut knotted and he wished like hell there was something more he could do for her. He reached for her and she held up her hands fast.

  “No, thank you though. I’m pretty sure if you hug me, I’ll fall apart. Nothing personal. If anyone were to offer me sympathy right now, I would lose it. Hormones, probably, because I am not the weepy sort.”