How ironic.
And how twisted if this became more than a temporary dream come true. She didn’t want a husband and child at the expense of Joe and Marisol. She needed to find her brother, no matter what.
Otherwise, she’d never feel right about living this life.
“Mack, why haven’t we heard from them?” she asked suddenly, setting down her coffee mug.
He looked up from his paper, obviously knowing exactly who she was referring to. “I bet they’ll be back any day now.”
“We thought that weeks ago. If they’re stranded out there, for real, they could…they could die, Mack.” She set the coffee pot down and faced him.
“Lauren—”
“We need to find them, to be sure they’re okay. You have planes and boats at your disposal.”
“So you’re asking me to organize a private search of the area where they disappeared?” At her enthusiastic nod, Mack stood up and took her hand. “Lauren, they already looked all over for them. They searched for days and found nothing and no one.”
“Look harder. Search farther. What if their boat got swept way out to sea?”
“It’s been weeks,” he reminded her. “If they’re not in hiding, and actually are lost at sea…they would’ve died of dehydration, starvation, or exposure by now.”
She gasped at his words.
“I’m sorry.” He winced as if he wished he could take back what he’d said. “I don’t mean to be harsh. But you should know the reality of the situation.”
“My brother is amazing in an emergency. He once saved me when I almost died choking on a hot dog, and we were only twelve. There’s always a chance.” Seeing Mack’s face, she changed her tactic. “Do this for me then, if not because you think it will help them. Maybe they are fine, holed up in a safe house somewhere while we imagine them shipwrecked somewhere. Maybe they don’t need your help, but I do. I need you to find them for my peace of mind.”
“A land and sea search,” he repeated, gazing at some fixed point in the distance, as if he were finally thinking about the logistics of it.
“Yes.”
“To do it properly, it will cost a fortune.”
She smiled. “Good thing you have a fortune.”
His lip curled up at her attempt at humor. The one crooked incisor stood out amongst his other perfectly straight white teeth. “For you, then. I’ll fund a search, and we’ll find them. We’ll figure out where the current might have carried them, and we’ll start looking there.”
“Thank you,” she said, throwing her arms around his neck. “Thank you for understanding how much I need this.”
…
Mack looked down at Lauren and pulled her in tight, wrapping his arms around her waist. It hadn’t taken him long for him to cave on what he knew was a bad idea. He was positive Joe and Marisol were in hiding, and didn’t want to be found. If Joe had gone through all that trouble to disappear and fake his own death, Mack was royally screwing him over by looking for him now.
But even if he found them, it would be okay, since Scorino was in jail, right? So what could the harm be in searching for them? Because if they really were still out there on that yacht…they were in trouble. Even an expert yachtsman like Joe would eventually perish if left on the open water for too long. And if they were in hiding, maybe they weren’t aware Scorino was locked up and it was safe to return.
He sighed. “I’ll make some calls right now.”
It hurt that Lauren seemed so desperate to leave him, but then what did he expect? He’d coerced her into the marriage in the first place. And from what he’d seen of her, she was as self-sufficient as her mother had been, able to completely take care of herself without help from anyone. Certainly without help from him.
If she didn’t need him, there was nothing stopping her from leaving him, just like his mother had left his father so many years ago. He’d spent the past few weeks trying to forget how soon their relationship would be coming to an end. Trying to enjoy the moment for what it was, instead of worrying about how fleeting it would be.
He picked up his cell and scrolled through his contacts so he could get a search party organized. If this is what she wanted, then it was the least he could do.
…
The following week, Lauren felt energized again, excited. She whirled through the daycare center, checking on everyone and everything. Iris was doing a great job with Callie, leaving Lauren the time she needed to think about the search going on so many miles from Manhattan.
She checked her phone every twenty minutes or so, worried she’d somehow missed a call from Mack. Worried she’d missed The Call—that everything was all right, and her brother was okay and coming home. She couldn’t help it. Now that she knew something was actually being done to find Joe and Marisol, she couldn’t help but get her hopes up.
On her lunch break, she swung by where Callie sat on the floor, shaking a rattle with great enthusiasm.
“You need some tummy time, princess,” she said, helping Callie lay on her stomach so she could learn to strengthen her neck muscles.
“You heard your Auntie,” Iris said to Callie when she mewed with annoyance for being put on her belly.
Lauren’s cell phone rang. My cell phone. Rang.
Her stomach turned upside down as she reached into her suit jacket pocket and pulled it out. Mack! What if this was it? What if they’d found Joe and Marisol…or what if they found their bodies instead?
No. He was her twin, if anything bad had happened, she’d feel it in her gut.
Taking a calming breath, she answered the call. “Did you hear anything?” she asked without preamble.
“Hello to you, too.”
“What did they find? Anything?”
Mack sighed. “Last update I got was this morning, and I called you right after I hung up the phone—just as I promised I would.”
Disappointment settled her fluttering stomach. The update that morning had been that they’d found nothing at all by air or sea, hardly anything to get excited about. And in this case, no news wasn’t really good news.
“It’s not over yet,” Mack promised. “I’m paying them well, so they’ll keep looking and they’ll expand their search perimeter.”
“Okay. Thank you.”
His next words got cut off by another call coming in on his line. “It’s the boat captain,” he said, the surprise evident in his voice.
“Take the call!”
“I’ll call you right back.”
She hung up, her pulse racing. The baby lay happily on her tummy, staring at the design on the rubber mat beneath her. It was so strange to know that the little girl’s future lay in the information being imparted to Mack at that very moment.
The minutes passed so slowly, possibly because Lauren couldn’t tear her eyes off her watch. The second hand seemed to move at a snail’s pace. When the phone rang again, Lauren realized her hands were shaking with anticipation.
“Tell me,” she said. Her voice sounded calm even as she could barely hold her hands still.
“They found a life vest floating in the ocean, caught on a piece of drift wood.”
“What does that mean?”
“It’s not good news, Lauren, I’m sorry. While we don’t know for certain that the life vest belonged to Joe and Marisol, it’s near the area they disappeared. The captain wonders if that means they were…in the water.”
Tears filled her eyes. “It means nothing,” she whispered. “They need to keep looking. I’ll take out a loan and pay for it myself if I have to.”
“You’ll do no such thing,” Mack said indignantly. “I don’t care how much the search costs, if it will give you peace of mind.”
“Thank you,” she whispered, all of the fight drained out of her. “Their boat is out there somewhere. That’s what I want to find.”
“Me too. And that’s what I told the captain.”
Lauren hung up and gave Callie a kiss before going back to her office. The fact tha
t Mack was willingly spending this much money to ease her mind really said a lot about him as a person. He was much more compassionate than she’d given him credit for.
She couldn’t think of her brother in those cold ocean waters, clinging to a piece of drift wood, wearing a life vest, until the waves finally took him. She refused to imagine a shark tearing his body away from his life vest, leaving only the bright orange material floating in the water.
No. She wouldn’t think about that. Until she got conclusive evidence to the contrary, she’d go on assuming that Joe and Marisol were okay. Missing, but okay.
And if that was the case, then she knew eventually the rescuers would find them. Please God. Of course, then her short-lived marriage would be over. She’d lose her instant family—she’d lose Mack.
As difficult as it was to juggle work with being a wife and mother, she’d grown attached to her fake-husband and sort-of-baby. But all she wanted was for Joe and Marisol to be okay and to come home. Did that mean she wasn’t as attached to Mack and Callie as she thought? Did it mean she was willing—no, hoping—to be set free from the circumstances thrust upon her?
That must be how it looked to Mack, and yet he was still happy to fund the search. He didn’t seem to mind that finding Joe and Marisol meant the end of the marriage. And if he didn’t mind, why should she? Did she really want to stay married—forever—to a man who didn’t love her?
There was simply no way to have it all. When Joe and Marisol were found, they’d come home and she’d lose Mack. I never wanted to get attached to Mack in the first place. So it shouldn’t be a big deal.
But it was.
Chapter Ten
Mack sat in the lushly appointed restaurant near Central Park West and stared at the white linen tablecloth beneath his wineglass. His father was late, as always. How the man had become so successful as a businessman, despite his complete disregard for punctuality, was beyond him.
“Are you ready to order, sir?” the waitress asked, refilling his water glass.
“I’m still waiting on someone,” Mack said, looking toward the front door. “Two someones, actually. My wife won’t be here for another half hour or so, but my father should be here shortly. In the meantime…I could go for another glass of Merlot.”
His father waltzed in at that moment, guided to the table by the hostess. Mack saw him slip a tip in the hostess’s hand. Knowing his dad, the folded bill probably had his private number written on it.
Stephen Hansen had been a shameless flirt for as long as Mack could remember. It didn’t surprise anyone when his mom had left him and he had immediately gone back into the dating scene. He had done well for himself—a good looking, silver-haired man with a year-round tan, thanks to his snowbird lifestyle. The wealth his hard work had acquired attracted a lot of dates. Women half his age adorned his arm at every family reunion, much to Mack’s mother’s chagrin.
Mack used to be impressed that his father had a different hottie for every occasion, but now the fact struck him as a problem, not something to aspire to. Why had each relationship failed? Was his father even having real “relationships,” or was it just about a quick fling?
“Hi Dad,” he said, standing and giving his dad a handshake that ended in a hug and pat on the back. “Good to see you.”
“Where is she?” his father asked, looking around the restaurant.
Damn. He hadn’t told his father why they were meeting for dinner, but it seemed he’d already gotten his information. At least he’d have some time to warm him up to the idea before Lauren finished up with work and met them.
“I heard you eloped,” his father said abruptly. “Tell me that’s not true.” His gaze fell on Mack’s left hand, where the platinum ring shone brightly. “Damn it, Mack.”
“It’s not what you think,” Mack said, already feeling on the defensive as they sat down. The waitress came back and they ordered their entrees since Lauren told him she’d already have eaten by the time she got to the restaurant.
“I thought you were smarter than that.” His dad stabbed butter onto his roll, pausing to chew before continuing. “Getting married was a rookie move, son. Didn’t I teach you anything?”
“I had no choice,” Mack said. “When Joe went missing it was the only way I could keep his daughter out of the foster system.”
His father’s jaw tightened. “Please tell me you didn’t bring an innocent child into this debacle.”
“I had no choice,” Mack repeated.
“You had every choice in the world. You could have let someone qualified to parent a child raise Joe’s kid. You didn’t have to get married. You chose to. It was your choice, not something fate handed you.”
Mack could see the truth in his father’s words. He’d been a happy bachelor with zero intention of settling down. Why had he chosen to take on a wife and child? Yes, he had wanted to help his best friend. Yes, he loved that baby girl.
But there was something about Lauren Peters that had made him want to rise to the challenge. If it had been any other woman in the deal, it would have been a no-go. But for Lauren? He’d practically jumped at the chance.
His father cocked his head to the side and glared at him. “What do you even know about Joe’s sister, anyway? She could take you for all your money. Demand alimony. You’ve gotten yourself legally bound to someone for the rest of your life, without even consulting me first.”
“If I’d consulted you first, you would have talked me out of it. Which is why you were not consulted. Besides, you’ve met Lauren. She’s not like that.”
“I’ve talked to her briefly, at parties over the years, just like you. As far as I’m concerned, she’s a stranger, albeit a stranger who’s related to your business partner.”
Mack took a sip of his Merlot. It tasted too good to be wasted on him right now, when he was so worked up he could barely focus on his dinner.
The waitress brought their steaks, cooked exactly the way he liked it. Mack sliced a thin piece, admiring the pink center and the pan-seared perfection. Perhaps he could focus on dinner, after all. He hadn’t eaten steak in ages in an attempt to keep his arteries healthy. Poultry, fish—and as many different varieties of vegetables as he could handle—made up his diet. Usually.
“Please tell me you at least had her sign a prenup,” his father said.
“Yes. Of course I did. Everything’s in place for when we split.”
His words made his father pause with his fork half-way to his mouth. “Things going downhill already? You’ve only been married for a couple months and you already have plans to split up?”
“Yeah, we really only married to satisfy the terms of the will,” Mack explained. “We’ll probably get legally separated—” when Joe comes back, he almost said. But as far as his father knew, Joe was gone forever. “Um, and have joint custody of Callie, like how you did with me and Sam.”
Mentioning his brother was probably not the smartest move, since he and his father weren’t on good terms because of some argument they’d gotten into years ago. It was a pity, really, since they were so similar Mack had always figured they should get along perfectly.
Sam had followed in his father’s footsteps, becoming wildly successful only to live his life frivolously, dating women like it was going out of style. Funny, how that lifestyle had never seemed like a waste before.
Before Lauren.
Now that Mack had a taste of what having a family could feel like, he wondered how he’d ever go back to his old lifestyle. No other woman even held a candle to Lauren. If he attempted to date other women he’d probably spend the whole evening comparing them to her.
“I’m sorry,” his father said, setting down his fork. “Do you have some sort of happy memory of joint custody that I’m not aware of? It was terrible, having to give you kids up, on top of losing your mom.”
Wait. What?
“I thought you were happy with how it worked out. You always said marriage wasn’t good for any man.”
&nb
sp; “That’s what I told myself,” his dad said with a wry smile. “To stay sane. In reality, when your mom left, I was a mess. And then I only got to see you and Sam every other weekend. I missed out on so much…all the important milestones. I had to hear about them secondhand.”
His father had never told him that before. Apparently, Mack’s sudden marriage and talk of divorce and joint custody had pried those words from his dad’s mouth. It put everything into a new perspective. Being with Lauren these past couple of months had planted the seed—the idea that maybe committing to a woman wasn’t the worst thing in the world. His dad’s words were like water on those seeds, helping the idea take root. Mack had already begun to realize he might not be as happy as he’d hoped when it was time for his marriage to dissolve.
“It’s not your fault, Dad. Mom left you.”
His dad shook his head. “I should’ve changed her mind. I could have, if I wasn’t so stubborn, I suppose. I let her go, and it was the worst mistake I ever made.”
Usually Mack’s father acted like he’d been in a living hell being married, and that his carefree bachelor life was the way to go. Now the truth was creeping out.
“You said I shouldn’t have gotten married. Are you saying you changed your mind?”
“Hell no,” his father said gruffly. “I’m saying if you know what’s good for you, you won’t let that woman under your skin like I did with your mom. If I hadn’t fallen in love with her, it wouldn’t have mattered when she left.”
Mack sipped his wine to avoid responding. He’d done so many things that would only end up with the unfortunate consequence of him falling for Lauren, if he wasn’t careful. Already he found himself overwhelmed by how incredible she was. She inspired him to be so much more than he thought he could be.
She’d told him he was a good dad. A natural father. He had only ever cared about business before. But now…he didn’t have to be that way. He could be more—be a husband, be a dad. It was something that would never have entered his mind as a realistic possibility, if not for Lauren.
“Maybe,” his father suggested, “you don’t have to be married much longer. Just adopt the baby, make it official, and then—bam. You can get out of it.”
The Tycoon's Convenient Bride... and Baby (Entangled Indulgence) Page 10
