The Reluctant Heiress

by Sara Orwig

  “Why?” he asked, his eyes widening. “There’s no earthly reason for you to be nervous.”

  “I suppose it’s another carryover from childhood. My father also intimidated me. If and when he paid any attention to me, he would fire questions at me about how I was doing in school. I never seemed to give him the right answer.”

  A faint smile played on Garrett’s face. “Argus Delaney could be intimidating. I know what you’re talking about—I was grilled in the same manner. ‘What are your grades this semester, Garrett? Why did you just make a 98 on a test instead of a perfect score? Your dad tells me you don’t want to take a third year of Latin. Why not?’” Garrett said, imitating her father in what seemed an accurate portrayal. She had to smile.

  “You sound the way I remember him. Didn’t your dad work for him?”

  “Oh, yes. So why did Argus quiz me about grades? He took an interest in my dad, therefore he took an interest in my life. My dad was happy to have Argus on my case as well as himself, so I was caught between the two of them, which I viewed as totally unfair. My dad never quizzed Will or gave him a hard time and I resented Argus for working me over when I wasn’t his son.”

  “That sounds like him,” she said, finding it difficult to imagine the commanding, decisive man seated by her as a boy who was intimidated by the same man she had been. “Was he hard on his sons?”

  “Yes. If he was around. Frankly, a good deal of the years they were young, he probably ignored them as much as he did you. They went to boarding schools and Argus traveled.”

  “Yes, to see us,” she said bitterly.

  “Usually, Argus wasn’t a lovable man—an exception was your mother. Maybe with women he was lovable, but in his other relationships, I doubt it. Intimidating, domineering, he got people to do what he wanted them to do.”

  “Are any of his sons like him in that manner? If so, it would have been better to bring my attorney to this meeting.”

  “I don’t see it, but I’ve grown up knowing all of them. Will is my age, Zach and Ryan are younger. Will is as kind as can be with Caroline. She had a lot of problems after her father died. She shut herself off in her own world. She wouldn’t talk to anyone. Will tried everything he could think of—doctors, counselors, tutors. Finally, he found a teacher who got through to Caroline and she opened up and became the child she was when her father was alive. Then Will married the teacher.”

  “Caroline looked like a happy little girl in the picture you showed me.”

  “She is now.”

  “I suppose I expected all three sons to be like Argus and my reaction to them to be the same. And I wasn’t looking forward to encountering three carbon copies of my father.”

  “You won’t, I can promise. The Delaney brothers are charming and delighted to meet you. They’ll be as nice as they can be to you.”

  “My mother always said my father could be charming. I never saw that side to him.”

  “You’ll see it in Will and that’s what his dad was when he wanted to be. Frankly, I never found Argus to be charming. I was raised to call him Uncle Argus. I was quite delighted to learn that he was not my true uncle and that that was merely a title of respect. I didn’t want to be related to him, probably any more than you.”

  “You surprise me. I wouldn’t have guessed. If I had known that from the first—”

  She broke off, remembering she had had no clue that Garrett had known her father, and that Garrett had had no intention of telling her.

  “Do you understand yet why I did what I did?” he asked quietly.

  “I suppose I do, because I wouldn’t have seen you if you had told me you were sent by my half brothers,” she said, looking into his gray eyes and trying to ignore the current of desire that simmered steadily. In spite of the division between them, she found him as appealing and sexy as ever. She had missed him and didn’t want to look too intently at how strong her feelings ran for him. She was forgiving him easily, the same way her mother had always excused Argus and forgiven him. She was falling into the same trap her mother had, doing everything her mother had done—having an affair, forgiving the man, losing her heart to him no matter how he treated her. A chill ran down her spine. She was doing all the same things. Would she end up in the same situation as her mother—or worse?

  He leaned close and she felt as if she were drowning in depths of misty gray. His fingers brushed her cheek. Tingles spun outward from the contact while she felt consumed in his direct study. She wondered whether he could hear her drumming pulse.

  “Do you forgive me, Sophia?”

  Her heart lurched. How easy it would be to say yes and go back to where they were before, but she couldn’t do it. “Maybe. It isn’t quite the same yet. That hurt, Garrett.” The words came out sounding more sharp than she intended. Yearning showed in the depths of his eyes, stirring too many vivid memories.

  Watching her, he slowly leaned closer. She couldn’t get her breath. Her lips parted and her heart thudded. Garrett’s gaze drifted down to her mouth, heightening her longing. He had to hear her heart pounding. He placed one hand on her knee and his other hand went behind her head to hold her as he continued to lean closer.

  She could back off, tell him no, move away, refuse him. Instead, she leaned forward and closed her eyes.

  His mouth covered hers, opening hers wider to give him access. He pulled her closer while her heart slammed against her ribs. Blazing with a need for so much more of him, she couldn’t help but kiss him in return.

  “When we get off this plane—” he whispered.

  She shook her head. “I didn’t intend for that to happen,” she said. “Slow down. You’re still going too fast.”

  “I missed you,” he said. “Stay over longer to go out with me, even if it’s only one evening.”

  She inhaled deeply, knowing she shouldn’t while at the same time wanting to more than anything else.

  “Sophia, I did what I had to. And it will give you an inheritance worth several billion dollars. That’s not the same as deceiving you to hurt you. If you go through with this, you’ll give the Delaney brothers what they want and set up money for Caroline so she will never have a worry. You saw the charities and how much they’ve given. So this is different—vastly different from deceiving you to do something underhanded or hurtful. I know you can see the difference whether you admit it or not.”

  “All right, Garrett, I can. It doesn’t stop me from feeling deceived, or feeling my trust in you has been betrayed.”

  Her gaze lowered again to his mouth and she thought of his kisses. Her heart started pounding once more. She wanted to kiss him while at the same time she didn’t want to see him again—it was confusing, overwhelming. With a deep breath, she leaned back.

  “Garrett, we better stop this and get on a less personal note for now.”

  “I know what I want, Sophia. I want you in my arms and I want to make love to you again,” he stated in a husky voice that made her shiver with anticipation. His gray eyes conveyed his desire, holding her mesmerized as he could so easily do. “We will make love again.”

  “You’re so confident,” she said.

  He unbuckled his seat belt to lean forward and kiss her again, a hard, possessive kiss that made her heart pound until she longed to be alone with him. She ran her hands across his broad shoulders while she moaned softly.

  He stopped abruptly and she opened her eyes to find him watching her with desire and satisfaction both clearly in his expression.

  “I’m going to love you, Sophia. We’ll finish what we’ve started.”

  She looked away, thinking about all that had happened between them. He was buckled back into his seat when she turned back. “Garrett, nothing has changed about my feelings concerning an affair and you have clearly convinced me you will not consider marriage for years. I don’t want a casual affair. We had a night of passion. That’s all. I will not get into a relationship like my mother had. You may have forgotten what I told you.”

  �
��I haven’t forgotten,” he said.

  She looked outside again, her emotions stormy. She wanted him, wanted his loving, wanted to make love with him in every way, yet she still harbored anger over what he had done. She wondered if he thought her turnaround about the Delaneys meant she had changed her attitude about an affair with him, but she had not.

  “How is the painting going?” he asked as if they had been separated months instead of days.

  “I’m as busy as ever,” she said. “How’s the furniture?”

  He smiled. “I’ve started a chair. Building something relieves tension. I’m enjoying the paintings I bought. They remind me of you.”

  “I’m glad. When I return home, I’m going to Santa Fe.” He nodded. After a moment of silence, she said, “I told Edgar about this meeting and he was pleased. He agrees with you about this whole thing and he has my best interests at heart.”

  “I know he does.”

  “He’s sort of a tie with my mom even though she’s gone. Edgar is the father I wished I’d had in some ways.”

  “Remember, Sophia, this meeting isn’t about Argus. It’s about you and your brothers and the future.”

  “I’ve studied the Delaneys’ pictures so I’ll know which one is which.”

  “You won’t have any difficulty with that. You’ll know Will at once.”

  “Tell me about them again, please.”

  “With Adam gone, Will is the oldest surviving brother. He’s always acted the oldest anyway. He’s a decisive, take-charge person. Zach is forthright, practical, but at the same time, he’s a renegade, the wanderer who never settles. Ryan is the youngest, outgoing, enthusiastic, an optimist, a cowboy at heart.”

  “They don’t sound formidable when you talk about them. I’m so nervous about this, Garrett.”

  “Don’t be. They’re nice guys and they’re going to like you. They’re still in shock to discover a half sister.”

  “How could he have kept my mother and me from them all these years? Especially after they were grown.”

  “I don’t think any of them were keenly interested in where he spent all his time as long as he stayed out of their lives and wasn’t meddling. He’s one of the reasons all of them have been so leery of marriage. The divorce was ugly. They fought and it upset his sons. Later, Adam married and she walked out early on. She was a party person. She wasn’t interested in Caroline. It helped build a strong case against marriage.”

  “You said all that has had an influence on you.”

  “I guess it has. People change, though. Will fell in love and married, and he seems happier than I’ve ever seen him. Ava is great and so good with Caroline.”

  The pilot announced the descent into Love Field in Dallas. Sophia couldn’t keep her nerves calm. Three half brothers she had never met. Argus’s family. Garrett had been reassuring, but they were still Delaneys. Too clearly she could remember cold snubs or cutting remarks from her father.

  Chilled, dreading the meeting in spite of Garrett’s reassurances, she looked at Dallas spread out below. The sprawling city had long gray ribbons of freeways cutting through town. The aqua backyard pools were bright jewels set in green. Garrett’s home was down there. All the Delaneys were there, waiting to meet her.

  She was quiet on the ride to Garrett’s home even though he kept up a cheerful running conversation. She suspected he was trying to put her at ease and he was succeeding to a certain extent.

  As in Houston, they passed through a gated area and a gatekeeper waved. They wound up a long drive surrounded by oaks. When the mansion came into view, she was startled by his colossal home. “You’re in a palace here,” she said. “This is far more palatial than your Houston home.”

  “I spend a lot more time here,” he said. “I’m in Houston only occasionally. This is where I call home.”

  “It’s magnificent,” she said, her gaze roaming over tile roofs above a mansion that had wings spreading on both sides and angling around out of her sight. A formal pond with three tiered fountains was flanked by tall oaks. “This is beautiful, Garrett. Far too fancy for my paintings here.”

  “Oh, no. I already have one of your paintings hanging here.”

  “When did you do that?”

  “Earlier this week when I came back from Houston.”

  “You’ve been back here? Where were you when I called you to tell you that I would talk to the Delaneys?” she asked, realizing for the first time that he might have flown from Dallas to get her.

  “I was in Dallas,” he replied with a faint smile.

  “Why didn’t you tell me? I could have flown to Dallas by myself.”

  “This was infinitely more fun. I wanted to see you again and be with you.” He picked up her hand to run his thumb over her knuckles. “I wanted to kiss you and hold you again. I was more than happy to fly to Houston and ride back with you.”

  “Thank you,” she said, smiling and shaking her head. “When I called your cell phone, I never thought about you being in Dallas.”

  “I know you didn’t and that’s fine,” he said as he parked at the front door. “Leave your bag. I’ll get someone to bring it in,” he said as he climbed out and came around.

  At the top of wide steps they crossed a porch with a huge crystal-and-brass light hanging overhead. One of the massive twelve-foot double doors opened before they reached it and a man stepped out, smiling as he greeted them.

  “Sophia, this is Roger, who has worked for my family for over thirty years now. Roger, this is Miss Delaney. She has a bag in the car.”

  “Yes, sir. Welcome to the house, Miss Delaney,” he said.

  “Thank you,” Sophia replied as she entered a wide hallway with a staircase winding to the second floor and a twenty-foot ceiling.

  “Garrett, Roger is older,” she said. “I can get my bag or you can—”

  “Forget it, Sophia. Roger works out every day. I’ve played tennis with him since I was a kid and I still can’t beat him. If you saw him lift weights, you wouldn’t be concerned. He worked for my folks and now he works for me. Actually, he’s more like a relative to me than an employee. I grew up knowing him, which makes the relationship different from just employer and employee.”

  “That’s nice, Garrett,” she said, seeing another facet to Garrett in his relationships with the people in his life.

  “I’ll show you your room so you can change for dinner,” he said while they climbed the stairs to the second floor and walked down a wide hall. They entered another wing. He continued, finally motioning toward an open door. She entered a beautiful suite with ornate fruitwood furniture.

  “I hope I can find my way back where we came from.”

  “You will, and my room is down the hall. I won’t let you get lost.”

  “Do you really live here alone?”

  “On this floor. Roger has a large suite of rooms on the third floor. So does my chef, Larrier. There are two more suites where Andrea and Dena live. They’re in charge of the cleaning crew. They have another entrance to that wing and we can all avoid getting in each other’s way. There’s an elevator farther along the main hall. I have a finished attic above the third level where luggage and various items are stored. I can give you a tour tomorrow.”

  She laughed. “Show me your studio and your furniture, but skip the tour. This place is far too big.”

  “Is there anything you need?”

  “No, thank you.”

  He crossed the room to her to untie the ribbon holding her hair. She shook her head and her hair swung over her shoulders. Her pulse drummed now that she stood so close to him. She looked up at him, reminded again of how tall he was.

  “Garrett, I can’t keep from being nervous about this. The whole thing seems weird. I was six when my father divorced their mother. If he had married my mother then, as she wanted him to, I would have suddenly had four brothers. I would have grown up with them. Now I’m finally going to meet them. Suppose they don’t like me?”

  “They’re goi
ng to love you. Are you kidding? Sophia, you’re the key to them each inheriting four billion dollars. That will make them love anything you do.”

  “When you put it that way, it sounds ridiculous for me to worry. Also, it sounds as if money is the most important thing in their lives.”

  “It’s not, I promise you. But what is this? You are so cool and poised in the art world and you’re falling apart here?”

  “This is entirely different. I’ve never had a close family except Mom. To suddenly know I’ll be face-to-face with half brothers gives me the jitters.”

  “You can relax. Forget your father. His sons are very nice guys. Ava is wonderful and Caroline is a little doll. The Delaneys are blood relatives, Sophia. You’ll find they’re like you.”

  She inhaled deeply as she gazed into Garrett’s eyes. His words reassured her, but now that Garrett stood close and rested one hand casually on her shoulder, her attention shifted to him and she forgot her concerns about the Delaneys. Her nervousness vanished, replaced by awareness of Garrett and growing desire.

  “Thanks for coming to get me and for sticking with me tonight.”

  “I missed you,” he said solemnly and she could only nod. He slipped his hand in his pocket and picked up her wrist, turning her palm up. He placed the gold bracelet in her hand. “I want you to have this. Will you take it back?”

  She looked down at the fine filigree gold in her hand before closing her fingers over it and looking back up at him. Her answer would mean forgiveness. She hesitated another second, knowing the path she was taking.

  “Yes, I want it. Thank you, Garrett,” she said. She was letting him back in her life and that would cause a whole different set of problems.

  He slid his arm around her waist and pulled her to him as he leaned down to kiss her.

  The instant his mouth touched hers, passion burst into flames. It was as if they had never been apart or had any angry words between them. Wrapping her arms around him, she clung tightly, kissing him with a fierce hunger.

  While her heart pounded, she lost awareness of anything except Garrett, wanting him with all her being, holding him as if she feared losing him again. She let go of her anger and let her pent-up longing surface.