The Tycoon's Marriage Bid

by ALLISON LEIGH,

  Nikki dumped into a box an armload of clothing that she’d be lucky to ever fit into again. ‘I’m pregnant and unemployed. Should I just sit around here gestating until my town house is foreclosed on?

  No. It’s better to get the thing on the market. Sell it before I lose it. Hope’s old house in Weaver is still empty. I’ll look for a job there. I’ll stay there until I can afford another place of my own.’

  Belle sighed, clearly unhappy about the entire matter.

  Nikki didn’t care.

  She needed to get out of Cheyenne, as far away from Alex as she could get.

  She flipped the box closed and slapped packing tape over it, then moved on to the next drawer. She’d have to send Belle out to buy some more boxes before the morning was over. She’d only had a few in her closets, tidily saved from when she’d moved into the town house.

  Too bad the boxes had Huffington Sports Clinic emblazoned on the sides.

  She pushed herself to her feet and yanked down the hem of her shirt over her unfastened jeans.

  She was back to her own clothes. Accepting her mother’s offer of a shopping spree would be far, far easier than wearing Alex’s jeans again.

  Annoyed with her own thoughts, she flipped on the radio, turning the music up loud. If it was loud enough, would the voice in her head they never are, they never are be drowned out?

  She went into the bathroom. Alex’s gold cuff links sat on the edge of the sink. She picked them up, weighing the simple round discs in the palm of her hand. Alex was the only man she knew whose shirts even everyday ones required cuff links.

  She abruptly set them down on the counter and snatched open a drawer, gathering up the contents.

  Brushes. Combs. Cosmetics. She dumped it all in the tote bag she dragged from beneath the sink, and then yanked the towels off the towel bar, only to realize she needed another box.

  She left the towels heaped in the sink.

  There was nothing neat and orderly about her packing, and she didn’t care.

  ‘Here.’ Belle came into the bedroom, her hand extended. ‘Your cell phone was in the kitchen garbage. It was ringing. Otherwise I wouldn’t have noticed before I took the bag out to the Dumpster.’

  She should have turned it off before she’d pitched it. ‘I don’t need it.’ After another month, she wouldn’t be able to afford the monthly payment on it, anyway.

  Belle looked a trifle impatient. ‘You’re not throwing away a perfectly good cell phone just because you don’t want to talk to Alex. For all you know, it could have been Mom calling you.’

  Nikki pushed a button, displaying the missed calls. Alex. Six times. ‘Mom has not called,’ she said flatly. ‘She’s back at the Double-C, thinking that her grandchild isn’t going to be born out of wedlock, after all.’

  Nikki turned off the phone and tossed it on the bare mattress.

  Which only reminded her of the bedding that was still in her washing machine.

  ‘Mom is not worried about that.’

  That was true. Gloria didn’t operate that way, and Nikki felt childish for even having the thought.

  Belle picked up the suitcase Nikki had used for her trip, and set it on the bed, flipping back the top.

  ‘Are these clothes clean or not? If they are, I can probably fit another drawerful of clothes in here. Save on a box.’

  Nikki reached over and plucked a familiar gray sweater out. Alex’s. ‘They’re clean,’ she said, and damned the fact that her voice was raw again. His cuff links and his sweater. She’d have to send them to him or something.

  Though he would probably never even miss them.

  A wave of tiredness sucked at her and she sat down on the side of the bed. It was considerably firmer than the round bed at the cabin.

  The loud radio music morphed into chatter between two deejays. A commercial for the charity Valentine’s Day ball sponsored by Huffington Sports Clinic followed.

  Nikki blinked rapidly.

  Belle rubbed her shoulder. ‘Maybe you should talk to him.’

  Nikki shook her head. She’d managed to convey the entire story to her twin the night before, after she’d exhausted one round of tears. ‘What for?’

  ‘Give him a chance to explain.’

  ‘There’s nothing to explain.’

  The deejays picked up their noisy chatter again. Belle sighed a little and leaned over to turn down the noise, but her hand paused when they both heard Alex’s name mentioned.

  ‘ lot of excitement at Huffington yesterday, and all of us here at K-country are sending Alex Reed our best thoughts.’

  Belle looked at Nikki, her eyebrows lifting. ‘What’s that supposed to mean?’

  ‘Shh.’

  ‘According to the hospital spokesman, cards and flowers should be sent to Huffington Sports Clinic.

  Again, that address is’

  Nikki shot to her feet. Belle was only a step behind her. ‘I’m driving,’ her sister said.

  They had to stop at the information desk inside the hospital doors. ‘Alex Reed’s room?’

  The white-haired woman manning the desk consulted her computer. ‘He’s not allowed visitors.’

  The anxious stone inside Nikki’s stomach grew to a rock that steadily sank toward the ground. Belle grabbed her by the waist. ‘This is Mr. Reed’s fiancée,’ she said firmly. ‘What room?’

  The woman eyed Nikki’s obviously pregnant person. ‘Third floor,’ she finally said. ‘Intensive Care.’

  Nikki’s legs nearly dissolved. ‘I knew something like this would happen.’

  Belle’s grip tightened on her waist. ‘What? The elevator’s over there. Come on.’

  ‘It’s Cody all over again.’

  Belle didn’t stop moving. ‘This is not Cody,’ she said firmly. She jabbed the call button for the elevator.

  ‘Alex was right when he said I was afraid.’ She stared at the elevator doors. They were dark bronze.

  Slightly reflective.

  ‘You’ve never been afraid of anything,’ Belle chided softly.

  ‘I lose every man I love,’ she whispered. ‘Dad. Cody.’

  ‘Alex?’

  The voice that spoke was deep. Familiar.

  Her eyes burned. She stared at the third form that joined their reflections, and felt the blood drain out of her head.

  ‘Well, you’re clearly not in ICU.’ Belle was the first to break the silence as they turned to see Alex standing behind them.

  ‘My father,’ he said, his gaze steady on Nikki’s face. ‘He had a heart attack yesterday afternoon. In my office.’

  Nikki swayed. Both Alex and Belle grabbed for her and she stiffened her knees. ‘I’m okay. How is he?’

  Belle released her.

  Alex did not. ‘He’s holding his own. I’ve been trying to reach you. I was worried.’

  ‘I’m, uh, just going to go explore the gift shop. Or something. Anything,’ Belle murmured.

  Nikki wanted to call her back, but her sister had already escaped across the corridor into the little gift shop. Nikki was left there with Alex.

  Who looked terrible. For the first time ever, he seemed older than his years.

  But despite his appearance, she couldn’t help the relief that was flooding through her.

  ‘I would have come after you if he hadn’t collapsed. I would have explained.’

  There was no pretending she didn’t know what he referred to. ‘It doesn’t matter.’

  ‘Yes, it does.’ He cut off an oath when the elevator slid open behind them and a half-dozen people stepped out. ‘We can’t talk here.’

  ‘We don’t have to talk anywhere.’ He was okay. She was desperately grateful for that.

  ‘Yes, we do.’ As if he had every right, he pushed open a door to a smoked-glass conference room and nudged her inside. ‘Sit.’

  She didn’t want to sit. Assured of Alex’s well-being, she just wanted to run. ‘Valerie was pregnant with Hunter’s baby, too, wasn’t she.’

  ‘Yes. D
o you love me? Is that what you were going to say out there? You lost your dad. And Cody.

  And me?’

  She had to press her lips together for a moment to keep some semblance of composure. She was trembling. ‘How did your father know about me?’

  ‘Where do you think Hunt got the money for that check he evidently gave you? And, no, I did not know about the check until my father brought up the subject in my office yesterday.’

  ‘He also said you can’t have children.’

  ‘Can’t and haven’t are two different things. He thinks I can’t because I had the mumps when I was young. I haven’t because I had a vasectomy.’

  She swallowed. ‘A vasectomy?’

  ‘I told you, I didn’t particularly think I’d be a good parent. I would have told you.’

  ‘And I’m supposed to believe that?’

  ‘You didn’t want to tell me about Hunt,’ he reminded her flatly. ‘I made a mistake, okay? This is new territory for me.’

  ‘There’s nothing new about this,’ Nikki countered painfully. ‘This is just a repeat of Valerie.’

  ‘I hope to hell it isn’t. She lost her baby, remember?’

  Nikki’s arm swept over her belly, protectively. ‘That’s not what I meant.’

  ‘Despite the fact that I was disgusted with both Valerie and Hunter, I married her because I didn’t want her going off the deep end. Hunt was married. He had no intention of leaving his wife for Valerie.

  She wasn’t like you, Nik. She wasn’t strong. Hell, she wasn’t capable of getting through a hangnail without help from a drink, much less having a baby. I cared about her as much as I cared about anyone, but I was never in love with her, and when we split, it was a relief to us both. And I’m not going to let you use this as an excuse!’

  Her jaw loosened. ‘An excuse for what?’

  ‘Pushing me away because you’re afraid. I heard you, Nik. I heard what you told Belle. But I am not going anywhere.’

  She swallowed. The need to sit in one of the thickly padded swivel chairs around the small table was strong. ‘You lied to me,’ she said, once she was sure her voice wouldn’t crack. ‘And you told me you’d never lie to me.’

  ‘A lie by omission only. I would have told you.’

  ‘When?’

  ‘Maybe after I adjusted to the fact that I’d fallen in love for the first damn time in my life with a woman who’d made it plain she did not love me!’

  Her knees gave up.

  She sat.

  Hope, where she hadn’t expected any, bloomed warm and fierce inside her.

  ‘I never said I didn’t love you.’ Her voice was faint.

  ‘You never said you did,’ he countered.

  She couldn’t look at him. ‘This is only because you want my child to be your child.’

  ‘Yes.’ He gritted his teeth and crouched before her, closing his hands over the arms of the chair, effectively trapping her in place. ‘I want your child to be my child. Because I love you. I love the way you believe in me. I love you enough that I’ll have the reversal if you want to take that much of a chance on me. If you want to give this baby a brother or sister. But Nikki, if all I’d wanted was access to another Reed baby, I sure in hell wouldn’t have gotten up close and personal with its mother. I’d have put the same lawyers on the situation that handled the other two children that Hunt carelessly sired.’

  ‘Other?’

  ‘Yes. Other. He makes a habit of carelessness, Nik. Believe me. Valerie might have been the first, but she wasn’t the only, and God help us, but you’re probably not the last.’

  ‘Where are they?’

  ‘Well provided for, both with parents who do love them, and thankfully, nowhere near the jackals that comprise the Reed clan. I sure didn’t go chasing after those women to propose to them.’

  ‘You could have explained all this.’

  ‘And give you another reason to realize why I’m not good enough to replace Cody in your heart?’

  ‘Cody’s only a memory in my heart,’ she whispered. ‘He was a boy I loved. And you ’

  Alex waited, his expression tense. ‘Yes?’

  She bit her lip. Took in a quick breath. ‘I thought I knew you,’ she whispered. ‘When I worked with you. I thought I knew everything there was to know about you. And I thought I loved that man. I did love that man.’

  His jaw clenched. ‘And now?’

  ‘And now, after you stayed with me in Lucius when you didn’t have to’

  ‘Don’t give me gratitude, Nikki. That’s not ever going to be enough.’

  ‘But I am grateful.’ She fumbled with her purse. Opened it and drew out his gray sweater, which she’d shoved inside. Her fingers sank into the soft knit. ‘If you hadn’t come to Lucius, I would never have met the rest of you. The man beyond the CEO.’

  His brow knit. ‘Makes me sound like I have multiple personalities,’ he muttered.

  ‘No.’ She lifted her hand and rested it on that tight, pulsing jaw. ‘Just one. One man. Who is so much more than I ever gave him credit for. I loved Cody, yes. But I never needed him. I never needed anyone the way I need you, until I fell in love with you the whole you in that cabin in Montana. And you’re right. I’m scared to death of losing you.’ She sucked in an unsteady breath. ‘Because I don’t think I could survive it. I was so scared today when we heard the news on the radio and I thought something had happened to you. It didn’t matter how hurt I was. I had to know, to see for myself that you were were’

  ‘Fine,’ he finished. He caught her head between his hands, his fingers sliding into her hair. ‘But I’m scared to death you’ll realize what kind of family you’re marrying into, and head for the hills. And you know me. I don’t get scared. The only times I’ve ever felt that are when it’s come to you.’

  ‘You are not your family, Alex. If there’s one thing I’ve always known, it’s that.’

  ‘And what about the rest?’

  ‘Rest?’

  ‘Marrying me.’ His thumbs pressed her chin up until her mouth hovered mere inches from his. ‘Be my partner. My friend. My wife. My life. I’ll spend the rest of it a long rest of it showing you there’s nothing to fear. Not if we’re together. Marry me, Nikki Day.’

  She gave a little sigh. Looked into his eyes and finally, finally let go. Led from her heart.

  In the end, it was the easiest thing to do. ‘How many times do I have to say yes?’ she asked softly.

  The muscle in his jaw stopped flexing. The corner of his lips quirked upward, and the chocolate of his eyes went soft and dark. ‘Until we walk up the aisle after the minister pronounces us husband and wife.’

  ‘Yes,’ she whispered, her eyes drifting closed as his lips settled on hers. Joy swelled inside her, threatening to burst out of her skin. ‘Yes. Yes. Yes ’

  Epilogue

  ‘I knew this place would look amazing in the summer, but I didn’t expect this.’ Nikki sat forward in her seat as Alex drove up the graded road outside of Lucius to the Tucker cabin.

  Built of enormous logs on an aging stone foundation, the cabin looked the same. But the green meadow, dotted with endless wildflowers in every color of the spectrum, surrounded by sky-high evergreens, took what had once looked forbidding and made it impossibly welcoming.

  ‘No wonder it gets used for honeymoons,’ she murmured. ‘It’s something out of a fairy tale.’

  Alex sent her an indulgent smile. ‘I’m not sure what it says about us that we were both set on coming back here. We could have gone anywhere in the world for a honeymoon, but we came to Lucius.’

  Nikki grabbed his hand, threading her fingers through his. Lucius would always be a special place for her, and now the only memories it would hold would be the ones she intended to create with Alex. They’d waited three months since their wedding for this trip. ‘I could go anywhere in this world, or nowhere at all. As long as I’m with you, it doesn’t matter.’

  He parked near the door and climbed out of the car and s
tretched. It had been a long drive from Cheyenne. They could easily have flown, but they were in no rush. He’d arranged to be away from Huffington for two weeks.

  And he hadn’t even brought his cell phone.

  She watched him through the windows as he rounded the car to her side and wondered how long she’d be able to hide the fact that she’d hidden her cell phone in a pocket inside her suitcase.

  Probably not long.

  Keeping even surprises secret from Alex was too difficult to maintain for long.

  He didn’t open her door first. Instead, he opened the back door. She looked over her shoulder, and everything inside her went soft, as it always did whenever she watched Alex with April. She looked forward to seeing that devotion on his face with all of their children, if they were blessed with more.

  Their daughter had slept nearly the entire drive, and it would be a miracle if she slept at all that night.

  Nikki didn’t care. There’d been no question of them leaving April behind. She was only two months old, after all. She needed her mom and dad.

  Her mom and dad needed her.

  Alex capably released the carrier from the car seat base that stayed secured in the vehicle. He lifted out his daughter, carrier and all, and she didn’t even whimper. Just kept sleeping like the angel she often wasn’t.

  Nikki started to open her door, but Alex beat her to it. He still had a tendency to treat her as if she were made of glass.

  Until they were in bed, that is.

  She wasn’t complaining.

  But now, he handed her the carrier. ‘Hold her.’

  She thought he intended to get their luggage, but he didn’t. As soon as she’d grasped the carrier’s sturdy handle, he swept her up into his arms.

  Nikki laughed, grabbing the carrier closer to her. ‘Hey, we don’t need to be airlifted around anymore.

  Remember?’

  ‘Humor me.’

  If it put that crinkling smile in his eyes, she’d agree to anything. He carried her and April up the steps, and she reached down to find the door key that just as last time was hidden inside the old mailbox on the wall next to the door. When she’d fitted it into the lock, the door swung open and Alex carried her inside.