Normally in this situation, she would have been searching out the best bargain and mentally calculating just how far she could stretch her savings. But with Reed’s insistence on blank-check shopping, it was going much faster than it would have ordinarily. Except for a kitchen table and Rosie’s room, she was pretty much finished.
“Yes, I’ll just print out a receipt for you and delivery instructions for our crew.” The man stood and practically danced toward the back room. “I’ll only be a minute or two.”
“It’s fine,” she said, glancing down at Rosie, who was two-fisting her bottle.
No wonder the salesman was happy. His commission was no doubt going to be spectacular. With the chairs, sofa, tables, lamps, bookcases and rugs she’d purchased, he could probably take the rest of the month off.
As good as his word, Reed had wangled the keys out of the Realtor just as he said he would. There had been deliveries scheduled every day for the past few days and tomorrow would see the last of them, when this order was taken out to the new house. Beds for the master and three guest bedrooms had already been set up and Rosie’s new crib and furnishings would be delivered that afternoon.
By the next day, they would all be living in that house overlooking the ocean. And that, Lilah thought, would just give Reed even more room to avoid her and the baby. She had to put a stop to it. Had to ensure that Reed spent time with Rosie. Got to know her. To love her. And if he couldn’t?
She didn’t have an answer.
Closing her eyes, she winced as instantly a familiar image of Reed flashed into her mind—just as it did whenever she tried to get some sleep. Reed, as he was that first night. Dark hair rumpled, broad, tanned chest naked in the moonlight, drawstring pants dipped low on his hips and bare feet—why were bare feet suddenly so sexy? Oh, God. She rubbed the spot between her eyes, hoping to wipe away images she was pretty sure had been permanently etched into her brain.
He was arrogant and bossy, no doubt. Gorgeous and sexy, too. Which only made all of this more difficult than it was already.
It would be so much easier if she could just hate him. But how could she when he had instantly moved to fulfill his late sister’s wishes? He had bought a house for Rose. He was changing his life for the baby because it was the right thing to do. Hard to hate a man who could do all that.
But if he didn’t open his heart to Rose, did anything else matter? God, it felt as if her mind were on an automatic loop, going over and over the same things, day after day with no solution. The man was taking up way too many of her thoughts and that just had to stop.
Lilah gave a quick glance at the clock on the wall. She had to get moving. There were still things like pots, pans, dishes, glassware, throw pillows, comforters and a million other, smaller things to arrange for.
And oh, how she wished her friend Kate was in town to help with all of this. Kate Duffy was an artist, with the kind of eye for decorating that Lilah lacked. Kate would have mowed through every art gallery, department store and lighting shop and, in a blink, would have seen exactly what should go where in the beautiful house on the cliff. But, Kate was on her long-delayed honeymoon with a military husband finally back from deployment.
So, she was in this alone.
A clatter of sound interrupted her thoughts and Lilah looked at Rose in her stroller, happily slamming her bottle against the tray in front of her. The tiny girl grinned and babbled wildly.
Laughing, Lilah leaned over, kissed the baby’s cheek and whispered, “You’re absolutely right. I’m not alone at all, am I?”
“All right then, Ms. Strong…” The salesman was back, full of bright cheer that spoke of the giant commission he was about to make. “Paperwork is right here. If you’ll sign at the bottom…”
She quickly read over the receipt, then signed her name. “Everything will be delivered tomorrow?”
“Between one and three.”
“Okay, thank you.”
“Oh, my pleasure.” He dipped into the breast pocket of his jacket, pulled out a card and handed it to her. “If you need anything else…”
“Thanks again.” She took the card, dropped it into her purse, then left, pushing Rosie’s stroller out onto the sidewalk.
June in Southern California could be either gloomy or beautiful, and today was definitely one of the pretty ones. The sidewalks were crowded, and the narrow streets were packed with impatient drivers tapping horns as if doing it could clear traffic. Flower-filled baskets hung from old-fashioned streetlights and teenagers with surfboards tucked beneath their arms bolted across the street toward the ocean.
It was all so far from the familiar, Lilah felt a pang of homesickness that was wiped away by the sound of Rosie’s crow of delight. What was she going to do in her quiet house when there was no Rose to shatter the silence? How would she handle being so far away from the baby who felt like her own?
“Problems to face later,” Lilah said, deliberately shoving those troubling thoughts aside to get on with her day. There were still so many things to do and she was running out of time.
* * *
While Lilah shopped like a woman on a mission, Reed pushed through his own commitments. He filed divorce papers with the court, settled his bill with the hotel and arranged for people to pack and move his stuff to the new house. And now, he had to spend some time reassuring Carson Duke.
“Have you talked to Tia?” Reed asked, following the other man with his gaze as he paced the confines of his suite at the Monarch.
For the first time, Reed noticed that one suite was pretty much like the other. Yes, his own was much bigger than this one, but the furnishings were very similar. And Carson looked ill at ease as he moved through the slash of sunlight pouring through the glass terrace doors.
“No,” Carson muttered, shoving one hand through his hair. “Haven’t talked to her since I moved out of our place a month ago.”
“Keep it that way,” Reed advised. He’d dealt with divorcing couples for enough years to know that even a split that started out amicable could turn into a battle. And then the case would be judged in the media, fueled by stealthy camera shots taken by the ever-hungry paparazzi.
Carson stopped, shoved both hands into his jeans and nodded. “I know that’s the right strategy. But I can’t help feeling that if we could talk—”
“Did talking help either of you the last few months?” His voice was deliberately impatient. If he offered sympathy here, his client wouldn’t be able to do what was best for him. Better to be firm with his advice.
He frowned. “No. No, it didn’t.”
Reed took a sip of coffee, then set his cup down on the low glass table in front of him. “I know this is hard, but it’s what you’ve both decided to do. You’re better off not speaking with Tia until the court proceedings are done. With your prenup in place, this should be a painless situation to resolve.”
“Painless.”
Reed nodded. He prided himself on getting his clients through the end of a marriage with as little pain as possible. “Not completely, but this should move along with few complications.”
“That’s good, I guess,” Carson said with a wry smile. “Didn’t imagine I’d be in this position, I’ve got to say.”
“No one does,” Reed assured him.
Carson snorted. “Maybe. I do know that not growing up in Hollywood made me believe that people can choose to stay together. To work at it. Hell, my own parents have been married forever. They’re still happy.”
And Reed couldn’t help wondering what that was like. Naturally, in his business, he didn’t run into long-term marriages. He had no personal experience with it, either. How had it felt to grow up, as Carson had, with one set of parents? Hell, Reed had so many official and honorary grandparents, he couldn’t keep track of them all.
The extended Hudson family hadn’t exactly been the “norm” or even close to ideal. But it was what he knew.
“So, when can I expect to be a free man again?”
&nb
sp; Reed looked at Carson. “Well, you’ve been married less than two years, and have no children, so that makes things less complicated.”
“Happy to help,” the man muttered.
Reed understood what Carson was feeling, so he simply went on, “You do own property together…”
“Yeah,” Carson said. “The Malibu beach house and a cabin in Montana.”
Nodding, Reed said, “Once Tia signs the papers as well, I’ll meet with her attorney and we go into what’s called discovery. That’s laying out all jointly held properties and bank accounts and so forth…”
Carson swiped one hand across his face, but nodded solemnly. “And then?”
Smiling, Reed said, “Then we prepare a marital settlement agreement and if you both agree with the terms, you’ll sign and six months after that, you’ll be single again.”
“Will we have to go to court?”
“Depends on how the settlement agreement goes. We could end up in a mediator’s office, or be seen by a judge.”
“Right.” Carson coughed out a laugh and shook his head. “I swear, I just never thought Tia and I would end up this way.” He shot Reed a look. “You probably hear that all the time.”
“Not really,” Reed said. “People don’t come to divorce lawyers wanting to talk about how good their relationship is.”
“Guess not.” Carson turned to look out at the ocean. “I thought we’d be different. Thought we’d make it. Hell, Tia even loves my parents.” He shook his head again. “Don’t know how we ended up here.”
“You may never know,” Reed said, and stood up. “And trying to dissect the whole thing won’t give you peace.”
Carson turned his head and looked at him. “What will?”
Reed gave him a grim smile. “If I find out, I’ll let you know.”
“Right. Okay. Look, I appreciate your bringing me the papers…”
“No problem. I live here, remember?”
“Yeah, but I don’t, so I’ll be leaving this afternoon.” He blew out a breath. “I’ve got to get back to Hollywood. Have an early call Monday and there are a few things I have to do over the weekend.”
“New movie?” Reed asked.
“No, just a few reshoots on the last one,” Carson said. “Back to make-believe and pretense. Today I’m just a guy, Monday morning I’m a Viking again. Weird way to make a living.”
“There are weirder.” Reed didn’t remind the other man that essentially, at its core, he made a living dissolving people’s lives. In Reed’s book, that made for much stranger than pretending to be a Viking. With that dark thought circling his brain, he buttoned his suit coat and said, “If you need anything, you know where to reach me. Otherwise, I’ll be in touch.”
“Right.”
“And steer clear of Tia,” Reed said again, knowing the warning was necessary.
“Yeah, I will.” Carson flashed the grin he was famous for. “If I’d done that a couple years ago, I wouldn’t be in this mess, right?”
“True.” Harsh, Reed knew, and he saw that single word slam home with Carson. But the simple reality was that divorce was the main reason to avoid marriage in the first place.
If that point hadn’t been hammered into him watching his own family’s near legendary divorce battles, then it would have been over the past several years. Leading his clients through sometimes messy and always miserable dissolutions. Hell, watching Carson Duke right now was just one more reinforcement of the decision Reed had made long ago to remain single.
“Thanks,” Carson said. “For everything.”
“Just doing my job,” Reed told him, then headed out to take care of the mess his own life had recently become. But with any luck, he was about to smooth some of those choppy waters.
* * *
An hour later, he was at the new house and had to admit that Lilah had done a good job of furnishing the place. It looked…settled, he supposed, as if everything had been in place for years, not days. Years. Damn, that sounded…permanent. If he concentrated, Reed would probably be able to actually feel roots sprouting up through the floor of the house to wrap around his ankles like chains. Which was exactly why Reed had never bought a house before this. He hadn’t wanted to be tied to anything. Along with avoiding marriage, he’d avoided commitments to places, as well.
He’d always kept his options open, so that even if he’d never packed up and left town at a moment’s notice, he’d always known that he could. But now, that was over. He was a homeowner. Or would be by tomorrow. He would have roots for the first time in his life, and that thought felt almost like a noose slowly tightening around his neck.
Hardly surprising, since between boarding schools and vacation homes and the change of address every time his parents remarried, Reed had never had a childhood “home.” At least not one where memories were made. He didn’t have a particular love of any one place due to a connection to the past. He lived in a hotel so he could leave whenever he wanted to. And now…well, that was over.
The house itself, though, was fine. Glancing around the great room, Reed approved. Lilah’d promised color and she hadn’t lied, but he had to admit that the overall effect was, he supposed, homey. There were heavy rugs in deep jewel tones and oversize furniture covered in soft colors of cream and pale blue. There were lamps and tables and even some of his own art from the hotel hanging on the walls. Odd, he hadn’t even noticed them missing from the suite, yet somehow Lilah had managed to have them boxed, moved and hung.
He heard the rumbles of conversation floating to him from different areas of the house. Movers were there, setting up the nursery, and the surprise he’d arranged for was no doubt getting acquainted with Lilah.
He had to give her full points. She’d done a lot of work in very little time. She would absolutely have been worth the money he’d offered to pay her. He still couldn’t believe that she’d refused a hundred thousand dollars. Especially when he knew she could use it.
Reed had done some research on his own. He’d looked into her business—you could find anything if you knew where to look. Lilah’s Bouquet was a small company with a few employees and a well-laid-out website for online business. Who knew there were so many buyers for pretty soaps and candles? She owned a home with a reasonable mortgage, a ten-year-old car and was, as far as he could tell, well liked and respected in her incredibly small hometown. No family but her parents, and a year or two after her father’s death, her mother had remarried a millionaire, so maybe that was the reason behind Lilah’s turning down money from him.
Whatever lay behind it, though, he knew she was staying not because he’d asked it of her, but because she was looking out for Rose. Hard to blame her for that. In fact, he appreciated it. He just didn’t like being in anyone’s debt.
And until he had this new situation locked down and sewed up, he would owe Lilah Strong.
CHAPTER FIVE
She came into the room just then as if thinking of her had conjured her. A wide smile was on her expressive face, and her eyes were shining. That amazing hair of hers tumbled in waves and curls and bounced with her every step.
“Okay, she’s wonderful,” Lilah said.
Satisfaction welled inside him. The surprise he’d arranged had gone off better than he’d thought it would. If he had to say it himself, he’d had a stroke of genius in coaxing his mother’s former housekeeper-slash-nanny out of semiretirement.
Connie Thomas was in her early sixties, loved kids and had the organizational skills of a four-star general. For more than twenty-five years, Connie had been the one constant in Reed’s life. She’d stayed with them through his mother’s many marriages and even more frequent moves. Connie was the one the kids in the family went to when they were in trouble or lonely or just needed a sympathetic ear. She’d finally decided to leave, though, when Reed’s mother decided her youngest son, at seven, didn’t really need to come home from boarding school for the summer.
His mother wasn’t the most maternal woman in the kn
own world, and even as he thought it, Reed felt a pang of guilt. She loved her kids, he knew, but in an abstracted way that didn’t necessarily require her children’s presence. In fact, Selena Taylor-Hudson-Simmons-Foster-Hambleton had never understood how Connie Thomas had so much patience for kids.
“Rosie is already crazy about her,” Lilah was saying. “So of course I am.”
He nodded. “I suspected you’d approve.”
“How could I not?” Lilah was smiling up at him, and it bothered Reed just how much he liked it. “Connie and the baby hit it off instantly.” Taking a deep breath, she went on, “And you should know that Connie loves her suite of rooms off the kitchen. She told me you’ve arranged to have her things delivered here tonight.”
“No point in waiting, is there?”
A short chuckle shot from her. “Not for you—and apparently not for Connie, either. Right now, she’s taken Rosie upstairs to ‘supervise’ the movers setting things up in the nursery.”
He wasn’t surprised to hear that. Connie wasn’t one to sit back and let things happen around her. She liked to have her hand in things.
“She’ll drive the movers crazy, but she’ll be satisfied with their work before she lets them leave.”
“You make her sound like a drill sergeant,” Lilah said, tipping her head to one side to look up at him.
“She could be,” he admitted, then smiled, remembering. “She was the one who made sure baths were taken, homework was done and teeth were brushed. She also kept the cookie jar filled with her magic chocolate chip bars.”
“Magic?” Lilah asked quietly.
“Seemed like magic at the time,” he said. “Never had anything taste as good as those cookie bars did.” Funny, a few minutes ago, he’d been thinking that he really had no memories of a home. But now, his mind filled with images of Connie, making cookies, playing board games with the younger kids in the family. Showing them how to make their own beds and expecting them to do it by reminding them all that the maids worked for their parents, not for them.
The Baby Inheritance (Billionaires and Babies) Page 6
