by Leanne Banks
Delilah could almost hear the crackle of a brush fire. She’d avoided wealthy, overeducated men due to her mother’s experience, although she’d harbored a forbidden curiosity.
Something thumped on the floor in the kitchen, followed by a happy shriek. Willy, she thought with a wry smile. Her sex control switch. She and Benjamin rushed around the corner to find his face and hair covered in baby green beans as he played with a scoop of the strained vegetable on his tray.
Benjamin chuckled. The sound was low and sexy.
Delilah ignored her reaction to it. “Gross,” she said, heading for the paper towels. “He’ll definitely need a bath.”
“Have fun,” Benjamin said.
When she scowled at him, he hooked his thumbs in his jeans, drawing attention to his pelvis. “I gotta apply some ice.”
As she dampened the towels, Delilah rolled her eyes. “I didn’t knee you hard enough to cause pain, just enough to get your attention.”
“It’s the first time I’ve been kneed by a woman, so I’ll have to see.”
Her lips twitched. “So I was your first? I think I like that.”
“Yeah,” he said dryly. “You can say you bring out the worst in me.”
“If that was the worst,” she began, then broke off. She glanced at Benjamin and knew she’d been caught. Well, damn.
“Who knows?” he taunted her. “I might could have gotten a lot worse if we’d continued. Night-night, Miss Delilah.”
She told herself not to watch as he walked through the hall toward the door, but she couldn’t resist stealing a peek. Benjamin had a very nice backside. She wondered what it looked like naked.
Benjamin had been summoned to his father’s home office for a critical consultation session with his brother Robert and his father.
His father, whose fit broad-shouldered body belied the fact that he was knocking on sixty, pulled three cigars from his desk humidor and gave one to Robert and another to Benjamin. Benjamin didn’t light his. He didn’t like cigars all that much. He did, however, accept the good scotch.
“You have everything going for you,” William Bradford said to Robert. “But one thing would cap it off. An engagement. You need to settle down.”
This was one of the many reasons Benjamin had wanted to escape Texas. He looked at his brother’s expression of discomfort and knew he could be standing in Robert’s shoes if he hadn’t gone east for his education. In fact, when he’d first returned, his father had suggested that Benjamin take another look at politics. Benjamin had firmly rejected the idea.
“I don’t know, Dad,” Benjamin said, throwing his brother a lifesaver. “Robert has probably gotten a lot of mileage out of being one of Houston’s top-ten bachelors.”
His father tossed him a glowering look as if to say he’d been brought here to support his father’s agenda. “Nonsense. The voting public likes a stable, settled man. And an engagement would bring some sparkle to the campaign. Especially an engagement to a woman like Lilly Bradford. Her father was rough around the edges, but her mother was pure Texan until she remarried and moved to New York a few years ago. Plus Lilly’s loaded.”
Robert moved his shoulders as if fighting a tight feeling. “Lilly’s nice, and she’s pretty, but—”
“But what?” William demanded. “What’s not to like?”
“I don’t know if I love her that way or not.”
William gave a rough chuckle. “You don’t have to love her now. You can grow to love her. And if you don’t, then you can break the engagement and we’ll find somebody else. After the election, of course.”
Robert frowned and set down his cigar. “I don’t know, Dad. Lilly’s not very experienced. If we got engaged and I dumped her, she might have a hard time with it.”
Benjamin was relieved to see Robert exhibit a modicum of consideration. It was a sign that their father hadn’t completely corrupted his thinking. Robert had been polished by their father so much that Benjamin almost hadn’t recognized his brother when he’d arrived home. During their growing-up years, Robert had been labeled a geek and Benjamin had gotten into more than one fistfight in his defense. It was hard to believe that Robert had once been a shy, gangly, self-conscious boy who’d buried himself in his studies and the History Channel. Once Benjamin had left, their father had turned his full attention to Robert, and an amazing transformation had taken place. Benjamin just hoped the transformation wouldn’t turn out to be similar to that of Frankenstein’s.
William put his arm around Robert’s shoulder. “If you end up breaking the engagement, she’ll get over it. They all do.”
“I’m not ready to make this kind of commitment.”
William gave the infamous heavy sigh designed to trigger guilt. “Robert, a lot of people have worked hard for you. You’ve got to be willing to make some sacrifices too.”
“But marriage? I want to marry the right woman.”
“Lilly is the right woman, trust me. A campaign donation from her could do wonders for the coffers.”
“Did you marry Mom for her money?” Benjamin asked quietly.
William shot him a sharp look. “Of course not. I had to fight through a dozen of her boyfriends to win her. You know that.”
“So you were in love with her?” Benjamin continued.
“From the first time I rescued her from a drunken Romeo at a party.”
“That’s what I want,” Robert said. “I don’t feel that way about Lilly. What do you think, Ben?”
Benjamin downed another swallow of scotch, relishing the burn. “I think if you can live without her, then you shouldn’t marry her.”
William made a sound of disgust. “You can’t pay attention to him.” His father turned away from Robert and mouthed, you’re supposed to be helping.
Benjamin shrugged and took another swallow of scotch.
“He’s jaded because his engagement just fell apart,” William said, pointing at Benjamin. “And look at the bruises on his face. He doesn’t even have the sense to move in with his mother and me while he gets his act together. Instead he’s living in a neighborhood where he gets beat up by thugs.”
Benjamin knew he was living in one of the safest neighborhoods in Houston, but because he wasn’t living in the same neighborhood as George Bush, Sr., his father thought he was living in the slums. He rose to his feet. “I’ve imparted about all the wise counsel I can,” Benjamin said. He patted Robert on the back. “You’ll do the right thing,” he assured his bewildered younger brother. “I know Dad wouldn’t want to manipulate you into doing something that goes against your values,” he said more for his father than for Robert.
“No need for you to rush off,” William said.
“I’m not rushing. I’m just leaving,” Benjamin said, setting his empty shot glass on the tray on his father’s desk.
“Let me walk out with you,” William said. “I’ll be back in a minute, Robert.”
Benjamin could have found the front door with his eyes closed, so he knew his father must want to say something to him privately.
William closed the door behind him. “Are you sure you won’t reconsider running?”
Benjamin looked at his father as if he’d lost his mind. “I can’t do that. You’ve gotten endorsements from groups who have pledged to support Robert. On top of that—”
“They would prefer you,” William said, lowering his voice. “Everyone talks about how much they’d hoped you’d go into politics. Robert is struggling. He just doesn’t have your combination of brains and backbone.”
Benjamin felt nauseous. “Robert is the candidate. I’m not. I don’t want to run. I never wanted to run.”
“Well, what are you going to do instead? Teach?” he said in disdain. “You could do so much better. You could have been president.”
Benjamin groaned, grateful he would be out the door in three more steps. “I don’t want to be president. I’m not running for political office, Dad. Ever.”
William wagged his finger. “Ne
ver say never.”
“I didn’t,” Benjamin said. “I said ever. Not that you’re listening. Ease up on Robert and he might surprise you. I’ll see you around.”
“Be careful in that parking garage. Your face looks like hell.”
“Thanks, Dad. You too,” he said, knowing his father would catch his ambiguous insult in a moment. He closed the door behind him and was halfway down the front steps when he heard his father’s voice.
“You smartass. You just told me my face looked like hell, didn’t you?” he said with a rough chuckle. “You’re a smart one. You would have had them at your feet in politics, boy.”
“I’ll leave that to you and Robert. Take care, Dad.” As he got into his car, he tried not to let his father’s taunts stick in his craw. But the truth was he’d been nursing his wounds for a while. It was time to figure out what he wanted to do next.
Lilly stood outside Delilah’s office, listening to her talk with her assistant.
“Two nanny applicants down the toilet. All I want is a modern-day Mary Poppins. Is that too much to ask?”
Sara chuckled. “I can keep Willy in the evenings sometime if you like.”
Lilly cocked her head to one side in speculation. Nanny? It sounded like Delilah was planning on keeping this kid around for awhile. She frowned, wondering why. Delilah didn’t seem the nurturing type at all. She was too busy seducing sugar daddies like her father.
Anger hardened her heart and she lifted her chin. She was here to check on things.
Just because she could.
She stepped closer, listening to the women talk.
“I’m not letting you sit home with a baby. You’re a free woman now, Sara. The world is your playground. You need to get out and meet men. You need to get out and let them chase you. Men love the chase,” Delilah said in a confiding tone.
Lilly paused. Men love the chase. Robert didn’t have to chase her. She was always waiting for him.
“It’s strange as Hel—sinki, but first you have to be available and then you have to be not as available,” Delilah said. “Otherwise, they take you for granted. And definitely keep more than one on the string. It’s like an auction on ebay. The perceived value of an item skyrockets if more than one person wants it.”
Lilly wrinkled her nose. Delilah’s words were cutting too close to the bone. Shrugging them off, she strode into the office. “Hello, I’m here to check on things.”
Delilah blinked as she jiggled Willy on her hip. “What things?”
“Business,” Lilly said.
Delilah exchanged a long-suffering glance with Sara. “Okay. Step into my office. What would you like to know?”
“For starters, I’d like to know if your assistant is using company time to take care of that baby,” Lilly said.
The baby smiled at her and Lilly had to purse her lips to keep from smiling in return.
“Sara is helping me just until I make other arrangements,” Delilah said. “You don’t need to worry about it.”
“If your personal life is affecting your performance at the spa, then I should be concerned about it,” Lilly retorted.
Delilah’s eyes froze. “My personal life will never affect my performance here at the spa. If I had twelve more children and both my legs were broken, I would still be the best director for the spa. Would you like a breakdown of services we provided last week? We set a new record for Botox parties and facials. Here. Hold Willy while I locate the report on my desk.” Delilah plopped Willy in Lilly’s arms and Lilly stared at the baby.
Willy squirmed, reaching to tug at her hair. He yanked then beamed at her with a big smile.
“No, no,” Lilly whispered, trying to unwrap his fist from her hair. He bounced in her arms, chortling, and she didn’t have the heart to stop him even though he was pulling entirely too hard.
Delilah turned with a sheaf of papers in her hand. “Here’s the—” She broke off at the sight of Willy’s hand tangled around Lilly’s hair. “Well, well, Romeo. Now we know the truth. You have a thing for blondes,” she said with a smile. “Pretty, long-haired blondes. I didn’t think I’d have to start watching you in that area so soon.” She untangled Lilly’s hair and put him on her hip. “Sorry. Here’s the report,” she said, handing over the sheaf of papers. “It should make you sleep better about our profits.”
Unsettled by seeing Delilah with a baby, Lilly shrugged. “I’ll study it carefully.”
“You do that,” Delilah drawled with more than a hint of amusement in her voice.
Lilly couldn’t stand the woman’s confidence. She seemed to have so much of it, when Lilly had none. Lilly had no doubt that Delilah had been brought up without the finer things including a college education, but she had so much confidence she fairly oozed it. Lilly resented her for it.
“I’ll be checking on things from now on,” Lilly told her.
“By all means,” Delilah said with a careless wave of her hand. “I’m surprised you have time though. I’d have thought Robert Huntington would have popped the question and you would be busy with his campaign.”
Lilly felt her cheeks heat. Delilah had to know that she had just struck Lilly at her most vulnerable point. The woman wasn’t just confident. She was vicious. “That’s my personal business,” she said.
Delilah’s eyes rounded. “Oh, well excuse me. I thought the deed was done. Robert’s a bit slower than I had thought.”
Lilly immediately rose to his defense. “Robert is a man of integrity and honor. He wouldn’t make this kind of decision lightly.”
Delilah nodded. “I guess I can see that. Probably runs in the family,” she muttered. “Amazing though, it doesn’t matter if they have honor or not, you can’t let them think you’re waiting by the phone. But I’m sure you already know that.”
“Of course,” Lilly said with far more confidence than she felt. “I’m sure I’ll see you again soon.”
Delilah gave a smile that didn’t reach her eyes. “I’m sure you will.” She glanced down at Willy and smiled genuinely. “Wave bye-bye, sweetie.”
Willy waved and Lilly would have to have been made of stone not to wave and smile in return. Tossing her hair over her shoulder, she strode outside to her Beemer. As much as she detested Delilah, the maneater had unwittingly planted some ideas about what she needed to do with Robert.
Her cell phone rang to the tune of Beethoven’s Fifth, and she instinctively reached for it. She glanced at the Caller ID. Robert. He was probably calling her at the last minute to meet him for dinner. She wrinkled her nose. She and Old Faithful had a lot in common.
Her finger hovered over the button to answer while Delilah’s words echoed in her mind, Don’t be so available. It killed her not to answer. By the time the phone stopped ringing, she was nearly hyperventilating. She wasn’t sure she was cut out to be a maneater. She didn’t have the constitution for it. Just not answering the phone made her feel like she needed to run to the bathroom from nerves.
What if Robert never called again? What if he called someone else to join him for the fundraiser at the country club? Sweating, she closed her eyes and stiffened her backbone. This was ridiculous.
If Delilah Montague could wrap her wily father around her finger, then Lilly should be able to rope Robert Huntington. Perhaps he just needed a little prod.
Feeling like a conniving she-devil, she listened to the message Robert had left. As expected, he’d invited her to the fundraiser tonight. She dialed the number for the executor of her father’s estate and asked if he could recommend an escort for the evening. In fifteen minutes, she had a date.
She hoped her bladder would survive the evening. She would stash a paper bag and valium in her evening purse.
The average person kisses only two weeks of their lives. If the average lifespan is 76.9 years, we’re wasting a lot of time.
—DELILAH’S DICTUM
Chapter 8
Robert Huntington greeted so many people the faces began to blur until he saw Lilly. He re
ached for her hand and smiled.
“Lilly!” he said, with a mixture of surprise and relief. “I was beginning to think you wouldn’t make it.”
Her hand felt stiff and her face looked flushed.
“Is something wrong? Are you not feeling well?” he asked. That would explain why she hadn’t returned his call.
“I’m fine. I didn’t get your call until—” She broke off and shrugged. “I’m um here with—” She broke off again and cleared her throat. “Robert, this is Greg Weatherby. I met him through the executor of my father’s estate.”
Robert automatically extended his hand to the young man at Lilly’s side, but his brain paused. “Nice to meet you, Greg. Glad to have you here tonight.”
“I was glad Lilly could join me,” Greg said, smiling at Lilly.
Somewhere deep inside, Robert felt an odd discomfort. It was as if someone had moved the furniture in his bedroom without telling him. He didn’t have time to figure it out now. “You like to play golf?” Robert asked. After months of campaigning, he was an expert with safe questions.
“Always. I’m still shooting for under par three times in a row. Work interferes.”
“What do you do?” Robert asked casually, aware that he was spending more than the recommended three minutes with Lilly’s escort. He assessed Greg, drawing comfort from the fact that her escort was shorter than he was. Odd as hell thought.
“Estate attorney with Long & Forrester.”
An attorney. Robert stood straighter. “Really? Where’d you graduate?”
“Yale. You?”
“Texas born and bred,” Robert said, distracted by a strange competitive urge. “UT. You two enjoy yourselves. Lilly,” he said with a nod and moved onto the next couple.
He was expected to deliver a stirring, yet entertaining speech tonight. He had also expected to have Lilly by his side. It wasn’t that he had strong, overwhelming feelings of passion for her. He just depended on her. His father was always pushing, pushing, pushing. Robert knew the pushing was motivated by his desire to win the election, but his father wasn’t a restful person to be around. When Robert left his father, he sometimes felt as if he needed a drink or two. When he’d been a child, his mother had attributed Robert’s bed-wetting to his father’s pushiness.
