by Leanne Banks
She’d been mulling over her situation since Thursday, but she knew the moment she’d made the decision. It had been during Thanksgiving dinner, just as the pecan and pumpkin pies were served and Benjamin excused himself.
Robert had covered her hand with his beneath the table then lifted her hand to his lips. The gesture had surprised her. His words had knocked her off her feet. “You’ve made this Thanksgiving special for me. I want to be the one to make all of yours special in the future.”
So he really did care for her, deeply. Perhaps he even loved her. Lilly twisted the ring again. It wouldn’t make sense to a lot of people, but Lilly had known at that moment that she should break the engagement.
Joining Robert and his family for the holiday meal, feeling included, feeling cherished by Robert, had been her dream come true, but she’d felt like a fake the entire time.
Robert’s feelings for her were genuine. How shallow was she to cause him to risk his dream of getting elected or tainting his clean reputation? If she really loved him, if she really wasn’t a spoiled conniving bitch, then she would protect him.
Learning all Delilah had done to try to keep her promise to Howard had provided Lilly with food for thought. Delilah might joke about the things women should do to keep a man in line, but when it got down to the nitty-gritty, she’d been strong enough to make sacrifices for someone she loved.
Did Lilly love Robert enough to sacrifice?
“Lilly, what a pleasant surprise,” Robert said with a smile as he descended the stairway. “I was thinking of you between every other line of the speech I was writing.”
Her heart turned over at the sight of him, and she saw something she hadn’t noticed before, the gentle growing light of love in his eyes. She’d been too frantic and bent on catching him to notice it before. She saw commitment.
He lifted his hand to her jaw and slid his fingers through her hair. “You’re cold. Take off your coat and I’ll get you some hot chocolate.”
Something inside her twisted. “I can’t stay. I just needed to see you for a few minutes.” She glanced around. “Is there somewhere we could talk alone?”
Robert’s smile faded. “Of course.” He guided her toward a small parlor. “Is there something wrong? Is Maxine okay?”
Lilly laughed, choking back a spurt of hysteria. The dog was the least of her concerns. “Maxine’s fine, but I, uh—” Her voice broke and she stiffened her spine. “I’ve been thinking.” She twisted her ring again and looked away from him, trying to form the words. She’d practiced, but her mind suddenly went blank. She cleared her throat.
It’s like ripping off a band-aid, she told herself. Do it fast. Ripping her ring off her finger, she shoved it into his hand. “I can’t marry you. I’m sorry.”
He stared at her in shock. “Why?”
She shook her head. “I just can’t. I can’t explain it, but you just need to believe that it’s the best thing for you. It really is.” Her voice wavered. “I’m sorry.”
Robert reached for her, but she pulled back. Hurt and confusion darkened his eyes. “Lilly, you’re upset. We have to talk about this. I can’t stand for you to be this upset.”
She shook her head again, tears welling in her eyes. “I can’t talk about it.” Her throat was too tight with misery. “I just can’t. I’m sorry,” she said and ran from the room.
Delilah successfully avoided Benjamin for two days. On the third, he burst through her door before she had time to shove the chair under the doorknob.
“Do you ever check your messages?” he asked, looking like a thundercloud.
Her chest tightened like a vise at the sight of him. “I’m waiting until Monday just in case Guy—”
“Well, you might want to listen to one Lilly might have left.”
Delilah blinked. “Lilly? I haven’t heard anything from her since last week. Did something happen to her?” Panic sliced through her. “Is she hurt?”
“Not physically, but she broke up with Robert.”
Delilah dropped her jaw in shock. “I don’t believe you.”
“Believe it. She broke the engagement last night and Robert is walking around like a dead man. He and my father called me last night. Robert and I went out afterward and drowned his sorrows.” He shot her a bitter look. “What did you tell Lilly to do to Robert?”
“Nothing!” Delilah searched her memory. “I suggested she get pregnant, but she nixed that because she was on the pill. She indicated sex hadn’t been so great with him, so I told her it’s better for everyone if men have to work at it.” She met his censorious gaze. “Well, it’s true. Usually,” she added. “I can’t imagine why she would have broken the engagement unless Guy got in touch with her again. You don’t think—”
“I don’t know what to think,” Benjamin said. “I just know my brother is miserable and you made me promise not to tell him about Lilly’s dilemma.”
“Why did she do this? I just don’t understand. She wanted to be Robert’s wife so much. She wanted to be part of your family. Your father wanted her to be part of your family. He practically hand-picked her for Robert.” Delilah shook her head, at a loss.
“Maybe after she got a closer look at my family, she changed her mind.”
“I don’t believe that. Your father may be a prick and your mother may be a little over-medicated, but they’re still good people.” She sighed. “Lilly wanted a family. She wanted to belong, to be needed.”
“How do you know?” he asked, his gaze so sharp she felt like her mind was being sliced in half. “I thought you and she weren’t close.”
“We weren’t. I just understand her.”
“Why? It wouldn’t have anything to do with wanting the same things, would it?”
Delilah didn’t want to answer that. “I just understand.”
She met his gaze and the turbulence in his eyes grabbed at her. She suspected she was the cause of his unhappiness and that made her hurt all over.
“I’m going to tell Robert about Lilly’s secret,” he told her.
Delilah shook her head. “You can’t. You promised. My sister and her husband will be here on Monday and we might be able to work something—”
“It’s time for them to work this out. Time to fish or cut bait.”
She felt a lump form in her throat as if Benjamin wasn’t just referring to Robert and Lilly, as if he was talking about her. Cutting the lines should be okay with her. It was what she’d planned for all along. Keep telling yourself that, girlfriend, and you’ll be fine.
“I’d rather you wait until Monday.”
“I’ll see,” he said and walked away from her.
On Sunday morning, Robert didn’t show up for his tee time for his game of power golf. His father was going to be pissed, but Robert really didn’t care. He had more important things on his mind. Lilly’s ring was in his pocket and he had two dozen roses wrapped in green paper on the passenger seat of his car.
Stopping in front of her house, he cut his engine, clutched the flowers in his hand and got out of the car. He walked up the meticulously groomed path to her porch and rang her doorbell.
The dog barked, but Lilly didn’t answer.
He wasn’t surprised. She hadn’t answered her phone during the last two days. He rang the doorbell again.
Still no answer.
He pounded on the door. When she still didn’t answer, he proceeded to yell.
“I’m not leaving until you come down and talk to me, Lilly. I’ll beat the damn door down if necessary. Come down here and—”
The door whipped open and Lilly, dressed in a long kimono robe, her hair in disarray, stared at him in surprise. She scrutinized him. “Have you been drinking?”
“Not this morning,” he said, although he’d tied one on a couple of nights ago. He’d never known a hangover could last longer than twenty-four hours.
“We need to talk,” he said.
She pulled her robe around her tighter and lifted her chin. “We’ve already
talked enough. I told you I don’t think an engagement between the two of us is going to work.”
“I disagree.”
She sighed. “I realize your father probably sent you to try to persuade me—”
“My father expected me to tee off fifteen minutes ago.” Robert smiled grimly. “Looks like he’ll be the one who is teed off.”
She looked momentarily surprised then shook her head. “It doesn’t matter. It’s not going to work and—”
“May I come in?”
She blinked, shifting slightly so Maxine wouldn’t get out. “No.”
“If you don’t let me come in, I’ll cause a scene your neighbors will never forget.”
Dismay crossed her face and she sighed again. “Okay, but there’s really no reason to discuss this. I’ve made up my—”
As soon as he stepped inside the door, he pushed her against the wall and pressed his mouth against hers. He pulled back slightly. “I’ve missed you.”
“You have?” she said in a startled voice.
“Yes, I have. I’ve missed your smile. I’ve missed you putting up with my boring conversation.”
“You’re not boring,” she said.
“Just self-involved.”
“It’s the election, isn’t it?”
“God, I hope so. I’m going to bore myself to death if I don’t find a way to handle this differently.”
Lilly gaped at him.
“I missed your ears,” he said, touching one that stuck out between blonde strands of hair.
She blushed and tried to cover it.
“I want you back. How do I get you back?”
Lilly gulped and shoved away from him. “I—I already told you I didn’t think we suit each other.”
“But why?” He followed her into the living room.
“I don’t think I would be a good politician’s wife,” she said, pacing the oriental carpet.
He stepped in front of her. “How can you say that? You haven’t fallen asleep during any of my speeches,” he joked, trying to unwind some of her tension.
She couldn’t meet his gaze.
“Lilly, tell me why you dumped me.”
She bit her lip. “Because I have a secret that could be messy.” She met his gaze with eyes full of misery. “I can’t get in the way of your dream.” Her voice broke. “I just can’t.”
Robert’s heart ached at the depth of her pain. The depth of her love rocked him. He hadn’t realized how important she was to him, how precious she was. “What is this secret?”
“It’s about my father,” she said.
Sisters can smell a fib a continent away.
—DELILAH’S DICTUM
Chapter 21
Lilly told Robert about her father and Willy and Guy. She watched surprise cross his face when she told him about Willy. When she mentioned Guy, his expression changed. His eyes turned cold and his jaw hardened.
“Why didn’t you tell me about this?” he asked when she finished.
“I was afraid you would break the engagement. Plus, I started thinking about it and Willy is my half-brother. I’d like to have a relationship with him and I don’t want to feel like I have to hide it.”
He stared at her and shook his head. “You must think I have no backbone at all.”
“No. It isn’t that. It’s just that I know you have a goal of getting elected and every decision you make is impacted by that goal. And there’s your father …” Lilly stopped, not wanting to criticize Robert’s father.
“But I love you. We’re supposed to work these kinds of things out.”
Lilly’s breath stopped in her chest. She lifted her hand to her throat.
“What?” he asked, taking her hand in his. “What?”
She swallowed, feeling herself tremble. “That’s the first time you’ve told me you love me.”
He furrowed his eyebrows in confusion. “Are you sure?”
“Yes,” she whispered.
He closed his eyes and shook his head. “Oh, Lilly, I’m sorry. I love you and I want you to be my wife.” He lifted her hand to his lips and met her gaze. The power of love and commitment in his eyes was a dream come true. She wondered if she should pinch herself.
“Can you forgive me?”
She nodded, her throat so tight she couldn’t squeak out a word.
He pulled a jeweler’s box from his pocket. “Let’s try this again. Maybe I’ll get it right this time. I love you, Lilly. Will you marry me?”
She bit her lip, still worried about how her father’s scandal might affect Robert. “Are you sure it’s a good idea?”
He nodded. “Best idea I’ve had in a long time.”
“But what about—”
He covered her mouth with his finger. “We’re going public with this.”
Her blood drained to her feet. “Oh, my God, are you sure that’s wise?”
“If we go public, the snake loses its venom.”
“Or gets neutered,” she muttered, remembering what Delilah had said.
“You still haven’t answered my question,” Robert prompted.
Lilly surreptitiously pinched herself. She kept waiting to wake up from this incredible dream. “Yes. I can’t say no to you.”
He opened the box and slid the ring back on her finger then pulled her into his arms. “If something is bothering you, I want you to promise to tell me.”
“I will,” she said.
He took her mouth in a kiss of commitment and surprising passion. Lilly felt herself melt against him.
“I think I have some making up to do,” he muttered against her lips.
“What do you mean?”
“I mean I know our little rendezvous in the library wasn’t very enjoyable for you. I want to make it up to you.”
She felt a rush of anticipation. “Now?”
“Do you have anything planned for the next twenty-four hours?”
Omigod. By the look in his eyes, he was going to eat her up. “Uh, no.”
He smiled like a wolf. “Good.”
Hours later, Lilly couldn’t walk, couldn’t think, but didn’t care. She lost count of how many times Robert had brought her to climax.
He kissed her funny ears and ran his hand over her breasts. “I love the way your body responds.”
“I had no idea how—” She groped for words. “How good you could—” She broke off, shaking her head. “You always seemed so distracted.”
He lowered his mouth to her nipples and she sighed. “I’m not finished.”
On Monday, Delilah picked up Katie and Michael at the airport. Katie hugged her tightly, casting worried glances over her during the entire drive to Delilah’s condo. Delilah told Michael the whole sordid story and listened while he read her the riot act for giving Guy any money.
“You never pay them. Once you start, they turn into parasites and they’ll bleed you dry.”
“Same thing Benjamin said,” she muttered, pulling into the parking garage.
“What?” Katie asked.
“Nothing,” Delilah said. “I just really appreciate both of you coming to my rescue. I’m sorry to have to ask you.”
Katie shook her head. “You should have called us sooner.” She gave Delilah another fierce hug. “We’re family. We should count on each other.”
Delilah felt a sliver of relief. “Thanks, Priss,” she said, using the name she’d called Katie as a child.
On the way up to her condo, Michael told Delilah what he had already learned about Guy from researching him online. She was stunned with the speed at which he’d gathered so much information.
“How do you know so much?” Delilah asked as she opened the door to her condo.
“The guy surfs the Internet,” Michael said. “I hacked into his system.”
“What did you find out?”
“You and Lilly aren’t the only ones Guy Crandall is blackmailing,” Michael said.
Delilah dropped her jaw. “We’re not?”
Benjamin appea
red in the hallway and her heart dipped to her feet. He was obviously still furious with her. “Is this your sister and your brother-in-law?” he asked in a chilly voice.
She nodded. “Katie, Michael, this is Benjamin Huntington.”
A light of recognition glinted in Michael’s eyes. “Lilly’s your sister-in-law to be?”
He gave Delilah a hard glance. “That remains to be seen. No one has talked with Robert since yesterday morning.”
Delilah felt a sinking sensation in the pit of her stomach. “Oh, no.”
Katie looked from Delilah to Benjamin and back again. Delilah suspected her sister’s intuition was working overtime. “Let’s go inside so you can hear Michael’s plan.”
The four of them walked into the living room and Delilah sat in a chair on the far side and told herself not to look at Benjamin. He made her nervous.
Katie slid her arm around Michael and smiled up at him. “Okay, show them how brilliant you are.”
He rolled his eyes, but kissed her. The steady love between them glowed like a light that would never lose its power. Delilah felt a sharp twinge. She was happy for Katie, she reminded herself. Katie had been through a lot of hard years. She deserved happiness. She deserved Michael’s love and devotion.
Delilah didn’t like to think about what she deserved.
“I hacked into Guy Crandall’s machine and found some interesting files. He apparently keeps records of his blackmail on his computer.”
“Names?” Benjamin asked.
“Names, dates, amount received, amount owed and a one-sentence explanation of the dirt he has on these people.”
Benjamin whistled. “What a racket.”
Delilah burned with anger. “What a scumball. And to think I paid him. To think I was willing to give up ownership of my condo.”
“I think I can wrap this up by tonight,” Michael said.
“How?” Delilah asked.
“He’s very good,” Katie said.
Michael chuckled. “Since I’ve acquired this fascinating CD of information on Mr. Crandall’s activities, I thought I’d meet him after his poker game tonight and go over the legal ramifications of blackmail.”
Delilah shook her head. “He’s really a jerk. I’m not sure he’ll listen to you.”
