by Annie West
Now that choice was denied her. She had to give Jake up and Ariane too. Her father had made that clear. He was a man who didn’t make empty threats.
It didn’t matter that Jake had done nothing wrong, had broken no law. If her father vowed to destroy him he would. Even if it took years, he’d manipulate the truth, plant evidence, bribe people, all that and more, to destroy Jake’s reputation and his business. The King had the contacts and the lack of scruples to do it. He’d even threatened extradition to St Ancilla on trumped-up charges relating to the disbursement of Jake’s sister’s estate and alleged mismanagement of an investment scheme there. He’d ensure Jake didn’t get a fair trial. Destroying his reputation would devastate his business.
Unless Caro gave up her daughter and returned, alone, to the palace.
He’d taken his time planning his revenge for the way she stood up to him. It was something he excelled in. How had she let herself forget that?
The threat had made her realise too that her father would continue to influence their lives, spreading poison that would eventually infect Ariane, unless she, Caro, gave her up. There’d be no escape and ultimately Ariane would suffer.
Caro’s throat constricted but she refused to cry. Now, more than ever, she had to be strong.
She didn’t know how she was going to walk away from Jake and Ariane but she had to believe her daughter would be fine without her, because she’d have Jake. It wasn’t as if Ariane knew Caro was her mother. Now she never would. Caro would have to get Jake to promise that at least.
Yet, here in her room, the room she hadn’t slept in since returning from St Ancilla, Caro wondered how she’d find the strength to do what she must.
But surely it was simply one step then another, like after Mike’s betrayal. And when she’d believed her baby dead.
Drawing a deep breath, Caro took a step, then another, towards the wardrobe where her suitcase was stored.
* * *
Jake had waited long enough. The days had stretched out and still Caro hadn’t given an answer. She drove him crazy.
She made love as ardently as before, yet their emotional connection had severed.
He’d given up being patient. It was time for answers.
Answers he got as he opened the bedroom door and saw Caro with her back to him, suitcase open on the bed.
For a second that seemed to last for ever his feet stuck to the floor. He couldn’t move, could barely process what he saw. But only for a second. He crossed the room and she swung around.
There was a flash of something in her eyes. Relief? Pleasure? Something that made the bleakness inside ease and hope surge.
Then it disappeared. Those violet eyes turned dull and shadowed, dropping to his chin.
He knew why. She’d decided he wasn’t good enough. Why marry a commoner when she had handsome aristocrats hanging off her every word? He’d seen them at the ball, panting after her.
The weight within his ribs crushed him. His lungs laboured. Jake had to force himself to stand still and not haul her to him and insist they could work this out.
‘This is your answer?’ Another time he’d have winced at the raw emotion in his voice. ‘Were you going to tell me or just let me work it out when you vanished?’
She jumped at his lashing words and Jake was torn between wanting to soothe her and wanting to make her hurt as he did.
Had he ever felt such pulsing, writhing pain? He had a hazy recollection of something similar as a kid. The day he’d come home from school to discover his mother had cleared out again. Jake shoved the memory aside. He’d given up caring about his mother. But he cared about Caro. He’d thought...
She lifted her face slowly, as if reluctant to face him.
‘I was going to tell you. I’m sorry, Jake. But I...’ She shook her head and her glorious hair, loose around her shoulders, shifted like a living thing, attracting all the light in the room. It was burnished in shades of blood and rust, like the metallic tang of defeat filling his mouth. ‘I’ve given your suggestion a lot of thought but it won’t work.’ She opened her mouth as if to say more then paused. ‘It’s time I left.’
She turned away and reached for a blouse, folding it methodically.
That was all the explanation he deserved?
His anger notched higher and so did his determination. He never quit. Never gave up on something worth fighting for.
Jake snagged a rough breath, then another. This wasn’t the end. He refused to let her go like this.
‘So you’re going to fight me for custody of Ariane.’
Caro jumped and the blouse fell to the bed. For a long time she stood, utterly still, though tension emanated from her. He felt it like waves pummelling him.
‘No... I’ve decided that won’t work.’ She picked up the blouse once more and began folding it with excruciatingly slow movements. ‘Ariane is better off with you. You’re her uncle. She knows you, loves you.’ Caro’s voice wobbled alarmingly and Jake felt its echo reverberate inside him as a shudder of astonishment.
He couldn’t be hearing this. It was impossible. After all she’d been through Caro would never contemplate renouncing her child.
‘You’re giving up your daughter? The daughter you wanted so desperately? So desperately you came here under false pretences. So desperately you stood up to your father?’ Jake stalked across to stand behind her shoulder. She hitched an uneven breath as the fabric in her hands became a mangled ball. Jake felt like mangling something himself. ‘I don’t believe it.’
What was going on? Did she find him so repulsive she’d give up Ariane rather than stay with him?
He couldn’t believe it. He knew Caro. Even if things weren’t as good between them now, she’d proved again and again that she was attracted to him. He’d cherished hopes it was something deeper than attraction.
Those narrow shoulders straightened. Her chin lifted and he caught a glimpse of Caro’s proud profile.
‘I’ve made my decision.’ A pause, a long pause, so fraught Jake sensed she struggled. But if this was hard, why not accept his proposal? ‘Ariane will be happy with you. I know you’ll look after her. With me...’ Her shoulders rose. ‘It’s better if she grows up without any connection to my family.’
Jake pounced on the mention of her family, a glimmer of hope easing the raw ache in his gut.
Because he couldn’t believe she’d spurn him otherwise? Was he so desperate?
The answer was a resounding yes. For days he’d been on tenterhooks, giving Caro space to decide. In that time one thing had become abundantly clear.
That he had his own reasons for offering marriage and they weren’t confined to Ariane.
Jake needed more from Caro. Not convenience. Not a mother for his orphaned niece.
He needed Caro for himself.
She spread the blouse on the bed a third time, smoothing then folding it. But her hands shook. Jake stood so close he felt the tremors, heard her uneven breathing.
This took more from her than she wanted to admit.
‘What is it, Caro?’ His voice was husky, rough with emotion he struggled to leash. ‘What’s wrong?’
‘Nothing.’ Her movements quickened, the fold lines on the shirt askew, but she didn’t stop, almost throwing it into the suitcase and reaching for another.
Jake wanted to make her look at him but he didn’t dare touch her. Not yet. He feared that if he did he wouldn’t let her go.
‘Why not marry me and give Ariane the life we both want for her?’
The life we both want for ourselves.
‘I made a mistake. I’m not cut out for motherhood. I need to—’
‘Caro.’ Her name was a caress as he closed his arms around her, pulling her gently back against him, revelling in the feel of her there, where she belonged, even if she was rigid with tension. ‘Tell me what’s
wrong. I know something is. You’re a terrible liar.’
He felt the sob rack her though she stifled it. Still she didn’t relax. Instead her movements grew quicker, her breathing too, as she leaned away from his restraining hold, grabbing fistfuls of clothes and tossing them into the suitcase.
‘Please, don’t make this more difficult, Jake. I don’t want to marry you. We’d make each other unhappy and that wouldn’t be good for Ariane.’
‘And if you’re pregnant?’ He slid his palm to her abdomen. He’d told himself he’d support her if there was a baby. In fact he was thrilled Caro might carry his child. He’d begun to imagine what the baby would look like, how it would feel in his arms.
‘I won’t be. The odds are against it.’
She spoke so softly he had to crane to hear. Which brought him to the spice and warmth scent of her skin. Jake closed his eyes and inhaled. That undid him.
‘Sweetheart, tell me what’s wrong. I promise we’ll find a way to deal with it.’ Jake didn’t care that his voice revealed his feelings. ‘I want you with me. You and Ariane.’
If she’d been tense before it was nothing to her iron rigidity now. It felt as if she didn’t even breathe.
‘No! It’s impossible. We can’t.’
But Jake was listening now, really listening. He didn’t hear rejection but desperation. A woman who didn’t care for him or her child wouldn’t sound as if she were being torn apart.
Her pain wrenched at his vitals. He’d do anything to take the hurt away.
He kissed the curve where her shoulder met her neck and felt her instant response as if her knees gave way. He gathered her closer. Caro’s breath became a sigh and instead of fighting his hold she angled her head a fraction to allow unfettered access.
Triumph rose. Relief so profound it almost overwhelmed him.
Jake lifted one unsteady hand, pushing her hair aside, nuzzling that sensitive spot as she leant against him.
Even if she didn’t feel the same way about him, he could work with that. He was determined, single-minded and patient when he needed to be. He’d make her love him if it took years.
‘You want to be with me,’ he murmured against her skin, feeling her shivers of response.
She tried to move away, but Jake was implacable. He needed to understand and it seemed the only way to learn the truth was when he weakened Caro’s defences. Her words confirmed it.
‘Let me go, Jake. Please. You’re wrong, I don’t want you.’
Her body told another story, as did her voice. She sounded desperate but not convincing. Scared rather than angry. Of what? Surely not of a future together?
‘I don’t believe you.’
She stilled.
‘What happened, Caro? What are you frightened of?’
‘I...’ She shook her head as if she’d run out of lies to distract him.
Gently Jake turned her to face him. Her eyes were wide and her mouth a crooked line of pain but it wasn’t rejection he saw in those purple-blue eyes. It was fear.
Surely not of him? Jake was processing the possibility when abruptly his mind clicked into action.
‘It’s your father, isn’t it? He contacted you.’
The instant flare of her eyes told him he’d hit the truth.
Silently Jake cursed. He’d done everything he could to stymie the King’s attempts to reach Caro and thought he’d succeeded. What he’d learned in that confrontation between father and daughter at the palace had horrified him. Now the man turned even more vicious and unstable. Not simply because Caro dared defy him but because the house of cards he’d built around himself was being swiftly and methodically exposed.
Jake hadn’t hesitated to probe into the monarch’s affairs. Between them, professional investigators and Jake’s well-placed business associates had uncovered an unsavoury, not to mention illegal web of financial misappropriation and fraud. King Hugo regarded the public purse as his own, but the structures he’d used to hide his misdoings were crumbling under pressure.
‘That doesn’t matter.’ Caro’s face was drawn and tense. ‘I can’t live with you and Ariane—’
‘I still don’t believe you.’ Her head jerked up and she looked him in the eye. ‘You want to be with us but you’re frightened.’
How he welcomed her spark of annoyance. Seeing her frightened made him desperate. ‘Has anyone ever told you you’re arrogant, Jake Maynard?’
As a diversion it might have worked, once, weeks ago before he’d got to know Caro. ‘Yes. You have, and it’s true. But I’m right. You can’t lie to me, Caro, you’re no good at it.’
It was true, despite her earlier masquerade. Deliberately, lifting his arms wide, he stepped back, giving her space, though it went against every instinct to release her rather than embrace her.
Jake needed her to trust him.
‘Tell me what he said, Caro. Playing by his rules hurts all of us.’
Finally she nodded. ‘He demanded I return. He wants me there, to marry someone he’s chosen.’
‘Or what?’ Jake kept his voice even despite his building fury.
‘Or he’ll destroy you. He means it, too,’ she said in a rush. ‘He hates me for repudiating him and you for taking my side. He’ll find a way to bring you down. He said he’d make it his mission, no matter how long it takes.’ Caro reached for Jake, grabbing his hands as if to convince him by sheer force. ‘He’ll bring trumped-up charges against you, get someone to testify you broke the law in your financial dealings—’
‘Is that all?’ Jake threaded his fingers through Caro’s, melding their hands.
‘All? Don’t you understand? He’ll destroy your reputation and then your business! You don’t know how devious he is, the lengths he’ll go to.’
‘Oh, I know.’ He should have been prepared for this, but he’d thought there was no way the King could worry Caro here. ‘What I don’t know is whether you’d stay with me if it weren’t for his threats.’
She shook her head, the picture of desperation. ‘Jake, please, listen. He’ll wreck everything you’ve worked for. I can’t let him—’
‘He won’t, Caro. Because he’s about to go under.’ Jake willed her to focus on his words, not her father’s threats. ‘He’s stolen funds and borrowed against assets that don’t belong to him. He’s dipped into the public purse on a huge scale.’
Finally she was taking it in. Her eyes grew huge.
‘He got careless and some of us in the finance sector have been doing our own investigating.’ Because he needed to protect Caro and Ariane. ‘He’s a spent force, Caro. Don’t believe his bluster. This is a last-ditch effort to save himself through you. My guess is he thinks I’ll call off the creditors if he has you in his clutches. Believe me, he can’t touch you. I promise.’
His pulse thundered through the silence and he watched as, gradually, the fear eased from Caro’s face. If Jake had had any doubts about her belief in him, the fact that she took his word now proved otherwise. It warmed him from the inside out in a way only Caro could.
‘You did all that? But why?’ She frowned. ‘You didn’t know he’d threatened you.’
Seeing her puzzlement, Jake realised how alone she must have felt all those years. Had there ever been anyone to stand beside her? He swallowed, his throat constricting painfully. Her stoicism and determination really were phenomenal.
‘You don’t know?’ Jake’s voice stretched. He’d hoped she’d understand. ‘For the same reason I hope you really want to marry me.’
His breath grew shallow, his lungs working overtime. No longer was he a savvy investor, a world-class businessman, secure in his success. Jake hovered on a knife edge between hope and disaster.
‘I fell in love with you, Caro. I want you, not for Ariane but for myself.’ He lifted her hand to his lips and allowed himself a fleeting kiss to her hand, taking c
ourage from the throbbing pulse at her wrist. ‘I know it’s been a short time but I’ve never been more certain of anything.’
Jake watched emotions chase across her face, so fast he hadn’t a hope of deciphering them. Her fingers shook in his grip.
‘Caro?’ His confident words deserted him. It emerged as a croak.
‘You love me?’ She shook her head and he slipped his other hand up to cup her cheek, holding her steady so she could read the truth in his eyes. ‘It’s not possible.’
‘It is. That’s why I took it badly when you needed time to think about marriage.’
‘You said it was a marriage of convenience!’ Jake heard her outrage and hurt and understood how badly he’d blundered with that impulsive proposal. But he’d been so excited at the idea he’d been unable to wait.
Now he had to get it right.
‘It’s taken me a while to confront what I feel. I’m not used to loving.’
Or being loved. His heart rose in his chest as he waited for her response.
‘Nor am I.’ Suddenly Caro was laughing, though it sounded ragged. And beautiful. ‘I can’t believe it.’
‘It’s true, absolutely true.’ He stroked his thumb across her velvety cheek, watching her pupils dilate. ‘What I don’t know is how you feel about me.’
Their eyes locked and he felt that slam of connection, as real as a fist to his heart.
‘Even when I hated you that night of the ball, I was afraid I loved you too.’ Her words were magic, her expression mesmerising. ‘Since then...it’s been so hard feeling the way I do about you and thinking you didn’t reciprocate. I don’t know how I came to love you, Jake, or when, but I do. Totally. You devastated me when you offered a convenient wedding. I thought you only cared about Ariane, not me.’
Jake was filled with mingled pain and ecstasy, torn between exultation and regret.
He was spellbound by her luminous joy that belied the hurt she described.
Caro loved him!
His face split with a grin and he felt like whooping. Or kissing her senseless, except he needed more of her beautiful, wonderful words.
