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As she left the villa, she refused to look back. In minutes, she was at Jake’s airstrip where a sleek jet was ready and waiting to take her home.
Shortly after twelve, the plane lifted off the island. Still burning with fury, she gazed below at Jake’s sprawling villa and the green jewel of an island in the blue sea. When she got home, she’d get a divorce and end this sham marriage. In fact, because of the deceit, she might even be able to have their marriage annulled. She could pretend the whole thing never happened.
She had no place to go in Dallas except her parents’ house. But sooner or later, Jake would show up and she wanted to have that confrontation in private and keep her parents out of it. Thanks to Jake she had a hefty savings account. She toyed with the idea of going to Fort Worth or Houston or even out of state and letting Jake search for her to give herself some time before she faced him. But in the end that was just postponing the inevitable.
The prospect of working in Dallas where they might occasionally cross paths didn’t appeal to her. But when she considered moving away, she felt deflated. Her family and friends were all in Dallas. While she was certain she could make new friends, she didn’t want to sever close ties. Dallas was big enough that she and Jake might never see each other.
She vowed she wouldn’t trust Jake again. He’d deceived her because she’d been gullible and trusting. Never again would she accept anything Jake said without questioning his motives. He was driven and power-grubbing. His world revolved around himself and she needed to remember that.
When she landed in midafternoon, she took a taxi to a hotel and booked a suite. Next, she went to their house to get her car, pack her things and move what she needed to the hotel.
She spent the next few hours mulling over plans. Next week she would find a lawyer and see about getting an annulment or a divorce. She wondered if she’d have a difficult time finding an attorney who would fight with Jake’s battery of brilliant, successful lawyers. And with a billion-dollar inheritance at stake, Jake would definitely fight.
Well, he had chosen the wrong woman. Her first instincts had been right. That first night when he had proposed a marriage of convenience, she should have stuck with her initial reaction—that it was preposterous and would never work. How right she had been!
Jake always trusted his instincts. She should have trusted her own.
Soon she would have to see about a job. This would mean giving up her charity work, changing her lifestyle yet again. It occurred to her that she could make Jake pay for what he’d done, but then she dismissed the notion. She just wanted him out of her life.
She’d have to give up some things if she got a job. She coordinated tutors to help students in the elementary grades with reading, math and language. She volunteered two afternoons a week at a school where she met with the tutors, talking to them briefly and answering their questions, then spending one-on-one time with anyone who needed it.
She also served on the board of a children’s shelter. But it took up a lot of her time, so that would have to go.
She could continue tutoring a child in math and science on Wednesday evenings at her father’s church. She’d become friendly with four young men who were on a high-school football team. They gave an hour one night a week to mentor elementary kids. She could continue to help them with that. Gradually she was getting to know both the younger students and their tutors, and her heart went out to all of them. The contrast between their lives and Jake’s disturbed her.
The Dallas hotel she’d checked into was on a busy highway, but she was in a suite that faced away from the highway and overlooked the pool. She charged the suite to Jake. She didn’t care if he knew.
She had a balcony with a table and chairs. The decor of her living area was beige and white and very elegant. She knew soon she’d get used to a more modest style of living and save her money, but she didn’t plan to be in the hotel long. She had enough in her savings account for a down payment on a condo. With Jake’s money, she could take her time to look for a job and a place to live.
She ordered dinner through room service and as night fell, she was surprised she hadn’t heard from Jake. He should have returned to the island by now.
At ten o’clock her cell phone rang, and she answered to hear Jake’s deep voice.
“I’m in the hotel. I’m coming up to see you,” he said with a note of steel in his voice.
“Fine,” she replied, realizing that sooner or later, she would have to talk to him and she might as well get it over with. With a click of the phone, Jake was gone. He’d found her sooner than she’d expected, but he had endless resources at his disposal. She put away her phone and stepped in front of a mirror. Her hair fell free across her shoulders. She wore a red silk blouse and matching slacks. Satisfied with her looks, she waited for his knock.
“Emily, it’s Jake,” he said in a low voice. She opened the door and he came striding into the room, as dynamic a presence as ever. His commanding gaze stabbed into her.
He was still in his suit, but his tie was gone and his shirt was unbuttoned at the throat. Locks of his black hair fell slightly on his forehead as if tangled by the wind. He towered over her. In his expensive flawless suit, he looked commanding. Pulling the letter out of his pocket, he held it out. “I suppose this is why you left.”
“Yes. I want a divorce,” she said. She tried to keep her voice civil, but her fists were clenched and she was trembling with anger again. “How could you deceive me the way you did?” she blurted out, unable to control her fury.
In agitation, she crossed the room to put some distance between them and then whirled to face him. “You married me to get Hubert’s money. Not for any other reason!” she snapped. “I hate you, Jake, for your duplicity.”
A muscle worked in his jaw, but otherwise he looked calm. “I think you’re making a mountain out of a molehill. We married because it was convenient, not for love. I never told you I loved you.”
“A molehill!” She struggled to get her voice back down. “Your greed is astounding. You’ll do anything for money! Why didn’t you just tell me what the deal was and let me decide if I wanted to get married under those circumstances?”
“You know you wouldn’t have.”
“If you think I wouldn’t have, then you know full well that you were doing something underhanded and wrong! I can’t believe how conniving you are!” She was hot with anger and her voice had risen. She hated his unshakable cool demeanor.
“All right, maybe I should have told you. But that’s over and done. Now that you know, why can’t we go on with this marriage? You’ll still get all sorts of things you never would have otherwise. And if we split up, you may never get married again. You might never have those children you want,” he stated flatly. “You’re thirty-one now,” he reminded her. “Your biological clock is ticking.”
“You needn’t remind me,” she replied stiffly, hating him with her whole being. “I don’t want my children to have a father who loves money more than anything else on earth. And last night…that was the most devious behavior of all. You led me to believe that you cared, that there was a chance for our marriage to be real. That love would come. ‘I told you that love will bloom,’ you said. ‘I want this marriage to work,’” she quoted. “‘I think this marriage has every potential for success. I don’t want to lose you.’” She glared at him. “It was lie upon lie,” she added, not caring about his excuses.
“You’re blowing this all out of proportion, Emily. And we’ve been good together. Deny that one,” he said, leveling a look at her that only increased her fury.
“What else haven’t you told me? What other big shocks lie in store?”
“That’s it,” he snapped, for the first time scowling at her. “That inheritance changes nothing between you and me.”
“It changes everything. You weren’t straightforward with me. It’s a betrayal of my trust!”
He pushed open his jacket to place his hands on his hips. He stared at her, his gray eyes glacial. “It’s ridiculous for you to waste your money staying at this hotel. Come out to the house. You can stay down the hall and we can avoid each other as much as you want, but we can talk things over and come to some agreement.”
“I’m not moving in with you,” she said. Was he listening to her at all? “I want a divorce. Or an annulment. Now I know why you fought the idea of divorce so strongly. Evidently, Hubert will cut you out of that inheritance if you divorce.”
“He hasn’t said that in so many words,” Jake said, but his face flushed, and she suspected she was exactly right.
“And the nursery, Jake. I see why you wanted a nursery. I’m sure you sent pictures of it to Hubert,” she said and saw Jake’s face flush even more. For once, he couldn’t maintain his impassive gaze. “You didn’t give a fig for the nursery! You may not even care about the baby if you ever have one. You’re after money.”
“I wanted him to know we were planning a family.”
“Of course you did. The only reason you haven’t lied to him and told him I’m pregnant is because you know he’ll want to meet the baby or see pictures. Well, you married the wrong woman,” she said. “I want out of this marriage.” She raised her chin. She wondered if Jake had ever been told he was going to have to do something he didn’t want to do.
His eyes narrowed. “You promised just a little over twenty-four hours ago that you would give me another six months. You gave me your word. And I agreed to give you a half a million dollars.”
“You’re a fine one to talk about giving your word!” she cried, winding her fingers together tightly.
“You promised me, Emily. Six more months.” He rubbed the back of his neck and gave her a stormy look. “You’re giving up a half a million dollars’ worth of help for all those people you say need it so desperately.”
“I’m not letting you touch me again. I don’t want to have your baby! I don’t want to get pregnant by you. My body is mine—you can never buy it. Never!”
“Never is a hell of a long time and you have a lot to learn about negotiation,” he said imperturbably, fueling her anger.
“You don’t deserve to have me honor my promise.”
“Perhaps not,” he said, leveling a cold hard look at her. “But you won’t be able to live with yourself if you don’t honor what you promised. It doesn’t matter one damn bit what I did when it comes to you giving your word. You live by a code of honesty and you know you’re going to have to uphold it to feel good about yourself.”
Suspecting he was right, she frowned. “This is one time I’ll live with guilt. I’m not coming back with you. I don’t want more intimate moments with you or to help you get more money. You’re consumed with greed, Jake!”
“You haven’t disliked intimate moments with me in the past,” he reminded her. She glared at him in silence, seeing they were at an impasse.
“This marriage is finished,” she declared.
“Maybe,” he said, studying her. “I’m always open to negotiation, Emily. You need to learn to salvage what you can from a bad situation,” he said.
“There’s nothing I want to salvage here. Deceitfulness is unforgivable. I can’t trust you.”
He shrugged, dismissing her. He jammed his hand in his pocket and gazed at her with speculation. Another lock of black hair curved over his forehead, giving him a slightly disheveled appearance that was usually enticing. She had no idea what he was thinking, but she was certain he was trying to figure out a way to talk her into doing what he wanted. She folded her hands across her middle and stared at him. She could wait as long as he could—she had no intention of letting him talk her into staying.
“Now think before you answer. Use your head and not your emotions.”
“I’ll really try, Jake,” she said with sarcasm.
“You stay…”
She opened her mouth to protest and he held up his hand, giving her a warning look.
“Hear me out before you answer. Always listen to the offer and weigh your options. You stay the six months with me at my Dallas home, stay as my wife—”
“Absolutely not!”
“Listen to me. Stay married to me in name only—a true paper marriage of convenience this time—for the six months and I’ll increase that half million I’m giving you to one million. That’s one million dollars for you, your family, your charities, whatever you want to spend it on. You can never do that much good for people, Emily, if you say no and walk out now.”
Once again, Jake had shocked her. She drew a deep breath. In spite of her protests and her fury, she knew that she had to think this over. That was too much money to blow off for her own selfish reasons. And he knew it. Nothing changed in his expression, but she was certain that Jake expected her to accept.
She stared at him, hoping she seemed as unruffled as he. “Well, maybe I can learn something about negotiation from the master, Jake. I want tonight to think over your offer.”
He nodded. “Fair enough,” he replied with a note of confidence. “Sleep on it and think about what you’d be giving up. A million dollars is a helluva lot of money.” He turned slightly as if to leave, but then paused. “I’ll come here in the morning—half-past seven. You can give me your answer. If you stay, I’ll take you to breakfast. If you don’t, I’ll go on my way.”
She doubted he would do any such thing without another battle, but she nodded. “Agreed. I’ll see you in the morning.”
He gave her a long searching look and then turned and left. She let out her breath, shaking now that Jake had gone. It had taken a toll to match wits with him and try to stay as calm as he was. Her hands were clammy and her stomach churned. She’d wanted to throw something at him, smash something against the door he’d just walked through.
She rushed to switch off the lights and stepped out onto the balcony into the chilly Dallas night. She sat in a chair and watched the traffic below, remembering she hadn’t eaten all day. But she didn’t care. She felt like even one bite of food would make her gag.
Below, she saw half of a limo parked on the hotel drive, the rest of it hidden by the portico. It was Jake’s—she saw Toby leaning against it, waiting patiently for Jake to come out.
Then she saw Jake emerge from under the portico and stride across the driveway, his long legs eating up the distance to the limo. Wind tangled locks of his hair. A doorman on the driveway moved out of his way and a car halted to let him cross. She watched him climb into the limo and the chauffeur close the door. In seconds the limo pulled out and disappeared around the curve of the hotel driveway.
She went inside, closing the door. But she still felt Jake’s domineering presence in the empty room.
While she pondered her options, she sat inside by a window to look out at the traffic.
Why would he offer her marriage in name only? That wouldn’t get him the baby he wanted. She knew Jake had a reason for everything he did. He was probably certain if he could keep her under his roof, he could seduce her. And he could still tell Hubert about his wife at home. She knew that on Jake’s European jaunts, he often called on his mentor.
She thought of the children who were being tutored and all they needed. The four high-school football players who mentored the elementary kids could use some new supplies, too. One of the high-school boys, Orlando Crane, seemed talented and bright, but because of difficulties at home trying to take care of his siblings, he could barely stay in school himself. Their high school was the poorest in the system. The team only had tattered faded uniforms and poor equipment. She could use the money in so many ways. Jake had made her an offer she had to consider. What was she going to do?
Jake gazed unseeingly out the window of the limo. “Dammit!” he swore, thinking about the letter. That letter from Hub he should’ve tossed.
It had been sent to his office and he’d stuck it into his pocket to read on the way to a meeting. He’d meant to shred it when he returned to the office. Instead, he had forgotten about it.
He thought about making love with Emily. She set him on fire. Last night, she was the most passionate she’d ever been, willing to do anything, eager and responsive. He slow-played memories of later, standing in front of the mirror where he could watch her while he fondled and caressed her, demolished all her control. Hot and aroused now, he shifted uncomfortably. He’d spent all day looking forward to tonight. He’d expected another night of passion—only to discover she wanted a divorce.
She surprised him. She had been composed and calm tonight. No tears, no screaming. But then he’d known for a long time that she was intelligent. For a moment he wondered why in the hell he hadn’t just married some gorgeous babe who loved cars and diamonds and wouldn’t have given him a moment’s trouble. But then he knew he would have been bored in six months. So far, he couldn’t claim one minute of boredom with Emily.
She’d looked beautiful, too—willowy, curvaceous, luscious. He drew a deep breath, thinking about when he’d opened the door and she’d been standing there, fire in her blue eyes. The red silk clung to her curves without flaunting them in his face. Just seeing her had ignited fires at a time he couldn’t handle a blaze.
He didn’t think he could be angry and frustrated and aroused at the same time, but tonight he’d learned that he could. His first inclination had been to cross the room, take her into his arms and kiss away all her objections. For once, she had a wall of resistance between them as hard as a slab of concrete.
If she accepted his offer—and he expected her to—he’d have her under his roof and if so, it was only a matter of time until he could seduce her. And he would still be able to talk to Hub about her being with him. Jake inhaled deeply, clenching his fist. If only he’d gotten Em pregnant last night. Maybe he had. For if she got pregnant, it would solve everything—give her something to occupy her mind and her time besides the damnable charities.
Just remembering the previous night heated him. She’d felt so smooth, so satiny in his arms, and her curves were so delectable. He remembered her hands exploring him, caressing him while she’d kissed him, her tongue licking him, hot and wet. She drove him wild. He inhaled again and stretched, trying to get their lovemaking out of his mind.
It surprised him how often he thought of her. He’d always been able to keep whatever woman was in his life out of his thoughts. But Emily had a way of stirring memories too easily. Soon he was lost in erotic fantasies, wanting her badly.
Suppose she turned him down? Should he have another offer ready? He wasn’t going to let her go. She had to have a price. He wanted Hub’s inheritance…and the old man was slipping by the week.
Jake thought about his offer. He wondered if Emily would sleep easily tonight. Her cheeks had been pink, her blue eyes stormy, but he’d been surprised how composed she’d remained.
She was getting to him in ways he didn’t want. He wished he’d looked into her life more before they’d married. He’d had her background checked and she’d seemed perfect, a spotless record. She could run for public office without worry. But it had never occurred to him when he’d picked a woman who wasn’t interested in his wealth, that she wouldn’t be impressed by it, either.
He shook his head. He had to think clearly about his alternatives if she turned him down. He was not going to let Emily walk out on him. Not until he had Hub’s inheritance.
Four
Saturday morning Emily showered and dressed with care, pulling on a navy dress with a straight skirt that ended midcalf. It had a split up one side that revealed her legs when she walked. The neckline was high and the sleeves short. It was simple, and she liked how she looked in it. Her hair was combed and fell freely across her shoulders.
She’d spent a sleepless night, weighing her options and possibilities, trying to decide what would be best for her future and contemplating the consequences.
Promptly at half-past seven Jake called from the lobby and she told him to come up.
When she heard his faint knock, she swung open the door and her heart thudded.
Wearing one of his dark suits, he was at his most appealing …and formidable. Her mouth went dry and her pulse raced. She couldn’t keep from glancing at his sensual, sculpted lips and thinking about his kisses. Trying to gather her wits, she inhaled. Jake looked confident and in control.
“You look gorgeous,” he said.
“Thank you,” she replied, walking away from him to put distance between them. She needed to stay on her toes, because she could feel a battle coming.
“How’s the hotel? My friend’s is just down the street if you care to move. I can get you a luxury suite.”
“I’m comfortable where I am,” she replied, wondering how long they would deal so courteously with each other. A moment of tense silence stretched between them.
“Have you decided? Do you accept my offer?” Jake asked.
“I’ve given it a lot of thought. I stayed up all night.” She raised her chin. “You said you’re always open to negotiation. You told me to learn to salvage what I can from a bad situation.”
Amusement flashed in his eyes. “I did offer that advice.”
“I hope I took it,” she replied, trying to look calm. She didn’t want to let him discover her palms were already damp. “You also advised me to always listen to the offer and weigh my options.”
“I may have extended a bit more advice than I should have for my own good,” he remarked dryly.
They were sparring, and at the moment she enjoyed it. But she also knew she was out of her league. Jake was an old hand at one-upmanship, and she felt as if she were tiptoeing through a verbal minefield.
