Meddling with a Millionaire (14 page)

W
ondering what could be keeping Emma, Nathan reentered the bedroom and found her standing, lost in thought. Taking her by the hand, he drew her into the suite's main room, where dinner awaited. Candlelight sparkled off the cut-crystal glassware and highlighted the gold pattern on the china.

Nathan pulled out a chair and Emma sat down. His heart bucked as he knelt beside her chair, but other than that, he felt remarkably calm. This was the moment he'd been anticipating all day. “I have something for you.” Still holding her hand, he turned her palm up. “Marry me.”

Silence filled the room while Emma stared at a magnificent diamond glittering on her palm. Despite the uncertainty in her eyes, her lips twitched. “Most men propose with a ring.”

“I figured you'd rather design your own.”

“You'd be right.”

“You haven't answered my question,” he prompted.

She closed her fingers, trapping the diamond in her fist. “Funny, I didn't hear a question.” She raised her chin and met
his gaze. The hope and wariness at war in her dark brown eyes didn't ease the tightness in his chest. “It sounded more like a demand.”

And it had been. Nathan immediately recognized his mistake. She was a fanciful girl who believed in fairy tales. He'd offered her practicality. He turned over the hand clenched around the diamond and dusted a reverent kiss across her knuckles. “Emma Montgomery, will you marry me?”

“Can you promise me I'll never regret it?”

“No.”

At last she smiled. But it was a pale representation of true happiness. “You could have lied and told me yes.”

“I'd rather be honest with you.” He cupped her face in his hands. “I want our marriage to be based on respect and trust.”

“But if there was no deal with my father you wouldn't be marrying me.”

“Deal or no deal, if I didn't want to marry you, I wouldn't.”

An intense light entered her eyes. Her whole body vibrated with tension. “Do you think you could ever love me?”

Here was the question he'd been dreading. The businessman in him counseled lying to her, but that would mean he would spend the rest of his life living a sham. He needed to be truthful, even if he risked losing her.

“I can't promise you a happily-ever-after, but you'll never question my commitment to you or our life together.” He released her chin to coast a gentle caress against her cheek. “Marry me.”

She deflated beneath his words. “I don't have to.”

“What do you mean?” he demanded.

“My jewelry sold at Biella's. It's enough to replace all the money in my account. I won the bet with my father.” Her voice shook. “I no longer have to settle for a marriage based only on trust and respect.”

“You want love.” He dragged his hand though his hair. A muscle ticked in his jaw.

“More than anything.” Her warm chocolate eyes cooled as his scorn struck her.

“There is no such thing as a fairy-tale ending, Emma.”

“Not for us,” she whispered. “Not if you can't love me. But maybe someday for me if I don't marry you.”

“You're a fool.”

She pushed his hands away and stood. “No, I'm not.”

Nathan got to his feet as well, but slowly, uncoiling one muscle at a time while he fought to keep his frustration in check. “You'll spend the rest of your days chasing rainbows only to have them fade before you catch them. That's what love is. An illusion.”

“You're wrong. Love is what keeps us together through the worst life throws at us. It's hope and faith. It makes us strong. And you'd see that if you'd just stop expecting to be disappointed.”

“You're the one who's wrong if you think I don't feel something for you.”

“Not love—” She gasped as he caught her upper arms and pulled her flush against him.

A long silence followed her statement, punctuated only by their ragged breathing. Despite being angry with her, desire sank long talons into him. He could take her to bed and make love to her until she stopped thinking. He'd bring her to the edge of orgasm over and over until she admitted that he was the only man she would ever belong to like that.

But eventually they would have to leave the bed and the arguments would begin all over again. He wouldn't compromise, and neither would she. Round and round with no hope that either one would bend.

“I guess we're at an impasse then,” he said. His hands fell away. She'd gotten what she wanted. She had no reason to marry him, which made his deal with her father null and void.
He had nothing more to fight for. “I hope you don't regret this decision.”

Emma turned her back to him, but not before he saw her mouth twist into a grim line. “Why would I?”

“Because with me, for better or worse, you know exactly what you get. Will you be so sure of the next guy?”

When she didn't answer, Nathan retreated to the bedroom to gather his things. He dressed quickly and came to stand before her. She hadn't moved while he was packing, but now, her hand lifted toward his sleeve.

Before she touched him, he spoke. “Goodbye, Emma.”

He gave the words a ring of permanence. He wanted her to understand that he was leaving her for good. No turning back.

“Goodbye, Nathan. Be happy.”

Snarling at her parting words, he walked out of the hotel suite and out of her life.

 

The second half of February was busy for Emma. Unenthusiastic about tackling the major remodeling job it needed, she put her loft up for sale, marketing it as is, and moved her things into a tiny two-bedroom apartment. With her jewelry selling well at Biella's, she expanded into a couple stores in Dallas and Austin. Losing herself in work might not be a cure for heartbreak, but driving herself to exhaustion was a boon to her jewelry inventory.

Nathan never showed up at her door. She wasn't surprised. She'd refused to marry him. His deal with her father was done. So he was done with her.

She forced herself to eat even though her stomach protested at the mere thought of food. Every morning as she brushed her teeth, she confronted her ghost in the mirror. If she'd had the energy, she would have laughed at the contrast between the glowing, animated woman she'd been at Nathan's condo and the shadowy creature she'd become.

But nights were the worst. Questions haunted her. Had refusing Nathan been the right thing to do? Was a lifetime of heartache worth her self-respect? Did he think of her? She wanted to marry for love. By standing up for what she believed in, she'd gained her self-respect and lost her heart.

Only time would tell if she'd made the right choice.

March rolled in, bringing sunshine and warmer temperatures. A day came when Emma dressed in jeans and her favorite purple blouse and went shopping. She needed groceries and one special item.

An hour later, Emma stood in her bathroom and stared at the pregnancy test in her hand. The instructions on the box said the test was ninety-nine percent accurate, but Emma wanted to be absolutely positive—scratch that, confident about the results.

What if she was pregnant?

Horrified brown eyes stared back at her from the mirror.

Pregnant with Nathan's baby.

After the way he'd walked out on her, she knew he never wanted to hear from her again. A pregnancy would bring him back into her life. What would that mean?

She took the test, set the stick on the toilet tank, and left the bathroom in a daze. She needed to talk to someone, and with Addison out of town, she picked up the phone and dialed her sister-in-law, Jaime.

“Hi, stranger,” Jaime said. “Haven't heard from you lately.”

“I've been sort of busy. How are you feeling?”

“I'll be better in a week when the baby comes. Ouch. He's active today. Lately he gets restless at night.”

Emma lifted her shirt and fanned her fingers over her still-flat midsection. She stared at her navel.

Was she going to be a mother?

“I had hoped to be in our new house before he was born, but it's not going to work out,” Jaime continued. “I can't wait to get out of here. Living with your father means living where
there's no privacy and no peace. He tells Cody what to do about everything. It drives me crazy. I don't know why I let that husband of mine talk me into moving in here while our house was being built. We'd have been better off in a hotel.”

“I'm sure the maid service isn't nearly as good at the Lancaster as it is at Chateau Montgomery.”

“True, but at least I could have my husband to myself.” Jaime continued her one-sided conversation, then must have noticed she no longer had an audience. “Emma, are you okay?”

“I think I'm pregnant.”

“Pregnant?”

Emma winced as Jaime's voice shrilled in her ear.

“Emma, pregnant? Are you sure?”

“No, I'm not sure. I'm taking the test right now. And could you please keep your voice down?”

“Is it Nathan's baby?” Jaime whispered. “Of course it is. Are you going to marry him now?”

“No.”

Being pregnant didn't change anything between them. He still didn't love her. But it gave her an excuse to lie to herself and say that no longer mattered. She was pregnant with his child. An illegitimate child. It had been hard for Nathan to grow up an outsider in his father's household. Would he let his son suffer the same way?

“How long has it been since you took the test?”

Glancing at her watch, she realized that time was up. Emma raked an unsteady hand through her long hair. “About ten minutes.”

“Go check.”

Emma retraced her steps to the bathroom. She picked up the stick and closed her eyes. With a deep breath gathered in her lungs, she looked at the pregnancy test.

“Positive.” Emma sat down on the bathroom floor. “I'm pregnant.”

“I'm sure he'll be thrilled.” Jaime's tone rang with conviction. “Cody said Nathan's had a thing for you for years.”

Hope curled around Emma like a snake, slowly strangling her good sense. “If by
thing
you mean he wanted to get me into bed, then I agree. I know I'd be wasting my breath to ask you to keep this from your husband. But please tell Cody not to say anything to Nathan. I need to figure out what I'm going to do. And for heaven's sake, make sure he doesn't tell Daddy.”

“Call me later in the week and tell me how you're doing.”

“I will.”

“And if you need anything, you know Cody and I will be here for you.”

Tears pricked Emma's eyes. “Thanks.”

 

“Sorry to interrupt your meeting.” Missy, Sebastian's executive assistant, stuck her head through the door and smiled in apology. “But I thought you should know that Cody Montgomery is here to see Nathan.”

Sebastian and Max looked at each other then locked their gazes on Nathan. “I thought you told Montgomery Oil that we passed,” Sebastian said.

“I'm sure it's a social call.”

“Social?” Max demanded. “Since when are you so cozy with the Montgomerys?”

“Since Cody and I went to college together.”

“That's why you were so damn confident you'd get to do the deal. You had an in with the old man.”

Annoyance briefly flared at Max's accusation. Then, Nathan shrugged. Why bother defending himself? Let his brothers think what they wanted. Nothing held any appeal for him these days—not besting his brothers, not making money, not even the opportunity to purchase an Onderdonk painting
he'd wanted for ten years. Since he'd walked out on Emma, all roads led to regret.

Nathan lifted his feet off the coffee table and strode out of the room. Lately, everything fed his restless streak, from his brothers' uninspired decisions about the business, to sitting in his office where nothing stirred his interest, to going home to his empty condo.

He hated his life. It was lonely, dull and he'd never been more miserable. He'd failed to impress his brothers with his business savvy. In fact, he'd further aggravated his relationship with them by being surly and distant for the last two weeks. And he'd turned his back on the most amazing woman he'd ever met. He deserved to be miserable.

He found Cody pacing the lobby. “What are you doing in Houston?”

“I met with a couple of our board members this morning, but we got done early and I wondered if you had time for lunch before I head back.”

Nathan glanced at his watch. “The restaurant downstairs doesn't open for another twenty minutes. Are you sure you have time to hang out in Houston? Isn't your wife due any day now?”

“We've got a couple days to go.” Cody grimaced. “Although she'd probably be happy if it happened sooner.” He glanced around and noticed the paintings on the wall. “Hey, those look like the ones Dad has in his office.”

“Onderdonk.” Nathan nodded, wondering what was up with the Montgomery family and his art collection.

“I thought so. I think Emma got him to buy them. And speaking of my sister, what's going on with you two?”

Cody's blunt transition from paintings to Emma warned Nathan that this wasn't a casual visit. “Let's go talk in my office.” He gestured down the hall. “Nothing is going on between us.”

The look Cody shot him reminded Nathan of Emma. Pain
lanced through him. He didn't want to hurt. When his mother died, he'd sworn never to let himself yield to loving anyone again. Yet Emma had wriggled her way beneath his guard and he'd begun to open his heart to her.

“Any reason you can't pick up the phone and see if she's all right?” Cody's aggressive tone caught Nathan by surprise.

Had something bad happened to Emma? No, if it had, Cody would have led with that.

“The last time we spoke, she made it pretty clear she doesn't want to hear from me.”

“You might be wrong about that.”