Nordic Heroes: In the Market and a Wholesale Arrangement (45 page)

Fight for what she wanted or give up?

“Andrea?” Marco prompted in an undertone.

“Yes,” she murmured. “There’s something else you can do for me.” She turned and pinned him with a determined gaze. “I’d like you to uncover everything you can regarding a certain gentleman at my reception . . . .”

“
H
ow you do this to him, huh? How you leave and say nothing? You lose another marble?”

“Undoubtedly. Could we forget my marriage for a minute? I’m tired of talking about it.”

“I,” Joe Milano informed her arrogantly, “am not.”

“You still haven’t answered my question,” she said, intent on regaining control of their conversation. “Can you prepare it for me on a regular basis?”

“No problem.” He finished checking his garlic supply and moved on to the tomatoes. “I make the cannoli with my eyes closed.”

Andrea grinned, vaguely surprised her mouth remembered the movement. “I’d feel better if you did it with them open.”

“They are wide open for now.” He glanced pointedly at her left hand. “What you do with your ring? I not see it for the seven days.”

She glared at him, jamming her hand in her pocket. “I lost it, not that it’s any of your business. Drop the subject, or I’m going to drop something on you.”

“Yes?” He looked intrigued. “Tell me how you do this, please.”

“The cannoli,” she tried again. “What sort of notice do you require to get it ready?”

He shrugged. “A couple hours. Who is this for, anyway? Your husband, maybe? You forget to say.”

She hadn’t forgotten, she’d purposefully neglected to mention it. “Not Thor. Someone else. You met him at our reception,” she said, deliberately vague.

His eyes narrowed. “I meet lots of people. Which is this one?”

“The big guy.” She cleared her throat. “With the big appetite.”

“What, you nuts or something?” he demanded, heaving carrot tops at the garbage pail. “That crazy man stole all my best pastry. Forget it. He is pig.”

“Actually he’s very nice. And he loves your cooking.”

“Cooking?” he roared. A carrot hit her instead of the trash. “You call what I do cooking?”

“All right, cheffing,” she roared back. “He loves your cheffing.”

“Okay, this is better.”

“Then you’ll do it?”

“No.”

“Damn it, Joe. I need your help.”

He eyed her sternly. “Your mouth, it is gonna get you in big trouble. And I not help you win another man when you got a good one already.”

“I don’t want him for myself,” she admitted, desperate. “It’s for Thor. I’m trying to woo a client for him.”

“Ah, this I understand. A client for your husband.”

She bowed her head. “If you don’t do this for me, he won’t be my husband for long.” She peeked at Joe from beneath lowered lashes.

“You lie very bad,
cara,”
he muttered. “You not deserve Thorsen. He is a good man. I like him.”

“I like him, too,” she agreed contritely. “And you’re right. I don’t deserve him.”

Joe heaved a martyred sigh. “I do this and maybe it help you find your lost ring?”

“Yes.” Lord, she hoped so!

“Okay. It is done.” He glared at her, shaking a carrot beneath her nose. “But you get the ring back soon,
capito?”

She grinned. “Boy, do I
capisco.”

“
I
’d say the camps are evenly divided. For the last ten days, Rainer’s talked of nothing but killing you. Alaric and Sonja have taken your side. And Thor . . .” Jordan deliberately refrained from finishing her sentence, her eyes sparkled with mischief.

“Did you invite me over to tease, or are you going to tell me what he said?”

“Thor hasn’t said a word.”

Andrea sighed, not surprised. She’d expected as much. “And you?”

Jordan shifted in her chair and grimaced. “Honestly, I could just scream! How could you sell the business like that, without even warning him?”

“I—”

“I thought you loved him.”

“I do—”

“If you’d sold Constantine’s and turned over the Milano account to him, it would be one thing. But did you? No.”

Andrea sighed. “No.”

“So why?” her friend wailed. “Why did you do it?”

She wanted to explain to Jordan. She’d like just one person to understand what she’d done and the reasons behind it. “I owed the bank a lot of money. It came due,” she said simply, giving the excuse in a cool, emotionless voice. “The only way I could pay it off was to sell Constantine’s. Without throwing in the Milano account, I couldn’t sell the business for enough to cover the bank note.”

Jordan stared at her in disbelief, a protective hand splayed across her belly. “Good heavens. Does Thor know?”

Andrea shook her head. “He didn’t seem interested.”

“And you didn’t tell him. Andrea! The Thorsens would have helped. All you had to do was ask.”

Andrea’s lips formed a stubborn line. “I know.”

The petite brunette sighed. “That darned pride of yours. I always knew it would get you into trouble. Would it really have been so difficult to accept his help?”

“Yes, it would.” It all came pouring out. “Don’t you understand? That’s been the whole basis for our relationship, one business crisis after another, with Thor rescuing me from each one.”

“What’s wrong with that?”

“I don’t want him to stay with me because of the business.” She closed her eyes, her hands clasped tightly together. “I want him to stay with me because he loves me.”

Jordan shot her a shrewd look. “You think it’s all business with him, don’t you? You think he married you because of Constantine’s.”

“I know he did.”

“I don’t believe it. I never have. I think he loves you. I think the trouble at Constantine’s provided him with a convenient excuse.”

How Andrea wished she could believe that. Unfortunately, the truth was far different. “I know he married me because of the Milano account. I didn’t like it, but I went into our marriage accepting that fact.”

“And now?” Jordan asked, shifting awkwardly in her chair.

“Now I realize I love him and I won’t have a marriage without love.” Emotion brought a husky note to Andrea’s voice. “If I ask Thor to help me with the financial problem at the bank, it means a long-term commitment. I can’t allow that. I won’t stay married just for business reasons.”

Jordan threw her hands in the air. “Pride. You’re choking on pride.”

“Call it what you will. If Thor wants a permanent marriage, it has to be because he loves me, not because he’s forced into it. I won’t use Constantine’s to hold on to a husband. Nor will I allow a business to define my marriage.”

A secret smile played around Jordan’s mouth. “Have you ever said this to Thor? You might be surprised by his response.”

Andrea shoved the curls from her face. “We did discuss it once. He said he wouldn’t have married me if not for Constantine’s. That’s plain enough, I’d say.”

Jordan appeared astounded. Then her brows drew together. “Your ring,” she said sharply, pressing a hand to her stomach. “Where’s your ring?”

“I left it with Thor.”

“Get it back,” she urged. “There’s something you don’t know—” She broke off with a small gasp.

Andrea ran to her friend, crouching beside her. “Jordan? Is it the baby?”

She gave a weak grin. “Did I happen to mention I’m in labor?”

“No. You didn’t.” Andrea fought for calm. “How long?”

“Most of the day. I thought I’d have plenty of time. Rainer had some business errands—” She winced and gave a self-deprecating shrug.

“And you didn’t want to bother him. Business. Always business first with this family,” Andrea muttered. “Come on. Let’s get to the hospital. Which one?”

“Northwest. Do you know the way?”

“I know it.”

“Call Rainer. He can meet us—” Jordan gasped again, cradling her stomach. “Your ring.
Get your ring.”

Andrea put a supportive hand under her friend’s arm and helped her stand. “Why is everyone so worried about my ring? Forget the damn ring. First things first.”

Jordan pulled away. “Promise me you’ll get it or I won’t go.”

She’d always heard pregnant women were strange. She now had proof positive. “I promise.” Seeing the stubborn gleam in Jordan’s eyes, Andrea said with more conviction, “I promise. Can we go now?”

“Please. But hurry and get it, or I won’t win my grapefruit.”

“
I
’m sorry. Rainer Thorsen isn’t in right now. Thor Thorsen is available, or you could leave a message.”

“Put me through to Thor.” She’d been afraid to call his cell phone directly in case her name popped up on his caller ID and he refused to answer.

“Whom may I say is calling?”

“Tell him it’s a family emergency and get him on the line.
Now!”
A series of clicks sounded in her ear, and then she heard Thor’s reassuring voice. “It’s Andrea,” she said quickly. “I’m at the hospital.”

“Are you hurt? Which hospital? I’ll be right there.”

There was no mistaking his concern. She squeezed her eyes shut, feeling a resurgence of hope. “It’s Jordan. She’s gone into labor. Do you know where to find Rainer? He’s not answering his cell.”

“Yes. We’ll be right over.” He didn’t hang up, and after a brief pause, he asked, “Will you still be there?”

She laughed self-consciously. “Jordan made me promise I’d stay. I doubt your brother will be happy about it, though.”

“Let me worry about Rainer. Don’t move from that spot, you understand?”

Her smile turned wobbly. “I like it when you talk nasty.”

“Then you’re going to love our next conversation, sweetheart.”

He terminated the connection and Andrea leaned her head against the wall. At least they were talking. But for how long?

T
he instant Thor hung up, his cell rang. “What is it?” he barked into the receiver.

“Same to you, and do I have some interesting news. I’d have called sooner, but the battery on my cell died. Wait’ll you hear.”

“Not now, Rainer.”

“Just listen to this—”