The Love Triangle (BWWM Romance) (26 page)

“I love you, too, Grace. If you run from me now I’ll just follow you. So just stay.”

He tried to sit up and pulled a face.

“No, don’t,” I said and came to him. I put his hand behind my neck and pulled my lips against his. He made a small protesting sound when our lips touched, and then he let me go. He put his fingers lightly on top of his nose.

“That hurt,” he said. I put my head on his shoulder, the good one, and he put his hand on my cheek.

“I’ve loved you from the day I met, all the way through until now,” he said, and his voice hummed through his chest.

“I remember,” I answered.

The End ...
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Her Marriage Of Convenience

By Violet Jackson

Chapter 1

“Dahlia, it's not something that we like to think about, but something must be done. Now that your father is dead, it's up to you to run the business.”

“What about James?”

“He's getting nothing. I haven’t told him yet because we both know why.”

“Are you sure there is no way for him to sue? He told me before he would sue me and the estate if Father overlooked him.”

“Well, there is some money in a trust. It is enough for him to live comfortably for the next fifty years. It will never be enough for James though. Johnston made it iron-clad. He has no misconceptions of who your brother is. There are too many lives at stake in the company, for him to just dismiss everything he has done. Your father loved his workers just as much as his family, so it will all go to you.”

“So why are we in such a rush then? It's all mine right?”

“Yes, but if something were to happen to you…”

“Alfred, I'm twenty-five. Nothing is going to happen to me.”

“Accidents do happen, Dahlia, and your father wants to make sure that everything with the company will be secure. I know it may seem arcane, but he wants you married and to be with an heir soon.”

“How soon?”

“The stipulation is for a year. You have to be pregnant and married by then. It keeps Johnston’s legacy alive this way. You see this, don’t you?”

Dahlia nodded, pushing the small black braids back from her face. She didn’t know what to say and she certainly hadn’t expected the family lawyer to come down to her office and give her the ultimatum her father was too afraid to give her himself. Johnston Williams had been sick for some time, giving him plenty of time to get his affairs in order. It seemed that he was still trying to push her in the right direction, even though he wasn’t walking the earth anymore. That kind of determination was what the Williams' were known for, everyone but her older half brother James. He did many things to the family’s disapproval.

“So this is for real?”

“I’m afraid so. It has been done in wealthy families for many years.”

“What, making the daughter marry?”

“Arranged marriages.”

“Wait. You didn’t say anything about an arrangement.”

“It's to the Black family. Your father has been in business with them for years.”

She knew the family well and the several sons that were in it. Only two were single and one had a hideous tick. It didn’t take much to figure out which one it was that her father proposed. It was just like him to make her talk to a lawyer about it, instead of having a conversation with her. Johnston had hated conflict and since he had never found it easy to say no to her, Dahlia couldn’t blame him for it.

“So Charles then?”

The older man nodded his head. Things were not going as bad as he had imagined, surprised that Dahlia’s infamous temper had not come out. He did not wish to be in the man’s shoes, though like her, he would have his own reasons for marrying her. Theirs would not be one of great love, but of family loyalty and a sense of honor. The financial parts would help them both. The business partnership could help tens of thousands of workers and families. It was a win-win for most involved, besides the two that had to actually be in the partnership. It was a marriage though and most partnerships did not have to be consummated.

“Indeed, Dahlia, but I assure you he is the best of that family. I have worked with him for many years.”

“How old is he?”

“I think he's in his early thirties. You know the men are usually older in these arrangements. To be honest, your father would have rather had you married off when you were eighteen, but your mother always pushed to let you be free for a while. She knew that this day would come and Alice wanted you to see the world.”

Dahlia’s dark-brown eyes closed for a moment. The almond shape became more pronounced and when she opened them back up, they glittered with wetness. “It has been a long few years, hasn't it Alfred?”

“Yes, Miss. But you have done beautifully. I know that they look down on you with pride. Your brother? Not so much, but you have done a better job than anyone would have believed. It was no small feat to take over and now you just need to do this one last thing. Think of it as your father’s one last wish.”

She knew she would agree, far before her lips would submit to the prospect. It was all she could do and if Johnston felt so strongly that he had made it a stipulation, she could do nothing else but abide by it. She shifted uncomfortably and then smiled back. It was just one more thing to bear. While many wished to be rich, those that were knew it came with a price.

Dahlia had not been rich growing up, never even knowing her father until many years later when she was a teenager. While he said that he felt bad that he was never there and wanted to make it up to her, she secretly wondered if he came around because he knew James would be such a poor choice for running the company. Either way, being thrust into a world of money, from living with practically nothing, was hard. While everyone looked at money as the goal, she saw it sometimes as the hindrance in life. There had been many times when she was working 16 hours a day at the Williams Company that she wished for the days when there wasn’t much, but everything worked out. Her mother and father had rekindled their love and everything had changed from that point. There she was, talking to a lawyer about a marriage to a man she had never met before. Only the rich, she thought to herself.

“I will get a hold of you in a couple of days about it. Let me talk to Aunt June and get her opinion.”

“We need to move forward, Dahlia. There is not a lot of time to plan a wedding and a child in a year.”

“Thanks, Alfred. I assure you that it's crystal clear to me now. I was just thinking that it would work out a little differently. I have been dating Baxter for some time now, Father knew that. I can't be so callous as to not give him time to adjust.”

Alfred made a face that showed her that he would have wanted to be anywhere else but there, telling her who and when she could marry. With all that she had been thinking about, her boyfriend of six months did not come up until just then. What would she tell him and would he understand? Did she understand?

Standing up, she shook the man’s hand and told him that she would be in contact with him soon. “Thank you for making this so easy. Always with your mother’s grace.”

“I suppose, Alfred, but my father’s temper is always close behind.”

He nodded and smiled. He had always been fond of her.

***

Dahlia slid the sunglasses on her face as she left the four-story building. What was once the biggest law firm in Chicago, Jay and Claggen was dwarfed in size by the bigger firms that had taken over. After they lost a few contracts from the government, there wasn’t much left for a small town lawyer in the big city. As the city grew around them, Alfred and his silent partner stayed the same. It was why Dahlia liked to continue to do business with them, but there were disadvantages. One big one was that she could not treat him as less than an old family friend that she cared deeply about. It wasn’t just that she had known him since she was little, but Alfred was a reminder of the parents now gone to her. She couldn’t refuse him as she could any other business acquaintance.

She cursed the old man and her parents for imposing so many rules on her. Ever since her father had come into her life, everything had changed. She was pushed to be proper and now, they wanted to control who she married and had children with. Dahlia waited for the car to come back around for her as there was nowhere to park. She didn’t have to wait long and she then went back to her uptown apartment that she shared with her boyfriend. The boyfriend that she was going to have to break up with and she was trying to find the best way to tell him.

He of course was home when she got in and she waited until dinner was ready before she said anything to him. He kissed her and she ended it, pulling away and trying to make the smile from her lips reach her eyes.

“What’s wrong, my love? You look as though you've had a bad day. Did you lose a contract or something?”

She giggled at his drama. He was always one to make her smile, even in a bad time like that one. She was going to miss that about him. “No, just a long day. I had to go speak to the lawyers about Dad’s will and I'm just ready for all of it to be done. There are always stipulations and more red tape.”

“Well that doesn’t sound good.” Baxter poured her a glass of wine and she took it with real gratitude. The dinner was served and she looked down at the small shrimp on her plate. It was her favorite, but all she could think about was the conversation she had just had with Alfred. Should she just rip it off like a bandage or should it be slower, more gentle? She toyed with the idea of making love to him one last time to soften the blow, but Dahlia knew that it would only make it worse.

She took a couple bites of her dinner and then drank the rest of her wine. “So what did old Alfred have to say? Is he as worried about James as you are?”

Dahlia nodded. “No, he doesn’t worry about those types of things. Father always thinks ahead and he has made it nearly impossible for him to get the business.”

“Nearly?”

“Yes, I could die and then he would be the next in line, though father has something to take care of that as well.”

“He always did have the next ten moves done in his head. What did he think of this time?”

She sighed and didn’t know how to say it. “I have to get married and be pregnant with a child in a year.”

His face drained of color, much like she thought it would. Dahlia started to wonder if he was going to bow out and make it a whole lot easier for her. He choked on whatever food or drink was in his mouth and looked at her with wide eyes. “What?!”