The Millionaire's Convenient Bride (8 page)

“But I already have suits, and I have shopped for myself for years. I’ll go without her.”

“
Not a chance, you don’t know this woman. She won’t take no for an answer. Don’t worry. I’ll go with you if you like.”

She smiled at him
, and his heart lifted at the idea of spending more time with her.  He placed his hand in the small of her back and guided her to the lift, stopping at reception to gather Milo, which his secretary had offered to babysit. His secretary beamed at them as they left, her mobile phone held tight to her ear. He didn’t need to guess who was on the other end. Sophie was the town’s biggest gossip and always made friends with his secretary just so that she could keep tabs on him.

They sent Amanda to Cole’s work to drop off the dress. She assured them she would be back bright and early the next morning to take them shopping again. Dominic
barely suppressed a shudder.

The restaurant he chose overlooked central park. It was a nice little place tucked into the corner of an old Victorian building. There were old chairs
arranged in corners around game boards and book shelves. A fire crackled in its grate in the side wall. A waiter showed them to two winged back chairs by the fire and even assured them that Milo was welcome so long as he stayed in his bag.

“
What is this place?” Louisa asked.

“
It’s the canteen for the offices above us. The owner is a little eccentric. Technically we shouldn’t be allowed in here, but I know the owner. I thought you might like it better than Starbucks.”

He looked thoughtfully at her as she spotted a chessboard on a neighbouring table.

“How about we play a game while we wait for our drinks?” he asked retrieving the set and placing it between them.

Louisa smiled and shifted forward on her chair
, her skirt hitching up to reveal a small triangle of white fabric between her legs. She realised before he could more than glimpse the prize and shuffled her skirt back down.

He cleared his throat and crossed his legs to
stave off thoughts of what lay beneath that flash of white lace. “How do you like New York? I don’t think you have been here much have you?” he asked.

“
No, I came once on a business trip but only stayed a few days.”

****

She watched as he leant forward to take his turn. It was so nice to be able to see him relaxed. She had forgotten what he was really like outside the office. This place was working to put her ill thoughts at ease. A log cracked in the fireplace making Dominic turn to watch the flames, casting his face into the warm glow.

He moved his pawn forward to block her bishop.
“I was thinking that we should plan the wedding for Saturday.” 

She looked at him and watched his face as he studied the board. She couldn’t tell what he was thinking
. Her own mood shifted at the mention of their arrangement, yet she found it hard to be worried about it when they were so comfortable here together.

“
That’s only two days away. Can we do it that fast?”

“
The documents are drawn up and are being delivered to my office today. I called your secretary and ordered the will to be sent also. I hope you don’t mind.”

His dark eyes sparkled in the half light. She felt a warmth spread through her body that had
nothing to do with the tea she had drunk.  She found it hard to believe that she ever mistrusted him. He was taking care of everything with such efficiency and care, and he was doing it all to help her. She didn’t know why she did it, but she found herself leaning forward and kissing the corner of his mouth.

“
Thank you,” she told him, leaning back and using her next move to hide the silence that followed.

She looked up just as his hand reached behind her head and pulled her mouth to his. His lips were warm and soft, moving gently against her mouth. She opened to him and felt him deepen the kiss. He tasted of tea and something that she couldn’t identify. She wanted more
. His fingers caressed her neck as he placed last kiss on her swollen lips. He pulled back slightly and rested his forehead against hers, his breath still hot against the sensitive skin of her lips.

“
I’m sorry,” he said, his voice soft and husky. “I shouldn’t have done that. You just looked so...”

The waiter came at that moment with the food they ordered
, and they broke apart reluctantly.  She couldn’t look at him. She waited for her pulse to stop thundering around her body. She could still taste him on her lips. The temptation to trace them with her tongue, to taste him again, was overwhelming, and she tried to keep her hands from shaking as she ate. She had to say something to break the silence.

“
Thank you for arranging this so quickly,” she said finally as she put her fork back on her plate and moved it to one side.

“
It’s the least I can do after putting you in such a position. You have enough to worry about.”

He smirked as he pushed his own plate aside and made his next move on the board.
“Check.”

Louisa sighed and relaxed again
. She had been afraid that he might want to talk about what just happened. She smiled at the cocky grin on his lips. She had the impression he knew exactly what she was thinking.

“
Drat,” he muttered, as she took his queen. He leant over and rested his elbows on his knees, a look of concentration now replacing the grin. 

“
Dominic, can I ask you something?”

“
Mmm,” he mumbled still studying the board.

“
When I left all those years ago, why didn’t you call me?”

She hadn’t wanted to ask
, but she couldn’t move on with this arrangement knowing that he had just let her go once before, that he hadn’t even tried to get her to come back. She knew it was childish of her. She had been the one to walk out, but he had just let her, not even bothering to call and ask why. She spent so long after their last day together wondering. Her friends tried to take her mind off him. With every blind date Louisa felt more and more that she had lost something. Love sounded so old fashioned, but all she knew was that she felt so calm, so happy in Dominic’s arms. Once she lost that, it had taken her years to convince herself she needed to move on, and she could never forget. Telling herself it wasn’t meant to be helped her get on with her life. Now here he was again, like a ghost, and she couldn’t help but feel betrayed. The door of the café opened allowing a breeze to blow past her carrying the scent of the street, wet and cold. She had to know. Had he thought about her after that night? Or had he seen her as nothing more than another woman in a long line of conquests?

His gaze shot up to meet hers, his eyebrows raised in what was clearly surprise. 

“I did call you. Each time I called, your roommate answered and said she would leave a message for you.”

Louisa frowned
. She hadn’t received any messages. She asked her roommate Cassie many times over the first few weeks if anyone called for her.

She clicked her tongue against her teeth as she thought.
“I didn’t get any messages.”

“Does it matter now?” he asked, taking her knight.

“
I guess not.” She knew she needed to forget their past, but it was hard when it was such a big part of her life. Their affair had lasted only a few days. That short time affected her more than any other relationship she had since then. Still, she would like to know why Cassie hadn’t passed on the messages.

“
I came to see you, too.”

Louisa nearly knocked over the piece she was moving. 
“When?” she asked desperately.

“
About a month after you left. I was afraid something had happened to you because you weren’t taking my calls. I only got as far as your dorm before I saw you with another man and left.”

She could hear the hurt in his voice even though he tried to hide it.

“I didn’t date for two years after I left.” 

He looked up at her
, and their eyes met. She wondered how she could have been so stupid. She had loved him, maybe still did, and she had been too stubborn to call him and find out why he hadn’t contacted her. Being young and scared was no excuse for her idiotic behaviour. She wasted years that they could have spent together. He reached up and brushed her cheek with his hand, brushing away the single tear that she hadn’t known was there. She forced herself to smile and shook her head.

“
Checkmate,” she said, moving her bishop into position.

Dominic looked taken aback as he stared at the board. She had never beaten him before. He finally smiled at her.

“Well aren’t you a clever girl.” He picked up her hand and kissed her fingers. “I want to show you something. Will you come with me?” he asked.

She let herself be led to the back of the caf
é where there was a lift tucked into one corner. They rode up in silence, Louisa savouring her small hand in his large warm one. The small space allowed his personal scent to reach her nose, lavender and deep musk. Some women might think lavender was an odd choice for soap on a man, but Louisa knew it had been his mother’s favourite. Now the aroma came to her as a blanket on a cold day. It made her feel safe, protected. It was his own scent, which no other man could copy. They reached the 47
th
floor and stepped out into a large open plan foyer with a set of double doors opening into the office space. Dominic led her through into the room.

“
It was being used to store files.” He showed her two remaining piles of boxes in the corner.

She found it hard to believe that such a beautiful space could be used as a storeroom. Windows wrapped around three walls of the room
, which must have once been two rooms as some of the original wall still stood as pillars to support the ceiling. She made her way to the windows and looked out at a view worth millions, a perfect outlook over central park and the New York skyline. It was breathtaking in the afternoon sun and would be even more magnificent at night.

“
I bought it from the building owner several years ago but haven’t found a use for it yet,” Dominic said coming to stand with her.  “I had thought to transfer my own offices here, but the space is too small to house both my own and Cole’s staff.”

Louisa knew that the McKillip family owned two floors of their building downtown. Dominic’s office was on the top floor
, and Cole’s was on the one below.  Dominic had given up part of his own space shortly after his father’s death so that Cole could move his office in and they could help each other.

“
I thought that I could lease it to you for a reduced cost until you build your client list back up.”

Louisa turned to him in shock. Why would he do that? He was a business man through and through
. He had shown her that her whole life, in all of his dealings. He bankrupted several other companies just so that he could have the minority dealings in his own company. Louisa didn’t understand why he would now offer her a space that she knew she couldn’t have afforded even if she had several million dollar accounts to her name. Dominic’s company would lose money for every month that she was here. There had to be something he wasn’t telling her.

“
I couldn’t do that,” she said shaking her head slowly. She searched his face for any sign that might give away why he would do such a thing.

“
Why not?” he asked. His face was set, his lips pressed together and his eyes focused on hers. He knew that she would argue the point, and she knew he would have an argument for every opposition she could think of.

“
I can’t afford the rent, and for you to charge me what you are suggesting will cost you thousands to support the excess.”

“
You aren’t thinking in business terms, Louisa.” His face didn’t change, but something in his posture shifted and Louisa knew he would win the argument, and worse, he knew he would win. If another lawyer made the same move in court she would have called for a recess to find out what made him so sure he of himself.

“
It already cost my company to have our lawyer in another state. Courier costs, travel to sign documents, it all adds up. To have you closer will save me money in the long run, and having the space empty costs me more than having cut cost renters in it.”

Louisa opened her mouth to argue,
but Dominic held up a hand to stop her. “You know it makes sense, Louisa, and you wouldn’t have argued a few days ago before our arrangement.”

Louisa wanted to deny it
, but she knew he was right. It wasn’t the cost that was eating her. It was the thought that she was accepting charity. She worked hard to pay back the cost of her studies and refused to take any more loans to support herself. She was self-sufficient, and that was the way she intended to remain. She gave one last pleading look before resigning herself to his proposition, again.

“
I’ll call the office when we get home,” she said.