Tristan's Temptation (15 page)

“Told her what?”

“That you love her, idiot.”

“No.”

“You should tell her.”

Tristan dropped his chin to his chest. “She’s gone AWOL.”

“You have to find her. You have to tell her before…”

“Before what?”

Adam’s lips moved but no sound came out. Then he said, “I don’t know. Before it’s too late?”

“I will. I mean, I plan to. When I see her. If I see her.”

“You better fucking figure out a way to see her.”

“Yeah.” The game came back on and Tristan sat there, hugging his pillow and staring at the television, but he had no idea what was happening on the screen. He had the sense Adam wasn’t really paying attention either. “You aren’t mad that I broke the rule?”

Adam chuckled and then he barked a laugh. “Oh, you’ll pay for that. But no. I’m not mad. I couldn’t be happier. She’s great. She’s really great.”

Tristan relaxed. Collapsed. What a relief.

He felt so much better.

One hurdle over.

Now all he had to do was get Shannon to say yes.

The game heated up and Adam’s attention swung back to the screen. In a minute he was screaming at the players once more. Tristan finished his beer and stood.

“Hey, bro. Get me another beer, will you?” There was a strange expression on Adam’s face but Tristan couldn’t be bothered to work it out.

“Sure.”

Tristan wandered into the kitchen—thinking about Shannon, plotting how to find her, corner her, force her to listen to him—but something made him stop at the threshold. His mother and Kat had their heads together and they were whispering.

Now, that was pretty typical of the two. Mom had taken to Kat like a mother duck takes to ducklings. She’d always wanted a daughter and had been cursed with rowdy boys. But they weren’t whispering softly and they were both so absorbed in their furtive conversation they didn’t even notice him.

“How far is she along?” Mom’s eyes were alight with glee.

“Not far.”

“How exciting. I can’t wait.”

“It’ll be tough for her.”

“I’m sure. But I was a single mother. I survived. Besides, she’s practically family.”

Kat sniffed a little and covered Mom’s hand with hers. “I am so glad to hear you say that.”

Tristan grabbed a brownie off the cooling rack.

“Careful, dear, those are hot.”

“Okay, Mom. What are you guys talking about?”

Was it his imagination or did Kat pale a little when she saw him? “Nothing!” she warbled.

Tristan opened the fridge and pulled out the milk.

“Don’t drink out of the carton, dear. Get a glass.”

Obediently, he complied. “Didn’t sound like nothing.”

“It’s just wonderful. Someone’s going to have a baby.”

He bit into the brownie. It was hot. He took a quick snort of cold milk. “Really? Who?”

Mom sighed. “Don’t talk with your mouth full. For heaven’s sake.”

Tristan swallowed. “Who?”

“No one,” Kat snapped.

At the same time, his mother chirped, “One of the girls at your office.”

Tristan blanched. “What?”

“Elaine! That was supposed to be a secret.”

Mom patted Kat’s hand. “I know, dear. But it is just so exciting. One of our girls.” She frowned at her son. “Kat’s afraid you won’t approve. Now what did you do to make her think that?”

Tristan glanced at Kat. Her lips were tight. She refused to meet his eyes. Really? Did she really think so poorly of him? That he was a…
curmudgeon
? He wasn’t. He really wasn’t. If Jenny or Sara—probably Jenny—was in a family way, it was her decision. Her life. As her boss, he would make damn sure she had everything she needed.

“I don’t care. We’ll take care of her.” He smiled at Kat in a manner he hoped was reassuring. She just paled a little more. “We’re all family at Trillo–Maris, right, Kat?”

“See.” Mom nudged Kat’s arm. “I told you so.”

Kat bit her lip.

Adam entered the kitchen—probably hunting down his beer. He hovered there behind Tristan, a looming shadow. “So it’s out? He knows?”

Mom nodded, beaming. “See. I don’t know what you two were all worried about. He took the news just fine.” She sighed. “What a darling little baby
she
will have.”

Tristan had a sudden vision of Jenny’s child, a little boy with green hair and an armament of piercings in his nose. He chuckled, glancing at his brother.

Adam was focused on Kat with a funny look on his face, so Tristan’s gaze, naturally, swung in her direction. She glared meaningfully at Adam and shook her head. Their expressions, the glances passing between them, made him still. Made him ask, through nerveless lips, “Who is it we’re talking about, exactly?”

Before Kat could shush her, Mom blurted it out. “Why Shannon Weiss, of course.”

And a glass of milk shattered on the kitchen floor.

Chapter Fourteen

How he drove home, Tristan would never know. But somehow he did. He was on the hill heading up to his house when he made a sudden turn to the right. Into Shannon’s development. He knew he shouldn’t bother. She hadn’t been home all week, after all. But something inside him, some compulsion, wouldn’t allow him to just drive on by.

His heart caught in his throat when he saw her car in the driveway.

She was home.

He was parked and storming to her door before thought fully formed. Oh. And he was pounding. On the door.

Bosco barked and howled like a banshee so he knew she couldn’t ignore him for long and, indeed, she did not.

The door opened and there she was. Ah. There she was. For a moment he was stunned speechless by her beauty.

And then she opened her mouth. “Go away, Tristan.”

“No.” He put his foot in the door to stop her from shutting it in his face, which was a mistake because, damn, it hurt. But at least she couldn’t shut him out. Though she tried. When she slammed it on his foot again, he grabbed the door with his hand. “Shannon. We need to talk.”

“There’s nothing left to say.”

“Yes. There is.”

“Like what?”

“Like, I’m an idiot?”

That got her. She almost smiled. “You
are
an idiot.”

“Shannon. Please. Please let me in.”

He could see she was waffling, wavering, so he pressed forward, gently shouldering his way through the door. Bosco greeted him with a flurry of sniffs and snorts and then, bored, trotted away.

“Well, all right.” She strode into the living room, her arms wrapped around her waist. He stared at her, at her belly, trying to see if he could notice any difference. There was none. She was as slender as ever.

At the initial realization that he was going to be a father, the blood had drained from his head. He’d nearly passed out. Thank God Adam had been right behind him to steady him or he would probably have ended up facedown on the linoleum. But now that he’d had time to think about it, time to reflect, he couldn’t be happier. A child would bind them together. Pull them even closer. A child was a connection they would always share.

“Why are you looking at me like that?”

He forced his gaze up to her face. God, he loved her. He couldn’t wait any longer. He pulled the ring out of his pocket and dropped to one knee. “Shannon Weiss. Will you marry me?”

She paled and then turned a bright pink. Tears pooled in her eyes.

His heart lifted. This was it. This was the moment. The moment she said yes.

But she didn’t say yes. She took a step back and hissed, “Oh my God. She told you!”

“What? No!” He leapt to his feet.

She put her palms on her cheeks. “I can’t believe she told you.”

“She didn’t tell me anything. I overheard. But it was…I didn’t know who…and then Mom…Shannon!”

She whirled on him, a fury. She thrust a finger at the door. “Get out!”

“No! Shannon. I love you, bab…sweetheart. I want to marry you.”

“I will not. I refuse.” She marched to the door and held it open. “Go.”

But he didn’t want to go. He wanted her to say yes and fall into his arms and kiss him silly. “You have to marry me.”

Every muscle in her body clenched. “No. I do not.”

“But the baby… It’s mine.”

“No,” she snarled. “It’s mine.”

“Shannon. Be reasonable.”

“I am being reasonable. I’m being very reasonable.”

“But I love you. You love me.”

She stared at him, those big doe eyes wide and wet. “I do. I do love you, Tristan. But you don’t love me. I’m your hot office fling, the dirty little secret you keep from everyone. I’m the woman you fuck in secret. Not the woman you marry. The only reason you’re proposing is because of the baby.”

“No. I’m not.” He was trying to stay calm but he felt reason slipping away. Felt her slipping away.

Her chin firmed. She threw her shoulders back. “I’m sorry, Tristan. The answer is no. And that’s final. Please go.”

“It’s not final. It will never be final until this ring is on your finger.”

At the sight of the ring, the four-karat emerald-cut diamond in a velvet box, the tears began to flow. But all she said was, “Go. Please go.”

And he did.

But it wasn’t final.

It would not be final. Not until she was back in his arms.

He didn’t bother with flowers in the morning. He knew better. But he did have a plan. A ring in his pocket and a plan.

If Shannon was convinced that he was ashamed of her or he didn’t want their relationship to be public, she was in for a rude awakening.

He came in late on purpose. Adam was already running the meeting. The crew was sitting around the table and drinking coffee and eating scones. They all looked up—like a herd of meerkats—when he entered the boardroom but there was only one set of eyes that mattered.

Her
gaze was like a frigid wind.

He ignored the shiver skewering him and offered the company a tight, impersonal smile. “Morning.”

Adam lifted a brow. “Good of you to join us.”

Tristan ignored him. “Everyone, I have an important announcement to make. Shannon?” She stiffened, glared at her steno pad. “Could you get me a cup of coffee?”

A flutter of confusion crossed her face, but that was okay. It was critical to his plan to throw her off balance. She straightened her spine and cleared her throat and said in that British tone, as cold as the moors, “Yes, of course, Mr. Trillo.”

He soaked in the sight of her as she made his coffee. When she returned to the front of the room, he knelt before her. Not a wise move, he realized, since she had a steaming cup of coffee in her hand.

What was it the Brits said? In for a penny, in for a pound.

He took a deep breath and just said it.

“Shannon Weiss. I love you more than this company. I love you more than my reputation. I love you more than my friends. I love you more than anything. I humbly ask you to be my wife. Live with me and share my life.” He thrust the ring forward. “Will you?”

The gasps from around the table shook the room.

Kat, bless her heart, took the mug from Shannon’s hands.

But that just freed Shannon up to cross her arms over her chest when she was about to say no, so Tristan leapt to his feet and yanked her against him and kissed her.

She allowed it. But only for a moment.

It was awful when she pulled away.

She put her hand over his, the one holding the ring, and pressed it back toward him. “No.”

“No!” Sara squawked. “Are you crazy?”

“No. I won’t marry a man who is only proposing because of the baby.”

Jack spewed a mouthful of coffee across the conference table. “Baby?” He gaped at Sara. “There’s a baby?”

“Shh,” she hissed.

“Shannon, I told you. I’m not proposing because of the baby. I love you. I’ve loved you for a long time.”

Sara leaned her cheek on her folded hands. “This is so romantic.”

Adam glared at his staff. “Could you give us some privacy, please?”

Tristan frowned at his brother. “
Us
?”

Adam ignored him and shooed everyone out into the hall. They grumbled about it but they left the conference room, leaving only Adam, Kat, Shannon and Tristan.

Shannon humphed. “It’s not going to make a bit of difference, you know, whether they’re here or not. My answer is still no.”

Adam nodded. “Since Tristan’s only proposing because of the baby.”

“I am not!”

Shannon glared at him. “Precisely.”

Adam cleared his throat. “It may interest you to know that Tristan showed me the ring on Sunday.”

“And?”

Damn
, Tristan reflected. She could be glacial to Adam too.

To his credit, his brother took it well. He leaned closer to Shannon and said in a half-whisper, “He showed me the ring
before
he found out about the baby.”

Shannon wobbled a little bit and reached behind her for a chair. Sat with a plop. “Are you being straight with me?”

“Is that true?” Kat glanced from Adam to Tristan and back again.

“He showed it to me when we were watching football. Told me he had something to confess. Admitted he was seeing Shannon. That he was in love with her.”

Kat frowned. “You knew this and you didn’t tell me?”

Adam held up his hands. “There wasn’t time. Right after we talked, he went into the kitchen where you and Mom let the cat out of the bag.”

Kat crossed her arms over her chest. “It wasn’t me.” She turned to Shannon. “It wasn’t me! Adam overheard our conversation the other night. Let something slip to his mom. It was Elaine who told Tristan. But none of us knew. I mean, we didn’t know Tristan was the father.”

Adam grinned, looking full of himself. “I knew.”

Kat smacked him lightly on the shoulder. “You should have told me.”

“Come on, sweetheart.” Adam snaked an arm around Kat’s waist and steered her to the door. “Let’s give these two some space. I think they have some things to discuss.”

“Yeah,” Kat said as Adam led her from the boardroom. “But you should have told me.”

The door closed and they were alone. Tristan dropped his gaze, suddenly nervous. Suddenly scared spitless.

“Is it true?” Her voice was soft, came to him through a fog.

He glanced at her and was, once again, nearly unmanned by the tears in her eyes. “Is what true?”

“Did you already have the ring?”

He knelt before her and took her hands in his, kissed her fingers. “I bought it on Monday.”

“Monday? A week ago?”

“They day after we got back from Ensenada. Shannon, I know I’ve been an ass.”

“You said idiot.”

He smiled. “That too. It was wrong of me to hide from Levin. I should have been a man. Introduced you and to hell with…with everything.”

“It wasn’t about Levin.”

“I know. It’s about us. Being proud of each other and wanting to share our love with the world. And I am. Proud and happy and humbled you would even consider being with me.”

“If I marry you…” His heart lifted and his expression must have as well, because she repeated, “
If
I marry you…everyone will know. It won’t be a secret anymore.”

“I don’t want it to be a secret. I want everyone to know you’re mine. Especially every man.”

“But your rule…”

“It was a stupid rule. We both know it was a stupid rule.”

She cupped his cheek. “It wasn’t a stupid rule. It was a good rule. It was just stupid for us.”

“It was hell on me. Shannon, can you forgive me? Can you forget what a dolt I am long enough to say yes? I do love you. I really do.”

“But enough to spend your life with me?”

“Yes!”

“I mean, my parents married because they had to and they were miserable.”

“We won’t be miserable. I promise.”

She laughed, a little. “You can’t promise something like that.”

“I can. I will. I will make you happy and keep you happy and…” He shot her a mischievous grin. “Maybe, every once in a while, you can misbehave.”

“And you’ll give me a spanking?” She did laugh now. It was the most beautiful sound he’d ever heard.

“Only if you really, really want one.”

“So no more hiding our relationship?”

“Not a chance.”

“No more ducking into Mexican hat-vendor stalls?”

“Only if you really, really want a hat.”

“No more secret trysts?”

“Maybe a few,” he said with a sheepish grin

Her face was a cameo. She was exquisite. He couldn’t believe she was gazing at him with
that
expression. Couldn’t believe he deserved her, had won her.

But she hadn’t said yes. Not yet.

He held out the ring again. “So will you marry me, Shannon? Will you make me the happiest man in the world?”

She held out her hand and his heart leapt.

Not daring to delay for an instant, he slipped the ring on her finger. It fit perfectly and she sighed. “Tristan. It’s beautiful.”

“You’re beautiful.” Still on his knees, he knelt up and kissed her. Kissed the sweetest, most adorable lips in the land. Heaven. It was heaven.

Because she kissed him back.

His bliss—their bliss—was interrupted when the door opened and Jack Maris poked his head into the boardroom. “Say, are you guys going to eat the last scone? Because if you aren’t…”

In tandem, they bellowed, “Get lost, Jack.”

And for once, he did.