A Millionaire for Cinderella (9 page)

“I think so.”

“Great. Grab it and a couple of glasses, will you? I’ll go set up the table.”

The rooftop deck had been something of a marvel to Patience. Before her accident, Ana had ocassionally taken afternoon tea up there. In Patience’s old neighborhood, a deck meant a place to keep a couple plastic chairs or small table for eating outside, but Ana’s deck was an outside living room. No plastic chairs or cheap furniture here. Instead, there was a love seat and matching chairs. Floor lamps, too. Four of them, one in each corner so as to light the entire space once the sun went down. Potted evergreens and other plants brought nature into the arrangement while a pair of heaters added warmth in the colder weather.

One of her first major housekeeping projects had been to bring the cushions indoors and cover the furniture. Then, as she did now, she found herself in awe that such a beautiful room could exist outdoors.

It was a perfect summer night, made for sitting under the stars. A three-quarter moon hung high and yellow in the cloudless sky. Before them a mosaic of rooftops and lights spread as far as the eye could see. The beacon atop old John Hancock Tower glowed blue, telegraphing the beautiful weather to anyone who needed reminding.

Stuart was opening a bottle of wine when she arrived. “You don’t mind, do you?” he asked her. “If you’d rather, there’s water...”

“No, wine would be great.” Even if it did make the atmosphere feel more date-like. “After all, it’s a holiday right?”

“Right. What’s Independence Day without a toast to freedom?”

Walking over to the edge of the deck, Patience looked out across the city. “I can see your apartment building from here, I think. Over there.” She pointed to a tower in the distance. “I can’t remember if I could see Ana’s roof from the terrace or not.”

“We’ll have to stand outside and wave to each other someday to find out.” He appeared at her elbow, carrying a glass of wine in each hand. Handing her one, he raised the other. “To freedom.”

Patience gave a slight smile as she raised hers in return. “One of us achieved freedom today. How long before you move?”

“The end of the month, I think. I want to make sure Ana’s mobile enough before I go, so as to not put all the burden on you.”

“That’s sweet of you.”

“I want to.” Perhaps, but Patience didn’t harbor any illusions. He was looking out for Ana because he loved his aunt, not her.

Not that love had anything to do with anything.

“Did I say something wrong?”

And here she thought staring at her glass would keep her eyes from giving her away. “Just thinking a month wasn’t that far away. Ana will be sorry to see you go.”

“Ana?” He moved in tighter, giving her little choice but to turn and meet his gaze. Questions hung in the back of their blue depths. He knew she meant both her and Ana, but she couldn’t bring herself to admit it.

“Don’t be silly. You know she adores you. It has to be killing her to be in the hospital while you’re here in the brownstone.”

“It’s killing me,” he replied. “Seeing her laid up reminds me of how old she’s getting. And how frail.”

“Part of me wants to think she’ll be here forever,” he added, contemplating the contents of his glass.

Patience could feel the regret pressing down on his shoulders and rushed to reassure him. “We always want to think that the people we love will stay forever. I’m as guilty as you are. I want to believe Piper will be part of my world forever, but someday she’s going to have a life of her own. It’s already started.”

“You make it sound like she’ll forget you exist.”

“Forget no, but she’ll have other priorities beyond her big sister.” The way it was supposed to be. She hadn’t sacrificed in order for Piper to stay by her side.

“Maybe you’ll be too busy having a life of your own to notice.”

Doing what? Cleaning? “Oh, I’ll have a life, but I want more for Piper. I want her to have everything. Love, family, a home.”

“Who says you won’t have those things, too?”

She’d love to have them, but they seemed too far out of reach. Easier to wish happiness for Piper. “Maybe someday,” she said, speaking into her wine. “At the moment, I’m happy where I am. Working for Ana.”

“You know you deserve more, right?” His fingers caught her chin and turned her face toward him. “Right?” he repeated.

Patience wanted to tell him to stop being so kind. Things were easier when he’d been suspicious. At least then she knew the dividing line. Attraction bad, distance good. When he was sweet and tender like this, the line blurred. She could feel the cracks in her invisible wall growing bigger. Pretty soon there would be no wall at all to protect her.

But she couldn’t tell him any of that—not without admitting his growing hold over her. “Maybe someday,” she repeated with a smile. Stepping away from his touch, she looked to the Esplanade, the long expanse of green lining the Charles River. “You’re right, this is the best picnic spot. You can see the Hatch Shell,” she said, jumping once again to a safe topic. The area around the open-air stage glowed white from all the spotlights and television trucks. “I swear I can hear the music.”

“I’m not surprised. We’re close enough.” Behind her, Patience heard shuffling, and suddenly the music grew louder. He’d turned on the radio simulcast. “There,” she heard him say, “that’s better than straining to catch a stray chord. Sounds like the concert just started. Plenty of time before the fireworks.”

“Do you know,” Patience said, stepping away from the view, “that I’ve never seen the July Fourth fireworks live?”

“Really?”

“Nope. Just on TV. Piper was afraid of loud noises so I never took her. We stayed home and watched them on TV instead.”

“How about when you were a kid? Sorry.” He seemed to realize his mistake as soon as he spoke.

“That’s all right. There are worse things to miss out on.” She took a plate and started helping herself to the food. “How about you? What did your family do on Fourth of July?”

“Nothing. I was at camp, learning important wilderness survival techniques, like how not to lose your inhaler while hiking.”

She laughed.

“I’m not kidding,” he said. “I lost that sucker twice one summer. Kept falling out of my pocket.”

“I’m sorry,” Patience said, “but I’m having a hard time picturing you as this awkward asthmatic.”

“Remind me to show you my high school graduation photo someday. You’ll believe me then.”

“Well, you’re definitely not awkward now.”

“Thank you.” Stuart’s smile had an odd cast to it, almost as if he didn’t quite believe her. Which was ridiculous, because surely he knew what kind of man he was, didn’t he?

They ate in silence, letting the music fill in for conversation. It never failed to surprise Patience how comfortable just being with Stuart could be. Simmering attraction aside, that is. Maybe it was more that she never felt uncomfortable with him. Never felt like he was trying to mentally undress her. Even those moments of intense scrutiny, when his eyes bore down on her, weren’t about her figure, but rather what was inside. With him, Patience never felt like less than a person.

It was a gift she’d never forget.

Feeling a lump begin to rise in her throat, she reached for her wine. This wasn’t the time for tears.

“How do you think Ana’s party is going? She seemed pretty excited when we saw her this morning.”

“Going great, I’m sure.” Stuart smiled while wiping the grease from his fingers. “No doubt she and her cronies have commandeered the entire hospital sunroom and put the staff to work. Those ladies can be a force to be reckoned with. Don’t be surprised if we show up tomorrow and hear they had the whole hospital involved.”

Patience could picture the scene. “They’ll miss her when she’s discharged.” She sipped her wine thoughtfully. “I’m surprised you’re not at a party yourself.”

“I promised you a picnic for viewing the condo with me.”

“We could have done it a different night.” He must have had better options than spending the night with her.

“No, I said I’d show you the best place to see the fireworks. Besides, I wanted to.”

Patience tried not to get too excited by the remark. Unfortunately, she failed. The idea that Stuart had chosen her warmed her to the core. “I hope your friends aren’t too disappointed.”

“They’ll survive, I’m sure.” He stared at his drink, looking as if he was debating saying more. “I don’t—I don’t have a lot of friends. At least not close ones.”

“I’m surprised.”

He looked up. “Are you? In case you haven’t noticed, I tend to be rather suspicious of people.”

Because of Gloria? Wow, his step-grandmother had really done a number on him. Or was there someone else who’d hurt him, too? The woman who “dumped him” maybe?

“Dr. Tischel told me about your ex-girlfriend,” she told him.

“What did he say?”

She was right—the way his spine straightened told her that his step-grandmother hadn’t been the only woman to burn his trust. “Not much. Only that she broke up with you.”

“He didn’t say anything else?”

Like what? Seeing Stuart on alert had her curious. “No. He didn’t even mention her name.” The fact he’d brought up the subject at all had made Patience think she wasn’t just any girlfriend but rather someone who had broken his heart.

Stuart’s reaction all but confirmed her theory. Waving away the comment with exaggerated indifference, he sat back in his seat. “Dr. Tischel was drunk and looking to spread gossip is all.”

Patience wasn’t so sure. Dr. Tischel had spoken pretty offhandedly for a guy trying to gossip. In fact, he sounded more as if he was repeating news everyone already knew.

She was about to ask for Stuart’s version when he held up his hand. “Listen,” he said. The orchestra was playing a medley of Big Band songs. Memories of swaying in each other’s arms came rushing back, the onslaught overwhelming all other thoughts. One look at Stuart’s darkening eyes told her he remembered, too.

“Let’s dance,” he said, setting down his glass. It wasn’t a request but a command. The assertiveness sent a thrill running down her spine. Her hand was in his before she could think twice.

“What are the odds?” she heard him murmur as he pulled her close.

“I don’t know.” And she didn’t care. She would dance to anything if it meant being able to spend time in his arms. You are such a goner, she thought as she rested her temple against his shoulder.

“This is the first time I’ve ever danced without mile-high heels,” she said. “I feel short.”

His chest rumbled beneath her ear. “You could always stand on tiptoes.”

“That’s okay, this is perfect.” More than perfect. Closing her eyes, she let the moment wash over her. Who knew when they’d share another one? “Much better than the dinner dance.”

Stuart pulled back and his eyes searched hers. “You mean that, don’t you?”

There was something about his voice. In a way he sounded surprised, but a bigger part of him sounded pleased, as if he’d made a great discovery.

“You still don’t trust me to tell you the truth, do you?” After everything she’d shared about her past...

“That’s just it, I do,” he said, pulling her close again. “For the first time in a long time, I do.”

They swayed in silence. Patience lost herself in the music and the sound of Stuart’s breathing as they turned around and around, their feet and their bodies in perfect sync. The roof, the streets below, the entire city—all fell away except for the two of them.

The song ended, replaced by the slow mournful strands of the “1812 Overture,” Boston’s signal the fireworks were on their way. Patience clung tighter, wishing the moment would never end.

“Gloria,” Stuart whispered suddenly. The name made Patience’s insides chill.

“The girlfriend who broke up with me. It was Gloria.”

CHAPTER EIGHT

D
EAR
G
OD
. W
AS
he saying...? “You had an affair with your step-grandmother?” It was a lousy question, but she had to ask. Gloria was, after all, married to a man sixty years her senior. It would be only natural that she might turn to someone young and virile.

Besides, the alternative would be that Gloria chose Theodore over...

“No affair.”

Her stomach sank. Exactly what she’d feared. “She left you for your grandfather.” The
ew
factor increased. What kind of woman would prefer an old man to...to Stuart?

She already knew the answer. “She was after the money.”

“Yeah.” He broke away. Patience tried to grab his hand to pull him back only to miss the mark. “I should have realized. I mean, she pursued me—that alone should have been my first clue.”

“Why?” Patience didn’t understand. She pictured women coming on to Stuart all the time.

He laughed at her question. A soft, sad laugh. “Asthmatic and awkward, remember? Well, awkward anyway. This was almost fifteen years ago,” he rushed to add. He must have guessed she was about to argue the point. “I hadn’t grown into myself yet. When it came to things like dating, I was pretty clueless. Gloria on the other hand...let’s say she’d grown into herself years earlier. When she started showing interest in me, I thought I was the luckiest guy in the world. Couldn’t wait to introduce her to Grandpa Theodore. Talk about a stupid mistake.”

“She started chasing after him.”

“Hey, why settle for the nerdy grandson when you can snag the mother lode, right?” The bitterness in his voice told the rest of the story. Along with his eyes. He could try to make a joke out of the betrayal, but she could still feel his hurt. As he’d said before, the eyes gave away everything.

Having told his story, or as much as he intended, he made his way back to the coffee table. “Although to be fair, Grandpa Theodore did his part, too.” Snagging his wineglass, he drained the contents. “In a way I’m grateful to them,” he said, reaching for the bottle. He started to pour, only to change his mind, and set it back down. “They taught me a valuable lesson.”

“Be careful who you trust.”

“Exactly. I promised myself I would never—ever—get taken in again. Wasn’t long after that I came out here and connected with Ana.”

Who became the one relative he could trust. Patience understood now why he’d been so suspicious of her when they’d met. Like her, Stuart had built himself an invisible wall. Granted, he’d built his for different reasons, but the purpose was the same: self-defense. So long as he kept the world at a distance, he would be safe.

He’d shared his history with her, though. To think he’d allowed her to see a part of him few people ever saw. Tears sprang to her eyes, she was so honored. What little there was left of the walls protecting Patience’s heart crumbled to dust.

It was a mistake. Every bit of her common sense knew better. A woman like her, a man like him. Temporary, at best. But she couldn’t help herself. The need for distance forgotten, she brushed her fingers along his jaw.

“Gloria was a fool,” she whispered, hoping he could read in her eyes the words she wasn’t saying.

“Are you sure?” Stuart whispered back. He wasn’t asking about Gloria, but about her. Was she sure she wanted to cross the line they were toeing.

The answer was no, but surety had long since fallen by the wayside in favor of emotion. Patience melted into his arms as his lips found hers.

In the distance, fireworks exploded over the Charles River. Neither noticed.

* * *

The first thing Patience noticed in the morning was the pressure bearing down on her chest. She opened her eyes to discover Stuart lying next to her, his arm flung possessively across her body. Remembering the night before, she smiled. Funny, but she expected the morning after to be uncomfortable, with regrets darkening the light of day, but no. She was so happy she felt as if her chest might explode.

Her smile widened as Stuart gave a soft moan and moved in closer. “Morning,” he murmured. With his voice laced with sleep, he sounded young and unjaded.

Blue eyes blinked at her. “I see you.”

“I see you, too.”

“No, I mean I can see you. I fell asleep wearing my contacts again.”

“Again, huh? Happens often?”

“More than I want to admit.” He rolled to his side. “In this case, though, I blame you.”

“Me?” she asked, rolling to face him.

“Uh-huh. You distracted me.”

“Oh.” She was going to strain her cheek muscles if she kept smiling this way. “I didn’t hear any complaints last night.”

“Oh, trust me, there are no complaints this morning, either.”

They lay side by side, his arm draped around her waist. The intimate position felt so natural it was scary. “But I better not hear any jokes about my glasses.”

“I like your glasses. They give you a sexy hipster look.”

Stuart laughed. It was a sound everyone should hear in the morning. “Maybe we should get you some glasses.” His smile shifted, turning almost reverent. “You really mean what you’re saying, though, don’t you?”

“Doesn’t make a different to me whether you wear glasses or not. You could wear a sack over your head for all I care. Well, maybe not a sack. I kind of like your face.”

“I like yours,” he said, brushing her cheek. Her face. Not her body. Patience loved the way he looked at her. He didn’t see her as an object or even as an ex-stripper. As far as Stuart was concerned, she was a person. Someone worthy of respect.

But do you deserve it? The question came crashing into her brain, reminding her that, in spite of all her confessions, there was still one secret she’d kept to herself. Stuart trusted her enough to tell his story. Maybe she should trust him with the rest of hers?

His fingers were moving south, tracing a path over her shoulder, tugging the sheet away from her skin.

“Stuart...?”

“Mmm?”

“I—” She arched into the sheets as he nuzzled the crook of her neck. “Nothing.” He made it way too easy to give in.

* * *

Ana was talking a blue streak. “...need more events like last evening’s. I asked Dr. O’Hara to get me the CEO’s phone number. When I’m settled back home, I want to make a donation and tell him to earmark the money for entertainment. As I told Dr. O’Hara, patients need distractions, and he agreed. I have to say, I wasn’t sure I was going to like him but he’s much less condescending than Karl. Plus, he has a lovely wife, so he won’t be bothering Patience. Are you listening to me?”

“Of course, I am. Dr. O’Hara’s condescending.”

He wasn’t even close, was he? Stuart could tell from Ana’s arched brow. “Sorry, I was thinking about...something else.” This morning, to be exact. And last night.

“Obviously.” His aunt settled back against her pillow. Time in the rehab facility had improved the sharpness of her stare, which she used to full advantage. “So what is it that has you smiling like the cat who ate the canary? It’s unlike you.”

“I’m in a good mood is all. I found a condo yesterday. On the other side of the Common.”

“Does that mean you’ll be moving out?”

“Not for a while yet.”

The disappointment left Ana’s face. “Good. I’m not ready for you to leave yet.”

Neither was he. It had dawned on him this morning that leaving would mean leaving Patience behind. Unless they continued whatever it was they were doing at his place. Was that what he wanted?

Pictures of her standing on his terrace flashed through his head.

“You’re smiling again. Must be a very nice apartment.”

“It’s not bad. Patience came with me to check the place out. She liked it.”

“Really? I didn’t realize you valued her opinion? I got the impression there was tension between the two of you.”

“We...” Damn, if his cheeks weren’t getting warm. “We worked that out.”

“Did you, now?”

“We talked.”

“I’m glad. She’s a lovely girl, isn’t she?”

“Um...” He pictured her face when she woke up this morning. Hair mussed. Sleep in her eyes. She was far more than lovely. She was genuine and honest. He could trust her.

The realization hit him while they were dancing. Scared the hell out of him. At the same time, he’d never felt freer.

“Stuart?”

“You were right, Tetya. She’s terrific.”

He could tell the second his aunt put two and two together. Her pale blue eyes pinned him to the chair. “Are you having an affair with my housekeeper?”

Stuart ran a hand across the back of his neck. His cheeks were definitely crimson now. Thankfully, his aunt took pity on him and waved her question off. “You don’t have to say anything. I know a besotted look when I see one.”

“I’m not sure I’d say besotted.” A word from this century, perhaps.

“Use whatever word you want. I’m glad.”

“You are?”

“Of course. You let what happened with Gloria keep you from falling in love for way too long. Killed me to think Theodore crushed
your
heart, too.”

Who said anything about love? He was about to tell Ana she was reading too much into the affair when something his aunt said caught his attention.

“Too?” This was the first time his aunt had ever referred to the bad blood between her and his grandfather. He thought of the memory box buried at the bottom of her drawer, of cats all bearing the same man’s name, and his heart ached for the woman he’d grown to love as a grandmother. What had his grandfather done? He had to ask. “Are you talking about Nigel?”

“Don’t be silly? What would your grandfather have to do with my cat?”

She was a worse liar than he was. The way she suddenly became interested in smoothing her sheets gave her away. “I meant Nigel Rougeau,” he said.

Her hand stilled. “Who?”

“I saw the photographs, Tetya. The ones in your drawer.”

“Oh.”

“I know it’s none of my business...I’ve just always wondered why. What could my grandfather have possibly done to make you cut us off?”

“Oh,
lapushka
, I was never trying to cut you off. What happened was a long time ago, before you were ever born.”

“You mean what happened with Nigel?”

She nodded.

She didn’t get to say anything further. Footsteps sounded outside the hospital door and, a second later, Patience appeared. Stuart couldn’t believe the way his pulse picked up when he saw her.

“Hey,” she greeted in a shy voice that screamed all the things they’d done overnight. “I was bringing Ana something to eat. I didn’t realize you’d be here.”

“I decided to visit during lunch so I could get home at a decent hour,” he replied. His answer made her blush, probably because they both knew why he wanted to get home early. The pink ran across her cheeks and down her neck, disappearing into the collar of her T-shirt. She looked so incredibly delectable Stuart had to grip the sides of his chair to keep from kissing her senseless.

“I brought you a chicken salad sandwich,” she said, setting a bag on Ana’s bedside table. Then, noticing his aunt’s distraction, she frowned. “Am I interrupting something?”

“Ana was about to tell me about Nigel Rougeau.” That made Ana look up.

“She was the one who found the box,” he explained.

“We weren’t trying to pry, I swear,” Patience said. “I put the box on the bureau while I was organizing your drawer and Nigel—the cat—knocked it on the floor. We saw the name when we were picking up the mess. I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be, dear. It was probably Nigel’s way of demanding attention.” Ana gave a long, sad sigh. “He never did like being kept a secret.”

She meant Nigel Rougeau. Realizing this, Stuart and Patience exchanged a look. Apparently cats and their namesake shared personality traits after all.

“Maybe it’s time I told our story,” Ana said, smoothing the sheets again.

“Should I leave?” Patience asked. “Let you talk about family business...”

“No, dear. You can stay,” Ana told her. “You’re like family.”

Stuart could tell Patience was still wavering, so he grabbed her hand and pulled her into the chair next to his. “Please stay.”

She looked down at their joined fingers. “This is okay, too,” he said. “She knows.”

“Oh.” The blush returned.

“Nigel loved when women blushed. He used to say every woman’s cheek has its own special shade. He was a painter I knew in Paris.”

“You were his model. The painting on the wall.”

“He and I preferred the term
muse
. Our relationship was far deeper than artist and model.” She sighed. “He had such talent.”

The reverence in her voice took Stuart aback. “Why didn’t you mention him before?” he asked. Why keep a man she so clearly worshipped a secret?

“Some things are too painful to mention.” Next to him, Patience stiffened. They both understood all too well what Ana meant. “You don’t have to tell us now, either,” Patience said.

“Yes,” he agreed. “We’ll understand.”

“No, I want to. I’m sure he’s furious that I’ve stayed quiet this long.” Ana spoke in the present tense, as if he were in the room with them.

“We met the summer I graduated high school. I was on a grand tour, being bored to tears with tours of cathedrals and palaces and had sneaked away to see some of the more forbidden parts of Paris. Instead, I met Nigel. It was love at first sight. When the tour moved on, I stayed behind.”

Her voice grew gravelly. Stuart reached over and poured her a glass of water. As he handed the drink to her, he saw her eyes had grown wet. “We were going to do great things in the art world. He would paint, I would be the inspiration. The Diakonova to his Salvador Dali.”

“What happened?” Patience asked. The two of them leaned forward, curious.

“Your grandfather happened, of course. You know our parents passed away when I was a child.” Stuart nodded. Losing your parents young seemed to be Duchenko tradition.

“Because he was the eldest, Theodore became my legal guardian. When he found out Nigel and I were living together—Nigel considered marriage a bourgeois institution—he went crazy. He flew to Paris to ‘bring me home.’ Said he would not allow his seventeen-year-old sister to ruin the Duchenko name by living in sin with some two-bit, fortune-hunting painter. I always wondered whether if Nigel had been more successful, if Theodore might have had a different view.”