Million Dollar Marriage (15 page)

Holden whistled his way through the morning meeting at the plush offices of Fortune
TX, Ltd. Logan had been sending him odd looks on and off, but Holden didn’t really
care. He was feeling good about himself, and good about his life for the first time
in a long time.
He’d decided on a course of action, and just knowing what he had to do seemed to make
his steps lighter and keep a constant smile teasing at his lips.

He was going to woo his wife. Court her. And make her fall in love with him. Because
he could be the kind of man who would make a woman a decent husband. Hell, with Lucy
at his side, he could do anything.

His brother followed him to his office when the meeting adjourned, and even that didn’t
upset him. Holden just filled his coffee cup, and took a seat behind his gleaming
hardwood desk, tipped back his leather swivel chair and propped his feet up on the
blotter.

Logan stood in the open doorway. Just beyond him, Holden saw Emily Applegate peering
intently at her computer screen.

“How’s that acquisition research coming, Emily?” Logan asked, without turning.

“Just fine,” she said, looking at him and smiling. “It’s on your desk.”

Logan came inside and closed the door. “So, what’s up with you, anyway?”

Holden lifted his brows, sipped from his cup. “What do you mean?”

“You’re smiling. There’s a bounce in your step. I actually heard you humming in the
elevator, Holden.”

“So?”

“So, you don’t hum.”

Holden shrugged. “Maybe I just started.”

Frowning, Logan came forward, and sank into one of the two comfortable chairs in front
of Holden’s
desk. “Something’s different about you. It’s Lucy, isn’t it?”

Holden grinned. “I’m planning a surprise for her.” Then his smile died and he bit
his lip. “I just hope she likes it. I mean…I’m not really sure she will, but I think—”

“You’re in love with her!” Logan said it as if it were an accusation.

“Well, she’s my wife. I’m supposed to be, right?”

“I can’t believe it.” Logan was on his feet again, but his frown was gone. He was
smiling now. “I honest to Texas can’t believe it. Maybe you’re not as dense as I thought
you were after all, big brother.”

“Runs in the family,” Holden said.

“Huh?”

Holden shook his head. “Have you taken a good look at your assistant lately, Logan?”

Logan’s face puckered in confusion. “Emily? No. Why, is there something wrong with
her?”

“And you call me dense.” Holden’s phone buzzed, and he snatched it up, then put a
hand over the receiver. “Mom’s on the line. I’d better take it.”

Logan nodded, frowning. Holden understood that frown. It wasn’t like Mary Ellen to
call either of them at the offices—unless something was wrong. He thought of little
Bryan. Perhaps there was some news, and he prayed it was good. Holden punched a button
on the phone panel. “Mom? What’s up?”

She sighed first. “I probably shouldn’t be butting in, Holden, but your Lucy just
came home, and—”

“She came home?” He glanced at his watch. She couldn’t have been at the hospital for
more than an hour. “Did she say why?”

“Something about not feeling well.”

“She’s sick?” Holden was on his feet. “Is she all right? Maybe you should call a doctor.”

“Holden, your wife
is
a doctor. Besides, I have a feeling it isn’t so much physical as…as something else.”

“What kind of something else?”

Another sigh. “Holden, she’s pale, a bit shaky, and, um, if I’m not mistaken, she’s
been crying. Did something happen between you two that—”

“No. Hell, everything was going so well…or I thought it was. Look, I’ll be home as
soon as I can. I’m leaving now.”

“Good,” Mary Ellen said. “I think that’s for the best.”

Holden hung up the phone, glanced at his brother, having almost forgotten Logan was
in the room. “I have to go—”

“I heard. Go ahead, I’ll handle things here.”

Holden nodded his thanks, snatched his keys from his top drawer, and headed for the
door.

“Holden?”

“Yeah?”

“Work it out, okay? She’s… Hell, she’s one of the best things that ever happened to
you.”

Glancing back over his shoulder, meeting his brother’s eyes, Holden said, “Wrong,
little brother. She’s
the best
thing.”

The gentle tap on her bedroom door made Lucy lift her head from the pillows. It ached
when she moved it. And she knew her eyes were puffy and red, and she didn’t really
want to face anyone right now.

“Lucy? Darling, it’s Mary Ellen. Please, let me come in.”

Blinking, brushing her eyes dry, Lucy got to her feet, and opened the bedroom door.
Her mother-in-law stood there, looking like the epitome of motherhood—graceful, caring,
wise. Perfect. She held the cat in her arms, stroking him absently. She and Cleo had
become best friends, just as Holden had predicted they would. Mary Ellen was such
an incredible woman.

“I can’t believe Holden ever thought I was like you,” Lucy whispered, turning her
head, averting her eyes.

“He told you that, too, did he?” Mary Ellen came in and closed the door. “When he
said it to me, that you reminded him of me, I thought it was the highest compliment
I’d ever been paid.”

A burst of air escaped Lucy’s lips. “It was no compliment, Mary Ellen. I’m not half
the woman you are.”

“You are the woman my son loves,” she said softly. Coming closer, she put a hand on
Lucy’s shoulder. “That makes you perfect in my eyes.”

“He doesn’t love me. He can’t. He thinks I’m something I’m not, and I’ve been…I’ve
been horrible. Oh, Mary Ellen, when he realizes what I’ve done…” Lucy closed her eyes
to fight off new tears.

“Come with me, Lucy. I’ve got tea waiting in your sitting room. It will do you a world
of good.”

Lucy let herself be led. Mary Ellen tucked her into a cozy chair, draped a woven blanket
over her shoulders, and then placed a cup of steaming tea into her hands. She felt
comforted. It was almost like having a mother of her own again.

“Now, why don’t you tell me about this horrible thing you think you’ve done?”

Lowering her head, Lucy said, “I—I deceived him, Mary Ellen. I was selfish, and thoughtless.
I married him with a plan, with my own agenda, one he knew nothing about.”

Mary Ellen nodded. “I assumed this arrangement began as a part of Holden’s own agenda.
To collect his inheritance.”

Nodding hard, Lucy said, “It did. He promised to fund my clinic for the lower income
women in the Hispanic and Native American communities in return for being his wife
for a year.”

“And you agreed,” Mary Ellen said softly. “And now you’ve fallen in love with him.”

Setting her teacup into its saucer, Lucy said, “It’s so much more complicated than
that.”

“Well, now. Let me see if I can guess. I did have a rather interesting phone call
from Rosita Perez this morning. Rosita is a bit of a psychic. Most of the family just
humors her, but I’ve seen her pick up on too many things to be entirely skeptical.
Rosita said she dreamed about tree frogs last night.”

Lucy, distracted for just a moment from her misery by this odd twist in the conversation,
sniffled, and looked up. “Tree frogs?”

“Oh, yes. You see whenever Rosita dreams of amphibians, someone in the family turns
out to be pregnant.”

Lucy’s teacup clattered to the floor.

She stared at the spreading liquid, staining the carpet, soaking into its fibers bit
by bit.

Mary Ellen gathered both Lucy’s hands into her
own. “So, tell me, Lucy. Are you going to make me a grandmother?”

Lucy squeezed her eyes tight and managed to nod. She felt the hot tears seeping through
despite her best efforts to hold them back. And then she felt warm arms around her,
holding her gently, a hand stroking her hair.

“This is not the disaster you think it is, you know. It’s a blessing, Lucy. A blessing.”
She backed up a bit, framing Lucy’s face with her hands, and smiling. Mary Ellen’s
eyes were damp, too. “You’re going to make such a beautiful mother. You know that?”

Lucy couldn’t help it. She smiled, too, through her tears. “Do you think?”

Tears rolling freely now, Mary Ellen nodded. “If I could have chosen a mother for
my first grandchild, I would have picked you.” She closed her eyes. “Oh, Lucy, do
you know how lively this old house will be? The birthday parties, and slumber parties
and…” She drew a big breath, eyes flying wide. “And Christmas! Oh, Lucy, it’s been
so long since I’ve seen the wide, wonder-filled eyes of a child on Christmas morning.”

Everything she said brought an image to Lucy’s mind. And bit by bit, the anguish left
her. Mary Ellen was thrilled for her, and it felt good to relish the idea of motherhood,
to cherish the thought, and celebrate the beginning of a new life with this woman.
But when she thought of Holden, the images faded. And the joy with them.

“Holden is not going to be as enthusiastic, I think.”

“Holden will be thrilled, just as I am, Lucy. I promise you that.” Mary Ellen took
a breath. “I won’t say
anything to him. I’ll leave that to you. You tell him when you feel ready, all right?”

“Thank you, Mary Ellen.”

Mary Ellen nodded, getting to her feet. “No, Lucy. Thank you.” Leaning down, she pressed
a warm kiss to Lucy’s forehead. “Now, go wash your face. Your husband is on his way
home.”

Lucy’s head came up fast. “What?”

“I’m sorry. I was worried about you.”

Nodding slowly, Lucy said, “It’s all right.”

“It’s as it should be,” Mary Ellen said. “I’m going over to the Double Crown for a
while. You two will have the place to yourselves today.”

Nodding again, Lucy forced a smile as Mary Ellen took her leave. Dragging herself
to her feet, she retrieved the toppled teacup. Then she went to the bathroom to splash
cold water on her tearstained face.

H
olden hurried through the house, into their wing, worried half to death. Things couldn’t
go bad now. Not when he’d just figured out what he wanted in life.

He found Lucy in the bedroom, standing sideways in front of a full-length mirror,
staring hard at her reflection.

“Honey? You okay?”

She looked up, startled, turning away from the mirror almost guiltily. “I was a little
under the weather, so I came home early. Your mom really shouldn’t have bothered you
at work.”

Holden took his time studying her face. Her eyes looked a little puffy, and there
was a worried look about her that bothered him. “So…it’s just some kind of bug?”

“Probably a summer cold.” She sighed, and crossed the room toward him. “You really
didn’t have to rush home.”

“I was worried. Mom thought you looked upset.”

She lowered her eyes. Holden took her hands in his. “If I’ve done something to upset
you, Lucy, you have to tell me about it.”

She smiled, but it looked false. “You have been absolutely wonderful to me. I promise,
it’s nothing you’ve done.”

“What is it, then?”

She pulled her hands from his, turning away. “Nothing. A bug, like I told you. You
can go back to the office, and I’ll be fine.”

“No.”

Blinking, she turned back to him. “Well…why not?”

“Because if you’re sick, then I want to be here to take care of you. You know, prop
your feet up, feed you chicken soup, get you tissues…”

“I’m not that sick.”

“I don’t think you’re sick at all.”

She closed her eyes when he said that, and he knew he was right. “Holden, I—”

“We’re going to talk it out, whatever it is. I have some things to say to you. And
maybe I should have said them sooner, but—”

“Holden, don’t. Please.”

He fell silent, studying her face, the hint of pain he could see in her eyes. With
a sigh, he reached out, took her hand. “Come on.” She didn’t resist as he pulled her
to the bed, pressed her until she sat on its edge. Then he dragged up a chair and
sat beside the bed.

“Talk to me.”

Taking a breath, letting it out slowly, she seemed to be steeling herself. She parted
her lips. Then closed them again and sighed.

“Fine,” Holden said. “I’ll start. I want to call off our deal.”

Her eyes widened. “Y-you what?”

“Oh, I’ll still fund the clinic. Fully. No limits, whatever you need. But…okay, I’m
just gonna plunge in
and say it. I don’t want to end this marriage when the year is up.” Leaning forward,
he took her hand. “I want to try to make it real, Lucy. I want to try to make it work.”

“Oh, Holden.” It was a whisper, a sigh. “You don’t know what you’re saying.”

“I know that I feel something for you. That I pretty much always have.”

“No,” she said, her voice stronger now. Firmer. “You don’t.”

Holden lifted his brows. “Give me some credit. I know what I feel.”

“But you don’t know me.” She got to her feet, pacing away from him in quick, agitated
strides. “You think I’m perfect. Some kind of angel.”

“You are.”

“No, Holden, I’m not. I never have been. These feelings you think you have aren’t
for me. They’re for some false image of me that you’ve built up in your mind. But
that’s not who I am.”

He couldn’t help it. He smiled. “All these years I had myself convinced I could never
be good enough for you. Now you’re trying to tell me you’re not good enough for me?”

She turned slowly. “Y-you thought you weren’t good enough for me?”

“Yeah. That’s why I stayed away from you. It was a battle, I can tell you that. But
you seemed out of reach for a man like me.” As she lowered her head, shaking it, Holden
went to her, stroked her hair away from her face. “I always believed I was destined
to be just like my old man. But you made me see that I’m better than that. I can be
exactly what
I
want to
be. You showed me that, Lucy. And what I want to be is your husband.”

He didn’t know what he’d said wrong, but all of a sudden there were tears standing
in her eyes.

“You were always good enough for me,” she said. “Holden, I lied to you, and plotted
against you.”

He frowned, staring down at her. “What?”

“I was dishonest with you from the start. I had my own agenda when I agreed to be
your wife. A cold, calculated plan to get what I wanted from you. Because for some
screwed-up reason I believed you were just a womanizing jerk who would never care
anyway.”

He lowered his head. “I…probably deserved that.”

“No. No, Holden, you didn’t. You see, I was wrong. You were never the kind of man
I thought you were. Never the kind of man you thought you were, either. I saw that
almost from the start, and I knew then that I couldn’t go through with m-my plan to
trick you.”

Frowning, he searched her face.

“I swear, Holden, I changed my mind. I did.”

“So, then…there’s no harm done.”

She sniffled, brushed at her eyes with the back of one hand. “There is. Because you
need to know the kind of scheming I did, and I just don’t think you’ll feel the same
way about me anymore once you do. I think you care for the woman you thought I was.
But that image is going to be shattered.”

Nodding slowly, Holden lifted her chin until she looked into his eyes. “Only one way
to find out,” he said, knowing full well that no confession she might make was going
to make him feel any differently
about her. “Tell me this devious plot you couldn’t go through with. What was it? Were
you going to sue me for divorce and try to take half of everything I own, the way
Sophia is doing to Uncle Ryan?”

“No. No, it’s worse than that, Holden.” She licked her lips. “I—I wanted a baby.”

He felt his jaw go lax, snapped it closed again.

“I wanted to get pregnant right away. And that was why I—I seduced you the way I did,
at Kingston Lake.”

Holden gave his head a shake. “That…that was why?”

She lowered her eyes. “Well, that was why the first time. I mean, I wanted you, Holden,
don’t mistake that. But…I wanted a baby, too. I’ve always wanted a child of my own,
and my time was running short, and when you made your offer I thought it was the answer
I’d been looking for.”

Turning in a slow circle, Holden pushed both hands through his hair. “I can’t believe
this. I was…I was a damn sperm donor to you?” He stopped when he faced her again.
“And just what were you planning to do with this…this baby?”

“Keep it. Raise it as my own. I wasn’t even certain I was going to tell you about
it. I thought I could leave town before I started to show, let our marriage go on
until the end of the term we agreed on, and then get a quiet divorce.”

“And when you came back to town toting a child? What then?”

She gave her head a quick shake. “I hadn’t thought that far ahead. Claim I’d adopted
it, maybe. I don’t know. I guess I just didn’t think you’d care, anyway.”

“You didn’t think I’d care?” Holden paced the floor, sighed deeply, and then brought
himself to a stop. “Okay. Okay, so you had this plan. Hell, Lucy, you probably felt
justified. You knew me as the guy who got drunk and took your virginity one night,
and then forgot it ever happened before morning.” He sighed again, bit his lip. “I
guess the main point is, you changed your mind.”

“No, Holden. The main point is, I am not this perfect, pure-of-heart Snow White you’ve
come to think I am.”

“If you weren’t,” he said, moving closer to her again, taking her shoulders in his
hands and squeezing gently, “you would have gone through with it. But you didn’t.
That’s why you didn’t want to make love to me when we got back, isn’t it?”

Eyes wet, she looked up into his and nodded. “By then I’d begun to see the man you
truly are. I decided to wait, to get some birth control, and talk to you about children
later. Once we figured out where…where this thing between us was going.”

He smiled very slowly. “And we will. We will, Lucy. Much, much later.”

She blinked up at him, wide-eyed.

“So, you’re not perfect. Lucy, nobody’s perfect. I never expected you to be flawless.
I’m not perfect, either. You know that.”

She sighed deeply.

Holden tipped his head back and shook it slowly. “Thank God, your little plan didn’t
succeed,” he said. “God knows, a baby is the last thing we need in our lives right
now.”

She didn’t reply. Didn’t say a word, and when Holden
looked down at her, her face seemed frozen. A mask he could not see through.

“I mean, there’s so much going on. Sophia fighting for half of everything, including
the company. Little Bryan’s kidnapping.” Her expression didn’t change. “We need time
to figure out what there is between us…time to nurture it, see if it grows. You understand
what I’m saying, don’t you?”

Unflinchingly, she nodded. “Yes. I think I do.”

“So, you agree. I mean, babies…that’s something for much later. Way down the road.
I’m still adjusting to the idea of being someone’s husband, you know? Being someone’s
father, well…”

“No, I understand perfectly. I’m—I’m glad we talked this through, Holden. I am.”

“Good.” He sighed with relief. “So we can start over, then?”

She lifted her head, looked him square in the eye. “No. I’m afraid we can’t.”

Holden felt as if she’d just nailed him between the eyes with a two-by-four. “What?”

She turned away from him. “I just… I’m not ready for this. It’s like you said, being
someone’s wife, it’s a big adjustment. I, um…”

“Lucy?”

“I need some time, Holden.”

“Some time?”

She nodded hard. “I think I’ll just move back into my apartment for a while, and…mull
all of this over.”

“My God, Lucy, what the hell just happened here?”

She kept her back to him, her head lowered. “I didn’t realize you were thinking of
making this marriage
anything other than the arrangement we agreed to. Now that I know you are, I’m just
not sure it’s wise of me to stay here.”

“But…but I thought you…I thought you wanted that, too?”

“We just established that you don’t know me as well as you thought you did.”

Desperation clawed at him. Something had happened, something had changed here, and
for the life of him he didn’t know what. “You can’t go back to your apartment. Miguel
and Gina are still there, and—”

“Look, if it’s the money you’re worried about, don’t. We can keep this thing legal
until you inherit. This won’t effect that.”

“Dammit, Lucy, you think I’m worried about the inheritance?” He turned her around,
made her face him. “To hell with the inheritance!”

She said nothing, wouldn’t even look him in the eye.

“Fine. I’ll go. I’ll stay in my apartment, okay? You won’t even have to see me if
you don’t want to. I’ll give you some time, if that’s what you want, but, Lucy—”

“I…guess that would be okay. Just until Miguel and Gina can take the baby home from
the hospital.”

He searched her face, and finally sighed, feeling utterly deflated, confused, and
pretty well heartbroken. “What happened, Lucy? I thought you felt something, too.”

She refused to answer him, refused to hold his gaze. “I think you should go now. I
need to get back to the hospital.”

He was so frustrated he could have screamed. “Fine. You want me to go, that’s just
fine.”

He released her, wounded to the core, and stormed out of the house.

It seemed to Lucy very fortunate that Holden had revealed his feelings about having
a child before she’d had the chance to tell him she was pregnant. It made things a
lot easier. If she’d told him first, he may have tried to cover those feelings. But
this way she knew where he stood from the start. And it seemed very clear to her that
she had to choose—between the child she carried, and the husband who thought there
might be some chance of a true love developing between them. Maybe. Someday.

She hadn’t told him that she already loved him. There was no reason for him to know
that. She picked up the phone and dialed the number of her old apartment. She wouldn’t
rush Gina and Miguel, but now that Miguel was employed by Fortune TX, Ltd., they would
be finding a place of their own closer to town. Better they know that, as far as she
was concerned, the sooner the better.

Holden went back to the office, but not happily. Lucy had all but told him it was
over. Given him the old heave-ho before he even had a chance to get started. He wished
he knew what was wrong with her.

It was noon when his secretary buzzed him to say he had a visitor. Until he heard
the name, he’d forgotten all about the surprise he had planned to spring on his wife.
Now, he barely knew what the hell to do about it.

“Send him in,” he said with a sigh. He got up from behind his desk just as the office
door opened and the man stepped through it.

He was thin, a bit too thin. His jaw and cheekbones sharply etched beneath his skin.
But handsome, too. Dark skin, the large, proud nose so characteristic of Native American
heritage. His hair was mostly silver, with a few streaks of raven still showing here
and there. He had huge dark eyes…Lucy had those eyes.

“I’m John Brightwater,” he said slowly, looking Holden up and down.

“Holden Fortune, sir.” Holden extended a hand, and Lucy’s father shook it, his grip
firm.

The man nodded. Holden waved toward a chair. “It was good of you to come,” Holden
said. “Can I get you anything? A cold drink? Coffee?”

John Brightwater held up a hand, even as he took his seat. “I only want to know if
it’s true, what you told me on the telephone. My daughter…she married you?”

Holden blinked. “You sound surprised.”

“After what you did to her? I’m surprised she would even speak to you, much less consent
to be your wife.”

Holden had been in the act of leaning back against the edge of his desk, but he almost
fell down at those words. “You… She told you about that?”

“She didn’t have to tell me. I was with her, in the hospital, when she nearly died
because of what you did.”