A Hard Man to Love (9 page)

Cassidy sighed. “She’s someone from Derrick’s past and the daughter of one of Phineas’s old business associates. No one important.

“Our family got together for New Year’s, and he brought her with him. I didn’t like her in the first place, but then she got drunk and tried to seduce Roarke. Believe me, it created major problems. We didn’t see her again after New Year’s Eve. I guess he got rid of her.” She touched Eva’s arm. “Hey, whatever she said, don’t let it get to you. She’s probably jealous. Derrick has a really good business sense—I guess that’s why Phineas left him everything—but he didn’t have the best judgment when it came to women. We’re all trying to figure out how he ended up with someone like you. You’re so normal.”

Eva laughed shortly. “Yeah, I’m normal.”

Apparently, normal didn’t cut it for Derrick. Even though Johnnie may not have been liked by his family, she was the one he chose to introduce to them.

Not her.

Chapter Nine

Eva refused to let the unexpected conversation after lunch spoil her day out. Growing up as an only child, she’d always longed to have siblings. By marrying Derrick, she felt as if she’d gained two new sisters and intended to enjoy the time in their company.

Their trip ended on a positive note when they entered FAO Schwarz and shopped for items for the baby. Eva bought a few stuffed animals and other toys. She picked up items for Arianna, too, and insisted Celeste accept the gifts when she tried to protest.

Just after seven, they were on the plane and being served a gourmet meal. They then migrated over to the lounge after dinner.

Cassidy lay down on one sofa, using a cushion as a pillow. She yawned. “I ate too much, I need a nap, and my feet hurt. I wish my hubby was here to rub my feet for me.”

Celeste curled her legs up under her. “We’ll get there soon enough.”

“I’m so spoiled, aren’t I? He’s so good to me.”

Eva felt a pang of jealousy—a common occurrence throughout the day. Celeste and Cassidy were so happy in their marriages, with husbands who loved them and whom they loved. All day she’d listened to their cute stories and had nothing to contribute because she and Derrick didn’t have the same kind of relationship.

He seemed further away now than ever before, even though in reality he slept only a few feet from her. He was giving her what she’d said she wanted, but she didn’t really want this. She wanted to feel special, the way Antonio made Cassidy feel.

Derrick provided the basic needs of food and shelter, but there was one other need she had that he couldn’t fulfill, the need for love, and he had no interest in fulfilling it, either. He wanted her sexually, but otherwise, he couldn’t summon enough of an interest to spend any time with her.

Their marriage was a joke. They barely spoke, they slept in separate bedrooms, and whenever their paths crossed, they spoke in monosyllables to each other.

“I’m exhausted, but I had a good time,” Eva said. “Thank you both so much for spending the day with me.”

“Our pleasure,” Cassidy said. She yawned again and closed her eyes. “Plus, we got some goodies. Thank you for the jewelry.”

“You’re welcome. It was the least I could do since you took the time to plan the day and spend it with me.”

Within a few minutes, Cassidy was dozing on the sofa, and Celeste and Eva talked quietly. Celeste shared her advice about pregnancy and told Eva what to expect in the coming months.

“I can’t wait until I start showing more,” Eva confessed. She patted her stomach.

“You’re so lucky. You know that show where they feature women who go into labor and didn’t even know they were pregnant? I was the complete opposite. I had a baby bump early on. At six months pregnant, everyone thought I was full term. By the time I was full term, I could barely get around, my hips and thighs were ten times this size”—she waved her hand in the general direction of her hips and thighs—“if you could believe that—and my face, oh, don’t get me started on my fat face and neck.” She smiled wistfully. “But I love my baby girl. I wouldn’t trade her for the world.”

“From what I understand, you and Roarke got married very quickly . . . ?”

“Mhmm. I’ll spare you the details. Here’s a quick summary. I met him the week before Cassidy’s wedding, but nothing came of it. I went to the wedding with Derrick, and we met again and realized we wanted to be together. It was crazy and spontaneous.”

“I didn’t know you went to Cassidy’s wedding . . . with Derrick?”

Celeste looked slightly embarrassed when she realized her slip. “Not
with
Derrick. I mean . . . well, he needed a date, and I agreed to go with him, but we’ve always only been friends.”

“Oh.”

“I’m sorry, Eva, I wasn’t thinking. Believe me, it was nothing. Derrick covered the costs of the trip as a favor because I couldn’t afford to miss work.” Then she added with a wince, “You and Derrick were together at the time, weren’t you?”

“Well . . .” Eva hedged. She didn’t want Celeste to feel bad. Derrick chose to go with her because he wanted to. Eva’s feelings on the matter were irrelevant, and Celeste’s disclosure proved once again that she had not been as important to him as he had been to her. “Actually, we stopped seeing each other around that time, so really, it’s not even an issue.”

“Oh, that’s why he said his plans fell through and he had to find another date.”

The words caused a sharp stab of pain in her chest. Even before Celeste, there had been someone else he planned to take?

“Good, because this conversation was about to get awkward. And I’m glad the two of you worked out your differences and found your way back to each other.”

“Thanks.”

Eva put on a brave front for Celeste, but inside, her heart seized up with pain. What reason could there be for him to share his life with other women in such an intimate way, but not with her?

Over an hour later, Celeste and Cassidy drove away in their respective cars. With Svana’s help, Eva trudged upstairs with all her purchases. Derrick wasn’t home yet, so she took a shower and donned a peach nightgown.

By now, her hurt had transformed into anger. The more she thought about the conversation with Celeste, the more upset she became. She walked over to the door leading into the sitting room of their suite and cracked it open so she could hear Derrick when he came in.

He would not ignore her tonight.

****

Derrick rose from behind the desk he’d been practically fastened to all day. Across from him sat his vice president of operations and his CFO, both of whom he had come to rely on heavily in recent weeks. With their help, he expected to distribute a package about the financial health of the company to all the firm’s employees and leak key elements to the top business outlets in print and digital media.

The purpose was to show the stability of HLC as they moved toward expanding their reach by entering a strategic alliance with a key player in the Greek shipping industry. If he could ink the deal, a negotiation his father had been working on before his death, it would expand HLC’s interests abroad and capture a significant percentage of the international logistics market.

“All right,” he said. “That’s enough for today.”

“Do you need us this weekend?” his VP of operations asked.

Derrick stuck the pages he’d been writing notes and figures on into a file. He couldn’t tell if the tone of her voice was hopeful because of the hefty additional wages she earned for working on the weekend, or because she looked forward to getting a break.

“No, I’m good. Let’s take the weekend to think about what we discussed today. We’ll meet in here first thing on Monday morning and tweak our plans if necessary.”

After they left, he dropped the files in his briefcase and snapped it shut.

He didn’t relish going home and sleeping next door to a wife he couldn’t touch. Before Eva moved in, he never stayed this late at the office. He took the work home and finished up there.

Derrick shook his head. He was running from a woman half his size, and all because he’d agreed to give her time. It was just as well. He got plenty of work done and felt a lot better about the direction the company was going in than he did when he first took over.

In the outer office, his administrative assistant was logging off her computer. Her head snapped up when she heard him.

“Do you need anything else, Mr. Hoffman?”

She’d been his father’s admin, too. Since she was young and attractive, he’d had his doubts about his father’s decision to hire her, but having worked closely with her, he grew to appreciate her work ethic and professionalism. He’d been tempted to sleep with her when his father was alive, but now he was glad he hadn’t. He would have jeopardized a relationship with a great assistant.

“No. Have a great weekend. I’ll see you next week.”

When he arrived home, he didn’t go upstairs right away. He entered the study, which had been his father’s. Two of the dark walls were filled with books on built-in shelves. File cabinets took up half of one wall. In the center of the room sat a heavy wooden desk, directly across from the fireplace, above which hung portraits of his mother and father.

Set off by itself sat a cabinet humidor, polished until the wood gleamed. Phineas had been a cigar aficionado, and Derrick had given him the large piece of custom-made furniture as a gift for the storage and preservation of his cigar collection.

He removed a cigar from the cabinet and lit it, then stepped out onto the terrace. Holding it between his index finger and thumb, he took a puff and let the smoke ease past his lips.

What would Phineas think of his progress so far? Would he be proud? Was he on the right track? He hoped so. The success of the company depended on his ability to think and strategize in the same way his father had when he was alive.

If all went well with the Greeks, the only other major item on his plate would be the court battle with his family.

When he finished smoking, he went upstairs to get ready for bed. He looked forward to a shower and a night of rest.

Chapter Ten

With the door cracked open, Eva heard Derrick the minute he entered their suite. Her heart started into a sprint like a racehorse jumping forward at the crack of a gun. She hopped from the bed, where she’d been rereading the same page for the past half hour, and clicked the door shut. Pacing the floor, she decided to give him time to get settled before approaching him.

When she felt enough time had passed, she pulled on the lace-edged robe that matched her nightgown, knotted the band around her waist, and went to the connecting door and knocked. The absurdity of having to knock on her husband’s bedroom door infuriated her. No response came from his side, so she knocked again, louder this time. Still no answer. Couldn’t he hear her?

She twisted the doorknob and stormed in, but came to a halt in the middle of the room when she found it empty. As the door clicked close behind her, she took a look around. It was decorated in masculine tones, dark, heavy wood and varying hues of the colors brown and black. Without a single flower or soft color in sight, no one could mistake this for anything but the room of a driven, potent male.

Her eyes strayed to the huge, perfectly made bed with a wrought iron frame. It was custom-made and sat high off the floor. To get in, she’d have to climb up . . . Her thoughts screeched to a halt, and she tore her eyes away, noting the clothes tossed carelessly across one of the armchairs near the window. Where the hell was he?

In answer to her question, the bathroom door opened, and Derrick emerged in an unexpected way. He strolled out, naked as the day he was born, rubbing a towel across his wet skin.

It had been so long, she’d forgotten the type of sensual power the sight of his bare skin wielded. For a moment, she couldn’t remember why she’d gone there in the first place, reason vanishing as her eyes drank in every piece of sinewy flesh.

Breathing, normally an instinctive process, became a chore that needed a heightened level of coordination she became incapable of performing. A sheen of water remained layered over his golden skin. He paused at the sight of her, and she shamelessly focused on the muscles of his arms, his hair-sprinkled chest, and rock-hard abdomen.

Her thighs clenched as her gaze traveled further south to the thick shaft hanging between his muscular legs. A long time passed before she was able to tear her eyes away, and only because it made a show of rising halfway in a slow salute to her.

Eva’s gaze met Derrick’s, and a gradual smile transformed his face. Guilty heat blazed across her cheeks at his knowing look.

“Would you please cover yourself?” She cleared her throat to take the attention off her tremor-filled voice, but she knew he heard it.

He took his sweet time blotting his skin with the towel. “It’s not my fault you came into my room without asking and got an eyeful. Although I don’t see why you’re acting like such a prude. You’ve seen all of this before.”

What he said was true, but in the past, she’d also been able to touch him at will. Right now she couldn’t, and her greedy gaze lingered about his hips as he wrapped the towel around his narrow waist.

“I need to talk to you.” She curled her fingers around the loop of the knot in her belt in an attempt to fight back the ache pounding between her legs.

He walked by her, and she smelled the minty freshness of toothpaste or mouthwash and the clean scent of pine from his shower. She had to close her eyes for a moment to keep her bearings. Her body, jolted into sexual awareness, was acutely cognizant of his. Beneath the layers of satin, her nipples grew tight and strained against the fabric in appreciation of his hard physique.

Maybe this wasn’t such a good idea.

“What about?”

She turned around to look at him. He stood before the dresser and picked up a bottle of deodorant.

“I had an interesting conversation with Celeste today.”

He raised a brow at her reflection in the mirror. “Why would this interest me?”

“Because we talked about you. She mentioned accompanying you to your sister’s wedding in May.”