A Sweet Deal (Crimson Romance) (10 page)

Living miles away from her childhood home, busy with her professional life, Yvette could sometimes forget her conservative, traditional Catholic upbringing. Her parents hadn’t left their heritage or their beliefs behind when they moved to Pennsylvania from Puerto Rico. If anything, it became stronger as they wove their way into the fabric of their largely Puerto Rican neighborhood. She saw herself as an independent adult with a life of her own, someone who was moral without being perfect. Her parents’ black-and-white views were overwhelming, and as much as she sought to evolve, they were a part of who she was. Who she always would be, even if, to her, an unintended pregnancy wasn’t the unspeakable shame that her parents saw. She knew that she could raise the baby on her own, could even develop a healthy relationship with Richard, eventually. To her parents, though, this would never be enough. They’d want a marriage or they’d consider themselves failures as parents. The sad look in her father’s eyes now confirmed what she knew to be true. He couldn’t accept this.

Her mother bustled up the walkway and into Yvette’s foyer, her face full of concern and sadness. “Oh,
mija.
Come here.” She pulled Yvette into a fierce hug that smelled like Pine Sol and home, and her oversized tote bag bounced against their hips. Yvette melted into the embrace, allowing herself a brief moment when everything was going to be all right. At least her mother wasn’t angry with her. Anger would have been easier to swallow, though. The disappointment she saw reflected in their expressions cut to the heart. She blinked against the tears forming in her eyes and took a deep, shuddering breath. Yvette pulled away and led her parents into the living room where they settled themselves on her sofa. Taking a seat opposite from them on her plush wingback chair, she gave them what she hoped was a calm, mature look, the same one she used during difficult meetings at work. The look of a woman who didn’t need her parents riding into town to fix her problems, one who was more than old enough to make her own decisions. “You didn’t need to drive all the way out here.”

“We needed to see for ourselves that you are okay.” Her mother’s voice was soft and filled with sadness.

“I’m fine. Everything’s fine.” Yvette held her head high and willed back her tears. Why could she handle anything that came her way professionally with aplomb, but when it came to facing her parents she was suddenly twelve years old again?

“How can you say that? My daughter, my little girl, pregnant and unmarried! This is not fine! This is far from fine!” Her father started to rise but sat back at his wife’s gentle hand on his shoulder. The disappointment and hurt in his eyes broke Yvette’s heart. “This is not how we raised you, and this is not what we want for you. I didn’t sacrifice so much to give you everything only to have you throw it back in my face.”

She’d known they wouldn’t approve, but she hadn’t anticipated her father seeing her pregnancy as an affront to the sacrifices he made to give her a good life. Her father had moved her mother to America from Puerto Rico when they were newlyweds so their children could be born here, into the land of possibilities and opportunities. He’d left family and friends behind to start over, just for them. There had been years during her childhood when he worked two jobs just to keep the family fed, and thinking back on his commitment to her, on his sacrifices, she wished she’d said yes to Richard’s proposal. Giving her father the comfort of an engagement was a small price to pay.

“Dad, that’s the thing. This happening doesn’t mean that I don’t appreciate everything you’ve done for me. I will always be grateful for everything you did for me, truly, but I’m not a little girl, and I will be fine. I can handle everything, and I will. I’m sorry to have disappointed you, but it’s going to be okay. I just don’t want ... ” The doorbell chimed and she looked towards the foyer. Her parents exchanged a tense look as she rose, confused, and walked to the door.

Richard stood in her doorway, his hair damp from the rain. She stepped back to let him inside, surprised enough to blurt, “What are you doing here? What’s going on?”

Before he could answer, her father walked into the foyer. “I called him and told him to meet us here. I needed to see him for myself and give him the chance to answer for what he’s done and make things right.” A stern look on his face, it was clear he was unashamed that he’d meddled. “When you told me that this candy man was the father of your baby, I looked him up. He wasn’t hard to find.” He sneered as he said the words. She would have laughed at the absurdity of the situation, at her father’s self-righteous look, but it was just too surreal.

“Dad, seriously. He hasn’t done anything to answer for. We are two consenting adults, and I’m sorry that you’re so disappointed, but I can handle this myself.” She could feel her face burning with embarrassment.

“Yvette Isabella Cruz, I am your father and until you are married, you are under my protection. I must do what I think is right.”

Richard looked much too relaxed amidst the tension in the room. Was there a situation he couldn’t handle? As things with her parents spiraled out of control, she was actually glad to see him, happy to have his competent, calming presence. “Hector, Elisa, hello. It’s nice to meet you in person.” He lowered his voice and inclined his head so that his lips were almost touching Yvette’s ear, sending warm breath across her neck. “Can we speak somewhere privately?”

“Ah, sure, let’s do that.” She looked to her parents, sitting straight-backed and stern on her couch. Was she the only one ruffled by the situation? Her father looked positively smug, having brought the man who sullied his pristine daughter to answer for his actions. “Come with me. We can go to my library and speak privately.”

She led him into her library and closed the door behind them. Rain pelted the glass ceiling, her reading lamp gave the room a cozy glow, and Yvette wished more than anything that everyone would just leave so she could crawl back into her cocoon and dream. The library was her sanctuary, now more than ever. The pregnancy and the stress surrounding it had worn her out, with more afternoons finding her nodding off at her desk than not. Richard wandered the perimeter of the library, lightly running his fingertips over book spines, until he stopped in front of a shelf. He took a framed picture and held it out to her.

“Is this your sister?”

“Nope, that’s me.”

His confusion was sweet and oddly endearing since he was so rarely surprised. She was accustomed to the double take people did when they saw older pictures of her, but it was especially enjoyable to catch Richard off guard. The picture he held was one of a teenaged Yvette, fifty pounds heavier, wearing braces and unfashionable glasses, with skin that brought pizza toppings to mind. He looked from the picture to her, back again, and a tiny ping of understanding lit up his eyes. She’d seen that look before too, but it was usually with women. That was the look that said he understood why her clothes were couture, why her hair and makeup were always flawless, why accessories mattered to her. She had spent so long as the ugly duckling and had decided it was time to enjoy being the beautiful swan. As her cancer treatment progressed, losing weight was the last thing on her mind, but it was a fortunate side effect. Once she was safely in remission, the weight didn’t return and she took advantage of her second chance to capitalize on her natural beauty by perfecting her makeup techniques and learning what clothing worked best for her body. Determined to never go back to the chubby, plain girl she once was, she learned about healthy diet and exercise and was able to maintain her weight.

“So, I guess you know why I’m here,” he began.

“I can’t believe my father actually called you. He will never accept that I’m an adult, that he doesn’t have a say over everything that goes on in my life.” A soft blanket sat at the foot of her chaise, and she thought it would be perfect to hide beneath.

“Oh, I got quite an earful.” To her relief, Richard laughed. “It was hard for me to get a word in edgewise, not that he would’ve listened if I had. He talked so fast it actually took me a minute to figure out who he was and why he was calling me. It was very confusing.”

“Oh God, I’m so sorry.” Her words were muffled as she covered her face with her hands. It was one thing for her family to swoop in and micromanage her life. It was another for her father to manipulate Richard.

He set the picture back on the shelf and crossed the room to pull her into a loose embrace. She stiffened at the contact, but relinquished control when he continued to hold her. All the emotions, the uncertainty, the drama had her exhausted. She was tired of pushing him away, tired of keeping him at a distance. Most of all, she was tired of shouldering everything alone. It was time to relent and let him comfort her. At his gentle touch, she melted against his body, grateful for its warmth and stability.

Richard brushed his lips across the top of her head and pulled away enough to look her in the eye. “It’s fine. He was a little over the top, but I understand. You’re his little girl and he’s just worried about you. Let’s sit.” He took her hand and led her to a pair of lavender wingback chairs by one of her overstuffed bookshelves.

“I know that you already said that you didn’t want to marry me, but I’d like you to reconsider my offer. Now, before you say anything, just hear me out.” He sat forward in his chair, leaning closer to her and barreling forward before she could protest. “I think we should get engaged, on a trial basis. You don’t have to actually marry me, but I want you to give me the chance to change your mind. Move in with me for one month, and if you decide to walk away at that time, then no hard feelings.”

“Like a secret fake engagement?” She stifled a laugh and shot a glance to her shelf of family pictures. This wasn’t a joke, and she should be taking this seriously. This was her life, her baby, her future she was dealing with.

“It won’t be a secret, and it’s only fake if that’s what you decide. What I’m proposing is a trial engagement, and if you want out after you give it a month, then you are welcome to simply walk away. I won’t try to pursue you if you decide it’s not what you want after you’ve given it some time. I am interested in a real marriage, though. I didn’t realize it in time to not behave like a complete ass to you, but I want to be a husband and a father, more than anything. After talking with your father, I got a pretty clear idea of how much this means to them, and I doubt anything less than marriage will be enough. If we get engaged, we’re the only ones who have to know that it’s on a trial basis. I want you to have time to decide if this is what you want, and I don’t think your parents will wait around for you to make your choice. See, they’ll be appeased while you’re free to think it over.”

“I thought that being seen with me was bad for your business.” She raised her eyebrows. This wasn’t the worst idea she’d ever heard, and considering how difficult her parents were making it, Richard’s idea was looking good. They would prefer a quick marriage, but perhaps an engagement would stave off their anger for the time being.

“I think fathering your child and being nowhere to be found makes me look worse. This isn’t just about how it looks for me, though.” His tone was light, his smile easy. She suppressed a sigh, glad to finally have a solution she could live with. The thought of letting him take charge of the situation, having the decision made and her parents satisfied, was tempting.

“So you want to walk into my living room and tell my parents that we’re engaged? And if we change our minds later, then what? I don’t think they’ll take kindly to that news.”

“They won’t, but surely even they wouldn’t want you to marry someone you don’t want to be with, right? I’m not going to change my mind.” His eyes were intense, reminding Yvette of a sea during a storm. “I never thought I would marry again, but that was before this.”

She cast her eyes down, flattered. “Oh? I’ve changed your mind somehow?”

“I didn’t want to even consider it after my divorce. But that’s when I thought that marriage could survive on love alone, and having my relationship disintegrate on the whim of my ex-wife’s emotions was devastating. This time is different because there’s a child involved, and it’s not just two people following their feelings. There’s more to it than emotion, there’s a real family this time, and I think we can go the distance.”

While she would have enjoyed a declaration of love or some semblance of emotion, she had to admit that she would eventually feel manipulated if he hadn’t been so forthright. Her hormones were crying out for romance and bonding, but she knew that she couldn’t realistically expect that from Richard, not just because they were suddenly tied together by the baby. Marrying him would make everything so much easier, even the trial engagement would help take the pressure off of her. It likely wouldn’t be enough for long, though. Her parents wouldn’t be satisfied until she was wed, and she knew that it didn’t even matter to them that she and Richard weren’t in love. He was right. Couples married for far less compelling reasons than bringing a baby into the world. At least this was honorable, and much more appealing than the thought of slogging her way through parenthood alone. If she were Mrs. Richard Morgan, she could hold her head up high, could go to sleep each night knowing that she had created a family for her child.

Getting married because of an unplanned pregnancy was never how she saw her future, had always assumed that true love and happiness would come. She couldn’t escape her faith, wouldn’t compromise her chance to have a traditional family, though. So they were doing things out of order, so what? There was no reason love and happiness together couldn’t follow the marriage.

Despite herself, her heart swelled as she considered the possibilities, emotions or hormones working their magic when she looked into Richard’s eyes. When they weren’t at odds, he was so appealing, so charming. She would worry about love later, would hope for happiness in the meantime. The mess she found herself in now was too big to quibble over whether or not their marriage would be a love match, and the trial engagement meant that she didn’t have to decide for now anyway.