A Sweet Deal (Crimson Romance) (13 page)

Her eyes danced playfully in the dining room’s dim light. “My father used to tease my mother like that. She spent most of my childhood in the kitchen. It seemed like as soon as breakfast was over, she was getting lunch ready, and then dinner after that. Meals like this take so much time, between the planning and the shopping, not to mention the hours you spend actually cooking. She stopped making such huge meals every day when I got sick, since we spent so much time in treatment and I didn’t have the appetite for it anyway.”

“I’m sure that was tough on the whole family.”

“You have no idea.” She smiled sadly and pushed her chair back. “I’ll go get the
tembleque.
”

He watched her walk away, indulging himself in a long, lingering look at her hips as they rocked with each step. From behind, he could forget that she was pregnant and pretend that theirs was a typical courtship, not that he had any complaints about the view from the front. She complained about her weight gain, but as far as he was concerned, impending motherhood was agreeing with her. Her curves became more lush, everything about her glowed, as though she were in full bloom. With every moment they spent together, he grew more attracted to her. Already their home life was more normal and satisfying than he would have anticipated. After being certain that proposing to his pregnant rival would lead to at the very least an awkward transition, the easy banter they shared each day was a welcome surprise. They moved throughout their days in harmony, and their nights together were satisfying needs he didn’t know he had.

Her hips swayed tantalizingly as she made her way back to the dining room holding the plates. “Come sit with me,” he said as he patted his thigh.

She paused for the briefest moment before joining him. He pushed his chair back to make room as she set the dishes on the table and sat on his lap. Her legs were bare beneath the skirt of her wrap dress, and he couldn’t resist sliding a hand up her thigh. She treated him to a throaty laugh, and he shifted beneath her as he hardened in response. That laugh was the one that pushed him over the edge their first night together, the one that turned his brain off and his body on.

She scooped a bite of the
tembleque
with a spoon and watched him through lowered lashes as she fed him. The cool coconut custard dessert melted in his mouth, and his eyes closed as he groaned in appreciation. “I’m never letting you go.”

“I would have thought it would take more than good cooking to get a man like you.” She teased, obviously pleased with his compliment.

“First, it’s not just good, it’s great cooking, and second, you’re the complete package.”

“You think so?” She took a bite of her dessert, her lips drawing his attention.

“Oh yeah. You’re beautiful, smart, driven,
and
you cook like this?” He ticked off each quality with his fingers. “I couldn’t ask for anything more.”

With a soft kiss, she murmured as she fed him another bite. “I’m not going anywhere.”

Richard pulled her closer and pressed his lips to hers, lost in the warmth of her silky skin, her fragrance surrounding him. He plunged his fingers into her hair and coaxed her lips open with his own, tasting the sweet cool dessert in her mouth. A tiny sound bubbled up in her throat and he hardened in response. Their tongues tangled, and he tasted cool coconut mixed with a desire that matched his own. Her spoon clattered to the floor as she wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him closer to her. Everything fell away in the haze of wanting, needing, and for a moment there was nothing but Yvette. Her breath, her warmth, her curves.

With a deft hand, he pulled the belt of her wrap dress loose and smiled against her lips as she gasped. With his hands on her hips, he eased her around to face the table and settled her firmly on his lap. His fingers found the welcoming warmth at the apex of her thighs, and to his satisfaction, her legs parted at his touch. His free hand skimmed the silken skin of her hips, now rounder and softer, until he cupped her breast. She sucked in a sharp breath and shifted until her mouth could reach his for a searching, seeking kiss. Her hips rocked gently against him until his urge to press her against the table was too strong to ignore. Scooping her into his arms, he stood and answered her kiss with his own before taking her to the bedroom.

• • •

Hours after sating his hunger for Yvette, Richard sat at his desk catching up on work, when she appeared in the doorway. She wore a satin robe, demurely tied at the waist, and his mind drifted to their evening together. In the soft light of his desk lamp, she was like something out of a dream, tousled and wild, but sweet and welcoming.

“Hey, beautiful. Did I wake you?” He set his pen down and gave her his attention.

“No, I was just thinking about something and wanted to talk. I guess I need to talk to you.” Her tone was light, but something alarmed him. That phrase was rarely followed by a simple matter.

Richard shifted in his chair. “Okay, what is it?”

“Things have been so nice between us that I hesitate to bring it up at all, but I want to get it out in the open. How are we going to handle our work problem?”

He sucked in a breath. It had to come up sooner or later, but he wasn’t sure how to tell her that there would be no more negotiations now that they were engaged. True to his word, his father had given Richard control of the confections division after his engagement to Yvette. He’d let himself get caught up in the magic of the pregnancy and their developing feelings for one another, but it could all fall apart if she found out what he’d done. Taking a sip of water, he paused to consider how to answer.

“Hmm. Well, I think that leaving work at the office is the best way for us to handle it. My thoughts on your company buying out mine are not going to change, ever, but I don’t want that to come between us anymore.”

“It’s kind of a big deal, though, don’t you think? I mean, your company is everything to you, and it has been my job for months to try to take it. Do you really think we can just ignore it when we’re at home?” He should have known that they couldn’t ignore the elephant in the room.

“We could try. Would you rather talk about it?” This was dangerous territory. His father had suspended consideration of the acquisition, but apparently Yvette didn’t know that. They’d come so far since she moved in, and things had changed so much between them. Revealing the deal he made would surely be the end of their relationship. His feelings for her went so far beyond the deal with his father that he couldn’t risk telling her. She could never discover what he had done.

“It just seems like a black cloud hanging over us, you know? I’ve been thinking about it a lot lately and wonder if it wouldn’t be better for us, and for the baby, if I asked to be reassigned.”

He raised an eyebrow. “What does that mean for your job?”

She looked away. “It most likely means I’d be taken out of the running for the promotion I’ve been up for. Saffron is already investigating alternatives to our plans to buy your company, so I’m sure it’s just a matter of time before they pull me off the account anyway.”

A weight landed in his gut. She was willing to set aside her ambition for his sake? For their sake? Her failure to secure the buyout could set her back immeasurably, yet she wasn’t going to ask for his help in making it happen. It was a huge professional sacrifice, and he was going to let her make it. There was no other way, not if he didn’t want to lose her. And he didn’t. He was dangerously close to falling in love with Yvette, and he couldn’t bear her finding out what he’d done. “I truly don’t deserve you.”

Her eyes danced in the room’s dim light. “Well, I don’t know about that. I know it would be better for us as a family, but I’m not sure I can give it up. I may not have much of a choice, though, since my progress with your father has stalled anyway.”

If he had taken another sip of his water, he would have choked. “Oh?”

“Yeah, I’ve had to pull back lately. He hasn’t returned my calls or responded to any communication recently. We’ve been reevaluating our strategy since I can’t continue to badger him. I shouldn’t be talking to you about this, though, so that’s all I’ll say about that. If he wants to officially decline our offer, that’s one thing, but the lack of communication makes me think that there’s still a chance.”

So she wasn’t going to drop it. “I haven’t changed my mind.”

“That’s fine,” she sat up straighter. “But it’s still not up to you.”

It was in fact, up to him, but he couldn’t tell her that. “True.”

“So, until your father officially declines, our efforts stand. I think it would be better for us personally if I moved off the account, but it definitely wouldn’t be better for my career. And honestly, it wouldn’t be best for Morgan Confectioners, either.”

He scoffed. “How’s that?”

“Saffron doesn’t want to buy out your confections division to hurt you or your company. We want to take what you’ve developed, put our marketing, branding, and research dollars behind it, and make it better than ever before. Morgan hasn’t concentrated on confections in years, and it shows. You gained a little traction with the champagne lollipops, but I can’t see how that’s going to carry you much further. It just makes good business sense to take the momentum and build on it before it fizzles out.”

“I’ll take that under advisement. Thanks.” His abrupt tone sounded confident to his ears, but it hid the growing disgust he felt for not only making the deal but keeping it from her.

God, he was a miserable excuse for a human being. It would’ve been easier if she’d continued to fight for the buyout rather than suggest the possibility of sacrificing her professional progress for the sake of their relationship. At least then he could be vindicated, could feel like he was simply fighting for his legacy. Her selfless act magnified what an underhanded liar he really was. He’d devote himself to becoming the husband and father she deserved, to give her the best life he could. It wouldn’t make up for stalling her career growth, but it was the best he could do.

Yvette stepped into the enormous dressing room that Richard had emptied out for her, enjoying the feeling of her bare feet sinking into the plush carpet. She had lived with him for more than three weeks now, but the sheer elegance of his home continued to impress her. The dressing room was the size of an apartment bedroom and dwarfed even her own closets, large by anyone’s standard. It was like the dressing rooms seen in movies, the kind most girls covet. A delicate crystal chandelier illuminated the room, beautiful ivory carpet covered the floor, an oversized full-length mirror dominated the room, and a chaise big enough to nap on sat beside a counter in the middle of the room. She could put her foldable items in the drawers contained within the counter and use the countertop for jewelry, accessories, and perfumes.

Tonight they were attending their first major event together since announcing their engagement. Pulling the dress she had chosen out of its garment bag, Yvette hung it on an empty rack, feeling fortunate that she had been able to find an elegant gown that covered her growing midsection modestly. She wasn’t far enough along in the pregnancy for it to be obvious and feared that she simply looked chubby, despite Richard’s steady enthusiasm and regular compliments for her changing body. As her body changed with the pregnancy, his demeanor changed. He’d surprised her with his excitement about the baby, his enthusiasm for the possibility of marriage, and how gentle he could be, how caring and doting. It was a far cry from the distant and argumentative man she’d met in Vegas.

Her month-long trial engagement was coming to an end, and she was surprised to find that she didn’t have the slightest desire to leave. She wanted to believe that her hormones were working overtime to keep her bonding with Richard, but the truth was that he had changed, that their relationship had changed.

She didn’t know if it was just the baby or something more, but she liked the new Richard. The more she got to know him, the more she wondered if she could fall in love with him, if maybe she already had. Their connection in the bedroom had become more intense, as though he were communicating his feelings for her when they reached for each other in the night. She found herself daydreaming about him when she was going through her day, craving his touch and dreaming of the future.

She pushed her freshly pedicured feet into a pair of the sparkly stilettos she had always favored and wondered how long she’d be able to walk gracefully in them. They still made her feel glamorous, sexy, like she was ready for anything, and knowing that in a few months she’d have to leave them on the shelf was just sad. After slipping on a pair of flawless diamond stud earrings she dabbed subtle perfume behind her ears and on her wrists. “You look amazing.” Richard surprised her at the door. A frisson of electricity wound its way through Yvette’s body as his silky voice caressed her. She wondered if she’d ever see him and not be immediately affected.

She whirled around to face him. “Thank you. You look pretty handsome yourself.” She crossed the room to join him and allowed herself to drink in the vision of Richard in his tuxedo. Instead of becoming more accustomed to the attraction she felt for him, the pull towards him seemed to grow stronger the longer they were together, as though thousands of tiny threads knitted them together. She accepted his embrace and relaxed against his body as he buried his nose in her hair and inhaled deeply.

He cupped her face with his hands and planted a soft kiss on her lips, managing to infuse the chaste contact with longing and promise. “That dress is beautiful on you, but I think I’d like it more if it were crumpled in a heap on the floor.”

She laughed. “You surprise me.”

“Why? Because I’d rather ravish you than attend another boring benefit dinner?” He held a tendril of her hair between his fingers and gave her another kiss.

“No, that you’d use such a clichéd line. Now, get out of here, so I can get ready. We can’t skip tonight. You’re the guest of honor.” When he turned on the charm, she was putty in his hands. If she let this go on one moment longer she’d have to reconstruct her hair and makeup, and they simply didn’t have time for that.