An Offer He Can't Refuse (3 page)

“So, what happened when you finally ran into her? What did Madison say?”

“She was with a friend,” Jackson said, “but you were right—she’s looking for a husband.”

Heather came to her feet. “I knew it!”

Jackson flipped through the pile of mail on his desk, ignoring her excitement. He looked up and said, “She asked my friend, Collin, to marry her.”

Heather’s face paled.

“Not to worry,” Jackson added. “Collin has no idea what’s going on and he doesn’t need the money any more than I do. He turned her down flat. That’s when I stepped in. Madison and I are meeting again on Wednesday.”

Heather sighed with obvious relief.

Jackson frowned. “Your finances are worse than you’ve let on, aren’t they? Walter and I went over your accounts only a few months before he died. Financially the two of you were set. What happened?”

“The accounts haven’t been touched,” Heather assured him. “How many times do I have to explain all of this? Nothing happened. It’s not the money. It’s the principle of the matter that drives me to stop my so-called cousin from getting Grandfather’s money. That money belongs to
me
. Madison Brown isn’t even a blood relative.”

“But she’s your cousin.”

“My Aunt Lorraine made the mistake of marrying the town drunk, Dwayne Brown, and thus took on the burden of raising his daughter. Madison was a year old at the time. Now she’s all grown up and she’s a lot like her deadbeat father—a conniving opportunist who charmed her way into my grandfather’s heart—and more importantly, into his trust account.”

“Listen,” Jackson said as he moved closer. “If you’re not struggling financially, that means none of this marriage business is necessary. Let your cousin marry whoever she wants. Let her have her share of the trust. People are entitled to leave their money to whomever they choose. Don’t waste your energy on this.”

“We’ve been over this, Jackson. Why don’t you understand?” Heather’s fingers gripped the chair. “Since Madison was a small child, she always had everybody fooled. Grandfather thought she was a saint. But I know—” Heather held tight to his forearm. “
I know
what she is. Madison is greedy and manipulative. If she finds a husband in time, she’ll fritter Grandfather’s money away within months. That’s why I need
you
to marry her. After you accept Madison’s proposal, marry her, and then pull out before her thirtieth birthday, she won’t have time to find anyone else to take advantage of. She’ll be ineligible to receive any of the trust and grandfather’s millions can be used to help those less fortunate—just as he wanted.”

As if it pained her to talk about it, Heather put a hand to her temple in an overly dramatic fashion. “Jackson, you must do this for me. If Walter and I hadn’t provided you and your brother with the necessary resources, your business wouldn’t be thriving as it is now. L & L is on its way to the top. Clients are lining up at your door. Do this one thing for me and I’ll never ask another favor of you.”

Everything Heather said about him owing her and Walter was true. Walter had taken him and his brother into his home. Without Walter, who knew where he and his brother, Jamie, would be right now. Even now, after all these weeks, it pained him to think of never seeing Walter again. He missed the old man.

“The marriage will be over in the blink of an eye,” Heather went on. “You’re never home, and even if you were, you’ll hardly see one another in that big house of yours. When the time is right, my attorney will write up the annulment papers and you’ll be able to put this all behind you.”

Jackson exhaled.

Heather peered into his eyes. “It’s terrible of me to ask you to do this when you’re still mourning Walter, isn’t it? You must think I’m cruel to ask such a thing of you.”

Jackson exhaled. Walter had never asked anything of him until the very end when he’d asked Jackson to promise him he would take care of Heather when he was gone, concerned that his young wife wouldn’t be able to take care of herself. How could Jackson say no? “If marrying your cousin for a few months is so important to you, then it’s the least I can do.”

She stepped close and kissed him on the cheek. “Thank you, Jackson. Walter would’ve been so proud.”

A knock sounded at the door. Jackson’s brother, Jamie, walked in before Jackson could reply. Standing in the doorway, in a tailored suit the color of sand and a silk tie a shade darker, Jamie lifted a brow, obviously surprised to see Heather.

Only the best for his little brother, Jackson thought, eyeing the Rolex around his brother’s wrist and the Ferragamos on his feet. With his tawny colored hair streaked with blond and his year-round tan, Jamie still managed to look like he’d just come in from the surf.

“Heather,” Jamie said, acknowledging her with a cursory nod before turning his attention to Jackson. “Do you have a minute?”

“Did you hear me say, ‘come in’?” Jackson asked.

Jamie slid his hands deep into his pants pockets, jingling his change. “Had I known you two had grown so close, I might have waited. Thought you might want to know that Crawford and Blake have left the building. Thanks to me, they left smiling. Now are you two finished comforting one another, or should I come back later?”

Heather gathered her things. “I better go. I’ve kept you long enough.”

Jackson never understood the bitterness between his brother and Heather, but sadly he’d grown accustomed to it.

Jackson walked Heather to the door. When she was gone, he turned to Jamie. “Do you mind telling me what that was all about?”

Jamie pointed a finger at him. “That woman is up to something.”

“Come on. She’s a woman who knows her own mind. What’s wrong with that? For more than a decade she had Walter to look after—”

“And now it’s time she took care of herself.”

“We owe it to Walter to help her,” Jackson said firmly. “If it weren’t for him, neither of us would’ve had the opportunities we’ve had. You certainly wouldn’t be standing there in one of those Zegna suits you’re so fond of.”

“Well, you do what you have to, big brother, but I say it’s time to let her grow up.”

Jackson shook his head, expecting as much from Jamie. “Heather’s not so bad if you just give her a chance.”

“Yeah, and lions make good pets as long as you don’t pet them.”

“Well then, maybe it’s time you quit worrying about other people’s affairs,” Jackson said, “and concentrate on all the work piling up around here.”

“So, what did Heather want this time—more money?”

“Not exactly.” Jackson stared into Jamie’s dark eyes, the one feature that tied them together physically as true biological brothers. “She wants me to marry her cousin.”

~~~

On Wednesday, Madison entered the Hollywood Hills Café at six twenty. She had ten minutes to spare before Jackson was due to arrive. Her eyes were puffy after tossing and turning all night and her insides were wound up as taut as kite string on a windy day.

She took a seat near the window and tried not to look at her reflection staring back at her. She looked down at the worn denim pants and scolded herself for being so stubborn. Jen would die if she knew she’d come to meet Jackson dressed in a T-shirt and jeans, but the last thing Madison wanted to do was lead Jackson on and make him think this was anything more than a business arrangement, so she’d made a quick change out of her suit after work. She’d also exchanged her contacts for eyeglasses. The mere thought of a man like Jackson noticing her at all made her roll her eyes. More than likely, he dated tall, voluptuous blonds.

After her break-up with Steve, she’d made a deal with herself. She would never change her wardrobe, her hair, or anything else for a man. She’d lost over twenty pounds since then, but getting healthy and losing weight was something she’d done for herself.

She looked toward the parking area. Her heart thumped against her ribs.
Get control of yourself, Madison. Business. Think of this as business
.

“Hello.”

Startled, she turned about and found herself looking into dark, mahogany eyes. “Hi.”

Jackson wore a fitted moss-green suit. His silk tie had been loosened at the collar. Her gaze fell to his mouth—not too full, not too thin—perfection. She bit down on her bottom lip as she found herself wondering once again what it would be like to kiss him—if only for a second, just a slight grazing of their mouths. She cast aside the ridiculous thought. What was wrong with her? She was staring at him as if she were a love-sick teenager. His friend, Collin, definitely would have been the better choice.

He took the seat across from her. “Are you going to order anything, or should we get right down to business?”

“I think that would be a good idea—to get down to business.”

They looked at one another for a long moment, each assessing the other. A little voice in her head shouted “run” but she ignored it and remained seated.

“Okay then. If we’re going to be living together,” Jackson said matter-of-factly, “we should be up front with one another right from the start.”

“Yes, I agree, which is why I should tell you right off,” she said, wanting to appear as cool and indifferent as he appeared to be, “that since I’m paying you, I see this thing between you and me as a business arrangement.” She swallowed the knot in her throat. “If you choose to go through with my proposal, I’ll expect you to abide by
my
rules for the next three months.”

He removed his jacket, placing it on the seat next to him. “What kind of rules?”

The nerve of him taking off his clothes when she was trying so hard not to notice him
. He casually rolled up his sleeves, and just as casually, she looked at the solid muscle, taut against his shirt, and the dark hair sprinkled across his forearms. Good ol’ Steve, she realized, had been as bald and skinny as a flute compared to this man. Redirecting her gaze to his face, she saw a smile playing at the corners of his mouth as he watched her watch him. She couldn’t remember where she’d left off.

“You were talking about
rules
,” he reminded her.

“Yes, that’s right,” she said, wishing she could hide under the table. “If we were to actually go through with this and get, ummm—”

“Married,” he supplied generously.

“Yes, married,” she echoed, her confidence rapidly dissolving. “I—I would expect certain rules to be followed.”

“You said that. An example?”

“Well—” She rubbed the back of her neck, trying desperately to remember the list of rules she’d spent all day playing over and over in her mind. “Like clothes,” she blurted.

He arched an amused brow.

She rolled her eyes, wondering where that rule had come from. She never really thought this finding-a-husband thing would go this far. How was she supposed to appear confident when all she could think about was pulling a napkin from the silver canister and wiping the perspiration from her forehead? “What I mean is…you would have to wear clothes at all times. You couldn’t walk around half naked while we’re living together.”

“And what about you?” he asked.

“What about me?”

“Can you walk around naked?”

“Of course not.” She grabbed a napkin from the canister and dabbed it on her forehead.

He smiled.

A cunning dimple dented his cheek. That really irked her. The last thing the man needed was a dimple. She glanced away, frustrated that her insides were doing jumping jacks. She didn’t want to feel anything.
Too bad
. At the moment she was feeling a whole lot of anxiety and a strong dose of lust, all balled up into one massive pang. Jen was right. She didn’t get out enough. She felt like a caged animal that had been let loose for the first time in years.

“Is there a problem?” he asked.

“No!” she blurted. “I mean, no. I’m sorry. This is just so strange. Not something I go around doing every day, you know, asking strange men—”

He lifted a brow.

“Not that you’re strange or anything…I mean I don’t usually ask men who are strangers to be my husband.”

“Speaking of which, why are you doing this?” he asked. “Do you need your grandfather’s money that badly?”

Frowning, she said, “I would never do something so crazy just for money, I mean money for me…for myself.”

His gaze remained locked on hers.

Weird, Madison thought, how he looked as if he truly wanted to understand. Her stomach knotted. “The truth is,” she tried to explain, “I’m doing this for some kids I’ve grown attached to, kids from broken homes who have been physically and emotionally abused for most of their lives. The center they go to for guidance has recently run out of money. With Grandfather’s money, I would be able to buy the building where they go to after school and they would never again have to worry about having no place to go when they need someone to talk to. More than money, these kids need attention and love, but I only have so much of that to go around. One thing at a time.” She looked into his eyes. “What about you? Are you doing this for money or do you just get a kick out of marrying women you hardly know?”

“As I mentioned the other day,” he said, “I have my reasons.”

The man could be exasperating. Why, Madison wondered, did it appear his voice was lined with bitterness? Nobody was forcing him to marry her. They both had a choice in the matter.

“Well then,” she said, trying not to worry about why he was agreeing to her arrangement. “Let’s go over the rest of the rules. You will sleep in the guest room and you must prepare your own meals. Other than sharing a place to live, meeting some of my relatives, and attending a few social functions together, I see no reason for us to have too much interaction.”

Madison waited for him to grab his jacket, wish her luck, and run as fast as he could. But Jackson made no move to escape, so she retrieved a notepad from inside her purse and skimmed her notes. “I see here that you’re a shopping center developer for L & L.”

He leaned forward, propped both elbows on the table and nodded. “That’s right.”

He was peering deep into her eyes again as if he was trying to see inside her very soul. She refused to squirm. Stay calm, she told herself. Act natural. “I took the liberty of calling your workplace,” she added cheerfully. “I spoke to your boss. He was very helpful when it came to answering my questions.”