Cherished: A Masters and Mercenaries Novella (20 page)

There was soft Hawaiian music playing and the roast pig smelled fabulous. Bridget had carried baby Tristan around for a while, showing him the sights, and for those moments she seemed truly happy.

Bridget liked kids. She was going to want kids.

Fuck. Did he want kids?

All he knew was that the thought of Bridget having someone else’s baby got his guts in a knot.

Laurel smiled and sat down next to Bridget, who seemed to be on her way to being her new best friend. Why wasn’t she smiling? She hadn’t really smiled at him for two days. Not since he’d found her walking on the beach by herself.

Something had happened and she wouldn’t talk about it. All she would tell him was she’d decided that her sister was an adult and they shouldn’t butt in.

Something had gone terribly wrong because Bridget always butted in. Always.

Since that day on the beach, the only time he felt close to her was when they were making love. Only then would she soften and wrap her arms around him and give everything to him.

Was she starting to guess that he was a bad bet?

“Doctor Daley?” a voice asked.

He turned and saw Frankie standing there in all his golden boy glory. Yeah, it was a good thing the dude was probably gay because Will had not liked how Bridget’s chin had dropped at the very sight of him. It wasn’t like the man was that good looking. Surely he had flaws. Somewhere.

Even Will had to admit he kind of liked the dude. He’d been a perfect gentleman around Bridget, even getting her to laugh from time to time.

Will forced himself to nod. “Hey, how’s it going?”

“Beautifully so far. Only a few days more. Can I talk to you for a moment?”

Great. Will followed him and found himself led to a far corner of the park that overlooked the ocean. The sounds of the waves should have been soothing, but he had a feeling this conversation wasn’t going to be at all pleasant. “What do you want to talk about?”

“Bridget and Amy. The family situation. I need to understand where you fit, Daley. Amy hasn’t said much, but I do understand that until a few days ago, I’d never heard your name and now you’re engaged to Bridget. I want to know if this is one of Amy’s schemes. She’s quite good at them.”

If Amy hadn’t told him anything, then he didn’t need to know. “My relationship with Bridget is none of your business.”

“I disagree,” Frankie replied. “I’m Amy’s fiancé. I love her quite dearly. If you’re some sort of rent-a-hunk himbo here to take Bridget for all she’s worth, then I’m going to have to shut you down. I’m not going to allow anyone to hurt Amy, and Amy would be hurt if her sister was. I’m afraid I’ll have to be quite firm on this matter.”

“You’re really in love with Amy?”

He turned, the hint of an enigmatic smile on his face. “I’m quite devoted to her. I have been since we met a few months ago. You know how you meet a person and realize very quickly you have a connection?”

He’d known from the moment he saw Bridget that he wanted her. He’d known within days of sleeping with her that he needed her. “I guess I do.”

Frankie sighed as he stared out over the ocean. “I love Amy, but as you’ve already figured out, there are many kinds of love.”

“So you admit she’s not your type.” He still wasn’t so sure Bridget was right about not talking to her sister, but who was he to complain? He’d tried to butt into his own sister’s love life and Mitch still seemed stiff and awkward around him. He’d fucked things up with his best friend and almost alienated his sister.

Frankie shook his head. “She’s everyone’s type and that’s all I’ll say on the matter. Now, I would like to know how much it’s going to cost me to get you out of Bridget’s life.”

Okay. Now he didn’t like the man very much. “There is not enough money in the world.”

Frankie finally turned and gave Will an assessing look. “I’m thinking there is. She doesn’t have any, you know. I mean she’s got what she makes from her writing, and that’s not an insubstantial amount, but it’s nothing compared to the Slaten fortune. How about I pay you a hundred thousand? That should cover your medical school loans and leave you with a little something left over. I’m sure if you stayed with Bridget for several years you could amass that much, but now you can have it all in one go. And you can find another target.”

Will’s blood pressure ticked up. He’d managed to keep Bridget calm for days. He wasn’t about to cause a scene himself. “I am going to forgo the pleasure of beating you senseless, you piece of shit. I’m going to do it because Bridget would be upset, but if you ever talk to me again, I don’t know what I’ll do. Bridget is mine. Mine, do you understand? And no one in this god-forsaken family of hers is going to come between us. I’ve been here for exactly two days and I already know every single one of you is rotten to the core. I have zero idea how that woman came from this family. She’s worth a hundred of you.”

A slow smile spread across Frankie’s face. “Is that right?”

“Yes, that’s right.” He finally got it. He finally figured out why her mother calling her healthy had bugged her. “Healthy means fat. That bitch. She stood right in front of me and called her daughter fat.”

“Mother Slaten is very good at that,” Frankie replied as though it should have been obvious. “Not much good at anything else.”

Now he could see that every single woman in her family, with the exception of her sister, had subtly insulted her. “She’s gorgeous, and I won’t listen to anyone who says otherwise.”

“She is a stunning woman. She’s almost as beautiful as her sister. So George didn’t send you I take it.” Frankie took a deep breath. “I’m glad to hear that. I’ve been working myself up to this scene for days.”

“Bridget’s dad? Why do you think he sent me? Why would he send me?”

“Well, I discovered a connection to you a few days before we flew out here. You see, I snoop. A lot. It’s one of my hobbies. George has a file on you. I wasn’t able to read it, but he keeps files on all his employees. I was worried he’d sent you in to handle Bridget. It would be exactly like him to send his own man to ensure the prodigal daughter’s return didn’t disrupt his plans. I assume Bridget’s going to attempt to talk Amy out of marrying me. George won’t let that happen.”

Will shook his head, trying to take it in. This family’s intrigues astonished him. He’d figured out rapidly that they very rarely said what they meant. It was all a dance of subtle insults and backhanded compliments. “I hadn’t met the man before dinner the other night. Bridget introduced me, but she got us out of his line of fire really quickly. I’m not a plant. We had mutual friends and I pursued her until I ran her to ground.”

“So you are engaged?”

“Of course we are.” He wasn’t going to give up the game at this point.

Frankie chuckled. “You’re a horrible liar. Let me guess. My Amy got sick of her cousins talking about Bridget. She had too much wine and announced that Bridget was dating a hot guy. Oh, but Amy never does things halfway. She likely said Bridget was getting married, too.”

It was obvious that Frankie knew his fiancée well. “I think you should talk to Amy about that.”

Frankie tipped his head as though agreeing to the point. “Well, obviously I apologize for trying to buy you off and for suggesting that you might be a paid escort.”

“Hey, I’ve never been accused of prostitution before. It’s a new experience. So that begs the question of why Slaten has a file on me.”

“More than likely because he was trying to get leverage on you. It’s what he likes to do. He’s not as clever as he thinks he is though. And he definitely likes to underestimate the people around him. Especially his daughters.”

So Bridget’s dad had been digging up dirt. He would find quite a bit. He could take all that dirty laundry right to Bridget and lay it out.

And Bridget would defend him to the death. She could find out all his secrets and she would still be by his side. She’d accepted that his mother was in prison. She’d accepted that he’d grown up in a disgusting trailer and that he’d been an idiot about Starr. Would she come to accept that he wouldn’t love her? Eventually, perhaps. He could see it quite plainly. She would sign the contract for a month and then he could easily shift them into a longer-term contract. He could make the argument that they didn’t need two places, or better yet, that they would really do better with a house.

He would ply her with affection and sex and his special brand of dominance and she would give up on those dreams of having a man who returned her love.

What did she mean when she used the word love? It was a stupid word that meant absolutely nothing to him, but Laurel’s speech kept playing around in his head. Words could have many meanings. He needed to figure out what Bridget meant by love because he was rapidly coming to the conclusion that she was as necessary for his happiness as breathing.

“You say you love Amy. What do you mean by that?”

Frankie stared at him for a moment. “Mean?”

“What does love mean to you? I…I don’t get it. You’re not sleeping with her. If I’m wrong, I apologize, but I’m trying to figure something out.”

“You’re not wrong. Amy and I don’t sleep together, but we are an odd form of soul mates. I think the idea that we only get one is wrong. At least I hope it is. I think maybe we go through life finding these people who hold little pieces of our soul. Sometimes you find a big chunk and I think that might be what we call love.”

He growled under his breath, frustration taking over. “I don’t get the metaphysical shit.”

“All right. You’re a literal guy. Uhm, I love Amy because she accepts me. I can be exactly who I am around her. I don’t have to pretend the way I do around others. She’s a safe place for me. When we first met, well, let’s say I wasn’t in a good place. I’m here today because of that woman. Whatever happens, she’s my friend for life. Do you love Bridget? I asked and you didn’t answer.”

He hated that question and yet he answered because Frankie had been open with him. “I don’t know. I want her.”

“That’s a good start. You don’t have to know now. She seems happy.”

Yeah, Frankie didn’t know her. Bridget was saying all the right things, but Will knew what she looked like when she was truly happy. He let it go because there was no point.

“Hey, buddy, you seem to be out of those coconut cookies. I know that sounds sad, but I have a woman who can’t drink for another six months, so I get her whatever she tells me to. Who do I need to pay to get me about two dozen or so of those suckers?” Ian Taggart asked, his big body blocking the light from the party.

Taggart was a man who knew how to get what he wanted. He was a man who always had a plan. Will was fairly certain his plans had plans. What would a man like Taggart do if his wife’s family was making her miserable? If Taggart’s wife’s father had dug up dirt on him to ruin their relationship, what would he do?

“I’ll speak to the caterer,” Frankie was saying. “I noticed your wife seems to like coconut. I’ll have them bring out the ice cream early.”

Taggart would already have a plan in place.

“Thanks. Make it a lot though. She really likes ice cream,” Taggart said.

Will remembered their conversation from a few nights before. Taggart did have a plan in place.

Frankie nodded and left, but Will stopped Taggart as he turned.

“Ian, I need a favor.”

Taggart’s whole face turned stony. “You can’t have those cookies. Seriously, don’t get between Charlie and her chosen snack food.”

“I need to see that footage you have of George Slaten. I think I want to buy it.”

Taggart’s brows rose. “Why?”

“Because he’s going to try to come between me and Bridget, and I won’t let it happen. Because if he says one more thing to make her sad, I swear I will kill the man.”

Taggart’s lips tugged up. “Now you’re talking. Come on. I’ve got it on my computer. I’ve been dying to use it on that asshole, but Charlie told me I had to play fair. Really, this is a gift to me. How about I charge you five bucks? Five bucks and now you’re a client. I’m protecting you from Slaten.”

“Isn’t that a conflict of interest?”

“Nah, I have zero interest in Slaten. He’s an asshole. You see, all these rules just make things hard. Besides, that’s what Mitch is here for. When Slaten sues us, Mitch gets to work. Everyone’s happy.” Taggart slapped him on the back. “Come on. I’ll show you what I’ve got and you’ll see why I’ve been dying to use it. Why is it always the self-righteous pricks who turn out to be complete perverts? You know it gives the rest of us a bad name. Own your perversion, dude.”

He followed Taggart, happy to at least have a plan.

* * * *

Bridget felt weary as she entered the room. Her sister was getting married tomorrow night and she was in a corner. If she talked to her about it, Will got hurt. If she didn’t, her sister did.

She’d thought about it all throughout the luau. She’d sat and watched her friends and wondered if there was a way out.

It made her tired and heartsick, and she was beginning to think it was better to be alone.

“Do you want something to drink, sweetheart?” Will asked as he locked the door.

There wasn’t enough wine in the world. She shook her head. “No, I think I’m going to go to bed. Tomorrow’s a big day.”

She would watch her sister walk down the aisle and then spend a week alone with Will and then what? She knew it was stupid, knew she should accept the pleasure the moment could bring, but damn it, she would always be worrying about the future. It sat there in her gut like a hunger that wouldn’t go away. She loved him. There wasn’t a point in fooling herself about how deep she was in. She could even accept that he didn’t love her, but it hurt to be around him knowing the truth.

She’d smiled and tried to get along with everyone for his sake, but she felt battered. It was like loving him had made the walls she’d built crumble and she had no more defenses. The only times she felt good were when she was in his arms, when she told him she loved him and all he could ever tell her was he was “glad.”

Her heart thudded in her chest and she fought back tears. Too much. Too much emotion. She needed to be alone.