Daddy by December (The BAD BOY BILLIONAIRES Series) (7 page)

He dropped his eyes
then.  Finally, he was showing shame.  “No,” he said, his voice low, “I didn’t
want to.”

His words were like a
punch to her stomach.  “You…didn’t want to,” she said in a choked whisper, “and
now you have the audacity to sit there and ask me to marry you?”

He looked back at her
then.  He shook his head, seeming almost impatient that she’d asked the
question.  “You said I was a jerk who you wouldn’t touch with a long stick. 
You told her I’d shown my true colours and you hated me and never wanted to see
me again.”

The truth will always
come out.  Meg bit her lower lip then released it.  “Yes,” she said quietly, “I
did say that.  But what about the rest?  Did she tell you what else I said?”

“That was it, but that
was all I needed to hear.  Do you think I’m a sucker for punishment?"

“No, but if you’d
stayed to hear the rest then you’d have known that I told her I loved you with
all my heart and that was why it hurt so much when you rejected me.  I felt so
cheap.” Her voice caught in a hiccup.  “You don’t understand.”

“I…do.”  He sighed and
his face grew somber.  “And I also understand how immature and stupid I was,
even though I was a graduating senior.  I just took everything your roommate
said at face value.”  He gave a hiss fraught with frustration.  “I should have
known, Meg, but when she told me what you’d said I was hurt and angry.  I guess
not trying to find you was my way of hurting you back.  In the end we both
suffered.”

For a long while they
stared at each other in silence, each reliving that night that had so changed
their lives.  How differently it could have turned out if they hadn’t both been
too angry and hurt to reach out and find each other.

Then it all became too
much for her.  “I…have to go.  Can you take me home, please?”  She shook her
head and dropped her eyes, refusing to look at him.  She wasn’t ready for this
revelation.  Her mind in turmoil, she wanted to get home where she could go off
somewhere by herself and think.

“Will you think about
my question?”  Drake’s voice was gentle.

Meg didn’t answer.  She
reached for her purse.  “Please.  Let’s just go.”

Thank goodness he did
not object.  Drake called for the bill and within minutes they were walking
back to his car.

And when he walked her
to her door there was no attempt at intimacy – no touch, no kiss.  Thank God
for that.

Because tonight had
turned her entire world upside down and she had no idea where she should go
from here.

******

Well, that had gone
well. 
His thoughts turning sarcastic, Drake’s lips twisted
in a smile of irony as he thought about his last encounter with Meg.  It had
been four days since they’d gone out to dinner and he hadn’t heard a word from
her.  He’d tried calling her at home, only once, but he’d only heard a recorded
message.  He hadn’t bothered to leave a message of his own.  He’d be seeing her
on Thursday, anyway.  That appointment was already set.  There was no way he
was going to let her escape him again.

But although he had
every intention of going for what he wanted – and what he wanted was Meg –
there was still that nagging doubt at the back of his mind.  He wanted her…but
did she want him?  In her heart had she moved on, so far away that he could
never win her again?  Dammit, the thought was driving him crazy.  To know that
it might be too late...no, it did not bear thinking about.

With a grunt he got up
from the desk and went over to the closet where he grabbed his gym bag then he
dug his cell phone out of his pocket and dialled.  “Tyson, it’s late and I know
you’re still in the office, stuck in front of that damn computer.  Meet me in
my gym.  Twenty minutes.  Take your gear.”

The earpiece came alive
with protest.  Tyson, his friend from college, was the consummate workaholic. 
Drake often had to literally drag him away from the computer but then when he
got a chance he would pull out his iPad or smart phone.  The man always had to
be connected to something.  This evening, though, Drake wanted to see his
friend, not just to make sure he was not overworking but to talk, and when he
needed to talk Tyson was the only friend he could trust when it came to matters
of the heart.

Drake rode the elevator
down to his private gym in the basement of the building where he changed
quickly and did a few rounds of push-ups.  He was doing crunches when the door
opened and Tyson, tall and dark and lean, walked into the room.

Drake grinned.  “How
goes it, old man?”  he asked, his voice breathless as he continued to crunch
his abs as he lay on the floor.  “Making some greenbacks on the market?”

Tyson grinned back as
he shucked his sweatshirt and flexed his muscles.  “Can’t complain, old man,
can’t complain.”  He walked over to the stationary bike.  “Glad you called me
when you did.  With all the work I have piled up I’d probably be at the office
till past midnight.”

“Yup, I know you.  And
if you’re not careful that beautiful wife of yours is going to leave you.”  He
exhaled with a puff of air then sat up.  “Remember this, man, money isn’t
everything.”

Tyson burst out
laughing.  “Well spoken by a man worth over a billion and who has no woman to
share it with.” 

That stung but Drake
did not let it show.  He gave a chuckle then said, “In time, man.  In time.”

After that Tyson and
Drake got serious, spending the next thirty minutes lifting weights and
spotting each other, working up a sweat that left the shirts of both men soaked
through with sweat.

It was not until they
were cooling down, doing light after-workout exercises, that Drake dropped the
bomb on Tyson.  “I found her, man.  After years of waiting I’ve found ‘the
one’.” 

“What the-”  Tyson
stopped and stared at him.  “When did this happen?”

“Ten years ago.”

His friend frowned,
obviously confused.  “Say what?”

“She’s someone I met in
college.  I never thought I’d see her again but then she just walked right back
into my life.”  He glanced at Tyson.  “Call me a psycho but I think it's fate.”

“Yeah,” Tyson snorted,
“or she found out you’re worth a fortune and wants a cut.”

Drake frowned.  He
almost felt like punching him for that one.  He’d let it pass, though, because
Tyson didn’t know Meg.  No-one could look her in the eye and doubt her
sincerity.  “She didn’t come looking for me,” he said.  “I was the one who did
the hunting.  Well, sort of.”

Now Tyson looked even
more perplexed.  “Explain yourself,” he demanded.

And that was when,
without giving her name, Drake described the happy coincidence where the woman
he’d fallen for ten years earlier had been the one chosen to write his memoir. 
When he was done sharing the story he walked over to the bench against the wall
and plopped down, a sudden feeling of despondence washing over him.  He began
to loosen the laces on his gym shoes.

“For someone who’s just
reunited with the love of his life you don’t look too happy.”  Tyson leaned
against the treadmill and folded his arms across his chest.  “What gives?” 

Drake was staring at
his feet, his thoughts going back to his last conversation with Meg, then he
exhaled heavily.  “I asked her to marry me.”

Tyson gave a start and
when Drake looked up his work-out partner was staring at him as if he’d grown
two heads.  Maybe three.  “Are you out of your flippin’ mind?  Didn’t you meet
her like three weeks ago?”

“Three weeks and ten
years,” Drake said drily.

“Yeah, yeah.  But
people change, man.  Do you know what she’s been up to these past ten years?”

“Don’t need to.”  Drake
stared into Tyson’s eyes.  “What I need is to bounce something off you.  She
didn’t give me a yes or a no.  In fact, the way she practically cut me to
shreds with her eyes I think it’s a safe bet that the answer is no.”  He
frowned as he recalled her reaction.  “You’re the expert on women.  What do I
do?  Back off and give her some space or put on the pressure till she gives
in?  I blew it once before.  I can’t afford to do that again.”

Tyson stared down at
him.  “You’re serious, aren’t you?”

“Very.”

Tyson nodded then
walked over and sat on the other end of the bench.  “Then here’s what you do…”

CHAPTER
SIX

Meg drew in a deep
breath then let it out slowly.  She picked up the leather briefcase from the seat
beside her, pulled her coat tighter around her, then got out of the car. 
“Well, here goes,” she whispered under her breath.

This would be her first
appointment with Drake since their dinner and that awkward conversation and she
wasn’t looking forward to the meeting.  She still couldn’t believe the man had
asked her to marry him.  What if he brought up the subject again?  Heavens, she
hoped he didn’t.  If that first time had been uncomfortable then this time
she’d just die from embarrassment because…she didn’t have an answer for him.

She honestly didn’t
know why she was even worrying herself about it.  The logical answer was no. 
First, he’d hurt her terribly – however unintentional – and second, there had
been a ten year gap between their brief encounter and now.  Who ever heard of
picking up where you left off…ten years later?

Meg sighed, her head
full of questions for which there were no answers.  But although her mind was
in total turmoil she kept her face bland.  She had a job to do and she was
going into Drake’s office, the perfect professional.  When he saw she was all about
business and nothing else he wouldn’t dare bring up that contrary topic again.

But later as she sat
across from Drake to interview him on a particularly risky business venture Meg
couldn’t help but wonder if she hadn’t done too good a job in projecting a
no-nonsense image.  If she thought she’d be cool and businesslike, Drake was
even more so.  He almost seemed aloof, his face not showing a flicker of
emotion, his tone clipped and curt.  It was as if Saturday night had never
happened.  Where was the man who had begged her to marry him?  Well, maybe
‘begged’ was too strong a word, but he’d asked.  She hadn’t dreamed the whole
thing.  Meg frowned.  Or had she?

She shook her head, distracted
and frustrated all at once, and trained her eyes and her attention back on Drake. 
The heat rose in her face as she saw his sardonic smile.  He knew she was
perturbed by his behaviour.  He knew she’d expected him to continue where he’d
left off.  But he’d done the exact opposite.

When the hour finally
came to a close she slipped her notes back into her case and zipped it shut. 
“Thank you,” she said, her voice as formal as she could make it.  “I’ll be back
next Thursday to wrap up this section.”

“Sounds good,” Drake
said with a nod.  “I’ll see you then.”  Then he got up and walked her to the
door and that was that.

Wow.  Meg sat in her
car and stared straight ahead, trying to figure out what had just happened.  It
was like she was in the presence of another man.  She let out her breath slowly
and started the car.

Well, so much for
wanting to marry her.  It was obvious that right now that idea was the farthest
thing from his mind.  She could just kiss that dream bye-bye.

The following week when
Meg showed up at Drake’s office she was better prepared for his cool
reception.  She’d steeled herself to accept it but no matter how strong she
thought she was it was still hard to think that he could have gotten over her
so easily.  As she sat in the chair in front of Drake she swallowed then took
out her notepad and slid her recorder out of her bag.  She frowned as she
struggled to focus. 
Buck up, woman, this is work and nothing else.  It’s
what’s feeding you and Jessie right now so be happy.
  After that personal
pep talk she forced a smile to her lips and got the interview going.

To her surprise, at the
end of the session as she rose to leave Drake stopped her with an unexpected
question.  “How is the little princess?”

“Jessie?”

“Of course, who else?”
he said with a smile.

“Oh, she’s…fine.  She’s
at Kids' Club right now.  It’s a special art program where they learn to paint
and sketch.”

Drake raised an
eyebrow.  “Sounds like fun.”

Meg relaxed her rigid
pose for the first time since she got there.  “Well, she certainly thinks so. 
She loves all the activities.”

“That’s great,” he said
with what looked like sincerity.  “Tell her I said hi.”

“I will.”

This time when he
walked her to the door the air didn’t crackle quite so much with tension.  It
was definitely an improvement to their previous meeting.  Not exactly the kind
of attention she’d been expecting since his interest seemed to be only with
Jessie but she could live with that.

The following week, to
Meg’s chagrin, she had to cancel.  She’d totally forgotten about the parent
teacher conference at Jessie’s school.  She was a volunteer and one on which
the PTA had come to rely heavily so, as far as the association was concerned,
her absence from the meeting was not an option.