Deal of a Lifetime (2 page)

“I didn’t turn coward. I promised to think about it, and I did. I was too inexperienced to start a business. Getting married for convenience would have been wrong. You never really asked, you just started talking about how easy being married would make running the business, as if marriage and O’Neal Corp. were the same thing.” She straightened her shoulders and lifted her chin. “We’d had a fling. I didn’t want to get married, and neither did you, not really. I said so before I left, but you wouldn’t listen.”

His shoulders drooped. Weariness covered his face, yet his voice still carried a honed edge. “O’Neal Corp. was your dream too. You worked on the plans just as hard as I did, sweated just as many hours with as small a guarantee of reward. You think I believe you cared so little about our vision that you wouldn’t even face me when you said no? If so, you wouldn’t be here now, in a place where you had to know I’d be, where dreams like O’Neal Corp. come true.”

He paced before her, pouring words and anger. His speech slowed. Near the bed he stopped to stare at her. His eyes widened, and his jaw fell. He dropped to the bed. “You left so you wouldn’t have to reject my proposal in person.”

“Con…”

“No, you said it yourself just a minute ago. You didn’t want to get married. What a fool I am.” He sagged onto the mattress. “You claim I didn’t want to marry you either, but you’re wrong. I did want to marry you more than anything. If I hadn’t wanted that, your silence might have hurt less. I might have moved on. God knows I tried. I couldn’t. All those years, I wondered about you, were you happy, well, alive?”

Maybe he could delude himself into thinking he loved her, but she didn’t believe him. Not when she knew he’d become engaged less than three months after she left Chicago. Nonetheless his drawn expression, tugged at her. She moved toward him. She wanted to comfort him, hold him in her arms, and take away all the hurt. She couldn’t. Nothing could change the past, and she was equally at fault, if not more so. Guilt and regret quaked inside her, halting her in mid-step. She had to force herself away from him. She’d done it seven years ago; she could do it now.

“I’m sorry you were hurt, but it wasn’t like that. I”—she searched for the words to make him understand without revealing too much—“I cared for you a great deal.”

He looked away snorting his disbelief. “Not enough to talk things out face to face.”

“I didn’t turn coward.” Yes, she had, but she couldn’t admit it. “I got sick.”

Con jerked back. “You caught a cold?”

“No, really sick. You remember how tired I was before I left. That exhaustion was an early sign of an infection that attacked my liver and kidneys. Within a week of coming home, I collapsed.”

Anguish crossed his face, for himself, for her, both?

“Why didn’t you tell me?” he accused.

“I couldn’t. I was too ill.”

“Why didn’t you ask someone else to contact me? I would have dropped everything. You know I would.”

“I didn’t want you to drop everything. I knew how much you had on your plate. You were trying to start O’Neal Corp. You had commitments to your current employer to finish. I kept thinking I would get better, stronger, but I didn’t not for a long time.” She hadn’t known then how to tell him about the daughter she’d nearly lost, and she didn’t know now. “I was just beginning to recover when my aunt read me the article that announced the engagement of up-and-comer T. C. O’Neal to his administrative assistant. That was Shirley, right? The admin you should have fired for gross negligence as I suggested to you in my first week as your intern.”

He leapt to his feet. “I didn’t marry anyone. Shirley gave a deliberately misleading interview to the paper precisely because I did fire her. I contacted the managing editor and read him the riot act for not verifying the information with me. The next day a retraction was printed. I’m surprised your aunt didn’t read that to you as well.”

The realization that it was all a mistake floored her, and she responded automatically. “She may have. I had a relapse and don’t remember much. My recovery took a full year. When I was finally able to contact you, I believed you’d moved on. Especially because I’d had no word from you since the week after I left Chicago.”

Shock and surprise showed in his open mouth.

“Did you check your spam folder?”

“If I had any pride, I wouldn’t admit that I did. How pitiful I was searching for messages from a man who’d gotten engaged to another woman.”

“I told you I didn’t.”

“Then why didn’t you call, text, send me some kind of message?”

“I did.”

“I don’t believe you.” Tam watched his eyes go wide and his jaw drop.

“Shirley.”

“What?”

“Don’t you see? Shirley did it. I fired her for negligence just like you suggested but not soon enough. I missed several important meetings because she forgot to forward the messages to me. She screened all my incoming texts, messages, and correspondence. She had access to everything. I can’t prove it, but it wouldn’t surprise me if that vindictive bitch deleted anything I sent you or that you sent me for that matter. I was so certain I was right, that she was a loyal employee and you were just…”

“Just what? Jealous? If so, I was jealous of the trust you placed in her over my judgment. Whether you were truly engaged or not is less important than the fact that you lacked confidence in me and my level of experience.”

“I didn’t—”

She cut off any protest. “It’s ancient history. I always admired your determination. You are one of the most persistent, territorial, and obsessive men I’ve ever met. Once you decide on something, you never let go.”

His upper body shifted backward, as if taking a punch. “You think I’m obsessive.”

“Isn’t that what you call someone who spends twenty-five out of every twenty-four hours thinking about his business and planning for every possible contingency? A man who would marry just to cement a partnership.”

He shook his head. “I don’t. I didn’t plan on you abandoning me. I loved you.”

“You never told me,” she said quietly and moved on. “O’Neal Corp. is based in Chicago. You drew up an earthquake plan.”

A flush rose on Con’s neck. “That was a joke to add to the file on our Mexico and Japan offices.”

Tam rolled her eyes. “We worked out of our apartment. We didn’t have any offices.”

“We would have them, so I planned for it. Just like I planned to marry you for the sake of our dream.” He stepped forward, gripping her hands, forcing her to look at him.

“You haven’t changed at all.” Longing to lean against him, she broke his hold, threw up her hands, and turned to look out the balcony doors. His persistence was precisely why she had to get him to leave. If he knew about Susa he’d insist on marriage or sue for custody. Tam wouldn’t risk losing her daughter, and marriage wasn’t on the agenda. At some point Tam would have to tell him about Susannah. She’d always planned to, but not until the time was right for her daughter. “Besides, we’ve wandered a long way from the point.”

“And the point is?”

“That you staying here is a mistake.” She kept her back to him, refusing to concede she might want him to stay. Showing doubt and weakness wasn’t wise.

“What happened to fair play between competitors?”

A gentle hand on her shoulder turned her around. His smile broke her heart. The grin was a tactic she remembered well. He used it in bedroom and boardroom negotiations to disarm the other side. The effect was devastating, and she was far from immune.

“Why are you insisting on this?”

The smile vanished. His face grew taut. A near-predatory gleam lit his eyes. She quailed and studied her fingertips.

“I’m not giving you the chance to slip away. I’m sticking to you like sugar on a gumdrop until I get a reasonable explanation for why you disappeared, and I convince you that you were wrong.”

She’d avoided him since her recovery because she knew how vulnerable she was to him. She might not want to marry and repeat her parents’ disastrous example, but she did love Con. She’d never stopped loving him. She couldn’t let him know that. He’d use that knowledge and any other piece of leverage to undermine her defenses.

“I can’t stop you from acting on your delusions.” She shrugged. “Tell me, where do you plan to sleep?”

He looked from her to the king-sized bed and back. “In the second bedroom. That is, unless, you’d care to invite me to stay here? It isn’t as if we’ve never shared a mattress.”

“In your dreams.” She refused to back down.

“Every night, sweetness.”

“I’m sure you’d like to repeat the experience.”

“Wouldn’t you? Let’s find out.” He gripped her shoulders, leaned forward and brushed his lips over hers. “Tell me you don’t remember how this feels.”

“I don’t.” Desire betrayed her, and she echoed his caress.

“Liar.” He trailed kisses across her cheek to her ear. “I love kissing you. I always have.”

The words licked and nipped at her earlobe.

“You’re very good at it.”

“Only when it’s you.” He worshipped her throat and laved the pulse point just above her collarbone.

Goosebumps chased across her skin. Longing curled figure eights in her belly. This had to stop. “Con.”

“Mmmm?” His lips moved lower.

She could barely breathe. Her breasts ached. She arched into him, unable to resist. For just a moment she could kiss him, indulge herself in the sensual delight he offered.

“So sweet,” he murmured.

Her pulse quickened. Cool air teased her breast; then his mouth closed over her nipple. Heat rushed through her.

He sucked, and she was lost.

Tam groaned. “Please.” She clasped his head to her breast. “More.” Again and again, passion tugged at her, greedy with need.

Her hands roamed his shoulders in a restless search for the skin beneath his shirt.

His palms at her waist dipped, drawing circles over her hips. The cloth of her robe parted. His fingers teased along the edge of her panties. She surged against him.

The stone hard ridge of his manhood prodded her softness.

Eager, she pressed kisses into his hair, shifting to drag her hand across the length of his erection. He leapt beneath her fingers. She fumbled for his belt.

“That’s it, sweetness, touch me.” His voice vibrated against her skin and pierced her desire.

She pushed him away and stepped back, closing the robe around her.

He stumbled into the credenza. “Huh, what?”

Those kisses were nothing but manipulation. Believing that was her only protection, she tossed cold fury at the source of her weakness. “If you lay one finger on me again, I’ll cry rape so fast your head will spin.”

“Not if you’re the one who touches me first.” He smiled and raised an eyebrow.

“I am so not interested in you. I’d rather kiss an open flame.”

“Keep telling yourself that. When you’re ready for more fire, just put your lips right here.” He placed the tip of his forefinger on his mouth, then turned, walked into the sitting room and shut the door.

Chapter Two

Tam expected a restless night, but sunlight streaming through the balcony door surprised her into wakefulness. She tossed on her robe and padded to the door into the sitting room. On the far side of that space, Con’s bedroom door stood open. He’d made his own bed.

She checked the bathroom, finding it empty, although the spicy citrus scent of his aftershave hung in the air. He’d already left. Her heart hurt, remembering how they used to linger in bed, making love and plans, laughing and hoping together. The corners of her eyes grew damp. She started the shower, then went to gather her toiletries, shoving the memories, welling tears, and conflict back into the darkest corner of her mind.

Where had Con gone? For a man who claimed he would stick to her like salt on chips, he was giving her a lot of space. If the clock on the bedside table was right, she’d best take advantage of that space and get her fanny moving.

****

Approaching the dining room from the conference registration desk, Con paused to watch Tam. His heart flip-flopped, and fierce desire burned in him. How could she claim he hadn’t loved—didn’t love her? How could she imagine their marriage would be like her parents’ or his? His throat suddenly tight, he swallowed. Her doubts hurt him more than she knew. Lack of business experience and a short courtship didn’t mean squat. It was worse that she thought he was territorial and obsessive. He loved her and would never hurt her. He’d shown her in a thousand ways. What was respecting her wishes, waiting for her to finish her degree and think about his proposal, if not loving her?

He’d always known she was shy of commitments, although he hadn’t known why until yesterday. Awful as her history was, he wasn’t certain he understood. Maybe that was the problem. They’d always talked, but mostly about business or mutual friends and activities. He hadn’t shared much of his past in the Chicago projects, so he’d never noticed that she hadn’t shared her past either. He’d regretted his reticence for every aching moment of the last seven years. Maybe they hadn’t known each other as well as he thought. Maybe he was grasping at straws. The truth was he loved Tam with all his heart, had always loved her. He wanted her in his life, by his side as his partner, his wife, and the mother of his children. The only problem was how to make her want the same. Body-clenching fear and anger assailed him every time he thought of how lost he’d felt when she abandoned him. He forced himself to relax. Once she understood being together was best for both of them, she’d forget all about repeating her parents’ mistakes.

The graceful line of her neck and shoulders drew his focus. She sipped her coffee and perused the room, studying her colleagues and competitors. Her crown of reddish curls shifted with every movement. Subtle shades of mink, gold, and copper gleamed under the soft light of the room. She put her cup down and stroked the elegant china, savoring its clean textures and rounded shape. The memory drifted through him of lingering over Tam. With lazy greed, he felt again her soft smooth warmth, inhaled the scent of peaches, lapped at her dusky flavor, and drank in her dreamy blue gaze. His groin tightened.