High Stakes (12 page)

“Mmmmm.” He moaned softly in her ear,
pulling her closer, if that was humanly possible. “I could get used to this…
waking up with you in my arms.”

Alisa squeezed her eyes shut. How was she
going to tell him she wanted out? Out of this marriage, out of his hotel, out
of this state… Hell, maybe she’d just go into hiding, so her new husband,
overprotective father, and delusional ex-fiancé would have no choice but to
leave her alone.

“You hungry?”

Uh, just the thought of food made her want
to throw up. “No, but I’d kill for an aspirin.”

He chuckled. “I can’t say I’m surprised.”

So he knew she’d had half a dozen too many
and he still thought she was able to make sound decisions that would
potentially affect the rest of her life? Men. They really were clueless at
times.

“I think I have some in the bathroom. Let
me check.”

She peeked her head out from under the
covers and watched him walk across the room. She couldn’t suppress the tiny
sigh that escaped her lips. Lena was right; the man was gorgeous. Yet he’d
waited forty-four years to get married, in spite of the fact he had a child
with another woman. There must be something wrong with him, something he’d kept
hidden from her last night.

He was probably abrasive, cold,
domineering, a workaholic, messy… but when he treated her to that slow, sexy
grin, she realized she could forgive almost any sin… almost. At least he had
the decency to return from the bathroom wearing a robe. It made him marginally
more resistible.

“What time is it?” she whispered, taking
the two pills and bottle of water he handed her.

He glanced at his watch. “Seven thirty.”

“Oh God, I have a meeting with that
designer in an hour and a half. I have to pull myself together.”

“Maybe she could meet you here? At least
that would buy you a little more time.” He opened the leather-bound room
service menu and glanced at the offerings. “You’re welcome to use one of the
conference rooms.”

“Thanks, but my flight’s scheduled to leave
right after our meeting, and her studio is only ten minutes from the airport.”

He tossed the menu on a nearby table and
turned his attention to her. “You’re not seriously thinking about leaving this
morning, are you? We need to talk, Alisa. To figure out where we go from here.”

She knew where she was going… home to
contact her lawyer. But how was she going to tell him that without offending
him, especially when her brain wasn’t firing on all cylinders? She rubbed her
eyes with the heels of her palms and prayed the pain reliever would take effect
soon so she could get her butt in gear and make that meeting on time and, more
importantly, make her flight.

“I’ve got a lot going on with the store
right now, Liam. Shipments are coming in. Displays are being set up. The
merchandiser is going to be there later to go over the layout. I have someone
coming to dress the windows. Not to mention the launch party I have planned for
next weekend. The party planner needs to meet me to go over the details later
today so we can finalize the menu.” She sighed at his look of disappointment.
Apparently, even wealthy hotel tycoons reserved the right to act like spoiled
little boys when they didn’t get their own way.

“I understand you’re busy; so am I. But
don’t you think our marriage has to take precedence right now? No doubt it’s
been all over the news and Internet by now. The press will want a statement.”

She covered her face with her hands. Her
parents. Oh God, what was her father going to say when he heard about her
impromptu wedding to a gazillionaire twenty years her senior? A man with a
teenage daughter, for the love of God. “What if my father pulls my funding
because of this? I have suppliers and contractors who need to get paid. What am
I going to do?”

Liam smiled as he sat down on the edge of
the bed and slid his hand up and down her bare leg. “Relax, sweetheart, money’s
the least of your worries. I’d be happy to fund your project.”

Alisa pulled the sheet up, trying to
maintain some sense of modesty, which she knew was ridiculous under the
circumstances. “It’s not a project,” she said through gritted teeth. “It’s a
business. And I don’t need your money. Even if my father disowns me, my
grandparents won’t. They know how much this business means to me.”

His grip on her leg tightened and she could
tell he was trying to maintain his composure. “I’m your husband now, Alisa.
Whatever you need, I’ll provide.”

Oh, so it was going to be like that, was
it? “I don’t have time to talk about this. I need to take a shower so I can
make that meeting.”

“Fine, I’ll come back to Nashville with
you. I was supposed to stay on here for a few days, but—”

“Liam, last night was a mistake, a huge
mistake.” She winced when she realized her hasty words had hurt him. “I’m
sorry, I thought I was thinking clearly last night, but obviously I wasn’t. It
was crazy to think this could work. It goes without saying that I’m attracted
to you, but what happened last night never should have happened.”

“You mean you shouldn’t have married me, or
you shouldn’t have slept with me?”

“Neither.” She dropped her head and thrust
her hand through her tangled mass of hair. “I’m sorry if that’s not what you
want to hear, but that’s how I feel.” She thought about last night. She hadn’t
been so far gone that she forgot how she felt or what she thought when she made
the decision to accept his proposal, but without benefit of alcohol to make her
believe the impossible was possible, she knew there was no way this man could
be
the one
, could he?

He turned to look out the window at the impressive
view of the skyline as he asked, “So, where do you suggest we go from here?”

“I’ll contact my lawyer when I get home.
I’ll have the papers to you by the end of the week. I don’t want anything from
you; please don’t worry about that. We’ll just tell everyone that we had a few
too many drinks. We weren’t thinking clearly…”

“No one who knows me will believe that. I
don’t overindulge in alcohol, ever.” He shoved his hand into the pockets of his
terry robe. “My old man was a drunk. I swore I wouldn’t make the mistake of
letting the booze get the best of me as well. That’s why his business was
failing. It’s what ultimately killed him.” He looked her in the eye. “I won’t
lie about what happened or how I feel about you. If anyone asks, I intend to
tell them the truth. I married you because I wanted to, and I don’t have any
regrets about my decision. None.”

The sincerity behind his words made her
question everything. Was it possible that what she thought she felt for him
last night was real? “I need to get out of here. I think we both need a little
time and space to think this through.”

“I think you’re right. That’s why I have no
intention of signing your divorce papers until you’ve given us a reasonable
amount of time to try and make this work.”

She gaped at him. “You can’t be serious.”

It never occurred to her that he would try
and keep her in this marriage against her will. Could he even do that? She
didn’t know enough about matrimonial law to know whether he had grounds to
contest the divorce or annulment or whatever it would be, but given his wealth
and power, she had no doubt he had a dozen legal sharks on retainer who would
be more than happy to keep this tied up in the courts just long enough to make
her life miserable.

“I wouldn’t joke about something like this.
So, here’s the deal. You give me one year, and if at the end of that time,
you’re not happy with me, I give you ten million and we agree to walk away.”

She closed her eyes, hoping when she opened
them, he would be gone. No such luck. “I told you before, I don’t want your
money, and I’m not going to sacrifice a year of my life over one stupid
mistake.”

He let his hands fall to his sides as he
clenched his fists. “I wish you’d stop referring to last night as a mistake.
You know that’s not how I feel about it.”

She jumped out of bed, taking the six-hundred-thread-count
Egyptian cotton sheet with her. “I don’t care what you think. I’m not going to
stay married to you, no matter what. You can beg, bribe, or sic your team of
vultures on me, but you won’t wear me down. By the end of the week, you’ll have
those divorce papers. Sign them or don’t. It doesn’t matter to me. Either way,
I intend to get on with my life as though last night never happened.”

He growled as he reached out and grabbed her
left hand. He held up the ring he’d placed there last night. “Like hell you
will. You’re not daddy’s little girl anymore, Alisa. You’re Mrs. Liam Bryson,
and with that title comes some responsibility. If I even hear a whisper about
you behaving inappropriately in public or going out with another man, I’ll be
on my private jet and touching down in Nashville before you can even think of a
suitable defense. Is that understood?”

She knew he was used to ordering people
around, but she wasn’t one of his lackeys and she wouldn’t be treated like one.
“I don’t know why the hell you think you have the right to tell me what to do
or where to go, but—”

“I’m your goddamn husband. Have you forgotten
that?”

“I wish I could,” she muttered. She looked
up and almost cowered in the face of his rage, but she was determined to stand
her ground. “You’re my husband in name only and just until my lawyer can figure
out how the hell to get me out of this mess.”

His hand tightened like a barnacle around
her wrist as he smirked. “What happened in that bed last night defies the name-only
argument, don’t you think?”

She cursed the blush creeping up her neck
when she remembered how incredible their wedding night had been. “Let go of me.
I don’t have time to stand here and argue with you anymore. I have to get to my
meeting and then to the airport.”

He let her go. “Fine, but this isn’t over.”

Liam sank down on the bed and dropped his
head into his hands. He’d tried to act composed, as though he had it all
figured out, but inside he was a mess. After they made love and she fell asleep
in his arms, he was so sure they were on the same page about presenting a
united front to their friends and family today. Instead, she pulled the rug out
from under him when she told him she wanted a divorce. He called himself an
idiot for not being emotionally prepared for the worst-case scenario, but
before he finally fell asleep last night, the only thoughts drifting through
his head were how he couldn’t wait to make this woman a part of his life, to
introduce her to his daughter.

God, how was this going to affect his
little girl? He knew he should call and talk to her before she heard it from
someone else, but he had no idea what to say. No matter what Alisa claimed to
want, he wasn’t going to tell anyone, least of all his daughter, that his marriage
was a drunken mistake.

Before he could decide how to proceed, his
cell phone rang. He glanced at the call display. Great, his brother had already
heard, which meant his mother wouldn’t waste any time taking him to task.

“What do you want?” Hopefully that would
convey the message that he wasn’t in the mood to defend his actions.

“Please tell me this is a joke.”

“It isn’t.”

“Damn it, Liam. How the hell could you do
something so stupid, so reckless? Have you thought about how this is gonna
affect your daughter or your company, for God’s sake? It’s so unlike you to be
taken in by a hot piece of ass.”

Liam counted to five as he clenched the
phone in his fist. “If you still expect to have a job on Monday morning, you’ll
watch your mouth.”

Matt released a gusty sigh. “I’m sorry, I
just can’t believe you would do this. I know you said you were in to her, but
marriage? Come on, man, that’s way the hell out there, especially for you. You
don’t do committed relationships, like ever. So, why the hell would you make
the ultimate commitment to a woman you don’t even know?”

“I know enough.”
I know that I’m in love
with her, that I want to spend the rest of my life with her.

“Oh yeah, did you know that she was engaged
to that country singer, Nick Sinclair? Maybe she’s got a thing for famous guys,
ever think of that?”

If he heard her ex-fiancé’s name one more
time, he was going to lose his mind. “I’m not famous.”

“Like hell you’re not. You make the richest
people in the goddamn country list every year. I’d say that gives you a certain
amount of notoriety.”

“Listen, I don’t want talk about this right
now. Bottom line, I’m married. Get used to it, and when you do meet my wife…”—and
Liam prayed he would
—
“I expect you to treat her with the same respect
I’ve always shown your wife. Is that understood?”

“Come on, you can’t compare what I have
with Tracey to what you have with that… that…”

“Be careful, little brother. I’m not gonna
warn you again.”

“Fine, I won’t say what I’m thinking, but
please tell me you had the good sense to have her sign something, even if it
was a cocktail napkin, stating she doesn’t expect anything when—if this
marriage ends.”