A Perfect Husband Page 17

  She loved him. He could hardly believe it.

  And all he had been prepared to offer her was a loveless marriage, a business deal that would allow him to stay safe emotionally.

  In retrospect the offer had been cowardly, a cover-up for his own failings and a situation he would not have been able to sustain, since a business arrangement was the last thing he wanted from Lilah.

  His chest felt tight, his heart was pounding. For years he had been focused on the betrayals in his past. After all of his betrayals of Lilah, he was very much afraid that he had finally lost her.

  * * *

  The boarding call for Lilah’s flight was announced as she strolled toward the gate. Buttoning her jacket against the air-conditioned chill, she joined the line of passengers.

  A male voice with an American accent sent hope surging through her. She checked over her shoulder. For a split second she thought she saw Zane then she realized the man was shorter, darker.

  Until that moment, she hadn’t realized how badly she had wanted Zane to come after her.

  Blinking back a pulse of raw misery, she kept her gaze pinned on the flight board, which was now showing a “delayed” message, and shuffled forward. She dug her boarding pass out of her purse as she neared the counter.

  Behind her there was a stir. The deep register of another masculine voice that sounded even more like Zane made her tense. Determinedly, she ignored it.

  Someone said “Excuse me,” in an offended tone.

  Her head jerked around, her gaze clashed with Zane’s.

  His eyes were dark and intense, his expression taut. “I didn’t touch her.”

  A hot pulse of adrenaline that he had come for her momentarily froze her in place. “I know.”

  He looked baffled. His hand closed on her elbow.

  Despite the fact that her heart was pounding so fast she was having trouble breathing, Lilah gently disengaged from his hold. She knew how this worked. Once Zane got her out of the line he would start taking charge and she would melt; she would have trouble saying “No.”

  “She wasn’t there at my invitation and there never was a ‘me and Gemma.’ She was only ever a…convenient date.”

  Lilah blinked, then suddenly she knew. “For the charity functions.”

  Zane’s gaze was level. “That’s right.”

  She suddenly felt short of air. “If you felt you needed protection from me, why did you even bother to come?”

  “The same reason I’m here now. I couldn’t stay away.”

  An announcement came over the speaker system that the flight was delayed. Lilah made another heart-pounding connection. “You delayed the flight.”

  “Being a member of the Atraeus family has its uses.”

  Lilah dragged her gaze from the sexy five o’clock shadow on his jaw and tried to concentrate on the bright hibiscus-printed sundress of the woman ahead of her. “Why did you have the flight delayed?”

  The woman wearing the flowered dress gave her a fascinated look.

  Zane’s dark gaze held hers with a soft intensity. “Because there’s an important question I need to ask you.”

  Panic gripped her, because hope had flared back to life and she couldn’t bear it if he presented her with another variation of a loveless marriage.

  Boarding resumed. “I have to go and you can’t come with me.”

  He held up his boarding pass.

  There was a smattering of applause.

  Lilah dragged her gaze from the grim purpose in Zane’s eyes. So, okay, he could board the flight, she couldn’t stop that. “What did you want to talk about?”

  “It’s uh—private.”

  A nudge in the small of her back from the passenger behind prompted her to move forward another step. She was only feet from the counter now, but boarding the jet had ceased to be a priority. Every part of her being was focused on Zane, but she was afraid to read too much into his words. “I can’t accept a temporary relationship. I still need what I’ve always needed—commitment.”

  His brows jerked together. “I’m capable of commitment. Don’t believe everything the tabloids print. I’ve dated, but since I met you there hasn’t been…anyone.”

  For a fractured moment the ground seemed to tilt and shift beneath her. She was certain she had misheard. “Are you saying you haven’t slept with anyone?”

  He frowned, his gaze oddly defensive. “It’s not unknown for men to be celibate.”

  Heads turned. There was a visible stirring in the gate area. Somewhere a camera flashed.

  Lilah’s stomach churned. Just their luck, there was a journalist in the queue.

  Zane’s arm curved around her waist. “Is the fact that I was celibate so hard to believe?”

  Still stunned by the admission, Lilah didn’t protest when he hustled her out into the relative privacy of the corridor. “No. Yes.”

  The thought that he hadn’t wanted to be with another woman since he had met her was dizzying, terrifying.

  “I don’t lie.”

  Her mouth went dry. It explained why he had lost control in Sydney. Despite her resolve to stay distant and cool, she was riveted by the thought. “What I don’t get is, with all the women you could have, why me?”

  Zane sent her a frustrated, ruffled look as if he was all at sea. “You’re sexy, gorgeous. We have a lot in common with the business, art, our pasts. I like you. I want you.”

  Her heart squeezed in her chest. Liking and wanting, not loving.

  He drew a velvet box from his pocket and extracted a ring.

  The jewelry designer in her fell in love with the antique confection of diamonds and emeralds. The ring was heartbreakingly perfect.

  And he wanted to marry her.

  Lilah swallowed against the powerful desire to cave and say yes. “You chose a ring you knew I couldn’t resist.”

  “I’ll do what I have to, to get you.”

  Her jaw tightened at the neutral blankness of his approach. “What if I say, no?”

  “Then I’ll keep asking.”

  Once again the neutrality of his tone hit her like a fist in the chest then suddenly she saw him, suddenly she knew.

  At age thirteen, he would have used that tone on the streets: with the gang that had cornered him and beat him; with the police and welfare workers who had shifted him from place to place; with his mother when she had finally decided to come looking for him.

  It wasn’t that he didn’t care. It was because he did.

  The strain of his expression, the paleness of the skin beneath his tan registered as he gripped her left hand, lifted it, the movements clumsy.

  Raw emotion flooded her when she saw the unguarded expression in his eyes. When she didn’t withdraw from his grip the flash of relief almost made her cry.

  He slid the ring onto the third finger. The fit was perfect.

  Lilah stared at the glitter of diamonds, the clear deep green of the emeralds, the ancient, timeless setting. But mostly what she saw was the extreme risk Zane had just taken with a heart that had been battered and bruised, and for a few years, lost.

  Somewhere in the recesses of her mind, she registered that the ring he had slipped onto her finger was a part of the priceless Illium Cache of jewels that his buccaneering ancestor had once claimed as booty.

  The ring matched the bracelet he had tried to give her.

  She swallowed. He had been trying to tell her then.

  According to the material she had read tonight the cache was a bridal set; there had always been a ring to match the bracelet. More than that, they were heirlooms: family jewels.

  As a jewelry designer she knew the message of the gems themselves was purity, eternity. Love.

  She met Zane’s gaze and the softness there made her heart swell. “This belongs in your family.”

  “Which is exactly where it’s staying, if you’ll marry me.” For a moment he looked fiercely, heartbreakingly like his ancestor.

  His fingers threaded with hers, pulled her c
lose. “I wanted to give it to you before the opening ceremony tonight. That’s why I had to leave when I did. Constantine has the combination to the vault, which is down in the cellar.”

  He had wanted her to wear the ring in front of his family and all of their business colleagues. Her chest squeezed tight. It explained why Zane had left just when they had seemed to be getting somewhere.

  “It’s beautiful.” Everything she could ever have wanted and more, but it was nothing compared to the real treasure Zane was offering her: his heart.

  The hurt that had filled her when she had thought Zane couldn’t care for her drained away. Out of self-defense she had clung to the picture the press had painted of him, but it was no more real than the picture they had painted of her.

  Zane was everything she had been looking for in a husband and more. “Yes, I’ll marry you.”

  He muttered something rough in Medinian and pulled her close. “Thank goodness. I don’t know what I would have done if you’d refused.” He buried his head in her hair. “I love you.”

  The relief of his husky declaration shuddered through her. She wound her arms around his neck and simply held on. They had been walking toward this moment for two years, both stumbling, both making mistakes.

  Zane wrapped her even closer, so tight that for a few seconds she could barely breathe. She didn’t care. She was having trouble concentrating on anything but the shattering knowledge that Zane loved her.

  His hold loosened as he talked in a low husky voice. He had been afraid that he had lost her, that he had finally driven her away with his old fear that she couldn’t simply love him, that there would be a catch—something to be gained—that she would turn out to be dishonest and manipulative. He could bear anything but that. He had been in a terrible situation, unable to stay away from her, but afraid to be with her and discover that she had an agenda, and it wasn’t loving him.

  He lifted his head, looked into her eyes and the air seemed to go soft and still. “I love you.”

  And this time he kissed her.

  Epilogue

  A year later Zane proudly escorted his wife of ten months to the opening of the Ambrosi Pearl facility on Ambrus.

  The ceremony, which was to be followed by champagne and a traditional Medinian celebration, with local food and music, was timed for sunset. The whole idea was that the extended twilight would bathe the new center with its large, modern sculpture of a pearl, with a soft, golden glow to celebrate the homecoming of Ambrosi Pearls. Unfortunately, clouds were interfering with the ambiance.

  A large crowd of Atraeus and Ambrosi family were present along with locals, clients and of course the media. Constantine and Sienna were there, happily showing off their dark-eyed, definitely blond baby girl. Unbearably cute, Amber Atraeus had clearly inherited the luminous Ambrosi looks and a good helping of the Atraeus charisma.

  Lucas and Carla, who had been married for several months, had just returned from an extended holiday in Europe. Looking happy and relaxed, they hadn’t started a family yet, but Zane privately thought it wouldn’t be long.

  Lilah frowned at the gloomy sky, squeezed his hand and checked her watch. “It’s time to start.”

  Glowing and serene in a soft pink dress, her hair coiled in a loose knot, she stepped up to the podium and welcomed the guests.

  After providing a quick history of Ambrosi Pearls, Lilah asked a priest to bless the building then handed the proceedings over to Octavia Ambrosi, the great-aunt of both Sienna and Carla.

  The oldest living Ambrosi, Octavia, affectionately known as Via, had been Sebastien Ambrosi’s sister. She had lived on Ambrus with Sebastien, seen the destruction of the war and the rift that had torn the Atraeus and Ambrosi families apart when Sophie Atraeus and the bridal jewels had disappeared.

  In the moment that Via was helped up to the white satin ribbon strung across the front doors of the center the sun came out from behind a cloud, flooding the island with golden light. With great grace Octavia cut the ribbon.

  Later on in the evening, when guests had started to leave by the luxury launches that had been laid on by the Atraeus family, Lilah was surprised when Carla made a beeline for her. Since the tension which had erupted between them over Lilah dating Lucas, they had barely spoken, although that was mostly so now because they lived in different countries.

  Carla gave her a quick hug and handed her a battered leather case. “This belonged to Sebastien. Since you and Zane will be living on Ambrus in the refurbished villa, we thought you should have it.”

  Zane’s arm came around Lilah, warm and comforting, as she opened the case. Her eyes filled with tears as she studied the silver christening cup engraved with Sebastien’s name.

  Carla’s expression softened as she looked at the cup. “It’s of no great monetary value—”

  “How did you know?” Zane said abruptly.

  “That Lilah’s pregnant?” Carla smiled. “It was an informed guess. You two shouldn’t look so happy.”

  Lilah closed the case and tried to give it back to Carla. “This is a family treasure.”

  Carla smiled as Lucas joined them, followed by Sienna and Constantine with a sleepy Amber tucked into the crook of his arm. “In case you hadn’t noticed, you are family.”

  * * * * *

  Keep reading for an excerpt of His Marriage to Remember by Kathie DeNosky!

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  One

  Standing in the hospital waiting room, Bria wrapped her arms around herself as she tried to chase away the chills. It did no good. In spite of the fact that it was early June in Texas and already extremely warm, she couldn’t seem to stop shivering.

  Terror like nothing she had ever known had clawed at her insides as she’d helplessly watched the angry bull slam Sam into the fence, then pummel his limp body repeatedly with its large head. Thankfully, the bull didn’t have horns and therefore Sam hadn’t sustained any puncture wounds, nor had he been stepped on by the massive animal. Nate and Sam’s foster brothers had immediately jumped into action and diverted the bull’s attention as quickly as they could. But it seemed as if they’d all moved in slow motion and took forever to get the beast away from him so the emergency medical crew could move in and take over.

  She drew in a shuddering breath. There was no getting around it, she was responsible for Sam’s accident. If she had only waited for another day, another time to bring the divorce papers for him to sign or if he hadn’t seen her and been distracted, she wouldn’t be standing in the waiting room while he underwent tests to see just how badly he was injured.

  But the rodeo was only a two-hour drive from her new home in Dallas and she had wanted to get the papers signed and everything finalized before she started her new job as a marketing consultant for one of the major department stores. If she hadn’t run into a traffic jam on the interstate, she would have arrived with plenty of time to get things taken care of and left before the dangerous bull-riding event even start
ed.

  Her breath caught on a sob. It didn’t matter why she had been running late or that she had wanted to get on with her life. Sam was the one having to pay the price for her impatience.

  “Have you heard anything, Bria?” Nate called from somewhere behind her.

  Turning around, she watched Nate and his brothers hurrying down the hall toward the waiting-room entrance. Tall and ruggedly handsome, all five men were cowboys from the top of their wide-brimmed Resistol hats to their scuffed Justin boots. All six of the boys Hank Calvert had fostered had grown up to be extremely wealthy men, but to the outward eye, they were down to earth, hardworking cowboys who passed up designer clothing in favor of chambray shirts and jeans. Nate was Sam’s only biological sibling, but the other four men they called brothers couldn’t have meant more to them if they’d had the same blood flowing through their veins.

  “Th-They just took him…to the imaging department…for X-rays and a scan of his head,” she said, unable to keep her voice from cracking.

  Nate stepped forward and, putting his arms around her, pulled her to his broad chest. “He’s going to be all right, Bria.”

  “Sam’s as tough as nails,” Lane Donaldson added. The same age as Sam, Lane had a master’s degree in psychology that he used quite successfully as a professional poker player. Bria didn’t think she had ever seen the man look less confident.

  Ryder McClain, the most easygoing of the group, nodded. “Sam’s probably already being a pain in the butt about getting out of here.”

  “I hope all of you are right,” she said, feeling helpless.

  “Can I get you something, Bria? A cup of coffee or some water?” T. J. Malloy asked solicitously. He was the most thoughtful of the brothers, so she wasn’t the least bit surprised that T.J.’s concern extended to her.

  “Get some coffee for all of us, T.J.,” Nate commanded, without waiting for her to respond.

  “I’ll go with you to help carry everything,” Jaron Lambert offered, turning to follow T.J. Stopping, he turned back to ask, “Do you want anything else, Bria. Maybe something to eat?”