“Yes but…”
Her grey eyes widened with worry. “Should I not call him Gramps? Will he not like that? I know that he didn’t tell me that I could, but I was learning about families with Jenny today and the book said that the parents of my parents were grandparents.” Then, in expected child-mind fashion, Chloe was off on another question. “Do I have any cousins? I should have cousins, right? And aunts? I want aunts and uncles too.” Martha came in with dinner. “Martha, do you have aunts and uncles?”
The kind woman stopped, looked at her employer, then at Deni, then finally back at Chloe before she resumed her progress, placing a plate in front of each of them. “Yes. I have many aunts, uncles, cousins, brothers, sisters, and…”
“Brothers and sisters?” Chloe asked in a whisper of reverence at the thought. Then her grey gaze shifted to her father and Deni. “Can I please please please have a brother and a sister? Or more than just one?”
“Eat your dinner,” Sebastian ordered in a tone that warned his daughter that he wasn’t going to answer the question.
Immediately, Chloe looked down at her plate, but all three of them could see that she wasn’t happy about her father’s command. Martha, darn her, escaped back into the kitchen, a sneaky smile on her face. Deni was stuck with an irritated Chloe and a furious, exasperated Sebastian.
“Chloe, what else did you learn with Jenny today?”
Chloe picked up her fork and started eating. “Well,” she said in between bites, “we learned that…” and she went into a long litany of subjects that she and her nanny had gone over during the day. Apparently, Jenny was an extremely good tutor, if the range of subjects Chloe listed were any indication.
“So, can I?” she asked, when Martha brought in small bowls of fruit covered sherbet for dessert.
“Can you what?” Sebastian asked, leaning back and glaring at both of them.
“Can I go to Gramp’s house this weekend to help him make dinner and cookies?”
He sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. “We’ll talk about that later.”
Deni understood the unspoken message, even if Chloe didn’t. Sebastian was irritated and worried about Chloe’s feelings being hurt after he gained full custody of his daughter and Deni moved out of their house.
As soon as the meal finished, Deni excused herself. “I’m sorry, I have some work that needs to get done,” she told Chloe and Sebastian, then hurried out of the dining room. She didn’t have any work. In fact, she worked hard all day long so that she didn’t have to bring anything home. She wanted her evenings to be free so that she could enjoy spending time with Chloe and Sebastian.
As she pressed her shoulders back against the wood of her bedroom door, she wondered if those lovely evenings were over now that Chloe had innocently decided to call Deni’s father “Gramps”. It wasn’t Chloe’s fault that she wanted an extended family. It wasn’t Deni’s fault either! The child wanted relatives that she could count on, people in her life that she could spend time with, who didn’t judge her. Mark was one of those people and Deni was furious that Sebastian would deny the desperately lonely girl the interaction with a similarly lonely old man!
So, when the knock came on her door that night, she was spoiling for a fight!
Sebastian stepped into her room and Deni was already pacing the long width of her lovely bedroom.
She walked over to the door and whipped it open, glaring at him as he stepped through and closed the door once again.
“I didn’t encourage her to call my father ‘Gramps’ Sebastian,” she began, not stopping as he leaned against the doorway. “She did that all on her own. But it doesn’t matter because Chloe wants to spend time with my father and my father is just as lonely as she is. He won’t hurt her!”
“I know that.”
“And no matter what happens between you and me, my father will still be there for Chloe. As will I! She’s a sweet, wonderful child who needs people in her life that won’t force her to sit still!”
“I know that.”
“And we need her too! I never knew what fun it would be to be around a childlike Chloe. She’s blossomed in the past few weeks!”
“I know that.”
“And my father would love to have her around. He lights up when Chloe is with him. And Chloe giggles when he teases her. You should have seen them making cookies last time! She loved it and they ate the cookies right out of the oven, not the raw cookie dough, but I’d eat it that way if I weren’t so wary of your temper.”
“I know that.”
Deni froze as his words penetrated her brain. Turning around, she faced him warily, her mouth hanging open as his words finally broke through to her frazzled brain. “You know?”
“Yes, Deni.”
She stammered, her hands lifting slightly in helpless confusion. “So…if you know that my dad won’t hurt her and they need each other, why are you angry?”
He pushed away from the doorway, moving towards her. “I wasn’t angry, Deni,” he said softly. “I was just startled.”
She backed up a step, not sure she fully understood. “Okay, so…” she let out a breath. “Sebastian, you confuse me. I keep expecting you to be angry, but then you…well, you’re not!”
“Why did you expect me to be angry?” he demanded as he pulled her into his arms.
She looked up at him suspiciously, feeling better now that he was touching her. “Because you seemed like such an angry person when I first met you,” she told him honestly. “You were the most terrifying man I’d ever met.”
“And now?”
She reached up, her hands resting on his chest. “Now…” her head tilted slightly, “you’re different,” she whispered.
He kissed her then. It wasn’t that overwhelming passion that he’d stirred in her the previous nights. This was a slow, gentle kiss that stoked the fires inside of her. The passion arrived, but it was more of a slow, intense burn than an explosion. It was just as sweetly wonderful when he took her over the edge, holding her in his arms afterwards.
Deni’s head rested against his shoulder as they lay sprawled amid the mess of her bed. Her fingers sifted through the rough hair on his chest as she tried to sort out her impressions. She was right. Sebastian was different now. He was still terrifying, but in a different way. He used to scare her because…because he had been her boss and a wealthy, terrifying, cold and seemingly emotionless man. Now he scared her because…?
“Stop thinking,” he ordered gently, as he turned off the lights.
Deni tried to obey. But the reason he scared her now was because she loved him. She loved him and this was only a temporary marriage. Nothing had changed, except they had sex in addition to providing a secure home for Chloe.
But this would all end. And Deni would leave this horrible, soulless house and go back to her previous life. Her father would be fine. He was out of debt. Sebastian hadn’t just paid off the loans and the medical bills. She’d discovered that he’d also paid off her father’s mortgage completely. Her dad owned his house outright now. He was still going to grief counseling and he had found a new job.
Yes, her father was going to be okay.
Chloe was laughing and smiling, wiggling and being her adorable self. She was going to be fine too.
Sebastian? She sighed into the darkness, wondering what went through his mind. Most of the time, she had no idea what Sebastian was thinking. He was so basic, and yet, such a mystery.
She needed Carly’s advice. She needed her friends! But Sebastian was such a private person, Deni couldn’t…she wouldn’t violate Sebastian’s privacy by talking about him. Maybe there was some way she could ask her friends’ opinions on what she should do, without letting any of them know that the man in question was one of the wealthiest men in the world and owned the biggest bank in history.
How had her life become so complicated?
Chapter 19
Deni’s cellphone chimed as she stepped through the door at the same moment as Martha
stepped out of the kitchen and into the foyer. “I just heard from Mr. Hughes, ma’am. He said he has a dinner meeting but will be home in time for Chloe’s bedtime.”
“Oh, well…” Deni tried to hide her disappointment. She’d come to look forward to their dinners together. She knew that they weren’t a real family, but with Chloe’s eager discussions, Deni could pretend that they were for a while. And she knew that those memories would last her well into the future when she found herself alone again.
Sighing, she nodded and smiled at Martha who took Deni’s purse and jacket. “Thank you.”
Looking at her phone, she saw that her father had just texted her, but she didn’t want to read it, afraid that it was something horrible. Right now, Deni couldn’t face more bad news.
Chloe raced into the foyer, Jenny trailing more sedately behind. “Did you hear?” Chloe gasped.
Deni’s heart lightened at the excitement in Chloe’s eyes. “No! What’s going on?”
“Gramps is coming over here for dinner!” she announced, clapping her hands together. “It’s going to be just like a holiday!”
Deni cringed, then pulled up the message on her phone. Looking at her phone, she realized that her father was simply asking if Chloe needed a babysitter for the night. He was offering his services. Meanwhile, Chloe must have heard about the offer somehow and was all ready to have a fabulous night with her “Gramps”. Oh boy.
“Chloe, I don’t know if…”
“Do you think he knows how to play checkers?” she asked. “Daddy taught me to play checkers last week. He was teaching me strategy or something. I don’t really understand, but I liked the game. And next he’s going to teach me to play chess. That game has horses and kings and queens in it,” she chattered on.
“Chloe, I don’t…”
“And I know how to play Go-Fish too! Daddy said that it would teach me memory skills, but it’s just a fun game and Daddy makes a funny face every time I guess correctly and he has to give up his cards. Do you think Gramps will make a funny face too?”
Deni looked helplessly at Jenny. Jenny seemed equally stunned, shrugging her shoulders with an odd smile.
“Right. Well, how about if we call your dad and ask him if he’s okay with you spending an evening with my dad, okay?” Deni offered.
“Daddy will say yes,” Chloe predicted, that strange confidence that seemed to run in the family. Chloe took Deni’s hand, her small fingers wrapping trustingly around Deni’s and her heart lurched. It was such an innocent gesture, but it was also one that shouted out that the adorable girl trusted Deni.
“Let’s call your dad, shall we?” Deni suggested and led Chloe over to the stairs. They sat on the bottom step as Deni dialed the phone, but as soon as it started ringing, Chloe took it out of Deni’s hands, lifting it to her ear. The small girl looked just like her father! The girl’s eyebrows narrowed, her lips tightened, and she looked off into space, as if her mind were working and she was waiting impatiently for the rest of the world to catch up.
Deni heard Sebastian’s deep voice and Chloe instantly perked up. “Daddy? It’s me!”
“Is Deni okay?” he asked, and Deni’s heart did another little twist. He was concerned for her? Wow!
“Yes. But listen. Gramps asked if I wanted to play games with him tonight. And Deni said I had to ask you if that was okay. Jenny said it’s okay with her. And Deni didn’t say no. Will you say yes? Please Daddy?”
There was a long silence at the other end and Deni pictured Sebastian sitting in an elegant restaurant with very important people, trying to figure out how to protect his sweet daughter from “games” and a stranger.
“Let me speak with Deni, Chloe.”
Chloe handed the phone to Deni, not bothering to warn anyone. “Hello?” Deni greeted Sebastian, startled by the change in course.
“Deni, does your father want to come over to play games with Chloe? I don’t want her to be a burden.”
Deni chuckled, looking at Chloe who grinned as if she needed to be cute in order to be loved. Deni then looked away, nodding. “If my father offered to come play games with Chloe, then he genuinely wants to play games with her. He never would have offered if he didn’t want to do it.”
“Okay, fine,” he said, sighing and Deni could picture him rubbing a hand over the back of his neck. “If it’s okay with you, then I don’t have any objections.”
“Great. I’ll give him a call.”
“Just…” he hesitated. “Don’t let her be a burden.”
Deni looked down at Chloe and her face instantly sprang back into a gamin smile. Deni laughed. “She’s never that, Sebastian. I promise.”
The call ended and Chloe jumped up. “Yeah!” she exclaimed, throwing her arms up in the air. Jenny laughed as well, walking away.
“Call Gramps now!” she urged Deni.
Deni rolled her eyes, and wrapped an arm around Chloe’s back as the girl leaned against Deni’s side. Again, as soon as the phone started ringing, Chloe took the phone out of Deni’s hands. “I’m not sure that’s a good thing to get used to,” Deni grumbled.
But Chloe was doing her phone-face thing and there was no way Deni could admonish the child. She was so much like her father, which was going to be a huge issue as Chloe got older.
“Gramps!” Chloe exclaimed. “Daddy said its okay for you to come over and play games with me!” she announced, bouncing slightly. “So, when can you get here?”
Deni heard her father tell Chloe that he would be there very soon. “Okay, but hurry, okay? We have a lot of games that we need to play.” And before her father could say anything else, Chloe ended the call, but didn’t relinquish the phone. “He’ll be here very soon,” she said. Pulling away, Chloe took Deni’s hand in hers, pulling her off the step. “Let’s hurry up and have dinner. That way we won’t have to make Gramps wait while we eat.” And then Chloe was off, yelling down the hallway to Martha who had disappeared back into the kitchen.
Deni followed at a more leisurely pace, smiling at Chloe’s enthusiasm. They ate dinner in the kitchen tonight, since Sebastian wasn’t around to object. Deni hated the formality of that miserable dining room anyway, and the kitchen was a warm, welcoming area. Plus, Martha was there and the housekeeper didn’t have to carry the plates into the dining room and then back.
Her father arrived just as they were finishing up dinner and Chloe could barely contain her excitement. In fact, as soon as the doorbell sounded, she leapt off her chair and raced for the front door. It took Deni racing after her in order to stop her from pulling the door open.
“Honey, you never, ever answer the door by yourself, okay?”
“Why not? It’s just Gramps,” she replied, perplexed.
Deni didn’t want to tell her about the issues surrounding being the daughter of an extremely wealthy man. There was no value in frightening Chloe, although she’d have to learn that lesson someday.
“It’s just a rule,” Deni told her sternly, while Martha opened the door.
Deni’s father beamed as soon as he spotted Deni and Chloe, stepping into the massive house. “There are my girls!” he announced, immediately bending down to take Chloe into his arms for a hug. Then he stood and hugged Deni as well. “Ready to play?” he asked Chloe.
The three of them settled in one of the smaller living rooms, one that was a bit less formal than the others, but in this zombie-house, that wasn’t saying much. The house could use a bit more comfort and a lot less formality, in Deni’s opinion.
For the next two hours, they played Candyland, Chutes and Ladders, and a few other board games that Mark brought over. They moved on to Go Fish and they laughed, enjoying the faces that Deni’s father made. Chloe had retained possession of Deni’s phone and snapped pictures. As soon as Chloe realized that there was another phone available to her, she snatched up “Gramp’s” phone and started taking pictures with it too. By the time Jenny showed up to announce that it was time for her bath, Mark and Chloe had taken probably fifty
photographs of themselves with various silly faces and odd poses.
Chloe begged to stay up later and it was only “Gramp’s” offer to tuck her in that got her up the stairs for her bath time and bedtime rituals.
After Chloe had disappeared, Deni turned to look at her father. “How are you doing?” she asked, thinking that he looked much better.
Mark sighed, leaning back against the formal sofa, putting his arm around Deni’s shoulders. “I’m getting there, honey. I’ll tell ya though, that girl is helping me more than the grief counseling group.”
Deni smiled, leaning her head against her father’s shoulder. “Yeah, she’s pretty special.”
“How are you doing?” he asked, looking into her eyes.
Deni lowered her lashes, not wanting her father to know how desperately she’d fallen for the father of the girl. “I’m doing okay too,” she assured him. “I miss Mom, but you’re right, Chloe makes me feel better every day.”
“And Chloe’s dad?” he asked softly.
Deni didn’t answer immediately, trying to find the words without giving her feelings away. “He’s a good man, Dad,” Deni replied honestly. “He was so terrifying at first, but he loves Chloe and that girl seems to weave some sort of magic when it comes to helping all of us. He’s a different person around her.”
“And you love him,” Mark said. It wasn’t a question.
Deni wiped at the unexpected tears that escaped from her lashes. “I…well…”
“Stop it, honey. Your old man knows you better than you think. You love him. What does he feel for you?”
Deni shrugged and turned away. “He’s complicated.”
Mark sighed. “Life is complicated, honey. It’s our job to simplify it and make sense of it.”
Deni snorted. “Right. Like I’m doing that so well at that.”
Sebastian slipped silently out of the room, not sure how he felt about being labeled as complicated. But the assurance from Deni’s father that she loved him…? Hell, several months ago, those words would have irritated the hell out of him. But for some reason, the news that Deni had feelings for him… felt damn good!
Wanted: Wife for Hire (The Diamond Club Book 8) Page 16