by Maya Banks
When she was done, she was worn out and feeling more than a little foolish. There was no advice Kirk could offer, but she felt better for unloading some of her worries. He’d know better than anyone her fears of marriage and commitment.
Leaving her laptop open, she leaned back on the soft pillows to stare up at the ceiling. Contemplating her future had never been quite so terrifying as it was now.
* * *
Piers walked up the stairs toward Jewel’s room. She’d been sequestered for two hours now. Surely that was enough time to have completed her personal business.
He stopped at her door and knocked softly, but he heard no answer from within. Concerned, he pushed open the door and stepped inside.
Jewel was curled on her side, her head buried in the down pillows. Sound asleep. She looked exhausted.
Her laptop was precariously close to the edge of the bed, and he hurried over to retrieve it before it fell. When he placed it on the dresser, the screen came back up and he saw that a new email message was highlighted by the cursor. It was from someone named Kirk.
With a frown, he scrolled down the preview screen to read the short message.
Jewel,
I’m on my way home. Don’t do anything until I get there. Okay? Just hang tight. I’ll be there as soon as I can hop a flight.
Kirk
* * *
Piers stiffened. Hell would freeze over before he’d allow this man to interfere in his and Jewel’s relationship. She’d agreed to marry him, and marry him she would. He didn’t question why it was suddenly so important that the wedding take place, but he’d be damned if he let another man call the shots.
With no hesitation, he clicked on the delete button and then followed it to the trash bin to permanently delete it from her computer. Afterward, he pulled her email back up and then replaced the laptop on her bed, making sure it was far enough from the edge so that it wouldn’t topple over.
For a long moment, he stood by her bed and stared down at her sleeping face. Drawn to the pensive expression, even in rest, he touched a few strands of her blond hair, smoothing them from her cheek.
What demons existed in her life? She didn’t trust him. Not that he blamed her, but it went beyond anger or a sense of betrayal. She wore shadows like most women wore makeup. Somewhere, some way, someone had hurt her badly. They had that in common.
As much as he’d like to swear never to hurt her and to protect her from those who would, he knew that if she’d lied to him about the child, that he’d crush her without a second thought.
CHAPTER 8
Jewel studied the unsmiling face of the man she’d chosen to represent her interests and wondered if any lawyer had a sense of humor or if they were all cold, calculating sharks.
But then she supposed when it came to her future and that of her child, she wanted the biggest, baddest shark in the ocean.
“The agreement is pretty straightforward, Miss Henley. It is in essence a prenuptial agreement which states that Mr. Anetakis’s assets remain his in the event of a divorce and that yours remain yours.”
Jewel snorted in amusement. What assets? She didn’t have a damn thing, and Piers knew it.
“What else?” she asked impatiently. With a man like Piers, nothing could be as simple as it appeared. There were strings, hidden provisions. She just had to find them. “I want a complete explanation, line by line.”
“Very well.”
He shoved his glasses on and picked up the sheaf of papers as he took his seat again.
“Mr. Anetakis will provide a settlement for you regardless of the paternity of the child you carry. If DNA testing proves the child his, then he will retain custody of the child in the event of a divorce.”
Her mouth fell open. “What?” She made a grab for the paper her lawyer held, scanning the document until she found the clause he referred to.
“He’s out of his damn mind. There is no way in hell I’ll sign anything that gives up custody of my child.”
“I can strike the clause, but it’s possible he won’t agree.”
She leaned forward, her breath hissing through her teeth. “I don’t give a damn what he agrees to. I won’t sign it unless this so-called clause is removed in its entirety.”
Furious, she stood and snatched the paper back as the lawyer reached for it. “Never mind. I’ll see to it myself.”
She stormed out of the lawyer’s office into the waiting room where Piers sat. He was sitting on the far side, his laptop open and his cell phone to his ear. When he looked up and saw her, he slowly closed the laptop.
“Is there a problem?”
“You bet there is,” she said behind gritted teeth.
She thrust the offending piece of paper at him, pointing to the custody clause.
“If you think I’m signing anything that gives away custody of my child, you’re an idiot. Over my dead body will I ever be separated from my child. As far as I’m concerned, you can take this…this prenuptial agreement and stick it where the sun doesn’t shine.”
He raised one dark eyebrow and stared back at her in silence.
“You don’t seriously think that I would give up custody of my child, do you? If indeed it turns out I am the father.”
She threw up her hands in exasperation. “You just don’t miss a chance to take your potshots at me. I’m well aware of the fact that you don’t believe this child is yours. Believe me, I get it. Reminding me at every opportunity just serves to further piss me off. And haven’t you ever heard of a thing called joint custody? You know, that thing called compromise, where the parents consider what’s best for the child and agree to give her equal time with her parents?”
“If the child is mine, I don’t intend to see her on a part-time basis, nor do I intend I should have to work around your schedule. I can certainly provide more for her than you can. I’m sure she’d be much better off with me.”
She curled her fingers into a tight fist, crumpling the document as rage surged through her veins like acid.
“You sanctimonious bastard. Where do you get off suggesting that my child would be better off with you? Because you have more money? Well big whoop. Money can’t buy love, or security. It can’t buy smiles or happiness. All the things a child needs most. Quite frankly, the fact that you think she would be so much better off with you tells me you don’t have the first clue about children or love. How could you? I doubt you’ve ever loved anyone in your life.”
Her chest heaved, and the paper was now a crumpled, soggy scrap in her hand. She started to hurl it at his feet, but he quickly rose and gripped her wrist, preventing her action. His eyes smoldered with rage, the first sign of real emotion she’d seen in him.
“You assume far too much,” he said icily.
She wrenched her hand free and took a step backward. “I won’t sign it, Piers. As far as I’m concerned this marriage doesn’t need to take place. There is no amount of desperation that would make me sign away my rights to my child.”
He studied her for a long moment, his face as immovable as stone. “All right,” he finally said. “I’ll have my lawyer strike the clause. I’ll call him now and he can courier over a new agreement.”
“I’d wait,” she said stiffly. “I’m not finished with my stipulations yet. I’ll let you know when we’re done.”
She turned and stalked back into the lawyer’s office, only to find him standing in the doorway, amusement carved on his face when she’d sworn he couldn’t possibly have a sense of humor.
“What are you looking at?” she growled.
He sobered, although his eyes still had a suspicious gleam. “Shall we get on to your additions to the agreement?”
Three hours later, the final contract had been couriered from Piers’s lawyer’s office, and she and Piers read over and signed it together.
Jewel had insisted on an ironclad agreement that stated they would share custody of their child but that she was the primary custodian. She could tell Piers wasn’t enti
rely happy with the wording, but she’d been resolute in her refusal to sign anything less.
“Clearly you’ve never learned the art of negotiation,” Piers said dryly as they left the lawyer’s office.
“Some things aren’t negotiable. Some things shouldn’t be negotiable. My child isn’t a bargaining chip. She never will be,” she said fiercely.
He held up his hands in mock surrender. “All I ask is that you see my side of the equation. As determined as you are to retain custody of your child, I am equally determined not to let go of mine.”
Something in his expression caused her to soften, some of her anger fleeing and leaving her oddly deflated. For a moment, she could swear he seemed afraid and a little vulnerable.
“I do see your point,” she said quietly. “But I won’t apologize for reacting as I did. It was a sneaky, underhanded thing to do.”
“I apologize then. It was not my intention to upset you so. I was simply seeking to keep my child where she belongs.”
“Maybe what we should be doing is working to prevent a divorce in the first place,” she said tightly. “If we manage to make this marriage a success as you have suggested, then we won’t have to worry about custody battles.”
He nodded and opened the car door for her. She settled in but he stood there for a long moment, his hand on the door. “You’re right. The solution is to make sure it never comes down to a divorce.”
He quietly closed her door and strode around to his side. He slid in beside her and started the engine.
“Now that the unpleasantness is out of the way, we should move on to the more enjoyable aspects of planning a wedding.”
Thus began an afternoon of shopping that made her head spin. Their first stop was at a jeweler. When they were shown a tray of stunning diamond engagement rings, she made the mistake of asking the price. Piers clearly wasn’t happy with her question, but the jeweler answered her with ease. It was all she could do to scrape her jaw off the floor.
She shook her head, putting her hands out as she backed away from the counter. Piers caught her around the waist and pulled her back with tender amusement.
“Don’t disappoint me. As a woman it’s supposed to be ingrained for you to want to pick the biggest, most expensive ring in the shop.”
“Indeed,” the shop owner said solemnly.
“It’s not good form to ask the price anyway,” Piers continued. “Just pick the one you want and pretend there are no price tags.”
“Your fiancé is a very wise man,” the man behind the counter said. Laughter shone in the merchant’s eyes, and Jewel relaxed at their teasing.
Trying not to think about the fact that what one ring cost could feed an entire third world nation, she went about studying each setting. After trying on no less than a dozen, she found the perfect ring.
It was a simple pear-shaped diamond, flawless as far as her untrained eye could tell. On either side was a small cluster of tiny diamonds.
“Your lady has exquisite taste.”
“Yes, she does. Is this the one you want, yineka mou?” Piers asked.
She nodded, ignoring the sick feeling in her stomach. “I don’t want to know how much it cost.”
Piers laughed. “If it will make you feel better, I’ll match the cost of the ring with a donation to the charity of your choice.”
“Now you’re making fun of me.”
“Not at all. It’s nice to know my new wife won’t break me inside of a year.”
He was trying hard to keep from laughing, and she leveled a glare at him. She marveled at the ease in which he flipped his credit card to the cashier, as if he were paying for a drink instead of a ring that costs thousands upon thousands of dollars.
He slid the ring on her finger and curled her hand until it made a fist. “Leave it on. It’s yours now.”
She glanced down, unable to keep from admiring it. It was a gorgeous ring.
“Now that the ring is out of the way, we should move onto other things like a dress and any other clothing you might need.”
“Wow, a man who likes to shop. However have you existed as a single man this long?” she teased.
His expression became shuttered, and she mentally sighed at having once again said the wrong thing at the wrong time.
Determined to salvage the rest of the day despite its rocky start, she tucked her hand into his arm as they left the jeweler.
“I’m starving. Can we eat before we attack the rest of the shopping?”
“Of course. What would you like to eat?”
“I’d love a big, nasty steak,” she said wistfully.
He laughed. “Then by all means, let’s go kill a cow or two.”
CHAPTER 9
The fact that Jewel hid in her room didn’t make her a coward exactly. It just made her reserved and cautious. Downstairs, Piers greeted his family who had flown in for the wedding. She still couldn’t understand why. It wasn’t as if this was a festive occasion, the uniting of kindred souls and all that gunk that surrounded marriage ceremonies.
All she knew about the rest of the Anetakis clan was that Piers had two older brothers, and both were recently married, and at least one child had been added. Hers would be the second.
And from all Piers had told her, his brothers were disgustingly in love.
She closed her eyes in recognition that she was green with envy, and she dreaded having to meet these disgustingly happy people.
They’d know it wasn’t all hearts and roses between her and Piers. For that matter, she was sure Piers had told them the entire truth and that they were marrying because of a one-night stand and a faulty condom.
She stared back at her reflection in the mirror and tried to erase the glum look from her face. The dress she’d chosen for the occasion was a simple white sheath with spaghetti straps. The material gathered gently at her breasts, molding to her shape then falling over her belly where it strained and then hung loose down her legs.
She’d debated on whether to put her hair up or leave it down, but Piers had seemed to delight in her hair the night they met and so in a moment of sheer vanity, she brushed it until it shone and let it hang over her shoulders.
And now she procrastinated like the coward she was, knowing everyone was downstairs waiting for her.
Still bereft of the courage needed to walk down those stairs, she walked to her window to look down over the gardens. The sky was overcast and light fog had descended over the grounds. A perfect fit to her melancholy mood.
For how long she stood, she wasn’t sure. A warm hand slid over her bare shoulder, but she didn’t turn. She knew it was Piers.
Then something cool slithered around her neck, and she did turn her head.
“Be still a moment,” he said as he reached under her hair to fasten a necklace at her nape. “My wedding gift to you. There are earrings to match, but I honestly couldn’t remember if your ears were pierced or not.”
She put a hand to the necklace and then hastened to the mirror so she could see. A gasp of surprise escaped when she saw the exquisite diamond arrangement.
“Piers, it’s too much.”
He smiled over her shoulder. “My sisters-in-law inform me that a husband can never do too much for his wife.”
She smiled back. “They sound like smart women.”
“There, that wasn’t so bad was it?”
Her brow crinkled. “What?”
“Smiling.”
Her eyes flashed in guilty awareness. He held out the box with the earrings, and she gazed in wonder at the large stones twinkling back at her.
“Are your ears pierced?”
She nodded. “I seldom wear earrings, but they are pierced.”
“Then I hope you’ll wear these today.”
She took them and quickly fastened them in her ears. When her gaze returned to his, she found him watching her intently.
“Speaking of my sisters-in-law, they’re anxious to meet you.”
“And not your brothers?
” she asked.
“They are a bit more reserved in their welcome. They worry for me. I’m afraid it’s a family tradition to try and ruin the nuptials of the others,” he said dryly.
She didn’t know whether to laugh or feel dismay. Finally laughter won out. “Well at least you’re honest. For that I’m grateful. It will keep me from making a fool of myself in their presence.”
He shrugged. “You have nothing to be reserved about. You are to be my wife and that fact affords you the respect you are due. Theron is the soft touch in the family anyway. You’ll have him eating out of your hand in no time.”
She couldn’t imagine anyone related to Piers being a soft touch.
“Are you ready?” he asked as he slipped his hands over her shoulders. He squeezed reassuringly as if sensing her deep unease. “We have just enough time for you to be introduced to my family before the minister is due to arrive for the ceremony.”
Inhaling deeply, she nodded. He took her hand firmly in his and led her out of the bedroom and down the stairs. As they neared the bottom, she heard the murmur of voices in the living room.
Butterflies scuttled around her stomach, and the baby kicked, perhaps in protest of her mother’s unease.
When they rounded the corner, Jewel took in the people assembled in the living room with a bit of awe. The two men were obviously Piers’s brothers. There was remarkable resemblance. Both were tall and dark-haired, but their eyes were lighter than Piers’s, a golden hue while Piers’s were nearly black.
The two women standing next to his brothers were as different as night and day. Before she could continue her silent perusal, they looked up and saw her.
The brothers gave her guarded looks while the two women smiled welcomingly. She was grateful for that at least.