Texas Tycoon's Christmas Fiancée

by Sara Orwig

  Nick pulled a chair closer to her desk, to face her. “Thanks for seeing me,” he said, sitting back to notice with satisfaction that a flush rose in her cheeks. Beneath a matching suit jacket, her vee-necked rose blouse revealed the beginning of lush curves. He longed to walk around the wooden desk and take her into his embrace. Instead, he sat quietly facing her. “How have you been?”

  “Fine, Nick,” she answered, and he thought she looked more gorgeous than ever. He wished she would come sit near him.

  “Do you have Christmas plans?” he asked.

  “I’ll spend it with Michael. It’ll be quiet, but fun.”

  “What about your aunt? Won’t she be with you, too?”

  “No. She leaves Monday to be with her son who is in Germany. I’ll just be with Michael. So what does your father want now?” she asked.

  “You’re so certain my visit concerns him,” Nick remarked drily.

  “Doesn’t it? I know you don’t have designs of your own on Michael, so it has to be your father. If you just wanted to see or be with me, I don’t think you’d call for an office appointment.”

  “You’re right. My father would like to see Michael again.”

  As she looked away, her hands locked together on the desk. Her knuckles whitened, an obvious indication she was unhappy with his request. “You told him he could see Michael again,” Nick reminded her gently.

  Her gaze settled on him, glacial green that conveyed her irritation. “I know I did. That doesn’t make me want to.”

  “Honor the request of an aging, failing grandfather.”

  “Stop playing on my sympathy,” she flung back at him.

  “I’m just stating the truth,” Nick replied. While she kept her features impassive, he could see the battle raging inside her.

  “Very well,” she said, relenting. “I know I told him he could see Michael.”

  “Thank you, Grace,” Nick said. “Christmas is next weekend. Come visit Christmas Eve. Have dinner with us and stay over Christmas morning. Then you can go home and have your Christmas with Michael. That way, I’ll enjoy Christmas.”

  “I think that’s way more visiting than I intended when I told your father we would see him again.”

  “Look, you don’t have plans. You’ve already told me that. This may be Dad’s last Christmas. Michael’s presence would give him so much joy. Your presence will give me pleasure,” Nick added, wanting her to agree. He wasn’t looking forward to Christmas Eve and morning with his dad, something they never used to do, yet something he felt duty-bound to do now.

  “Nick, I don’t care to spend my Christmas with your dad.”

  Nick stood and walked around the desk, pulling her chair out and grasping her waist to draw her to her feet. Frowning, she opened her mouth, he guessed, to protest. He took advantage and leaned down, covering her mouth with his.

  Momentarily, she was stiff in his arms and then she yielded, wrapping an arm around his neck. His body heated with white-hot desire as he leaned over her and kissed her hungrily, pouring out the lust he’d felt in her absence. He savored the kiss, the softness of her mouth, the sensual feel of her tongue. Her body was curvaceous, lush and warm against him. He tangled his hand in her hair, which had been pinned on her head. He didn’t care. He intended to kiss away her remoteness and elicit a response and an acceptance from her.

  He could feel her heart thumping against his, hear her soft moans that raced through him like lightning. He wanted to lay her down on her desk and make love to her now, but that was impossible.

  Instead, he tore his mouth away to look at her as she gasped. Her eyes slowly opened. “Spend Christmas with me,” he demanded. “You’ll be alone otherwise. I want you there with me. Will you?”

  “Yes,” she whispered, looking dazed. Fire now replaced the frost in her green eyes. Her lips were red, full, an enticing temptation. He dipped his head again to kiss her, stopping any words.

  She arched against him, holding him tightly while her fingers tangled in his hair. He throbbed with need and was hard, ready. They had to go slowly, because they were racing headlong into a depth that would complicate and heighten the friction between them.

  “Stop, Nick. We’re in my office,” she gasped. She gulped air and her protest was weak, but he stepped away.

  She smoothed her hair that had too many strands pulled loose to put back in place. As he watched, she took it down and shook her head. He reached out, winding his fingers in her silky, thick hair.

  “Your hair is beautiful, Grace,” he whispered. He leaned forward to brush a kiss on her throat. “I want to bury my hands in it.”

  “Nick, my assistant could come in.”

  “She won’t. I asked her to see to it that you’re not disturbed,” he whispered, trailing kisses to her nape and hearing her intake of breath. He placed his hand against her throat and could feel her racing pulse, which gave him a stab of satisfaction.

  He straightened, dropping his hands to his sides. “You agreed to Christmas Eve with me and Christmas morning.”

  “I know,” she whispered, her reluctance obvious.

  “I promise to see to it you have a good time.”

  “You can’t possibly promise that,” she said without conviction in her voice. He couldn’t keep from smiling at her.

  “It’ll be a Christmas to remember forever,” he said.

  “Watch what you promise,” she warned, the frost returning to her gaze. “Now you go back and sit where you were unless you’re leaving.”

  He gripped her hand. “Come here.” Circling the desk, he held a chair facing his. “Sit here and stop keeping the damned desk between us. I want to talk to you before I go.”

  “Have you always spent Christmas Eve and morning with your father?” she asked as she sat, her question surprising him.

  Pulling his chair closer to hers, Nick shook his head. “No. There were a lot of holidays when he would go off to Europe with my current stepmother. I stayed with a friend,” he answered without thinking about his reply. His thoughts were on Grace because her disheveled appearance made him think of hot sex. Her hair tumbled around her face, cascading across her shoulders, a thick, wild mane that was a sensual invitation.

  Her lips were just-been-kissed red. Desire glowed in the depths of her gaze, making it difficult to think about their conversation when what he wanted to do was draw her back into his embrace and continue kissing her.

  “You never had to stay at the boarding school?”

  “No. When I was young, I think Dad arranged with a friend’s family to get me invited, probably showering them with presents for taking me in. When I was older, I had friends who would invite me because they knew I wasn’t going home.”

  “That’s dreadful, Nick,” she said, staring at him as if he had sprouted two heads. “I’m amazed you spend your Christmases with him now if he abandoned you that much on holidays in your childhood.”

  Nick shrugged. “I didn’t until these last two years when his health failed. And now he’s lost Bart. I guess I love the old man and I feel sorry for him. He’s having a tough time. I don’t have anything to gain by going off and leaving him alone for Christmas. That would be selfish on my part. What he did is his own worry. What I do is mine.”

  “That’s good of you,” she said in a strange voice, studying him intently. He wondered whether he had won her over slightly with his reply and hoped that was the reason behind the sharp stare.

  “Christmas Eve with us will be better than staying alone with a baby who’ll sleep a good deal of the time. Also, Dad would like to have a professional photographer out to get some Christmas photos with Michael.”

  She had to laugh. “Nick, a professional photographer? As I told your dad, it’s fine with me—as long as I get a picture, too. That will be wonderful and something I could never afford.”

  “See?” he said. “Dad’s money can do things you like,” he reminded her lightly and she wrinkled her nose at him. “How about I pick you up around five
o’clock on Christmas Eve?”

  “Make it half past five, please. I have a lot of party-planning to do, and I won’t have Clara to help with Michael.”

  “Half past five it is. Excellent,” he said, wishing the weekend started tonight and he could be with Grace. “I’m looking forward to this holiday, something I definitely was not doing until a minute ago.”

  The pink deepened in her cheeks. “Don’t be ridiculous,” she replied lightly.

  “Before I go, there’s one more thing. It’s important and before you give me an answer, take a few days to think about it. I expect you to refuse my request, but give it consideration.” The minute the words were spoken, she stiffened and he could feel an invisible barrier rising between them. Her frostiness returned, along with a wary look in her eyes.

  “What’s that, Nick? What else do you want of me?”

  “My dad would like Michael to legally have the Rafford name,” Nick stated.

  She locked her fingers together in her lap. “He doesn’t waste time. No. That would basically give Michael to your family.”

  “No, it won’t. Just a legal last-name change. The name does not put him in my family and Dad knows that. Think about this request before you decide. I can see the refusal in your expression. Consider what I’m telling you. Dad will set up a trust for Michael. Right now, he will open an account that you can use for him. This would help you out with the baby and pay for his college. No giant fortune, just a reasonable sum to see that he’s educated.”

  “Stop, Nick,” she ordered, looking into his dark eyes. “I don’t want Rafford money. I don’t really need it. I’m not changing the baby’s name from Vaughan, Alicia’s name. You’re on a futile mission and wasting your breath. Neither threats nor bribes will win me over.”

  “I’m not going to threaten you with anything,” he said, smiling at her and causing her slight frown to vanish. “Look, why deny Michael the benefit of this? Michael is a Rafford—why not let him have the name?”

  “The Vaughan name is a tie to his mother.”

  “Do you really want to take this away from Michael?”

  “I don’t think I’m taking anything from him,” she argued. “I’ll take care of Michael, send him to college, and I don’t need your father’s money.”

  “My father is a generous man,” Nick said quietly, wondering if she had any concept of the fortune she was refusing. It was an effort to hold on to his patience. Who turned down money and a deal like the one his dad was offering? “We’re not talking small change here,” he couldn’t resist tossing out.

  “It doesn’t matter,” she said. “I won’t do this. He wants Michael to be a Rafford. Next thing, he would want Michael to stay with him. He can hire nannies easily. Then he’d want to keep Michael and move me into his mansion, unless he tries to just get rid of me.”

  “You’re jumping to conclusions.”

  “No, I’m not,” she stated. “Your dad is after my baby. End of discussion, Nick. We won’t argue through Christmas Eve over this issue, will we?”

  “No,” he said, wondering if he could keep his word on that one. “I’ll tell Dad your answer. He’ll have to abandon the idea for now.”

  “For now and forever.” She stood and he came to his feet. He had achieved an important part of his quest. He would get to spend Christmas Eve and morning with her. The prospect pleased him and he intended to use the time to win her friendship. In the meantime, he’d have to deal with his father’s disappointment. Not that his father would relent in his pursuit of the name change.

  Nick postponed telling his dad until the next day. His father’s anger worried Nick because it couldn’t be good for his heart. He had to think of some way to convince Grace to agree.

  Michael Rafford. How simple it would be, yet Grace had been adamant. Nick raked his fingers through his hair, mulling over ideas, finally beginning to settle on one that he had originally rejected instantly.

  Three nights later in the club dining room with one of his close friends, Nick mentioned his plan. Jake Benton’s jaw dropped and he stared at Nick.

  “I think your brain has stopped functioning.”

  “I’ve thought about it. A marriage of convenience—I legally adopt my nephew. We end the sham marriage after Dad’s gone. The marriage puts a crimp in my life for only a little while.”

  “Suppose your dad recovers fully and is here another twenty years? You’d be married to a woman you don’t love and vice versa, raising your brother’s child. The last wouldn’t be bad, but the other terrible. Don’t do it.”

  “We could divorce. She’d get the benefits of the Rafford money because she would be part of the family.”

  “You’d have to share the fortune.”

  Nick shrugged. “Not really. I’ll be Dad’s heir because I’ll agree to make Michael and Grace my beneficiaries. She’s not a gold digger or she would have gone after Dad’s money when she had the chance. If something happens to Dad and then to me—I don’t have heirs anyway.”

  Jake tilted his head, his deep blue-eyed gaze intent. “I guess you have a point there. Michael is Bart’s child, so that would be good. You’ll make your dad happy.”

  “Yes. If I can talk Grace into this.”

  “She’d be crazy to turn you down.”

  “She’s independent as hell and fighting to keep us from latching on to Michael. She’s scared of losing him.”

  “She’s his mother and he’s actually been her baby from the start from what you’ve told me,” Jake said. “I guess I can see how you came up with the idea, but a loveless marriage is scary as hell. Marriage is scary as hell. Look at our dads and their failed marriages and the misery it gave everyone.”

  “It’ll be a cut-and-dried business deal,” Nick said, thinking about Grace’s kisses. “Sort of.”

  “Not exactly cut-and-dried,” Jake replied in a sarcastic tone. “I saw her. Sparks were flying between the two of you when you didn’t know each other. There won’t be anything cut-and-dried about a marriage to her. She’s hot,” Jake said. “You’ll sink like you’re in a tar pit.”

  Nick grinned as he shook his head. “I don’t think you can compare her to a tar pit, and you’re right about hot. No, I guess it might turn out to be exciting.”

  “Watch out, Nick. You’re going to complicate your life terribly. You’ll also lose a million dollars in that bet we made.”

  “I can stand the million. I don’t want to lose my dad’s fortune.”

  “I don’t blame you. No matter how old they get, our dads can’t stop trying to manipulate everyone around them. That’s one reason you and Tony and I got to be close friends—shoved together first by our dads and then sticking together because we all had the same kind of dad—driven, controlling.”

  “If you stop and think about it, we’re probably somewhat that way ourselves now.”

  “I hope to hell not,” Jake said, with a dark look at Nick. “Are you telling Tony this harebrained scheme of yours?”

  “If I see him, I will.”

  “Well, I don’t think any of us, you included, can say a marriage of convenience would work. Even to a woman like you have in mind. We three know firsthand the likelihood of a successful marriage. At least in the circles we’ve moved in. I suppose if you go into it with low expectations, you won’t be disappointed.”

  “I have high expectations of getting back in Dad’s will. That’s my prime goal. Grace and I should be able to develop a workable arrangement and she won’t be hanging on me, falling in love with me.”

  “Suppose you fall in love—I don’t need to ask that one. You won’t. I know you as well as I know myself. No such thing will happen. We were disillusioned long ago.”

  “If you’re through eating, we might as well head to the poker game. Tony may be there by now,” Nick said, drinking the last of his water and standing. As the two men left the luxurious club dining room, Nick fell into step beside Jake in the hallway.

  “By the way, are you going to the
private horse sale at the Jenkins ranch next month?” Nick asked.

  “I wouldn’t miss it. Tad Jenkins has the best horses around.”

  “I agree. We’ll be bidding against each other,” Nick said, and Jake grinned.

  “I won’t bid if you start first and you don’t if I start first—how’s that?” Jake suggested.

  “Sounds okay. Every horse he sells will be prime horseflesh.”

  “You’ll miss it if you’re on a honeymoon.”

  Nick shook his head. “Nothing will interfere with my attendance at that sale. I can work a wedding around it.”

  “Does the little lady ride?”

  “I have no idea, nor do I care. I have other plans for my time spent with her,” Nick said and Jake laughed.

  “Good luck with your crazy scheme. I hope you know what you’re doing. I’m one step closer to winning our bet.”

  “I know what I'm doing. Now if I can just convince Grace,” Nick said, deciding Christmas Eve would be the time to propose.

  Six

  Monday before Christmas, Grace kissed her aunt goodbye. Clara would not be back to Dallas until after the first of the year.

  “Have a wonderful time with your son,” Grace said, hugging Clara. “Glenda will be here part of the time to help with Michael, so you enjoy yourself.”

  “I will, but I’ll miss Michael. You take care,” Clara said solemnly. “I’ll worry about you Christmas Eve. I know Eli Rafford wants Michael and will keep after you until he gets what he wants.”

  “Stop worrying. I won’t let that happen. An immediate worry is what do I give them for gifts. Both men have everything they want,” she said, having spent the past week wondering about what to give Nick.

  “You’ll think of something. You’ve already given Eli Rafford the best gift possible in taking Michael for Christmas. Take care of yourself and Michael,” Clara said again. “And I want one of those copies of the Christmas photographs.”