Day Leclaire - The Provocative Proposal

by The Provocative Proposal (lit)

How could he think otherwise? “Considering you cre­ated the situation in the first place, no. I don’t approve of how you handled it. Not even a little.”

  “You’d rather have your boss upset with you for kiss­ing me when you should have been working?”

  Didn’t he understand? “That’s not the point. It should have been my decision, not yours. It’s my job that’s at stake, in case you’ve forgotten.”

  “Granted. But I doubt any other explanation would have worked. You were caught in a compromising sit­uation on the eve of a vital promotion. I bailed you out the best way I knew how.”

  “Unfortunately, your best has made everything more awkward.” She glanced over her shoulder, checking that no one could accidentally overhear their conversation. Though she didn’t see anyone within earshot, she low­ered her voice, to be on the safe side. “You keep for­getting that I hired you to play a part. It’s a temporary position. This is going to complicate matters. How do I explain your disappearance when the job ends?”

  “You look brave and stoic and tell everyone that it didn’t work out. I wasn’t the man you thought. You can either be the dumpee or the dumper depending on which you think would work to your advantage. Until then I’ll be available whenever you need me.” “This isn’t what I’d planned.”

  “Here’s a newsflash. It wasn’t what I’d planned, ei­ther. We’ll just have to—” He broke off abruptly, star­ing at something over her shoulder. “How much longer do we have to stay here?” he asked unexpectedly.

  “We can leave anytime, I guess. We’ll have to run the gamut of clients and co-workers on our way out the door thanks to Al’s announcement.” Shayde cupped her elbow and urged her into the ballroom. The swift pace caused curls to escape the knot at the nape of her neck and tumble about her cheeks. No doubt Shayde’s im­passioned kiss hadn’t helped. She had a vague recollec­tion of his hands sliding into her hair, loosening the clips. “Why? What’s wrong?”

  “Have you accomplished what you wanted tonight?” His voice contained a growing urgency. “Anyone else we need to talk to?”

  “I’ve touched bases with Gray. Dick Smith and Walt Moore aren’t here, so I can’t make any headway with them.”

  “Great.” Skirting the dance floor, he continued to usher her toward the front door. “Then we can leave?”

  She shrugged in confusion. What had brought this on? “Sure.”

  “Let’s make tracks. Once we’re back at your place we can regroup and decide where to go from here.”

  Where to go? She knew where she should go—as far from Shayde as possible. Glancing at his set features she somehow doubted that would be possible. He had the look of a man on a mission. And she suspected she was that mission. The thought should have worried her. Instead, it filled her with warmth, initiating a gentle unraveling that caught her off guard. It took a few minutes to figure out where the emotions were coming from. Then it hit her.

  She wasn’t alone any longer.

  In no time at all, Shayde plowed a steady course through clients, benefactors and co-workers, alike. He continued to amaze her with his ability to project a smooth graciousness combined with an unwavering de­termination in order to move them along the path he’d chosen. In no time they found themselves outside with the valet reluctantly turning over the keys to the Jag.

  Tess regarded Shayde with amusement as he held the door for her. “I have to say, when you make up your mind to do something, you accomplish it in short order.”

  “Sorry. Did I rush you?”

  “I didn’t mind, if that’s what you’re asking. I was ready to leave before we even got there.” A sudden thought occurred to her. “Would you mind if we swing by my office before you drop me at home? I have some files I need to pick up.”

  “Not at all. I’d also like to make a quick stop at m apartment, if that’s okay.”

  “No problem.”

  Tess leaned back against the leather bucket seat and released her breath in a long sigh. Her hair had continued its downward trek to her shoulders and she pulled out the remaining clips, allowing the unruly curls to win the battle. Thank heavens the evening had finally ended. If she’d had to suffer through another hug or kiss or well­wisher, she’d have screamed. There had been far too many of them, despite Shayde’s swift progress out of the door. The worst part was that every last one had been sincere.

  The only good to come from their engagement would be when Adelaide Smith learned of the engagement. Tess thought she’d caught a glimpse of the woman as they’d escaped out the door, but hadn’t had an oppor­tunity to find out for certain. Not that she could have handled a confrontation. She wasn’t ready for Adelaide’s discerning gaze to analyze her relationship with Shayde or to see the reality lurking beneath the Cinderella fan­tasy.

  Tess glanced at Shayde. The lights from the dashboard flickered across his face, highlighting the sweeping planes and emphasizing every sharply carved angle in a startling contrast of light and dark. Nighttime suited him. Her mouth curved upward. So did the all-black tux he’d worn. What was it about this man that had convinced her to throw aside discretion and allow him to make love to her in such a public place? It defied comprehension.

  “Don’t worry, Tess.” His silvery eyes flashed in her direction. “We’ll work it out.”

  “You’ll make sure of it?”

  He shook his head. “We’ll make sure of it. Despite what went down tonight, I’m not the type to ride rough­shod over a woman and impose my wants on her.”

  “And if our wants coincide?” She couldn’t believe she’d asked the question. What in the world had gotten into her?

  “That’s another story, isn’t it?” His gaze landed on her again, hotter this time, full of masculine promise—­and threat. “Do they coincide, sweetheart?”

  She didn’t dare answer that one. Calling herself every kind of coward, she closed her eyes. Maybe if she didn’t look at him, she wouldn’t be tempted to say something she shouldn’t. To her relief, he allowed the conversation to lapse. They stopped briefly outside of a high-rise apartment building. With a murmured apology, Shayde disappeared inside. When he returned, he put the car in gear without explanation and continued on to Altruistics.

  Tess unlocked the door to the office building with her key and checked in at the security desk. After a brief conversation with the chatty guard, they traversed the empty corridors in silence, their muffled footsteps bouncing eerily off the walls. Once in her office, she snapped on her desk lamp. The single circle of light eased across the black of the room. Beyond the narrow beam intense darkness surrounded them, forming a cage of shadows.

  “I just need to pick up some files and then we can go,” she murmured.

  He stopped her before she could reach the file cabinet. “I have something for you first.”

  His voice sounded rougher than normal and she didn’t understand why until she glanced at what he held. A small jeweler’s box rested in the palm of his hand. Inside was the most gorgeous ring Tess had ever seen. Removing it from its velvet bed, he took her hand in his and slipped the ring on her finger.

  “It’s official now, sweetheart. You’re mine.”

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  TESS stared at the diamond ring in disbelief. It glittered like fire beneath the intense light flooding from her desk. The heavy gold band wrapped snugly about her finger, fitting as though made for her. Her hands trembled ever so slightly and shards of pink flashed from the heart of the oval solitaire. A pink diamond? She’d never seen anything like it before.

  “Oh, Shayde,” she whispered. “Is this why you stopped at your apartment? To pick up this ring?”

  He nodded. “My grandfather brought the diamond over from Australia when he emigrated here. The stories are a bit vague as to how he got his hands on the stone in the first place, but his original plan was to sell it and start his own business. Instead, he gave it to my grand­mother.”

  She looked up at him in dismay. “I can’t accept this. You don’
t have to be an expert to know how rare these diamonds are. It must be worth a fortune. I’d be terrified of losing it.”

  “Consider it a temporary measure. You can return the ring when you don’t need it any longer.”

  “No—”

  She started to tug the diamond from her finger and he stopped her, closing his hand around hers with gentle insistence. “Your co-workers will expect you to show up at work tomorrow wearing an engagement ring. So will your clients.”

  Unexpected tears burned her eyes. “I can’t. I can’t wear your ring.”

  She felt his gaze on her, could sense him analyzing her reaction, weighing all the possibilities. “You’re not betraying Robert,” he finally said.

  The air escaped her lungs in a soft sigh. How did he do it? Once again, he’d cut straight to the heart of the matter, hitting on what was bothering her with pinpoint accuracy. How did he manage to see so clearly all she kept hidden? It was an unnerving ability. It took a few seconds for her to regain her poise enough to respond. “You always amaze me when you do that.”

  He laughed, the sound husky with regret. “It only works if I keep an emotional distance. When I don’t—” He shrugged. “You saw firsthand what happens when I get too close to a situation.”

  She couldn’t resist teasing. “You pull a woman into the darkest corner and make passionate love to her?”

  “Only every other Tuesday. And only with gorgeous redheads with pansy-blue eyes and a killer smile.” He lifted her hand and studied the ring. “Did Robert give you a diamond? Is that why this is so hard for you?”

  “No. We were pretty broke when we first married and decided the money could be put to better use. We bought simple gold bands instead.” She fought to keep her voice steady. “Robert promised he’d give me a belated engagement ring when our first child was born, pick whichever gem was the baby’s birthstone—”

  The words caught in her throat and Shayde swore be­neath his breath before wrapping her in a comforting embrace. “I’m so sorry, Tess. You loved him very much, didn’t you?”

  She nodded. “Six months wasn’t nearly long enough.”

  “You still miss him.”

  He hadn’t meant it as a question, but she answered, anyway. “Yes, though probably not in the way you mean.” She rested her cheek against his chest and the steady thump of his heartbeat calmed her as she strug­gled to put her feelings into words. “I miss what we shared. I miss being with a man who understood me as thoroughly as I understood him. I miss... I miss the sim­ple things like—” Her voice broke and she visibly fought for control. “Like being held like this. It’s been ages since I’ve enjoyed something so basic. I’d forgotten how necessary it is.”

  His arms tightened around her. “All this time you’ve never found anyone who shares Robert’s qualities?”

  “Sure. Gray has them. He’s quiet and thoughtful and has the same dry sense of humor. But I don’t want an­other Robert.” The confession escaped without volition. “He’s part of my past.”

  The cadence of Shayde’s breathing altered and she found herself glancing up at him, unable to look away. She shouldn’t stare. She shouldn’t sway closer. And she certainly shouldn’t allow him to mold her into the sort of embrace they’d exchanged at the benefit.

  “Maybe I can offer you something different for the future.”

  He whispered the words close to her lips. And then there was no more talking, just a collision of desire. He dug his hands into her hair, tilting her head to give him better access to her mouth. Surging inward, he mated his tongue with hers. It was a bold taking, edged with des­peration. A blatant seduction. She responded in kind, needing all he had to offer.

  She’d kept her distance from passion for too long. Fear kept her from acting—fear of loss, fear of betraying Robert, fear that she could never feel for anyone else what she’d felt for him. What if she ended up experi­encing a love as deep as the one that she’d known with her husband? What if it went deeper? What if she lost him the way she had Robert? In the back of her mind hovered the terror of living through those hideous dark days again.

  With Shayde she risked all those possibilities. And yet she couldn’t help herself. She’d been alone for too long, barren of emotional fulfillment for too many years. With one shattering kiss, she discovered that she wanted to live. She wanted a man in her life and in her bed. But most of all, she wanted him in her heart, to feel the depth and intensity and richness that comes when a woman commits to the man who completes her.

  She didn’t even realize she was crying until he broke the kiss, thumbing the tears from her cheeks. “Don’t, Tess. Please don’t cry. You don’t have to wear the ring if you don’t want to, not if it’s going to upset you. We can tell people we haven’t made a final selection, yet.”

  It didn’t take any thought at all. “No.” She might find the offer tempting, but the time had come to put the past behind her and look to the future. “I’ll wear the ring.”

  “I didn’t mean to make you cry.”

  She shook her head. “It wasn’t your fault. You forced me to consider issues I’d been deliberately ignoring for these past few years.” A sudden thought occurred to her, one that chased away the last of her tears. “You know... I just realized that I’m engaged to a man and I don’t even know his last name.”

  He hesitated. “That’s going to be a problem, isn’t it?” A wobbly smile tugged at her mouth. “Only if some­one asks and I don’t have an answer.”

  “We’ll have to do something about that.” To her ex­asperation, he shrugged the subject aside and she could tell from his expression that he’d already dismissed it as unimportant. “In the meantime, talk to me about these Impossibles you’ve been assigned.”

  “Ah.” She nodded sagely. “A quick change of sub­ject. Always an excellent way to duck an awkward ques­tion.”

  Amusement caused his eyes to gleam like starlight. “I already know Gray, so you don’t have to give me any info about him.”

  She pretended to frown in deliberation. “And he knows you. Maybe I should ask him what your last name is.”

  “Excellent idea. You could say, ‘Excuse me, Gray. Would you mind writing out a seven figure check, and while you’re at it... What’s my fiance’s surname?”‘

  “You think he might find it strange?” She sighed in mock regret._ “Oh, well. It was a thought.”

  “Tell me about Walt Moore.”

  She held up her hand, sparkling flashes of pink em­phasizing the sweeping movement. “Hold the presses. You mean there’s someone out there you haven’t met? I’m shocked. You seem to know everyone else.” Her eyes narrowed in speculation. “Now that I think about it, you do know a lot of people. Bull. Seth. Gray. You run in some interesting circles.”

  “Walt. Moore. Talk.”

  She gave in to his request. Request? Hah! More like a demand. “In a nutshell, Mr. Moore is an older gentle­man of sour disposition and a hermitlike existence who has the reputation of a modern day Scrooge.”

  “Charming. Any chance we can take a page out of Dickens’ book and arrange a visitation from a trio of cooperative ghosts?”

  “Unlikely.” She shot him an inquisitive look. “Un­less you’re on intimate terms with any? As I mentioned, you seem to know most everyone else, why not ghosts?”

  “Sorry. The spirits of Christmas past, present and fu­ture haven’t crossed paths with me to date. But the min­ute they do, I’ll drop them a warning about Moore.” He watched as she removed the pertinent files from a nearby metal cabinet and deposited them on the desk beside him. He nudged the top file. “How about Dick Smith? What’s his story?”

  “I don’t know him. My understanding is that he pre­fers to stay out of the limelight, unlike his mother.”

  “Okay, now you’ve got me.” Dismissing the files, he leaned against her desk, regarding her intently. “I could have sworn you reacted when Portman assigned him to you. Is he the one putting the moves on you or isn’t he?”
<
br />   “He’s not.” She waited a beat and then admitted, “His mother is.”

  “Adelaide is interested in you?” Shayde asked po­litely.

  She stared in amazement. “This just gets better and better. You know Adelaide, too?”

  “Far too well.”

  “Then you should know what an inveterate match­maker she is.”

  “Considering she’s spent the better part of the last ten years trying to marry me off to anyone who even vaguely qualifies as female?” His mouth tightened carv­ing deep furrows in each cheek. “Yes, I’m familiar with that less than stellar quality.”

  “Adelaide is trying to set me up with her son.”

  “Which son?”

  “Which son?” Tess sank into the chair behind her desk. “You have got to be kidding me. You mean there’s more than one? Oh, I don’t think I can handle this. You’re telling me that if she fails with the first—”

  “That would be Tom.”

  “Tom?” Tess’s brows pulled together. “She didn’t mention that one.”

  “Then there’s Dick. I gather she skipped directly to him?”

  “Tom and Dick Smith?” Tess was torn between laughter and horror. “No! Tell me there’s not a Harry.”

  He grinned. “There is. But you won’t need to worry about Adelaide setting you up with her youngest.”

  “Already married?”

  “No. Harry’s a girl, poor thing.”

  Tess could only stare, appalled. “How could Adelaide have named her children Tom, Dick and Harry? Does she hate them?”

  “She has a— I guess you could call it a unique sense of humor. She once told me she picked those particular names so she wouldn’t have trouble remembering them.” His expression grew contemplative. “I think I believed her for all of two minutes before the twinkle in her eye gave her away.”

  “Her poor children.”

  “She’s actually a wonderful woman. Just—”

  “Unique.”

  “Exactly.” A frown lined Shayde’s brow. “Are you telling me that Adelaide is the reason you hired me?”