Cold fish? God, he really knew nothing about her at all. But his anger quickly turned to guilt and horror. He knew how much her father’s philandering had affected her ability to trust men, but could he really have played a part in her unhappiness?
Encouraged by Garrett’s silence, Neil continued, “I’ve convinced Blair that I need to keep my condo so I can be close to the hospital when I’m on call.”
“So you can screw your girlfriend.”
“Hell, Blair’s at the office so long most nights, she’ll barely notice that I’m not around.”
“Why in God’s name are you marrying her?” he asked in dismay.
Neil looked at him like he was insane. “The prestige. The stability. The money.”
“The money? You’re a doctor!”
Neil shook his head. “I’m an infectious disease physician. I’m employed by the hospital. By the time I’ve paid my bills and my student loans each month, I barely have anything left. But Blair’s a hotshot lawyer on the rise. Do you have any idea how much money she’ll make off those cases once she makes partner?” He grinned and sat on the edge of the desk, then waved his hand at Garrett. “You know. You do what she does.”
Garrett stared at him in shock.
“Look, I’m not cut out to be faithful. If I’m with a woman for more than six months, I get bored. Hell—” he waved a hand toward Garrett, “—you know what I’m talking about. You move from woman to woman. Maybe it’s a genetic trait.” Mistaking Garrett’s silence for approval, he continued. “Blair won’t have a shot at partnership if she’s not married, and I’ll be taken more seriously here if I’m married. I’m doing her a favor. She demands little of my time, and I let her work her crazy hours without complaint. She doesn’t really want kids, and neither do I. We’ll live our mostly separate lives, and everyone will be happy.”
“Except for the part where you’re cheating on her.”
Neil rolled his eyes in exasperation. “She’s too busy to notice, Garrett. And she doesn’t want to know. It’s not like I’m depriving her of anything. She doesn’t have much of a sex drive.”
Garrett sucked in several breaths, fighting the rising urge to beat the shit out of his cousin. He was using Blair, and he wasn’t even trying to hide it from him, him of all people. He’d heard enough. “Let me tell you what’s going to happen.”
Neil’s eyes widened in surprise, then turned to amusement. “Okay.”
“You’re going to go to Blair tonight and tell her that you have changed your mind. That you aren’t worthy of her or you don’t love her. Or both. I don’t care. But you will not tell her that you are cheating on her, or it will kill her.”
Neil eyed him with disbelief. “Did you just listen to what I said? Why would I do that?”
“Because it’s the decent thing to do.”
“Why do you even care?” He gasped. “Oh! This is about the ring. You want me to break my engagement so you can get the ring.”
“I don’t give ten shits about that damn ring!” Garrett shouted. “Keep the stupid thing!”
A smile of understanding spread across Neil’s face, and maliciousness filled his eyes. “Oh, my God. You still love her.”
Garrett swallowed his rising nausea. He’d just screwed up big time. Now Neil would use this against him. “Don’t do this to her.”
“You do.”
“At least one of us does.”
Neil started laughing, and Garrett’s anger grew. “I’m not going to break up with her. This is exactly what she wants. What she needs.”
Garrett shook his head. “She needs someone to love her.”
“And that person is you?” Neil laughed again. “You showed her how much you cared about her in law school, when you broke up with her and slept around. Besides, she’s already told me that she doesn’t love me. Not in the matrimonial sense. We care about each other in our own way. This is the perfect solution for both of us.”
“You’re crazy if you believe that.”
Neil crossed his arms. “I really don’t care what you think. I’m not breaking up with Blair days before her wedding. That would kill her just as much as finding out I’m sleeping with Layla. And if you don’t know that, then you don’t know her very well after all.” Neil hunched over his computer and tapped a few keys, then straightened up. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to visit a couple patients before I leave for the day. As you know, I have plans.” Then he winked.
Garrett’s hands clenched at his sides. “What’s to stop me from telling Blair everything you just told me?”
“She won’t believe it if you do.” Neil grinned. “Not that I have anything to worry about. You won’t tell her. You just admitted you don’t want her to know I’m sleeping with Layla. The only other thing you have over me is that I’ve told you I’m not passionately in love with her, and while I’ve never outright told her so, it wouldn’t come as a surprise. Especially after she recently confessed the same thing was true for her.”
The words penetrated the haze of his shock: Blair doesn’t love him.
Neil ushered him out of the office and turned to lock his door. “I presume you’ll be at the party tomorrow night.”
“Yeah,” he said absently. He was busy reworking his plan.
“Then see you later, cousin.” Neil winked again, with the assurance of a man who had everything he wanted, then walked down the hall, whistling softly.
Garrett shot daggers at his back. Let Neil think he had the upper hand. He might have practicality on his side, but Garrett had something else…something that was certain to win Blair over.
He’d show her what she was missing.
Chapter Ten
The last thing Blair wanted to deal with right now was a bridal shower. She’d found the entire day unnerving. The depositions had gone well, but while she’d savored the chance to give that egotistical prick Brian Norfolk his comeuppance, spending hours in a room with Garrett sitting across from her had nearly driven her insane.
The minute he’d walked in wearing his grey suit and ice blue tie, her heart had begun to race, and her face had flushed. She had spent most of her first deposition trying to convince her traitorous body that she wasn’t interested in him. Then she’d spent half of the Brian Norfolk deposition thinking about Garrett naked and all the delicious things he used to make her feel.
She had to put a stop to this. She couldn’t afford to be distracted tomorrow. Rowena Norfolk was paying her to make sure she got the best possible settlement—not to fantasize about Garrett stripping off her clothes and—
“Blair?” Melissa asked, standing in the doorway of her office. “The service is dropping off your car in about fifteen minutes. Do you want me to go secure it in the parking garage, or will you be leaving soon? Your wedding shower starts in forty-five minutes.”
“Um…”
Melissa walked into the office. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah. Why do you ask?” she asked, flustered.
“You look flushed. Do you think you’re coming down with something?”
She was coming down with something all right. Her libido was running full throttle after spending years in hibernation. “I’m fine. I’m just thinking about how the deposition went.”
Melissa grinned. “You nailed him, huh?”
“He never even saw it coming.” She took perverse pleasure in that part. The men always thought they were pulling a fast one on Blair, and she let them think it in the beginning. In fact, she planned it that way. She wanted them to underestimate her. It made the look of shock and horror even sweeter when she finally pulled her gotcha move. The euphoria of that moment would never get old.
Only today, the horror in Brian Norfolk’s eyes wasn’t what had made her breathless. It was the raw hunger in Garrett Lowry’s eyes after she’d executed her plan to bring Norfolk to his knees.
He still wanted her.
She wasn’t sure why she was so surprised. She’d sensed it the night before, particularly du
ring the car ride to her condo. But even then, his desire hadn’t been so blatant.
“Well?” Melissa asked.
“What?” She looked up at her with raised eyebrows.
“Your car…Are you leaving or staying later?”
To Blair’s horror, her face flushed even more. “I’ll leave. I need to run home and change before I head to Megan’s mother’s house.”
“Megan’s going to be there?”
Blair smiled. “Yeah, she flew in this afternoon.”
“I like her.”
“Me too.” Blair glanced up at her assistant. “What are you doing tonight? You’re welcome to come to this thing as well.”
Melissa laughed. “Nice try. Showers of any kind give me hives. I’ll go to the party tomorrow night, but a shower with games…no way.”
“Games?” Blair asked in dismay. “Good God. We won’t have to play any of those, will we?” But then she remembered Megan’s mother was planning the party. Knickers was certain to have games. “I could force you to go, you know.”
Her assistant chuckled. “Now you sound desperate. But don’t worry. Libby and Megan will be there to help you through it.”
“Yeah, but Neil’s mother and sister will be there too. Not to mention Garrett’s Nana Ruby.”
Melissa’s smile fell. “Neil.”
Blair shook her head. “What about Neil?”
“You said Garrett’s nana. Not Neil’s.”
Oh, shit. She had. “Garrett’s nana. Neil’s nana. She’s the same person. It makes no difference.” But it made every difference. What was he doing to her?
Melissa looked even less convinced than Blair, but she didn’t call her on it. “Is there anything you need me to do to help you get out of here?”
“You cleared my schedule for the deposition in the morning?”
Melissa flashed a smug grin. “Your ten o’clock meeting has been rescheduled for Friday. It was that or schedule it for after your honeymoon.”
“Good call.” The meeting was with a potential new client, and she knew she could possibly lose her if she put off the meeting for another week. Women who’d been blindsided by their husbands’ infidelity or unexpected divorce papers needed almost immediate reassurance that everything was going to be okay. And while Blair never deceived them, she always assured them that she’d fight for them. And she did. Still, Neil was bound to be unhappy. She’d promised to spend the day with his family, but now she’d have to come into the office for a few hours. Was the fact that she was secretly relieved a bad sign?
“And the court reporter has been scheduled?”
“Before she even left the building.” Melissa hesitated. “In fact, before Mr. Lowry left the conference room.”
Something in her tone held a sound of warning.
“What aren’t you telling me?” Blair asked.
Melissa stared at her for several uncomfortable seconds. “I really like my job, Blair. I love working for you.”
Blair released a sigh. She’d tried not to obsess about the threat hanging over her head. She couldn’t do anything about it, and worrying about it was wasted effort. Still, the unknown loomed over her like a nuclear bomb’s mushroom cloud. “I promise I’m doing everything I can to make sure we both still have a job next week. And if I have to move somewhere else, I’ll try my best to bring you with me.”
Melissa’s jaw went slack. “Are you going to tell me what’s going on?”
Oh, shit. She let out a long sigh. If anyone deserved to know, it was her assistant. “You can’t tell a soul.”
Melissa rolled her eyes. “Please.”
Blair gave her a quick version of Ben Stuart’s warning, but enough for her to convey the seriousness of the situation.
“So what are you going to do about it?” Melissa asked.
“I’m getting married on Saturday. That should take care of the issue. With any luck, you won’t have to worry about your job.”
“It’s not that.” Her mouth twisted as she looked down at her lap, then back up at Blair. “Maybe it would be best if I kept my opinion to myself.”
Blair gave her assistant her full attention as warning bells went off in her head. “Your opinion about what?”
“Mr. Lowry.”
Oh, shit. The way she’d been mooning over him had to be incredibly obvious. Melissa was a bright and perceptive woman. One of the many reasons Blair loved having her as her right-hand person. She often saw things that Blair didn’t. “Go on.”
Melissa bit her lower lip, then gave her a half smile. “Mr. Lowry was talking to his client when I went back in to schedule the reporter. He told him that he liked to sleep with quite a few women.”
Blair fought the urge to suck in a breath. So Melissa thought she was a fool…“I see,” she said in an icy tone.
“But in his defense—” Melissa said grudgingly, ignoring her boss’s change in demeanor, “he said it after Mr. Norfolk accused Mr. Lowry of going easy on you because he wanted to sleep with you.”
Blair cringed. “And what’s the point of any of this?”
“I’m not sure really.” Melissa clasped her hands together and fiddled with her fingers. “I probably shouldn’t have mentioned it at all.”
“Yet you did. Why?”
“I think he might have other motives.”
Now she had Blair’s attention. She leaned her forearm on the desk. “Why do you say that?”
“Because Mr. Lowry caught me in the hallway to try and make up for his attempt to weasel his way onto your schedule yesterday. I quickly shut him down, and as I walked away, Bill Hendricks ribbed him for being turned down by the Ice Princess. He also told Mr. Lowry that you’re known as the Ice Queen.”
Both women were aware of their nicknames, not that either of them cared. “So?”
“Mr. Lowry blasted him for calling us sexually degrading names.”
Blair scowled. “Was he doing it for your benefit? Thinking you’d come back and tell me like you’re doing now?”
“No,” she said quietly. “I’d already rounded the corner and was eavesdropping. Mr. Lowry’s voice was low, as if he was trying not to call attention to himself. He seemed furious.”
Blair slowly spun her chair around so she could look out her window. What was Garrett up to? He claimed he hadn’t known that she was Neil’s fiancée, and maybe she was gullible, but she believed him. So what was his angle? Did he want one last round in bed with her before she married his cousin? “Thanks for the intel. I’ll see if I can figure out how to use it to my advantage tomorrow.”
“That’s not why I told you.”
She jerked her gaze up to Melissa.
Melissa’s voiced softened. “I think he really cares about you, Blair.”
Blair’s heart skipped a beat, and she smashed down the hope that bloomed in her heart. Garrett Lowry had destroyed her. And here he was turning her life upside down mere days before her wedding. Even if she hadn’t been on the verge of getting married to another man, it would have been madness to walk down that path a second time. “Fool me once, Melissa,” she said with a bitter tone. “He had his chance, and he blew it.”
“You really don’t believe in second chances?”
“No,” she said with more force than she’d intended, perhaps to convince herself. “And what are you doing advocating that I sleep with him? I’m marrying Neil in three days.” Blair stared her down with her iciest glare.
Most people would have crawled out the door, but Melissa squared her shoulders and held her gaze. “I never said to sleep with him, Blair. Your mind went there on its own. Don’t you think it means something?” Her voice softened, and she leaned forward. “I know you were thinking about him when I walked through that door, and you have never once looked that way while dating Neil. Not even in the beginning.”
Blair shook her head, her chest tightening. Panic flooded her senses. “Our relationship isn’t based on hormones. It’s built on respect. You know that.”
“
But don’t you want love, Blair?”
“I want lots of things, Melissa.” Her voice shook, but it wasn’t with anger. “I want to eat my weight in chocolate cake, but it doesn’t mean I should. In fact, it’s quite bad for me.” She waved her hand toward her assistant. “Alcoholics crave a drink, but it doesn’t mean they should have one.”
“Blair.”
“No. Wanting something doesn’t mean you should have it. In fact, it often means you shouldn’t.” Melissa didn’t respond, and Blair’s panic surged, stealing her breath. “I’m getting married in three days, Melissa,” she said again.
Understanding filled her assistant’s eyes. “I know.”
She shook her head, feeling herself lose control. “I can’t trust him. I don’t trust him. He walked out on me, and he had another woman in his apartment the very next night.”
“Maybe it wasn’t what you thought.”
“She was in her trashy underwear.” Blair’s voice rose, and her lack of control scared her more than her feelings for Garrett. What in the hell was happening to her?
Melissa was silent for a moment. “Everyone makes mistakes, Blair. Even you. Think about it.” Then she stood and walked to the door. “I’ll let you know when the car arrives.”
The door shut, and Blair sucked in deep breaths, trying to calm down. She was dangerously close to crying, and she couldn’t figure out why. She’d shed her tears over Garrett years ago, so she sure as hell didn’t want to shed new ones now. Suddenly the room was too small. Her dress was too tight. Her life too confining. She stood and began to pace, chanting a mantra in her head. “I don’t need him. It’s going to be okay.”
It was the very mantra she’d taught herself five years ago.
Tears burned her eyes, but she continued to walk her straight lines, and after several minutes passed, the numbness in her face and head slowly faded. By the time Melissa buzzed in to say her car had arrived, she was relatively calm. By the time she reached the elevator, she had convinced herself everything really was going to be okay.
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