by Exley Avis
“I’m sorry, Radford,” she said at last. “But the answer’s, no.”
Chapter Nineteen
The people watching sucked in their breath in a collective cry of disappointment. I stared down at Radford, still on one knee and looking as though I’d just clubbed him around the face with a hammer. My heart somersaulted in my chest.
“What do you mean, no?” he asked, too bewildered to get up. “You love me. You said you’d never choose a life without me. Why won’t you marry me?”
“You’re only proposing because I’m pregnant.”
“I’m not.”
The onlookers gasped in unison – one even had his mobile phone out – and I decided the middle of the Thames was no place to discuss our private life.
Urging Radford to his feet, I suggested we moved away. “I don’t particularly want this conversation uploaded to YouTube later. Let’s go.”
I tried to take his hand again but he pulled away and walked a distance apart. His limbs stiffened and his face took on that look of haughty impenetrability that always made him so unreadable in court. There was a bench outside the Tate Modern, overlooking the river and the dome of St Paul’s on the far side. Radford sat down at the far end, leaving as much space between us as possible.
“I’m very flattered by your proposal,” I told him.
“Not flattered enough to accept, obviously.” His ultra-kissable lips pulled into a taut line and he could barely look at me.
“Are you only proposing because of the baby?”
“No. Of course not.” He seemed genuinely shocked that I’d come to that conclusion. “It’s a factor, obviously. I want our child to have a solid family from the start.”
“But without the baby you wouldn’t have asked?”
“No.” He swore under his breath. “I mean, yes.” He stumbled over his words, unusually flustered. “I don’t know what you want me to say, Allie. I love you more than life itself. Perhaps if you hadn’t fallen pregnant, I might have left it a year to ask. Or I might have proposed now anyway. What does it matter? I love you, want to marry you and bring up our baby together.”
He obviously hadn’t anticipated having to justify himself and hovered between disappointment and anger.
“It matters a great deal to me,” I said. “Loving me and wanting to get married is one thing. But stepping up and doing the decent thing is something else entirely. It sounds like I’m trapping you into making a commitment.”
Radford lost his temper and raked his hand through his hair in frustration. “This isn’t about trapping me! What’s wrong with wanting to take care of you and provide a home for our child?”
“Nothing. It’s very noble.”
“Noble?” He leapt to his feet and walked away for a few paces, thumping his heels into the tarmac as he struggled to bring himself back under control. “For God’s sake, Allie. There’s nothing noble about it. It’s selfish. Completely selfish. I can’t bear the thought of losing you. Either of you. I love living with you, waking up next to you every morning, making love to you, arguing over who’s in charge of the TV remote. I adore everything about you and – baby or not – I want to marry you. Now. This second. Tomorrow if you like.”
He stood in front of me defiantly; hands on hips and his eyes burning with a ferocity of love I’d never seen. This man was prepared to fight for me – literally if Daniel Greene was anything to go by – but I was about to bring his world crashing down around him.
“There is no baby,” I said, afraid to look at him. “I’m not pregnant.”
The pain and disappointment passing across Radford’s face forced tears to my eyes. God only knew how long he’d been living under the delusion but he’d somehow convinced himself he really wanted this non-existent child. Guilt scored the surface of my heart until it felt raw.
“No baby? You mean you’ve…” He couldn’t finish the sentence.
I choked in horror. “God, no. I wouldn’t have taken that decision alone.” I laced my fingers through his and, this time, he didn’t pull away. I forced him to sit back down. “I was never pregnant in the first place. I don’t know what made you think that.”
“You’ve been ill. Withdrawn. I heard you being sick.” His voice trailed away. “I jumped to conclusions because I thought you were deciding whether to keep the baby.”
“I was making decisions. But not about a baby.” He listened intently, his eyes scanning my face for the truth and stacking up the questions in his head. “Three weeks ago, the Rome office made me an offer I couldn’t refuse. Huge salary. Accelerated partnership. A big increase in responsibility. They want me to start immediately and make a minimum five year commitment.”
“Five years!” Radford recoiled. Then he remembered the meeting with his friend. “Stephen didn’t say anything.”
“He doesn’t know. It would have put him in an impossible position.”
Radford’s fingers tightened around mine. “It’s a huge decision.”
“Which is why I’ve literally been sick with worry.” It was the understatement of the century. I hadn’t slept for weeks and felt physically and mentally exhausted. “I have to give them my answer after the weekend.”
He nodded, trying to absorb it, his mind working to understand where he fitted in. “What will you tell them?”
As a lawyer, he’d been taught only to ask questions where he already knew the answer – less chance of surprises that way. But now he was going out on a limb and had absolutely no idea what was coming.
“Whatever decision I make will involve a commitment,” I began. “It’s been impossible to decide where the greatest risk lies – London or Rome.”
“Loving me shouldn’t be a risk.”
“It isn’t.” I’d never been more certain of anything in my life. “But this a new relationship. We have no idea yet where it’s heading. Turning down Rome would put you under pressure to commit.”
He risked a smile. “Why are you so afraid to ask me for commitment today?”
“Because I’m terrified you’ll turn me down.”
Radford looked at me as if I were stupid – which I suppose I was, in a way. I had a man I adored, who loved me enough to propose and who’d been worried half to death about me for the past three weeks. I kicked myself for having left us both in limbo for so long.
“I’ve been offered my dream job, in my second favourite city, and it’ll put me so far along the career path you won’t see me for dust,” I went on. I noticed he was letting me do all the talking – an old trick of his. The more I said, the more he had to argue against. “A year ago I’d have jumped at this chance but then Mike broke his leg, I waltzed into your chambers and the world started turning at a different speed.”
“It’s your fault for kissing me.”
“It’s yours for being so kissable.” To prove it, I leaned in and kissed him slowly. His mouth softened against mine, tempting me deeper into the kiss until I only broke away because we were drawing stares. “This job will give me money, position, kudos, leverage,” I said breathlessly against his lips. “In five years, I could name my price.”
“Then what’s stopping you?” Again the risky question with no predictable answer.
“Because the price I’m paying is you.” I paused to let this sink in before spilling out every thought that had rattled around inside my head in the darkest hours of the night. “You know how important my career is to me, and this offer can give me everything I’ve ever wanted in a very short time. But the minute I heard it, I knew I didn’t want to go because it would mean leaving you behind.”
“So why not refuse it straight away?”
“Because I’d effectively have been saying – I’ve turned down this job for you so you’d better make it worth my while.”
It didn’t take long for an intelligent man like Radford to see my point. “Did you ever consider leaving?”
“No.” I couldn’t have been more definite.
“And you’d be willing to g
ive up that chance for me?”
“In a heartbeat. The last time I went to Rome, I was running away because I was too afraid to fall in love with you. This time, I’m too afraid to leave.”
“Then stay.” As always, Radford made it sound so simple. “Stay and let me make it worth your while.”
Dusk had dropped around us – the perfect time for lovers – and I took in every detail of Radford’s handsome face in the gathering darkness. The shape of the lips that knew the curve and length of my body; the eyes that carried love and laughter; the scar in his eyebrow where he’d risked everything to defend me. If I travelled a million miles and kissed a thousand men, I’d never find anyone who came close to Radford Byrne and it was time to confess the truth.
“I couldn’t leave if I tried,” I said. “I love you. I can’t function without you. From the minute we met I’ve been running towards you. I can’t change direction now.”
I kissed him, this time not caring who saw us. The whole of London could watch and envy us. Radford’s arms came around me and I heard a long, low sigh of relief that finally blew away every anxiety I’d put him through. Guilt resurfaced but I knew I had plenty of time now to make it up to him.
“I’m sorry there’s no baby,” I told him, unable to miss the quick flicker of disappointment behind his eyes.
“So am I. I’d got used to the idea of you and I becoming a family.” He tangled his fingers in my hair and pushed it back from my face, holding me steady while he kissed me deeply. “If I asked you to marry me again, would you accept this time?”
I smiled and wiped my lipstick off his chin. “No way. I’m not giving in that easily.”
“What do you mean, you witch?” He held me at a distance, frowning. “I’m offering you my heart and all my worldly goods. What’s easy about that?”
I shrugged. “You’ll let yourself go once we’re married. You’re already putting on weight and skipping the gym.”
“I’m not to blame for that. Maybe you should cook less and let me out of bed on Sunday mornings.”
He wasn’t wrong but our Sundays in bed were most definitely the highlight of my week. “You don’t keep your promises either.”
“Are we back to your knickers again?”
“Or lack of them.”
Radford’s hand slid between my knees and his voice dropped an octave to a sexy rumble. “What if I prefer you without knickers?”
“That would be a matter for negotiation. It depends on what I’m being offered in return.”
“My mouth against your pussy at every available opportunity,” he said, deadly serious as if we were in chambers.
I shivered with lust. Past experience told me it was no small concession and I briefly considered heading home for the first instalment. I upped my demands instead. “Once upon a time, you told me you did all your best work in the nude. I don’t think you’re naked often enough.”
“How often do you suggest?” I could tell he was getting really interested.
“Mondays and Wednesdays initially but with options on the rest of the week.”
He pretended to consider it but you don’t flirt with a man as clever as Radford Byrne without anticipating trouble. “Only if you’re prepared to join me. And I’ll be looking for hot tub privileges on Thursdays.”
Now we really were getting into deep water. “Why Thursdays?”
“Because you’ll be wearing your thigh-high boots the other days and I wouldn’t want you getting them wet.”
I glared at him, letting him think he’d outwitted me but I was far from done. I’d gladly spend a lifetime on the merger and acquisition of his heart and, if there was one thing I loved, it was negotiating terms with Radford.
“Rumour has it you’re losing your edge in court since falling in love with me,” I said. “You’ve certainly overlooked something tonight.”
“Trust me – I’ll be looking over everything later. I won’t miss a point.”
“Then what about the Tiramisu Clause?” I asked, trying hard to sound like a tough opposing counsel even though I was ready to faint with anticipation. “It proved rather successful last time we invoked it.”
He laughed briefly and I knew exactly what was going through his mind. Game on, he was thinking. Play to win and take no prisoners.
“I had no idea you wanted to play so dirty,” he said.
“Always my favourite kind of game.”
“I’ll show no mercy.”
“I don’t want any. I’ll expect to be probed with the full rigour of the law.”
“You have my professional undertaking.”
“But you must be prepared for an equal amount of oral examination.”
He sucked in his breath and gave a small groan. “I think I can stand up to questioning.”
“That’s a shame. I prefer taking the Tiramisu Clause lying down.”
Radford squeezed my bum and I knew he was thinking of heading straight home. “I don’t suppose we could rush to an expedited hearing,” he said hopefully. “Matters need to be aired sooner rather than later.”
But I pulled him to his feet and began walking towards the restaurant. “You haven’t read the case papers and I’m not wearing any knickers. Essentially, we’re both working without briefs. And, for my part at least, plenty’s getting aired already.”
Radford was laughing so hard he could barely kiss me. “Will I ever win against you?” he asked
I could have lied and told him he’d never succeed but, the truth was, he already had. “You’ve won in every way possible. You’ve captured my heart, conquered my soul and laid claim to the rest of my life. All I can do is lie down, open my arms and surrender.”
He took hold of both of my hands and pulled them in close to his chest. “Some cases are very satisfying to win and I suspect this is one of them. I hope you won’t be a sore loser.”
“On the contrary, I hope very much that I am.” I scraped my nails down his stubbled cheek and he couldn’t miss my meaning. “You promised to make staying in London worth my while and I’ll need a lot of repayments on that guarantee.”
I wrapped my arms around the neck of my beautiful man and pulled him close, determined never to loosen my hold. There’s an old saying – a woman needs a man who’ll ruin her lipstick, not her mascara – and I suspected I’d found mine.
“Let’s get something to eat,” Radford suggested, putting his arm around my shoulders. “We can continue negotiating our marriage settlement over dinner. I want you calling yourself Allegra Byrne as soon as possible. You’ve been Lawless long enough.”
I can’t pretend I didn’t like the sound of that. Perhaps it was time for someone to bring order to my life and I couldn’t think of anyone more qualified than the sexy man walking beside me.
“As a point of law,” Radford said, breaking into my thoughts, “what exactly do we call ourselves? You won’t marry me so we’re not engaged. Partners sounds too businesslike and we’re much more up close and personal than that. And I’m way too old to be anyone’s boyfriend. So what are we?”
I thought for a while but there really could only be one answer. “Lovers-in-law,” I told him with a kiss and heard him repeat it under his breath, getting used to the shape of it on his lips.
He shrugged. “It’ll have to do for now,” he said, “but it’s only temporary. I’m serving formal notice that I’ll woo and court and seduce you until I wear down all your defences.”
“That won’t take long. You’re pretty irresistible already.”
I snuggled into him, happier than I’d ever been. Rome might be the Eternal City but, in London, I’d found Radford and a love that would last longer than an eternity.
With an offer like that on the table, how could I refuse to accept it?
If you enjoyed Lovers In Law, the story doesn’t end here. Towards the end of the novel you met Aiden Thirstan, a friend and client of Radford Byrne. Handsome, charismatic Aiden has his own romantic story to tell and you can find out all abo
ut it in Love Notes.
Erika Fenn fled England to escape a broken heart and found worldwide fame as a singer-songwriter. Five years later, exhausted and on the verge of losing her voice, she’s back in Britain. And the last person she wants to see is Aiden Thirstan, the man who broke her heart in the first place.
Not only did Aiden wreck her past but her future’s under threat now too. The question is, does Erika trust Aiden enough to let him help her? And if she does, can she trust herself not to fall in love with him all over again.
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Author Note
Avis Exley opened her first romance novel at the age of fourteen and has been reading and writing them ever since. A slave to research, she’s travelled the world in the company of international playboys, property magnates, ultra-successful businessmen, medieval knights and even a Viking prince. A typical day sees Avis lying on a silken cushion and sipping champagne whilst auditioning handsome, well-muscled men for a starring role in her next story.