Knowing she couldn’t hold back her tears much longer, she said, “I think I’ll go into town. I need to get away for a while.” Then without saying anything else, she raced up the stairs.
* * *
Spencer tensed visibly when the phone rang. A part of him knew it had to be Stuart. He placed his wineglass on the table and picked up the house phone.
Arriving home to Sausalito had been a welcome relief. He had spent the past couple of hours opening up windows and blinds to enjoy the view of the Bay from his living-room window. To keep busy he had immediately begun work on another business deal, one that would involve his cousins and brothers. His cousin Clint had retired as a Texas Ranger and was using the ranch he had inherited from his uncle to set up a business much like the one Durango and McKinnon had established.
He picked up the phone. “Yes?”
“I got the information you wanted, Spence.”
Spencer remained silent for a moment then said, “All right. Who put that money into the Russell’s account?”
“A man by the name of Chad Timberlain.”
Spencer racked his mind trying to recall where he’d heard that name before. It suddenly hit him at the same time he heard a knock at his door. He felt a hard tug on his insides at the thought that he might have jumped to the wrong conclusions about Chardonnay.
“Look, Stuart, I’ll need to get back to you. I think I know what might be going on, but I’ll have to verify it and call you back.”
He hung up the phone and headed for the door, wondering who would be visiting him since no one knew he had returned to Sausalito. He snatched opened the door to find a tall, muscular, fifty-something-year-old man standing there.
Spencer inhaled slowly. Although the two of them had never met, he recognized the man’s profile as the one he’d seen that night on the path, just seconds before he had taken Ruth Russell into his arms.
“Chad Timberlain?” Spencer caught the man by surprise in asking.
The older man frowned coolly. “Yes.”
Spencer stepped aside. “Come in. I really wasn’t expecting you, since I just figured things out. But I’m sure you’re here because you feel that the two of us need to talk.”
The older man gave him a look that indicated the two of them needed to do more than merely exchange words and Spencer understood. If he was in
Timberlain’s place, he’d do the same thing. “And we need to come to an understanding,” Spencer decided to add.
The man’s features relaxed somewhat as he stepped over the threshold, and Spencer exhaled as he closed the door behind him.
* * *
“So, as you can see,” Spencer said sometime later to Chad Timberlain, as they sat in his living room finishing off glasses of Russell wine, “I assumed Chardonnay knew about the money that had been placed in the winery’s account.”
“Even when she told you she didn’t know anything about it?” Chad asked, his gaze boring into Spencer. After the two of them began talking, the older man’s manner appeared calm and relaxed. But the more Spencer outlined just what his and Chardonnay’s relationship was, the more the conversation between them became somewhat strained. Although Timberlain hadn’t been involved in his daughter’s life before now, he felt that was neither here nor there since he intended to become involved. Starting here.
There was only one answer Spencer could give and it was one he wasn’t really proud of. “Yes, even when she denied my allegations.”
The man’s gaze hardened under Spencer’s direct stare. “I felt compelled to place that money into the account because I couldn’t stand there and let you railroad my daughter into marrying you.”
After hearing his account of his relationship with Chardonnay—minus, of course, the intimate part—he didn’t find her father’s attitude the least bit unreasonable. “Yes, sir. I understand and I can also appreciate that.”
The man nodded. “So what are you going to do to rectify the situation? Ruth feels that you love Chardonnay and what happened was a grave mistake on your part.”
Spencer swallowed. Grave was too mild a word. He couldn’t see her ever forgiving him. He had asked her to believe in him and trust him, yet he hadn’t done the same for her. He met her father’s intense gaze. “I do love your daughter and will be the first to admit I was wrong. If she never speaks to me again I will understand.”
He then leaned forward. “But because I love her, I’m going to fight for her and hope that she finds it in her heart to give me another chance. It’s no longer about what I can do for the winery, it’s about us—Chardonnay and me.”
A smile touched the corners of Chad Timberlain’s lips. “I’ve yet to officially meet my daughter, in fact I plan to do so tonight. From what Ruth tells me she can be pretty stubborn at times, so you won’t have an easy job.”
No one had to tell Spencer about Chardonnay’s stubbornness. He was very much aware of it. “I know, but I’m going to die trying,” he said, and he meant every word.
* * *
Donnay glanced at her reflection in the mirror as she tried to ignore the butterflies in her stomach. She would be meeting her father for the first time tonight. Her heart was already filled with love for him. Without having met her, he had come to her aid by putting that money into the winery account and proving that he would be a father who would always be there for his daughter.
She had hoped that getting caught up in meeting her father would eliminate thoughts of Spencer from her mind. Tomorrow was soon enough to be faced with the task of canceling everything. She would have to call the florist, the caterer and the printer. She wondered if he had told his family yet and, if he had, what reason he had given them for calling off the wedding. No doubt he had convinced them—like he was convinced—that she was someone who couldn’t be trusted.
She glanced at the clock on the wall. It was nearing six o’clock. Tonight her family would be hosting a small dinner party to celebrate her grandfather’s homecoming, as well as her father’s entrance back into their lives. Her mother had confided in her earlier that she and Chad Timberlain were doing some serious dating. Donnay was happy knowing there was a chance her mother might be able to recapture the love she had lost over twenty-seven years ago.
She heard a knock on her bedroom door. Thinking it was her mother or grandmother, she said, “Come in.”
Donnay turned to see the door open and instead of her mother or grandmother, her breath caught when Spencer walked in. Fierce emotions welled up in her throat when she remembered his harsh words, his accusations. He had asked her to believe in him when he had no intention of ever believing in her. “What are you doing here, Spencer? What do you want?” she asked in an angry tone.
He moved into the room so quickly that she hadn’t been given time to blink. When she did, he was standing there, right in front of her. His voice was gentle yet husky when he spoke. “I’m here to apologize for all the things I said. And as far as what I want…what I want Chardonnay, is you.”
* * *
All it took was one look at Chardonnay’s features to know his apology hadn’t softened her any. Anger lined her gray eyes and she was standing stiff, with her hands balled into fists. He noticed that she had removed his ring.
“You accused me of those god-awful things. You played judge and jury. You didn’t trust me. You—”
He reached out and tried touching her hand, the one that no longer wore his ring, and she angrily snatched it back. “No! You even accused me of betraying you with another man. How could you think so low of me?”
Spencer saw the tears in her eyes and a deep lump formed in his throat. He had hurt her. He had caused her pain and more than anything he wanted to make it right. “I love you, Chardonnay,” he said in a low voice, straight from the heart. “I never meant to fall in love with you but I did. I’m the one who got c
aught up in all my scheming and manipulative tactics. I have been betrayed before. A few years ago, when my fiancée was killed, I discovered she was pregnant by another man. I made a promise to myself then that although I still wanted a wife and children, there would be no love. But you proved me wrong because you demanded my love without even realizing you were doing it. And when I found out about the money in your account, I felt used and betrayed because I realized you no longer had anything to gain from our marriage and that in essence, you no longer needed me…but I had begun needing you.”
Donnay inhaled deeply. Spencer’s words from earlier that day had been cruel, unjustified and angry. But now she understood why he had been so quick to judge her falsely. His former fiancée had gotten pregnant by someone else? She couldn’t imagine a woman wanting to have any man’s baby but his. Even now she was hoping that she was already pregnant.
She saw the strain and pain on Spencer’s face. He had admitted that he loved her, which definitely came as a surprise. And she believed him because confessing his love to a woman couldn’t be easy for him. And she loved him, too. She loved him with all her heart.
“If I accept your apology, and believe what you say about loving me, what do you expect of me?” she asked in a soft voice.
He placed both hands in the pockets of his pants as he stood gazing at her. “I expect—I would hope that you will take me back, give me another chance to prove just how wrong I’ve been and to make things right. I would want us to go ahead with our wedding and become husband and wife, but I’ll let you set the date. If you prefer waiting until after the holidays then that’s fine. I will no longer rush you into anything.”
He sighed deeply then continued. “And I would want you to give me a chance to love you in such a way that you would want to love me back.” A smile curved his lips when he added honestly. “I will make it almost impossible for you not to do so. And if you’re not pregnant already, then I’ll let you decide when we’ll have children. I won’t make it a priority. I want to spend time with you and love you the way you rightly deserve without any limitations or stipulations imposed.”
Donnay didn’t say anything for a while and then she tilted her head and studied him. She saw the strain lines across his forehead, the tension that had tightened around his lips. But it was his eyes that brought it all home. They were dark, intense and filled with love…for her. “And what if I were to say that I already love you, that I had fallen in love with you weeks ago?” she asked in a tight voice, fighting back a sob that threatened to close her throat. “What if I were to say that, Spencer?”
He took a step closer to her. “Then I would ask you to give me an opportunity to make you never regret loving me, never regret giving me another chance. Never regret becoming my wife and the mother of my children. Will you?”
She slowly nodded. “Yes.”
Happiness spread across his features and he removed his hands from his pockets and reached out for her. This time she didn’t deny him and willingly went into his open arms. He held her tightly to him, as if he never intended to let her go, and then he tilted up her chin and captured her mouth with his, glorying in the taste of his own personal brand of Chardonnay.
The moment his tongue took hold of hers, sensations rippled through him, pleasure seeped into his bones and desire filled his entire being. If her family didn’t have a number of dinner guests downstairs he would be tempted to lock the door and stay in this bedroom with her forever. Besides, her father would not let him do such a thing. The man had given him twenty minutes before he’d threatened to come up and rescue his daughter, if need be. The only need was the one Spencer felt in his crotch.
“I want to make love to you,” he whispered against her moist lips.
“And I want you to make love to me.”
He smiled. “Later tonight? At the villa?”
She grinned. “Yes, later tonight. At the villa.”
* * *
Although he wanted to keep her in her bedroom a little longer, moments later Spencer found himself escorting Chardonnay down the stairs. In just the nick of time, he figured, because standing on the bottom step was her father, waiting on them. Spencer held her hand, the one that once again was wearing his ring.
Spencer stopped in the middle of the staircase and turned to Chardonnay. “This first meeting should be your time with him. Go down to your father.”
She smiled when Spencer released her hand, and continued walking alone down the stairs. A grin of pure happiness covered Chad Timberlain’s face and he opened his arms up to the daughter he only recently discovered he had. Automatically, she returned the affection by walking straight into his waiting arms.
“Dad,” she whispered while he held her tight. Chardonnay glanced across the room and saw her mother standing with her grandparents, tears in their eyes. Tonight was very special. The father she’d never met had come to claim his daughter, and the man she had fallen in love with loved her back.
She felt utterly and truly happy.
* * *
Later that night, Donnay lay wrapped up in Spencer’s arms. After an intense lovemaking session, they had talked. Since he hadn’t called his family to cancel the wedding plans, and she hadn’t canceled the florist, caterer or printer, they decided to still get married the week before Christmas. Besides, each and every time they made love they ran the risk of starting a family, which was something the both of them decided they still wanted to do.
Donnay smiled, thinking about what he’d told her earlier. “I can’t believe my father actually came to see you.”
“Well, he did and he wanted to let me know in no uncertain terms that he would not tolerate me taking advantage of his daughter.”
“He’s really special. To think he put all that money into my bank account to help out.”
Her father had explained after retiring from the military, he and three guys who’d served under him in the army had formed an international electronic company called BOSS and it was doing extremely well. He had assured her that giving her that much money had not affected the company’s bottom line.
Chad was semiretired and the first of the year he planned to step down as CEO and turn over the day-to-day operation of the company to the three competent men whom he considered surrogate sons. Donnay would get to meet them at her wedding.
“So when do you think your mom and Chad will marry?” Spencer asked her.
Donnay’s smile deepened. “Before Valentine’s Day. I can’t imagine them waiting longer than that. And trust me when I say that this time, she has no qualms leaving here and traveling with Dad, although she’ll wait until after Gramps’s surgery, of course. She’s satisfied that you and I have decided to make our home here and we’ll keep an eye on my grandparents. Mom deserves to finally spend time with the man she loves and to be happy.”
“You deserve to be happy, as well. I love you,” he whispered close to her ear.
She smiled at him. “And I love you, too.”
She snuggled deeper into the arms she had once believed were incapable of loving anyone, especially her. He had proven her wrong, and every time she looked into his eyes, she saw the truth reflected in their dark depths. He was a man who, she had discovered, not only had a lot of forbidden passion, but also had a lot of hidden talents. She couldn’t help wondering where he got some of his smooth moves and creative positions when they made love.
“Ready again?”
She chuckled as she turned in his arms. She couldn’t say he hadn’t warned her about his inexhaustible energy. Reaching up, she placed her arms around his neck. “For you, Spencer Westmoreland, I’ll always be ready.”
Epilogue
Spencer stood beside Reggie, the youngest of his brothers, who was still a bachelor and who was standing as his best man. Spencer watched his beautiful bride walk down the aisle to him on her f
ather’s arm. He thought Chardonnay was a stunning vision in white. The top of her gown fitted tightly to the waist and then flared out in a thousand ruffles.
All the love he never thought possible was flowing through him at that moment and he definitely couldn’t wait for their wedding night. After spending the night in their villa, they would be flying out in the morning for Paris where they would spend two weeks.
“You sure you want to do this?” Reggie asked, leaning over to whisper in his ear.
Spencer grinned, not taking his gaze off Chardonnay. “Hell, yes.”
His brother Jared, standing close by as a groomsman, poked him in the ribs, reminding him of the preacher who was within earshot. That didn’t bother Spencer. On this day, his wedding day, nothing would bother him.
When Chardonnay reached his side and gave him her hand, he took it and lifted it up to his lips and kissed it. What the hell, he thought. He could definitely do better than that. Then he pulled her into his arms and kissed her lips. She returned his kiss in kind, until a few guests cleared their throats, reminding the couple of their presence.
Spencer pulled back and met the minister’s frown. “You’re supposed to wait until after I pronounce you husband and wife,” the pastor scolded them in a low voice, trying to keep the smile off his face.
Spencer gave the minister a mischievous grin. “I know, sir. I’m sorry. I got carried away.”
And then the wedding ceremony began.
When it ended, the minister presented the couple as husband and wife, and Spencer kissed his bride all over again.
* * * * *
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Dreams of Forever: Seduction, Westmoreland StyleSpencer's Forbidden Passion Page 29