“Why would you think such a thing?” Destiny inquired coolly.
“You did use him to get that item about my cozy little getaway with Melanie in the paper a few weeks back,” he reminded her. “Why not give him the inside scoop on the resulting engagement?”
“Whatever,” Destiny said airily.
“Indeed,” Richard replied. Then he asked, “Mind if I steal Melanie away? We need to firm up some plans of our own.”
“By all means,” Destiny said eagerly.
Melanie reluctantly followed Richard back to his office. “Is this about the campaign?”
He shook his head. “You quit, remember?”
“That doesn’t mean you can’t ask me something in an unofficial capacity,” she told him, regretting now that all their ties were about to be severed.
“Well, it’s not about the campaign. I needed to ask you about something else. I have a business dinner to attend tonight. Will you come along?”
Melanie stared at him. “Under the circumstances, don’t you think that’s a bad idea?”
“Probably, but these people will be offended if you’re not there. They’ve heard about you, and they’re anxious to meet you before the big party.”
Melanie hated this. How could she go out with Richard tonight and fake being deliriously happy in front of strangers when she was already plotting their breakup?
“Could we have a spat tonight and end things before dinner?” she inquired hopefully. “Then we wouldn’t have to go through with the rest of this, not dinner tonight, not the party, none of it.”
He regarded her curiously. “I thought you wanted the big scene. It was one of the conditions when we went into this phony engagement.”
“Honestly, I’m losing my taste for it.” She didn’t want to humiliate him, any more than she was looking forward to embarrassing herself or spoiling Destiny’s hope for the two of them. She just wanted it all over with.
She reached for her ring and tried to twist it off. “Let’s end this quietly, here and now.”
Unfortunately, the ring wasn’t budging. Nor, judging from the grim scowl on Richard’s face, was he.
“You picked the time and place,” he reminded her. “Backing out now is out of the question.”
“Why?”
“It just is,” he said, his expression set stubbornly.
If she hadn’t known better, she might have entertained the crazy thought that he was trying to buy himself a little more time. But of course that couldn’t be.
He should have let Melanie have her way and ended things in his office the other day when she’d pleaded with him to get it over with, Richard thought as he forced himself to take out his tuxedo in preparation for the upcoming engagement party.
What idiotic part of his brain had thought that waiting another week was a good idea? If he’d been hoping that having dinner with a couple of business associates would change anything, he’d been sadly mistaken. That evening, much like this one was destined to be, had been a disaster. Melanie had been quiet and withdrawn. The other couples had been uncomfortable. He wouldn’t be a bit surprised if the deal they’d been discussing fell apart. Not that he could manage to work up much dismay over that. All of his dismay seemed to be reserved for the prospect of losing the only women he’d ever allowed himself to love.
“Why so glum?” Mack asked, when he found Richard pouring himself a stiff drink. “Tonight’s party is supposed to be a celebration.”
“Oh, can it,” Richard retorted. “We both know better than that.”
Mack seemed genuinely surprised by his reminder. “But I thought—”
“What? That something had changed? That we really were going to go through with the engagement and the wedding?”
“Yes, as a matter of fact,” Mack said. “All the signs were pointing in that direction, especially when the two of you slipped out of town for a romantic little getaway.”
“Well, where Melanie and I are concerned, things often aren’t what they seem to be. She chose that time to let me know that we were going through with the previous arrangement.”
Mack gave him a hard look. “And you did what to persuade her not to?”
“What was I supposed to do?” Richard demanded. “She’d obviously made up her mind.”
Mack groaned. “Did you tell her you loved her?”
Richard frowned at him.
“I’ll take that as a no,” Mack concluded. “What is wrong with you? Never mind. I know the answer to that. Believe me, I’m as gun-shy when it comes to romance as you are, but we’re talking Melanie here, bro. The woman is crazy in love with you, and you’re obviously in love with her. Don’t let her slip through your fingers.”
Richard wasn’t ready to admit his feelings, not even to a man he trusted with his life. “You’re forgetting one thing. This whole engagement thing has been a farce to prove something to Destiny.”
Mack, damn him, laughed. “You still think Destiny doesn’t know that? You’re delusional. All of this may have started as a stupid, immature game—”
Richard’s scowl deepened.
“Don’t pull that look on me, big brother,” Mack said, undaunted. “You can’t intimidate me. The important thing here is to admit that the game is over and try to fix everything before it’s too late. Don’t be stubborn, Richard. Not about something this important. If you want to make the whole engagement thing real, it’s entirely possible that she does, too, but was too scared to admit it given your ridiculous agreement about an exit strategy.”
Richard stared at him, startled by Mack’s insight. Could it be that Mack was right? Had he simply backed Melanie into a corner, the same way she’d backed him into one, both of them unwilling to risk being vulnerable?
“When did you get to be so smart, especially about matters of the heart, Mack?”
“I’m not the stupid one, bro. You’re the one who hasn’t seen the handwriting on the wall till now.”
It seemed pointless to keep denying his feelings when Mack wasn’t buying it. “Then what do I do?”
“You’ll think of something, some grandstand play, and don’t take no for an answer. Melanie can stage her scene, then you stage yours. I’ll put my money on you.”
With that kind of faith in his persuasiveness, how could Richard say no? Not when it meant getting the only thing he’d ever wanted this desperately. He picked up the phone and called his jeweler, then gazed at his brother.
“I have an idea, it just might work.”
“Even if it doesn’t, at least you’ll know that you did everything you could. That’s a hell of a lot better than giving up without a fight.”
Mack was right, Richard concluded, feeling marginally better. He knew all about the importance of seizing the initiative in a negotiation. Why the hell had the tactic slipped his mind until now, when this was the most important deal he was ever likely to close?
Melanie was impatiently swiping at tears when Destiny found her in the ladies’ room moments before she was supposed to break her engagement. Until now the party had been a rousing success. She should have been smiling. In fact, she had been smiling till her jaw ached. She’d come in here when she couldn’t bear it a moment longer.
“Darling, is anything wrong?” Destiny asked, her expression oddly smug rather than worried or sympathetic.
Melanie studied Destiny’s expression, then sighed. Mack had been right. Destiny knew exactly what she and Richard had been up to. “You’ve known all along, haven’t you? You’ve known that it was a charade?”
“Of course I have,” Destiny said cheerfully, as if she hadn’t just blown a fortune to celebrate something that had never been. She patted Melanie’s hand. “But I also know you’re in love with my nephew and he’s in love with you. I don’t have a doubt in my mind about that.”
Melanie didn’t ask her how she knew that. She needed advice and she needed it in a hurry. “Then how do I fix this?”
“You don’t,” Destiny advised gently. �
��You let Richard fix it. There are some things men have to figure out for themselves. Otherwise the balance of power is always off.”
“Do you think he will?” Melanie asked plaintively.
“If he’s even half the man I think he is, you’ll be walking down the aisle in a month,” Destiny declared confidently. “And no one knows my nephew better than I do.”
“Then I break up with him as planned?”
Destiny nodded. “He’ll be expecting it. Don’t disappoint him. Or if he’s been counting on a last-minute change of heart, this will really shake him up.”
An hour later Melanie took a deep breath and tossed a glass of champagne in Richard’s face. It wasn’t what she’d mentally scripted for the opening gambit in the scene, but it felt good. Sometimes the man was so dense, she could barely stand it. Maybe the champagne would snap him to his senses.
“What the hell was that for?” he demanded, looking genuinely shocked.
“I was hoping it would wash some of that fog away from your eyes so you’d start seeing things more clearly.”
Suddenly, to her surprise, he chuckled. “Is that so?”
“Yes, it’s so. For a supposedly smart man, you’re dumber than dirt about some things.” Okay, this wasn’t the way Destiny had advised her to go, but Melanie was tired of leaving her fate in other people’s hands. She’d left it to Destiny, Richard, the gods, for too long already. She’d forgotten that she was in charge of her own future, that no one cared more about the outcome of this relationship more than she did…unless it was Richard.
“Are you breaking up with me?” he inquired, clearly amused despite the large sea of stunned faces surrounding them.
“Yes,” she said very firmly.
“Do I get the ring back?”
She held out her hand and considered the huge rock that she’d hated from the beginning. It sparkled brilliantly in the lights from the ballroom’s fancy chandeliers. The stupid thing must be six carats, with perfect clarity and color. It was worth a fortune. “I don’t think so. I think I’ll pawn it to help me expand my company.”
Behind her, she heard his brothers chuckle.
Richard shrugged, not nearly as outraged by that as she’d expected.
“Okay, then,” he said mildly, “but I think you’re going to want to take it off now.”
Melanie faced him stubbornly. “Why would I do that?”
He pulled a velvet jeweler’s box from his pocket. “I’ve got another one I think maybe you’ll like better.”
Melanie felt her mouth gape. “You’re proposing to me? Here? Now? For real?”
She heard a delighted gasp behind her and whirled on Destiny. “Oh, put a sock in it. This is exactly what you were counting on from the beginning. You said you knew him better than anyone.”
Destiny’s eyes were filled with laughter. “Trust me, darling, I didn’t know about this.”
Richard grinned. “You should have guessed. You did put it all into motion, didn’t you?”
“I can’t take all the credit,” she said with surprising modesty.
Richard didn’t seem impressed by her sudden sense of humility. “You should know by now that Destiny always gets what she wants,” he confided to Melanie.
Destiny beamed at Richard and Melanie, then turned to his brothers, a sparkle of pure mischief in her eyes. “Something you two need to remember, too.”
Mack and Ben, their expressions instantly horrified, suddenly melted into the crowd. Watching them disappear, Melanie turned to Richard. “When their turns come, whose side are you going to be on?”
“Destiny’s, of course,” he said without hesitation. “She’s made me a believer in the power of love.” He looked deep into Melanie’s eyes. “You still haven’t given me an answer, by the way.”
Melanie smiled. “I should make you wait, maybe torment you a little.”
She heard Destiny mutter something about the balance of power again and made up her mind. She knew what it had cost Richard to put his heart on the line in this room filled with people. He’d taken the risk. The least she could do was reciprocate here and now.
“I accept,” she told him, her gaze locked with his.
Their obviously baffled guests, who’d come to celebrate an engagement, seen it broken, then back on again, cheered wildly, taking their cue from Destiny, who swept Melanie into a hug and congratulated her.
“I couldn’t have asked for a better woman for Richard,” she said.
Melanie chuckled. “You act surprised. We both know you handpicked me, though I’ve yet to figure out why.”
“Oh, darling, that one’s easy,” Destiny said, turning her to face Richard, who was more at ease than Melanie had ever seen him. His eyes filled with emotion when he caught her looking his way.
“Can you see what I see?” Destiny asked.
“He’s happy,” Melanie realized, recognizing the signs because she was filled with jubilation herself.
“He’s happy,” Destiny confirmed. “Because of you.”
Melanie gave her a fierce hug. “Maybe we should share the credit.”
Destiny nodded, her expression smug. “Yes, perhaps we should for tonight, but I think over time the lion’s share will go to you. I’ll thank you in advance for that.”
Melanie’s gaze lingered on Richard. “He’s able to love me at all because of you,” she told Destiny honestly. “Your work here is done.”
“Yes, I believe it is.” She looked around the room. “Now where the dickens do you suppose Mack is?”
Melanie chuckled at Destiny’s eagerness as she began moving through the crowd in search of Mack. “You probably ought to find your brother and warn him,” she told Richard when he joined her.
“Hell no,” Richard said. “Mack can take care of himself. In fact, it’ll be a pleasure to watch him squirm for a change. Besides, I have more important things to do.”
“Oh? Such as?”
“This,” he said, lowering his head to capture her mouth.
“Definitely more important,” Melanie murmured against his lips.
“Have I mentioned that I love you?” Richard asked when the kiss ended.
“Come to think of it, no,” Melanie said. “But I thought it was implicit in your proposal.”
He smiled. “I knew you could read my mind.”
She sighed. “There was a while there when I was sure I’d gotten it all wrong. From now on, though, I think I’ll trust my instincts.”
“What are your instincts telling you now?” he asked.
She studied him thoughtfully, then grinned. “Shame on you,” she scolded.
“Then you’re not interested in blowing off this party and getting a room upstairs?”
“I didn’t say I wasn’t interested,” she replied. “I can see you’re going to have to work on reading my mind.”
His expression sobered. “I’ll make it my life’s mission. That and loving you.”
Melanie felt her heart swell. If he said it, she could bank on it. Richard Carlton always kept his promises. That was the backbone of his campaign strategy and, best of all, it was the truth.
Priceless
by
Sherryl Woods
To Dee Adams, Betty Baderman and
Pat Morrissey/Havlin, enduring friends from
my days at Miami’s Jackson Memorial Hospital.
And to Karen Strauss, RN, Nurse Manager, Paediatric
Haematology Oncology, Jackson Memorial Hospital,
with thanks for her medical expertise.
Any mistakes are my own.
Chapter One
Mack Carlton, who’d had more quick moves on a football field than any player in Washington, D.C., history, had been dodging his Aunt Destiny for the better part of a month. Unfortunately, Destiny was faster and sneakier than most of the defensive linemen he’d ever faced. She was also more highly motivated. It was a toss-up as to how long it would be before she caught up with him.
Ever since she’d
succeeded in getting his older brother, Richard, married a few weeks back, Destiny had set her sights on Mack. She wasn’t even subtle about it. A steady parade of women had been popping up all over the place. Not that that was an unusual occurrence in Mack’s life—he did have a well-deserved reputation as a playboy, after all—but these women were not his type. They had “serious” and “happily ever after” written all over them. Mack didn’t do serious. He didn’t do permanent. Destiny, of all people, should know that.
Not that he had the same issues with love and loss that had kept his big brother off the emotional roller coaster. Mack preferred to think that his hang-ups had more to do with a desire to know lots and lots of women than any fear of eventual abandonment. Why limit himself to one particular dish when there was an entire buffet to be sampled? Sure, he’d been affected by the deaths of his parents in a small plane crash in the Blue Ridge Mountains when he was barely ten, but the trauma hadn’t followed him into adulthood as it had Richard.
Not that Destiny or Richard believed that. Hell, even his younger brother, Ben, was convinced they were all emotionally messed up because of the crash, but Mack knew otherwise, at least in his own case. He just flat-out liked women. He appreciated their minds, their quick wits.
Okay, that was the politically correct thing to say, he conceded, even though there was nobody around who was privy to his private, all-too-male thoughts. Truthfully, what he really appreciated was the way they felt in his arms, their soft skin and passionate responses. While he enjoyed a lively conversation as much as the next man, he truly loved the intimacy of sex, however fleeting and illusional it might be.
Not that he was any kind of sex addict, but a little wholesome rustling of the sheets made a man feel alive. So maybe that was it, he thought with a sudden rush of insight. Maybe what he loved most about sex was that it made him feel alive after being reminded at a very young age that life was short and death was permanent. Maybe he had some emotional scars from that plane crash, after all.
Millionaires' Destinies Page 19