“This isn’t the time for your crude sense of humor. We don’t marry the help,” Allison said.
Nope, apocalypse averted. The world would be safe.
Carter cleared his throat. He stood across from her, rock-solid and resolute, still clutching Dorothy’s hand. He gave a short, brisk nod.
What had he done?
“Lauren?”
She looked away from him and focused on Dorothy.
“Why didn’t you tell me?” Dorothy asked.
“We wanted to tell you together,” Carter said, speaking for her.
Dorothy stared at her. “Are you excited?”
“I—” Rational thought scattered like leaves in a brisk wind. She struggled to collect herself even as her tongue sat thick and heavy in her mouth and air became a precious commodity. “There are no words to express what I’m feeling in this moment.”
“All those trips you took, when you said you were visiting your friend Sophie. Were you really visiting Carter?”
How could she lie to the woman who’d taken her in after her parents had died? Who’d sheltered, schooled, mentored, loved, and protected her?
Color bloomed on Dorothy’s sunken cheeks and a tiny sparkle glowed from her pain-hazed eyes. For weeks, Dorothy appeared to toggle between this life and the next. But now a gossamer smile hovered around her lips, emphasizing the air of renewal. Fingers fluttered against Lauren’s hand and, instinctively, she enveloped them in her own. The truth bucked impatiently on her tongue. She forced it back. “Nothing gets past you.”
“Were you worried?” Dorothy asked. “Did you think I wouldn’t approve?”
She shook her head but her mind staggered under the rush of feelings conjured by the simple, whispered question. Feelings she’d stashed away years ago, in a part of her heart she’d thought atrophied from neglect. She didn’t come from old money or blue blood although she’d grown up around people who possessed both. A part of the crowd, yet always on the periphery.
“You are a wonderful young woman. Carter couldn’t have made a better choice. I’m only surprised he was smart enough to realize it.”
Lauren was stunned. Dorothy believed she was good for Carter? She actually approved of a relationship between them? Of an engagement?
A toxic brew of love and guilt congealed inside her. She whisked away tears she suddenly realized were streaming down her cheeks and pressed her lips to the older woman’s forehead. “Thank you. That means a lot to me.”
“Be good to him. He has so much love inside. Help him find it.”
The words brushed against her ear and swirled around her like a curse. Apparently, cancer transformed intelligent, discerning businesswomen into carnival soothsayers, complete with cryptic recommendations. Carter full of love? She would have believed that once. Wished with all her heart that it were true. Now she knew she had as much chance of helping Carter find love as she did of finding a rare Matisse painting at a flea market. She wasn’t holding her breath for either.
Dr. Tye rushed in. “What’s going on? Edworth said you needed me.” His eyes swept over Dorothy.
Dorothy smiled weakly. “Just happy to have my newly engaged nephew home.”
Dr. Tye walked over to the bed and pulled out his stethoscope. “Can you give us a moment? This is a lot of excitement for Ms. Richardson and I need to examine her.”
A wave of relief swept through Lauren. More than her next breath, she needed to escape, to find a peaceful place to take in everything that had occurred. She ceded her position to the doctor and hurried from the room, relief morphing into irritation when Carter took her elbow.
“We need to talk. Privately,” he said. He shot a quick glance at Edworth and Allison, who’d followed them from the room, and now stood several feet away, huddled together and watching them.
So much for escape. Sighing, she headed back down the hallway. Turning left at the bottom of the staircase, she entered Dorothy’s office, aware that Carter was right on her heels. The crisp, cool, floral scent of Estée Lauder’s White Linen triggered memories of her younger self, standing before the huge antique mahogany desk. Shock and pain had been her anchors in uncertainty as Dorothy told her about her parents’ accident. Of what other life-altering events would the marble fireplace, heavy silk draperies, and ornate Persian rug bear witness?
She rounded on him as the door closed with a click. “Are you insane? Why did you tell her we’re engaged?”
“Were we in the same room? Did you see her charging full speed ahead into a panic attack? Her doctor said stress could be deadly, but of course, you know better. So enlighten me, Holly Hindsight. What do you think I should have done?”
“Given her a hug, assured her you’d be okay, changed the damn subject. What you didn’t have to do was tell her we’re getting married.”
“She’s done so much for you. You can’t tell one little white lie if it’ll save her life?”
His words flayed her skin. His censorious tone added salt to the wound. How dare he? She’d been here from the beginning, he was the Johnny-come-lately in this scenario. The nerve of him to try and guilt trip her into cleaning up his mess. Besides, she didn’t need Carter to remind her of what she owed the other woman. It was a constant refrain in her head.
“This is more than a ‘little white lie.’ Maybe I’m old-fashioned, but when I get married, it won’t be for—”
“Whoa. Wait a sec. We’re just pretending to be engaged.”
“Pretend?” Idiot, thy name is Lauren! She’d triple jumped to the wrong conclusion.
“You thought I meant we would actually get married?” Laughter coated his words.
“Of course not.” But tiny quills of heat swept up her nape and marched across her cheekbones.
“I hate to disappoint you, but marriage isn’t for me.”
She snorted. “Like you’re a great catch.”
He stilled and his lids dropped to half-mast. “Do you need a refresher?”
Adrenaline coursed through her body, making her super aware of the situation. His loosened tie, rolled-up sleeves, disheveled chocolate strands…
Distance, Lauren. The possibility for the physical kind may have been ruined with this engagement ruse. Let’s keep the emotional one in place, shall we?
“A waste of time,” she retorted with a bravado she pulled out of thin air. “I wasn’t satisfied with the first lesson.”
Carter blinked, the heat in his eyes tripling in their intensity. He trespassed into her personal space and she retreated until the edge of the desk pressed against the back of her thighs. He cupped her cheek, his thumb sliding across her bottom lip. “I’m like an expensive single malt Irish whiskey,” he murmured, his voice as smooth as the spirit he evoked. “I’ve gotten better with age.”
Lauren flushed and her heart slammed against her chest. She believed him. Even though he’d moved away from the city years ago, Chicago still looked upon him as a favored son. The society blogs followed his exploits with the fondness of a mother for her precocious offspring. Dorothy despaired of him ever settling down and the continuous slideshow of women glued to his arm and rotating through his bed played into her fears.
Fears she often shared with Lauren.
Not wanting to join the succession and acutely aware that he found her qualities lacking, she slapped his hand away and moved to the other side of the room. “Focus on the situation you created.”
“You’re making this harder than it needs to be. We hold hands in her room, smile and tell her about the fake dates we’ve been on. It’s not a big deal.”
“For how long?”
“A week. A month. Six months. Whatever it takes. If our engagement has a positive effect on her health then we do it as long as it’s necessary.”
“And this open-ended timeline works both ways?” At his blank look, she clarified, “You’re willing to stay in Chicago for ‘as long as it’s necessary’?”
He rubbed his brow, like skin was an option. “Look, I’ll be h
ere for a while, but I can’t take indefinite leave from work. We don’t need to reside in the same city to pull this off. Hell, the distance might make it easier.”
“No. I won’t let you drag me into anything when I don’t know all the terms and conditions.”
He sighed. “When is the clinical trial scheduled to start?”
“The first of September.”
“Can you do it until then?”
“Yes, but…”
“What?” he prompted.
“A few weeks after Dorothy starts the trial, I’m scheduled to begin an art fellowship in New York.”
That grabbed his attention. “An art fellowship? When we were in DC, you told Marcus you had your Ph.D.”
“In art history. I finished my doctorate degree in December.”
“I never knew you were interested in art. I don’t remember you drawing.” He leaned back against the desk and folded his arms across his chest.
“I can’t draw at all. But sometime during high school, art started calling to me. No surprise considering all the great pieces in the Richardson family collection. Dorothy said my mother loved art, too. I like to think I inherited it from her.”
“And the fellowship?”
“It’s a curatorial fellowship with the Metropolitan Museum of Art. When it’s done, I’ll have my pick of any number of curating positions of modern art collections in the country.”
“So you’re moving to New York?”
Lauren’s stomach tightened and she lowered her gaze to stare at the toes of her black pumps. “Yes. Maybe. I haven’t decided. When I first began the interview process, I didn’t tell Dorothy. It was going to be a surprise. But they offered me the position after Dorothy was diagnosed. I still haven’t told her.”
“And the interview process took you to New York. That explains the trips she mentioned.” He shook his head. “You can’t keep it a secret. How long is the fellowship?”
“A year.”
“Sooner or later, she’s going to notice you’re living in New York.”
“I know.” An errant lock of hair floated against her cheek and she tucked it behind her ear.
“Then that’s your end date. We’ll get Aunt Dorothy into the trial and then we’ll re-evaluate based on how she’s doing.”
He looked and sounded entirely too smug, like he’d gotten his way. And he had. He’d stay here a few days, then head back to DC and his pastime of musical beds and she’d be stuck here lying to everyone. She couldn’t let him set all the conditions.
“I think we should set up a few ground rules.”
Carter scrubbed a hand over his face. “God, LoLo, do you have to plan everything?”
She ignored that because, yes, she did. “No outside dating.”
“Excuse me?”
“As long as we’re engaged, you can’t date anyone else. Even if we’re in different cities. The social blogs love you and we don’t want those stories getting back to Dorothy.” She tilted her head. “Can you handle keeping it zipped for a while?”
“You make it sound like I’m a sex addict. I enjoy the company of beautiful women. There’s nothing wrong with that.”
“Isn’t that the refrain of addicts everywhere?”
The muscle in his jaw pulsed and his nostrils flared. Lauren swallowed and took a step back.
“Anything else?” he asked.
She cleared her throat. “Our engagement is a private matter. It stays in the family. No one else needs to know.” The last thing she would subject herself to, was a city full of people shooting her pitying looks when the engagement ended.
“She actually thought Carter Richardson would marry her?”
“It won’t come to that. This will only be in Dorothy’s presence.”
The doors to the office burst open and Allison glided into the room, Edworth a positional afterthought. “If your plan is to wrest control of RichCorp away from Edworth, don’t bother unpacking. I will not allow it to happen.”
“Allison, please.” Edworth shoved his hands into the pockets of his navy slacks.
“They have an agenda, Edworth, and it’s up to me to protect our interests, as usual.” Her upper lip curled. “It’s not like I wasn’t prepared. My mother warned me I’d have to be the jet fuel to your engine.”
Lauren scrutinized Edworth’s reaction. His face projected a serene exterior, not even a ripple to indicate the barb broke the surface. She felt sorry for the older man and often wondered why he let her treat him the way she did.
“This has nothing to do with RichCorp,” Carter said. “I told you, my life is in DC.”
Allison fingered the pearl necklace that nestled in the cave of her protruding clavicle. “So you’re leaving? And taking this one with you?”
Lauren had never liked Allison. The older woman had been concerned about her own position in the family from the moment Dorothy had taken Lauren in. Normally, she knew how to handle her. But it had been a long, stressful day and Allison had just waltzed all over her last nerve. “Don’t shed any tears at the thought. At your age, you need to retain as much moisture as you can.”
Allison’s face reddened but she shifted her attention to Carter. “I guess Ivy League educations aren’t worth the paper on which the diplomas are printed. For years, I’ve watched her pry her way into this family. With this engagement you’ve armed her with a diamond crowbar!”
Edworth chimed in. “I don’t think that’s true.”
“It’ll be all over the society pages. If you can’t think of yourself, Edworth, think of me and what this will do to my position in this community.”
“That won’t be an issue. The engagement stays within the family,” Carter said.
“You’re not telling anyone?”
He looked at Lauren before responding. “No.”
Allison expelled a huge breath. “Thank God! There’s time for you to reconsider, Carter. Your great-great-grandparents didn’t work to build the Richardson legacy only to have you squander it on someone not worthy.”
“Allison, I didn’t know you were programmed for caring,” Lauren said.
“She’s already forgetting her place, Edworth. I can’t deal with this. Honestly, I may need to relocate to the spa until Carter comes to his senses.”
She swept out of the room and Lauren swore a wispy green cloud funneled in her wake.
Edworth paused in the doorway. “Make sure this is what you want. In this family, marriage is forever.” He closed the door behind him.
Lauren slumped against the window seat like a puppet whose strings had been cut. She was exhausted. She’d been on the go for the past twenty-four hours. She hadn’t been able to sleep on the flight to DC and she’d been so aware of Carter that she couldn’t relax coming back. Now that she had things tentatively worked out with him, maybe she could—
There was a brisk knock on the door.
“Oh, for the love of Pete!” she cried.
Dr. Tye peered around the door, casting a wary glance in her direction. “Is this a good time? I’m heading back to the hospital and I wanted to see you before I left.”
“It’s okay, Doctor.” Carter waved his hand dismissively. “Please excuse LoLo. You know women and weddings: rational one moment, bridezilla the next.”
The two men shared an understanding nod.
She should summon outrage, but honestly, she couldn’t be bothered.
“I’ll stop by tomorrow,” Dr. Tye said. “I know you have a lot to process, so I’ll bring some information for you and we can talk at length about your aunt’s condition and her prognosis.”
“How is she?” Lauren struggled to ask. With the panic attack and the excitement of their “engagement,” she was worried Dorothy may have had a negative reaction to all the stress. Wouldn’t that be ironic, if the relationship Carter invented to help Dorothy brought about her downfall?
“She’s resting now, but I’m pleased.”
“Does that mean there’s a good chance she can beat th
is?” Carter asked.
“I’ve been doing this a long time. The mind is capable of miracles we cannot begin to fathom. When we failed to get all the cancer after the hysterectomy, she appeared to give up hope. But it seems your presence has put some color back into her cheeks. She’s talking about the future, specifically your wedding. Some things can’t be explained medically, but I can sense her will to live. Your jobs are to keep her calm. At this point, causing her extreme stress could be detrimental.”
While Carter escorted the doctor to the front door, Lauren turned to stare out the window at the side lawn. Relief surged through her. Dorothy could get better, especially if she had their engagement to cling to.
Engaged to Carter? It was easier to keep him at a distance when he was eight hundred miles away. But on the same property day after day? She thought back to when he’d had her backed against the desk, his thumb rubbing over her lip. She shivered. It was going to take an act of God to keep her from repeating past mistakes and making a fool of herself. She couldn’t confuse their pretense with reality. Carter could never give her what she wanted, what she’d craved from the moment she’d come to live with Dorothy after her parents’ death: a place to belong, a family of her own.
Chapter Five
For the second time in as many days, he awoke to pounding. Unfortunately, it wasn’t the door. This time it was in his head. He groaned. He was too old for hangovers.
He should have left the delight of throbbing temples, gut-rotting nausea, and stale mouth back in law school. But as he’d sat in Dorothy’s office last night¸ pondering the staggering changes in his life, one glass of scotch turned into two, which had turned into five. And unlike law school, he couldn’t cut classes while he recovered from his excess.
What had he been thinking? Of all the actions he could have taken to soothe Dorothy, all of the statements he could have made to calm her down, he’d succumbed to a moment of insanity and told his aunt that he and LoLo were getting married. And that wasn’t the craziest thing said in that room. Turns out, his aunt was thrilled with the news. She thought LoLo was the perfect choice for him. Un-fucking-believable! He laughed…and instantly regretted the action. He held his aching head in his hands. This would be the last hangover he ever experienced.
Pretending with the Playboy Page 4