“What’s the point? Morgan isn’t going to change his mind and I don’t have Edworth’s votes.”
“For Dorothy. That’s the reason we pretended to be engaged. It’s why we’re doing all of this, right?”
He nodded. “Of course.”
Nausea burned in her stomach and threatened to go against the tide. It was her fault, she’d asked. It was stupid to be hurt by his response, but she wasn’t feeling like a card-carrying member of Mensa at the moment.
“Don’t let him break your heart again.”
“I won’t.”
But as she watched him stride across the patio and disappear in the moonlight, she knew that promise was easier made than kept.
Approximately seventy people, lavishly attired and encrusted in gems, milled around in the grand foyer. Lauren yanked on the strapless bodice of her dress, patted her upswept curls, and pulled on the diamond clusters in her ears. She hated being on display and couldn’t wait until the event was over.
Dorothy sat next to her holding court, her small frame clad in a vintage, silver Chanel evening gown. She caught Lauren’s eye and motioned for her to bend down. “I think I need a break,” she said.
Lauren nodded and turned to face the guests crowded around them. “If you’ll excuse us for a moment.”
“Thank you,” Dorothy said when they were alone. She looked better than she had six weeks ago, but there was no way to disguise the toll cancer had taken on her body. It was evident in her sunken cheeks, pronounced collarbones, and the sallow tint to her skin. But her essence was still there, wit and intelligence sparkling in her eyes.
“You’re welcome. After tonight, I want you to rest,” Lauren said.
“I will. I’ll admit planning the party was exhausting, but it was worth it.”
Lauren’s throat tightened and she averted her gaze. She and Carter could’ve saved Dorothy the effort but that would have required telling her about their dinner with the Morgans. And they’d both agreed, rightly so, not to share that stress-inducing development with her.
Dorothy eyed her gown. “That color is so becoming. It’s stunning on you.”
Lauren loved the dress and the added bonus of the blush pink color adding a glow to her cheeks. Fake glow of fake happiness to go with her fake engagement. “You think so?”
Dorothy took Lauren’s hand and held it out. “This is the way I’ve always pictured you. Beautiful and vibrant.”
“Thank you. But I’m surprised. You’ve always said bright colors looked garish.”
“On me, because of my coloring.” She squinted at Lauren. “Is that why you wear those somber colors and suits? Because of what I said?”
“I respect you so much. You took me in, raised me, and gave me a chance. Because of you, I’ve had a wonderful life and I will always be grateful.”
“I never wanted your gratitude. I loved your mother and I love you. It was a privilege watching you grow. I’ve never regretted taking you in.”
Lauren hugged Dorothy and was comforted by the familiar scent of White Linen. “Thank you.”
“No, thank you. Now I don’t have to worry about Carter. He’ll be in wonderful hands.”
Speaking of…
She scanned the crowd and found him standing next to an older couple. Nobody wore a tuxedo like Carter Richardson. It draped on his body with the casual elegance of a man who’d been born to wear such clothing. She could picture him as an Armani-clad toddler, charming little girls out of their lollipops.
He caught her eye and nodded. A few minutes later, he ended his conversation and strode over to Dorothy. “Hey, gorgeous.”
“You look very handsome,” Dorothy told him in greeting. She nodded to Lauren. “What about her? Doesn’t she look great?”
She bloomed under his smoldering regard.
“She looks amazing,” he said, but his gaze cooled and he turned back to Dorothy.
Lauren frowned at his distant demeanor, something that had been bothering her the past few days. Maybe it was RichCorp. Maybe it was all catching up to him and he was feeling overwhelmed. It was possible. But that didn’t explain why he hadn’t come to the pool house for the past few nights. And why she hadn’t felt comfortable going to him.
“I’d like to make my announcement now,” Dorothy informed them.
Carter placed an arm under her elbow and helped her stand. Lauren circled to the other side, and together, they helped her ascend the staircase. When they reached the midlanding, Dorothy leaned on the banister and addressed their guests. She didn’t yell, but her voice carried because the room was pin-drop quiet.
“Thank you for being here. I know it was short notice, but when Carter said he wanted to marry, I rushed before he changed his mind.”
Carter flushed, a slight smile on his face at the knowing laughter.
“But he’d have to be an idiot not to realize the treasure he has in Lauren. And I didn’t raise a fool.”
More laughter. Dorothy took a shaky breath.
“I haven’t been well, but nothing could keep me from celebrating the engagement of the two people I love most in the world.”
She turned to Carter and kissed him on the cheek. When she tried to turn to Lauren, she swayed and Carter grasped her other elbow, lending her much-needed support. When she was steadier, she lifted a hand to cup Lauren’s jaw.
“I give you both my love and my blessing.”
The applause was thunderous. Lauren’s heart raced in her chest, full of love, pride, and gratitude for the woman who’d taken her in and raised her.
“Please, follow the hostesses into the ballroom.”
The band received their cue and they began to play, the pied piper guiding their guests to the center of the party. Once most of them had disappeared down the hall that led to the back of the house, Dorothy deflated against Carter.
“What’s wrong?” he asked.
She smiled and patted his arm. “I’m so happy, but I can’t deny the effort that took. Where’s Tricia? I’d like to go lay down.”
“I’ll go with you,” Lauren said.
“No. You stay and enjoy the party. I’ll talk to both of you in the morning.” She looked at Carter. “She’s the best choice you’ve ever made.”
Tricia appeared silently at their side and helped Dorothy continue up the stairs to her room.
“Shall we?” Carter asked, taking Lauren’s hand. Although they were touching, there was no denying the space that existed between them. She longed for the closeness they’d shared even a week ago.
When they reached the bottom of the staircase, Allison confronted them, austere in an emerald green couture evening gown.
“Unbelievable,” she hissed. “For years I’ve attended benefits, planned parties, and sat on the boards of charitable organizations. I’ve given back to this family in more ways than I can count. And I’m supposed to stand by and watch Dorothy crown the both of you?”
“This isn’t the time or place for this conversation,” Carter said.
“Screw you, pretty boy.” She turned on Lauren, her lip curling. “This is all your fault.”
Lauren sighed. “That’s the second time you’ve accused me. I never knew how powerful I was.”
“You had to stick your nose into family business.”
“Give it a rest, Allison,” Edworth snapped in a harsh whisper, coming forward to face his wife.
Allison’s mouth dropped open. “What?”
“I said that’s enough.” Edworth was quite the figure in his tailored tuxedo, radiating with anger and purpose.
She gasped, her eyes going wide.
Lauren looked to the right then froze. “There’s a well-known society blogger on your left. Remember where we are.”
Allison rearranged her face, but the fire remained in her eyes. She stared lasers at her husband. “You’re taking their side? I’m the only one who’s ever believed in you. If they had their way, you would’ve been stuck in a corner, never to be heard from again.”
/>
“No, that’s what you want to do. Have the Richardson name and all the influence without having to deal with me.”
“So? I’ve earned it,” Allison said.
Edworth shook his head and looked at Carter. “This is partly my fault and I’ll fix it. It’s like we talked about, decisions.”
“Fix me? I’m not the problem. They—”
“Shut up, Allison,” Edworth said, his tone more firm than Lauren had heard before. Allison’s mouth snapped close.
Carter stared at Edworth. “You’ve made your decision? Are you going to vote against the merger?”
“We’re a family and we’ll start behaving like one. But that’s about personal lives. With regards to the business, I meant what I said earlier. If you want my vote, you need to run the company.” Edworth turned to Allison. “Later, we’re going to have a long talk. Right now everyone will be looking to us. Let’s go smile for the cameras and show the world how the Richardsons support one another.”
“Did that just happen?” Lauren asked, watching the older couple walk away.
“Dammit.” Carter cursed under his breath.
Lauren glanced up and froze. “Don’t look now, but the hits just keep on coming.”
“Great party,” Bill Morgan said.
“Thank you,” Carter said stiffly.
The tension was practically edible and she shifted again, pulling at the bodice of her dress.
“I could tell how thrilled Dorothy is about the two of you, but—” He shook his head.
“But what?” Carter asked, his voice taking on that cross-examination tone. “Do you want to do what’s best for RichCorp or has it always been what’s best for you? As you can see, our family is stable and I’m more than capable of stepping in for Aunt Dorothy until she’s better. You’ve been claiming that’s the reason you want the merger? Was that a lie?”
Bill opened his mouth to respond when Tricia appeared at their side, worry etched on her features. Lauren took one look at her face and fear gripped her around the throat and squeezed until she was lightheaded.
“Please come,” she told them. “It’s Ms. Richardson.”
Chapter Sixteen
Aunt Dorothy was dead.
Carter sat on Lauren’s sofa and struggled to breathe, a picture of her and Aunt Dorothy clutched in both hands. Tears pricked the back of his eyelids but they wouldn’t flow, and the resulting pressure created a dense fog inside his mind. He tried inhaling again but was unable to fill his lungs completely. His head throbbed.
Everyone eventually leaves, one way or another.
He rubbed the heel of his hand against his chest, trying to dislodge the heaviness that settled there. Why had he come back to Chicago? It wouldn’t have hurt this much if he’d stayed away. Spending this time with Dorothy reminded him what a wonderful lady she was and how much he’d loved her, and that made this pain almost unbearable. If he’d maintained his distance the pain may have been a seven or eight on a scale of ten. Right now, he was hovering around an agonizing one hundred.
The pressure behind his eyelids increased. He squeezed his eyes shut, relaxed, and opened them. Nothing changed. It didn’t get better.
He stared down at his feet.
Was he going to sit here all night? There were decisions to make, people to call, preparations to arrange. He needed to get up.
He didn’t move.
Who was he kidding? Lauren was on it. She’d probably created an emergency plan for this very situation. She’d yet to meet a plan she didn’t adopt or co-opt and make her own.
The door slid open and Lauren drifted in, her shoulders rounded, head down. She stopped short when she saw him.
“What are you doing out here? When we got back from the hospital, you disappeared. We searched the entire estate for you. I thought you’d left and gone into the city.”
She stood there so tall and strong and beautiful that she stole the small amount of breath he’d managed to maintain.
When he didn’t respond, she let her clutch drop onto the table.
“Edworth and Allison are talking to the funeral director. Apparently, for some families, they’re available any time and will make house calls at four a.m.”
For the first time since Tricia interrupted them, he heard the strain of tears in her voice. Calling Dr. Tye, going to the hospital and dealing with the doctors, she’d taken care of it all with a strength and grace he’d never been able to achieve. And now, it had caught up to her. She was suffering, too. Probably more than he since she’d spent the past ten years with his aunt. Everyone took his pain and grief for granted and he’d accepted their attention, but no one thought how much Lauren would be hurting.
He was such a bastard.
He rose and took her into his arms. He’d gladly absorb her agony and sorrow if it meant she would suffer even a minute less. “I’m sorry. I know how much you love her.”
Loved her.
Lauren’s body trembled against his. “I wasn’t ready. I thought I had more time.”
They were all gone. His mother, his father, his aunt. He didn’t know if he could bear going through this one more time.
The cool stroke of Olsen’s fingers against the nape of his neck grounded him, giving him something life-affirming to focus on. He sought her mouth, kissing her until the torment receded. It was a clash of lips and teeth and tongues, the passion an adequate dam for their keen distress. He broke the kiss and pressed his cheek against hers, their breaths harsh in the stillness of the room. He prayed for her permission. This is what he needed. What they both needed.
He squeezed her tighter. She nodded.
In her bedroom, they shed their clothes and fell back onto the bed. Her body was warm and pliant beneath his. He kissed her again and reached for a condom in the nightstand. He covered himself then stared into her eyes, knowing his own emotions were mirrored in her gaze. He grasped the crook of her knee and raised it, sinking closer to the warmth of her core. He kissed the tip of her nose, touched his forehead to hers and slid in.
He never wanted to leave.
Her eyes rolled back and her lashes swept closed. He breathed in her scent and let it permeate and dissipate the fog holding him captive. He’d felt this enough to know their coupling wasn’t a fluke. Each time it got better and better. And it had never felt this good with anyone else.
Her lips fell open and her tongue moistened their fullness. He swooped down and captured it, wanting every part of them to be connected, needing to be as close to her and as consumed by her as possible.
She must have wanted that, too. Her nails scraped across his back and her thighs gripped his hips as he stroked inside her. In this moment there was no pain, anger, guilt or loss. Only…
“Lauren,” he murmured, his lips touching all available areas of her skin.
He was struck with a sudden, paralyzing thought. Everyone leaves. When would Lauren? And how? What if something happened to her and she died? Or what if she just up and left him? What would that feel like on his scale of one to ten? Or would that pain be immeasurable?
He upped his pace, his mind’s insistence on driving those thoughts away, indecipherable from his heart’s insistence on searing this moment in his mind.
Her back arched off the bed and her eyes flew open. “Carter,” she called out.
The sweet pressure of her inner walls massaged his cock and called for his answering release. And when it was over, he rested his forehead against the curve of her throat and cried.
“I’m so sorry.”
“You have my sympathies.”
“If there’s anything we can do…”
The well-wishes and condolences swirled around in Carter’s head, a grating cacophony. After the funeral, people had traveled, en masse, to the house. An expected invasion, Lauren had informed him. At the earliest opportunity, he’d escaped to Dorothy’s office where he stood staring out the window at the side yard. He’d welcome the cliché of driving rain and winds instead of a bright s
un in a cloudless sky.
There was a knock on the door and Edworth peered his head around the entryway. “Can I have a word with you?”
“Now?”
“Yes.”
Dammit. He’d hoped he could get through the afternoon without having this conversation, but he could tell by the other man’s set jaw and the air of determination that tornadoed around him, evasion was unlikely. He waved him in.
“Please tell me you’re not here to discuss business mere hours after we buried my aunt and your cousin.” His anger increased with each word he uttered.
“I don’t want to. You know how much I loved and respected Dorothy. But this is important.”
“You said the board agreed to postpone the vote for a couple of weeks to allow us time to grieve.”
“They did. But they’re concerned. Everyone is acting on emotion. Despite Morgan’s proposal, most of them were trying to bide time until Dorothy could come back. Now they know that’s not going to happen and they’re worried. They’re wondering about her replacement.” Edworth stared Carter in the eye. “So am I. Is that you?”
“Why can’t you do it?”
“Because I’m not cut out for it. I never was and Dorothy knew that. It may not be fair, but this family needs you. What are you going to do?”
On that challenging parting shot, Edworth opened the door to leave and Lauren was standing there, her fist raised as if to knock. He nodded at her and was soon lost in the mass gathering in the foyer.
Lauren walked in, poised, feminine, and unflappable in basic black. Carter’s body stood to attention and his heart parachuted somewhere south of the border. This automatic reaction to her had become natural, something he couldn’t control.
The good news was it would stop when he was gone.
“It was a beautiful service. Dorothy would have been pleased,” she said, the quality of her voice scratchy with too many shed tears, her nose slightly red for the same reason.
“So I’ve heard.” More than a few times today. “Dorothy would have been pleased.” He’d bet his RichCorp shares his aunt would have been pleased to have not had a funeral at all.
“Sophie, Allison, and I have been dealing with the guests, although Allison keeps breaking down to anyone who will listen.” She rolled her eyes. “There’s only a few people left.”
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