A Tempting Proposal

by Dara Girard

  “Yes.”

  Flo hesitated then said, “I’m telling you about the bed so that you can understand that James means well even if he doesn’t show it the way he should.”

  “I know.”

  She took Ava’s hand and held it between both of hers. “You joined our family just in time. When I think of what could have happened to Rudy if you hadn’t—”

  Ava touched one of Flo’s thin shoulders. “It’s okay.”

  Regret made her eyes sad. “If I hadn’t been so tired I would have paid more attention. I used to worry about Rudy. We have him taken care of financially. Edgar promised me he’d do everything he could.” The sad look left her eyes, replaced with joy. “But now I know Rudy has someone like you also looking out for him and it puts my mind at ease.”

  Ava hugged her hoping Flo would never really know the truth about her husband.

  Chapter 22

  Flo left Ava’s room and lay on the bed in the master bedroom, sweeping her hand over the plush bedspread; she closed her eyes remembering when she had felt like a stranger in the elegant room.

  Neither she nor Edgar had married for love. And in the beginning they had separate bedrooms and lives, much like Ava and James, only coming together when Edgar requested her company. Flo didn’t expect much else.

  And for five years they lived that way until one night after they’d been together, Edgar said, “It’s late, you can stay.”

  Flo halted halfway out of the bed not sure she’d heard him correctly. “What?”

  “I said you can stay.”

  Flo hesitated not sure she wanted to. At first she’d dreamed of being a true wife to him, of turning their formal arrangement into something more, but over the years he’d made it clear that wouldn’t happen. But now this. She stared at his hard profile; he wasn’t a man to jest. She cautiously slipped back into bed, gripping the bed sheets to her chest, not quite sure what to do.

  He sighed annoyed. “You don’t have to stay if you don’t want to.”

  “I do.” She swallowed, releasing her grip on the sheets. She glanced at him again before she reached and turned off the lights.

  “Are you happy?” he asked, his voice sounding deeper in the darkness.

  What a strange question to ask. “Yes,” she said not sure of his strange mood.

  “And the boys?”

  “They are happy too. You fulfilled your promise.”

  He didn’t reply and she didn’t expect him to. She’d gotten use to his silences. She bit her lip and inched closer to him. When her skin touched his, she closed her eyes and waited, wondering if he’d turn or push her away. Instead he drew her closer, his arm felt warm and solid around her. He pressed a featherlike kiss on her forehead. “You can stay every night if you want.”

  It was then that their relationship changed, that she finally understood him. He wanted her to stay, but he’d never admit it. She searched her heart, amazed by how buoyant and happy it felt and realized that he was no longer a stranger to her; she could accept him fully as her husband. Until that moment she hadn’t realized how much she wanted to.

  “Do you want that?” he asked.

  She nodded and whispered, “Yes.” And she stayed for the next twenty-three years.

  Flo opened her eyes and looked around the bedroom with a smile that slowly faded as she thought of the fate that awaited her. Was it fair to him to keep sharing this room? This room filled with memories of their marriage? She glanced at the beige wingback chair where Edgar had stayed for hours after his uncle died; the window where they’d stood arguing about Rudy’s future. She had initially been against Rudy starting his own business, but Edgar had been adamant and she was glad she’d listened, but it had taken a lot of persuasion on his part.

  She’d had more fight in her back then. Others had been afraid of him, but not her, although she never let that truth show in public. She was keenly aware of Edgar’s reputation and wouldn’t do anything to jeopardize it, but in private she could be fierce and knew he secretly enjoyed it.

  But she wondered if he took any pleasure in her anymore. Her weight loss had stolen some of her beauty; her energy wasn’t what it once was. Did he at times regret his decision? Did he sometimes want space?

  She’d once broached the subject about moving into another room, but he’d swiftly dismissed the idea and she’d never brought it up again. However, she knew there would come a time when they wouldn’t be able to share a room or a bed and she wondered how she would be able to bear it.

  Chapter 23

  “You lied to me,” Ava said when she found James on the large, curved back patio, listening to the tranquil sounds of the water rippling from the pool below.

  James turned a page of the report he was reading. “I know.”

  “About the bedroom.”

  “Oh, that.” He briefly looked up at her. “I didn’t lie. Jackson did.”

  “You went along with it. And at first you said it was a special guest room.”

  He nodded in agreement. “It sounded more interesting.”

  “You could have told me the truth.”

  He closed the report and sat back in his wooden chair. “That I created something that gave my mother nightmares for weeks? I don’t think so.”

  “Weeks?”

  He opened the report again.

  Ava sat in front of him. “I was telling her that if you changed the look of the monster you may be on to something.”

  “You think so?” he said sounding bored.

  “I like how it corresponds with the bed.”

  He shrugged. “I’ve moved on.”

  “I can’t believe you designed that bedroom. I always wanted a floating bed.”

  He looked at her surprised. “Really?”

  “Yes, ever since reading—”

  He shook his head. “Don’t say it.”

  “Robot Chronicles.”

  He closed his eyes as if in pain. “I can’t believe you said it.”

  “Why?” Ava said perplexed by his response. The books were very popular in her childhood and considered classics now. “Didn’t you like the series?”

  “Couldn’t stand them,” James said with feeling, “but Jackson had to read every single one.”

  “My father didn’t let me read them so I had to sneak them. He said they were filled with junk science.”

  “He was right.”

  “That’s why it’s called fiction and the storytelling was amazing.”

  James returned to his report. “I’ll have to take your word for it.”

  “Have you tried the bed yourself?”

  “No.”

  “You should.”

  A slow smile spread across his face and he lifted his gaze to hers. “Is that an invitation?”

  Ava cleared her throat, feeling suddenly warm. “I mean you should try it after I’m gone.”

  “Oh,” he said sounding disappointed. “That doesn’t sound as much fun.”

  “What doesn’t?” Jackson said, stepping through the sliding glass doors to join them.

  “Nothing,” Ava and James said in unison.

  Jackson took a seat and sent them a suspicious look.

  “I found another fan of those boring books,” James said.

  Jackson frowned. “Boring books?”

  “Robot Chronicles.”

  “What do you mean boring? Those were the best.”

  “I know,” Ava said.

  Jackson looked at her amazed. “You liked them too?”

  “They got me through school.”

  He stood and did the mock salute of one of the characters. “Are you ready to serve?”

  She stood and did the same. “All the time all the way.” She clapped her hands then pointed to the sky.

  Jackson laughed, impressed. “You remembered that?”

  “Of course. I disappeared into those books as well as my manga collection.”

  Jackson snapped his fingers. “Oh right. I still have one of your Fullmet
al Alchemist copies. Volume–”

  “That’s okay.” She’d loaned it to him when they were dating. “I started another series set in a post-apocalyptic world where humans live inside cities surrounded by these enormous walls.”

  James shook his head in mock dismay. “How old are you two?”

  “Good stories know no age.”

  “Comic books.”

  “They are not—”

  Jackson waved his hands. “Don’t try to convince him. He doesn’t get it.”

  James smiled. “Something else you two have in common.”

  “Something else?”

  “Yes, I know you’re both sharing a secret.”

  “No, we’re not,” Ava said when Jackson looked away.

  James shrugged, nonchalant. “I’m not worried. I will find it out.” He nodded at his brother. “What are you doing here?”

  “Stopped by to see Mom and Rudy.” James looked at Ava. “Heard what you did for him.”

  “Yes,” James said. “I guess we’re lucky to have her.”

  Jackson rested his elbows on his knees and smiled at her. “You’d like us to think that, wouldn’t you?”

  Ava stared back at him determined not to be provoked. “I don’t care what you think.”

  “How come there’s not much about your life before Canada?”

  “What?”

  “Are you looking into her background?” James asked.

  Jackson kept his gaze on Ava. “Just curious.”

  James lowered his voice. “We’re doing this for Mom. There’s no need to stir up trouble.”

  “We’re already in trouble.”

  “What does that mean?”

  “It means that I hold all the cards and he doesn’t like it,” Ava said, stopping Jackson from saying anything else.

  “Could you excuse us for a minute?” James said then shook his head when she opened her mouth. “I’m not really asking.”

  She shot Jackson a dirty look before she left.

  “You’re doing it again,” James said once she was gone.

  “What?”

  “Every time you’re around her you go for the jugular. What is going on?”

  “I just don’t like this set up.”

  “It’s working right now. Mom is happy and so are Edgar and Rudy.”

  “And what happens to Rudy and Edgar if something happens to us?”

  “What could happen to us? I’m the one who committed the fraud. If she wants to bring up fraud charges against me for what I did, I’ll face the consequences. It has nothing to do with you. Until that time I’m trying my best to make this work.”

  “Maybe I don’t want it to work,” Jackson muttered.

  “You’re not making sense. Ava and I have an agreement. We keep this up and then we’ll get a divorce and I’ll—”

  Jackson shook his head. “You’re going to have to do more than that. She’s been meeting with Edgar a lot lately and her interest in the company is intense. Almost obsessive.”

  “It always has been.” James sat back and studied his brother. “I know she’s up to something if that’s your concern.”

  Jackson rubbed his chin. “But what and why? We have to do something.”

  “Like what?”

  “Her life begins at age three in Canada. Don’t you think that’s strange?”

  “I really don’t care.”

  “It means she’s keeping secrets.”

  James drummed his fingers against his knee. “What do you want me to do about it?”

  “We need leverage. She’s winning over our family.”

  “And what’s your solution?”

  “You have to make her fall for you.”

  James laughed. “I can’t make that woman do anything.”

  Jackson sent his brother a hard look. “Yes, you can. I’ve seen you do it before.”

  James’s good mood died. “That was different.” He’d used his limited charm in the past to get what he wanted. Only his brother knew that his past breakups had always been strategically designed so that the other party felt that they had made the decision.

  “I think you’ve let your guard down and have forgotten what this is really about.”

  James shrugged. “I’m willing to listen. What is it about?”

  “The two things Edgar taught us were important—business and power. If we continue to stay in control we keep the upper hand.”

  James sighed. “Why do I get the feeling that you have something in mind?”

  “Because I do.”

  James motioned him forward. “Go on. Tell me.”

  “You’ve got to up the stakes and steal her heart.”

  Chapter 24

  James didn’t argue with him.

  Jackson took that as a victory when his brother left the patio and returned inside. He closed his eyes and rested his head back, letting the sun warm his skin. He’d lied when he’d told his brother why he’d come to the house. He’d really come to see how Ava would respond to his questions about her past. A smile touched his mouth as he thought of how he’d gotten the information he needed from Sylvia.

  “You call that a quickie?” Sylvia demanded when Jackson rolled away from her and grabbed his jeans from where he’d tossed them over the couch in her apartment. “That was barely even a second.”

  He playfully slapped her on the bottom. “What do you have for me?”

  She pulled a face. “How come you always make me feel used?”

  He zipped up his jeans and winked at her. “You like being used.”

  She pulled on her large T-shirt, which she found crumpled on the ground. “We could make a great—”

  He shook his head. “It would never work.”

  She pushed away an empty can of soda and a bag of caramel popcorn with her foot and reached for her skirt, brushing off some dust bunnies that clung to the pale, worn fabric. She should have cleaned up before he arrived, but she hadn’t known he was coming until he was halfway there and she didn’t want to turn him down. “It’s not like you to be afraid of commitment.”

  “I don’t trust my taste in women.” He sat down beside her and nudged her with his elbow. “Present company excluded.”

  She pulled up her skirt. “Thank you.”

  “But I’m on a fast. No commitment for the near future.”

  “And what do you have against Ava?”

  He playfully tweaked her chin. “Tell me what you found.”

  Sylvia sighed, knowing he wouldn’t tell her. She liked him unfortunately their timing was always wrong. She’d first met him when she was still married to the man she fondly liked to call Her Greatest Mistake. By the time she divorced, Jackson had gotten burned twice and then fallen for Ava.

  Although his relationship with Ava was now over, she suspected Jackson was right; she and he would never last. He had another side she couldn’t reach, but she knew she’d enjoy herself in the meantime.

  “I don’t know why you need to use a lowly cop like me when your father likely has bigger fish on the hook to get the information you want.”

  He affectionately kissed her on the cheek then said, “Tell me.”

  “Not much. She has no past starting in Canada.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “I mean that she doesn’t have anything before the age of three. Her life before that is nowhere.”

  “That’s impossible.”

  “Not if you know what you’re doing.”

  “But—”

  “I think I might know why,” Sylvia interrupted, “but I can’t tell you yet until I’m sure. I don’t want to accuse someone of something until I have more evidence.”

  Jackson tapped his finger against his knee, pensive. “Is it big?”

  “Could be.”

  “I knew it.”

  “Or it could be nothing so don’t jump to conclusions. But if it is something, she was a child and may not know anything about it either. It could surprise her.”

  “I don’t
care,” Jackson said in a grim tone.

  “You should. She’s married into your family, right?”

  “Don’t worry. I’ll make sure that James and Ava don’t stay married for long…”

  James and Ava. He didn’t like how cozy they’d looked together on the patio and he remembered the excited voice of his mother telling him how much she liked Ava and all that she’d done for them. Jackson opened his eyes and stared over the vast property, lingering briefly on his mother’s vegetable garden. If James did what Jackson told him to, Ava would regret she’d married him in the first place.

  Chapter 25

  His brother’s idea was just as ludicrous as wanting to switch places, James thought as he poured himself water from the fridge. He’d fallen for Jackson’s idea once—no twice!—he wouldn’t do it again. Even though it was tempting. He knew Ava responded to him and it would be fun to see how he could manipulate her.

  But they had an agreement and their arrangement worked for now. For the past several weeks they’d been cordial and he’d managed not to think about her too much. She stuck to his rules and he stuck to his cold showers.

  Lots of cold showers. Like the one after he saw her in the garden, running her hand up and down an okra’s short stem, or at the dinner table when her legs brushed against his. His work kept him busy and that would be enough for now. James finished his water and left the kitchen.

  “She’s alone right now,” Flo said, grabbing James’s arm as he passed her in the hall.

  “Who?”

  “Who else?” she said with impatience. “Ava. I convinced her to sit in the library.”

  He frowned not understanding her reasoning. “So what?”

  “Go to her.”

  “Why?” James asked, letting her drag him towards the library so she wouldn’t expend too much energy. “I don’t have anything to say.”

  “Make up something. Sit with her for a minute.”

  “And do what?” he asked just to tease her. He found the situation amusing. His brother and mother both wanted him to do the same thing but for different reasons.

  “Do I have to tell you?”

  James peeked into the room. “She’s reading. She probably wants to be alone.”