The corners of his mouth turned up. But it looked more like a grimace than a smile.
“It was a long time ago,” said Amanda, realizing belatedly that she should have thanked him. Maybe. What on earth was the proper etiquette in these circumstances?
He nodded. “It was a long time ago. But Daniel’s right. You were alone and frightened and I took advantage.” He held up his palms. “Oh, I know I did the right thing. On balance, Bryan deserved to grow up an Elliott every bit as much as we deserved to know our grandchild. But…” His mouth pursed. “Let’s just say I didn’t have the same appreciation for collateral damage back then.”
Amanda’s spine stiffened ever so slightly. “Is that what you considered me? Collateral damage?”
Could a person actually live and breathe this many years without a soul?
“I considered your circumstance…unfortunate,” he said.
“Yet you played God.” Despite his apology, decades of anger surged through her bloodstream. She hadn’t deserved his manipulation then. And Daniel didn’t deserve his manipulation now. Neither did his other children or his grandchildren.
“I don’t consider myself God,” said Patrick.
Her tone was bitter. “Then why do you act like it?”
He stood up. “I believe this meeting is over.”
“I’m serious, Patrick.” She couldn’t let it go. She knew deep down inside that this was her one and only chance to save Daniel, maybe to save Cullen and Bryan. “You have to stop.”
His brow furrowed. “Stop what?”
“Holding on to your family with an iron fist.”
“I guess you haven’t heard. I’m stepping down as CEO.”
She gave a scoffing laugh. “While making them pawns in your emotional chess game.”
“Is that what you think I’m doing?”
“Isn’t it?”
They stared at each other in silence for a moment.
“With all due respect, Amanda, I don’t have to explain myself to you.”
“You’re right. You don’t. But you’ll eventually have to explain yourself to Daniel.” Amanda shook her head. “One day he’ll wake up. One day he’ll see you for what you are.”
“I think that day was today.”
“Then you see my point.”
Patrick considered her for a long moment. “No. But I think I see something else.”
She waited.
“I think I see what you are to Daniel.”
Amanda drew back. “What?” Did he know about their affair?
Patrick ran his knuckles along the back of her guest chair. “It seems my mistake wasn’t in making you marry him. My mistake was in letting you divorce him.”
“Letting me—”
“He still needs you, Amanda.” Patrick gave a calculating smile, and it was even more frightening than his frown.
“Back off, Patrick.”
“No, Amanda, I don’t believe I will. Good day.”
Twelve
Daniel figured it would take at least one lap around Central Park to work up his courage. And it might take another lap to convince Amanda they had a chance.
He pocketed the three carat diamond ring and double-checked the champagne he’d stashed under the seat of the carriage.
Julie had been a willing accomplice in getting Amanda to the park entrance at the right time. He didn’t know what methods she’d used, but he could already see the two women walking up Sixty-Seventh Street.
He adjusted his tie, patted the square bulge in his breast pocket and started toward them along the crowded sidewalk.
“Amanda,” he greeted.
“Daniel?”
“Gotta go,” said Julie, quickly melting away.
Amanda spun toward the sound of Julie’s voice. “What—”
“She must have had something to do,” said Daniel, taking Amanda’s arm and steering her around a cluster of tourists.
Amanda skipped a step, coming into pace with him, craning her neck. “She wanted me to look at a pair of shoes.”
“Maybe she changed her mind.” He slid his hand down to grasp hers.
Amanda blinked up at him dubiously. “Where did you come from?”
He jabbed over his shoulder with his thumb. “The park.”
“Were you out walking?”
Daniel nodded. That seemed like as good a story as any.
He smiled down at her, and lowered his voice, ignoring the crowds parting around them.
“I missed you,” he said, squeezing her hand.
Her expression relaxed, and her mocha eyes glinted with mischief. “I could stop by the office again.”
He moved in closer. “I’ll buy another tie.”
She grinned, and he grinned right back, feeling giddy as a kid on Christmas morning.
She’d agree to marry him.
She had to agree to marry him.
Then they could make love every night, wake up together every morning, visit their grandchildren and grow old together. He lifted her hand and kissed her knuckles.
Daniel suddenly wanted nothing more than to grow old with Amanda.
Well, there was one other thing. But they could talk about that after he convinced her to marry him. He had a feeling she’d be in support of his career move.
“Or you could come to my office.” She pulled their clasped hands toward her lips and kissed him back. “I’ve had this fantasy…”
“Oh, I like the sound of that.”
Her expression turned slumberous.
“For now,” he said, drawing back, forcing himself to concentrate on the proposal instead of future lovemaking, “I have a little fantasy of my own.”
“Is it sexual?”
“Better than that. It’s spontaneous.”
She quirked an eyebrow.
“Come on.” He tugged her through pedestrian traffic and into the park.
He stopped next to the reserved carriage.
“Hop in,” he said to Amanda.
“This is your fantasy?”
“You’re going to get picky on me?”
She shook her head. “No. No, of course not.”
“Then hop in.” He offered her a hand up.
She put one foot on the running board and stepped into the carriage.
He followed her up, closed the half door and signaled to the driver to start.
The horse’s hooves clip-clopped on the pavement. Dusk was falling over the city, and skyscraper lights began to illuminate the skies. The trees around Tavern on the Green lit up as they passed.
Daniel stretched his arm across the back of the seat.
“It’s beautiful at night,” said Amanda.
He wrapped his arm around her shoulder. “You’re what’s beautiful out here.”
“Yeah, yeah. You use that line often?”
“Nope.”
She scoffed in disbelief.
“Hey, how often do you think I take women riding through the park?”
She turned to look at him. “I don’t know. How often?”
“Rarely.”
“But you have done it before.”
“You’re saying spontaneity only counts if it’s a brand-new activity?”
“No. But you get bonus points for a brand-new activity.”
“I wish you’d told me that earlier.”
She laughed and leaned her head on his shoulder.
He felt her chest rise and fall as she breathed. Suddenly, his world felt perfect.
He kissed the top of her head and took her hand in his across their laps.
The sounds of the city faded, and the horse’s hooves, the squeak of the carriage and the jangle of the harness brass filled the night.
He wanted to ask her the question, but first he wanted the ride to last forever.
“Champagne?” he muttered against her hair.
She sat up straighter. “Where are we going to get champagne.”
He gave her an eyebrow waggle, pushed aside the lap robe and
revealed the cooler. He popped the lid and pulled out a bottle of Laurent-Perrier along with two fluted glasses.
“Spontaneous?” she asked with a raised brow.
“I only thought of it this morning.”
She shook her head, but her smile was beautiful.
He couldn’t resist kissing her sweet mouth.
She wrapped her arms around his neck, eagerly participating.
“Who needs champagne?” he muttered, drawing her close and delving into the recesses of her mouth.
She pulled back and glanced pointedly at the champagne bottle. “Wouldn’t want to screw up your carefully planned spontaneity.”
He reached for it. “As long as you promise we can kiss later.”
“We’ll see.”
“Would it kill you to plan something?”
“I like to keep my options open.”
He handed her the glasses and then twisted the wire holder off the cork.
“I want you to consider me an option,” he said, and popped the cork out with his thumbs.
The champagne bubbled out the top of the bottle, and Amanda laughed.
“An option tonight,” said Daniel as he poured the effervescent liquid into the glasses. “And an option every night.”
Her mouth pursed in confusion.
“Amanda,” he breathed, wondering if he should drop to one knee. That would be the proper thing to do. But Amanda didn’t have too high an opinion of doing the proper thing.
“Yes?” she prompted.
“These past few weeks…together.” He took a breath. “They’ve meant a lot to me.”
Her lips curved in a shy smile. “They’ve meant a lot to me, too,” she said.
“I’ve remembered things.” He glanced off into the dark trees and the city lights beyond. “I’ve felt things that I haven’t felt in years.”
He looked back into her eyes. “I’ve realized that my feelings for you were buried, but they hadn’t changed.”
“Daniel—”
He put a finger over her lips. “Shh.”
He slowly drew his hand back and reached into his inside suit pocket. Retrieving the ring, he flipped the velvet case open with his thumb.
“Marry me, Amanda.”
Her eyes went wide, and she sucked in a tight breath.
He rushed on before she had time to react. “I love you very much. I’ve never stopped loving you. I haven’t been living these past fifteen years, just existing.”
Her gaze shot from the ring to his face and back again.
“This is—”
“I know you think it’s sudden. But we’ve known each other so well and for so long—”
“I was going to say, unbelievable.” The tone of her voice wasn’t quite right. It was flat, almost accusatory.
“Amanda?”
“He couldn’t work this fast. Nobody works this fast.”
Daniel stared at her. To be fair, it had been a few weeks. And they weren’t exactly strangers. And they’d made love twice.
“I’ve given this a lot of thought.”
“Have you? Have you?”
He flipped the conversation over in his mind, trying to figure out where it had gone off the rails. “Yeah.”
She glanced at her watch. “He only left my office two hours ago.”
“Who?”
She shook her head and laughed coldly. “No, Daniel. I won’t marry you.”
Her answer was like a stake in his heart.
“I won’t be your family’s pawn,” she said.
Panic invaded his system as he scrambled for a way to change her mind. “How’d my family get into this?”
She dumped her champagne over the side. “Your family’s been into it from the very start.”
He stared at the empty glass. So that was it. He wasn’t worth it.
“You’re saying our love won’t trump your aversion to my family?”
She dropped the empty glass into the cooler. “I’m saying take me home.”
He snapped the case shut. “Right.”
All night long, Amanda assured herself she’d made the right decision. Daniel didn’t want to marry her. He didn’t want to marry her any more than he wanted to be CEO of Elliott Publication Holdings.
Patrick had them all brainwashed, and there was nothing she could do to change that. The best she could do was save herself.
She’d definitely made the right decision.
And when her alarm clock went off, she was still telling herself just that.
She kept saying it all through her shower.
But over granola and tea she started asking questions. Scary, insidious questions.
Had she made the right decision?
Sure, Patrick was behind it, and Daniel might not have proposed again without his father’s urging. But there was something there. There was magic between them. And she could have spent the rest of her life exploring it.
She dropped her granola spoon and buried her face in her hands. What if she’d made the biggest mistake of her life?
That had been one perfect ring.
It had been one perfect proposal.
And Daniel was one perfect guy.
Her arms suddenly felt empty. Ridiculous, considering she’d spent sixteen years without him and only a few weeks in his company again.
She was losing it here.
She had to get him out of her brain.
She picked up the telephone, automatically dialing Karen’s number.
Olive put her right through.
“Hello?” came Karen’s voice, cheerful despite the early hour.
“Karen? It’s Amanda.”
“Oh my God,” Karen burst out. “Michael told me what happened.”
“He did?”
“The whole family is talking about it.”
Amanda sat back in her chair. “They are?”
“Of course they are. We can’t believe it.”
Amanda wasn’t sure she was getting this right. Daniel had put his marriage proposal out there on the Elliott grapevine?
Unbelievable.
“Cullen overheard,” said Karen. “And he called Bryan—”
“Cullen overheard what?”
Karen whistled low. “Patrick must be just fuming.”
“Because I said no?”
There was a silent pause. “Because none of his children have ever dared yell at him before.”
“I didn’t—”
“I’d have paid money to see it. Michael said Daniel went up one side of him and down the other. Now they’re all placing bets on who’ll blink first.”
“What do you mean who’ll blink?” If they fought, they’d already made up. Because Patrick had apologized. And then he’d told Daniel to marry Amanda.
“They’re no longer speaking to each other.”
“No. That can’t be right. They talked yesterday.” In the afternoon. After Patrick had seen her. After Patrick had decided to make Daniel propose.
“No they didn’t,” said Karen. “Definitely not.”
Amanda raked her fingers into her damp hair. This didn’t make sense. Unless…Her eyes went wide. Oh, no.
“Amanda?” Karen’s voice seemed to come from a long way off.
“I have to go.”
“What—”
“I’ll call you later.” Amanda quickly hung up the phone.
Something was seriously wrong. If Daniel hadn’t talked to Patrick, then he’d proposed all on his own. But that couldn’t be. Because that would mean…
Amanda swore out loud.
Daniel dropped the neatly typed letter on the top of his desk. He’d pictured Amanda here for this, pictured her smiling with pride, hanging on to his arm, making plans for a simple wedding—maybe on a boat off Madagascar.
He was ready to give her everything she wanted, everything she’d made him want. But she hadn’t even let him make his case last night. She hadn’t even listened to his plan, she’d simply written him off along with the rest of
his family.
As if Daniel didn’t have a life of his own. Sure, he liked to keep his family happy. It was usually easier to go with the tide than to fight it.
Truth was, he hadn’t really cared a whole lot since Amanda had left him the first time.
But he’d come back to life.
She’d brought him back to life.
He was about to do every damn thing she’d ever asked of him, and she wouldn’t even give him the courtesy of a fair hearing.
He plucked a gold pen from the holder on his desk and signed the letter of resignation with a flourish. Looked as though he was going to Madagascar alone.
His office door burst open.
He looked up, expecting Nancy, but Amanda rushed into the room.
She slowed her steps when she saw him, gazing quizzically, as if he’d sprouted horns.
Nancy quickly appeared behind her, clearly ready to escort Amanda back outside.
“It’s fine,” said Daniel, waving his secretary away.
Nancy nodded, pulling the door closed and leaving them alone.
“Something I can help you with?” he asked Amanda, focusing on the seascape behind her left ear. He wanted to cling to his anger, not take a good look at everything he was losing.
“I…uh…” She took another tentative step toward him. She cleared her throat. “I wanted…”
He plunked the pen back in its holder, not bothering to disguise his impatience. It was proving quite easy to hold on to his anger.
He crossed his arms over his chest, feeling strong enough to look into her dark eyes. “I’m a little busy this morning.”
Her eyes were wide, liquid and strangely vulnerable, but he steeled himself against them.
She swallowed. “Why, Daniel?”
“Why what?”
She was silent for several heartbeats. “Why did you ask me to marry you?”
“I thought I made that pretty clear.”
“I thought your father had talked to you.”
“He talks to me all the time.”
“Did he tell you to marry me?”
“Not since the seventies.”
Her tone turned pleading. “Then, why?”
He shrugged. “Oh, I don’t know. Since I have no brain of my own, I called one-nine-hundred, proper behavior, and they told me I should propose after the fifth—”
“Daniel.”
Dynasties:The Elliots, Books 7-12 Page 29