Maybe he was coming to tell her that he loved her. She could at least hear him out, let him grovel a little before she told him to go to hell.
“Fine,” she said.
“I’ll see you in twenty minutes.”
Mitch was at her door in fifteen. When the bell rang, she waved the butler away and answered it herself.
She’d almost forgotten how beautiful he was, how tall and dark and imposing. How delicious he smelled. Some small part of her ached to be close to him, to touch him again, to vault herself into his arms. Probably thanks to the pregnancy hormones that had been wreaking havoc with her emotions the past few weeks.
The easy smile Mitch usually wore was absent. His jaw was set and his expression serious. In fact, he looked almost…nervous. She didn’t think men like Mitch ever got nervous.
“Thank you for agreeing to see me,” he said.
She folded her arms across her chest. “What was so important that it couldn’t wait?”
“Is there somewhere we can speak privately?”
She nodded, and he followed her across the foyer to the study. When they were inside, she shut the door. “Well?”
“First, I want to apologize again for my brother’s behavior.”
“Don’t bother. He did me a favor. We would have been miserable together.” She paused, then asked, “How is Lance?”
“Great. Very happy.”
“I’m glad. But that isn’t what you came here to talk about.”
“No, it isn’t,” he said, looking troubled. “As you probably know, Lance and I are still in need of your father’s support.”
“Good luck with that.” Her father had been furious with the Brody brothers, and still was, as far as she could tell.
“I had a meeting with him today.”
Her eyes widened. “He actually agreed to meet with you?”
“I can be very persuasive.”
He didn’t have to tell her that. Had he not been so persuasive, she wouldn’t be in her current dilemma.
“The senator and I have reached an…understanding.”
Why did she get the feeling that she wasn’t going to like this?
“What kind of understanding?”
“Your father has promised his support if you marry me, instead.”
Marry him? After what had happened with Lance, would her father honestly force her to marry the other Brody brother? And why hadn’t he said anything to her? Why hadn’t he warned her?
“Another business arrangement?” she asked, and Mitch nodded. “Do I have a choice in the matter?”
“In fact, you do. The stipulation was that I have to convince you to marry me.”
Her mouth fell open. “He actually said that?”
“Essentially, yes.”
She could see that the prospect of having to beg Lexi to marry him made Mitch uncomfortable. As it should, after the way he’d used her. Score one for good ol’Dad. And she knew exactly why the senator had agreed to this arrangement. He’d mentioned more than once that he believed Mitch possessed presidential-size political potential. Social status meant everything to him and he would love nothing more than to see his precious daughter serve as first lady to the nation.
Whether or not Mitch was the least bit interested in a political career, Lexi didn’t have a clue, and the idea of spending the rest of her life married to someone so coldhearted and manipulative—too much like her father—turned her already questionable stomach.
Yet she couldn’t deny that this could be the answer to all of her problems. Marrying Mitch would give her child legitimacy. Although people—her father in particular—might get suspicious when she gave birth to a full-term-size baby two months early. But she could figure that out later.
The real question was, could she stand to be married to Mitch for the rest of her life?
Even if she did decide to marry him, she wouldn’t let Mitch off the hook too easily. She was going to make him work for it.
“After the way your brother humiliated me, what makes you believe I would even consider marrying you?” she asked.
“Because I have a plan that will leave my brother looking like the humiliated one.”
She narrowed her eyes at him, unable to resist taking the bait. “How will you manage that?”
“It will be leaked that you and I have been secretly seeing each other, and that I seduced you away from my brother that week in D.C. People will be led to believe that you were planning to break the engagement, only Lance did it first, before you had the chance.”
“And what will make them believe that? What if they think it’s just gossip?”
“My brother and I will have a very public argument to drive the point home.”
Reputation was everything to men like Lance and Mitch, so she couldn’t help but feel the slightest bit touched. “Lance would do that for me?”
“We’ll do anything for the sake of our business.”
So, they weren’t doing this for her. They were doing it for their business. Her vindication was just a convenient side effect. She should have known.
Ironically, their so-called plan wasn’t that far from the truth. Mitch had seduced her, and for a short time she had seriously considered choosing him over his brother.
“Does Lance know what happened?” she asked.
“You mean that night at the hotel?”
She nodded.
“Of course not. As far as he’s concerned, this is a total fabrication.”
And she could see from Mitch’s demeanor that he intended to keep it that way. That would be tough when news of the baby broke. Lance was eventually going to find out.
The truth was, she cared little about her humiliation, and what people might think of her. For the baby’s sake, however, she would be a fool to turn down Mitch’s offer. A marriage to him would grant the kind of life that the baby deserved.
“My answer is yes,” she said. “I’ll marry you.”
He looked surprised that she would acquiesce so easily. “We should do it soon. I was thinking a small civil ceremony at the courthouse.”
The sooner—and the simpler—the better as far as she was concerned. So much for the extravagant and blissful white wedding she had always dreamed of. “Fine.”
“And we should plan a honeymoon. To make it look more authentic.”
She thought of the nonrefundable trip she had just booked. “I’m leaving for a seven-day trip to Greece the day after tomorrow. Would that be authentic enough for you?”
He nodded. “That would be perfect.”
“I’ll have my assistant book you a seat.”
“And I’ll have mine make the wedding arrangements.”
“All right.”
“While we’re away, I’ll arrange to have your things moved into my townhouse.”
She hadn’t given any thought to the fact that he would expect her to live with him. But of course he would. Married couples lived together. Although the idea of living under his roof made her feel vulnerable. Would he try to run her life, controlling her every move the way her father had? Would she be moving from one prison to another?
And if so, what choice did she have?
Mitch must have read her expression. “You’ll have your own room,” he assured her. “You’ll want for nothing.”
Unfortunately, that wasn’t true. She wanted something he wasn’t capable of giving. She wanted to be loved. She wanted someone to respect and appreciate her for who she was deep down inside. And while he did seem to appreciate what she was doing for him, the love and respect part seemed impossible. Maybe she wasn’t worthy. Maybe that was the price she paid for wealth and security. Or maybe the sad truth was, she just wasn’t all that lovable.
“You won’t regret this,” Mitch assured her, which she found terribly ironic, seeing as how she was beginning to regret it already.
“Are you ready for this?” Lance asked Mitch the following evening. They sat across from one another at a linen-draped table i
n the elaborately decorated dining room of the Texas Cattleman’s Club. It was the most public place they could think of for the desired result. If all went as planned, word of what was about to transpire would burn up the town like flaming tumbleweed in the dry season.
“I’m ready,” Mitch said.
It was a little hard to believe that this time tomorrow he would be married and on his way to Greece. Twenty-nine was too damned young to be a husband, to be tied down. Not that he or Lexi were thinking of this as a real marriage. It was a business arrangement. One that would no doubt cost him dearly. Both emotionally and financially. That was evident from the astronomically priced wedding ring she’d chosen. Her expensive taste apparently knew no bounds.
A grin kicked up one corner of Lance’s mouth. “I’ll go easy on you, little brother.”
“Don’t bother. Whatever you can dish out, I can take.” God knows that there were many times he’d gotten a lot worse from their old man. “We have to make this look real, Lance.”
“Don’t worry, I will,” he said, and just like that, the grin faded. Lance assumed a look of pure disgust, and said in a voice loud enough for the entire room to hear, “You son of a bitch.”
A hush fell over the room and all heads turned in their direction. No turning back now, Mitch thought.
He held up both hands in a defensive gesture and said in a pleading voice, “Let me explain.”
Lance stood so fast his chair flipped backward onto the floor, narrowly missing the table behind theirs. He grabbed his half-full highball glass, rose to his feet and with a flick of his wrist flung the contents into Mitch’s face. As the alcohol burned Mitch’s eyes and soaked through the front of his shirt, he couldn’t help but think, what a terrible waste of the club’s finest whiskey.
Gasps of surprise filled the silence as Lance stormed from the dining room. Mitch grabbed a linen napkin from the table and wiped his face. With all eyes on him now—most of them friends, neighbors or business associates—he jumped up from his chair and followed his brother to the crowded main lobby, calling, “Lance, wait! I can explain!”
He caught up with him just outside the dining room door. To anyone watching, Lance appeared enraged. “Explain? What sort of man seduces his brother’s fiancée?”
Mitch heard gasps from the crowd.
“We didn’t mean for it to happen,” he said, finding it ironic that if Lance had discovered the truth, Mitch probably would have been saying the same thing. Although it would have been a lie. Lexi had admitted to using him to rob her husband of her virginity. Seems the joke was on both of them.
“As far as I’m concerned, you and Lexi deserve each other,” Lance spat, and turned to leave. Just as they had choreographed, Mitch grabbed his arm.
The fist came at him so swiftly that, had he not expected it, he wouldn’t have had time to duck. As it was, Mitch could only stand there defenseless as Lance’s fist connected squarely with his jaw. The blow knocked him backward several feet. He lost his balance and ended up on his ass on the unforgiving marble floor.
Lance shot him one last seething look, then shouldered his way out the door. Mitch’s behind ached something special, his jaw stung like a mother and his pride had taken a hit, but the reaction from the patrons told him it had all been worth it. A steady buzz of voices hummed through the lobby and at least half a dozen people were jabbering excitedly into their cell phones. He gave it an hour before the entire population of Maverick County heard the news.
Mitch swiped a hand across the corner of his mouth and came back with a smear of blood. Two employees appeared at either side to help him to his feet, and the hostess handed him a napkin to stop the bleeding.
“I’m all right,” he mumbled, shrugging away from their help as though humiliated and distraught. From outside, he heard the squeal of tires and knew Lance was peeling out of the lot, putting the finishing touches on their little charade. And what a show it had been.
He just hoped it was worth it.
Four
W ith only Tara, Lance, and Mitch’s best friend Justin Dupree to serve as witnesses—her father had been called to D.C. on so-called urgent business—Lexi and Mitch said their “I do’s” before a county judge the following morning, then drove directly to the airport to catch the first leg of their flight to Greece.
Lexi sat beside her new husband in first class, eyes closed, willing her stomach to settle. Either her hormones were wreaking havoc on her nerves, or her morning sickness had taken a severe turn for the worse. If it was the latter, to hell with having three or four children. This kid could count on being an only child. Up until now, she’d suffered only occasional, mild nausea. Today, she had vomited three times. Once at home, right after she crawled out of bed, once in the ladies’ room of the courthouse, and again in the airport bathroom just before their flight boarded. She was beginning to think this trip was a bad idea.
Even worse than marrying Mitch Brody.
“Are you all right?” Mitch said softly.
Far from it. She swallowed back the bile rising in her throat and opened her eyes, grimacing once again when she saw the angry-looking bruise that spanned the left side of his jaw and the nasty gash at the corner of his mouth.
“I’m fine,” she lied.
There was concern etched on his face. He folded the newspaper he’d been reading—the financial section, of course—and set it in his lap. “No offense, but you’re looking a little green.”
How nice of him to notice. “And you’re looking black and blue.”
He reached up and rubbed a palm across his jaw, wincing slightly.
“I can’t believe he hit you. Couldn’t he just have pretended to punch you?”
Mitch shrugged, as if it was no big deal. “I told you, it had to look convincing.”
Apparently it had. According to Tara, the entire town was buzzing with gossip, and every chance Tara got, she helped out by fanning the flames. In no time, everyone would be convinced that Mitch and Lexi had been having a secret affair. News of the baby would only cement the rumors.
Even though Lexi knew Mitch and Lance had ultimately done it for their business, she couldn’t help but feel honored that they had gone to such lengths in part to salvage her honor.
And she thought chivalry was dead.
Despite his casual attitude, it must have been humiliating for Mitch. Or maybe he was one of those men who honestly didn’t give a damn what anyone thought.
“I could ring the flight attendant for an ice pack,” she offered.
“I’m fine,” he said. “Do you need anything?”
She shook her head, which was a mistake because the movement made her stomach lurch. She wished she’d chosen a more casual outfit for the flight instead of the fitted silk suit she’d worn for the ceremony. Something loose and comfortable, like her pajamas.
“You don’t look well,” he said.
“Thanks.”
“That wasn’t an insult. I’m concerned.”
“I’m just a little airsick. It happens sometimes. And it’s kind of embarrassing, so if you don’t mind, can we just drop it?”
“Sorry.”
After that, they sat in awkward silence. During their week together in D.C. they had seemingly endless conversations. Most people viewed her as a spoiled and witless debutante, and her father didn’t help, perpetuating the rumors by pampering and coddling her. But Mitch had seen past that. He had listened to her, made her feel…special. Now she had no idea what to say to him.
How about something along the lines of, By the way, did I mention that I’m pregnant with your child?
She had planned to tell him in the limo on the way to the airport, but she’d been otherwise occupied, trying not to be sick all over the leather interior. She’d decided to wait until they settled into the villa in Greece. She didn’t doubt the news was going to come as a shock, but she was sure that when he grew used to the idea, he would be happy to be a father.
As if reading her thoughts, M
itch said, “Maybe we should have a talk about our expectations in regard to our relationship.”
She hoped he wasn’t talking about sex, because that hadn’t been part of the deal. This was supposed to be a business arrangement. She had no intention of being his concubine. “What kind of expectations?”
Her wariness seemed to amuse him. “Not the kind you’re obviously thinking of. Our relationship stops at the bedroom door.”
“Good,” she said, feeling relieved. And strangely enough, a little disappointed.
“What I meant, for example, is that as a part of my business, it’s required that I occasionally attend social functions. As my wife, I will expect you to accompany me, and of course I’ll do the same for you.”
That didn’t sound so terrible. “I can do that.”
“You’ll also be expected to host several parties.”
That was something that she was actually quite good at. “Of course.”
“And since I’m not particularly fond of seeing my name in the tabloids, or being the source of the latest gossip, I think it should appear to everyone that we’re happily married. If word gets out that this is part of a business deal, we’ll never hear the end of it. I personally value my privacy.”
Personally, she didn’t give a damn what people thought. But for the baby’s sake, it would be best if they kept up a ruse of wedded bliss, so the child wouldn’t feel unwanted.
“As soon as we get back to the states we can start house hunting. Or if you prefer, we could build.”
“What about your townhouse?”
“It’s too small for our needs.”
“If you think so,” she said. She had never actually been there, but she couldn’t imagine that someone as wealthy as Mitch would live anywhere that could be considered small. Although she couldn’t deny that the idea of having her own home was a little exciting. All of her life she had lived in her father’s Houston estate or D.C. townhouse. He hadn’t even allowed her to decorate her own room, preferring instead to let a professional choose the decor. She had never had a place that was truly hers.
The Oilman s Baby Bargain Page 3