"Ms. Jordan, it's time for your appointment."
Belle bounced to her feet. It was time to go. This was too much.
She didn't say goodbye, but then Jennifer called out, "Oh have fun. Katarina is a miracle worker."
In the hallway, away from the waiting room, Belle kept her voice low as she followed the masseuse. "Katarina, is there a way you can work out the kinks caused from talking to Jennifer?"
The woman nodded her head. "Oh yes, absolutely, miss. I have experience. Don't let whatever she said get in your brain. Relax."
Easier said than done. The bet sounded worse and worse. It explained his interest. She knew she should have asked for details, but his mother had returned from the dead. She rubbed her temples as she lay on the table. She tried to close her eyes.
"That's just it. Everything she just said might be true."
Chapter Twenty Two
Peter rushed through the hospital doors and went right to the business office. His mother would never worry about anything financial. He'd take care of this. No one in his family would ever be turned into a pauper or have to ask for anything from anyone.
He signed all the business papers, and then had no more excuse to avoid his mother's room. His sister and brother would likely be in the hospital somewhere, or in the vicinity.
His feet dragged as he made his way to the elevator. He pressed the button with all the enthusiasm he could muster as a little girl then said, "Did your mom just go to heaven too?"
He shook his head. His face must look terrible. He knelt down as he glanced around the empty hospital hall near the elevator. This little girl was all by herself.
He swallowed and stared into her pretty brown eyes. "Is that what happened to yours?"
Her eyes misted as she hugged a small, ripped teddy bear. "Yeah."
She should have someone with her. The day his mother left was the worst day of his life. He glanced at the white walls and lack of security guards. Had the hospital let the girl wander alone without her mother?
He stayed at her eye level. "Is someone coming here for you?"
She waved to a closed office door without moving much. "My grandma and grandpa are with a priest inside there."
This was just for a minute. At least someone was here for her. He let the elevator go as it beeped behind him. There would be another in a moment.
"What's your name?"
She hugged her bear again. "Caroline."
"Caroline."
She clearly loved her mother. If he had a child, he'd want him or her to have the best at everything. His money had paid for Harvard, and if he paid for this girl, it would be written off as a charity exception to his taxes.
He took out his wallet and stared at the door. The grandparents must be upset. He wrote a personal note on the back of his card saying that he'd pay for college for their granddaughter.
"Here is my business card. I want you to keep this and give it to your grandma and grandpa. Tell them, when they are ready, to call me about your college tuition for Harvard or anywhere else. It is what your mom would have wanted for you."
She smiled at him while she studied the card. She bit her bottom lip for a moment and then nodded. "Okay. Thank you P...e...t...er. Peter. Your name is Peter."
A genuine smile of his own grew as he nodded. "She taught you to read."
She rolled her eyes like she was a teenager. "Of course. I'm five."
His eyes widened. "You’re five?"
She giggled and wrapped her arms around him. "Yes."
The door opened and her grandparents and a man in black all came out of the room. The grandmother was clearly crying.
Peter stood and nodded at the girl. "I might need to hire you to work for me one day. I like smart people in my office. Don't forget to give my card to your grandparents."
"Bye."
She ran to her grandparents and handed them his card. The elevator doors opened and people walked out. He stepped inside without another word.
He pressed the button, and the doors closed. In the elevator, he pressed his head on the wall. At least the girl knew what happened to her mother. His own life spun out of lies. Belle's words haunted him to simply 'be polite' as he stepped off the elevator.
The moment the doors opened, his gaze locked on his brother down the hall. Peter straightened his shoulders and walked out. John saw him and waved. Peter's face felt heated. He didn't know what to say or why he was here. He swallowed and joined his brother.
John pressed his hand on his back. "Glad you're here. We thought you weren't coming."
Peter stared into the room, but there was a curtain pulled. He widened his stance and wished he had bought flowers to hold. Instead he stood there and felt awkward.
"I was on my yacht."
John's face lightened. "With Belle?"
Peter placed his hands in his pockets and steadied his feet. "Yes, with Belle."
John turned his head and stared down the hall toward the elevator banks. "Why is she not here?"
His family would like Belle. She was real, and the Morgans all seemed to gravitate toward people that had a clear direction. Until he had met Belle he hadn't thought that important. His face felt hot now.
"I brought her to her hotel. Is Mom inside?"
"Some Doctor Luke hasn't wanted to leave Mom's side, but he finally left." John waved his hands like he might stop him. "Vicki is speaking to her privately. Give them a few minutes."
Peter's stance widened. John and he didn't look at each other. They both stared at the door. "Your new girlfriend went to bat for you today."
“She was trying to protect me.” Peter remembered how she confronted his family. No one had ever done that for him ever. His father had pretty much run his entire life until he died, and Mitch Morgan would have never chosen Belle.
Peter swallowed and tugged on his collar. "She's nice."
John rolled back and forth on his feet without moving them. "That's pretty rare for you."
Peter turned to stare at his brother. If his family didn't approve, it was their own problem, not his. "You told me to date her."
John nodded. "We were only looking out for you. Not everyone only sees dollar signs, and Belle seemed real."
So they did approve. Peter unclenched his hands that he didn't know he'd fisted. He stared at the door.
"You and Alice have good taste."
John snapped his fingers. "So things are going well then?"
Peter tensed. They were now too interested. He would bury himself with something to do, but he stayed absolutely still. He'd see his mother.
"Yeah."
John turned to block the door and stare right at him. "Look, I didn't mean to fight with you. You're my brother."
Peter tried to relax his shoulders. John was only trying to do what he thought was best. Peter pressed his hand on his brother's shoulder.
"Don't worry about it."
John rolled on his feet again. "Fair enough. I don't want to fight with either of my siblings."
Vicki then pushed the curtain back as she wiped tears from her eyes. Then she stood and smiled as she hugged the woman's hand.
"Peter. Mom, Peter's here."
This was surreal. The room was all white. As he stepped into the room, he stared at his mother. She had his dark hair once, though now she had more than a few grays. She had brown eyes that had haunted him all his life. In his memory, she was strong, but now he gazed at her wrinkles. She wasn't the same.
He leaned on the tray table someone had left food on. Her gaze stayed on him.
He swallowed and stepped closer. This was like one of his dreams where his mother had come home. He had forgotten that. He ignored everyone else but her as he sat on the bed. Her hands reached out to touch him. He choked on what he'd say and took her hand in his. The monitors beeped from brushing against the instrument attached to her finger.
Peter then heard his siblings, and he turned to them, "Vicki. John. Can I talk to her alone?"
&nbs
p; Vicki tugged on their brother's arm. "Of course. Take your time."
Peter stared at his mother, who then reached out to touch his face. His heart ached that she had ended up here. The monitor on her nose clearly measured her breaths. He waited for the clack of footsteps leaving the room to end. Then he reached out and brushed her cheek.
Her eyes watered as he said all the words he could muster, "Hey, Mom."
She tried to sit, but he shook his head. She lay back down, but clutched his hand. "Peter, I wish I wasn't sick. The doctors said they'd just monitor me."
He swallowed his own tears. He then petted her arm. He had pictured her dead so many times.
He tried to smile. "It's okay. You look better than I imagined."
She tried to sit, but the monitor blocked her. Her arms were wide open as she sobbed. "Peter..."
She couldn't say anything else. Her tears filled the room with sound. He wrapped his arms around her and ignored the monitors.
"Don't cry. I'm here."
She hugged him as the monitors beeped. "All these years you were the one I saw in all my dreams and nightmares. You were so close. It was your eyes that followed me across the foyer, and that moment I remembered the most.”
“What?”
“You were my boy, my helper. You always tried to protect me and your siblings. Your lips that curled into a frown when you realized you couldn't stop your father. You followed me everywhere until your father had me taken away. Now you've grown into a handsome man."
For a long while they didn't say anything. As a child, he remembered so many details about his mother. He could have followed her everywhere. He didn't remember.
For now, he held her hand and that was it. She stopped crying and settled into the bed. Silence clung in the air now. He remembered what he had said to Belle.
"Mom, did you see me that day?"
She choked on a tear and then coughed. The monitor on her nose made noises, but then she stopped and wiped her face.
"On the stairs? Yes. You helped me put everyone to bed, and then didn't listen when I tucked you in. I argued with your father that I wanted a divorce, which he denied me. I walked out the front door to get air, nothing more. I would never have left you there."
"I wanted to follow you."
"At the dock, before I was loaded onto the ship, your father told me to consider you dead as you'd never be my boy ever again."
Those words sounded like Mitch Morgan. Peter had heard things like that all his life. His stomach now burned.
"Mom."
"I believed him when he said I'd never see you again." She squeezed his hand and he stared into her eyes. "Peter, I am sorry I didn't hold you as tight as I should have."
This wasn't her fault. He shook his head and wished he had done more to defy his father than he had. He stroked her cheek.
"Don't say that. I was being selfish and scared. When you walked in the door, I didn't know what to do. It was my boyhood dream."
"It was my dream too. I wanted all my children."
"I'm sorry, Mom."
"There is nothing to be sorry for. This was your father's fault. I'm happy you're not like him."
If only that was true. She made that sound she used to make when he made her proud with a present he had made her. He covered his lips and sat there. His mother pressed the button on her bed and moved it to sit up. She straightened her pillows and then squeezed his hand again.
"Peter, tell me about your girlfriend. Is she good to you?"
Belle made him happy. She was sweet. He sat beside his mother and saw her as she was in his memory.
"Mom, Belle and I are new with dating. I think she's too good for me."
Her gaze narrowed, much like Vicki's did when she was deciding for herself. "Why?"
This was it. He had to tell her the truth. "Because I can be a controlling jerk like dad, and she shouldn't end up all alone like you."
Her eyes misted as she petted his hand. "Your father is not the only person inside you.”
“I see him when I look in the mirror.”
“You're your own beautiful soul, and you're also my son, Peter. You even look like me, not him.”
“He taught me to be just like him.”
“But I can see in your eyes that you still have some of me in you too. You still have that protective spirit you had as a child."
She was about to cry again. She started to cough.
Peter jumped off the bed and then said, "Mom, take it easy. We want to take you home."
She finished coughing and held her hand up for him to hold again. "Take your own advice. When I get out of here, I want to sit and have a nice dinner with this girl of yours. Your brother and sister picked out nice people to marry, and I want to see you have the same happiness."
John knocked on the door. "Can we come back in?"
Peter held his mother's hand as he called out, "Sure." Then he met his mother's brown eyes, and again he told her how he felt. "Mom, Dad locked you away for years and had you listed as merchandise in a ledger. You of all people shouldn't believe in love."
Vicki and John went white as they stepped inside the room.
Their mother held out her other hand as she answered Peter. "I want for you what I should have expected for myself. I fell for your dad's good looks and charm, but that doesn't mean you will. Trust your heart."
Vicki took the offered hand. "Is everything okay in here?"
Peter didn't let go. He stared into his mom's face. "Yeah. Mom wants all her children together."
Their mom quickly added, "And happy."
John stood beside Vicki with his hand on their sister's waist. "We are, Mom."
His mother nodded. "I intend to get out of here for Peter's New Year's party. There is a family matter that needs to be done in person and not at a hospital."
"We'll all be there." Vicki added, "It's going to be fun to ring in the New Year together. "Or we can schedule something the day you get out."
"Both will be good." His mother nodded.
Peter stared at his family. With Belle at the party, his life would be complete.
Chapter Twenty Three
Belle paced in her room. Had Peter ended the bet, and why hadn't she asked him for details? She should have. The more Jennifer's words swirled in her mind, the more her shoulders tensed.
As the sun set outside her balcony, a knock reverberated in the air. She inhaled and threw open the door. Peter wrapped his arms around her and kissed her.
Her hands didn't curl around him, though her lips tingled from his taste. Her fingers ached to run through his hair, but she balled her hands together to stay at her sides.
He let her go and stared at her, "What's wrong?"
She used both of her hands and pushed him out of arms reach. Peter walked inside her room and closed the door. She stormed into the living room on the first floor. He followed, and then she turned and crossed her arms.
"Peter, that's the last kiss we should have."
He rubbed his chin as he widened his stance. His stare sent heat through her, and it mixed with the molten hot lava of betrayal.
She clenched her jaw as he asked, "Why?"
Her entire body stiffened as she widened her legs, much like he had. Then she lifted her chin to stare at him.
"I need you to tell me about the bet that you'd date me."
His lips parted, and his eyes grew larger. "What happened that you brought it up now?"
"Details. I should be able to ask for them." Her eyes were going to water, but she refused to cry in front of him. This wasn’t worth being the first time she let herself go. She cleared her throat and then stared at him like he was her enemy at war.
"Is what Jennifer said about the bet true?
"Jennifer..." He stepped closer, but Belle blocked and stood behind the sofa. He nodded his head. "At the party, before you walked in, Colt and John both bet me that I couldn't date any woman I set my mind too. I told you I believed everyone has their price."
"Get out now."
His face was contorted, and he didn't move a muscle. "Just wait, one minute. I thought you knew?"
"At the hospital, Jennifer mentioned it. We had so much else going on that I left it on the back burner. I always wanted to know." If he wasn't going to leave, then she'd have to show him out. Her heart hammered in her chest as she yelled, "I hope you speak to your mom and grow close to your family, Peter. I want the best for you. But right now, I'm upset, and I want you to leave."
He came closer. She was close to tears, and no she'd not let him touch her. She stepped away so that the chair on the other side of the living room forced them to have space.
Peter didn't move, like he didn't want to scare an animal as he said, "Wait, Belle. I called off the bet, long before either of those conversations."
She rolled her eyes. Here came the explanation. Her jaw hurt from clenching it, but it didn't matter right now. He had to leave. She crossed her hands and tapped her foot.
"When? When did you call it off? Before we slept together?"
He nodded with those big, sexy eyes of his. "Yes, actually it was."
Another truth or another excuse? Belle's ears steamed. She covered them and refused to look at him. "I don't want to hear anymore."
He walked around the chair, but kept the distance between them. He was closer to the door. "I'd rather talk about this. Belle, I need you."
Her eyes misted. She'd not cry. She never cried in front of an audience. She kept her body tight, and she swallowed her unshed sobs. Her skin was electrified, and she clenched her hands.
"No, you'd rather convince me that I can overlook this. I was right the first time I met you and I said you should leave me alone."
He took a step toward the door. "I called it off, Belle, at my sister's wedding. It's what we talked about with the brother-sister dance."
His entire family knew. Colt was probably in on this. Everyone loved to ensure her life was miserable. She pointed to the door.
Secret Bet (The House of Morgan) Page 16