by Susan Meier
Mark shifted on his chair. “Okay. Now to the real reason I’m out here.” He took a breath. “You haven’t adjusted.”
“Adjusted?”
“To being my son. To being wealthy. To any of it.”
“I’m working on it.” He chuckled. “I didn’t get up and walk away when you sat down.”
“Yeah, that’s progress. But the girls adjusted so much faster. Within six weeks, Leni found a purpose. It took Charlotte more like eight, but once she realized she could be, have or do anything she wanted, she decided to use her construction expertise to help Leni and her free time to love Jace. It was simple for them both.”
“You didn’t humiliate Charlotte and Leni by making them attorney for your estate then faking your death.”
“You’re still mad about that? Because I didn’t fake my death.”
“Yeah. Yeah,” Danny said, rolling his eyes.
“I didn’t.”
“Either way, you did make me attorney for your estate when I’m your son. Do you have any idea what an idiot that made me look like?”
“I do now. But back when I was setting it all up, I just saw it as a good way for you to get an understanding of my...our...holdings. To see everything with neutral eyes.”
Danny sighed. “Whatever.”
“Look, hiding you guys could be considered a mistake by some people but not by me. I had enemies and I had money. You were all targets.”
Danny peered over. “And we’re not now?”
“I’ve retired. Made friends with my enemies, and I have the best protection under the sun in Jace’s group. It’s why I couldn’t leave Rex out there unprotected. When I learned about him, I knew other people could too. I had to get him under the umbrella. That was reason enough for me to come clean about everything.”
“By faking your death.”
“You’ve got to let that go, Sergeant Pepper.”
“Sergeant Pepper?”
“Yeah, the guy with the Lonely Hearts Club Band.”
Danny snorted.
“You’re moping about something.”
“Haven’t you heard? I’m pragmatic and practical.”
Mark laughed. “All I heard was stuffed shirt. And that was a joke. Who called you pragmatic?”
“Marnie. She was trying to make me feel better about the stuffed shirt teasing. She made me feel worse.”
“Ah.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
Mark rose from his chair. “The biggest mistake of my life wasn’t not being a part of the lives of my children. It was leaving the love of my life. I thought about Penny every day. Sometimes I out-and-out mourned the loss of what we could have had.” He swirled the whiskey in his glass, then peered down at Danny. “Don’t do that. Don’t walk away from the woman you want. Do whatever it takes to keep her.”
He strolled away without giving Danny a chance to argue, so all his wonderful retorts died on his lips.
With a growl of annoyance that Mark just couldn’t seem to stop butting into his business, he started to lift himself out of his chair, but his parents came over. His mom sat. His dad looked around as if he’d finally found himself in heaven.
As much as he wanted to dislike Mark Hinton, seeing the happiness on his parents’ faces, he couldn’t.
Mark really was giving all of them things they never could have earned on their own. He was unselfish. He was easygoing. And to make as much money as he had, Mark also had to be smart.
Oh, who was he kidding? Everybody knew Mark Hinton was brilliant. Probably one of the smartest men of his generation.
And he’d told Danny to do whatever it would take to keep the woman he loved.
The thought whispered through his brain.
Tiptoed into his soul.
Did he love her?
If he did, did he want to be like Mark, alone and pining for the woman he loved, but couldn’t have because his wealth separated them?
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
JACE AND CHARLOTTE’S outdoor wedding surpassed Marnie’s expectations. The air shimmered with the enchantment Charlotte believed hung over the MacDonald compound. A beautiful bride in a long-sleeved lace gown that slid along her tall, slim frame, she gazed lovingly at her groom, who wore a kilt. Marnie could have sworn she swooned.
Then she looked from Jace to his brother Oliver, the best man, and to Danny, also a member of the wedding party.
No one was more handsome than Danny Manelli in a tux. With his hair neat and tidy, his bow tie tight and his white shirt crisp beneath his black suit coat, he was perfection.
His eyes moved and suddenly his gaze snagged hers. She sat on one of the white folding chairs facing the flower-covered arch where Jace and Charlotte said their vows, holding Rex. Wearing a little navy blue suit, he looked cute as a bug. And Marnie had to say she didn’t look so bad herself in a simple pink dress.
Her head tilted. Was that why Danny kept staring at her? Why he couldn’t seem to break eye contact as his sister promised to love and cherish her new husband? Because she looked nice? Because she was mothering his child...
Or was there something more in that look?
A shiver wove through her, reminding her of the connection she’d always felt to him. It was almost as if he was trying to tell her something.
The ceremony ended. Congratulations and toasts to the bride and groom went on for an hour, as everyone at the small, private wedding felt entitled to say their piece.
Filet mignon and salmon cooked to perfection were served under a huge white tent. There were more toasts, dancing and cake.
Close to eight, Rex’s bedtime, he fussed. It amazed Marnie how quickly he’d adjusted to the time change. He’d slept through the night and got up at six as he always did, but on Scottish time. Then he napped at two that afternoon and now he was tired at his regular bedtime. Surprised, but not one to go looking for trouble, she searched the crowd for Danny. Without making a ripple in the celebration, she motioned to him that she was taking the baby to their suite to check his diaper and give him a cookie.
He nodded.
In the room, she changed him into pajamas, found a cookie—or rather a biscuit, as Jace’s mom called them—in the stash in the diaper bag and led him to the sitting room. He ate his cookie, laughed and played a bit, but she could see he was worn out. Two minutes after she put him in the crib, he was asleep.
Tired herself, she glanced at the TV in the sitting room but headed to her bedroom to get her pajamas and toiletries. Her hair piled on top of her head in a loose bun, she soaked in the tub for at least twenty minutes.
Feeling refreshed, she dressed in her pajamas, put her wet towel in the hamper, gathered her things and stepped into the main room, just as the suite door opened and Danny walked inside.
Seeing her, he immediately spun around. “I’m sorry.”
She laughed. “Danny, I’m in very covering pajamas. You probably saw scantier clothes on the street last week.”
“I know, but it’s you.”
Her heart skipped a beat. He’d said it as if she were special, unique. Her feelings for him rose and tightened her chest.
“I respect you.”
She swallowed hard, as new emotions swamped her. He’d said that before, but tonight she realized that though she’d never voiced it, she’d been angling for respect since the day her dad left, when she couldn’t abandon her unconscious mom, and her dad had called her a traitor.
“Thank you.” His words filled her with something that made her stand taller, even as her nerves settled. “But it’s fine. Really. I was planning on watching some television.” She headed for her room. “So, give me a minute to dress.” She stopped suddenly and squeezed her eyes shut. He hadn’t returned looking for her. Stupid that she would think that.
She turned to see he was already heading
for Rex’s room. “You’re here to check on Rex.”
“Yes...and no.” He peered over his shoulder. “I’m really tired. I could use an hour of television to unwind and then about fourteen hours of sleep.”
She understood what he meant. His family was wonderful. But they were also noisy and sometimes overwhelming. She couldn’t ship him out there again just because she wanted to see what was on Scottish television.
“I don’t mind having company while I watch TV.”
He turned a little more. “I’d be very happy for the company.”
Her lips lifted slightly. “Okay. You check on Rex. I’ll put on yoga pants and a T-shirt and we’ll be set.”
He nodded and she went to her bedroom and changed out of her pajamas and into her usual nanny attire of yoga pants and a T-shirt. She looked at her hair and winced. If she fixed it, it might look like she’d done it for him.
If she didn’t, it remained a mess.
So maybe better a mess than sending the wrong message? She liked him. She’d always liked him. But there could be nothing between them.
She left her hair in the sloppy bun and joined him in the sitting room.
In the back, making popcorn, his tux exchanged for a T-shirt and sweats, he turned and smiled. “What do you think we’ll find on TV?”
She shrugged and plopped on the sofa. “Hard to say. Are you sure you don’t want to be at the reception?”
“It’s winding down. I told my parents I needed to check on Rex, and I got a kiss on the cheek and an ‘I’ll see you in the morning,’ then they went back to dancing.”
He brought the popcorn to the sofa and she sighed. “Dancing. That looked like so much fun.”
He gaped at her. “You should have said something! We could have danced.”
She scrunched her face. “Not really.”
“Marnie, there’s literally no one here who cares who I am. Who you are. I think we should enjoy that.”
She took a handful of popcorn, glancing around. The room was silent save for the muffled sounds of music and laughter coming from the MacDonald’s backyard. He was correct. There was no one here but family.
“It’s a wonder there’s been no press here.”
“Part of it was Jace’s maneuvering. The other part though is that people in Scotland have known this family for generations. They don’t think of them as wealthy. They think of them as neighbors.”
She listened to the sound of the music from the wedding reception, interspersed with bursts of laughter. “You couldn’t do this in New York City.”
“Precisely. Which is why I think we should go somewhere tomorrow.”
“Take Rex to see the countryside?”
“No. Take you to see a bit of the country. We won’t have all day or anything, but I’m sure I can talk my parents into watching Rex for a few hours.” He caught her gaze. “Enough time maybe for lunch in the village a few miles down the road.”
She said nothing.
“Come on. No one will care, and I want so badly to do this.” He took her hand. “Every time I look at you, there’s this thing that builds in my chest. A longing. I would show you the world, if I could. But I can’t. And I respect your wishes on that. But this is one time we can skirt the rules, be ourselves, and I want it.”
Looking at their joined hands, feelings swamped Marnie. Memories of going to the art gallery, their first kiss, his standing up for her to her dad, her thank-you kiss and making love. Now they were sitting here like two normal people and the emotion running through her was hotter, deeper, than the things she felt in the high points of their relationship. The connection that wove them together filled her with such yearning her heart almost burst.
She wanted it too.
“Only if your parents don’t mind watching Rex.”
He slid his arm along her shoulder and nestled her against him as he leaned back on the sofa. “There are four or five couples who’d be happy to keep him.”
She leaned into him, taking a handful of popcorn and reveling in the simplicity of the moment. “I suppose.”
“So, don’t overthink it.”
“I won’t.”
Suddenly, in the quiet, secluded room, the past didn’t matter. She sank deeper against him, breathed in his scent. Refusing to let her brain race back to the memories that always haunted her, she closed her eyes and simply enjoyed being with him.
* * *
Everything felt different in the car on the way into town. Last night, after a chaste kiss good-night, Danny had gone to his room, knowing this was what he wanted. A little time with her. Not necessarily to persuade her that they could have something together, but if the opportunity came up, he wasn’t going to let it pass unused.
He’d thrown on jeans and a T-shirt with tennis shoes, working to look as completely unlike a wealthy person as he could. After breakfast with the family, he’d also gotten permission to use the sedate sedan in the carriage house. As he and Marnie zipped along the country road, looking at rolling hills with mountain backdrops, where he was and what he was doing finally hit him.
It might not have been a normal date, but it was a date.
Marnie also wore jeans, but she’d topped hers with a pretty pink shirt that brought out the red in her hair, which she’d left down. Thick tresses flowed around her shoulders and to her back.
Delicious feelings tumbled through him. Simple longings that mixed heart and soul and made him tongue-tied, unsure. If he could, he’d catch her hand and keep her with him forever. But she had doubts—about him, his life. About her past. Most of the time, he didn’t even know how to address those, let alone assure her that none of it mattered. Because in Manhattan it did. He wouldn’t lie to her and pretend it didn’t.
Still, he had a few glorious hours. To be himself and let her be herself. Simple American tourists.
Who liked each other—
“You looked really nice yesterday in that pink dress.”
“I better. I paid enough for it that I’ll be wearing it to the next six weddings I go to.”
He laughed. Naturally. Easily. Not just because he’d been middle-class enough to understand stretching a dollar, but because he could. No one knew him here. No one knew her. That’s how he’d enticed her into spending a day with him.
They could literally do anything they wanted.
“I think we should look at today as an adventure.”
She laughed. “Seriously? Unless you’ve found a hoard of Vikings to fight, I think it’s going to be a normal morning.”
“Hey, I’m trying to make this work.” As soon as the words were out of his mouth, he knew he’d made a poor choice.
Her gaze shot to his. “I don’t want you to have to make it work.”
“Actually, that’s our problem. We’ve never had to make it work. When we’re together, alone, not thinking about who I am or who you are, it does work. That’s been our trouble from the start. It worked so well we forgot about boundaries.”
* * *
She fought not to close her eyes and remember the night they’d made love. Because he was correct. Everything they did felt right. Every time she looked at him, she had the sense that he was hers. Hers to love. Hers to laugh with. Hers.
But that was a pipe dream. Her subconscious longing for something it couldn’t have. It made her curse fate at the same time she questioned her sanity. She knew better than to fall for someone so far out of her league—
“You’re overthinking.”
She ran her hands down her arms, warding off the cold that suddenly filled her. “I guess I was.”
“If we do that, we won’t enjoy the day and I want to enjoy the day. To be myself again if only for four hours.”
His words hit her in the heart. All these weeks of worrying about herself, she’d forgotten what Mark had stolen from Danny. A norma
l life. A chance to climb the ladder of success to earn and deserve his achievements. The possibility of meeting someone on a street or in a coffee shop, falling in love without worry of motives or their past.
She sucked in a breath. She, of all people, should want him to have this little space of time to be himself, not Mark Hinton’s son, not one of the Hinton heirs. “You’re right. Let’s enjoy the day.”
They stepped out of the car into a space so quaint and wonderful it seemed they’d walked into a fairy tale. A small, old village, it still boasted cobblestone streets that looked to be as old as time. Shops could have been gingerbread cookies, iced with colors that made roofs, doors and windows with curtains.
“Wow! It’s so beautiful.”
Danny sucked in some air. “And quiet.”
He wanted the quiet. She knew he did. But he needed more. In the same way that she longed for the ability to make a real human connection, to love someone without fear, he needed some time without worry. No stress. Only simple happiness.
She could give him that. Easily. As naturally as breathing.
The idea simultaneously thrilled and scared her. If she let her guard down, she knew what would happen—
But wasn’t that what she wanted too?
The first time they’d made love had been rushed by overwhelming need. What would it be like if they took these few hours of privacy and did what they really wanted to do?
Bliss.
Memories.
No. More of a touchstone for her. The kind of memory she could point to and say that’s what it’s like when I’m free. When no one cares. Not even me.
The thought of having that memory wove through her. Not a temptation, but a necessity. Something to hold on to.
She definitely wanted this.
Sliding her arm beneath his, she cuddled close, hoping to warm his blood, to make him feel the need that tiptoed inside him and sent nudges to touch her, to kiss her, to just follow through on whatever he wanted.
“Let’s go shopping.”
Expecting him to say something romantic, she blinked, then peered at him. “What?”