“What about Leora?” Bryce had invited Croft’s wife, but Croft said the kids had too many planned activities this weekend and Leora had to drive them everywhere.
“Leora leaves the big decisions to me.”
A statement that didn’t surprise Bryce considering how conservative the man was proving to be. Apparently he was also controlling, or he could have found someone else to see to the kids for a couple of days.
Bryce swept his gaze along the upper level near the wave pool where guests were already gathering at the buffet. “I don’t see Hailey, but I’m sure she’s here somewhere.”
“Why don’t you see if you can find her?” Croft suggested, swiping a glass of champagne off a waiter’s tray and turning to stare straight across the lake at the estates on the other side. “I can amuse myself for a while.”
A breeze ruffled his dark hair, cut by a single silver streak at the temple that made him look older than Bryce, although Croft was actually a couple of years younger.
“Fine,” Bryce said, clapping Croft’s shoulder. “And maybe we can talk business in the morning.”
The man was already intent on something in the distance and didn’t seem to register what Bryce was saying. But Croft’s mind was working. Bryce had the dubious McKenna ability of being able to “hear” what people were thinking when they were off guard. Croft already had consumed several glasses of champagne.
Maybe McKenna Development is in trouble because of Bryce’s reckless lifestyle. Swinging bachelors don’t have the same sense of responsibility that married men do—look at what he spent on this party just to impress me. Now if he had a wife and family, it would be a different matter. He’d have to be responsible and I wouldn’t hesitate to sign on the dotted line.
Someone stopped to talk to Croft and his thoughts faded away. But Bryce got the message loud and clear. Croft didn’t trust him because he wasn’t a family man. Croft had no idea of how much family meant to Bryce. And he had no idea of why Bryce had never married— Sheelin O’Keefe’s prophecy had come true far too many times, including with Bryce’s own mother.
Off in search of Hailey, Bryce couldn’t help but think that the family company was at risk because of an employee’s bad decisions. But this deal could give them the new start they needed to survive. His plan was to combine two Chicago manufacturing buildings in the Lakeview area into a huge condominium complex. Despite the economy, the neighborhood continued to be hot and properties continued to sell. The problem was that, at the moment, McKenna Development couldn’t get the kind of loan necessary to implement his plan. Becoming partners on this project with the uber-wealthy, ultraconservative James Croft could keep his company from bankruptcy, Bryce thought.
But how to get past Croft’s objection that he needed a wife?
Not at all a welcome thought to a man under a curse. He would never put a woman he loved in jeopardy.
Spotting Mattie Sorenson helping herself to an appetizer from a waiter’s tray, he joined her. “Mattie, don’t you look gorgeous. Every time I see you, you’re more beautiful than before.”
The good-humored Mattie laughed. “And you keep getting more charming.” She gave him an amused if suspicious expression. “What is it you need, Bryce McKenna?”
“I’m looking for Hailey Wright. I thought you might have seen her.”
“She said you had a potential new client for her.”
He nodded and turned to indicate Croft who still stood on a lower level, alone once more, staring off into the distance. “My guest and hopefully new business partner, James Croft.”
“Well, I hope it works out for her. She’s an angel in need of a backer right now.”
Something else he and Hailey had in common. They’d both grown up in this area and had a loyalty to it that came from sheer love of the place.
“I hope it works out for both our sakes,” Bryce said.
“The last I saw of her, she went in that direction,” Mattie said, waving toward the wave pool.
“Thanks. I’ll find her.”
He took off again. Hailey had been best friends with his younger sister Grania, so growing up, she’d spent a lot of time in this house. One of the places the girls had loved to hide out was in the little patio off the den. There was a passageway directly next to the pool. Bryce made straight for it.
But when he got to the entrance, he hesitated. He heard a ragged sob and was certain it was Hailey. Now what? She sniffed and hiccupped and sounded as if she was trying to get herself under control. And then she started crying again.
Realizing it must be serious, Bryce couldn’t stand to let a childhood friend suffer without trying to help. He crossed into Hailey’s sanctuary and saw her sitting on a retaining wall, huddled and looking utterly devastated.
“Hey, what can I do to help?”
Hailey jerked and looked up at him, a strand of her long pale blond hair falling over wide blue eyes, the whites red from crying. Her small nose was red, too, and her full lips were trembling. Bryce pulled a handkerchief from his pocket and held it out as he took a seat next to her on the wall, careful not to sit on the skirt of her dress, an elegant pale blue number that molded her curves and flared out from her hips. Seeming reluctant, she nevertheless took the handkerchief from him and dabbed at her eyes and her nose.
“S-sorry,” she said. “I—I’ll be all right in a minute.”
“Why do I doubt that?”
“No, really. I just got some bad news is all.”
Reaching out, he turned her face toward his and looked into her worried eyes and pinched expression that told him that whatever it was, it was serious. “Anything I can do?”
For a moment, her expression softened into hopeful. Then she blinked and shook her head. “No, not your problem. I’ll work it out somehow.”
“Tell me.”
“No, really, I should meet your guest.”
“Tell me,” he said again, his voice firm. “Hailey, I’m not letting you out of here until you do. Right now, you look like you need a friend more than you do an introduction to a stranger.”
Swallowing hard, she took a shaky breath, then said, “All right. It’s Danny.”
“Was he hurt?”
“Not yet.”
“What do you mean ‘Not yet’?”
“He will be if he doesn’t come up with the money to pay a gambling debt. A loan shark is after him this time.”
Grania had said something to him about Hailey’s brother getting into trouble gambling. His sister, of course, had been worried about her friend. Hailey had felt responsible and had rescued Danny more than once.
“How much?” Bryce asked.
Hailey swallowed hard again. “Too much. A hundred thousand. I can’t get that kind of money. The loan shark is threatening to kill him. What am I going to do, Bryce? How can I save him this time?”
Her eyes were welling with tears again. Impulsively Bryce put an arm around her back and let her lean on his shoulder. He really liked Hailey, always had. She was almost like a second sister to him. He hated seeing her like this. So helpless. Knowing how she felt about Danny, he feared she would do something foolish to rescue her brother.
Family loyalty was another thing they had in common.
They had a lot in common, he realized.
Including businesses that were in financial trouble.
“What about the police? Has he called them?”
“No, of course not! And I’m not going to. If Danny isn’t killed, he’ll go to prison for illegal gambling.”
Maybe spending some time behind bars would straighten out her brother, not that he said so. His mind began to race with thoughts that nearly choked him. There was a way out of their troubles for both of them. It was crazy, really…but it just might work. And what would be the harm if they both went into it, eyes wide open?
While he cared about Hailey, he certainly didn’t love her. That would keep her safe from the family curse.
“I have a plan,” he said.
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“For what?”
Straightening, she turned to look at him. Hopeful again, her expression made him swallow hard. Would she buy it?
“I can get your brother out of trouble,” he said, “and you can assure me a deal I want to make with James Croft. Everybody wins.”
Her eyebrows furrowed, making her look young and innocent. “I don’t understand.”
He almost stopped right then, but everything for him counted on that backing by the conservative Croft, who was hesitating hooking up financially because he believed Bryce was a swinging bachelor when in reality, Bryce was too obsessed with work to chase skirt. And it was obvious Hailey didn’t have the means to rescue her brother this time—and this time could very well be the last if Danny was hooked up with the wrong people.
“I’m proposing a business venture,” he said, glad that he still had some personal resources so he could make the offer that would solve both of their problems. “Strictly business. I’ll pay Danny’s debt off if you agree.”
“To what?”
“To marry me.”
Chapter Two
“Excuse me?” Hailey choked out.
Bryce had loved to torture her when they were kids. Was this his wacky idea of a way to make her smile through her tears?
Staring into his serious green eyes, she blinked and studied his expression. Thick dark hair brushed his broad brow, now furrowed, his wide mouth was set in a straight line, his square jaw clenched, and there wasn’t a hint of the dimple that kissed his right cheek when he smiled.
“I’m absolutely serious,” he said, sitting next to her on the bench.
The warmth of his leg touching hers sent a tingling sensation along her flesh. Hailey stiffened and adjusted away from him slightly. “C’mon, Bryce, you were never attracted to me,” she said, though she’d often wished he was.
“I told you this is business. James Croft, the potential client I invited you to meet? He’s stalling on signing a contract with me because he thinks I’m some swinging bachelor and therefore he doesn’t trust me.”
Dressed in tan pleated linen trousers and a topaz silk T-shirt, forgotten designer sunglasses threaded through his precisely cut dark hair, Bryce McKenna looked every bit the swinging bachelor—one who would make any woman’s pulse rush a little faster.
“What kind of deal?” she asked.
“A business deal involving a lot of money…kind of like I’m offering you.”
She gaped at him. “You don’t marry someone because it’s good business.”
“Actually, a lot of people do. Always did. Always will.” He shrugged. “Considering the family history, it’s the only reason I would marry at all.”
So he’d bought into the idea of his family being cursed by some woman rejected by his ancestor the century before. Hailey knew the story from Grania, of course, but she hadn’t thought Bryce was gullible enough to believe in it. “Okay, then I wouldn’t marry any man just because it’s good business.”
“I’m not just any man. We’ve known each other since we were kids. You can trust me to do right by you, Hailey. So what about marrying me…to save your brother?”
Hailey started. For a moment, she’d forgotten all about Danny. But marrying a man without love involved wasn’t the solution. She looked away from him, focused on a large container filled with a spikey native grass, brightly colored flowers and dripping sweet potato vine.
“I’ll find another way,” she said.
“How? The real estate market up here hasn’t bounced back yet. And I understand Danny has already tapped you out.”
Heat flushed through Hailey as she realized Grania obviously had filled her brother in on her woes. Not that she’d asked her old friend to keep her confidence when they’d had dinner last month. Grania must really be worried about her. Realizing Bryce was waiting for her response, Hailey turned back toward him and swallowed hard when she recognized pity in his eyes.
“Bryce, I can’t be your only solution. You were never without a woman on your arm.”
“But never one I cared about.”
Not that he was saying he cared about her, Hailey knew. “Still, I’m sure you have other options.”
“Not at the moment, I don’t. I haven’t seen anyone in…well, not in a while. You’re the only one who can save me, Hailey.” Bryce reached out and took her hands in his. “And in return, I promise I’ll do whatever I must to save Danny from himself.”
Hailey was floored by the offer, but what else could she do to get the money Danny needed? She couldn’t let her brother die. She stared down at their intertwined hands and felt her pulse kick a little faster.
There was a time years ago when she’d had a tremendous crush on Bryce McKenna. A couple of boys had been giving her a hard time and she’d been about to get into a physical altercation with them when Bryce had come along and had handled the situation, threatening them within an inch of their lives. After that, he’d been her hero. Being that he’d been four years older than she—nineteen to her fifteen—nothing further had ever passed between them.
He’d been away at college, and then when his mother had gone missing the following summer, his father had moved the family to Chicago, all except for his younger brother Ian, who’d been living with relatives in New Orleans and had never returned except to visit.
Hailey had spent her teenage years dreaming about something happening between her and Bryce.
Just not something like this.
All that had been a dozen years ago, so she said, “It’s a tempting offer—”
“Then take it. I promise it’ll be strictly business. It’ll make Croft happy. While I’m getting this project together, you can act as my hostess. Being with me would put you in contact with people who have the money to buy real estate. A bonus for you, not just for your brother.”
As Bryce spoke, a chill shot through Hailey. This was all wrong.
“Marriage could be a very convenient strategy for both of us,” he continued. “And if it doesn’t work and you want out…I promise to let you go without a fight when the time is right.”
Danny. She had to think about her brother. Bryce promised to save him. But still, what would she be getting herself into?
“The right time,” she said, “when would that be?”
“When I’m certain my business relationship with Croft doesn’t depend on whether I’m married. After McKenna Development is rolling on the new project. Probably a few months. Six tops. Then I promise we’ll play it however you want.”
“If you need money, then where would you get the money to pay Danny’s gambling debt?”
“Not from the company, that’s for certain.”
So he would deplete his personal finances, Hailey thought.
She should feel trapped, without options, because that was the truth. She had no other way of saving her brother.
Even so, something inside Hailey—hope?—fluttered enticingly as she said, “Yes, all right. I’ll do it for Danny.”
WHILE Bryce went in search of James Croft so he could introduce his would-be partner to his new fiancée, Hailey hoped that she wouldn’t have reason for regretting her agreement and rejoined the party.
Her success in the real estate market really had been magic as Mattie had implied. When she was younger, Hailey used to joke that she could see dead people like that kid in that movie, but in reality she’d only been able to sense spirits that still lingered in this world. She knew when they were happy or sad or afraid.
The ability extended to the properties she’d represented over the years. If a spirit still frequented a place—she never thought of it as being haunted—she sensed if the house was loved or hated and why. That ability had allowed her to match clients to the right property.
Since getting into the real estate business, she’d been able to bring a potential sale to life as no other real estate agent could.
But lately the “magic” had been put on hold.
The spirits had bee
n absent, as if her darkening mood had chased them away. Suddenly sales had eluded her, leaving her in fear of losing her business.
Bryce’s plan had lightened her mood—now at least she wouldn’t have to worry about Danny—and Hailey could imagine a reversal in fortune. So with a big smile and renewed hope in her heart, she approached a few potential clients, engaged them in conversation for a few minutes and handed out a dozen business cards.
Then, through the crowd, she spied Ray Anderson grazing at the buffet. Hailey’s eyebrows shot up, reflecting her surprise. Even though Ray was a longtime Lake Geneva bar owner, he wasn’t part of this social set any more than she was. While the majority of attendees were dressed in designer clothes—everything from jeans to summer suits—Ray was in his usual warm weather gear—short shorts, a loud Hawaiian shirt and boating shoes. His short, light brown hair was spiked and he was sporting a five o’clock shadow. Knowing Ray and his brother Mike had just inherited a property on the lake, she figured that might have moved him up in the world here.
She approached the buffet table and picked up a plump grilled prawn. Ray was still filling his plate.
“Hi, Ray.” She took a bite and murmured her approval. “The prawns are heavenly.”
“Hey, Hailey. I’m more of a beef guy myself.”
Indeed, she saw he’d chosen a giant burger stuffed with all the trimmings over the fancier fare.
“I pretty much like everything,” she said, “but I don’t have prawns often enough.”
“Or burgers, at least not at my place any more.”
“Not because I don’t want to. Business has been a little slow, so I’m trying to learn to cook.”
“Yeah, things have been off for everyone,” Ray said, moving away from the buffet table. “This season was better than last at least, but now it’s slowing down a lot more than usual.” He stopped in the middle of the patio and took a big bite of his burger. Juices ran down his chin, but he didn’t seem to notice.
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