For Business...Or Marriage?

by Jules Bennett

  Lying on his side, Cade propped his head in his hand and trailed the strand of pearls between her breasts, which were uncovered because the sheet had slipped to pool at her waist.

  She moaned, shifting beneath the pearls.

  Cade smiled. She was just as amazing to watch asleep as she was awake. The subtle way the corners of her mouth kicked up as she stirred, the sexy way her eyelashes fluttered against her cheek…

  God, had he ever noticed these things about a woman before?

  No, because he’d never lingered in a woman’s bed. Never wanted to until now.

  And that solidified the decision that he’d made earlier—hence the important phone call to Mona’s father this morning.

  He slid the strand of pearls back down, then up again, pleased when her eyes opened and focused on him.

  She smiled and stretched her arms. “Good morning.”

  “Yes, it is,” he agreed, now roaming the pearls around each breast.

  “What’s this?”

  “They’re yours.” He held up the necklace for her to see. “They are flawless, much like the woman who used to own them and like the woman I’d like to wear them.”

  Abby’s eyes widened. “These are…these…were…”

  “My father’s mother’s pearls.” He sat up, tugging her with him to fasten them around her neck. “Perfect. I knew they’d suit you.”

  Instinctively her hand came up to feel the pearls. “Do you just travel with these in the hopes of giving them away on a whim?”

  Her bluntness never ceased to amuse him. “No. These were in my safe back home. I asked my housekeeper, whom I trust with everything I own, to have them sent here.”

  Abby’s hand froze on the pearls. Her green eyes darted to his. “When did you do this?”

  “Yesterday morning before we boarded the plane.”

  She studied his face for a moment without saying a word. Speechless? He’d never known her to be. But what shocked him more was when tears gathered in her eyes and she threw her arms around his neck and nearly knocked him backwards off the bed.

  Realization must’ve dawned on her. He didn’t want her to think he took her gift of love lightly. And just because he wasn’t ready to say the words, didn’t mean he couldn’t show her in other ways how much he cared.

  Warm tears fell onto his bare shoulders, but he felt her emotions all the way into his heart.

  His hold on her tightened. “I take it you like them.”

  “I love them.” She sat back, wiping her eyes. “Sorry. I don’t mean to cry. I’m a hideous crier.”

  He took her face in his hands, stroking her damp cheeks with his thumbs. “You’re beautiful no matter what you do.”

  She fingered the strand again and smiled. “My mother had a set of pearls. Nothing this expensive or perfect, but they were her favorite piece of jewelry.”

  Cade eased her back into his embrace and laid down, drawing the light sheet over them. He wanted her to talk, wanted to hear about her life before him. Wanted to help ease the hurt she still carried for her mother. He knew all too well the pain of losing a parent.

  “I battled with myself,” she went on. “When it came time for me to choose her funeral attire, I held those pearls in my hands and cried for hours. I wanted to keep them, to keep her. But I wanted everyone who came to say goodbye to be able to see her looking like she’d want.

  “It was hard to let go of anything that belonged to my mother, but I knew she’d want me to move on and be happy.”

  Cade kissed the top of her head. “And are you?”

  She turned her head, resting her chin on his chest. “Happy is when you ace an exam in college or when Santa leaves you the present you asked for all year. I can’t even define what I feel when I’m with you. Happy doesn’t even skim the surface.”

  Cade looked down into the face of the woman who’d come into his life not once, but twice. The first time as his assistant. And the second, just two weeks ago as the woman he found himself falling in love with.

  And it was so easy to see the emotion now. Strange how he’d had a hard time putting a name to his feelings before.

  Business mergers never made him this happy. Ever. And even if he didn’t count his own happiness, the elation on Abby’s face was worth the decision he made.

  There was no turning back now.

  Lounging on the beach during the day with Sam was a nice change. Abby knew in her heart this would be a lifelong friend and someone she could confide in, which was good because she didn’t have a female figure in her life anymore and, coincidentally, neither did Sam. Her mother had died at a young age in a car crash.

  Now, though, Abby sat alone soaking up the sun. Sam’s doctor had told her too much sun could cause her to overheat and bring on false contractions. Abby had had to force Sam inside for a nap or just to rest with the threat of calling Brady—who had probably already hired at least three resort employees to keep a watch over his wife.

  Would Cade be that protective if she carried his baby? Would he always be making sure she was safe, guarded?

  Of course. This was Cade. He would do anything for the people he cared about. Hadn’t he gotten engaged to a woman he didn’t love all for the sake of making his brother happy and honoring his father’s legacy?

  Everything he did, he did out of love for others.

  How could she not love him with her whole heart?

  Granted, he hadn’t spoken any more of the “business arrangement” with Mona, but he’d told her not to worry about it, so she wasn’t. After all, Abby was the one wearing his grandmother’s pearls and waking beside him the past few days.

  But she really wished he’d just tell her what was going on. She didn’t want to ask, but in all honesty, Abby felt as if she had a right to know.

  She absolutely refused to believe he would throw her aside for business, no matter the amount of money involved. If Cade wanted to make Stone Enterprises a bigger name, he’d find another way to make it work.

  Abby blindly reached to the side of her lounge chair and picked up her water bottle. She misted her legs and stomach and tossed the bottle back down.

  There was nothing more relaxing than soaking up sun on the most gorgeous beach she’d ever seen, all the while thinking of the man she loved.

  I’m happy, Mom. I’m really, truly happy. She hoped her mother was looking down smiling.

  A cell phone rang in the distance, which reminded Abby she hadn’t checked hers in a few days. On a sigh, she leaned over, reached into her mesh tote and pulled out her BlackBerry.

  She refused to check the e-mails, but she did listen to the two voicemails.

  The first one was from her landlady letting her know her one-year lease was coming up and needing to know if she was going to sign another one.

  “Hopefully not,” she muttered as she skipped to the next message waiting.

  “Hey, Abby.” Mona’s perky, yet sweet, voice filtered through the phone. Abby sat up, jerked off her sunglasses and listened. “I know I said I didn’t want in on any of the details for the wedding, but I did end up picking out a dress, and I had it shipped to Cade’s office so you could see it. I figured you’d be able to tell me if the style would go with everything you’ve chosen so far. Let me know if you have any questions. Bye.”

  A chill came over Abby so fierce, so hard, that even in the ninety-five-degree heat, she trembled.

  Questions? Yeah, she had some. Why was Mona sending a dress to the office? Why did just the sound of her voice make Abby feel inadequate and less of a woman?

  And why hadn’t Cade called off that wedding?

  Hurt and anger fought to be the top emotion flooding through Abby’s body. Unfortunately, there was a tie.

  Once she’d gathered her belongings, pulled on her terry cloth cover-up and slipped into her white flip-flops, Abby was battling a war with herself.

  Surely there was some explanation as to why he hadn’t called Mona. There had to be. He’d made love to Abby num
erous times in the past week. He’d held her and listened to her go on and on about her mother.

  He’d given her his grandmother’s pearls, for crying out loud.

  As she stomped up the beach, Abby didn’t know if she wanted to barge into Brady’s office where he and Cade were discussing business or if she wanted to wait and discuss the situation in the calm serenity of their suite.

  Considering she was fighting for the man she loved, there was only one option.

  She marched her way through the open, airy lobby and down the hallway of executive offices she’d seen Brady and Cade go yesterday morning. Once she found Brady’s nameplate, she didn’t hesitate. Anger fueled her every decision.

  Both men jerked in their seats as Abby, without knocking, opened the door to Brady’s office.

  “I would apologize for interrupting, but I wouldn’t mean it.”

  She walked over, plopped her bag in the only vacant club chair and waved both men to stay seated. “No need to get up.”

  “Is something wrong?” Cade asked, ignoring her request and coming to his feet to study her face.

  Abby laughed, propping her hands on her hips. “Wrong? Well, I don’t know, Cade. You tell me.”

  Brady now came to his feet. “I think I’ll—”

  “Sit back down,” Abby finished without taking her eyes off Cade. “This will only take a minute and you two can get back to your business.”

  “Abby. What the hell happened?” Cade demanded. “I’ve never seen you this worked up.”

  She didn’t hesitate. There was only one question she needed answered. “Did you tell Mona the wedding was off?”

  “I—”

  Holding up a hand, Abby repeated, “Did you?”

  “No.”

  Abby had to give herself credit for not crumbling to the floor—or slugging him in the gut, like he deserved.

  She ignored the burning in her eyes. She’d be damned if she’d let him see her cry. And she’d be damned if she’d play the other woman for one more second.

  “Consider this my resignation from the office.” She picked up her bag, slung it over her slightly burnt shoulder and added, “Oh, and you’ll need to find another wedding planner.”

  Eighteen

  Cade sat in his office. His lonely, quiet office.

  He’d been back in San Francisco for two days and not a word from Abby. She’d left the hotel so fast, by the time he’d explained his actions to his nosy brother and gotten back up to the room, she was gone. Her luggage was still there, but she’d requested for everything to be sent to her home address.

  She’d charged the shipping, an airline ticket and cab fare to the company credit card.

  Not that he cared. He’d handled this whole situation in the worst possible way. Instead of saving her from dealing with the mess, he put her right smack-dab in the middle of it and ripped her heart out in the process.

  The electronic ding sounded, indicating someone had walked into the lobby. Cade sighed and knew it was now also his job to greet new clients.

  But, before he could get from behind his desk, Mona appeared in the doorway with a large, blue folder in hand.

  “Busy?” she asked.

  Other than the fact his office skills sucked, the temp replacement was late, he’d ruined the best thing that had ever happened to him, and he was trying to figure out how the hell to fix the mess?

  “No,” he replied, gesturing to the burgundy wing-back chair across from his desk. “Have a seat.”

  She laid the folder on his desk and sat down. “These are the legal papers from my father. He said you and Brady need to sign all five copies. One for each of you, one for me and one for each of our companies’ attorneys.”

  Cade opened the folder and scanned the heading. “This can’t be.”

  “There’s no mistake,” she assured him. “My father still wants to go into business with you and Brady. He’s actually thrilled about the endeavor.”

  Cade looked back up. “Why? I called off the wedding.”

  Mona smiled. “Before I could.”

  “What?”

  “I’ve fallen in love,” she explained. “I didn’t know who I was more afraid of upsetting, you or my father. And now that you’ve also fallen for someone, this will all be so much easier.”

  How the hell did everyone know what he was feeling?

  “You were going to call off the wedding? But you had a dress shipped here,” he reminded her, thinking he needed to give the thing back before she left. It was taking up way too much room in his coat closet.

  She smiled and tucked a strand of ebony hair behind her ear. “I did. I figured I needed to keep up my end of the deal, but when I got your message that you needed to talk to me and it was urgent, I hoped that was the reason.”

  “I hated to leave a voice mail, but I was running out of time,” Cade explained. “I hated having two women think they were the one in my life. It wasn’t fair to anyone.”

  “Especially you,” Mona added.

  Cade smiled. She really was a beautiful woman. But all her body-hugging business suits and perfectly placed hair were nothing compared to the beauty of Abby when she’d woken that morning he’d given her the pearls.

  The signal from the front door chimed again and Cade came to his feet.

  “Excuse me just a second.”

  But, yet again, he was too slow to make it to the lobby before Abby entered his office.

  She didn’t look half as miserable as he felt. The tan she’d gotten from their traveling only added to her natural beauty. Her golden hair fell in soft waves around her shoulders and her knee-length baby blue sundress only made her look that much more wholesome and innocent.

  “I’m sorry,” she said, looking past Cade to Mona. “I just came by to get some of my things from my desk. I won’t get in the way.”

  Cade had a feeling she was talking about a lot more than the present meeting.

  “You’re not in the way,” he told her, but he was talking to her retreating back.

  “Damn,” he muttered, running a hand through his hair and turning to Mona.

  She came to her feet. “I’m leaving. Talk to her. I’m sorry if I caused this.”

  “You didn’t,” he assured her. “I did all this damage on my own.”

  “Just sign those papers,” she reminded him. “I’ll come for the dress later. I don’t think that’s a good idea right now.”

  Smart and beautiful. “You’ll make some man very happy.”

  She smiled and left, leaving Cade to his own misery and mess.

  As he went to his doorway, his heart clenched at the sight of Abby taking a box of pictures from her bottom drawer. He’d never seen that box or the contents, but he could only assume it held treasured pictures of her mother.

  “Can you come in here for a minute?” he asked.

  She turned, clutching the box to her chest. “I think we’ve said everything. Let’s not rehash the mistakes we made.”

  “I know I don’t deserve your time, but I’m asking for one minute anyway.”

  Abby sighed. “One minute.”

  Elated from such a small victory, Cade stepped aside, allowing her to pass through.

  “You said you loved me,” he said without much thought to how he would actually use his one precious minute.

  “I did.”

  He quirked a brow. “Did?”

  “Fine. I do. I can’t turn my feelings for people on and off, Cade. I’m human. Is that what you called me in here for? To hear that I love you so I could add to your ego trip? Mona’s visit wasn’t enough?”

  Cade eased toward her, even though he knew it wasn’t a smart move. “I deserve that. But I have to tell you—”

  That damn chime to the door sounded again.

  “Better go get that,” she told him. “You’re short an assistant.”

  He groaned and made his way to get rid of whoever was in the lobby.

  A young, college-aged woman stood holding a purse a
nd a folder. “Hi. I’m Kelly Armstrong from the temp agency.”

  She couldn’t have been five minutes later?

  “Have a seat.” He gestured to the empty desk. “I’ll be out in five minutes.”

  Just as he turned to go back into his office, Abby brushed past him and out the door.

  “Is this a bad time?” the temp asked.

  Cade glanced over his shoulder. “Actually, yes it is. I will make sure you get paid for today, but is there any way you could just come back in the morning?”

  “Absolutely.”

  Once she was gone, Cade went back into his office and froze.

  The legal documents to form the multi-billion-dollar merger were spread across his desk. He had not done that. He’d left them in a neat stack.

  Obviously, Abby had shuffled through them. And left her own mark.

  Coiled on top of one of the papers were his grandmother’s pearls.

  Abby didn’t sulk. Really. She liked to think shopping and buying outrageous items she couldn’t afford was simply a cleansing of her life. Hard on the credit card, but a nice, temporary pick-me-up.

  She hadn’t used her credit card for months and she was certainly making up for it.

  Shoes, purses, raw silk dresses with the skinny belts, a variety of summer casual clothes—those made her happy. But when she went into an upscale furniture store and picked out a brand-new bedroom suite, that elated her…for now.

  A mahogany sleigh bed—to be delivered in two days—would look nice with the jewel-toned bedding set she’d seen in a catalog. She also picked out a matching armoire and dresser. She didn’t care that all this enormous furniture would take up the majority of her studio apartment.

  On her drive back to her apartment, Abby felt a bit better about the new things in her life. But she knew nothing, absolutely nothing, could fill the void. Just like she knew she had no one to blame but herself.

  Was she sorry she’d gone after what she’d wanted? No. At least she’d had a few days of loving Cade. Just because he didn’t want to accept her gift, didn’t mean she’d change anything.