Nine Months

by Beverly Barton

  Paige held out her hand. Jared’s big diamond twinkled brightly, as if it were winking at her. She dragged the ring to the tip of her finger, then stopped and slid it back into place. She’d wear it, just for tonight. It was beautiful. And it fit her finger perfectly. If only it were a symbol of Jared’s love, instead of an emblem of his victory. If only he had chosen it specifically for her and not for the future Mrs. L. J. Montgomery.

  Tomorrow, she promised herself, she’d give the ring back to him.

  Chapter Five

  Paige arrived at work early, put on a fresh pot of coffee in the employees’ lounge and began her daily routine. She had gone over what she wanted to say to Jared at least a dozen times, determined to get through to him this time and make him understand her point of view. But the very thought of another confrontation with him twisted her stomach into knots. To be totally honest, the very thought of being alone with him in his office unnerved her. Every time they were alone, sparks flew. The same highly charged, sexual sparks that had ignited a forest fire between them four months ago in the elevator threatened to set them afire again.

  Paige had to admit that she was tempted to accept Jared’s proposal. Marrying him definitely would solve all her immediate problems. And he’d been right about the fantastic sex. Every time he touched her, it took all her willpower not to crawl all over him. And he certainly never tried to hide the fact that he wanted her. He’d even said that just hearing her voice over the phone aroused him. But Paige knew herself too well. Great sex might be enough to hold their marriage together for a while, but sooner or later, she’d want more. If Jared couldn’t give her the love and unconditional acceptance she needed, she could never be happy with him. And when Jared realized that he couldn’t transform her into the perfect wife, he’d know what a mistake their marriage had been.

  No, she couldn’t marry him. It wouldn’t be fair to either of them and certainly not to their little girl. Angel, he’d called her. Or Angelica or Angela. Damn him for acting as if he were enchanted with the thought of having a daughter. Little girls adore their fathers, don’t they?

  Paige shook her head, trying to dislodge the image of a little redheaded girl sitting in Jared’s lap, looking up at him with green eyes identical to his and saying, “Daddy, please. I really, really want a puppy.”

  “Good morning. You’re here bright and early.” Kay Thompson stood in the open doorway of Paige’s office.

  Glancing up from her desk, Paige smiled at her friend. “You’re here early yourself. It’s barely eight-thirty.”

  “I called your apartment and got your answering machine, so I assumed I’d find you here.” Kay walked in and sat down in a leather chair across from Paige’s desk. “Let’s see it.”

  “See what?”

  “The diamond L.J. gave you last night.”

  “How did you know? Who told you?”

  “The boss man himself called me last night, after he left your apartment,” Kay said.

  “He called you? Why? What did he say?”

  “He said that since you and I were friends, he needed my help in persuading you to marry him.”

  “I cannot believe he tried to enlist your help.” But she could believe it. She could believe he was capable of doing just about anything in order to get his own way. Jared was arrogant, self-centered and demanding. But he also had an old-fashioned sense of honor that dictated his actions.

  “Show me the ring,” Kay said, repeating her request. “You are wearing it, aren’t you?”

  Paige laid her left hand on the desk. “I’m giving it back to him as soon as he comes in this morning. I tried to give it back to him last night, but he wouldn’t take it. He’s very forceful and very persuasive.”

  “So I’ve heard. Greg has told me that L.J. never loses. He’s so single-minded and determined that he won’t give up when he wants something.” Rising out of the chair, Kay leaned over and looked at Paige’s engagement ring. She let out a long, low whistle. “That’s the reason he was able to start his own business, straight out of college, and in fifteen years’ time become a multimillionaire in his own right.”

  “I’m not going to marry him.” Closing her fingers over her palm, Paige swept her hand off the desk and onto her lap.

  “Why ever not? He’s gorgeous, rich, charming and obviously wild about you.” Kay glanced meaningfully at Paige’s tummy. “And you are pregnant with his child.”

  “He doesn’t love me.” Paige lifted a pencil off a stack of file folders and repeatedly tapped the edge of her desk.

  “What makes you think he doesn’t love you?”

  “He told me he didn’t.” Gripping the pencil in her hand, Paige rubbed her thumb up and down the smooth wood surface. “L. J. Montgomery doesn’t believe in love. He never planned to marry for love. Besides, if he loved me, he wouldn’t want to change me into his idea of a perfect wife. He’d accept me for exactly who I am. I tried to change myself for Keith and he dumped me for someone else. Someone more suitable. Believe me, I learned my lesson. I’ll never try to be someone I’m not.”

  “Oh, Paige. You poor little romantic fool.” Kay sighed dramatically. “Millions of people marry for love, and what does it get them? Half those love matches end in divorce, like mine did. L.J. is offering you something better than love. He’s offering you a lifetime of security. For you and your baby.”

  “It’s not enough. Call me a romantic fool if you want to. Maybe I am. But I grew up with two parents who, after nearly thirty years of marriage, are still deeply in love. That kind of relationship is what I’ve wanted all my life. Jared sees me and this baby—” Paige circled her palm over her tummy “—as a mistake he has to correct. He wants to marry me for the baby’s sake and then make me over to suit his idea of a perfect wife.”

  “So, you’ve made up your mind not to marry him?”

  “I have. Now all I have to do is convince Jared that I mean what I say.” Paige snapped the pencil in two, then threw the halves into the wastebasket.

  “You may be fighting a losing battle.” Kay gazed sympathetically at Paige. “After all, let’s face it—what woman could resist L. J. Montgomery indefinitely? Especially a woman who’s already halfway in love with him. And you are, aren’t you?”

  Before Paige could reply, someone knocked loudly on the door. Paige jumped. Gasping, Kay jerked around in her chair.

  “‘Morning, ladies.” A clean-cut young man stood in the doorway holding a vase filled with a large number of red roses. “I’m looking for a Paige Summers. These are for her.”

  “Bring them in here, sonny,” Kay said. “This—” she pointed at Paige “—is Ms. Summers.”

  “Where do you want them, ma’am?” he asked.

  “Just put them here on my desk,” Paige said.

  The minute the deliveryman left, Kay snatched up the attached card, opened it and handed it to Paige. “So, what does it say?”

  Paige read aloud. “Marry me.”

  Fingering the petals on the long-stemmed beauties as she silently counted them, Kay sighed. “You’ve got to give Jared credit. The man knows all the tricks. What woman doesn’t love red roses. And two dozen!”

  “This is a perfect example of how little Jared knows me,” Paige said. “He chose red roses for his ideal fiancée, but I prefer white roses. If he cared about me, truly cared, he’d bother to find out who I am and what I like.”

  Greg Addison marched into Paige’s office, followed by a young woman wearing brown slacks and matching shirt, the emblem of a local delivery service stitched on her shirt pocket. She carried two boxes wrapped in pink paper and tied with white ribbon.

  “So the campaign begins.” Greg eyed the roses, then pointed to Paige. “There she is. The beautiful redhead behind the desk is Ms. Summers.”

  The deliverywoman asked Paige to sign for the two items, then as soon as that requirement was out of the way, she handed the gifts to Paige and left.

  Paige stared at the boxes, knowing that Jared had sent
them. Flowers. Gifts. What next? she wondered.

  “Go ahead and open them,” Greg said. “I’m eager to see what the father-to-be has sent the mother-to-be.”

  Paige glared at Greg. “How did you know? No, no, don’t tell me. Jared shared the news about our blessed event with you, too, didn’t he.”

  “Yep. He came by my apartment last night and confessed all.” Shaking his head, Greg clicked his tongue. “My, my, Ms. Summers, you amaze me. You, a lowly working girl, have accomplished what every wealthy debutante and society maid in two dozen states have failed to accomplish. You’ve brought the great man to his knees.”

  “Quit being such a jerk,” Kay said. “She didn’t get pregnant by herself, you know.”

  Paige gasped, amazed that Kay would speak to her boss in such a way.

  “The woman knows I won’t fire her,” Greg said. “I can’t get along without her. She knows more about Montgomery Real Estate and Land Development than I do. And I’m sorry, Paige, if what I said offended you. I didn’t mean it that way. You’ll have to pardon me if I find this whole situation rather amusing and if I milk it for all it’s worth.”

  “I’m afraid I fail to find the humor in all this, Mr. Addison,” Paige said.

  “Greg has a rather warped sense of humor.” Kay stood, slipped her arm through Greg’s and nodded toward the open door. “Why don’t we leave Paige alone and let her open her gifts?”

  “Is it true that you turned down his marriage proposal?” Greg asked.

  “Yes.” Paige wondered who else Jared had shared their little secret with. Had he taken out an ad in the paper?

  “Then be prepared,” Greg told her. “He’s mounting a full-fledged attack. L.J. is a man with a mission, and you, little lady, have no idea what you’re in for. I’ve seen him in action before. He always gets what he wants, and he wants you.”

  “Come on, doomsayer. Paige needs time to open her gifts and collect her thoughts before the man in question arrives.” Kay led Greg toward the door. “She’s giving him his ring back as soon as he comes in.”

  “I’d give a month’s salary to see that,” Greg said.

  Kay closed the door on her way out, leaving Paige alone, staring at the two pink boxes. Go ahead and get it over with, she told herself. They’re gifts, not bombs. Maybe she shouldn’t open them. Maybe she should just return them to him still prettily wrapped when she gave him back his ring.

  Reaching out hesitantly, she ran her finger over the satin ribbon on the larger box. What sort of presents had Jared sent? Paige untied the ribbon, ripped off the paper and removed the lid. Beneath the pink tissue paper lay a white leather photo album. A handwritten note had been placed on top.

  With trembling fingers, Paige picked up the note. For all the pictures we’re going to take of our little girl. Tears welled up in her eyes. She already had the first pictures of their baby—the sonogram pictures—and she hadn’t shared them with Jared.

  Wiping her tears, Paige opened the second gift. Inside, a tiny silver spoon nestled against another note. After picking up the spoon, she saw the letter A engraved on the handle. She lifted the note. I’ve decided I like the name Angela. Do you?

  What was she going to do with Jared Montgomery? How was she going to fight a man so determined to marry her, especially when she would not only be fighting Jared, but her own desires, too?

  * * *

  Smiling and self-confident, Jared breezed into Paige’s office at ten o’clock. “Good morning, honey.” He glanced at the roses on her desk. “It’s a beautiful day, isn’t it? Bright sunshine, crisp autumn air, red roses for my favorite redhead and—”

  “Jared, may I see you in your office right now?” Paige scooted back her chair, stood and walked around her desk.

  “Did you get the gifts?” he asked.

  “Yes, thank you. They’re both very nice. You must have gone to a lot of trouble to buy the roses and the gifts and have them delivered before business hours.” She nodded toward his closed office door.

  “Money has its privileges.” Jared opened the door, stood back and waited for her to enter first. The minute she was inside his office, he closed and locked the door. “I assume you want our conversation to be private.”

  “Yes. Although I don’t know why. We don’t seem to have any secrets from Kay and Greg. For all I know everyone else at Montgomery’s knows that I’m pregnant with your child.”

  “I didn’t tell anyone else. Did you?” Slipping his arm around her waist, he drew her close, lowered his head and covered her mouth with his.

  She wanted to lose herself in the kiss, wanted to forget the reason she’d asked for this private audience with Jared. For one brief instant, she allowed herself to enjoy the kiss. She even responded. But as quickly as she’d succumbed to the temptation, she fought it, pulling back and shoving forcefully against his chest.

  “We cannot solve all our problems this way,” she said breathlessly. “I know what you’re trying to do, and it won’t work. I will not allow you to cloud my mind with passion.”

  His killer smile aimed directly at her, Jared shrugged, walked around his desk and sat down in the big, oxblood leather swivel chair.

  Paige slid the six-carat diamond off her finger and laid it directly in front of him on his desk. “I’m not going to marry you. I can’t keep the ring. And you’re not going to change my mind.”

  “I’ve made reservations for us for lunch today,” he said, speaking as if he hadn’t heard a word of her adamant declaration. “I plan to make sure you have a proper meal at noon every day.”

  “Fine. No problem. I’ll have lunch with you today and every day until the baby is born, but I am not going to marry you.”

  “I’ve arranged for Menderson’s Office Supply to deliver a new chair for your desk. Something larger, more plush, with a good back support.”

  “Thank you,” she said through clenched teeth. “I appreciate your concern for my comfort, but—”

  “Of course, I’d prefer that you didn’t work, but since you’ve made it abundantly clear that you want to continue working until after Angela is born, I intend to do everything I can to make things as easy as possible for you.”

  “Jared, you don’t really want to marry me.”

  “I don’t?”

  She wished he’d stop smiling, stop acting as if they were playing some sort of game. She was deadly serious and he was treating the whole situation as if he found it highly amusing.

  “No, you don’t,” she told him. “You’ve gotten so wrapped up in getting your own way—in making me marry you—that you haven’t thought things through. You want and need a chic, sophisticated woman who’s been bred to be a millionaire businessman’s wife. I’m just an ordinary working girl, with a middle-class mentality. All I want is to buy my own small doll shop, marry an accountant or a teacher, have a little house with a white picket fence and live happily ever after. Can’t you see that I’m the wrong girl for you?”

  “Maybe you’re right,” he said, still smiling.

  “What?” He was agreeing with her? Was it going to be this simple to change his mind?

  “I’m willing to try to see things your way, to admit that you might be right about us.” Leaning back in his swivel chair, he crossed his arms behind his head. “But I’ll expect the same from you.”

  “What do you mean?” She had a sinking feeling in her stomach.

  “I mean that I think we should both keep an open mind about marriage. Right now, I still think it’s the best solution to our problem. Obviously, you don’t. So, let’s say for the next month we agree not to make a decision. You’ll allow me to try to bring you around to my way of thinking and I’ll allow you to try to convince me that you’re right about what a disaster it would be for us to marry.”

  “I—I think that’s a very reasonable suggestion.” A cautious little voice in the back of her mind warned her not to trust him. She disregarded the warning.

  * * *

  By the time a week
had passed, she regretted not listening to that foreboding little voice. Greg Addison had warned her. Her own instincts had warned her. But she’d been too stupid to listen!

  “For a solid week, he’s been driving me stark, raving mad with endless attention,” Paige complained to Kay.

  “I think it’s kind of sweet the way he checks on you constantly during the day to make sure you aren’t overdoing it, and the way he’s always asking if you need anything.”

  “You think it’s kind of sweet, do you? Well, you try being the object of his constant attention and see how you like it.” Paige groaned. “Lunch has become a daily ordeal. Jared has all the chefs at the local restaurants busy preparing nourishing meals for me.”

  “He’s just concerned about you and the baby.”

  “He’s trying to run my life. That’s what he’s doing. He treats me as if I don’t have enough sense to make even the simplest decision without his input. And even though I’m barely showing, I’m pretty sure that everyone in Grand Springs and perhaps even as far away as Denver knows that I’m pregnant with L. J. Montgomery’s baby.”

  “So you’re sick and tired of the daily delivery of red roses and all the gifts he’s sent to your apartment for you and the baby, huh?”

  “I like white roses!”

  “So tell him.”

  “The point isn’t the color of the roses. Not really. And it’s not even the fact that my apartment is beginning to look like Babyland at the department store.”

  “Then what is the point?” Kay asked.

  “The point is that I’ve had just about all the smothering attention I can stand. I’m tired of Jared trying to control me, of trying to change my life and—”

  “So tell him.”

  “I’m going to. Today.” Paige squared her shoulders. “I’m going to tell him that he’s taken advantage of the terms of our truce agreement and I want him to stop his overbearing actions immediately!”

  “If necessary, you can even tell him about your dinner date for tonight.” Kay grinned wickedly.

  When Kay had introduced her to Martin Smith, the most mysterious man in Grand Springs, and Martin had asked her out, Paige had declined his offer at first. But after Kay pointed out to her that by dating someone else, she might convince Jared that she was serious about her refusal to marry him, Paige had agreed to have dinner with Martin. Also, she felt a bit sorry for him. The night of the massive June rainstorm, he’d entered Vanderbilt Memorial with no idea who he was. His amnesia continued to this day.