Whatever the Price

by Jules Bennett

  She slid her feet over the side of the chair and stood, as well. “I cried in private. I was angry that you weren’t there so I kept it all to myself. To be honest, I didn’t feel you deserved to know about the baby because you hadn’t been there when I needed you.”

  Anthony’s face crumbled, he looked down to the stone patio and sighed. “Have I ever been?” he asked, voice thick with emotion.

  Charlotte had never, ever seen Anthony upset. He hadn’t cried for his sister, at least in her presence, but here he stood obviously upset that she’d faced the miscarriage alone and he hadn’t been there to help her through.

  “When we first got married you were,” she told him, crossing her arms over her sundress. “We were both different people then.”

  Anthony turned, walked toward the pool and kicked off his flip-flops. He sank to the edge and let his feet dangle in the water. Charlotte followed him, wondering what thoughts were swirling around in his mind. He was talking. More and more each day he talked to her about important things in life.

  She sat beside him, letting her own legs dangle in the water.

  “I want to be the husband and father this family needs to survive,” he told her, kicking a pool toy as it floated by. “I never want you to feel that you have to keep something from me or that you have to do everything on your own. I want you to trust me again, to trust the team that we can be.”

  “That’s all I’ve ever wanted,” she agreed. “I just need time. I want this to work and I don’t want to rush into another chapter of our lives without really thinking about how we can fix the past.”

  Anthony rested his hands on his knees and nodded. “I visited Mia and Bronson right before Rachel passed. They were just home from the hospital with baby Bella. They seemed so happy, so in love. For once in my life, I was actually jealous of what Bronson had.”

  Intrigued at his choice of words, Charlotte smiled at the image of Mia and Bronson. “They seem so happy together. I hope they don’t fall prey to the Hollywood hype and lose sight of what’s important.”

  Anthony glanced up at her. “The way we did?”

  She hadn’t meant to say that, hadn’t meant to make this another vulnerable moment for either of them. They’d had a good day and she wanted to relish it.

  But her emotions had other plans. And obviously her subconscious wanted to dive into another layer of emotional angst.

  “Yeah.” She sat beside him and toed a floating duck that drifted by her dangling feet. “The way we did.”

  “We’ll get through this,” he told her, resting a hand on her bare thigh where her sundress had slid up. “If I learned anything this past year with finding the Danes and losing Rachel, I know how important family is, Charlie. I need you. We have so much at stake now.”

  Did that mean before, when only she was “at stake,” their marriage wasn’t worth fighting for? She wasn’t going to ask; she didn’t want to hear the answer. On the one hand she was thrilled that he was fighting for these kids—even if he didn’t know about one of them yet—it was the most emotion she’d ever seen him show outside of business. But, on the other hand, she wished he’d realized he wanted to really fight for their marriage before fate gave them no other choice.

  Yes, he’d said he hadn’t wanted to lose her, but he hadn’t done anything to keep her. The problem was, he’d never thought she’d leave. He’d never said so, but she knew that’s what had been going through his mind. He thought she’d stay as long as he plied her with the latest sporty car, a mansion fit for a queen and all the shopping trips and spa treatments she could handle.

  But that wasn’t her. She never had fit the mold of the “Hollywood wife.” She could care less that Botox-obsessed women snubbed their pointy noses at the crow’s feet around her eyes. And so what if she had ten pounds she needed to lose—and that was prepregnancy weight. She certainly wasn’t going under the knife to have that “perfect body.”

  No, the illusion of perfection was so distorted in Hollywood, Charlotte never had the desire to even try to keep up with how society suggested she look.

  Anthony had loved her once for the way she was. Perhaps that was it. Perhaps he wanted that slim, wrinkle-free, spray-tanned beauty. Maybe she’d let herself go in his eyes. Maybe she wasn’t made-up enough or devoted enough to his work the way some Hollywood wives were.

  “What are you thinking?” he asked.

  She turned her head, raising a hand to block the setting sun from her eyes. “I’m wondering if we grew apart because you are Mr. Hollywood and I’m at the opposite end of the spectrum when it comes to being a hotshot’s wife.”

  “What are you talking about?” he asked, jerking his attention toward her.

  Charlotte shrugged. “I’m not asking for pity or a compliment, Anthony. I’m just stating that we live in an area where looks are everything and I don’t measure up to the other Hollywood wives. I’d rather spend my time and money on helping those children at the hospital.”

  He hopped in the pool, clothes and all, and came to stand between her legs. “I don’t want a fake, plastic woman, Charlie. I want a genuine wife who doesn’t get swept up in that hype.”

  Shocked, she looked down at his cargo shorts, which were now plastered to his thick thighs, and his black polo shirt, which was halfway into the water and floating around his waist.

  “Um…you jumped in with your clothes on.”

  Way to point out the obvious.

  “Because I wanted to look you in the eye when I tell you if I wanted a collagen-filled, implanted wife, I’d have picked one out years ago. I don’t like fake and my tastes haven’t changed.”

  A shiver of arousal crept up her back, sending that tingling sensation all over her body. She didn’t know how to respond to that. Didn’t know what to say when he stood before her, gazing into her eyes with that desire she always found. But she wanted more than sex every time they were together. She was getting drawn back into his charms quicker than she meant to, but she couldn’t deny her love.

  “I need to get inside and check on Lily,” she told him as she started to pull her legs from the water.

  His hands landed on her bare thighs where her sundress had ridden up, holding her firmly in place. “Don’t. We have the monitor.”

  Water trickled down her legs as his big, strong hands held her in place. Her heart beat a bit faster because she didn’t know if he was going to pull her into the water with him or if he’d just lean in to kiss her.

  And she had no doubt that Anthony’s intentions were taking a direct path toward seduction and she was about to get run over along the way.

  “This is a mistake,” she whispered. “I know last night we couldn’t help it, but I can’t keep doing this.”

  His signature wicked smile spread across his face. “I’m not doing anything but standing here talking to my wife.”

  “You know exactly what you’re doing.” She smiled. “Don’t torture yourself further by trying to grab on to a few moments of pleasure when the end result with us could be the same.”

  His smile disappeared as his hands slid up higher. “I intend to have more than a few moments of pleasure, Charlie. I intend to have years of it. With you. We were made for each other and you know it. I see how you look at me. I felt you come apart in my arms last night and I’m guessing it wouldn’t take much for you to do it again right now.”

  He moved one hand up over her bare shoulder. “I know how you like your shoulders tickled just…like…this.” His fingertip trailed down her collarbone to the swell of her breast just above the line of her strapless sundress. “If I dipped my finger in here, what would I find? Hmm?”

  With both hands, he slid the top of her dress down, grazing the tips of her sensitive breasts, first with the material, then with the pads of his thumbs.

  Instinctively, her body betrayed he
r as her back arched toward his feather-light touch.

  Then suddenly, he was gone.

  Charlotte opened her eyes to see Anthony moving up the steps and out of the pool. “What are you doing?”

  Blocking the sun with his wide shoulders, he looked down to her. “As much as I want to make love to you, Charlie, I want you to come to me. I want to know that the next time we make love it will be because you want to be with me. Not for the moment, but for the lifetime I’m willing to give.”

  Nine

  Sexually frustrated? Hell, yes, he was. But Anthony pulled on dry clothes, determined to stand his ground no matter what the cost. At this point what did he have to lose?

  Trembling with an ache that only Charlotte could fill, he knew he’d made the right decision. She wanted him—that had never been the problem between them. Quite honestly, he was just coming to see what their problem truly was—lack of communication and keeping his marriage above everything else.

  They needed to embrace the love they first shared, before Hollywood entered, before his career and before Lily brought them back together. He missed that love, wanted so desperately to get it back, only better this time.

  Yes, sex was easy. It was the other stuff that came with love that made a marriage work—that push-pull of emotions. Which was why it was so hard to walk away from her when she’d been pushing those beautiful breasts against his hands. The glow from the afternoon sun had beat down on her, making her seem like the goddess he’d always known she was.

  But he’d had to walk away. He couldn’t make love to her again until she decided whether or not she could forgive him and give him another chance with this marriage.

  God knew the last thing he deserved was forgiveness. She’d been pregnant and suffered a miscarriage. The void he’d had in his life was nothing compared to the anguish and loneliness she must’ve felt. He needed to be here for her, not just physically, but emotionally.

  A miscarriage. How could she forgive him for not being there when she needed him most? How could he forgive himself?

  They’d made a baby out of their love, and he’d never known. He’d been so self-absorbed and wrapped up in work that he hadn’t noticed the pain his wife was going through.

  He leaned forward at his desk in the study and braced his elbows on the shiny mahogany top. Perhaps the miscarriage was a sign that they weren’t ready for children. He certainly hadn’t been at the time. And even though Lily had only been in his life a short time, he treasured every single moment.

  When he’d first discovered that he and Charlotte were the guardians, he’d been shocked and on the verge of weaseling out of this guardianship, but then reality set in and he knew his sister trusted him with this baby for a reason. She had faith in him, so he had to have faith in himself.

  And, yes, he was new to this parenting gig, so he was bound to have slipups, but now that he’d had some hands-on experience, so to speak, he wasn’t so terrified of messing up as he had been. He could and would excel at being a father. Being a director wasn’t the only talent he held.

  And perhaps Charlotte’s miscarriage had also happened because God knew there was no way they could raise two kids. He needed to get used to being with Lily, and he was thankful they didn’t have another child thrown into the mix.

  One child was enough, especially since he was bending over backward to make his wife see him as the husband she’d been needing.

  Maybe, once they returned home, he would invite his mother for a weekend. Even though she lived less than an hour away, he’d like to have her close by for a few days. Maybe Victoria could come, too. Hopefully, that would help mold his two families together and help Charlotte adjust, make her feel that he was pulling her into his life even more, where she definitely belonged.

  Eventually, he’d have Bronson, Mia and their new baby over. Their brotherly bond was a bit slower in coming. They were both still getting used to the fact that they were related. After years of loathing someone, it was hard to just accept that the same blood ran through his veins and he would probably be spending holidays around the same fancy family dining table.

  But the buffer Olivia provided helped with Bronson, and maybe it would ease some of this tension with Charlotte and help her feel more like she belonged to a family. Each day he was on pins and needles, wondering if Charlotte was going to decide to cut the trip short and say she was finished. On the other hand, he prayed he’d wake one day and she’d be curled beside him, the way she used to be.

  They’d taken a giant step today in their marriage. Charlotte had opened up about her miscarriage and, for once, Anthony comforted her, listened to her when she truly needed him.

  Anthony ran a hand through his hair, wiped his face with his palms and forwarded several emails to his assistant to deal with. Nothing too pressing for him. Certainly nothing that couldn’t wait until he returned home. And, he realized, confident on the direction he and Charlie were headed, nearly everything work-related could wait. Not all emails and phone calls were emergencies, as he’d once thought. No, the emergency was keeping his wife. Period.

  He sat back in his leather chair and smiled. He’d never let work take a backseat to his personal life before. In all honesty, it felt damn good to know he was taking care of and worrying about what was most important at this point. But his assistant was paid handsomely for a reason. The only thing that could bring him back to work right now was if Bronson or Olivia came to him with their latest project.

  He wanted to discuss the film depicting Olivia’s life and he was champing at the bit for Bronson to ask him to be the director, but he also had to tread carefully. He wanted Charlotte to be part of his decision making, and he only hoped when the time came she would support his directing the film of his mother’s life.

  Olivia had all but told him the project was his; he just wanted confirmation from Bronson. The fact that they were brothers now really put a new spin on the way they viewed each other.

  And the press had had a field day with that bit of juicy family gossip. No word of the rivalry between the men was mentioned in the press release the family had put out, but all the media outlets were speculating and waiting to see just what would happen with the next film either man chose. Would they bury the hatchet and work together or would they continue to avoid each other, as they had the past several years?

  Anthony was all for putting the past behind them and moving on. After all, his previous assistant had married the man, so he had to have some redeeming qualities. And Anthony couldn’t deny that Bronson was the best producer in the industry.

  He’d worked with some of the best writers in the industry and even dabbled at writing himself, so why the hell couldn’t he write a script for his life? Why couldn’t he figure out some way to make this work out for the best? Granted, not all his movies ended happily ever after, with the hero saving the heroine, riding off into the sunset. But dammit, that didn’t mean his life couldn’t go that way.

  So maybe he was getting soft, but he wanted to be able to ride to the rescue of Charlotte. He wanted to be that one person she turned to when she needed to feel secure and loved.

  Unfortunately, he hadn’t been that person for her.

  From here on out, he’d show her that he could put her ahead of his work and any other aspect of his life. Which was all the more reason to include her in the decision making about this upcoming film he hoped to direct.

  No doubt she’d felt pushed behind when he’d discovered he was the son of the Grand Dane of Hollywood. Especially when Charlotte wasn’t in love with the whole Hollywood scene anyway.

  But he wanted Charlotte to feel as if she were part of his new family, and he wanted to start moving forward with both of them. He knew she hadn’t had the most loving childhood or doting family, and here he’d had two in his lifetime. He wanted to show her the love of a family, to show he
r how that bond could connect you forever. He wanted that bond as a bedrock of their marriage, and what better way than to envelop her in the love of his birth family?

  No time like the present.

  He picked up his phone and dialed Olivia’s personal line.

  “Anthony, darling,” she answered on the first ring. “How are you?”

  He smiled. How could he not with a warm greeting like that?

  “I’m good. I was wondering if you and Victoria would like to come to visit me and Charlotte when we get home. You can play with Lily,” he taunted, knowing there wasn’t a woman alive who wouldn’t want to spend time with a baby she could spoil then return to the parents. “I’d like you to actually spend the weekend with us to get to know Charlotte and Lily. I think we could all use some family time.”

  “I’d love to,” she told him. “Victoria is in the midst of creating wedding dress designs for her friend Prince Alexander’s fiancée, but I’m sure she’d love some baby time. I can ask her, but don’t hold your breath. That girl works herself to death designing and sewing all those lavish gowns.”

  “And you’re very proud.”

  Olivia’s sweet laughter filtered through the phone. “That I am, Anthony. But even if Victoria cannot come, I’ll certainly be there. There’s nothing I’d love more than to spend time with my son, his wife and a beautiful baby. How are you doing, though, really?”

  He came to his feet, shoved a hand in the pocket of his khaki shorts and glanced out the window behind his desk. From here he could see Charlotte walking around the pool picking up all the toys and putting them in the pool house.

  “I’m okay,” he answered after a moment, hoping to keep his emotions from seeping out.

  That whole miscarriage revelation had left a raw, aching hole in his heart and he was determined now, more than ever, to give Charlotte all the love—and family—she needed. To make her realize she needed him and Lily.