by Lucy Monroe
She had wanted to cling when he had left, but she couldn't very well demand he take more time off from work just because their days together were over half gone.
Feeling depressed and trying really hard not to, she picked up the phone to dial Carter's number. He said he wanted to meet her for lunch to talk about Rand. She believed him. Apparently, Carter had realized he needed his brother, even if Rand hadn't reached that conclusion yet.
Two hours later, at a small downtown bistro, she weaved between the tables toward Carter. He stood up as she reached him and pulled out her chair.
She smoothed her short skirt under her and sat down. "Thanks."
"My pleasure. It looks like being with Rand has had a definite impact on your wardrobe."
Phoebe looked down at the strappy summer dress and smiled wryly. "You could say that."
"I like it."
"So does Rand."
"I'm glad." Carter's eyes probed hers. "Are you sure you know what you're doing, Phoebe? This new relationship thing between you and Rand is pretty coincidental to the discovery of lithium on Luna Island."
Apparently everyone assumed both she and Rand had been spouting off at the charity reception. Of course, when they stopped seeing each other after a week and Rand started mining operations on Luna Island, Mrs. Sloane, Aunt Emmaline and Carter would know the truth about the deal, or at least be able to guess at it. The thought bothered Phoebe, but there was nothing she could do about it.
"I didn't come here to discuss my relationship with Rand. I'm a grown-up and have to make my own decisions."
"And mistakes?" Carter asked gently.
"And mistakes, but then I've done that before."
He winced. "Point taken."
She softened toward him immediately. "I didn't mean it like that. I'm honestly grateful that you left like you did. Rand brings out things in me that I didn't even know were there."
Carter looked at her with eyes that saw into her soul. "Yes, I believe he does. I'm sorry I didn't."
"I thought I loved you." But the lukewarm feeling she'd had for Carter was nothing like the overwhelming passion and need she felt for Rand.
"For what it's worth, I cared about you, and I really didn't want to hurt you."
"Then why did you leave?" she asked with more curiosity than accusation.
"I found out stuff about my dad that sent me into a tail-spin. It made me question things about myself and my commitment to you. Hoyt loved my mother when he married her, or at least thought he did, but he'd been having an affair right up until the wedding. Rand was born six months before I was."
"I know that."
"Mom never forgave him, but she refused a divorce, and my grandfather made sure Dad wouldn't push the issue."
"But he resumed his affair with Rand's mother."
"Yes. And said he loved her."
"I don't understand why that made you leave me." What did his father's tomcat ways have to do with Carter's plans to marry her?
"There was a woman."
"You were having an affair?" Now that shocked her. She couldn't imagine it of Carter.
"No." His face clenched. "But I wanted her, and I thought maybe I was as incapable of fidelity as my father. You deserved so much better than the life my mother led with Hoyt."
Compassion moved in Phoebe's heart for this incredible man who believed he had his father's emotional weakness. "You aren't your father, Carter. He put money and social position above love. You wouldn't do that."
"Are you sure about that?"
"Yes."
Carter sighed. "Maybe you're right, but I was right, too, that the emotional connection didn't last."
"You still care about me, or you wouldn't have been worried about Rand hurting me."
"That's not enough to base a marriage on."
"No doubt, but then you didn't make that mistake, did you?"
Carter looked at her, his expression unreadable. "I guess you could look at it that way, but I didn't ask you to lunch to discuss me."
She smiled. "I didn't think you had."
The waiter arrived and took their order, and she waited until he was gone before she spoke again.
"So why did you invite me to lunch? I should probably tell you up front I won't be negotiating for Luna Island. I promised it to Rand." Which was as good as telling Carter she'd made the deal with his brother.
Only Carter didn't look as though he'd made the connection because his expression didn't change. "I had that figured out. You're not going to sell mineral rights to me when your lover wants them, too."
Her lover. For a week. And she wanted so much more, was desperately hoping for so much more. "So."
"I wanted to talk about Rand."
"Did you come back to make peace with him?"
"He's my brother. It's time we lived like it."
"I agree, but I'm sure your mother doesn't."
"She made her own choices, and I'm making mine."
Phoebe nodded. Mrs. Sloane had opted to kick her husband out of her bed, but insisted on staying married to him. She had been cold to Carter, obviously blaming him in some way for his father's sins. While Phoebe felt a certain amount of compassion for the older woman, she couldn't help being bothered by the price both Rand and Carter had paid for her stubborn inability to see any viewpoint but her own.
"I was hoping you'd convince Rand to talk to me."
"I thought you'd already talked. He told me you wanted to sign over part of the company to him."
"I'm surprised he told you. He wasn't very open to the idea, and he hasn't taken any of my calls since that one."
"Rand's a proud man. He doesn't need your company."
"I know, but I need to right the wrongs of the past. He's my older brother. He should have inherited along with me. We're family and that should mean something."
"I agree."
"So you'll get him to talk to me?"
"You think I have that kind of influence with him?"
"You're his lover. I've seen how he looks at you. I thought he was going to take a swing at me at the charity reception. Yes, I think he'll listen to you."
It was a heady concept. "I'll try."
"Thanks." The expression in Carter's eyes reflected two things: relief and frustration that he'd had to ask for her help.
He and his brother had a lot in common. Rand's pride would have balked at asking for help, too.
"You had lunch with my damn brother?"
Phoebe jumped, shocked by the incandescent rage that had erupted out of nowhere when she told Rand that Carter wanted to talk to him. No, that wasn't quite right. The fury had come when Rand realized she'd had lunch with Carter.
"Yes. I don't see what the big deal is."
Rand's eyes narrowed to angry slits, his big body vibrating with an anger she would never have thought she could ignite. "That's precisely it. Our deal."
Tension seeped into her at the mention of their arrangement. "What do you mean?"
"You wanted one week in my bed as my woman."
Pain contracted her heart with viselike intensity. He was still thinking in terms of a one-week time limit. She hadn't expected anything different, but oh, she had hoped. Even if he couldn't love her, they could have maintained their relationship, but apparently Rand didn't want to.
"So?" was all she could force past the lump of emotion in her throat.
"My woman doesn't have lunch with my damn brother."
"Stop calling him that. He's not damned."
Rand stepped forward until he was towering over her with intimidating ferocity. "He's not your fiancé anymore either. If you belong to me, you stay away from him."
She swallowed nervously, but refused to back down. This was too important. Rand needed Carter, even if he didn't realize it, or was just too stubborn and proud to admit it. Besides, his anger was probably because he thought she was considering reneging on the deal that was now ripping her heart to shreds.
"I promised you the deed to Luna Isla
nd. I don't break my promises, and you don't have to worry I'm going to sell it to Carter."
Rand's big hands cupped her shoulders. Despite the fury on his face, the hold was gentle. "This isn't about the island."
"Then what is it about?" she choked out, finding it difficult to talk as she always did when in such close proximity to the man she loved.
"You having lunch with Carter." He said his brother's name like it was a curse.
"He's not your enemy, Rand."
"He sure as hell isn't my friend."
She licked lips, gone dry from stress. "He's your brother, and he could be your friend. If you'd let him."
"Is that what he told you? He wants to be my friend? This isn't Mister Rogers' neighborhood, Phoebe. Carter's a businessman, and the only interest he has in me is your promise to give me the deed to an island rich with lithium."
She shook her head, trying to stay focused on the conversation when all she wanted was the oblivion of Rand's arms. Only it was a temporary oblivion, and she now knew beyond the shadow of a doubt that it was also a false oblivion. There was nothing between them but sex. There couldn't be and he still be so focused on the terms of their deal.
"That's not true. He wants to talk to you. Is that really so much to ask?"
Rand's big body moved closer to hers, his expression changing from anger to something else. "I'll think about it, but you stay away from him."
She'd about had it with his bossiness. "You can't dictate who I talk to."
"Our deal says I can," he bit out, the anger returning in a flash.
"I don't think—"
"If you want to have lunch with him in three days' time," he said, his words overriding hers, "hell, if you want to have sex with him, I'll have nothing to say about it, but until then, you're my woman."
She couldn't believe he'd said that. Did he really not care if she went from his bed to Carter's? She shook her head in denial of that truth.
Rand's expression turned feral. "In your own words, Phoebe, a deal is a deal. Are you going to stick by the terms, or not?"
Right now all she wanted was to curl up in a hole and cry her heart out. She didn't care about the deal's terms. She didn't even care if Rand and Carter ever found their way to being a family. She just wanted to get away.
She yanked herself from his loose hold and stumbled backward.
She'd been an idiot to think for even a second that a real relationship could evolve from a week of uncommitted sex. Oh, damn it! She was not going to cry. Not in front of him.
She gritted her teeth against the sobs that wanted to tear out of her throat and spun on her heel, heading toward the bedroom. She started throwing clothes into her suitcase even as Rand came storming into the room after her.
"What the hell are you doing?"
She wasn't answering such a stupid question.
He grabbed the suitcase and yanked it out of her reach. "We still have three days left."
She spun to face him. "Don't worry, I'll see my lawyer in the morning. You'll get your deed, but this part of the deal is over." She swept her hand in an arc that encompassed the bed and the rest of the room where she'd given him her virginity and he'd given her so much pleasure.
Rand went gray. "You want to go to Carter now?"
"I don't want to go to Carter at all! But I don't want to stay with you either." The words hurt her to say, but only a true masochist would continue building memories that would torment her in the empty loneliness to come, she now realized.
"You wanted a week with me."
"I changed my mind."
"Because I won't talk to Carter?" Rand's hands fisted at his sides. "If it's that important to you, I'll talk to him, all right?"
He acted as though he really cared if she left early, but she couldn't let herself be deceived by her hopes again.
"I truly hope you'll give Carter a chance to be your brother, but I can't stay here anymore." She lost her battle with the tears, and they spilled over, burning a path down her cheeks. She reached for the suitcase. "I've got to go."
Strong fingers peeled hers away from the suitcase and sent it tumbling to the floor. Then familiar arms wrapped around her, his face nuzzling into hers. "I can't let you go, baby."
She turned her face from his kisses. "I can't stay for three more days." But he was making it almost impossible to leave.
The insistent peal of the bell broke through the carnage going on between her and Rand. "You'd better get that."
"No. We need to talk. Whoever it is can go away."
"It might be Carter."
"If it is, the doorman knows better than to key up to the penthouse level again."
But the ding of the elevator coming from the other room indicated the doorman had done just that. "Maybe a different one is on duty."
From the expression on Rand's face, she was glad she wasn't the hapless soul in the lobby, no matter who it was. In fact, she could feel gratitude not to be in Carter's shoes at the moment. Rand looked ready to commit murder.
He turned to go, but stopped at the door. "No more packing. You aren't going anywhere."
Her heart split a little wider. "I have to."
"No. We have to talk."
"What good will it do?"
"Carter left you standing practically at the altar, but you had lunch with him, don't I even deserve a half an hour of your time to sort out our relationship?"
They didn't have a relationship, and he'd made that very obvious, but she couldn't deny him. "I won't leave just yet."
He nodded and left.
She considered following him, but wasn't sure if her presence would be better or worse for the two brothers to speak. Only the voice she heard coming from the living room was not Carter's deep tones, but the high-pitched tones of a very angry woman.
"How dare you insinuate yourself into my son's life?" Cassandra Sloane's freezing question hung in the air between them as Phoebe came careening into the living room.
"Mrs. Sloane, what are you doing here?"
The distaste that came across the old biddy's features was enough to send what was left of Rand's patience packing. "I don't know what she's doing here, but she's just about to leave."
"I am not leaving until you promise me you won't steal your brother's birthright!"
The sound of his father's wife yelling was enough to shock Rand speechless.
Not so Phoebe. "Rand isn't trying to steal anything. Carter wants him to have part of the company because they're brothers and your husband should have left it to both of them to begin with."
A look of bitter satisfaction filled Cassandra Sloane's eyes. "He couldn't. His father saw to that, and it was only right. A man's mistress doesn't inherit, nor does her illegitimate son."
"Rand is Hoyt's son, too!"
"Yes, he is. He's also my brother, and this has nothing to do with you, Mother."
Rand hadn't heard the elevator ding again, but his brother was there, glaring at his mother.
She turned on Carter, her mouth twisted like a prune. "You dare say that to me? Your father may not have left me anything, but it is your responsibility to support me off of the income from Sloane Electronics."
"I can support you off of half the company just fine."
"You're being stupidly sentimental. This man has no place in your life. He never has had."
"He does now." Carter met Rand's eyes. "If you want one, that is."
"Of course he does." It was Phoebe's turn to step in apparently.
"Stay out of this, young lady. It's none of your concern."
"I care about both Rand and Carter; that makes it my concern."
If she cared so much about him, why the hell was she leaving him three days early?
"Mother, the only person here who has nothing to add, is you."
"Oh, really? You think I have nothing to add?" Mrs. Sloane's tone was one shade shy of total hysteria.
Rand didn't care what Mrs. Sloane had to add. He didn't think she would be so angr
y if Carter didn't mean what he'd said, which indicated he really did want a relationship with Rand. However, right now was not when Rand wanted to get into that. He was facing Phoebe walking out on him.
"Look, if you really want to give me part of your company, we can talk about it later, but right now is not a good time."
"You will discuss it with me, though?" Carter asked, hope burning in eyes that mirrored Rand's in shape and expression.
"Yes."
"If you're so set on giving away your inheritance, why don't you find your younger brother and give him part of the company, too?" she demanded, rage riding her hard.
"Younger brother?" Carter asked, his voice faint.
"Yes!" She turned to glare at Rand. "You thought your father loved your mother? Not likely. Hoyt Sloane didn't love anyone but himself. He had affairs, and one of them bore fruit."
"I've got another brother?" Carter demanded.
"Yes, and I suppose you're going to want to give him part of the company, too!"
"Sounds good to me."
Mrs. Sloane looked ready to have an apoplectic fit. "You're insane."
"Maybe, but unfortunately for you, I'm not certifiable, and Sloane Electronics belongs to me."
Mrs. Sloane didn't bother to answer but swung on her heel and headed to the elevator.
Carter looked at Rand. "Have lunch with me tomorrow. It looks like we've got more to discuss than the company."
So many emotions were swirling through Rand, he wasn't sure what to do with any of them, but his brother was right. They did need to talk. "Yes."
Carter followed his mother, slipping into the elevator with an expression that said he was going to get to the bottom of the bomb his mother had dropped on them all.
When Rand turned back from watching his brother leave, Phoebe had gone back into the bedroom.
A strong hand closed over hers on the suitcase. "I thought we agreed no more packing."
"What's the use of me staying?" she asked him, her emotions still too close to the surface to meet his gaze.
"I need you."
The words would have been all she wanted to hear just an hour ago, but now she knew they meant something very different than what she needed them to mean. "I can't be a body in your bed anymore. I don't know why I ever thought I could."