by Maya Banks
‘You don’t understand...’
‘No, but I’m trying to.’
Pulling his head back, he held her cheeks, kissed her parted lips, drinking from them as if they were the life force he needed, as if her kiss, her embrace, was the one thing that could make him go on. But she pulled back, his touch desperately wanted but the truth needed more.
‘Vaughan, I need you to see something.’ Letting him go even for a second was a feat in itself, but somehow she managed, somehow she made it to her desk. She rummaged through the appalling mess and for the second time in their short relationship held her breath as he read a piece of work with her name upon it—only this time it was the truth. Each word was laced with the esteem in which she held him, each carefully crafted sentence a pure deliverance of the truth.
‘This is what I filed, Vaughan. This is the piece I wrote.’
‘I guess I should have had more faith.’
‘Yes, Vaughan, you should.’ Something in her voice made him look up. ‘Vaughan, how you can say that you love me when you think I did that to you defies explanation. It wasn’t me. It never was me. Apparently one of the other mothers in Jamie’s ward tipped off the press—that’s why Carter was following you; that’s why they jumped so high at the chance of my spending a week with you. They thought they were on to a big story. This woman thought that her son was sicker than Jamie, that Jamie was somehow getting preferential treatment because of who his uncle was, so she—’
‘Poor woman!’
His reaction confused her. She’d expected some of the venom he’d directed at her when he’d thought she’d betrayed him to somehow appear again. But not for the first time she marvelled at his insight, at the hidden depths behind this amazing man.
‘When you’re desperate you’ll do anything. I’d probably have done the same.’
‘I’ve tried to get the paper to print a retraction.’ Amelia shrugged her shoulders helplessly. ‘Perhaps if we both lean on Paul...’
‘There’s no need.’ Vaughan shook his head. ‘Jamie’s still where he should be on the transplant list, despite the news coverage. Those doctors have stood firm. It takes more than a newspaper article to scare those guys, Amelia. They face death every day.’ His eyes found hers. ‘I’m sorry, Amelia, more sorry than you know for doubting you. I’ve just been so used to being let down, so used to being misquoted just to grab a headline. But when I thought it was you I lost my head for a while. I was so angry I couldn’t think straight...’
‘Touché,’ Amelia blushed, thinking of her bitch-on-heels act at his hotel door.
‘Yet even with the hell of these last few days, Amelia, all I could think about was you—the real you I was sure I’d seen. Despite the agony, despite the accusations, all I could think was that if I never got to see you again you were the only thing in this world I’d truly miss.’
‘Apart from your family,’ Amelia said softly. Though it was the one thing with Vaughan that didn’t need saying. She had seen the love that lay burning behind the ‘no comment’.
‘Apart from my family,’ Vaughan confirmed. ‘I just wanted to protect Jamie. I didn’t want the papers to get hold of it. I’d promised my brother and Liza I’d keep Jamie out of the public eye. But I knew if we were ever going to move forward then I’d have to tell you. When I heard you say that babies were firmly entrenched on your list...’ The frown on his forehead deepened. ‘I carry the gene, Amelia...’
‘I’d already worked that out. That’s why you overreacted when you found out I wasn’t on the pill, wasn’t it?’ Amelia took his hand in hers. ‘I should have known, Vaughan. It was beyond irresponsible...’
‘I’m sorry.’ He swallowed hard. ‘I’m always careful—always,’ he emphasized. ‘I was more angry with myself than you—couldn’t believe I’d let myself get so carried away. And after you said at lunch that nothing on your list was negligible I figured that was it—that there wasn’t any point. I never thought it would go any further until...’ The beginnings of a smile ghosted on his lips. ‘You have a very good knack for making me lose my head, Amelia.’
‘I know,’ Amelia replied—because she did. She knew for the first time in her life the reckless abandonment that came hand in hand with love.
‘If you carry the gene too...’
‘Let’s not worry about that now.’
‘We have to. Because if you feel even a tenth of what I do then it’s something we’re going to have to face. Nothing on your list’s negotiable, Amelia. You want the lot. And if I can’t give you everything...’
‘It’s the top of the list that matters most...’ His eyes were holding hers, days of pain slowly drifting away as she spoke from the bottom of her heart. ‘Safety,’ she said softly. ‘The safety of always being loved, knowing that no matter what I do, no matter how bad it seems, I’ve always got you to lean on.’
‘You do,’ Vaughan said simply, kissing her on her waiting lips, affirming the desire that blazed in his eyes. ‘So what happens now?’ A smile inched over his face. ‘Does this mean I’m finally ready to settle down?’
‘No way,’ Amelia answered, enjoying the tiny moment of confusion in his loving eyes. ‘I have it from an extremely reliable source that you don’t believe in settling down! I don’t have my notes, of course, so you’ll forgive me if I misquote...’
‘I already did,’ Vaughan drawled, raining tiny kisses on her face.
His hand toying with the hem of her skirt was making it terribly hard to concentrate.
‘But I believe “hotting up” was your appalling choice of phrase. In fact, I’m sure you said something about hardly being able to keep your hands off the very lucky woman.’
‘No.’ Vaughan grinned. ‘I think you’re taking it out of context.’
‘I can always get my notes,’ Amelia gasped, as the hand that had been toying grew rather more insistent.
Making to stand up, she heard his moan of frustration as he pulled her back down.
‘Damned journalists,’ Vaughan whispered in her ear. ‘Well, I suppose if you’ve got it in writing then I’m just going to have to stand by it. I guess I’m going to have to spend the rest of my life living up to my lousy, oversexed, completely insatiable reputation.’
‘Yes,’ Amelia gasped again. A witty response was on the tip of her tongue, but so too was Vaughan, and coherence flew out of the window. ‘Yes, please.’
Epilogue
Safe.
Peering out of the window as Vaughan’s car pulled into the driveway, as he climbed out and retrieved his computer and briefcase, she knew that this time there was no sliver of detriment behind the word, no question of settling for second best as there had been when she had first voiced it.
He made her feel safe.
Safe enough to shoot for the stars, safe enough to go too far, safe enough to be herself, knowing he was always beside her, was always there, proudly ready to catch her if ever she fell.
‘Hey!’ That delicious smile greeted her, but his eyes didn’t hold hers, searching instead for the baby she held in her arms—his reward to come home to after a long day in the office. And she watched her resident tycoon, supposed playboy, scoop the precious bundle into strong arms, shower a giggling gummy face with kisses, before planting a slower more deliberate one on Amelia. ‘God, I’ve missed you two.’
And she knew that he had.
Knew with complete conviction that wherever his work took him, whoever he met along the way, his heart was always with his family.
‘How’s Rory been?’
‘Grizzly,’ Amelia replied, rolling her eyes. She put her son down, his fat legs circling the air, and he gave out tiny unprovoked giggles, looking anything but.
‘His mother too?’ Vaughan grinned and Amelia pursed her lips, knowing what was coming next and deciding to get in first.
<
br /> ‘I’m not bored,’ Amelia insisted. ‘I love being a stay-at-home mum.’
‘He’s got teeth, Amelia,’ Vaughan pointed out. ‘And if I remember rightly that was about the time Maria decided to come back to work and put you out of a job.’
‘She didn’t put me out of a job,’ Amelia retorted. ‘I’d already handed in my notice. After the way they treated you it was the last place I wanted to be.’
‘But you miss it, though,’ Vaughan said perceptively. ‘Miss using that crazy brain of yours.’
‘I like being with Rory.’
‘Of course you do, and that’s the beauty of your work—you can do it from home, set the world alight right here from our lounge.’ He watched two spots of colour burn on her cheeks and completely misconstrued them. ‘Amelia, you can write the pieces you really want to now. It’s not as if we need the money. If nobody buys them it won’t matter a scrap.’
‘It will matter to me.’ She watched as his eyes narrowed, flushed some more under his scrutiny.
‘I don’t need to persuade you to work again, do I?’
Amelia shook her head, pulling a few rather well-thumbed pieces of paper from under a sofa cushion and nibbling on the skin around her thumb as Vaughan read through them.
‘This is great, Amelia.’ Hearing the admiration in his voice, Amelia remembered to breathe, knowing Vaughan’s appraisal would be honest. ‘Why didn’t you tell me you were interviewing Mr Hassan?’
‘I wanted to be sure I could still do it,’ Amelia admitted honestly. ‘I wanted to be sure I could do his work justice.’
‘And you have,’ Vaughan said simply, and she could hear the emotion in his voice, see the flash of what could possibly be tears in those navy eyes. ‘I know sometimes I get a bit pumped up with my own self-importance, but what that guy does for a living—well, it kind of puts things into perspective...’
His voice trailed off and Amelia knew he was struggling, knew he was recalling the agonising days before, during and after Jamie’s transplant—the miracle they had all been granted under the skilful hands of Mr Hassan.
‘It’s brilliant—your article’s perfect. This is going to really help awareness. The only trouble is now you’re going to have to top it. You’re going to have to think of something just as interesting to write about...’ A knowing smile inched across his lips as Amelia for once remained silent, those two spots of colour spreading across her face and down her neck.
‘Amelia? Are you going to tell me what you’re up to?’
Back under the sofa cushion, she pulled out some more papers—only this time photos were attached, dark almond eyes were staring back at him, and she watched his curious frown, his mouth opening to speak and closing again.
Amelia tentatively tried to explain. Tried to explain to this wonderful, difficult man how she was feeling, tried to capture with halting words that the more love she received the more she had to give, that love really was the cup that runneth over.
‘You remember when I stalled on taking the blood test? Remember how terrified I was that I might carry the gene as well?’
‘Of course,’ Vaughan said warily.
‘And you remember how we decided that if we weren’t going to have children then we’d consider overseas adoption, and you got all the information, showed me how many children there were in need of loving parents?’
‘Mmm.’
‘Well, I was thinking of doing a piece on that—thinking of following a couple on their journey.’
‘Good idea!’ Vaughan grinned, relief evident on his face. ‘So who did you have in mind?’
His relief was short-lived, his eyes widening when Amelia didn’t answer, just stared at the photo he was holding in his hands—a two-year-old boy who, according to the bio, quite simply couldn’t be placed. Newborn babes were the order of the day for most young couples. Two-year-olds with attitude were far harder to find a home for.
‘If we’d ended up adopting we’d have loved him.’ Amelia swallowed hard. ‘We’d have loved him just as much as we love Rory. He wouldn’t have been second best.’
‘No.’ Vaughan raked a hand through his hair. ‘But, Amelia, he might already have a family by now.’
‘And he might not.’
For the longest time he was silent, staring at the photo for an age before turning to her. ‘Are you unhappy, Amelia? Is there...?’
‘I’ve never been more happy, Vaughan. Never been more fulfilled. Over and over I pinch myself—can’t believe how lucky I am, how lucky we all are to have found each other.’
She knew he was listening, but his eyes had left hers now, were staring instead at the sad, bewildered eyes in the picture he held. A soft smile formed on his lips. ‘He is kind of cute,’ Vaughan said very slowly, very cautiously, and Amelia knew she had to hold back a touch, couldn’t let her mounting excitement sway him for even a moment. This decision was way too important to be rushed into. It was a child they were talking about, not some crazy impulse buy they could take back and exchange if things didn’t work out.
But already she loved him.
And from the look in Vaughan’s eyes, the way his thumb was stroking the pale cheeks on the photo, he was starting to feel that way too.
‘I’m supposed to be a bastard.’ Putting down the papers, he dragged her into his arms and she went unrelenting. ‘I’m supposed to be a complete cad, making a mere token effort to settle down.’
‘I know.’ Amelia smiled, closing her eyes in bliss as he held her ever closer to his chest. ‘I read all about it last week.’
‘You know,’ Vaughan whispered, pulling her in, safe in the warm glow of love, ‘this is going to completely ruin my reputation.’
* * * * *
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ISBN-13: 9781460322604
THE BRIDE
Copyright © 2005 by The SAL Marinelli Family Trust
The publisher acknowledges the copyright
holders of the individual works as follows:
THE TYCOON’S REBEL BRIDE
Copyright © 2009 by Sharon Long
IN THE RICH MAN’S WORLD
First North American Publication 2005
Copyright © 2013 by Harlequin Books S.A.
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This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events or locales is entirely coincidental. This edition published by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A.
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nbsp; Maya Banks, The Bride: In the Rich Man's World