Contractual Obligation

  He smiled. “You’re not going to let me carry it, are you?”

  She vigorously shook her head.

  He leaned in and kissed her forehead. She had to fight not to swoon. Dammit, he was so sweet. She only hoped he really felt about her the way she felt about him. There’s no way in hell she’d admit it until she knew for sure. She didn’t want to look like an asshole and get her heart broken, even though the past few weeks with Doug had been perfectly matched teamwork in the boardroom, and fiery, passionate perfection in the bedroom.

  They’d even gone shopping three days earlier for a present for his mom. She’d insisted on buying a necklace with a heart-shaped diamond pendant for her. Doug admitted she didn’t have anything that nice, and when he worried about the price, she shushed him. “She deserves to have something nice from her son. She sounds like a wonderful woman. I want to do this.”

  She didn’t want to admit she also hoped the gift would make Doug’s mom overlook any issues she might have with their whirlwind romance.

  He put both hands on her shoulders and made her look him in the eye. “They’re going to love you, baby. I promise.”

  She nearly dropped the casserole dish right there and threw her arms around him. One of the things she loved about him was his ability to accurately read her mood and offer up just the right thing to say or do to put her at ease.

  “I’ve never done this before,” she painfully admitted.

  “What, go to dinner at someone’s house?”

  “Meet someone’s parents.”

  He frowned. “Are you serious? But you’ve probably dated…”

  She looked down as she shook her head. She felt her body tremble as he gently turned her chin so her gaze met his. “I’m really not good at this, Doug,” she softly admitted.

  His eyes searched her face. She didn’t know what he was looking for, but she hoped whatever it was, he found the answer he wanted. He leaned in and gently kissed her on the lips. As he did, his hands closed around hers, keeping the casserole dish from dropping to the walk and shattering all over the place. As he lifted his mouth from hers, he pressed his lips to her ear.

  “They will love you almost as much as I do.”

  She couldn’t feel her feet. She realized he, somehow, now held the baking dish.

  She swallowed hard. “What?” she whispered.

  “I. Love. You. Harper Wells, I love you. And I’ll sign whatever prenup you want me to just to prove it. I don’t want your money. I only want you.”

  She wanted to seriously jump his bones right then and there. “I love you, too,” she managed through trembling lips. No one but her family had ever said that to her.

  Then he was looking into her eyes again. Those sweet, deep-brown eyes of his that melted her right to the center of her core.

  He smiled. “Let’s go introduce you to the family.”

  * * * *

  Carl and Sarah Holt were generous and gracious hosts. She was immediately reminded of Gorden and Olivia. Tina and Eileen were also very nice and welcoming, although she couldn’t help but notice a few odd looks Tina gave her brother from time to time.

  She blanched when she saw Sarah’s bandaged foot. She realized with some shame that she’d never probed Doug for details about his mom’s illness.

  Sarah smiled. “It sucks getting old,” she joked. “I suppose, as everyone keeps telling me, it beats the alternative. The doctors and everyone around here are on me to lose weight, so I’ve started exercising. Dropped ten pounds so far, but it’s hard until that heals.” She pointed to her foot.

  “What happened?”

  “Diabetes. Fortunately, they only had to take a couple of my toes.”

  “You’re lucky, Mom,” Eileen scolded. “What are we supposed to do without you?”

  Harper had to fight not to run from the room. She had worked so hard to keep her secret from Doug, and here it was, laid out before her.

  I have to tell him, she realized. I have to tell him tonight. Guilt ate at her that she hadn’t revealed it to him sooner, yet she also felt like an idiot for taking great pains to hide it from him. She struggled to not start giggling with relief right then and there. She couldn’t tell him in front of everyone, because it’d be difficult to explain to everyone why she hid it. He would understand, though.

  She knew it, even though she felt guilty for holding back that last, miniscule in the grand scheme of things, bit of trust.

  Their meal was wonderful. After eating, Doug helped his father get his mother out to the lanai. Harper went into the kitchen to help Tina and Eileen with the dishes. They were talking when she heard a knock on the front door. She couldn’t see what was going on from the kitchen, but she heard Doug’s voice and another man’s voice. Then they disappeared as Doug apparently stepped outside. She heard the front door close.

  She was putting away a baking dish in a cabinet when she glanced out the window that looked onto the street. She saw Doug talking with another, familiar-looking man, slightly shorter than him. Blond, probably blue eyes from the light cast to them. She watched as they talked for a moment, then hugged.

  Then Harper realized he was the man she’d seen in one of the pictures in Doug’s room.

  Tina, who’d stepped behind her, gasped before she whispered, “Oh, no.”

  The other man reached up to his face and brushed his hands across his eyes. He’s crying. “Who is he?” Harper asked.

  Her expression turned sad. “That’s Tate Gillis. Doug’s ex-boyfriend.”

  Shock churned her gut. “What?”

  “Doug’s ex. He’s bi.” She looked puzzled. “Didn’t he tell you? He broke up with him when he took the job. They were together for a couple of years. We all figured they’d settle down together. Doug told us he didn’t want to put Tate through the crazy schedule he’d have to work.” She sighed as she glanced out the window. “He was a real sweetie.” Then she seemed to remember who she was talking to. “Sorry. I didn’t mean it to sound like that. Tate got a promotion right after Doug got the job with you. He said he didn’t want to take Tate from that. They parted friends.”

  Harper thought fast through the sudden flurry of emotions racing through her. “Oh, oh yeah. Right. Tate. Sorry, I…just couldn’t place the name at first.”

  Tina turned back to the sink. Doug returned inside, but Tate sat in his car parked on the street, not moving, his head resting on the steering wheel.

  Tina and Eileen walked out to the dining room to get more dirty dishes. Before she realized she was doing it, Harper quietly slipped out the side door and raced around to the front yard. She must have startled Tate, because he jumped when she tapped on his window.

  He sat up and rolled the window down. Before he could speak, she took a business card from her pocket and pressed it into his hand. “Tomorrow, four o’clock, this address. Ask the receptionist for me, she’ll bring you to my office. You and I really need to talk about Doug. Please.”

  Her heart racing, she didn’t give him time to refuse. She ran back to the house and made it into the kitchen before Tina and Eileen returned with another load of dishes and cutlery. When she glanced through the front window again, she saw Tate had driven away.

  Already, her mind had formed a plan. She needed to get Doug out of town, and fast. This was too much for her to handle at once. Anger and guilt warred within her. He’d told her he was single. He’d damn sure never mentioned Tate.

  Had he broken up with Tate out of greed, or sacrificed the love of his life to save his parents’ home?

  Then again, he wasn’t the only one with secrets, although in retrospect hers now pinged a lot lower on the guilt scale than his.

  * * * *

  Doug felt like he’d been sucker punched. He’d never expected Tate to show up.

  He also didn’t expect the surge of emotions he felt upon seeing Tate. He wanted to pull him into his arms, kiss his tears away, and confess everything, even though he knew doing so would jeopardize everything he’d sacrific
ed so much for.

  Not to mention he really had fallen in love with Harper. There was something so vulnerable about her buried deep behind the stone-and-iron façade she showed the world.

  Then there was the pain in Tate’s eyes when Doug had opened the door and seen him standing there.

  The feel of Tate’s arms around him as they hugged by the car.

  “I wish I could tell you everything,” Doug had whispered, coming as close to breaking his agreement as he could, “but I can’t right now. I couldn’t let Mom and Dad lose their house. I’m so sorry I hurt you, but I had to do this for them.”

  “Can we meet later and talk?” Tate had asked.

  “I can’t. I’m sorry. I don’t blame you for hating me.”

  “I don’t hate you,” Tate softly said. “I love you. I’ll always love you. I just wish you could confide in me.”

  Doug had wanted to walk away from the house, his parents, and even Harper. Just climb in Tate’s car and leave with him. Instead, he stepped out of Tate’s embrace. “I’ll always love you, too. I’m under a nondisclosure clause for a year. If I talk, I will lose my job and my parents will lose their house.”

  Tate wiped his eyes. “I wish I could say I understand, but I don’t.”

  Doug had returned to the house and forced himself not to stare out the front window. He walked out to the lanai, praying Tate would just leave, praying he didn’t knock again and force him to make a choice between the love of his life and the woman he realized he might possibly have a future with.

  He hated himself. He had to be the most selfish bastard on the face of the planet.

  I don’t deserve either of them.

  * * * *

  Harper felt her phone vibrate in her pocket. After the dishes were finished, she excused herself to the bathroom, grabbing her purse on the way. There, she checked her blood sugar, took her meds, and read through her e-mail.

  There was another message from the manager of the London office, needing her input on the impending deal there to acquire another local producer of aeronautics hardware in Manchester. She’d thought about going herself to handle it, but didn’t want to take the time away from dealing with the new Sebring plant.

  Then it hit her. The answer to her problem, buying her time and getting Doug out of the Tampa office ASAP.

  Harper tapped out a reply to the London office, then joined everyone else on the lanai. She put on her best fake smile despite feeling like her heart was breaking and hoped Doug would buy the act.

  “Guess what?” she said to Doug, praying her voice sounded normal. “You get to break in your new passport tomorrow.”

  He looked confused. “What?”

  She held up her phone. “The Manchester deal? The London office needs some guidance over there. I’m sending you.”

  “Me?”

  Sarah looked impressed. “That’s incredible! I’m so proud of you, Doug.”

  “Are you sure you want to send me?” he asked Harper.

  “Yes. I know you can handle this. I have confidence in you.” She noticed he had yet to mention they’d had an unexpected visitor at the house, much less that it was Tate.

  How many other secrets did Doug hold in his heart? And how could she trust him now when he told her he loved her?

  * * * *

  Doug felt stunned. First Tate showing up, now this. “I don’t know if I’m ready to handle something that big on my own.”

  “Of course you are. You’ll be working with our attorneys over there. I wouldn’t send you if I didn’t have confidence in you. Besides, I’m just an e-mail or phone call away.” She dropped the next bomb. “You’ll be over there for at least a month, possibly two. You should be home by the holidays, though. We’ll get you packed and get your ticket booked as soon as we get home.”

  “Um, all right.” Why did he get the feeling she was suddenly trying to get rid of him?

  Fear set in. Had she seen him with Tate? Then he dismissed that. Harper wasn’t one to run from a conflict. If she had, no doubt she would have been outside introducing herself and asking him questions.

  The rest of the afternoon passed quickly. His mom opened her presents, and he forgot everything else when he saw the tearful joy in his mom’s face as she opened the necklace.

  “Harper picked it out,” he said as he put an arm around Harper’s shoulders. She didn’t draw away from him. In fact, she snuggled closer.

  Must be guilt eating at me, he thought. Nothing’s wrong, I’m just imagining there’s anything else behind the sudden trip.

  His mom reached over and hugged Harper. “Thank you, sweetie. It’s gorgeous.”

  Harper smiled. “I’m glad you like it, Sarah.”

  His mom patted her on the cheek. “Call me Mom, for crying out loud.” She smiled at Harper. “You’re as good as part of the family, right?”

  More guilt swept through him. She’d insisted Tate call her Mom the first time she’d met him, too.

  Harper’s smile widened. “Thanks, Mom.”

  * * * *

  Harper wanted to cry as she helped Sarah put the necklace on. Mom. She hadn’t had a mom in so long…

  She wanted to believe with all her heart that Doug hadn’t acted out of greed, but out of generosity and loyalty to his family. Before she confronted him about it, however, she needed to talk to Tate and get the full story. Yes, extreme measures to get Doug out of the way, but she didn’t get to where she was by not doing her research and getting all her ducks lined in a row.

  Later, in the car on the way home, Doug reached over and patted her thigh. “Are you okay?”

  “Yeah.” She scrolled through her phone, reading e-mails. “Why?”

  “You just seem a little distant.”

  She laid her hand over his and squeezed. “Sorry. I wasn’t expecting this deal to come through so quickly. Lots to do. I’m back in business mode.”

  “No problem.”

  When they returned home she immediately booted her laptop and booked his flight. She printed out the boarding pass. “I had to fly you into Gatwick, sorry. I couldn’t get you a direct flight to Heathrow.”

  He took the boarding passes and looked through them. “I’ve never been overseas before.”

  “Piece of cake. I’ll make sure someone from the London office will meet you.”

  She helped him pack. He had to be at Tampa International at six in the morning, yet another excuse for making it an early night.

  She coaxed him into making love to her, not wanting to give up the feel of his arms around her. No matter what, she’d take advantage of that. There was a little comfort in feeling a warm body snuggled next to her.

  And she wanted all the comfort she could get since she didn’t know what the future would hold for them.

  Chapter Seventeen

  The next morning, Harper kissed Doug when he left for the airport. She managed to hold back her tears when he told her he loved her.

  “I love you, too.” Although she wished she didn’t, now she knew the truth. She did love him, and the last thing she wanted to do was lose him.

  Unfortunately, she had to find out the truth before she could go any farther.

  She arrived at the office nearly an hour early. Without Doug there, and with Gorden now happily retired all of three days, Harper tried to focus on her work and couldn’t. She couldn’t stomach the thought of food and skipped breakfast. The clock crawled. By noon, she realized she wasn’t accomplishing anything and took off for the gym to get her workout in early. It allowed her to burn off some tension and time to think without obsessively checking for messages.

  She didn’t know what she wanted to do. If she met with Tate and decided Doug had acted in the best interest of his family, she’d back away, no matter the damage to her heart. She couldn’t live with herself if she’d come between them.

  But that was Doug’s choice to make, the voice in her head argued. That voice wanted Doug in her bed for the rest of her life.

  It doesn’t
matter. I can’t live with that.

  And what if he acted out of greed? the doubtful voice asked her. What if she decided everything he’d done had been merely an act?

  Her heart ached at the thought. She didn’t want that to be the truth. She’d rather walk away willingly than find out she’d been duped. It would be much easier to bear.

  She wanted to believe the best of Doug, not the worst. She didn’t want to believe she’d been lied to, deceived, led along.

  Wearing herself out in the gym didn’t help quell her racing thoughts. She showered, returned to the office, and set about catching up with e-mails. She still had an hour before Tate was due.

  If he showed. If that happened, well, then she’d figure out what to do later.

  * * * *

  Tate stopped at a gas station a few blocks from the Holt house and stared at the business card in his hand. He should just return to Gainesville tonight. He shouldn’t spend the money on a hotel room for the night.

  But the woman seemed agitated, anxious to talk to him. Maybe she could shed some light on why Doug had done what he did.

  Tate found a cheap hotel in a not-too-bad section of town. The next day, he spent his time wandering over to Pinellas County and walking the beaches before making his way back to Tampa. He hoped this Harper Wells lady didn’t mind he wasn’t dressed in fancy business clothes. He hadn’t anticipated meeting with anyone other than Doug. He wasn’t too ashamed to admit he’d been stalking Tina’s Facebook feed and knew Doug would be at the party. He’d been willing to take that small chance to talk to Doug.

  He arrived at the building fifteen minutes early and found the receptionist.

  “I’m Tate Gillis.” He held up the business card. “I’m supposed to meet with Harper Wells at four.”

  “Sure.” She placed a quick call, then stood. “Right this way.”

  He wasn’t sure what to expect. He glanced around as he followed her, half hoping to see Doug somewhere. When the receptionist knocked on and opened an office door for him, he found himself face-to-face with the woman from yesterday.

  “Thanks, Kim. That’s all,” Harper Wells said.