Marriage of Convenience (17 page)

He’d adored his mother. She handled every burden with a smile and only shared the good things. Not that she hadn’t prepared him for some of life’s harder lessons. But she’d done it with thoughtfulness and kindness. He hadn’t grown up feeling hardened or skittish toward anyone. She hadn’t made offhand comments, but spoke about her dilemmas, her logic, her concerns, and her decisions. She didn’t hide her triumphs or her disappointments. But there was a very balanced approach. And as his mother had instructed and demonstrated, he’d grown up to question, reason, decide and learn from the consequences.

He would do the same here.

He’d already questioned his father’s purpose, his own sanity, and that of the others involved in this drama. He’d even found the silver lining in the creation and support of a woman’s education and support center to honor his mother. And he’d come to understand the motives of those involved, he thought, and had decided, even if subconsciously, that having Caroline for his wife would be wonderful.

He paused. Had he considered her motivations? He certainly hadn’t asked. She was amazing. So why wasn’t she taken? She’d had several personal relationships in her past. She’d said so herself. They hadn’t worked out. Why was that a concern? He didn’t think it was. He’d had several unsuccessful relationships himself. He also wasn’t certain that the fact that she was single was indicative of some sinister motivation behind her interest in marrying him. Sure he had money, reputation, and notoriety, but so did she in her own right. If it turned out she needed something he had, he still wasn’t sure that was a problem. Could they really be expected to unload their every want and desire over two days? He was certain things would come up, expected and unexpected, and they would deal with them at the time. No need to borrow trouble when there was no evidence to believe there was any, and there was plenty of evidence to support the contrary.

Pulling the door open, he vowed to finish lunch and his rounds early so that he could enjoy the process of preparing for the evening as much as he no doubt would enjoy the evening itself.

Having spent much of the morning on the phone, Caroline looked around her moderately clean desk and decided to spend the rest of the day in the kitchen with the girls. She employed two full-time bakers and four full-time decorators. There were also an accountant, front counter part-timers, and an evening clean-up crew. She could really double each number at all those positions. She turned away more business than she would like, and it was something she was going to have to address sooner rather than later. She was certain her accountant was good and there was no funny business with the numbers, but she was damned if it just didn’t take a lot of time to produce the quality of work she insisted upon. She had considered inviting in more interns, but she wasn’t sure that the investment in time wouldn’t be greater than the assistance she’d receive. It was something else she’d have to consider further a little later.

Her office was in the back of the kitchen. As she stepped onto the kitchen floor she wrapped an apron around her waist. She wasn’t opposed to getting her hands dirty, but timing was going to be tight this evening, and she wasn’t sure she’d have time to shower and change again before the flight.

The flight.

She smiled widely as she mentally reviewed her plans, hesitating only a moment over the nagging thought that she was overstepping some bound. Her sister assured her she was. Gloria had seemed hesitant. But Caroline had decided she hadn’t gotten to where she was because she took baby steps. She had an idea; she sketched it out in her brain, and she leaped. She thought she was very good at processing events as they unfolded and even better at adjusting on the fly. She’d do the same tonight, if necessary. But she didn’t think it would be. She thought she had a pretty good read on Malcolm, and she had it all worked out.

Her cell phone vibrated. She slipped the phone off its hook and smiled. She typed: Nice try. See you later.

She thought it was important to show that she was as interested in settling their arrangement as he had been. She didn’t want there to be any questions later about her lack of commitment.

Caroline had paused in the doorway as her thoughts had gotten a little deeper. A light expletive from a decorator brought her back to reality. Typically the bakers and decorators didn’t work the same hours, but as was becoming normal for them, they were tight on their delivery schedule and had to work on multiple jobs, in various stages of completeness, at once. She wasn’t against cursing, but it was never good when it was paired with the sound of hardened gum-paste hitting stainless steel. One flower down.

The activity in the room hadn’t changed with the death of the lily nor Caroline’s entrance. She’d created and grown the business from the beginning, and she’d told every new support staff she’d hired this past season that the reason they had jobs was because she wanted to spend more time in the kitchen than she did behind her desk.

She swept into the room and surveyed the possibilities. She didn’t want to get too involved such that someone would have to take over for her when she needed to step out. She’d already told the staff she’d be gone for a few days, so perhaps she could help out by making a few extra recipes of buttercream. Most of the staff considered it grunt work anyway, since it really required no skill. Yet it was essential to just about everything they produced.

Caroline gathered the butter, shortening, vanilla, and powdered sugar. She measured the first two ingredients into the floor mixer and set the speed on medium. As the butter and shortening creamed, she walked around the kitchen admiring the work being done. She took a slow walk and returned to the mixer in time to add a few scoops of powdered sugar and reset the speed. She was watching the blades turn and didn’t see Maddie come up behind her.

“You could make that in your sleep. Why does this batch require so much attention?”

Maddie had been her assistant for more than three years. She was Caroline’s first hire, and she’d assisted with all stages of the business’s growth. If there was someone who understood the amount of effort and time it took to get Caroline’s off the ground, it was she. In that time they’d become friends.

Caroline smiled and adjusted the lever. The blades slowed to a stop. She added a few more scoops of the powdered sugar and set the blades to mix once more.

“Sorry, just lost in thought.” She smiled at her friend.

“About your trip?”

“Is that a cheap attempt to wheedle the information out of me?” Caroline asked, smiling. She knew what her friend was up to. Under other circumstances she would have talked to Maddie about her absence well before talking to the staff. They had a great working relationship, and little happened in their personal lives that they didn’t share, discuss, and sometimes over-discuss. She knew her old friend was chafing at having been told with the masses. But she’d made the decision deliberately. She didn’t want advice, feedback, or rain thrown on her parade. She didn’t even want what Maddie was more likely to offer, hope and encouragement. She just wanted to do it on her own and in her own way. But she did feel bad now.

“Of course. You’ve been distant. What’s going on?”

Caroline smiled brightly and then deliberately turned her back to her friend to add the vanilla to the buttercream, aware that Maddie was about to burst with curiosity. She turned back to Maddie and had to bite her lip to keep from laughing at the sight of her expression. Obviously Maddie thought her inquiry should have produced more details.

“So?” Maddie asked the question, red-faced and wide-eyed.

“So what?” Caroline giggled.

“So tell me where you’re going! What are you doing? And, more importantly, who are you going with?” The words rushed out of Maddie’s mouth. The girls stopped their work and leaned their hips against the steel tables so they were facing Caroline and Maddie at the mixer. There was no attempt to hide their eavesdropping.

Caroline flushed at the attention. It wasn’t that she was against talking about her plans. She almost felt bad because she hadn’t told them everything from the start—it seemed like she was hiding something. And to tell them now meant she had to acknowledge that she had not shared earlier. Swallowing the urge to apologize—it was her life after all, and some decisions were personal—she faced her staff and smiled.

“Well. Ok.” She wasn’t sure where to start. They didn’t need all the sordid details, did they? He was gorgeous. He was wealthy. He could do amazing things with his tongue. His cock … well, there really weren’t words for that. No, there were definitely details they didn’t need to know.

“I’m getting married. Tomorrow.” As she said the words, she felt like she was glowing. Her face flushed red, and her smile was 1,000 watts. She didn’t know what to do with her hands, so she threw them up as if to say, “Surprise!”

Silence.

Then screaming. And a million questions volleyed in unison. It took nearly an hour to explain, minus some of the more interesting details, who Malcolm was, how they met, what the courting had been like, where they were getting married, and so on.

“So, you’re leaving tonight?”

Caroline looked at her watch.

“In about three hours I should be showered, changed, packed, and on the road.” Saying the words out loud made her mind spin temporarily with all the tasks that needed to be accomplished before she could leave. Mentally checking her to-do list, she quickly moved some things to the not-going-to-happen list and was instantly more at ease with having taken an hour to catch everyone up on her love life.

A “love life”? Is that what she had now? She’d blocked out most of her emotions, which threatened to overwhelm her every time she thought about that she’d experienced over the past few days. Apparently her subconscious had not done the same and had concluded that she indeed did have a love life. She and it would have to have a talk soon—she was only interested in a father for her child and nothing more. Or so she told her “self”. The problem was, “self” wasn’t listening. And unless “self” and her subconscious were one and the same she thought perhaps that she was becoming a victim of some inner conspiracy to turn her well-laid plans into a complicated mess. To avoid their meddling, she decided to ignore all thoughts that didn’t appear to originate in her active brainstorming.

Nodding her head to mentally affirm her decision, Caroline resurfaced to reality and was glad to see most of her staff had returned to work. That is to say they were continuing with their various cake baking and decorating activities. Their mouths still hung open with exclamations and congratulations as she completed her own task and walked back to her office. With a quadruple batch of the buttercream stowed, she could at least leave knowing she’d saved someone a couple hours’ worth of grunt work. The rest they’d have to organize themselves.

Scanning her office once more, she determined she would not review the calendar again. She was certain she’d assigned a cake manager to each upcoming wedding, and that was the extent of her concern at the moment. Once a manager was assigned, the tasting, design consultations, and final confirmation were out of her hands. It didn’t really work out that way given her management style, but she’d have to let go some day. She’d consider it practice for motherhood. She had every intention of being a stay-at-home mother. She couldn’t manage both babies, and her biological one would definitely take priority. Better ease back sooner rather than later. She’d have time to work out the kinks before the real thing.

She grabbed her shoulder bag and clicked off the lights. A chorus of congratulations and well wishes followed her out the door. In the relative silence of the street noise, she was left to contemplate the remainder of the day. She’d chosen the Cosa Bella Wedding Package after some conversation with the wedding planner at the Belagio. And though she had no intention of using all its amenities, once she purchased the package she was able to pick and choose those items she wanted for her and Malcolm as well as the wedding party. She’d added a few other perks as well, but she was sure it would be worth it. She’d sent invitations to Gloria and Denzel—Malcolm would need a best man. And she’d booked Sarah and Cody on the same flight as Gloria and Denzel. She’d thought it might be fun for everyone to fly together, but after some thought she’d considered one last evening alone with Malcolm would be nice as well. The wedding party, such as it was, would arrive a few hours before them. Once everyone was settled, they would have dinner and enjoy a show. She’d booked them tickets to see the latest Cirque du Soleil. After the show … well, she wasn’t a shrinking violet or a virgin, so she had big plans for that, too.

Her phone vibrated. At the airport. G & D here too. Let’s talk @ tonight. Sarah had loved her plans until she’d told her it would all be a surprise for Malcolm. It wasn’t that she didn’t value her sister’s opinion—she was already married and understood the need for compromises and communication much better than she did. But Caroline had told herself and her sister that being on the same page as someone meant not having to run every detail by them. And, in the end, if she was going to be able to be true to herself as much as she was to her future husband, he’d have to understand her desire to please, even if that meant taking some risks and simply hoping he liked the outcome as much as she thought he would.

Uuugghh. Not again. She really had no desire to discuss it again. Besides, it was too late now.

Not that. Can’t stay with him tonight. Tradition.

Was she kidding? She knew Sarah. She wasn’t kidding. Sleeping apart from Malcolm had not been in her plans for the night. But if her sister was willing not to ride her about the details of everything else, could she give her this? She could. Especially since notice of it would allow her to adjust her plans.

I don’t like you. Without saying so, she’d accepted her sister’s nod to tradition. Nothing else was going to be, so she didn’t feel she was losing too much of herself. Clicking away from the text screen, she pressed the contacts button and found a limousine company. Arranging for a pick up with one stop, she mentally adjusted her time line and travel wear. She would need some flexibility in the fabric if she was to accomplish in motion what she’d intended to accomplish in bed.