The Billionaire's Forbidden Desire (25 page)

As Salazar sputtered and coughed, Geraldine reached over and pounded his back with all her considerable might, honed from years of working out.

“I haven’t even signed the papers yet,” Salazar said between gasping breaths.

“Never stopped you before,” Dane pointed out.

“Show some respect, Dane,” Geraldine said.

“I am. If I weren’t, I would’ve used far different language.”

“Do you want to know if I’m sleeping with her?” Salazar asked, his voice hoarse from coughing. “If you do, say so.”

Blake excused himself from the table. “Business call,” he said.

Iain looked after him longingly.

Ceinlys sighed out loud, drawing everyone’s attention. “Does it matter? The divorce is final. Everything else is just a formality.”

Sophia jumped to her feet. “Excuse me. I need some air.”

“Great idea. Take your time.”

She paled at Dane’s cold tone, then walked out, head held high like a foreign dignitary. And despite himself, his gaze followed her. Damn it.

Finally when she was out of the room, he turned his attention to Salazar. “Congratulations. Look what you’ve done.”

“Me? You’re the one who asked.”

“I didn’t.” Dane bared his teeth in a nasty smile. “You did.”

Salazar paused, then narrowed his eyes. “You’re such an asshole.”

“Thank you,” Dane said coolly, tilting his scotch Salazar’s way. “I learned from the best.”

Dane rolled his shoulders as he made his way to his suite. Two-plus hours of dinner, and there hadn’t been a single toast to Mark and Hilary. The couple had been dying to get away.

They should’ve just skipped the farce from the beginning and eloped like Vanessa and Justin.

Speak of the devil… Dane scowled as a text from Vanessa came in.
Meet me in my room
.

Did she really want to spend more time with him? Or was she plotting something?

Dane went inside Vanessa and Justin’s suite without a knock, then raised an eyebrow when he spotted Iain and Shane as well. Iain was sitting, his face unnaturally serene, probably in some kind of meditation so he wouldn’t do something he’d regret later, while Shane was sprawled on a couch, nursing some scotch. Vanessa sat in an armchair with a glass of the family’s orange juice. She was vibrating with energy. If she hadn’t been so heavily pregnant, she would’ve been pacing.

“Where’s your husband?” Dane asked.

“Out,” she said.

“Mark?”

“This is his
wedding
. I’m not going to bother him.”

“What’s the issue?” Dane took a seat.

“Is Dad going to sign?”

Iain and Shane’s gazes swung Dane’s way. He shrugged. “No idea.”

“Weren’t you at his place about that?” Shane asked.

“Not about that.”

“But you were there.”

“So? Have you ever known him to share his plans?”

Iain breathed audibly.

“Fine. How about if you had to guess?” Vanessa sucked down her juice.

Poor kid. For the kind of family bullshit they were all going through, she deserved a
real
drink. “I would say
probably
. Mom’s right in that it’s just a formality. The marriage is over.”

Vanessa sighed, visibly deflating. “I can’t believe it.”

“Don’t tell me you still have any romantic notions about the two of them,” Dane said. “You’re an attorney. Don’t you know better?”

“They were in love when they got married.”

“Shit happens, Vanessa. Love is not forever.” Dane forced himself to stay relaxed. “And a miserable marriage will kill it every time.”

Bitter cynicism curled in Dane’s chest.

He remembered…

He lay in bed at night
,
waiting for Salazar to stop by to kiss him
.
He always kept his eyes closed and pretended to be asleep because then his father would linger a little longer
.

Right on cue
,
Salazar entered the dark room and sat on the edge of the bed
.
A faint cologne and unfamiliar perfume came from him
.
His fingers caressed Dane’s head
,
fluffing his hair
.

“
Sleeping without a worry in the world
,
while I’ll never be free
,”
Salazar murmured
. “
Never
,
not with more babies popping out of her all the time
.
If you’d just
…”
His hand stilled and there was a sigh
. “You should’ve never been born.”

The final words were whispered so softly that Dane almost hadn’t heard them
.
An icy
,
paralyzing shock slammed through him
.
His eyes popped open
,
but his father wasn’t looking at him anymore
.

“
Then I would’ve divorced your mother
,
and we would’ve both been happy
.
Away from each other
.
Now
…
it’s too late
.”

Dane would never forget what he’d heard. Even if he’d wanted to, he couldn’t.

“Love can last. You just have to find the right person,” Iain said, jerking Dane’s attention back to the present.

“Well apparently, our parents didn’t.” Dane’s voice was much sharper than he intended, but he didn’t give a damn.

“Like I said, I don’t want to have to explain to this child,” Vanessa rubbed her swollen belly, “why his grandmother is younger than his mom.”

“Then just cut ties. It’s not like he’s your biological father,” Dane said.

“Vanessa has a point, though,” Shane said slowly. “I don’t want to have that conversation with my kids either.”

Vanessa gasped, then put a hand to her lips as tears shone in her eyes. “Is Ginger…?”

“No, no. But we’re going to have one or two. Probably two. A couple of girls who look just like her.” A goofy smile lit Shane’s face.

“You just like the making part,” Dane said coolly.

Vanessa scrunched her face. “Eww.”

He leaned back and steepled his hands over his belly. “Stop over-thinking this. You all have a choice. You can have your children and deal with the fact that whoever Dad marries next is very likely going to be younger than we are. Or you can simply not have any kids and avoid the uncomfortable discussion. See how easy it is?”

“That’s not a choice!”

“Only because you chose to do things out of order.” He stared at her belly meaningfully. She’d gotten pregnant first, then married.

Vanessa turned crimson. “Are you quite finished?”

“Not at all. You should’ve known this would happen when the divorce came about. Dad is not good at being single. He’ll re-marry soon enough, probably to a woman half your age. If that bothers you, you can wait a decade or two before starting a family. Or you can go ahead and teach your kids how the world really works.”

His siblings gaped at him, their mouths hanging open like singularly stupid goldfish.

“Now I’m finished.” Dane got up and left.

* * *

Working things out with Dane at the wedding might not have been the most brilliant idea. Sophia hadn’t realized how hectic and crazy it was going to be at the grove. Then there were the unforeseen family issues. She should’ve known Geraldine would be attending.

The only people who seemed unaffected were Vanessa and Justin’s great-uncle Barron, both of whom had eaten like everything was quite normal. But Sophia hadn’t been able to manage more than a couple of bites, and most everyone else had consumed more alcohol than food from what she could tell.

At least the garden was quiet and peaceful. She needed the respite to think things through.

She spotted another person and stopped. The voluptuous silhouette made it clear who it was: Hilary.

The bride-to-be was alone. She was still in the deep magenta cocktail dress she’d had on at dinner.
This is a little weird
. Mark seemed so protective of his future wife. Sophia would’ve thought they’d have a walk together.

Should she say hello? Attending the wedding was starting to seem like a bad idea after all. The tension among some of the family members seemed to have intensified because of her, and she didn’t want to upset the bride-to-be any more than she already had.

She’d just decided to slip away between trees when Hilary said, “Hey there.”

All right
.
No choice now
. “Hi.”

“Recharging?”

“Sort of. Yeah.” Sophia walked closer, then rolled her weight back and forth on the balls of her feet. “Sorry about being here and causing”—an awkward shrug—“the situation.”

Hilary snorted. “It’s not you. They would’ve found another reason to fight, especially with Ceinlys divorcing Salazar.”

“Really? You think so?”

“Trust me. I know the family well enough now. You have to focus on what you want and pretend not to hear anything they say.”

“Does that work?”

“Most of the time.” Hilary gave her a rueful smile. “When Salazar told me he was going to bring you, I knew he had other motives.”

“He’s trying to help.”

“He wants to help himself first.” Hilary regarded Sophia thoughtfully. “I’d say he was trying to make Ceinlys jealous, but it only ended up putting you in a difficult situation with Dane.”

“How did you guess?”

“You were at La Mer with him, right? Romantic dinner?”

“News travels fast aroun— Ohh, that’s right. Mark…”

“…owns the restaurant. So which is it? Are you interested in Salazar or Dane?”

Sophia choked. “You’re very blunt.”

“You have to be in this family if you want to get what you want. Everyone is used to getting their way, and if you’re timid, you know, they just roll right over you.” Hilary shrugged. “You have to be fearless to get what you want in life, and if you’re dealing with the Pryce family, you have to be doubly fearless. I almost let my doubts sabotage what I have with Mark, and that would’ve been awful. I hate to even think about it now.”

“I can’t imagine someone as self-assured as you having doubts.”

“Ceinlys was against us being together. She didn’t think it was good for Mark. She wanted him to have an ‘emotionally comfortable relationship.’”

“Which is…what?”

“I know, right? But I guess it makes sense if you have a background like hers.”

“I like Dane.” Was “like” even a good word for what she felt toward him?
Frustrated with
,
crazy about
,
unable to forget
… Those might be better for her complicated emotions. Sophia sighed. “But he’s so hot and cold. There are times when I think he doesn’t even want to be around me, and then there are times he’s amazingly sweet.”

“He’s always cold and direct. I’ve never seen him be nice to anybody, so if he’s ever nice to you at all, then it’s something. Everyone in the family thinks he’s been…impervious to his parents’ problems, but I think they’ve affected him the most. He’s been with them the longest. Even if things were great in the beginning, it must’ve left scars. It did on Mark.”

“Why are you telling me all this?”

“Because you’re likable. It’s obvious you didn’t mean to create all this”—Hilary gestured around—“and…you remind me a little bit of myself when I was younger.”

“Really? We can’t be that far apart in age.”

“No, but I can tell you’ve been kind of sheltered—no offense, okay?—and I had to grow up really fast. That created a lot of problems, and I was just…full of fear and doubts. I wasn’t sure if I could overcome my past, have what I wanted. Then one day it hit me that only
I
could go after what I wanted. It was my responsibility, you know? And if I went at life half-assed, I wasn’t going to get anything worthwhile. I had to pursue it a hundred percent, no holding back, even though I was scared inside.”

Sophia could understand—and admire—that kind of drive and determination. “Looks like you got it.”

“Yup.” Hilary gave a small smile. “I heard about your parents and what they did. It’s horrible, but you know what? It doesn’t matter. You’re smart and have everything you need to be successful in life.” She cleared her throat, then laughed. “Anyway, enough blabbering.”

“No, no. You’ve given me a lot to think about.”

Hilary smiled. “I better go inside before another family drama breaks out. Good luck.”

“Thanks. And you, too. I hope you have a fabulous marriage.”

Sophia watched Hilary go, then stared at the night-blanketed grove. Had she been too timid? Spent too much time second-guessing herself?

She’d let Dane and Salazar control most of her situation. Granted, she hadn’t had much option in the beginning—beggars couldn’t be choosers and all that. But she didn’t have to just stand by and let them decide all the major directions of her life.

The whole relationship thing was new to her. She’d never been in one, and didn’t know how to act. She was scared she’d make a fool out of herself or get hurt.

But Hilary had reminded her of things she knew from her competitive years. Every time Sophia had been fearless, she’d won. Every time she started second-guessing herself, she’d bombed. How had she forgotten those lessons?

And what had her coach always said? “Don’t be a wuss, Sophia. Go big or go home.”

It was time she went big.

Sophia went upstairs. The housekeeper had kindly pointed out where Dane was staying. She wasn’t going to let family issues get in the way of her objective. She hadn’t come this far to be foiled. Once they left the grove, she’d never get another chance.

Go big or go home.

She was
not
a wuss.

Taking a deep calming breath, she went inside his suite without knocking. He wasn’t in yet. The housekeeper had already unpacked his things.

Sophia hugged herself and paced like a tiger in the room. She went over all the possible scenarios, all the things she should say and do to get him to tell her what had changed.

Why can’t relationships come with a coach?

The door opened, and Dane walked in. She spun around and faced him.

He froze. “What are you doing here?”

“Waiting for you.”

“Get out.”