The Tycoon's Misunderstood Bride (6 page)

The housekeeper disappeared and eventually Emma carried the dress to her own room, hanging it in her closet for safekeeping.  Then she strolled into her bathroom, stripping off her clothes as she went.  She pulled her robe off the back of the door, humming softly to herself as she turned on the water to fill up the tub.  She then pulled the pins out of her hair, letting the long, red tresses fall down her back. 

Feeling decadent, Emma poured some shampoo into her water, deciding to make it a bubble bath instead of just warm water.  As the tub filled up with water, she was just lowering her robe when a deep voice stopped her.   

“Don’t even try it, Emma,” Jason Montenegro was saying from the
bathroom
doorway.  “And what the hell was that note supposed to mean?” he demanded. 

Emma watched in horror as the man she’d been thinking about all day strolled into her bathroom as if he owned it.  Which, in fact he did since all of her father’s money was held in trust, controlled by him until their wedding day.  She pulled the robe back onto her shoulders and quickly belted it closed, stepping back, frantically looking for some sort of escape. 

“What are you doing here?” she gasped when he didn’t stop until he was only inches from her.

“I am responding to your note,” he said, his eyes traveling down her terrycloth clad body.  “I was right,” he said out loud.  “You do have an incredible figure.  No more hiding it und
er those awful clothes,” he commanded softly
.  He wasn’t yelling but his voice was
low
and sexy. 
Dangerous! 
So were his eyes as they touched on her features, then traveled lower, looking at her breasts, her tiny waist and then back up since the folds of her robe covered everything else. 

“The message only said I couldn’t go through with it,” she said, wishing her voice sounded more firm.  “I didn’t think you needed to come all the way over here to accept
the change of plans
.”

“Ah, but I’m not accepting,” he
countered
, one finger moving to touch her cheek.  “In fact, I’m here to
give you that reply
in person and to make sure you understand that you’re not the only person in this situation with something to lose.  And I’m not going to lose, Emma,” he said softly. 

“What do you mean?” she stammered out.  Her eyes were wide and her body was shivering with just his simple touch.  She wished he would leave because her body was
acting like it was excited to see him. Which was ridiculous, she told herself.  She hated him.  He was the enemy now, wasn’t he?”

“I mean, we’re getting married tomorrow.  And if you don’t have a dress that is appropriate, and that won’t embarrass me, then you’ll regret it.  I don’t waste time,” he explained. 

Emma shook her head.  “We can’t get married tomorrow!”

“Why not?  Do you have a previous engagement?”

“No, but…”

“Good, then I’ll pick you up at
noon
.  Don’t make me wait, Emma,” he warned softly.  “And don’t embarrass me by showing up in that ridiculous costume like you wore to my office yesterday.”

“Costume?” she repeated.  “What costume?”

Jason ignored her but his eyes traveled to her lips.  “Perhaps I should sample the goods before purchasing,” he said. 

Emma understood exactly what he was talking about and she backed up.  Thankfully his muscular arm snaked out and pulled her close, just in time to save her from falling into the bathtub.  “Tsk tsk, Emma.  You must learn to be careful if you’re going to become pregnant soon.”

Without another word, he turned on his heel and left, leaving Emma to shiver in his wake.  When she heard the front door close, she sank down onto the toilet seat, her knees giving out on her.  What on earth had he meant by a costume?  She’d been wearing her best outfit yesterda
y!

Emptying the tub, Emma slipped out of her bathrobe and pulled on her long, flannel nightgown.  The worn material had definitely seen better days but she didn’t care.  She slipped into her bed and stared up at the ceiling for hours, wondering how she was going to deal with the immediate future.  She didn’t know what Jason would do if she didn’t show up for the wedding tomorrow.  But what would she do if she did?  Could she stand to be married to the man? 

But she didn’t really have to be
genuinely
married, did she?  Her original suggestion was that they would marry and produce a child through a clinic.  That was the answer, she told herself. 
She’d continue to live here, maybe find a job somewhere?  Perhaps in the village?  She had no idea what skills she had but surely there was something she could do. 

Emma woke the following morning and stretched.  She showered and pulled on her robe, then wandered into her closet.  In the early morning hours, she’d come to the conclusion that she could at least marry the man.  As soon as she did, she’d be given a key to the warehouse that stored all of her mother’s possessions.  Surely there was a clue somewhere that would indicate where she might be? 

Emma dried her hair, then pinned it up in her normal style.  With shaking fingers, she pulled on her mother’s dress, surveying her reflection in the mirror with stunned silence.  Was that really her looking back?  The form fitting dress change
d
her entire appearance.  Emma pushed her shoulders back and lifted herself up proudly.  That really was her!  With only a dress, Emma had changed from a mousy, almost invisible person, smothered in colors that made her skin disappear, into someone that even she might call pretty.  Her green eyes shone and her hair seemed to be a brighter shade of red.  Even her skin looked healthy when it wasn’t toned down from the awful browns and creams her father insisted she wear. 

“What a difference,”
Nancy
said from the doorway.

Emma turned and smiled, twirling around.  “Isn’t it lovely?
”
s
he asked. 

Nancy
nodded, smiling brightly.  “I knew it would fit you,” she said.  “You really are the spitting image of your mother.”

Emma laughed softly.  “I remember my mother being stunning but that was a little girl’s memory of her mother.  I’m definitely not stunning.  Maybe a little pretty in this dress though,” she said optimistically.

Nancy
smothered her objection and held out a box.  “I thought these might come in handy,” she said.  “I hope they fit.”

Emma opened the box and found a pair of white pumps that looked almost brand new.  “Where did you get these?” she asked, slipping them on her feet.  They were a little big but not bad. 

“I bought
them
for a party a long time ago but never wore them.  I’m glad they’ll finally come to some use,” she explained.  “Would you like some lipstick?” she suggested.

Emma bit her lip, considering the guilty pleasure.  “I don’t really know,” she said.

Nancy
’s smile broadened.  “Come with me,” she said. 

Fifteen minutes later, Nancy turned Emma around to face her mirror in the servants
’
quarters.  “What do you think?” she asked. 

Emma was shocked at how different she looked. 
Nancy
hadn’t stopped at lipstick but had insisted on mascara and a touch of powder.  She’d even loaned her a pair of tiny pearl earrings.  “They aren’t real, but they look pretty with your dress,” she said. 

Emma felt pretty.  For the first time in her life, she actually felt pretty and feminine.  On impulse, she turned to
Nancy
and gave her a hug.  “Thank you for everything,” she said.

Nancy
seemed embarrassed, but pleased.  “Just don’t let your husband do the same thing to you
that your father did all the time
,” she
cautioned
.  “If you start out strong, maybe you’ll be able to….” 
Nancy
didn’t finish. 

But Emma understood
and bit her lip, trying to come up with a plan to follow through on that very sage advice
.  “I’m going to try,” she said.

Nancy nodded, suddenly feeling awkward. 
“Good.  Well, I’ve got to go get the house cleaned up.”

Emma was standing in the middle of the foyer when Jason arrived.  He didn’t even bother to knock but just strolled into the house, then stopped short when he caught sight of her. 

If it weren’t for the sparkling green eyes, Jason would have thought this was a new person standing in the entryway.  She was stunningly beautiful and her incredible figure was wrapped up in a filmy, white dress that pushed her breasts up, then tucked in to her tiny waist before flaring out into a romantic looking skirt. 

His eyes traveled upwards again, stopping on her mouth.  Damn that mouth! He thought to himself.  Where the hell did a woman have the right to that kind of a mouth? 

“Nice dress,” he grumbled. 

Emma smiled, enjoying his perusal.  “Thank you.”

“Let’s go,” he said and turned towards the door again. 

“Just a moment,” she said and extended her hand. “Here, I didn’t need this,” she said and dropped the wad of cash he’d given her two days ago. 

Jason looked down at the money and gritted his teeth.  He stared after her as she walked daintily out to his waiting limousine.  How the hell had she bought that dress if it wasn’t with his money?

This was getting out of control, he thought.  Two days ago, he’d had this all planned out.  He’d marry the girl, get her pregnant and get the information he wanted.  No problems, no complications.  Now, it was turning out that each little moment with her was a complication. 

He’s spent the rest of the evening last night wondering what her lips would feel like.  And wondering what it would be like to lose himself in her body, to mould her breasts with his hands, touch the small nipples which had hardened under that
thin, horrible
robe last night.  Images of his body covering hers had disturbed his dreams last night and he didn’t like it.  He had never let a woman get to him.  Why had she
been so persistently in his thoughts since the first moment he’d met her
? 

Jason almost cursed under his breath as his body reacted to her lovely figure with those long, incredible legs visible only from her claves down.  She was almost painfully slender, but lush in all the right places, he thought.  As his eyes traveled upwards, he was shocked by his body’s reaction to those damn rosebud lips of hers!  Flashes of his dream came back to him about those lips and he wanted to just turn around and walk ou
t of her
house, leaving this witch behind.

Why did he care that she’d slept with so many other men?  He’d never cared about the previous liaisons of his lovers, except to ensure that they were healthy.  They could have slept with half the men in the city if he were attracted to them and he wouldn’t have even blinked an eye.

This woman was different.  Maybe it was because he’d been so far off at their initial meeting.  He’d placed her in a different category of women.  She’d been in the protect and fall in love category, plainly a hands off area.  Even looking at her now, with the soft pink blush stealing over her features, adding color to that stunningly gorgeous face, she looked like the kind of woman a man would marry.  Not him, of course.  He wasn’t ready to marry anyone, not in the market. 

Until that bastard had floated his damn taunt.

Jason swore that if Edward’s information about his father was inaccurate…he wasn’t sure what he would do with
his lovely, conspiring daughter. 

“Did you sign the document?” he demanded gruffly. 

Emma blinked, startled and uneasy.  “Well, um….no.”

“Why the hell not?”

Emma moved quickly but carefully to the small receiving room on the opposite side of the hallway from her father’s office.  She sifted through several documents that were splayed out over the ornate coffee table and found the prenuptial agreement his lawyer had sent over.  “I’m sorry I didn’t go through it.  After I left your office, I was pretty upset.  And then, after I’d decided to find some other way to find my mother, I didn’t think reading this was necessary.”