In The Tycoon's Bed: One Night, Two Heirs
“You’re making that up.”
“I called your name and threw the basketball to you. You were surprised, but you caught it. Then you looked at me like you didn’t have a clue what to do next and you just set the damn thing down on the grass and walked away.”
Her heart softened at his words as she realized that he had noticed her all those years ago. And she wondered what might have happened between them if she’d had enough courage back then to actually talk to him.
“Oh, God, I remember that, too.” She laughed a little uneasily. “I didn’t know what to do. I wanted to throw it back to you, but I was afraid I’d do it wrong and look foolish in front of everyone. So I didn’t do it at all. It’s the Price way,” she told him softly. “Always worry about what people will think.”
“Doesn’t matter,” he said, “wasn’t my point.”
“What is the point then, Rick?” Yes, knowing that he noticed her was lovely, but talking about the past didn’t change the future.
“You were always the unattainable, beautiful Sadie Price,” he told her.
“I was,” she said softly, shaking her head at the swarm of memories his words had created. “My parents put me on a shelf and kept me there until I was old enough to marry the ‘right’ man. Of course, he turned out to be all wrong.”
“Maybe,” he answered, “what you need to do is marry the ‘wrong’ man who might turn out to be just right.”
She looked at him. “You just don’t give up, do you?”
“I’m a marine, darlin’. We never surrender.”
“God, why are you so stubborn?”
“When I see something I want, I go get it.”
“Why me?”
“Hell, have you seen you? You’re beautiful. Smart. Sexy as hell. And, oh, yeah. The mother of my children.”
“There it is again,” she said, pushing out of his arms. Sliding to the edge of the bed, she got up and walked to the window overlooking the front yard. Then she turned and speared him with a hard look. “That’s the real reason for your pursuit. For your proposals.”
“What’s wrong with that?”
“I don’t want to be the next duty you pick up and shoulder because you think it’s the right thing to do. I want to be wanted for me.”
Now he pushed off the bed and stalked to her side. “I just proved to you that I do want you.”
“Rick, we’re arguing in circles,” Sadie said, laying both hands on his bare chest. “We don’t agree. We’re not going to agree. So can we just at least drop it?”
He sighed, then pulled her to him, wrapping his arms around her and holding her close. “We can do that. I don’t want to waste what we’ve got fighting over what we don’t. So yeah, we can drop it. For now.”
She closed her eyes as she laid her head on his chest. That wasn’t a concession, she knew. Rick wasn’t the kind of man who would give up and walk away from what he perceived as his duty.
But for tonight at least, there was a ceasefire.
A few days later, Sadie was sitting in the TCC dining room having lunch with Abby. The girls were with Hannah, and Sadie hadn’t seen Rick since their amazing night together.
She was torn between relief and fury. She should be happy he was backing off as she had asked him to. On the other hand, for a guy who said he never gave up, he was giving up awfully easily.
“You look serious,” Abby commented, lifting her glass of iced tea for a sip. “Or is that furious?”
“A little of both, I guess,” Sadie admitted. She gave a quick look around.
The dining room was crowded, as it always was at lunchtime. There were members and their wives, seated at the elegant tables. Whispers of conversation rose and fell like the tide and the smooth wait staff moved in and out of the crowd in a seamless dance that was practically choreographed.
Lowering her voice, Sadie said, “It’s Rick, of course.”
“Naturally. How’re things going with him, anyway? Haven’t talked to you since the Fourth.”
A flush swept up Sadie’s cheeks and she was glad that the lighting in the TCC was so dim. Otherwise, everyone in the room would have seen her pale skin burning red. Bad enough that Abby was close enough to notice.
“Well, that’s intriguing,” Abby said, flipping her long, dark red hair back over her shoulder. Then she narrowed sharp blue eyes and ordered, “Tell me everything.”
Sadie did. Leaving out the details of that sinfully sexy night, she got right down to the bare bones of it.
“Chemistry, oh, yes,” she said as she was winding down, “we’ve got that, there’s no doubt. But, Abby, he keeps insisting he wants to marry me despite me telling him no at every turn.”
“And why is it again you’re turning him down?”
Sadie looked at her friend in stunned surprise. “Because he’s only asking because of the girls.”
Abby smirked and took a sip of tea. She shook her head. “Doesn’t sound like it to me. Sounds like he’s asking because he can’t keep his hands off of you.”
A stir of something hot and wicked whipped through Sadie at the words. But she wouldn’t be fooled by her own passions. “No. This is about duty. Plain and simple.”
Their waiter appeared to deliver two enormous Cobb salads and when he was gone again, Sadie changed the subject. “I’m so tired of thinking and talking about me. What’s going on with you and Brad?”
Abby snorted and picked up her fork to stab a slice of hard-boiled egg. “Firstly there is no me and Brad. There is simply me battering away at your thick-as-a-post brother.”
“And good luck with that,” Sadie told her. “But what’s happening with the club?”
Abby looked around now, checking to make sure no one was listening. “Brad is running for president of the club and judging from what I’ve heard, he’s pretty much got the position sewn up.”
“Uh-oh,” Sadie said, thinking that this couldn’t possibly end well.
“Exactly. If Brad wins the presidency, then he’ll find a way to not only get rid of me, but to keep all women out of the club forever.”
“Sounds like him,” Sadie admitted.
“Absolutely it does,” Abby told her, dropping her fork with a clatter against the ceramic bowl. “And the man will find a way to keep this club locked into the past. Honestly, he is infuriating. He’s so hidebound to tradition, he should be living in the nineteenth century.”
“Also sounds like him,” Sadie concurred.
“Well, he’s not going to best me,” Abby vowed. “You know, all of this started with the talk of rebuilding the club—which I still think is a great idea.”
“I can sort of see Brad’s point,” Sadie said as she looked around the familiar room. Her father was a member of the club and his family was welcome in the public dining room. She had been going there all her life for special occasions. In a way, the thought of it changing sent a pang through her.
“Are you serious?” Abby asked, dumbfounded. “I mean, yes, tradition is nice, but so is central heating!”
Sadie held up one hand, palm out. “I’m with you. Honest. On your side.”
“Glad to hear it. For a second there, I was worried that you were slipping over to the enemy team.” Ruefully, Abby smiled and took a breath. “Right. Sorry. I get a little steamed when I start talking about Brad.”
“Did you ever notice that it’s always men making women insane?” Sadie took a sip of her tea and pushed chopped ham around on top of the bed of lettuce in front of her. She didn’t really have an appetite, which she also blamed on Rick.
Why wasn’t he getting in touch with her?
Was sex all he had wanted?
Were all of his proposals meaningless?
And why did she care? This was what she wanted, right?
She groaned and Abby reached over to pat her shoulder in support. “Of course it’s men who make us crazy. Women understand each other. It’s the Y chromosome that makes everything so irritating.”
“So, have you decided what you’re going to do about your irritation?”
“Not yet,” Abby admitted, but her eyes took on a calculating gleam. “I do have a few ideas, though. It’s time we finally break through and tear down the last of the old boy’s club barriers around here.”
Sadie laughed and felt a little easier. Sure, her situation with Rick was up in the air and more confusing than ever. But at least she wasn’t alone in her confusion.
Before she could so much as start in on her salad again, Sadie sensed a subtle shift in the club’s atmosphere. The conversations around them were still going on, but there was more of a hush to them now. As if everyone was suddenly interested in the same thing.
“Oh, my,” Abby whispered and tapped Sadie’s hand.
When she looked up, she turned her gaze to where Abby was pointing and Sadie actually felt her stomach drop. Rick was standing in the entryway, dressed in his uniform, an expression of steely determination carved into his face.
In spite of everything, Sadie’s stomach did a quick lurch and spin as adrenaline-spiked excitement dropped into the pit of her belly. She hadn’t seen him in days. And now that he was here, right in front of her, her body was lighting up like a Christmas tree.
Darn it.
His gaze locked with hers, Rick strode across the crowded dining room like a man on a mission. As he came closer and closer, Sadie’s heart began to pound in anticipation, even as she fought to keep her emotions off her face.
The crowd around them seemed to sense that something special was up. Conversations dwindled away, and as Rick crossed the room, even the wait staff froze in place. It was like the whole room had taken a breath and held it.
He stopped beside their table and spared a quick look at Abby. “Nice to see you,” he said.
“You, too,” Abby murmured, her gaze shifting to Sadie.
“Sadie,” Rick announced, his voice easily carrying across the crowd. “I’ve got something to say to you.”
“Oh God,” she mumbled, trying not to notice the dozens of curious stares directed at her.
“And I don’t care if the whole world hears me,” Rick continued. “Hell, I want them to hear me.”
“Don’t do this,” Sadie whispered, her eyes on him.
“I have to,” Rick said.
He’d finally figured out that the one sure way to get Sadie to agree to marry him was to ask her in front of people. The way she was raised, the woman she was, wouldn’t allow her to embarrass either him or herself by refusing him.
So he’d spent the last few days finding the perfect ring and waiting for his best opportunity. When he’d discovered she was going to be here at the club having lunch with Abby, Rick made his move.
She was stunned. He could see it on her face, despite how hard she was trying to hide it. Just like that time when she was a girl in the diner, she wouldn’t let anyone know what she was feeling or thinking. She would be a lady and do the only thing she could do.
She would finally say yes.
Keeping his gaze locked with hers, he made an elaborate show of dropping to one knee. Then he opened up the small, navy-blue jeweler’s box and showed her the enormous diamond he’d picked out for her, making sure the rest of the crowd got a good look, too.
Their audience took a breath and the sound was audible. Sadie just blinked at him. When he had everyone’s attention, he spoke, in a loud, clear voice, “Sadie Price, will you marry me? Will you let me be a father to our children?”
Then he waited for her quiet acceptance.
Eight
“You son of a—” Sadie bit off the last word, but no one in the room had any doubt of what she meant.
Rick slowly stood up and watched as glints of raw, gut-deep anger erupted in her usually placid blue eyes. Okay, maybe he might have made a tactical error here.
Abby was chuckling, covering her mouth with one hand to hide her smile. The rest of the room was blistering with questions and comments. He only caught a handful.
“What’ll she say?”
“That’s Sadie Price. She’ll do the right thing.”
“If I was her, I’d slap him for embarrassing me like that.”
“Well,” another woman mused aloud, “if she doesn’t want him, I’ll take him.”
He didn’t care what any of them had to say. The only opinion he was interested in was Sadie’s. And it didn’t look to him that he was going to get the answer he wanted.
Rick scowled as Sadie pushed herself out of the maroon leather booth seat, grabbed her purse and flung a look back at Abby. “Thanks for lunch but I have to go now.”
“I can see that. I’ll call you later.”
She jerked a fast nod, then fired another look at Rick. “You, I want to talk to. Outside.”
Then she marched across the crowded dining room like a young queen. People’s heads turned to watch her pass and a few of the men shot Rick sympathetic glances.
He wasn’t interested in sympathy. Snapping the ring box closed, he stuffed it into his pocket and followed his woman out of the club.
The door hardly had a chance to swing shut behind them when she turned on him like a snake.
“What were you thinking?”
The summer sun hammered them both the minute they stepped outside. It was like trying to draw a breath through a wet electric blanket. But the vicious heat had nothing on the fury stamped on Sadie’s face.
Gritting his teeth, Rick scrubbed one hand across his face. “I was thinking that I want to marry you. Just like I’ve been thinking for more than two weeks now.”
She threw her hands high then let them fall to her sides again in complete exasperation. “And the fact that I’ve turned you down countless times didn’t enter your head?”
“No,” he snapped, irritated as all hell that his plan had fallen so flat. He would have bet cold, hard cash on Sadie Price coming down on the side of decorum. It had never occurred to him that she might not leap into his arms for the sake of the watching crowds.
He could see now, it should have.
“I can’t believe you did that in front of half the town.”
“Seemed like a good idea at the time,” he muttered and flashed a glare at a man who stopped to stare at them. Quickly, the bystander hurried on down the sidewalk.
“And I can guess why,” she said, stepping close enough that she could poke her index finger into his chest. “Now that the word’s out around town and everyone knows that you’re the girls’ father, you figured they’d all be on your side. And you thought that I’d say yes to avoid making a scene.”
His mouth worked as he fought to keep back the words that would damn him.
“You’re a worm for trying to use that against me.”
“Darlin’, I’m gonna use every weapon I’ve got when I’m facing down a hardheaded opponent.”
“I am not hardheaded just because I don’t want the same thing you do.”
“You are if you refuse to see sense just to prove a point.”
She sucked in a gulp of air and stared at him as if he’d just sprouted two heads. “Do you really think I’m that small and petty?” she demanded.
A couple of people strolled past, caught a whiff of their argument and picked up speed.
“I didn’t say that,” Rick told her.
“You might as well have.”
“Don’t put words in my mouth.”
“Why the hell not? That’s exactly what you were trying to do to me.” She glared at him with a fire that should have scorched him.
“All I did was ask you a question!”
“In public! Was that your idea of a romantic proposal?”
“I tried romance, Sadie!” He loomed over her, but to give her due, she didn’t back down an inch. “I had you naked in the moonlight, remember?”
“Well, I never heard such a thing!” An older woman stopped dead as she passed them and slanted Rick a horrified look.
“Mrs. Mulaney,” Sadie muttered, never taking her gaze from Rick’s.
The older woman gave Rick the evil eye. “You should be ashamed of yourself, Rick Pruitt,” she snapped. “Sadie, dear, do you need me to call a policeman?”
“No, ma’am, thank you.”
“We’re fine, thanks,” Rick told the older woman with the iron-gray hair and the sucked-on-a-lemon expression. Mrs. Mulaney was the town librarian and lived her life as though it were her duty to tell people “hush” everywhere in town.
“I wasn’t speaking to you, Rick Pruitt! But I should think a United States Marine would know better how to conduct himself.” She hurried on as if dogs were chasing her.
“That’s just perfect,” Sadie muttered. “Now Mrs. Mulaney knows that I was naked in the moonlight with you. Just great. That should take about ten minutes to get all over town.”
He smirked at her, knowing he’d just scored a point. “Thought you don’t care what anyone thinks about you anymore.”
“I don’t,” she snapped. “Not enough to say yes to a marriage proposal that I know you don’t even really want to make.”
“You are crazy,” he countered. “I’ve been straight up with you, Sadie, right from the beginning. I told you I want to marry you. Be a daddy to our daughters. You’re the one holding back here.”
She took a deep breath, held it for a second and then let it slide from her lungs as she shook her head.
“You know,” she finally said, “I should thank you. Only a few years ago, I might have accepted that proposal just to keep from making a scene in the restaurant. But because of you, I’ve found myself.”
“What’re you talking about?” Rick had the distinct feeling he wasn’t going to like this, but he had to hear her out. How else could he plan his next move?
“I moved to Houston when I was pregnant because I didn’t want to hear the talk. Didn’t want the girls to hear it.”
“I know that already.”
“But what you don’t know is, I’m not that woman anymore.” Sadie looked up at him. “I’ve grown up at last and I like who I am now. These last couple of weeks with you have helped me there, too. I’m not perfect little Sadie Price anymore. I don’t care what this town has to say about me or you for that matter. Let Mrs. Mulaney spill her guts. I’ll hold my head up anyway. And later on, if someone’s mean to my girls, I’ll handle it, but I’ll see to it that Wendy and Gail don’t care about gossip, either.”
She leaned in until their gazes locked in a silent battle of wills. “I’m going to show them so much love, so much complete acceptance for whoever they are, that they won’t care what anyone else thinks.”
There was that pride in her again. It was good to see her so sure of herself. The only downside was, she seemed to have convinced herself she didn’t need him. And that he couldn’t have.
“Sounds good to me, Sadie,” he told her, reaching for her only to have her step back, evading his touch. “All of it sounds just right.”
“But you don’t believe it. You still think I can be maneuvered into agreeing to marry you.”
A stab of shame dug into his chest and Rick didn’t like the feel of it. Yes, he had tried to trick her into saying yes. So what did that say about him? That he was a desperate man, that’s what.
Damned if he’d apologize for it, either. She’s the one who was being unreasonable.
“Maybe I was maneuvering you …”
“Maybe?”
He sighed and felt the weight of the diamond ring in his pocket, dragging at him. This day had really not gone the way he’d planned. But there was a part of him that was standing back enjoying this moment in spite of everything.
Damn, she was magnificent. Her eyes flashing, her skin pink with temper, she was so much more than the porcelain doll her parents had made her. So much more than he had thought her to be. And he wanted her now even more than ever.
“If you’re waiting to hear me say sorry,” he told her with a grunt of frustration, “you’ve got a long wait.”
“Amazing,” she muttered.
“Sadie, I’m not going to keep asking you to marry me only to have you slap me down for it time and again.”
“Good.” She didn’t look particularly happy, though.
He moved in on her, ignored the people streaming past them on the sidewalk and pushed Sadie up against the wall of the club. Hands on her shoulders, he could actually feel her tremble under his touch and that reaction gave him hope that all wasn’t lost. Not yet, anyway.
Because as he’d warned her, he wasn’t a man to give up on what he wanted. He had told her he wouldn’t keep asking her to marry him and he meant it. But that didn’t mean he was through demanding she marry him.
“I didn’t get a chance to finish what I was telling you in there,” he said, voice low.
“I don’t want to hear it,” she said and tried to pull free of his grip.
He only tightened his hold and kept her pinned to the wall, where she was so close, he felt the heat of her body radiating toward him and damned if she didn’t feel hotter than the Texas sun.
“You’re going to, though. This you have to hear.”
“Fine.” She folded her arms over her chest, cocked her head and glared up at him. “What is it?”
“You should know, I’m not reenlisting.”
“What?”
He laughed shortly at the surprise in her eyes. Hell, he’d felt the same way when he’d made his decision a day or so ago. But a part of him had known from the moment he saw his daughters that he was through with the Corps. His wandering days were over and he wasn’t sorry to see them go.
There was more for him right here in Royal than anything he could find elsewhere. He loved his daughters and he … cared about Sadie. He didn’t love her. Wouldn’t allow himself to go that far. But what they shared was important, so his decision to come back home, though not easy, had at least felt right once it was made.
“My hitch is up in two months,” he was saying. “In two weeks, I’ve got to report back to duty, but I’ll stay stateside until I’m out. Then I’m coming home. To Royal. To you.”
“Rick,” she said, clearly stunned, “I don’t know what to say to you….”
“Don’t have to say a thing,” he whispered, leaning down until his mouth was just a breath away from hers. “I’m doing this for me as much as for you. It’s time I took up the reins on the family ranch. The oil business. John Henry’s getting up there in age, though God knows he wouldn’t admit that. And I miss home. Have for a long time.”
She reached up to cover one of his hands with hers. “This doesn’t change anything, Rick.”
“Everything changes, Sadie. That’s all life is. A series of changes. It’s up to us to recognize them when they show up.”
“Not all change is for the better,” she protested.
“This one is.” He kissed her, leaning in until their bodies pressed together and he could feel her heartbeat thundering hard in her chest.
He parted her lips with his tongue, took her breath as his own and gave her everything he had. He poured all that he was feeling into that kiss and when it was over, he had the satisfaction of seeing her stagger unsteadily.
She opened her eyes slowly, blinking up at him as if she was waking from a dream. When their gazes met, he smiled, rubbed his thumb across her lower lip. “I’m not going anywhere, Sadie,” he said softly. “I’m going to be here. For you. For our girls. And sooner or later darlin’, you’re going to be mine.”
She was still dazed from that kiss, and Rick could admit silently that he felt pretty much the same way. Touching her, tasting her, always left him shaken and craving more. But that kiss would have to do both of them for a while.
“Now,” Rick said, taking her arm, “I’ll see you back to your table and you can finish your lunch with Abby.”
Sadie shook her head. “You don’t have to do that.”
“Yeah, I do.” He opened the door, steered her through the dining room and was completely aware of the gazes locked on him. He couldn’t give a good damn. He was a man on the ragged edge of control. Sadie had pushed him about as far as he was willing to be pushed. Now it was time to take a stand.
Let her know that he wasn’t going anywhere.
Ignoring everyone else in the place, Rick waited for Sadie to slide into the booth beside Abby. Then he inclined his head. “Ladies …” he said, and left.