And I won"t ever marry again without it." She extended her hands in front of her, palms up. We"re at an impa.s.se."
So you"re not prepared to marry me, but you"re still willing to have me accompany you to play the role of your lover this weekend to fool your grandfather?"
She held a hand up in protest. Hang on, here. Firstly, we are lovers now - for however long it takes you to find a wife - and secondly I"m not trying to "fool" my grandfather. I"m trying to make him happy, trying to let him find peace so he"s not worried about me, or his company. I want him to go into surgery without anything on his mind but his recovery."
Logan clenched his jaw briefly before he accused, Not to mention trying to ensure that you"re granted control of the richest mining business in Australia."
He regretted his petty words as soon as they were uttered and he saw her bristle. What the h.e.l.l was wrong with him? Why was he griping like a petulant child who wasn"t getting his own way when she was a lover who"d just given him the most fantastic night of s.e.x he"d ever experienced?
Get a grip, man.
My grandfather loves that company. It"s his life"s work, and I"ll do whatever I can to make sure it stays strong and Felix doesn"t have a chance to run it into the ground," she told him heatedly.
And what do I tell Charlotte if I don"t win the court case and have to leave her with her grandmother?"
For a few seconds, she looked away from him. Finally, she turned back and looked him in the eye. If you"re not happy about coming to the Hunter Valley this weekend, then don"t come. Felix has seen us together. I"ll simply tell my grandfather that we"ve broken up."
This woman was no pushover. She wouldn"t be enticed by his wealth the way other women had been, and what else did he have to offer her? Taking control of her grandfather"s company and making blasted Rigby Carlisle happy seemed to be the only thing she wanted out of life and Logan had already fallen neatly into her plans on that score. The only thing she wanted from him was the use of his body. Fabulous. She"d reduced him to being her s.e.xual playmate. He smothered a curse of frustration. If that was what she wanted, that was exactly what she"d get. He"d make s.e.x so d.a.m.ned good between them, she"d be addicted to his lovemaking - so addicted she"d have to marry him.
Frustration ate at him. He was starting to recognise that Sophie had the upper hand here. He had to find a way to convince her to become his wife. Apart from having her addicted to his brand of lovemaking, he couldn"t think of any other way to tie her to him...unless...Grim satisfaction surged through him. There was another way, and if he had to he"d use it. He"d never fought dirty in his life, but then again the stakes had never been quite so personal or so high.
Arms folded across her chest, she regarded him steadily. Well, Logan, the decision about the weekend is entirely yours. What"s it to be?"
G.o.d, but she was so gorgeous and sa.s.sy as h.e.l.l. We"re going to the Hunter." Miss a chance to spend time to persuade her around to his way of thinking? No way.
Great. That gives us three more nights to establish our stories."
He reached for her. In the meantime we can continue getting to know each other in different ways, starting in the shower."
We can"t this morning. You might be taking a short break from corporate insanity but I"m not." She stretched up to kiss him briefly on the lips. When he would have deepened the kiss, she pulled away. If we end up showering together, I"ll never get to the office on time and I"ve got meetings lined up all day. I should be free about six-thirty tonight."
b.l.o.o.d.y h.e.l.l! He was used to dating professional women with demanding timetables, but he"d always managed to persuade them to fall in with his schedule. Women simply didn"t say no to him.
Trying to recover from the small shock to his system, he said, I"ll pick you up at your office."
Okay."
Well, he"d got her to agree to that much. Slowly, slowly he"d chip away at her defences.
You shower first," she said. I"m going to make us some coffee."
Left alone, still reeling at having the terms of this relationship dictated to him, Logan sat on the edge of the bed. Chipping away at her defences was all well and good, but he didn"t have a lot of time to play with. Sophie needed to agree to become his wife quickly. Just how thick was the defensive ice wall of hers that he had to break through, and did she have a weak spot?
The answer struck and he got his mobile phone from the pocket of his trousers and made a call to his right-hand man, or in this case, his right-hand woman. Find out all you can about Carlisle Mining and Felix Carlisle. I want a full a.s.sessment of the strengths and weaknesses of the company completed urgently." He paused for a moment as she responded. Yes, and start buying up shares at market price. More than likely we"ll be mounting a two-tier take-over bid in the near future, so be discreet for now and double check with the legal department what laws the securities and exchange commissions have regarding disclosure information to the Australian Stock Exchange and to Carlisle Mining."
Hopefully he wouldn"t have to resort to this action, but Carlisle Mining was this stubborn woman"s weakness. If he had to, he"d play ruthless. Sophie was carrying such deep scars from relationship fallout, she evidently couldn"t see that his proposal was a win-win. They were good together and a short-term marriage was the answer to both of them achieving their goals. She"d see that eventually but he"d do whatever it took to hurry that process along.
One way or another, Sophie would be his wife.
Chapter 8.
Hi babe. How was your day?"
Sophie"s heart did a leap at Logan"s easy greeting. It beat out an erratic tattoo as he leant forward in the opulent foyer of the Carlisle Mining building, and kissed her as if it was the most natural thing in the world to do.
It just got a whole lot better," she said a little breathlessly wanting to melt into him and forget about the stand-up arguments she"d had today with Felix over environmental issues. What did you do all day?"
Acquired office s.p.a.ce, fielded a few important phone calls despite being on leave, had a quick meeting to see how Scott"s hotels business is going-"
You were left in charge of that, right?"
Yes. Scott"s original will left me as executor and placed me in charge of the business. I have the responsibility of making sure the business ticks over nicely but if Thea Winston wins custody of Charlotte, I"m pretty certain her next action would be to challenge me for control of the hotel chain as well."
Sophie felt her lips firm. I imagine Felix will mount a challenge to me as well when the day comes that Grandfather pa.s.ses away and his will is read." She pulled a face. He won"t be content with a share. He"ll want everything, including control of Carlisle."
I drove up to the Hunter to meet with your grandfather today."
What?" Sophie stood, gaping at his casual announcement. Had she just heard him properly?
Let"s go. We can talk about this when we get to the restaurant. I"ve booked at a cosy little Italian place around the corner."
Frissons of unease danced along her spine. Shooting him a look of incredulity and outrage, she shook her head. You let drop that you met with my grandfather today then you talk about dinner in the next breath?"
Last night I didn"t mind going without food. Tonight, I"m going to make sure we"re both fed."
Logan -"
My plans for after dinner require lots of energy."
Hang on. I -"
He wrapped an arm around her waist and began to propel her out of the building. Not here, sweetheart."
He was railroading her again. As soon as they left the building and turned a corner into a relatively quiet side street, she stopped dead. What the h.e.l.l are you doing meeting with my grandfather behind my back? You didn"t mention anything about this last night or this morning."
Last night, my mind was not on business. This morning, as I remember, you were in a hurry to get to the office."
So you already had the meeting planned?"
Yes."
As of when?"
Yesterday."
The day after he"d met her.
The knot of tension in her stomach pulled tighter. What was this meeting about?"
I mentioned your grandfather had wanted to sell me his diamond mine. At the time I declined. When I met you, I remembered and now I"m back in Australia for good I"d like to establish mining interests here - especially with the calibre of diamonds coming from the Top End."
The palm of her right hand pushed against her forehead in frustration. You should"ve told me. Felix told Grandfather he"d seen us together." Her hands cut through the air in anxious movements. Grandfather rang me very early yesterday morning and asked me whether you were the mystery man in my life. He"d be wondering why I hadn"t mentioned that you were going to phone him and make an appointment to see him. What did he say to you?"
He did say he was surprised you hadn"t mentioned it."
She swore. How could Logan be so calm about it? What did you say?"
I told him I didn"t want my business discussions with him influenced by my personal relationship with you."
Rigby would"ve respected that.
He wanted to know whether I was serious about you and when we planned to get married," he continued.
My G.o.d! What did you tell him?"
The truth." He shrugged. I told him I"d asked you to marry me and you were hesitating because of your previous experiences."
She stared at him, her lips parting with her horror. d.a.m.n you, Logan, you had no right to do that! I told him I was madly in love with the man of my dreams. He"s going to expect me to marry you now he knows you"ve proposed! He"ll be wondering what"s holding me back." Her hands went to her temples and she turned in a small half-circle on the spot, shaking her head as helpless agitation fizzed in her bloodstream.
Sophie. Take a breath. Listen to yourself. You"ve achieved your goal. This is what you wanted."
She swung back to face him. Don"t patronise me. You"ve put this all back on me. I don"t suppose you happened to mention the motivation behind your proposal?"
He quirked his lips. No, I didn"t."
In contrast, her lips compressed and she delivered a wallop to Logan"s arm. You are such a louse!"
I told Rigby I was working on you."
Geez, Logan!"
I think he"s hoping for an announcement this weekend."
Most uncharacteristically, she delivered another great thump to his arm.
You pack a mean punch, lady!"
You"d better believe it." She raised her fist again and Logan captured it neatly in his palm. A split second later, he"d backed her against a wall with his body, framed her face in his hands and was kissing her breathless.
Oh d.a.m.n! He knew exactly how to get through all her defensive barriers. Just the touch of his lips against hers and her defences crumbled. All the fight had gone out of her by the time he raised his head, broke their kiss and then rested his forehead against hers.
Honey, your grandfather told me that the odds aren"t great that he"s going to survive his bowel surgery next week."
Sophie squeezed her eyelids shut tight, unable to meet the sympathy in Logan"s expression. She tried hard to summon some shutters, unwilling to allow him to see the pain that must be in her eyes. She knew her grandfather"s prognosis wasn"t great. Rigby had confided in his housekeeper, Daphne, and Daphne had told her. The cancer was advanced because the stubborn man had ignored the early warning signs and refused to seek medical attention.
Sophie gritted her teeth together as emotions welled within her. Anger. Frustration. Helplessness. Despair. She smothered down the if only" thoughts and tried to cast away the doom and think positively. Opening her eyes, she looked straight into Logan"s. Grandfather"s a stubborn man, a born fighter. As long as he has the will to live, he can summon up some reserve and he"ll pull through. He"s been winning against the odds all his life."
Logan hugged her tight. I like him. I"d like to think you"re right."
I am. He"s still got too much to live for to give up now."
He likes me, Sophie. We respect each other. It would make him happy if we announced our engagement this weekend."
A lump of emotion swelled in her throat. It was so huge and her throat muscles so tight, she thought she"d choke on it.
It might even give him that something extra to live for," he coaxed close to her ear.
Logan was very good at emotional coercion, but she was too upset thinking about her grandfather to berate her lover for not fighting fair. She knew a pain in the area of her heart, like it was a giant ball of dough being squeezed then rolled out flat.
Her voice was squeaky as she tried to ignore the question of their engagement and forced out, Is Grandfather selling you the mine?"
He is."
Sophie felt her lips twist and her heart plummet. He may not be dating her for her money, but was Logan using his relationship with her to get what he wanted out of her grandfather?
Logan"s brows drew closer together and she watched him straighten. Don"t even think it, Sophie. I told you, this deal was offered to me previously. This has nothing to do with you and me."
Taken aback by the ease at which he read her thoughts, she struck out. No special family discount on the sale?" Instantly, she regretted her bitter accusation.
You don"t know your grandfather very well if you think for a minute he"d lose money on a deal. Even thinking he may not see out the month, your grandfather"s still every bit the ruthless businessman. He still gets a kick out of driving a very hard bargain and increasing his wealth."
It was true.
Reaching out, she placed her hand on the area of his arm she"d thumped earlier. I"m sorry." They both knew she wasn"t talking about the pummelling she"d given him. That was a pretty b.i.t.c.hy comment."
He placed one hand over hers and reached out with the other to brush a loose tendril of hair off her cheek. When you"re carrying around emotional scars that haven"t healed, it"s easy to strike out. Your scars aren"t far from the surface and you have to move past them. Find your happiness with me, Sophie, and you"ll lose that doubt you carry about everyone"s motivations. You"ll stop believing that everyone around you has ulterior motives for wanting to get close to you. You"ll see yourself as I do. Even after just a couple of days, I know that merely being close to you brings a rich reward that"s more valuable than tangible wealth."
Gosh! This, from a man who didn"t believe in love?
Tears stung her eyes and Logan"s face swam in her vision. This degree of empathy and such romantic words and caring from him surely turned his whole statement about not doing love on its head. Wasn"t the ability to feel all this just a step away from love?
But when she thought about it, he was only offering a temporary relationship and he had an ulterior motive too. Sure, he might find her attractive and he didn"t want her for her money, but he"d still benefit from the arrangement. She mustn"t forget this was about securing custody of his G.o.ddaughter. That was why he was pushing so hard for marriage.
Be fair. He likes you and he desires you. Isn"t that more than you"ve ever been offered before? It would make your grandfather so happy and you"d have short-term benefits.
When"s the court case for Charlotte?" she asked.
He frowned at her abrupt change of subject. Just under two weeks away."
And my grandfather has his operation next week." She took a deep breath in, held it, then exhaled slowly. Okay, Logan. Let"s help each other. Let"s announce our engagement at Grandfather"s birthday party." There was an instant flare of satisfaction in his eyes. I"m still not prepared to go through with actual marriage, but maybe a fake engagement will give us both what we want."