The Millionaire's Convenient Bride (5 page)

He shook his head but let his hand rest on the curve of her neck.

“
Did you not see that I was doing it for you? I wanted you and only you at my side. I could see how restless you were to stay in one place for too long. You needed to leave,” he said.

Her hand came up to rest on his
, but he pulled back, his features smooth and free of all emotion again. He rose and left the cabin, closing the door behind him. Louisa tried to swallow her feelings, but the tears sprang to her eyes before she could gather herself to stop them.

Chapter
Three

He walked to the far side of the cabin and leant against the wall trying to pretend that he didn’t know that Louisa was crying because of him, again. He planned to make it up to her, to win her back, but all he achieved was pushing her further away. The flight hostess came to inform him there was a call from Louisa’s office. Not wanting to disturb her he asked her to put the call through to his phone instead.

“
This is Dominic McKillip. Louisa is unable to take your call. Is there something I can help you with?”

“
Mr. McKillip, it’s nice to speak with you. I’m Margaret, Louisa’s assistant. I’m not sure I can tell you. I should speak directly to Louisa.”

“
I can assure you that anything you say will be taken in the strictest confidence, Margaret, but Louisa is not able to come to the phone just now.” There was a pause on the other side of the line. Dominic understood her hesitation, but he also knew that his family was one of a handful of clients Louisa’s firm had. Chances were that whatever this woman needed to say was related somehow to his own affairs.

“
I’m not sure how much I can tell you. Can you please leave a message for Louisa to call me back as soon as she is able?”

“
It would be more prudent for me to leave her with a more detailed message, don’t you think?” He was trying not to become impatient with the woman who was just trying to do well by Louisa.

“
Yes, yes I believe you are right. Please tell her that Mr Hastings has withdrawn his account, which means that we will need to re-balance the books for the remainder of the year.”

Dominic took a moment to remember the names before thanking her and hanging up the phone. He knew the Hastings family
. Their company was larger by far than his own, even if they were new money. This information made Dominic nervous. It meant that Louisa had lost perhaps several hundreds of thousands of dollars, maybe even a million dollar account. He opened his laptop. This was too much of a coincidence to not be related to the email his friend had sent him two days ago. He knew then that it wouldn’t be good news for Louisa, but the situation might have been more pressing than he first realised. He needed to do some research before he passed the message on to Louisa. First he typed an email to an old friend who had done work for him in the past to see if he was willing to take on another case. Then he set about finding out who else had received the email.

Chapter
Four

Louisa woke and felt confused about where she was for a moment. She had cried herself to sleep after Dominic left. The engine sound soon reminded her of her surroundings, and she pulled herself up to see out of the small window. She didn’t know how close they were to her office in Washington, or how long she had been sleeping. What confused her further was that it was dark outside. She checked what was left of her makeup in the mirror on the cabin door. Her eyes were puffed up. It was clear that she had been crying, but she felt sure Dominic wouldn’t notice the change. She moved to the small bar and used the water jug to wash her face. The cool water helped her to wake up properly and cool her eyes. The time on the TV in the main cabin read eight at night. Louisa moved to her seat again, noting that Dominic’s laptop was still open on his empty seat.  Something must have happened. They should have landed over an hour ago. Louisa felt her heart flutter. She was already on edge being around him again, and another problem would serve to strain her hard-won calm.

“
Why haven’t we landed yet?” she asked a flight attendant.

“
Mr. McKillip requested we fly on to New York. Would you like anything to drink, miss?”

“
Yes, tea please. Where is he?”

“
Speaking to the captain.”

Louisa nodded and crossed her arms to stop them from shaking. Why had they changed their plans? He had been insistent on seeing the
will for himself. What changed in the last few hours to make him change his mind? The idea made Louisa nervous. She came from a world where the rules were set, and all she had to do was learn and play by them. She didn’t like surprises. Her hand shook as she took a sip of hot tea to calm herself.

Leaning forward she peered into the cockpit. The door had been left ajar. Louisa could see the outline of a male leaning over the back of the pilot’s chair. The night outside was pitch black,
and only the faint flicker of the control panel lit up the room. She was once again struck at how the sight of this man made her heart beat faster. It was not fair that any man should wield that sort of power over her.

She made it on her own her whole life. His father had been kind to her, for his own needs
, yes, but in the end it was her own persistence and hard work that had gotten her to where she was today.

Her unease was too strong to remain seated. She stood and crossed the cabin. She knew it was wrong of her
, but she felt curious as to what Dominic needed his computer for that couldn’t wait until they landed. The open screen invited her to look. She was disappointed to see that the screen was black. It must have an auto lockout feature after a certain period of time. She glanced back into the cockpit. Dominic stared out the window, his stance easy as he perched on the back of the pilot’s seat. She didn’t know what he was watching for. She couldn’t imagine there was much to see in the darkness. As she had the thought the sky seemed to lighten. They were descending over New York, she guessed, its lights more than bright enough to illuminate their way.

As if he sensed her watching Dominic turned. Seeing that she was there he spoke to the pilot before coming to see her. She turned to make it seem that she was moving to the wet bar and not to his computer. She couldn’t help but notice he moved with such grace
that anyone looking at him would know that he was a powerful man. His eyes were set, his shoulders and back in a posture that was as natural to him as slouching was to others. Louisa felt herself shrink back at as he met her gaze. Had he noticed her at his computer? Cursing herself she made an effort to meet his eyes, showing him that she couldn’t be intimidated. She had faced down the top lawyers in the county and won. This man would be no different. Her traitor legs were weak as they carried her to her seat, where she wouldn’t have to worry about her balance as much as she would have standing.

He watched her move across the cabin, like a cat watching its prey. Louisa had seen the look before in the court room
, the look of a person who had to break bad news to a client. The court room was where Louisa had learnt many hard lessons. The subtle look on a jury member’s face could tell her if she had won or lost their vote. She had changed her approach to a case on more than one occasion because of a raised eyebrow or shifting of position.

“
Are you feeling any better?” he asked, coming to sit beside her.

His leg pressed against hers. She wanted to move away from him but knew he would
notice her unease.

“
Much.” So far all she had shown was that she could be taken down with the smallest things. She resented him for that as much as herself. She sat for a moment waiting for him to continue, but she was anxious to find out what was bothering him, and more importantly, why they had changed course.

“
Is there a problem?” She cursed her voice for breaking.

“
In a sense.” He paused for a moment seeming undecided on how to go on. He leaned forward, and Louisa felt taken aback by his closeness, her breath catching before she forced herself to calm down. She was being a fool, a giddy teenager who lusts over the untouchable man. She had been with men before. There was no reason this one was any different, but she knew that he was.

She always felt a certain extra flutter at the sight or even mention of Dominic’s name. Everything about him, his soft lips, stern eyes
, and his personal scent combined with his presence was enough to send Louisa into the mindset of a teenager again. She knew it would never be. Images ran through her mind of a future together, a home of their own, dark-haired children. She knew that he would marry a beautiful woman with a willowy figure who would care for him and look good on his arm at parties where he would show her off to his friends. Louisa, with her classic Italian dark eyes and chestnut hair was plain by her own standards. Her figure, she was told, was one that many women would die for, and she knew that her curvy shape was one that drew men’s eyes. She still saw herself as a plump, curved woman, not whom Dominic would marry. She was too homely for such a worldly man as he.

“
Louisa, I had a call from your assistant, Margaret. The Hastings withdrew their account.”

****

Dominic watched as her face turned ashen. He was afraid that she might faint again. Her eyes swam with moisture, and she seemed to mentally calm herself as her breathing slowed and became deeper. Her eyes were red already from crying, but he knew better than to comment. He placed a hand on her slim waist, the fabric of her shirt warm from her body. The information he found proved to be useless. There were a few leads but nothing to suggest who might be trying to put Louisa out of business. There were some cases he knew of that she lost, some that made her enemies, but none that would have the resources to contact and lure away her entire client list. Nor could he find a reason for anyone to gain from doing so. Every law firm in the area had a full client list. Those which he contacted knew nothing of the emails. He didn’t know if he could trust them, but they seemed as lost as he as to what the person had to gain by this stunt.

Louisa seemed to absorb what he said a lot faster than he would have given her credit for. He could see the calculating look on her delicate face
, a slight crease between her eyes as she gazed into the air over his shoulder, thinking. She would be considering her options for maintaining her firm. She would have to pull on any excess cash she had saved, if any. Downsizing was clear. Her own expenditure would be nil, and they would move to a smaller, less central location. All of this would lose her more clients as they became aware that she may not be able to support their business anymore. Her mind worked like a computer, he remembered. Louisa had the uncanny ability behind those brown eyes to process large amounts of information at once and see all connections and outcomes. He had watched her once, before she became aware of his presence in the room, map an entire case on a board. In moments she had the case outlined and, as far as he could see, solved in just a few lines and diagrams.

He
had also thought hard about this problem, and though not one to calculate a solution as Louisa did, Dominic was a rational man. His mind worked like a contract, someone had once told him. It outlined each clause and effect and melded them into a solution at the end. Whoever was at the end of such a decision would be signing off. He never had someone refuse him, and Louisa wouldn’t do so now. As a business man he knew it would work out for the both of them. As a man who was looking into the eyes of the woman he loved, he didn’t know if he would be able to go through with his plan.

He tried to stay away from her. When he found himself along with her in the back room on the plane, her closeness, the way she felt in his arms, he knew that any feelings he once had for her hadn’t disappeared,
and if anything they had intensified. Now he was no longer the man who had everything at his call. He had everything to lose, and he wouldn’t, couldn’t, let her get away again.

The words he rehearsed
swam in his mind as he waited for her to regain herself. He tried not to notice how her deep breathing caused her chest to push against the fabric of the too-small shirt. His sister had a slim figure, and her clothes strained in the places where Louisa filled them out.

“
I have a business proposition that can help you, if you’ll accept it.”

She looked up as he caught her chin in his hand and raised her face to his. He looked into her eyes
, which sparkled with held tears. “It will profit both of us, so I don’t want you to think that I’m taking advantage of you. Your firm will not survive this, am I correct?”

Louisa nodded and tried to look away
, but he held her firm.

“
We need to get married,” he said, hoping that she didn’t hear the lust in his voice at the idea. “It makes sense, Louisa.” He continued quickly. “You need money, and the best and fastest way to get that is for me to give it to you from my inheritance, which I can only get if I’m married.” He spoke fast and with conviction now as he could see she was about to refuse. “Once the paperwork is complete we can have the marriage annulled. Do you see? This is the best way to help both of us. I can use the money to increase my company’s business once you are on your feet again.”

****

Louisa sat in a stunned silence. A small part of her knew that what he said made sense. The other part was screaming that someone had just proposed to her out of pity, and she despised herself just for considering the offer. Could she marry a man just for his money? For business? Dominic still held her chin. She reached up and removed his hand, clutching it in her lap, savouring the heat in his skin and the calluses on his palm. She needed time to think about this, time she knew she didn’t have. If they were to save the firm they needed to act now.

“
I won’t marry anyone for money. You of all people should know that.” Her eyes snapped up to his. There was a glint to them that made her take a deep breath to shake the drug effect from her body. What was he thinking? Did he not know her at all? This was the very reason she had left him the first time. She couldn’t be bought. She had liked him for a long time before they had given in to their feelings. Even then, though, she had known that she would never be able to stay with him. He wanted a woman to stay home and cook, like his mother had, while he went off to work. It had hurt her badly to get up and leave that night, but she had known even from their first kiss that it wasn’t what she needed. He took her to fancy restaurants each night, and even offered her expensive jewellery, which she refused. He tried to show his love with money, and she could see her life before her eyes. Rich trophy wife on the arm of her businessman husband. Even now the idea made her shudder. Love had not played a part.

“
Louisa, see reason. There’s no bank that will lend you the money in such a short frame of time.”

She knew that,
but she still resisted the urge. Marriage was for people who loved each other. But was she willing to give up all she had worked for? Her stubbornness had been her weakness through school, and she had learnt to override its pull. It got her into as much trouble as it got her out of. It also nearly resulted in her flunking out of school. Her friend, Cassandra, helped her through it, convincing her to let go of her pride and continue on, even though her teacher had given her an unfair mark.

Was this the same? Was she just being stubborn not wanting to let this man take over her life and her business? Because that was what marriage was, allowing a man to take control of your life, to make decisions for you, to support you. Dominic’s offer was more than a business proposal. The fierce fire behind his eyes as he looked at her from under his heavy brow was enough to convince her that the idea of what came with marriage excited him as much as it did her.

She pulled her hand from his. “I won’t do it.”

“
Louisa, don’t be stubborn. Think of Margaret. If your company goes under what will happen to her and the rest of your staff?” 

She knew he was right
. That was what made saying the words she knew she had to say so much harder. She closed her eyes and tried to see another way out of this. She knew there was no other way, no loophole or surprise witness. She was still shaking her head even though she knew she would say yes.