Theirs to Treasure (Beyond Monogamy Book 1) (7 page)

“Is everything okay?”

“I don’t believe you called to see if I was fine. What can I do for you?” She quickly avoided the question, while her mind screamed for her to tell him. She wanted to hear someone tell her it would be okay, even if it was a lie.

“You’re right. I didn’t, but the sound of your voice tells me something is wrong. Trust me, when you travel away from your family for years you tend to pick up on things like the changes in someone’s voice. Are you okay, Paris?”

“Just a little bad news.” She shook her head. That was the understatement of the year. “Nothing to worry about. If you’re calling to see how the matchmaking is going, it’s too early.”

“No.” He let out a light laugh. “I guess you’ve had people call the same day wondering about a match.”

“A few.” She stared out at the mountains, wishing she was skiing down one of them. “I just got home, but I’ll get started in the morning and will be in touch soon.”
After one last deeper background check is complete on all three of you.

“That’s not why I called. The guys and I were talking after you left, and we think in order for you to find a perfect wife for us, you need to come back.”

“I’ve gathered the answers I need for the search.” She pushed the sliding glass door open and stepped inside. Immediately the heat began to warm her and she was able to focus. “There’s no need for another visit at this stage.”

“This upcoming Saturday we’re having an informal family get together with my parents and Kain’s parents. I think if you met our families, because they’re the people we’re closest to, it will give you another insight on what we need in a spouse.”

“Mr. Dalton…Aiden, I’m not sure I’m available this weekend.”

“I understand you have other clients and commitments, but I think it will give you a better idea of us. A different side of each of us you couldn’t see in an interview.”

“It’s been a long day.” She rolled her shoulders. “Can I get back to you tomorrow? Once I check my planner and talk to my family. With London going out of town tomorrow I need to make sure things are covered here.”

“Very well.” He paused and she heard his desk chair creak forward. Instantly her thoughts were filled with him behind the grand desk, the pastures, and mountains in the background, before her imagination took a more erotic turn, his voice pulled her back. “There are rumors that your mother is sick again.”

She stayed quiet. The family had decided to keep the fact that her mother’s cancer had returned quiet. They didn’t want anyone focused on that, especially not with Mathew currently prosecuting the woman who killed her own daughter while on vacation.

“Shall I take your silence as an admission?”

“Mr. Dalton, my family business is just that, my business.” She knew she couldn’t afford to be snippy with this client but she needed to set up boundaries.

“Very well. I’ll give you a call tomorrow night and see if you will grace our gathering with your presence. Until then, Paris, I hope your dreams are full of wonders of the future.” With that, he clicked off, not giving her time to say goodbye or anything else.

She stood there holding the phone, wondering why she didn’t agree to the family gathering. At least then she’d be closer to him and the others, even if it was only for a short time before she matched them. Soon her time with them would be over and she’d be able to get back to her normal life and try to forget them.
You’ll never be able to forget them.

The dark and threatening sky matched Paris’s mood. She sat behind her desk, the work piling up, but she couldn’t keep her thoughts on anything. How did one deal with knowing death’s long fingers were closing in for the kill? If she could discover the answer for that, she might be able to get back to the things that needed to be completed by the end of the day.

London had taken the news as she expected he would and hadn’t wanted to catch his plane. After countless promises to call him and send Jake for him if anything happened, she had managed to get him out the door and on his way. Now that he was gone she half wished he’d stayed. There was nothing he could have done but at least she’d have someone to talk to, to confide in. Her dads were too busy caring for Mom and didn’t need to be bothered by her fears.

“Busy?” Paul stood in the door frame in the jeans and t-shirt he favored when he was around the house.

“Not really. What’s up?” She tried to keep her tone light and not let her emotions show through.

“Mom wants to see you.”

“How is she?” She laid her pen aside and pushed her chair back.

“Tired but at least she’s been able to eat something this morning. Tomorrow she has another round of treatment so if you can come down to see her today while she’s feeling better that would be good.”

“I’ll go now.” She stood and came around the desk, closer to him.

“Mathew told you about what the doctor said, but remember she doesn’t know.”

“I won’t say anything, Dad. I also know we need to keep things upbeat for her and not stress her out. This hasn’t been the first time we’ve been through this.” She forced herself to smile because she was going to have to when she got downstairs.

“This time it’s harder.” The sadness leaked through his voice.

She nodded. “I know, Dad, I know.”

“You go ahead and see her, I need to get a little air.” He strolled from her office before she could say anything.

As she headed downstairs to her parents’ room, she realized this cancer was taking a toll on all of them. No matter what anyone said, when someone in the family was fighting a battle against cancer the whole family fought. Everyone had to be strong, supportive, and pick up the slack for the others. Their family had always been tight knit, but this had brought them even closer.

She came to stand in front of the double doors leading to the first floor master suite that was her parents’ bedroom, took a deep breath and pushed the thoughts of losing her mother from her mind. This was no time to give in to the loss of not only her mother but also her best friend. She had to be brave. With her emotions in check, she knocked lightly on the door and pushed it open. “Mom.”

“Come sit with me.” Her mother, Amy, patted the bed next to her.

“Mom.” Her voice cracked before she pulled a tight rein on her emotions again.

“I’m fine, sweetie. Now I want to talk to you about these new clients.”

She came to sit next to her mother and took her hand in hers. “You three shouldn’t be worrying about the company, London and I have everything under control.”

“I’m not worried about it. I know you’re a perfectionist and won’t give up until everything is just right. Child, you work too hard.” She squeezed Paris’s hand. “I heard you’re working with Aiden Dalton, and I just want you to know that if he’s too…
grabby
or anything, I want you to turn it down. We don’t need clients like that. I don’t care what your fathers say about what it will do for the business, I won’t have you working with people like that.”

“Oh, Mom, he’s not like that at all.” She couldn’t keep the smile from spreading across her face. “He’s so sweet, and nothing like what the media made him out to be. He’s kind and attentive. Kain and Cody are just as great.”

“Child, is there something you want to tell me?”

She had planned to keep her attraction to Aiden, Kain, and Cody a secret, but she wanted the intimate moment with her mother. “With every question they answered, I felt drawn to them. They were answering just as I’d want the man…men…I spend my life with to answer.”

“Then why are you here? You should be there, getting to know them. Maybe you’re the right person for them.”

“Mom—”

“Paris, don’t you sit there and tell me you’re here because of my treatments. I’m going to be fine, I don’t give a shit what the doctor said.” Paris stilled under her mother’s hand. “Don’t think I don’t know what they said.”

“What are you talking about?” She tried to act as if she didn’t know. Maybe her mother was talking about something other than the timeframe the doctor mentioned to Paul.

“Daughter of mine, we’re too much alike. You can’t lie very well. I know the doctor said I wouldn’t live through winter if this treatment doesn’t work.”

“But how?”

“Doctor Vander stood in this very house and said it. Paul thought I was resting and Mathew was working, but I was hungry and went to get something to eat. They were standing in the foyer when Doctor Vander stopped by to pick up the dish his wife used to bring food over when she heard my cancer had returned.” Amy moved farther up in bed so she was sitting and leaned against the pillows. “I’m not stupid, I knew the cancer was worse this time, but I’m not going to let it beat me.”

“Oh, Mom, why didn’t you tell us you knew?”

“I’ve tried to approach the subject with Paul but he shuts me down before I can tell him, and Mathew’s got his mind on the case. When I see him, I want to
just
be with him, I don’t want to discuss my health. Someday you’ll understand what that’s like.” She patted Paris’s hand. “Now, does London know?”

“I told him this morning before he flew to Florida.”

“I bet it took some convincing to get him to leave.” She shook her head. “I hope that son of mine won’t be worried so much about me that he can’t have a good time while he’s there. He needs to enjoy the sun and beach for all of us stuck here in this freezing cold. It’s supposed to snow tonight.”

Paris couldn’t suppress the laugh. Her mother always bitched about the snow and cold but when anyone suggested they move, she flat out refused. She might not like to be out in the snow, but her mother loved to watch it from the windows, to see the mountains with their white peaks.

“What’s so funny?” Her mother raised an eyebrow at her.

“You…you know you love the snow as much as the rest of us.” She shook her head before getting serious. “Mom, what am I going to do about Aiden and the other two men?”

“Go to Wyoming and see them.”

“Aiden called to invite me there this weekend. He wants me to attend an informal barbeque with their parents so I can understand another aspect of their lives. But Mom, I can’t. With London gone, I need to be here.”

“When is this barbeque? London is due home on Friday but even if you’re both gone things will be fine. Dottie is handling things for London while he’s working away from the office. I’m sure she’ll handle anything you need done here. Paul can pick up anything as well.”

“It’s Saturday, but this isn’t a good time. I’m not just worried about work. You know I can manage that. I want to be here for you.”

“Well, I’m putting my foot down. I want you to go. There’s nothing more important in this world than finding the person or people you’re supposed to spend the rest of your life with. I’ll be fine and I’ll be waiting to hear all about it. I want you to go and see if things can happen between you and these men. You’ve got to remember there’s life outside the company.”

“I agree,” Paul said from the doorway.

“You were listening—” Amy started but Paul came up beside the bed and leaned down to kiss his wife, stopping her.

“Not the whole time, but I came back in from outside to tell you it was snowing and I heard the last bit.” He stood by the bed, facing them. “Paris, you should have told me you felt drawn to them.”

“Dad, you’ve told me from the beginning I need to be professional and not get attached to my clients. We both know London isn’t the one to deal with Aiden and you need to be here with Mom. Why is this different?”

“You’ve never gotten bothered by clients no matter how attractive they are or what they say. It’s different because your destiny is pulling you toward them. You’re meant to be with them. You said it yourself, they’re everything you’ve been looking for.”

She looked from each of her parents before settling on her mother. “I want what you and Dads have.”

“That’s why you’re going on Saturday because you deserve everything you want in life. Don’t let those men slip through your fingers.”

Her father laid his hand on her shoulder. “You’ll go and claim your men just like your mother did with Mathew and me. Trust me, if those guys have a brain between them they’ll be falling at your feet. Go call him and tell him you’re coming. I’ll make arrangements for Jake to fly you there. He can get a room in the area if things run late and you stay.”

“Sweetie.” Her mom squeezed her hand as she started to rise off the bed. “Go there as a woman, not as a matchmaker. A woman on a mission.”

“Thanks, Mom and Dad. I love you guys.” She leaned in and gave her mom a hug before standing to do the same with her father. When she stepped back, she eyed Dad. “You’ll call me if anything changes, right?”

He glared at her, and her mother reached up and took Paul’s hand. “Don’t, hon. I know what Doctor Vander said and she didn’t tell me.”

“How?” He turned to Amy. “Why didn’t you say anything?”

“I’ll let you two sort this out and I’ll get back to work. Dad, seriously, I want you to call me if anything changes.” She didn’t wait for an answer. London should be back as well, and she knew he’d tell her. Right now, her parents needed to work this out and she had work she needed to complete.

“Don’t forget to call him,” Mom called to her as she shut the door.

She wasn’t going to call him right away, since she remembered he said he’d call her that evening. Making her way back through the house to her own quarters, her heart fluttered. Could she finally claim her destiny? After matching hundreds of people, was it her time to have the same happiness she created for others?
I hope so…

What should have been a busy day of work passed with unnerving slowness until Aiden thought he was going to go crazy before it got late enough to call Paris. The time might have gone by quicker if the others had been around but Cody had work to do with the horses and Kain was dealing with one of the clients he represented, trying to nail down a contract. That left Aiden to his own business matters.

Throughout the day he’d found himself lost in thoughts about her, instead of actually getting any work done. Now that he could finally call her, he hesitated. What if she said no? What was their game plan if she turned them down? He wasn’t sure, but the three of them would be back to square one when it came to courting her.
Maybe we’ll make a trip to see her. I’m not letting her go without a fight, no matter how much she tries to avoid us.

He plucked his cell phone from the desk and pulled up her number before bringing it to his ear. After three rings, his stomach sank as he started to think she wasn’t going to answer.

“Hello.” She sounded as if she were out of breath.

“Did I interrupt you in the middle of something?” He kept his tone steady and tried not to let his thoughts go in the direction they were. Was she seeing someone? Did they have competition? He wasn’t sure how he’d feel if she had been busy with a gentleman friend.

“I just finished my evening run. I didn’t hear my cell phone with my ear phones on.”

Thinking of her hot and sweaty had his shaft hardening. “A woman who enjoys a good run, just my type.” He pictured her plopping down on the sofa, cold water bottle in her hand, as she listened to him.

“Did you call for a reason, Mr. Dalton, or just to find out what my evening activities were?”

“You know why I called. Have you given more thought to my invitation?” Needing something to do with his hand, he rolled the pen on his desk.

“Actually…” She paused, sending his nerves spiraling out of control. “I’ll come. Jake will fly me there Saturday morning, and will be on standby for when I’m ready to return. Is there anything I can bring?”

“Just your beautiful self.” He gave her a moment to let his comment sink in before adding, “Cody’s a pilot, he can come for you so Jake doesn’t have to stand around waiting.”