Chapter 17
“Are you sure you’re all right?” This was the third time Nia had asked Leila if she was all right. The first two times were cute and showed she was concerned, but now the question was frankly starting to get on Leila’s nerves.
“I said I’m fine. Could you just drop it?” Leila hissed between short gasps for breath as she did sweat busting burpees on the small patch of grass that called itself a park.
She and Nia were part of an elite group of women—all of them pretty much on their game and solid in their professions—who were torturing themselves in this early morning boot camp. There were a few other models, a couple of lawyers, some top financial whizzes, and a couple of CEOs, with a few high-powered mom magnates mixed in, but there was a moment during each of these sunrise workouts when Leila didn’t know if the whole lot of them was insane. And now, as Trap Hines came her way, barking his trademark “Dig deeper!” over her head and eliminating any further opportunity for Nia to meddle, she knew that once again she’d reached that moment.
Thankfully, she’d also reached the end of the workout, having survived one more. She and Trap would live to see another workout. Besides, he was right. Photo-worthy abs might be genetic, but they sure as hell didn’t stay that way without work. Breathless and sweaty, she nodded her silent good-byes to the other women in the group before she and Nia started walking back toward her place. Some days she and Nia would head over to the local diner and share a protein-fueled breakfast to celebrate having worked out, but Leila felt the need both to head home and to check to see if Carter got going okay. At the same time, though, she was dreading it. Part of her wanted to be alone with her thoughts, but what good would that do? She’d been alone, tossing and turning, all night, and all it had done was give her plenty of time to replay the scene in her bathroom over and over in her mind.
Jeez, she’d totally screwed that up, but she had to admit that he’d felt and tasted so good, and so she couldn’t bring herself to be as upset with herself as she should be. She knew it was wrong, that she was wrong for laying it all out there. For letting him, for just a moment, see the cards she was holding back. Too much of that, and he’d know exactly how to play her. But, damn, it was all worth it. Besides, how could she resist after seeing him all hard, sexy, and wet?
Just then she got a poke in her side and twisted out of the way. “Hey!” she said, looking at Nia with hard eyes.
Nia gave her a glare right back. “Well, I had to do something to get your attention. This is what I was talking about.” Nia’s eyes softened. “You’re not all here. What happened last night? Are you okay?”
Leila shook her head. “I told you, I’m fine, and nothing much happened.”
“Sure,” Nia said. “It’s just the little word much in there that implies so very much.”
Leila shook her head. “Just relax. It’s all good. I’ve got a handle on this. Besides, he’s probably off to work by now, which is where you should be going. So bye. And I need to get home. I’ve got to be at the apartment to let the plumber in to fix my pipes.”
At that Nia snorted. “Fix your pipes? Is that what you’re calling it?”
Leila shot her a look. “Seriously, what are you? Like, twelve?”
Nia laughed and gave her a small shove. “No, thirteen, as of my last birthday.” She stuck out her tongue but then hugged her friend. After pulling back, she looked her in the eye. “You’re good?”
Leila gave her what she hoped was a totally convincing smile. “I’m perfectly fine. You go and light a fire under Jasper. Make sure he’s working hard and bringing that bacon in for me. Tell him I’ll be calling later.”
Nia gave her a nod as she turned to catch the oncoming uptown bus. “Will do.”
* * *
As it turned out, though, Leila didn’t need Nia to poke at Jasper, after all, since he was waiting for her in her lobby when she walked into her building a few minutes later.
“Hey,” she said with a smile and a kiss to his cheek. “What are you doing here at this hour? Don’t tell me we have a problem?” Leila said.
Jasper gave her a hug and then waved the paper he had in his hands. “I’d say so, honey, and it has the potential to be a big one if you don’t nip it in the bud quickly. I’m looking at some of the worst PR pics ever. We have got to get some spark between you and that husband of yours. I came early to catch both you and your husband at home and find out what’s the deal.”
“Well, you’re not alone in that,” said another male voice. Leila froze. That voice, which had come from over her shoulder, had her suddenly wishing the ground would swallow her up. Dammit. Her father was there. Leila almost physically winced when she thought about the fireworks that were about to go off.
But instead, she pushed her shoulders back and pulled herself up to her full height before turning around with a bright smile. “Hello, Dad, Garret, Greg, Ben.” She walked forward and kissed each of her brothers on the cheek. Looking for potential allies in their dark gazes. When she got to her father, she reached out, forcing him come forward and pull her into a hug. “I missed you, Daddy.”
Leila’s father hugged her tight, then pushed her back slightly and looked her in the eyes, searching, Leila knew, for answers she wasn’t prepared to give.
She smiled and stalled by saying, “It’s good to see the gang’s all here. Makes me wonder if you missed me. You guys should have called. I’d have prepared breakfast.”
Her father let out a ragged breath that could have been a growl.
“Yeah, right,” her brother Greg said. “As if you cook.”
Leila gave him a quick glare.
“Stop stalling, Leila, and let’s go upstairs. It’s bad enough we’re here at all under these terrible circumstances. But before I jump to any conclusions and get to breaking legs, I’ll hear what’s going on from your lips.” Her father looked Jasper’s way when he mentioned breaking some legs, and Leila saw Jasper plaster on a wobbly smile.
Leila looked at her father steadily. Told herself not to give in. Not to let him have the upper hand. She was an adult, damn it. “You’ll do no such thing, but fine. Let’s head upstairs.”
Leading all the men into the smallish elevator, as if she were trying to load a clown car, was almost laughable, but Leila took the time to say a brief prayer and hoped that Carter was true to his word and had left already. She could almost feel the anger radiating off her father, and though she understood it, she didn’t stop it from fueling her own. Why couldn’t he just trust her to do what was right for her? She had this under control. Well, sort of. Either way, he needed to lay off.
They were barely off the elevator when her mouth got ahead of her and she started talking. “Daddy, you didn’t need to come here.” She looked at her brothers, giving them the side eye. “Especially with your little reinforcements. Besides, I’m sure Carter is off to work and what’s going on is just like I told you, well, texted you. It’s all platonic. Strictly a work thing.”
“What?” her oldest brother, Garret, yelled. He turned to Jasper. “What kind of bullshit did you get our sister into now? You’re supposed to be watching out for her.”
Jasper balked. “And I am. I always do. She’s fine. You’ll see when you meet him that Carter is totally cool and everything is aboveboard.”
Leila turned to Garret and looked between him and her seething father as they stood outside the door to her apartment. “See? It’s all aboveboard. Trust me, I’m doing this for a worthwhile end goal, and there are no sparks of romance or anything like that happening.”
“Though a little something for the cameras wouldn’t hurt our cause,” Jasper mumbled under his breath.
Leila gave him a quick elbow jab. “Could you not help?”
He shook his head and shrugged. “I’m just saying.”
Leila let out a sigh and put her key in the door. She turned to her father. “Really, Daddy, everything is fine. And Carter is harmless. He’s a corporate suit, and so far from my type, he’s not even a blip on my radar.”
She swung open her door, and they all walked in, just in time to see Carter exiting her bedroom, naked and glistening, save the towel he had loosely wrapped around his waist and the other he was using to rub his wet head. “Thanks for the shower. It was just what I needed after last night,” he called out to the sound of her in the apartment.
Leila’s jaw dropped at the same time she heard her father and her brothers growl on either side of her. Carter turned her way just then and looked at them all straight on with openmouthed shock.
The only person, it would seem, who was capable of using their voice was Jasper. He looked from Carter to Leila and grinned. “Yep, that right there. That’s the type of spark I’m talking about. More of that, and publicity will be the last of our problems.”
Leila’s younger brother Benjamin chose then to contribute to the conversation. “So, yeah, that’s definitely not a suit he’s wearing.”
* * *
As far as “meeting the in-laws” stories went, Carter had to say that if this were a real marriage, he’d have an epic tale to tell. He would have made a joke and laughed out loud when he set eyes on Leila’s family if 1) Leila’s brothers weren’t so damned big and formidable looking as they stood there, arms folded, and stared him down like he was about to be pummeling practice; 2) a glance at Leila’s father didn’t have him thinking that with all that anger in his eyes, maybe the older man could take him down; and finally, 3) one look at Leila’s shocked and desperate expression had not let him know that these men, in this moment, meant more to her then he’d even guessed. If he screwed up, not only would he hurt her, but he’d also ruin any chance of signing her on for Brentwood. Challenge or not.
So he’d better get his shit together and quick.
After throwing aside the smaller towel so that it landed in a heap on his own bed, Carter tightened the towel around his waist with one hand and stuck the other hand out in an automatic greeting, but not before he adjusted his slipping glasses. “Hello. I’m Carter Bain, and really, I’m sorry about”—he looked down at his ridiculous state of undress—“this.” He pulled his untouched hand back. “Believe me, it’s all perfectly innocent. You see, the guest shower was broken. I’ll let Leila explain it further while I dress.” Just then he saw Leila shoot a look toward one of her brothers—it must have been Greg—before turning back to him with wide eyes. “Yes, I’ll be back in just a moment.”
Carter scurried off to his bedroom, holding tight to his towel, and left Leila to handle her brooding lot. No matter that his back was still slightly damp, he pulled the T-shirt down over his torso. Damn. Why hadn’t Leila prepared him, sent him a text or something? And why had he chosen today, of all days, to oversleep? Any other day he’d be long gone by this time, or at least fully dressed and headed out the door. He let out a breath. The fact that he’d barely gotten any sleep—having finally closed his eyes around 4:00 a.m., after tossing and turning, and playing and then hitting the repeat button on their time in the bathroom more times than he could count—was surely to blame for his oversleeping.
Carter knew he had to get a handle on these intense emotions. If he didn’t, inside of a week he’d be walking around like an extra from a zombie movie. Who in their right mind could last six months with a woman like her right across the hall and not lose it? Just the thought of her on a normal day sent his sexual impulses skyrocketing, and then he had had to go and add the temptation of last night and whatever the hell she had tried to pretend was her version of pajamas?
Carter made a mental note to ask Karen where he could shop for things like loose nightgowns and granny panties, but he quickly dismissed it, not ready to take the ridicule that particular query would bring on. He shook his head. Six months? Six long and extremely hard months. Something would definitely have to give. Carter picked up his tie and quickly brought it over his collar. If this marriage was in name only, then what would they both do to satisfy their sexual urges during that time? His mind quickly did a scan of his usual dates and late-night callers; all of them, surprisingly, were less appealing to him now than they had been a week before. Yep, he was screwed, and not in any good sense of the word.
As he was finishing up, and steeling himself to go back out to the living area, Carter heard raised male voices and paused at the bedroom door. This was a bit much for so early in the workday. And not what he’d anticipated when he’d taken on the bet. He briefly considered staying in the bedroom until the family feud blew over. It really wasn’t his fight to have. Especially since he was attached to Leila only on a technicality. But then he heard it. Her voice, high and determined, as she started to explain, but there was something else there. Something he’d never heard before. A slight tremor, just below the surface.
“I can’t believe you’re saying this. So what if you don’t like him? You should at least love and trust me,” Leila said. Her tone pierced Carter’s heart in a way it never had been touched before.
He walked out of the bedroom and saw Leila sitting on the couch, looking smaller than he’d ever seen her look, as her father stood over her. Two of her brothers flanked both sides of him, and Jasper and the other brother, Greg, were on one of the other smaller couches, observing.
Carter walked over and stood behind Leila, then put his hands on her shoulders, looking her father in the eye. “I’m sorry I wasn’t presentable before,” he began. “Like I said, the shower in the guest bedroom was broken, so when Leila was out this morning, I used hers.”
Her father gave him a dismissive nod, then spoke. “That’s all fine and good. Now would you care to be quiet or better yet, leave? This doesn’t concern you.”
Jasper shook his head. “I’m sorry about that, too, but I can’t be quiet and I’m definitely not leaving, because I think this directly concerns me. Besides, I don’t like hearing Leila so upset.”
The two brothers flanking their dad got slightly wide eyed and looked at their father with “oh no he didn’t” expressions.
“What do you know about my daughter’s feelings?” Leila’s dad said through clenched teeth.
Carter shrugged. “Frankly, not much. As I’m sure you’re well aware. We pretty much entered into a mostly crazy and hopefully genius idea, thought up by Jasper here, and if it works out, it will bring Leila and her career to the next level.”
Leila’s dad snorted. “And yours, too, I’m guessing. You’re not in this for nothing.”
Carter felt Leila’s shoulders go tight with those words, and he knew he couldn’t sidestep this and bullshit his way around it. He looked down at Leila and then back at her father. “You’re right. And mine, too. Which is why I don’t plan to screw it up by jerking Leila around. We hit it off immediately, and I instantly saw how special she is.” He watched as Leila’s dad carefully took in his words. “Please believe me. Leila is right now my top priority. I don’t plan on doing her wrong or disrespecting her in anyway. Like I told her, I’m not like anyone she’s dealt with in the past.”
It was then that he saw Leila’s dad visibly soften and his shoulders relaxed just a little. Her dad moved and sat beside Leila. Carter stepped back and let out a breath as he watched the older man take Leila’s hand in his.
“Sweetheart, you don’t know how much I wish your mother were here right now. She’d know what to say, what to do.” Her dad shook his head. “I can barely handle these hardheaded boys. What do I know about keeping you happy?”
And then, once again, Carter’s heart experienced that piercing thing as he watched Leila blink back tears as she laid her head on her father’s shoulder. “You know a lot, Daddy. You do just fine. Please just trust me. I’ll be all right.”
They sat there quietly for a few moments, until finally Jasper cleared his throat. “Are we good now, family?” he said, his voice loud and a little too boisterous for the room. “Because I have some more strategizing to do with my client.”
It was then that the largest of Leila’s brothers spoke up and took a step toward Jasper. “I don’t know about that, Jasper. Dad may be cool, but know if this thing goes south, we’re coming for you.”
Jasper gave him a nod back. “Yeah, sure, Garret. You’ve been coming for me since junior high. See if you can catch me first.”
Leila and her father got up, and Leila went over to the coffeemaker to start some brew. Once again Carter found himself face-to-face with the older man. Carter was surprised when he put out his hand for Carter to shake it.
“John Darling,” he said. Carter grinned and eagerly took the man’s hand, happy to have the hard part done and over with. But then John pulled him in close and spoke in a low tone. “You said my daughter is your priority for now. I’d very much like to know what happens when ‘for now’ is over.”
“Daddy, let him go! Don’t go smashing my new husband’s hand. He may need to use that hand to sign contracts later.”
John let Carter go with a wink and a half smile, which let him know without a doubt that nothing was funny about their current situation.