The next week was a busy one. She hardly saw Reed, who made himself scarce whenever she and the baby entered a room. He spent most of his time at work and she had to wonder if that situation was normal or if it was simply that he was trying to avoid her completely.
On the other hand, Lilah was really going to miss Andre.
She didn’t know what she would have done without him the past several days. Life in a hotel wasn’t ideal, but the amazing butler could have made her a believer.
Snooty accent aside, Andre was always ready to help. And though he was loathe to gossip, he had let a few little nuggets of information about Reed drop over the past couple of days. So now she knew that his family rarely visited, he almost never had guests—translation: women—in his suite and that he was a generous tipper.
Which told Lilah that either Reed was a determined loner or he was lonely and that he paid attention when people helped him and made sure to show his appreciation. It wasn’t much, but it was more than she’d learned from Reed himself.
Andre cleared his throat to get her attention. “I’ve prepared another list of furniture shops you might want to check,” he said, producing said list from the inside pocket of his immaculate three-piece black suit. Handing it to her, he winked. “I’ve marked the ones most useful I believe for what you’re interested in. As you’ve already ordered Rose’s things, I believe Mr. Hudson’s study is the last room on your agenda.”
“How do you remember that?” Lilah asked with a laugh. “I can barely keep up with it myself.”
“Oh,” he said, bending at the waist to wipe a smudge of banana from the corner of Rosie’s mouth, “I believe in being thorough, miss.”
His hair was steel gray but his eyes were that of a much younger man. She supposed he could have been anywhere between thirty-five and fifty. He stood at least six feet and was the epitome of a British butler.
“Why are you working in a hotel, Andre? Shouldn’t you be in London with royalty or something?”
He laid one hand on Rose’s head in a loving pat, then looked at Lilah. “I did serve an earl several years ago, but frankly, I grew tired of the cold, gloomy weather in London.” He winked again. “It’s a lovely place to be from, if you understand me.”
“Yes,” Lilah said with a smile. “I think I do.”
“I get back often to visit friends and family and enjoy myself completely on those trips.” He folded his hands in front of him and gave a heavy sigh. “Though I must say, I do miss a good pub now and then.”
“And I’m going to miss you, Andre,” she blurted out, and before she could lose her nerve, came around the table and gave him a hug.
For a second, he went stiff with shock, then relaxed enough to give her a friendly pat on the shoulder. “I shall miss you, as well. Both you and Miss Rose. But this is best for all of you. A child shouldn’t grow up in a hotel, after all.”
“No, she shouldn’t.” Lilah looked down at the baby, then thought that Reed shouldn’t be locked away in the impersonal suite, either. It couldn’t be good for anyone. And that thought brought her back to the day of shopping stretching out in front of her.
She shifted her gaze to the list Andre had given her. “I don’t know the stores here at all, so it would be a big help to me if you could tell me which of these is your favorite.”
Clearly pleased to be asked his opinion, Andre pointed to the third name on the list. “Lovely leatherwork at that shop. I believe Mr. Hudson would approve.”
“Okay, that just got easier. Thank you again,” she said as he bowed and turned to leave. She stopped him by saying, “One more question?”
“Of course, miss.” He waited patiently.
“I know it’s none of my business, but how did a British butler come by the name of Andre?”
A smile flitted across his features quickly, then disappeared. “My mother’s father was French. I’m named for him. Caused me quite a bit of trouble as a child, I’m not ashamed to say.”
“I’ll bet you handled it just fine.”
“I like to think so, miss.” He bowed again. “Do enjoy your shopping.”
When he left, Lilah turned to Rose again. “Oh, yeah, really going to miss him.”
* * *
A couple of hours later, she was at the furniture shop Andre had recommended and she could silently admit he’d been absolutely right. Reed probably would like what she got here and if he didn’t he had no one but himself to blame.
That one brief moment of closeness with Reed at the back of the new house hadn’t been repeated and maybe, Lilah told herself, that was just as well. She was caught in a trap—she had to honor her friend’s last wish, to have Reed raise the baby, but she wanted Rosie for herself. Basically, she and Reed were standing on opposite sides of a wall and any attempt to breach it—except for dealing with the baby—would be a waste of time.
As if he knew it, too, Reed had been avoiding her as much as possible. It wasn’t easy, since they were sharing a hotel suite that, despite its size, seemed to shrink daily. He left for work early every day and didn’t get back to the hotel until later in the evening. Usually about the time Lilah was tucking Rose into bed. Accident? Or design? She was willing to bet that Reed deliberately chose to arrive late enough to miss the whole bath time ritual. Then he could claim since the baby was now tucked in and asleep, he wouldn’t go in and wake her.
And in spite of all of this? The attraction Lilah felt for him stayed at a slow simmer. The man was clearly uninterested, yet she couldn’t seem to convince her body to stop lighting up whenever he walked into a room.
Lilah found it almost impossible to get a read on him. It was as if he’d accepted his duty in taking Rosie in, but he wasn’t going to put any more into it than he absolutely had to.
Not since that first night when he’d scooped Rose out of Lilah’s arms to cuddle against his chest had he even once touched her. Held her. Talked to her. Lilah couldn’t bear thinking about the kind of life Rosie would have if Reed were simply unable to love her as she needed to be loved. But how could he, when it was clear from everything she’d learned that he and his siblings had grown up without that kind of affection.
Her heart torn, Lilah went through all the motions of what she was supposed to be doing—helping Reed prepare for Rosie being thrust into his life. But furniture and houses and all the money in the world wouldn’t make up for a lack of love. She didn’t know what she could do, though. She couldn’t fight him in court for the baby. Not only was he as rich as Midas, he was a lawyer. She wouldn’t stand a chance.
So the only hope she had was to somehow break through the wall of ice he’d erected around himself.
“Shouldn’t take more than ten or twenty years,” she assured herself.
“I’m sorry?”
Lilah flushed, caught talking to herself while her mind wandered. Smiling at the store clerk, she said, “Nothing. Are we about finished here?”
In the past week, with the assistance of the ever-helpful Andre, Lilah and Rose had visited every store she needed to furnish a house she wouldn’t be living in. Of course, she had no idea what kind of furniture Reed might prefer, but since he hadn’t bothered to give her direction, she’d picked what she liked.
Except for one room, a study that would be Reed’s territory, Lilah had chosen comfortable furniture, soft colors, all of it coming together to build a warm, safe spot for a little girl to grow up in. Alone, but for a man who wouldn’t allow himself to love her.
At that thought, Lilah’s heart felt as if it were being squeezed in a cold fist. Soon, she’d be leaving, going back to Utah. She wouldn’t be the one taking care of Rosie. Wouldn’t be the one to see her walk, hear her first words. She wouldn’t be there to dry her tears or hear the baby’s giggle first thing in the morning.
She felt the sting of tears in her eyes and quickly blinked to clear them. If she started crying now, the clerk selling her a matching set of twin leather chairs and a sofa for Reed’s study would think she was worried about the price. And truly, for the first time in her life, she hadn’t even looked at the price tag on any of the furniture.
Normally in this situation, she would have been searching out the best bargain and mentally calculating just how far she could stretch her savings. But with Reed’s insistence on blank-check shopping, it was going much faster than it would have ordinarily. Except for a kitchen table and Rosie’s room, she was pretty much finished.
“Yes, I’ll just print out a receipt for you and delivery instructions for our crew.” The man stood and practically danced toward the back room. “I’ll only be a minute or two.”
“It’s fine,” she said, glancing down at Rosie, who was two-fisting her bottle.
No wonder the salesman was happy. His commission was no doubt going to be spectacular. With the chairs, sofa, tables, lamps, bookcases and rugs she’d purchased, he could probably take the rest of the month off.
As good as his word, Reed had wangled the keys out of the Realtor just as he said he would. There had been deliveries scheduled every day for the past few days and tomorrow would see the last of them, when this order was taken out to the new house. Beds for the master and three guest bedrooms had already been set up and Rosie’s new crib and furnishings would be delivered that afternoon.
By the next day, they would all be living in that house overlooking the ocean. And that, Lilah thought, would just give Reed even more room to avoid her and the baby. She had to put a stop to it. Had to ensure that Reed spent time with Rosie. Got to know her. To love her. And if he couldn’t?
She didn’t have an answer.
Closing her eyes, she winced as instantly a familiar image of Reed flashed into her mind—just as it did whenever she tried to get some sleep. Reed, as he was that first night. Dark hair rumpled, broad, tanned chest naked in the moonlight, drawstring pants dipped low on his hips and bare feet—why were bare feet suddenly so sexy? Oh, God. She rubbed the spot between her eyes, hoping to wipe away images she was pretty sure had been permanently etched into her brain.
He was arrogant and bossy, no doubt. Gorgeous and sexy, too. Which only made all of this more difficult than it was already.
It would be so much easier if she could just hate him. But how could she when he had instantly moved to fulfill his late sister’s wishes? He had bought a house for Rose. He was changing his life for the baby because it was the right thing to do. Hard to hate a man who could do all that.
But if he didn’t open his heart to Rose, did anything else matter? God, it felt as if her mind were on an automatic loop, going over and over the same things, day after day with no solution. The man was taking up way too many of her thoughts and that just had to stop.
Lilah gave a quick glance at the clock on the wall. She had to get moving. There were still things like pots, pans, dishes, glassware, throw pillows, comforters and a million other, smaller things to arrange for.
And oh, how she wished her friend Kate was in town to help with all of this. Kate Duffy was an artist, with the kind of eye for decorating that Lilah lacked. Kate would have mowed through every art gallery, department store and lighting shop and, in a blink, would have seen exactly what should go where in the beautiful house on the cliff. But, Kate was on her long-delayed honeymoon with a military husband finally back from deployment.
So, she was in this alone.
A clatter of sound interrupted her thoughts and Lilah looked at Rose in her stroller, happily slamming her bottle against the tray in front of her. The tiny girl grinned and babbled wildly.
Laughing, Lilah leaned over, kissed the baby’s cheek and whispered, “You’re absolutely right. I’m not alone at all, am I?”
“All right then, Ms. Strong…” The salesman was back, full of bright cheer that spoke of the giant commission he was about to make. “Paperwork is right here. If you’ll sign at the bottom…”
She quickly read over the receipt, then signed her name. “Everything will be delivered tomorrow?”
“Between one and three.”
“Okay, thank you.”
“Oh, my pleasure.” He dipped into the breast pocket of his jacket, pulled out a card and handed it to her. “If you need anything else…”
“Thanks again.” She took the card, dropped it into her purse, then left, pushing Rosie’s stroller out onto the sidewalk.
June in Southern California could be either gloomy or beautiful, and today was definitely one of the pretty ones. The sidewalks were crowded, and the narrow streets were packed with impatient drivers tapping horns as if doing it could clear traffic. Flower-filled baskets hung from old-fashioned streetlights and teenagers with surfboards tucked beneath their arms bolted across the street toward the ocean.
It was all so far from the familiar, Lilah felt a pang of homesickness that was wiped away by the sound of Rosie’s crow of delight. What was she going to do in her quiet house when there was no Rose to shatter the silence? How would she handle being so far away from the baby who felt like her own?
“Problems to face later,” Lilah said, deliberately shoving those troubling thoughts aside to get on with her day. There were still so many things to do and she was running out of time.
* * *
While Lilah shopped like a woman on a mission, Reed pushed through his own commitments. He filed divorce papers with the court, settled his bill with the hotel and arranged for people to pack and move his stuff to the new house. And now, he had to spend some time reassuring Carson Duke.
“Have you talked to Tia?” Reed asked, following the other man with his gaze as he paced the confines of his suite at the Monarch.
For the first time, Reed noticed that one suite was pretty much like the other. Yes, his own was much bigger than this one, but the furnishings were very similar. And Carson looked ill at ease as he moved through the slash of sunlight pouring through the glass terrace doors.
“No,” Carson muttered, shoving one hand through his hair. “Haven’t talked to her since I moved out of our place a month ago.”
“Keep it that way,” Reed advised. He’d dealt with divorcing couples for enough years to know that even a split that started out amicable could turn into a battle. And then the case would be judged in the media, fueled by stealthy camera shots taken by the ever-hungry paparazzi.
Carson stopped, shoved both hands into his jeans and nodded. “I know that’s the right strategy. But I can’t help feeling that if we could talk—”
“Did talking help either of you the last few months?” His voice was deliberately impatient. If he offered sympathy here, his client wouldn’t be able to do what was best for him. Better to be firm with his advice.
He frowned. “No. No, it didn’t.”
Reed took a sip of coffee, then set his cup down on the low glass table in front of him. “I know this is hard, but it’s what you’ve both decided to do. You’re better off not speaking with Tia until the court proceedings are done. With your prenup in place, this should be a painless situation to resolve.”
“Painless.”
Reed nodded. He prided himself on getting his clients through the end of a marriage with as little pain as possible. “Not completely, but this should move along with few complications.”
“That’s good, I guess,” Carson said with a wry smile. “Didn’t imagine I’d be in this position, I’ve got to say.”
“No one does,” Reed assured him.
Carson snorted. “Maybe. I do know that not growing up in Hollywood made me believe that people can choose to stay together. To work at it. Hell, my own parents have been married forever. They’re still happy.”
And Reed couldn’t help wondering what that was like. Naturally, in his business, he didn’t run into long-term marriages. He had no personal experience with it, either. How had it felt to grow up, as Carson had, with one set of parents? Hell, Reed had so many official and honorary grandparents, he couldn’t keep track of them all.
The extended Hudson family hadn’t exactly been the “norm” or even close to ideal. But it was what he knew.
“So, when can I expect to be a free man again?”
Reed looked at Carson. “Well, you’ve been married less than two years, and have no children, so that makes things less complicated.”
“Happy to help,” the man muttered.
Reed understood what Carson was feeling, so he simply went on, “You do own property together…”
“Yeah,” Carson said. “The Malibu beach house and a cabin in Montana.”
Nodding, Reed said, “Once Tia signs the papers as well, I’ll meet with her attorney and we go into what’s called discovery. That’s laying out all jointly held properties and bank accounts and so forth…”
Carson swiped one hand across his face, but nodded solemnly. “And then?”
Smiling, Reed said, “Then we prepare a marital settlement agreement and if you both agree with the terms, you’ll sign and six months after that, you’ll be single again.”
“Will we have to go to court?”
“Depends on how the settlement agreement goes. We could end up in a mediator’s office, or be seen by a judge.”
“Right.” Carson coughed out a laugh and shook his head. “I swear, I just never thought Tia and I would end up this way.” He shot Reed a look. “You probably hear that all the time.”
“Not really,” Reed said. “People don’t come to divorce lawyers wanting to talk about how good their relationship is.”
“Guess not.” Carson turned to look out at the ocean. “I thought we’d be different. Thought we’d make it. Hell, Tia even loves my parents.” He shook his head again. “Don’t know how we ended up here.”
“You may never know,” Reed said, and stood up. “And trying to dissect the whole thing won’t give you peace.”
Carson turned his head and looked at him. “What will?”
Reed gave him a grim smile. “If I find out, I’ll let you know.”
“Right. Okay. Look, I appreciate your bringing me the papers…”
“No problem. I live here, remember?”
“Yeah, but I don’t, so I’ll be leaving this afternoon.” He blew out a breath. “I’ve got to get back to Hollywood. Have an early call Monday and there are a few things I have to do over the weekend.”
“New movie?” Reed asked.
“No, just a few reshoots on the last one,” Carson said. “Back to make-believe and pretense. Today I’m just a guy, Monday morning I’m a Viking again. Weird way to make a living.”
“There are weirder.” Reed didn’t remind the other man that essentially, at its core, he made a living dissolving people’s lives. In Reed’s book, that made for much stranger than pretending to be a Viking. With that dark thought circling his brain, he buttoned his suit coat and said, “If you need anything, you know where to reach me. Otherwise, I’ll be in touch.”
“Right.”
“And steer clear of Tia,” Reed said again, knowing the warning was necessary.
“Yeah, I will.” Carson flashed the grin he was famous for. “If I’d done that a couple years ago, I wouldn’t be in this mess, right?”
“True.” Harsh, Reed knew, and he saw that single word slam home with Carson. But the simple reality was that divorce was the main reason to avoid marriage in the first place.
If that point hadn’t been hammered into him watching his own family’s near legendary divorce battles, then it would have been over the past several years. Leading his clients through sometimes messy and always miserable dissolutions. Hell, watching Carson Duke right now was just one more reinforcement of the decision Reed had made long ago to remain single.
“Thanks,” Carson said. “For everything.”
“Just doing my job,” Reed told him, then headed out to take care of the mess his own life had recently become. But with any luck, he was about to smooth some of those choppy waters.
* * *
An hour later, he was at the new house and had to admit that Lilah had done a good job of furnishing the place. It looked…settled, he supposed, as if everything had been in place for years, not days. Years. Damn, that sounded…permanent. If he concentrated, Reed would probably be able to actually feel roots sprouting up through the floor of the house to wrap around his ankles like chains. Which was exactly why Reed had never bought a house before this. He hadn’t wanted to be tied to anything. Along with avoiding marriage, he’d avoided commitments to places, as well.
He’d always kept his options open, so that even if he’d never packed up and left town at a moment’s notice, he’d always known that he could. But now, that was over. He was a homeowner. Or would be by tomorrow. He would have roots for the first time in his life, and that thought felt almost like a noose slowly tightening around his neck.
Hardly surprising, since between boarding schools and vacation homes and the change of address every time his parents remarried, Reed had never had a childhood “home.” At least not one where memories were made. He didn’t have a particular love of any one place due to a connection to the past. He lived in a hotel so he could leave whenever he wanted to. And now…well, that was over.
The house itself, though, was fine. Glancing around the great room, Reed approved. Lilah’d promised color and she hadn’t lied, but he had to admit that the overall effect was, he supposed, homey. There were heavy rugs in deep jewel tones and oversize furniture covered in soft colors of cream and pale blue. There were lamps and tables and even some of his own art from the hotel hanging on the walls. Odd, he hadn’t even noticed them missing from the suite, yet somehow Lilah had managed to have them boxed, moved and hung.
He heard the rumbles of conversation floating to him from different areas of the house. Movers were there, setting up the nursery, and the surprise he’d arranged for was no doubt getting acquainted with Lilah.
He had to give her full points. She’d done a lot of work in very little time. She would absolutely have been worth the money he’d offered to pay her. He still couldn’t believe that she’d refused a hundred thousand dollars. Especially when he knew she could use it.
Reed had done some research on his own. He’d looked into her business—you could find anything if you knew where to look. Lilah’s Bouquet was a small company with a few employees and a well-laid-out website for online business. Who knew there were so many buyers for pretty soaps and candles? She owned a home with a reasonable mortgage, a ten-year-old car and was, as far as he could tell, well liked and respected in her incredibly small hometown. No family but her parents, and a year or two after her father’s death, her mother had remarried a millionaire, so maybe that was the reason behind Lilah’s turning down money from him.
Whatever lay behind it, though, he knew she was staying not because he’d asked it of her, but because she was looking out for Rose. Hard to blame her for that. In fact, he appreciated it. He just didn’t like being in anyone’s debt.
And until he had this new situation locked down and sewed up, he would owe Lilah Strong.