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Wrong Groom, Right Bride
Patricia Kay
“I do. ” Chloe was one day away from becoming part of the most affluent family in Riverton…until her fiancé married another woman! Pregnant with his heir, Chloe knew the only way to protect her baby from the powerful family was to keep her pregnancy a secret.Simon was used to cleaning up his brother’s messes, but he never thought he’d take such an interest in his latest fiasco – or rather, his latest fiancée. It was clear Chloe was hiding something, but as Simon’s feelings for Chloe rapidly changed from responsibility to love, he also had a secret of his own…
As if she’d conjured him, she saw Simon enter the club.
This time her heart banged against her chest. She wasn’t sure if she wanted to sink down and hide so he wouldn’t see her or if she wanted him to see her.
And the odd thing was that as he stood there in the entrance looking around, he did see her. She knew the moment her presence registered, for his head became motionless and their eyes met across the room. Even from this distance, she could see the smile play across his lips, and her breathing quickened.
He began to weave his way through the tables toward her. When he was about halfway there, the band began to play again. Chloe could feel Molly staring at her. When Simon was within a foot or so of their table, Chloe slowly stood.
“Chloe!” Molly said urgently. “What are you doing?”
Simon just stood there, a question in his eyes.
Dear Readers,
I had so much fun writing this book. From the first page, Chloe has been one of my favorite heroines, and I hope, after you read her story, you’ll feel the same way. I’ve tried to analyze why she captured my heart so thoroughly and finally decided it’s because she doesn’t feel sorry for herself, no matter what happens to her. Oh, occasionally she might cry a bit or complain a bit (don’t we all?), but she quickly gets over it—whatever “it” happens to be. Chloe’s philosophy is, you can’t change the past, so concentrate on doing better in the future. She’s a strong woman who works hard, loves her family, doesn’t expect others to shoulder her responsibilities, and has the ability to laugh at herself when she gets too serious. And you know what? That’s the way I envision all the wonderful women who love to read romances. Bravo to all of you!
Happy reading,
Patricia Kay
About the Author
PATRICIA KAY, formerly writing as Trisha Alexander, is the USA Today bestselling author of more than forty-eight novels of contemporary romance and women’s fiction. She lives in Houston, Texas. To learn more about her, visit her website at www.patriciakay.com
WRONG GROOM,
RIGHT BRIDE
PATRICIA KAY
www.millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)
This book is dedicated to Pat Rosen—for all those wonderful reviews, but especially for being my friend.
Chapter One
Chloe Patterson couldn’t stop smiling as she put the finishing touches on her makeup. She kept thinking she should pinch herself, make sure everything that had happened to her in the past six months wasn’t a dream. First her engagement to Todd Hopewell, one of the most sought-after bachelors in Riverton, New York, then the incredible news she had confirmed only this week.
But neither was a dream. The magnificent two-carat sparkler on the ring finger of her left hand was certainly very real. Moving her hand closer to the rays of late afternoon sunlight streaming through her bedroom window, she watched, mesmerized, as the jewel-like colors burst into the air.
Oh, she was so excited and happy! Life was going so well, so incredibly well. There was so much to look forward to. From now on, there would only be light in her life. The dark days were all in the distant past, and they could no longer affect her.
Shivering with anticipation at the thought of seeing her fiancГ© again, she spritzed herself with the light fragrance she favored, then rummaged in her jewelry box for her favorite gold hoop earrings.
Almost a month was too long for her and Todd to be apart, she thought yet again, especially when their wedding day was less than six weeks away. She knew he must feel the same way. Just because he’d seemed a little distant lately and hadn’t called or texted much since he’d been in California didn’t mean a thing.
He wasn’t neglecting her. It was just that he was so busy. She knew how important the assignment in San Francisco was to him. To them and their future. He’d explained that he needed to prove something to his family—that this was the first time he’d been entrusted with an existing project and potential future business this important to the company. That the harder he worked, the sooner he could come home. And now … in just a few short minutes he would be there.
Back to me.
Back to us.
Gently, she touched her stomach—still flat, still concealing her delicious secret. Of course, she was only about a month along—she figured she’d conceived the night before Todd left for the coast—and it was way too soon to be showing. In fact, she hadn’t even seen a doctor yet, but she’d used two pregnancy tests. And both were positive.
Besides, her breasts were tender, and she’d even felt a bit nauseous once or twice. She was definitely pregnant. For the past couple of days—ever since she’d confirmed to herself that she was going to have a baby—she’d almost been afraid to be too happy. It was hard not to, though. She’d wanted a baby since she was old enough to think about such things. She still found it hard to believe that all her dreams would soon come true—that she’d have a husband and a child—a family and a home all her own.
Would Todd be as happy about the baby as she was? She hoped he wouldn’t think it was too soon. After all, she was almost thirty, and he was thirty-two. They were hardly children. Surely he would be happy.
Biting her lip, she wondered what his mother would say when she realized Chloe was pregnant. At the thought of the coolly elegant Larissa Lenore Hopewell and that assessing way she had of looking at Chloe as if she didn’t quite measure up to the Hopewell standards, some of Chloe’s happiness faded.
What was it about Todd’s mother that was so intimidating? Why was it that Chloe, who was so confident in her professional life, who had been independent and pretty much self-supporting since she was eighteen, could be reduced to a babbling idiot by one of Larissa’s just-short-of-openly-critical comments?
“Oh, stop thinking about her,” she muttered to herself. Still, she couldn’t help but remember how Todd had never once contradicted her when she said she didn’t think his mother liked her. Then again, Todd never contradicted anything his mother said, did he?
Chloe pushed aside the disloyal thought. Of course he was solicitous of his mother and her opinions. They were important to him and his future—their future—which was so closely aligned with his family. Things would be different when they were married. She would just have to be patient with him, that’s all.
Still, it was important what Larissa Hopewell thought. Every woman wanted her future mother-in-law to approve of her. After all, Todd’s mother would be their child’s grandmother—the only grandmother he or she would have, since Chloe’s mother was long gone. Most important, this baby would be the first Hopewell grandchild because neither of Todd’s two older brothers had children yet. Surely … surely that would be important to Larissa.
Chloe sighed. She would just have to work harder to win Todd’s mother over. The thought had barely formed when the doorbell rang.
Chloe’s heart skidded. Todd!
Rushing from the bedroom, she hurried down the stairs and across the entryway. She nearly tripped on the stack of boxes leaning against the wall—boxes she’d been meaning to begin using to pack up her belongings for the move to Todd’s place. “Todd!” she cried, flinging open the front door of the rented townhome.
But it wasn’t Todd.
Instead, a FedEx driver stood on the doorstep. “Ms. Patterson?”
“Yes.”
“Delivery for you. Sign here, please.”
She eyed the overnight envelope as she signed the delivery ticket.
“Thanks.” He smiled briefly, handed her the envelope and then walked rapidly back to his truck.
Frowning, Chloe closed the door slowly. The return address on the label said the envelope had come from Todd—sent from San Francisco. What in the world? Had she gotten the dates wrong? Had something happened? Was he not coming home today?
With mounting trepidation, she pulled the strip that opened the package. Inside there was one lone sheet of paper. Even before she pulled it out, her heart began knocking against her chest.
Dear Chloe,
I know this will be a shock. Yesterday Meredith and I were married. When you get this, we will be on our honeymoon in Fiji. We fought our feelings for each other for weeks now, but it was no use. I hope someday you’ll forgive me. The ring is yours. Sell it if you want. I’m sorry.
Todd
Shocked and disbelieving, Chloe stared at the paper as if staring long and hard enough would change the words to something that made sense.
Married! To Meredith!
She shook her head. No. This couldn’t be happening. Meredith Belson was Todd’s assistant. A childhood friend of his. She … she had been so nice to Chloe. She’d even recommended a wedding planner to help Chloe with all the details for her upcoming wedding. She had believed Meredith to be her friend, too. In fact, aside from Molly, Chloe’s cousin and best friend, Meredith was the last person Chloe would ever have imagined would betray her like this.
Shaking, Chloe walked to the stairs and sat down. Samson, her cat, sensing her distress, sidled up to her and meowed.
Chloe kept staring at the stark words. Yesterday Meredith and I were married.
How could she?
But it’s not Meredith’s fault, is it? She’s not the one who said he loved you. She’s not the one who asked you to marry him. Todd is the one who betrayed you.
Chloe was too numb, still too shocked to cry. Todd. Todd and all the bright dreams of the future he had brought into her life … were gone.
Married.
To someone else.
Keep the ring. Sell it if you want.
As those cruel words echoed, tears finally filled Chloe’s eyes, but these weren’t sad tears. They were angry tears. Wrenching the ring off her finger, she threw it against the wall. Samson jumped in alarm and, in a blur of ocher fur, raced away.
The flawless stone set in platinum fell to the floor. It lay there, a glittering, forlorn symbol of what would never be.
What am I going to do?
And it was only then that the most serious consequence of Todd’s betrayal really hit her.
Our baby.
Oh, God. How could she have forgotten the baby? The baby Todd didn’t know about.
She swallowed hard, clutching her stomach. A wild hope flooded her. Surely, when Todd did know, he would realize he’d made a terrible mistake. He would come back to her. To them. She had to tell him. Right now. Even though he’d said he and Meredith were on their honeymoon in Fiji, Chloe knew Todd well enough to know he would never be without his BlackBerry.
I’ll text him.
Yet even as she started up the stairs to find her cell phone, she knew texting Todd was a crazy idea. Did she want Todd back because he felt guilty? Of course she didn’t. She wanted him to love her! She wanted him to want to be with her. No way was she going to try to blackmail him or guilt him into anything.
Once more, she sank down onto one of the steps. This time the tears that ran down her face were filled with heartbreak.
She would have her baby alone.
In fact, she didn’t want Todd to ever know about their baby. If he had rejected them, they would reject him.
No matter what it cost her.
Simon Foster Hopewell III had the beginnings of a monster headache as he reviewed the revised budget for the fiscal year beginning next month on the first of June.
He couldn’t believe what a botched mess this latest version of the production department budget was. And this was the third time it had been revised. Picking up a red felt-tip pen he angrily crossed out items one by one. Somehow his department heads needed to understand that they had to stay within the guidelines they’d been given, whether they liked it or not. Maybe they operated like this at home, borrowing from Peter to pay Paul, but they were not going to operate like this at Hopewell Enterprises. Not as long as he was in charge.
Blowing out an exasperated breath, Simon sat back in his swivel chair and glanced up at the large oil portrait of his great grandfather, the first Simon Hopewell, for whom he’d been named. A stern man who came from Quaker stock, he’d be appalled at the way business was conducted nowadays. Old Simon had never borrowed a penny in his life.
Simon closed his eyes. He was tired. Tired of being the heavy here at the company and tired of being the heavy at home. Ever since his father had died two years ago of a sudden, massive heart attack, most of the responsibility for both the business and the family had fallen onto his shoulders.
Certainly he got no help from Noah, who wanted nothing to do with the business and spent his days working at a homeless shelter and his nights fooling around with the rock band he’d started. Noah was a good guy; Simon actually admired him for his convictions and his lack of interest in money, but he had to face facts. Noah was never going to play a part in the Hopewell family fortunes.
And the jury was still out on Todd. If he did a good job with the clients in San Francisco, then Simon might consider giving him more responsibility within the business. But Simon wasn’t convinced that would happen. In fact, he’d been worrying ever since he’d entrusted Todd with the San Francisco assignment.
Todd was spoiled. He was also impulsive, always jumping into things. He started out enthusiastic, but his interest could quickly wane. He had been indulged by their mother from the day he was old enough to understand he was her favorite. He really didn’t like to work hard, although he could talk a good game and was so charming he fooled a lot of people into thinking there was substance there.
One thing Todd had done right, though, was choose wisely when it came to the woman he planned to marry. His choice had surprised Simon, especially after hearing what his mother had to say about Todd’s fiancée, but after meeting Chloe Patterson, Simon had decided his mother was wrong. Simon liked Chloe. From the beginning, she’d struck him as sensible and practical, the kind of woman who would temper Todd’s tendencies to plunge without thinking.
And after investigating her privately—Simon hadn’t wanted to, but he’d known if he didn’t, his mother would, and he’d decided him doing the deed was the lesser of two evils—he’d been even more reassured. Yes, Chloe was literally from the wrong side of Riverton’s tracks. Yes, her mother had deserted Chloe and her father when Chloe was only eight years old—left them for a much younger lover and come to a bad end five years later, and yes, her father had become an alcoholic and committed suicide a couple of years later. Also, Chloe hadn’t gone to an Ivy League school the way the Hopewell brothers had, and she would bring no money or position to the marriage.
But—and Simon considered these attributes more important than money or position or anything else—she had gone to work at eighteen, educated herself by taking some night courses at the local community college and started her own Web design business while holding down a full-time job at a small tech company in nearby Mohawk. According to the investigator, she had grossed more than sixty-five thousand dollars from the business last year and was on track to do better this year. She had health insurance and owned a paid-for car, and she had a decent savings account—not riches, certainly—but enough so that if she’d wanted to buy her own condo or small house, she could’ve managed a down payment.
She was a strong young woman, and she would be good for Todd. Simon was certain of that.
And she was lovely, with a charming smile, beautiful green eyes and thick, shiny brown hair. A girl-next-door type. Just the kind of woman Simon liked best. She also had long, gorgeous legs. And Simon was definitely a leg man.
Too bad I didn’t meet her first.
It wasn’t the first time Simon had thought this. But you had to make an effort if you wanted to meet the kind of woman who would make a great wife and mother, and Simon hadn’t made any kind of effort at all since his love affair with Alexis had gone south.
Just then his intercom buzzed, and thoughts of Alexis and Chloe and Todd disappeared as he picked up the phone.
“Your brother’s on the line,” Maggie, his secretary, said.
“Noah?”
“Todd.”
Simon glanced at the Wedgwood clock sitting on his antique mahogany desk. Todd must be back. “Welcome home,” he said when Maggie connected them. “How was your flight?”
“Uh, listen, Simon, I’m, uh, not home. I’m, uh, calling from Fiji.”
“Fiji! What the … what are you doing there?”
Simon listened thunderstruck as Todd explained. His heart beat ominously, and the headache that had begun earlier erupted full force. He knew if Todd had been there in the room with him, he would have had a hard time restraining himself from strangling the little worm.
“You bastard,” he said when Todd fell silent. “How could you do something so irresponsible and cowardly?”
As Todd sputtered and tried to justify himself, saying things like “I couldn’t help it” and “I’ve always loved Meredith” and “Chloe was a big mistake, even Mom thought so!” Simon got angrier and angrier.
“Does Chloe know?” he ground out.
“I, uh, sent her a letter.”
“You sent her a letter,” Simon repeated flatly.
“Yeah, I, uh, thought it was … the best way.”
“You are even more of a horse’s ass than I thought.”
“That’s not fair, Simon! Christ, you act like I killed somebody. I just broke an engagement.”
“No, you didn’t just break an engagement. You betrayed and humiliated a good person, someone who didn’t deserve to be treated that way. And, as usual, you expect someone else to clean up your mess.”
“What mess? You don’t have to do anything. Stop treating me like I’m a child.”
“Then quit acting like one. When are you coming home? When am I going to get a full report on San Francisco?”
“You’ll have your report tomorrow,” Todd said, his voice filled with resentment. “I’ll fax it to you. And Meredith and I aren’t coming home till next week. Maybe not then, either. We deserve a nice honeymoon.”
This final justification for his bad behavior filled Simon with disgust, but he was sick of talking to his brother, so instead of answering, he simply hung up on him.
“Did Todd call you?” Simon asked his mother. Instead of phoning her after his conversation with Todd, Simon had told Maggie he was leaving for the day and to cancel his production department meeting that afternoon. “Tell them I’ll see them in the morning.” Then he’d driven to the family home in Riverton’s beautiful Maple Hill district.
“Yes, he did,” Larissa Hopewell said. Her pleased expression spoke volumes.
“And you’re not upset?”
“Well, I certainly would have preferred he never got engaged to her in the first place. You know I never approved of his involvement with that woman from the beginning.”
That woman. She can’t even say her name. Simon chose his words carefully. “But his wedding to Chloe was supposed to take place in less than six weeks. The church, the country club, everything is already booked. Don’t you think what he did was not only unkind to her but immature and thoughtless, that it doesn’t reflect well on our family’s name?” The family name you feel is so damned important?
“Honestly, Simon, sometimes I don’t understand you,” his mother retorted, blue eyes glittering with indignation. “Where’s your loyalty? You should be glad he dumped her. She would never have fit into our family, and you know it. Why, she wasn’t worthy of having our family’s name.”
“I know no such thing,” Simon said coldly. “I liked her. I thought she would have been good for Todd.” And a breath of fresh air for us.
“I don’t know how you can say that. She’s common. Simply not in our class. I doubt their marriage would have lasted a year.”
Simon gritted his teeth to keep from saying what he was thinking. What good would it do? His mother would never change. “And you don’t think we owe her something? At the very least I think we should pay whatever out-of-pocket expenses she incurred in the planning of the wedding.”
His mother shrugged her narrow, elegant shoulders. “Fine. Go ahead. Make the offer.”
“So you agree?”
“Whether I agree or not is irrelevant, isn’t it? You always do just as you please, anyway. As do your brothers. Even Todd. But at least he’s finally come to his senses and recognized that when it comes to that woman I was right all along.”
And with that, she turned back to the invitation she’d been answering when he’d interrupted her by his visit.
Simon stared at her blue silk-clad back for one long moment before saying, “Goodbye, Mother.” He lingered a couple of seconds, but she didn’t turn around.
As he walked out to his car, he decided he would not wait another day before calling on Chloe and offering his help.
He only hoped she would see him.
Because, in her shoes, he might slam the door in the face of any Hopewell who dared to cross her doorstep.
Chapter Two
Chloe couldn’t sleep. Finally, at about three o’clock in the morning, she gave up, much to Samson’s consternation. Her cat—who spent his nights at the foot of her bed—wasn’t used to a change in routine. But he rallied and followed her downstairs and into the kitchen, where she put the kettle on. She would have a cup of hot chocolate and try to figure out what she was going to do now that her future had been torpedoed.
Samson figured if she was going to be up and about that it must be time for her to feed him, so he pestered her until she put food in his bowl. She couldn’t help chuckling as she watched him happily chowing down. What would she do without his company? Hopefully, she wouldn’t have to find out.
Carrying her mug and a sleeve of Ritz crackers into the living room, she curled up into her favorite chair. Although she hadn’t turned on a lamp, moonlight streamed through the big window that overlooked the quiet street and illuminated the room. Normally, when she went to bed at night, she pulled the drapes closed, but last night and again tonight—ever since that letter from Todd arrived—she hadn’t been herself.
What am I going to do?
If she wasn’t pregnant, she wouldn’t have a dilemma. She’d still be upset over the way Todd had treated her, yes, and there might have been some embarrassing moments when the two of them ran into each other—as inevitably would have happened in a town the size of Riverton—but she could have handled all that.
Only she was pregnant.
As she’d done so often recently, she touched her stomach.
“I want you,” she whispered. “No matter what, I want you.”
Chloe wondered what her aunt Jane and cousin Molly would think when they found out about the broken engagement and the pregnancy. She had almost called them yesterday but decided she wanted to have a better idea of what she was going to do before she told them what had happened. Not calling the two people who’d been her only family for a long time was one of the hardest things she’d ever had to do, but she wanted to be sure she wouldn’t break down when they talked. She didn’t want them worrying about her. This was her problem, not theirs.
The sky was showing its first blush in the east when she arrived at the reluctant conclusion that she wouldn’t be able to remain in Riverton. Not if she wanted to keep her baby away from the Hopewell family. Riverton was too small a town. If she continued to live there, the Hopewells were bound to find out about the baby, and then who knew what would happen? They might try to discredit her in some way or, worse, try to take the baby away from her.
No. She absolutely couldn’t risk it, no matter how much it hurt to think about leaving her aunt and cousin. There was no alternative but to move. Thank goodness she could work anywhere. As the owner of her own Web design and marketing business, all she required to service her clients was her computer and a telephone.
Sighing, she got up and headed into her office. After settling down at her desk, she pulled out her ledger, logged on to the Internet and accessed her bank account.
For the next hour, she did some calculating. When she was finished, it was clear that if she did what Todd had so coldly suggested and sold her engagement ring she ought to have enough money to cover a move from Riverton, as well as the expenses she’d incur by having the baby on her own. It would be close, but she’d be able to manage without touching her savings. She heaved a sigh. She wished she had the luxury of throwing the ring in Todd’s face. But she had to be practical. Pride was important, yes, but the well-being of her child was even more important. So her pride would suffer a little. So what?
She wondered how long she had before she started showing. So far nothing about her body looked different. Maybe her breasts were slightly swollen but not noticeably. She did some mental calculation. It was the middle of May. She figured for at least another month or so, she would be okay, especially if she wore tops a little roomier than usual. But she imagined by the middle of July or certainly by the first of August, she’d no longer be able to hide her pregnancy. So she would need to move fairly soon—probably by the first of July. Which meant she had about six weeks to make all her arrangements. Since she’d already been planning to move from her townhouse to Todd’s place after the wedding, at least her landlord already had his notice. Now that she’d made some decisions about her future, she felt better.
After taking a quick shower and getting dressed, she figured it was late enough to call at her aunt’s without waking them up.
“�Morning, Chloe,” her aunt said.
Chloe could hear the smile in her aunt’s voice. “Hi, Aunt Jane. I didn’t wake you, did I?”
“Of course not. I’ve been up since six, and Molly just got out of the shower. Did you want to talk to her?”
“No, actually I thought I might pop over to talk to both of you. That is, if you don’t have plans.”
“No, no plans. I might work in the garden later and, as you know, Molly always has a ton of errands on Saturdays, but both of those things can wait. You’re always welcome. Is … there anything wrong?” Now her voice was laced with concern.
“No, not exactly wrong. I just, um … I’ll tell you when I get there, okay?
“Okay, honey. I’ll put a fresh pot of coffee on. Have you had breakfast yet?”
Chloe smiled. “Do a few crackers in the middle of the night count?”
Thirty minutes later, Chloe pulled up and parked in front of the small bungalow in one of the oldest sections of Riverton, where her aunt had lived ever since Chloe could remember. Everywhere she looked were good memories. The huge maple tree that sheltered the left side of the house had held a tire swing that Molly and Chloe loved, and its strong branches were just made for climbing. They’d roller-skated on the sidewalks and had tea parties with their dolls on the wide front porch. Sadly, she thought how much she would miss coming here as often as she did now. But it couldn’t be helped.
When her petite aunt—looking almost as young as her daughter, dressed as she was in cropped denim pants and a bright red T-shirt—opened the front door, her welcoming smile warmed Chloe. Jane’s brown eyes reflected her trepidation, though, and Chloe knew her aunt was worried by her uncharacteristic request to come over this morning. Normally Chloe would just drop in without calling. The fact she’d asked had sent a signal.
They hugged, and Jane said, “Molly’s in the kitchen. And there are corn muffins in the oven and bacon in the microwave.”
Chloe smiled. “My favorites.”
“I know.”
Suddenly, Chloe’s eyes filled with tears. Her aunt, who never missed anything, saw them.
“Oh, hon, what is it?” She put her arm around Chloe’s shoulders and squeezed.
Chloe shook her head, upset with herself for getting emotional. She’d promised herself she wouldn’t, that she’d simply tell Jane and Molly the facts about what had happened and then talk practicalities. The last thing she wanted was to upset them.
Molly, hands encased in oven mitts, was sliding a muffin tin out of the oven as they walked into the sunny kitchen. The smile on her face faded as she saw Chloe’s expression. Putting the tin down on the stove, she walked over and enfolded Chloe in a hug. “Is it Todd?” she asked.
Chloe nodded, then managed to get a grip. Sighing heavily, she extricated herself from Molly’s embrace and sank onto a kitchen chair. The smell of the cooked bacon permeated the kitchen. Molly took off the oven mitts, tossed them onto a counter and took a chair opposite her. “Tell us,” she demanded.
“The engagement is off,” Chloe said.
“Oh, Chloe,” her aunt said. She was already pouring a mug of coffee, which she handed to Chloe.
“What happened?” Molly asked. Her brown eyes, the exact shade of her mother’s, were filled with worry.
Chloe grimaced. “What happened? He married Meredith. Even now they are on their honeymoon. In Fiji.”
Molly’s mouth dropped open, and Jane gasped. “Married!” they both exclaimed at once.
“What a dirtbag!” Molly said. “How did you find out?”
“He sent me a letter. Via FedEx.”
“Via FedEx!” If anything, Molly’s voice had risen an octave. Her eyes now flashed fire and outrage.
Jane shook her head. “I am so sorry, honey. That must have hurt.”
“You could say that.”
“Are you okay?”
“I’m going to be. I’m determined to be, actually. I don’t think Todd is worth wasting too many tears on.”
“You can say that again,” Molly said indignantly. “I never did like him.”
Chloe couldn’t help it. She laughed. “You did so.”
“No, I didn’t. He’s altogether too good-looking and too sure of himself. I don’t trust men who have everything. They always think they’re somehow entitled. He seemed … I don’t know … weak, the way he never stood up to that mother of his. And you said yourself that he’d had some problems finding himself.” She rolled her eyes. “Finding himself. That’s a good one.”
“You never said anything.”
Molly shrugged. “You were so happy. I hoped I was wrong.”
“I wasn’t crazy about him, either,” Jane said quietly.
“You weren’t?” Chloe was shocked by this admission. She’d believed that her aunt and her cousin were thrilled with the match she’d made. In fact—and it shamed her to admit it, even to herself—she’d thought Molly was probably secretly envious.
“He’s just a little too slick for my taste,” Jane said. “But I, too, hoped I was wrong.”
“We talked about it,” Molly confessed. “Whether we should tell you about our reservations.”
“I wish you had,” Chloe said bitterly.
“Would you have listened?” Jane asked.
Chloe sighed. “Probably not.”
“Chloe.” Molly hesitated. “Why did you get engaged to Todd? I never could figure it out. I mean, to me, you were a mismatch from the beginning.”
“I don’t know,” Chloe admitted. “I think I was flattered. Plus—” and this was hard to admit, even to these two, whom she loved more than anyone ”—I think I wanted a family of my own so badly that I allowed that to color my judgment where Todd was concerned.”
“Oh, honey,” Jane said. “You do have a family of your own.”
“We’re your family,” Molly said.
“I know.” But an aunt and a cousin were not the same as a husband and children. And all three women knew it.
“Anyway,” Chloe said, sighing again—good grief, she was doing a lot of sighing. “That’s part of what’s been keeping me awake the last two nights.”
“Last two nights,” Jane said, frowning as Chloe’s words sank in. “You mean you’ve known about Todd’s marriage to Meredith since Thursday?”
Chloe nodded.
“And you didn’t call me?” Molly squeaked.
“I’m sorry. I … wanted to settle some things in my mind first.” Chloe knew she’d probably hurt her cousin’s feelings—after all, in addition to being cousins they were best friends and had been since they were toddlers. Molly was two years younger than Chloe, but the difference in their ages had never mattered to them. “One thing I did figure out is that there are probably going to be some rough patches ahead.”
“Look, honey,” her aunt said, reaching over to pat Chloe’s hand, “I know it’s hard right now, but you’re a strong person … you’ll weather this … and in the end, I believe you’ll be better off.”
Just get it over with. Tell them. “There’s something else.”
Jane and Molly both frowned. Chloe could almost see the wheels turning.
“I’m pregnant.”
For one long moment, the only sounds in the kitchen were the ticking of the wall clock and the humming of the refrigerator. Then cousin and aunt spoke at once.
“Oh, Chloe.”
“Oh, dear.”
Chloe sighed. Nodded. “Yep.”
“Does … does Todd know?” This came from Molly.
“No.”
“Why not?”
“I’m only about three—at the most four—weeks along. I had no idea when he left. And then, when I suspected and had it confirmed with a pregnancy test—actually, two pregnancy tests—I wanted to wait to tell him in person.” At this, tears threatened, but Chloe forced them back.
Molly’s gaze met hers steadily. “So when do you plan to tell him now?”
“I don’t.”
“You don’t?” Jane asked.
“No.”
“But, honey—”
“Don’t tell me he has a right to know, Aunt Jane. As far as I’m concerned, Todd Hopewell has forfeited any rights he ever had with me.”
“But, Chloe, he’s the baby’s father. Don’t you think—”
“No, I don’t think.”
Chloe saw how Molly’s glance darted to her mother, then hurriedly returned to Chloe. “I don’t blame you,” she said. “In your shoes, I’d probably feel the same way.”
“Thank you,” Chloe said. She looked at her aunt.
Her aunt sighed. “You know I’ll support you no matter what you ultimately decide.”
“I’ve already decided. And I won’t change my mind.”
“I just … well, I don’t see how you can keep your baby a secret from him. Riverton’s a small town. He’s bound to find out you’ve had a baby. Don’t you think he’ll put two and two together? And then what?”
“He won’t find out.”
“Chloe, of course he’ll find out …”
“I’m moving away.”
“What?” Molly looked stricken.
Jane was shaking her head. “Chloe, sweetheart, you can’t move away.”
“Of course I can. It’s easy. There’s no problem with the townhouse—I mean, because of the wedding I’d already given my notice.”
“But, sweetie,” Jane said, “where will you go?”
“I thought Syracuse.”
“You’ll hate Syracuse,” Molly said. “You know how much you dislike traffic and crowds.”
“I’ll get used to the differences. Besides, I don’t plan to live downtown or anything like that. I hope to buy or rent a little house out in the suburbs. Don’t look so unhappy. You can come see me whenever you want, and I’ll visit here, too. As long as I’m not out and about in Riverton, there’s very little chance Todd will find out about the baby.”
“How soon are you planning to go?” Jane asked. Her forehead was still creased with concern.
“By July 1st, I thought.”
“So soon?” Molly said.
“Well, I figured I’d begin showing in August. No sense in taking any chances.”
“I hate this,” Molly said. “And it’s all that jerk’s fault!” If looks could kill, Todd would bite the dust.
“Have you seen a doctor yet?” Jane asked.
Chloe shook her head. “I was planning to ask Todd’s mother who she’d recommend. I thought that might be a way to win her over … if I asked for her advice.” So much for that plan.
“You are planning to see someone soon, aren’t you? Just to confirm everything and get prenatal vitamins and everything,” Jane said. “I mean, you’re not going to wait until you move.”
“I honestly hadn’t thought that far ahead,” Chloe said. Lord, there were so many things to think about. “But yes, I guess I should see someone here first. Is there anyone you’d recommend?”
“Go to Dr. Ramsey,” Molly said. “She’s Sylvia’s ob-gyn, and Sylvia loves her. Says she’s wonderful.” Sylvia Alvarez was a coworker at the school where Molly taught.
“I still wish—” Jane started.
“Aunt Jane,” Chloe said, “I know what you wish. I wish it, too. I don’t want to leave Riverton any more than you and Molly want me to, but I see no other way. The Hopewell family has made it very clear they want nothing to do with me. And now I want nothing to do with them. I’m not taking any chances with my baby. And if that means I have to move away, so be it.”
Just before noon, Chloe was in the middle of a particularly intricate Web-site design when the doorbell rang. “Damn,” she mumbled. She wasn’t expecting any deliveries today. She considered ignoring the caller, but like the phone, she found the doorbell almost impossible to ignore. After nudging Samson out of the way, she headed toward the hallway.
The doorbell rang again as she approached the front door. “I’m coming.” She could see a man’s jeans-clad leg in the left glass panel at the side of the door. Frowning, she peered into the peephole. Startled by the sight of Simon Hopewell’s face, she jerked back.
Todd’s brother! What in the world was he doing there?
Smoothing down her knit shirt and khaki cargo pants, she opened the door.
“Hello, Chloe.”
“Hello, Simon.” Her heart was beating a little too fast, and it irritated her that just the sight of a member of Todd’s family could rattle her.
“May I come in?”
His gray eyes, which reminded her of the color of clouds on a rainy day, looked troubled. What was he worried about? He wasn’t the one who’d practically been stood up at the altar. He wasn’t the one who was pregnant—but of course he knew nothing about that. Did he think she might sue the family or something? She shrugged. “I suppose so.”
“I’m sorry to bother you during the day. I know you work at home. But I really needed to see you.”
By now he had stepped into the entryway.
Grudgingly, she admitted to herself that Simon Hopewell seemed like a nice person. Unlike his mother, he’d certainly never been anything but kind to her.
Resigned, she led him into her small living room. Indicating the sofa, she said, “Have a seat. Can I get you something to drink? Iced tea? Water? Coffee?”
“Thank you, no. I’m fine.” He sat on the end of the sofa, and she sat in the bentwood rocking chair on the other side of the room.
“I just wanted to tell you how sorry I am about everything that’s happened.”
“Thank you.”
“I also wanted you to know that my brother’s actions disgust me, and I’ve told him so.”
Chloe could just imagine what Todd thought about that. He’d told her often enough how overbearing Simon was. “He thinks he knows everything,” he’d said more than once. “Always trying to tell me what to do.”
“One of the things that worries me is I know you’ve incurred wedding expenses.”
Chloe thought about the wedding gown hanging in her closet upstairs. The fact she’d bought it off the sale rack at Bloomingdale’s didn’t soften the reality that she’d paid more than eight hundred dollars for it. The veil had been another three hundred and fifty. Perhaps it could be returned. The dress couldn’t; it had been altered to fit her. Thank goodness she hadn’t paid the deposit on the country club. That had been Todd’s doing because he’s the one who had wanted to hold the reception there. Chloe would have been happy with a small reception in the church hall after the ceremony.
And then there were the deposits for the church, the flowers, the cake, the material for Molly’s dress and the photographer. Oh, well. Thank goodness she hadn’t charged anything. Everything had been paid for in cash. So even though she was out the money, at least she wasn’t in debt.
Simon reached into the pocket of his pale blue shirt, pulled out a folded check and placed it on the coffee table. “Five thousand should cover everything, I think. If you need more, just let me know.”
“I don’t want your money.”
“And I don’t want you paying for my brother’s bad behavior.”
“I’ll just tear the check up.” No way she was taking his money. Hopewell money. Bad enough she was keeping the ring. She had no intention of being indebted to the Hopewells for anything else. “Look, this isn’t your problem. And the Hopewell family … your family … owes me nothing.”
“I understand why you might feel that way. Frankly, if I were you, I wouldn’t want to have anything to do with my family, either. But why don’t I just leave the check? After thinking about it, you might change your mind. I hope you do.”
She shook her head. “I won’t. But thank you for making the offer.”
He leaned forward. Neither said anything. For a long moment, the only sound was a faraway siren outside. Finally, his thoughtful gaze met hers. “Are you doing okay?”
She sat up straighter. “I’m just fine. In fact, I’m more than fine.” Her chin lifted. “This has all actually worked out better for me. Now I can do something I’ve wanted to do for a long time. I’m moving away from Riverton.”
He stared at her. “I’m really sorry to hear that.”
Why was he looking at her that way? His steady gaze was unsettling. She wished she knew what he was thinking. “Don’t be. I told you. I’ve wanted to make a change in my life, and this is the perfect time.”
He nodded thoughtfully. Seemed about to say something else, but didn’t. Instead he rose. “Well, in that case, I won’t impose on you any longer. Thank you for seeing me. And again, please accept my apology for the way you’ve been treated. I hope you won’t judge our entire family by my brother’s immaturity and actions.”
Something about the sincere manner in which he offered the apology touched Chloe in a way she wouldn’t have expected. Simon Hopewell really was a nice person. A good person. In fact, he was nothing like the way Todd had often described him. She realized Todd had probably always been jealous—and probably resentful—of his older brother.
She walked Simon to the front door, and just before he walked outside, he turned back to her and said, “I meant what I said before. If you need anything—anything at all—just call me.”
Chloe never would have believed she would feel both guilt and regret over her decision to keep her baby a secret from the Hopewell family. But seeing the sincerity and genuine concern for her welfare in Simon Hopewell’s eyes left her awash in both emotions as he walked away.
Yet she knew she would not change her mind.
And no matter what hardships faced her in the future, she would never pick up the phone and call Simon.
She was finished with the Hopewell family.
Chapter Three
Simon was impressed by Chloe’s refusal to take the money he’d offered. He’d always suspected the Hopewell money had nothing to do with her engagement to Todd, even as his mother insisted the money had to be an influence.
“After all, the girl comes from nothing,” she’d said more than once. “She couldn’t help but be dazzled by our money.”
Well, she wasn’t dazzled. And it would give Simon a great deal of satisfaction to make sure his mother knew it. Not that knowing of Chloe’s integrity would change his mother’s mind about her. Simon actually understood where his mother was coming from, even as he abhorred her inability to rise above her own humble beginnings. Larissa would happily die rather than have her so-called friends know about the way she’d grown up. In her skewed way of thinking, she felt she had to avoid any contact with lesser mortals lest she be tarred by the same brush.
It was sad, Simon thought, that even after all these years, his mother was still so basically insecure. Yet for all his understanding of its origins, Larissa’s continued snobbery exasperated him, especially when it was directed at someone like Chloe, who had overcome tougher circumstances than Larissa ever had to face.
Simon had also been impressed by Chloe’s dignity. In her shoes, he’d be angry, maybe even vindictive. But if she felt either of those emotions, she had certainly hidden them well.
Christ, his brother was a fool. If the lovely, green-eyed Chloe had belonged to him, Simon would have made sure he hung on to her. And his family be damned! Not that there was anything wrong with Meredith. She was a nice enough person, smart even—she’d been doing a good job as Todd’s assistant—but in Simon’s opinion she couldn’t hold a candle to Chloe. Of course, Meredith’s parents belonged to the Riverton Country Club, and Paul Belson, her father, was the town’s most prominent lawyer.
As he drove to the office—Saturday or not, Simon had work to catch up on—he kept thinking about his brother’s former fiancée. The way she’d treated him so politely yet firmly, the way her determined eyes met his directly when she refused the money, the way she said the Hopewell family owed her nothing.
That’s the reason it bothered him when she said she was leaving Riverton, he decided. Maybe she was more affected by Todd’s desertion than she would have him believe.
Yet she didn’t seem the type to run away. She definitely had given him the impression she was a stand-and-fight young woman—not the kind who would turn tail and run. Even so, something was making her leave Riverton, and Simon wasn’t sure he bought her reasoning. So he would keep tabs on her for a while … just to make sure she really was okay.
He’d just arrived at this decision when he pulled into his parking slot at the company’s headquarters. Glancing over, he spotted Mark DelVecchio’s red Porsche. Mark was his CFO, and like Simon, he often worked on Saturdays. Other than Mark’s car, the security guard’s car and the cleaning crew’s van, the parking lot was empty. Well, Simon didn’t blame his staff for wanting to spend a balmy spring day on the golf course or puttering around their houses. This part of upstate New York could still be experiencing a wintry chill in May—in fact, he could remember a few years back when they’d gotten a late snowfall in early May—so a day in the seventies was one to savor.
“Hey, Russ, how’s it going?” he said to the security guard as he walked past his station by the front entrance.
“Good, Mr. Hopewell, good. How about you?”
“I’m great. How’s Erin?” The guard’s fourteen-year-old daughter had fallen earlier in the month and broken her arm.
“She’s doin’ okay. Hates rehab, though. Complains about it constantly.”
“Don’t blame her.” Simon remembered his own stint with rehab after a soccer injury in college. “Physical therapy can be tough.” He smiled. “Give your family my best.”
“I’ll do that.”
Pleasantries over, Simon headed for the stairs. Bypassing the elevator, he jogged up to the third floor. He was whistling as he walked down the hall toward his corner office.
“Hey, Simon!” Mark DelVecchio called out.
Stopping, Simon looked into Mark’s office. Dressed in khaki shorts, a brown golf shirt and deck shoes, Mark leaned back in his leather swivel chair with his feet propped on his desk. “You should be home with Deanna and the girls today,” Simon said.
“Yeah, I know, but I wanted to go over the budget forecast again.”
Simon didn’t like the somber note in Mark’s voice.
“Look, Simon, I know you won’t be happy about this, but I’ve looked at everything, and I’m afraid there’s no way we can pay bonuses this year.”
Simon nodded unhappily. He’d arrived at the same conclusion. “Maybe if the contract with Petry comes through …”
“I don’t think it’s going to.”
Simon hated to admit it, but Mark was probably right. The contract that had once looked so promising now looked as if it might bite the dust. And that disappointment could be laid directly at Todd’s door. If he’d been here the way he was supposed to be to coddle the prospect along—after all, he was the one they knew— maybe the outcome would be different. “The department heads count on those bonuses,” he said, although Mark knew that as well as Simon did. “They’ll be really upset.”
“I know, but it’s either that or put off retooling indefinitely.”
Retooling of the plant was essential, Simon felt. His father had ignored the signs of change and refused to face facts. It wasn’t until after his death that Simon had been able to even talk to the board of directors about modernizing the plant. They weren’t happy about spending the kind of money necessary but had finally agreed the company wouldn’t be able to compete in the new global marketplace unless they did. “We can’t put off the retooling,” he finally said.
For the rest of the afternoon, he studied the company’s financial reports, his department heads’ budgets, the salary forecasts. He looked at the latest bills from the insurance underwriters—rates for both health and life insurance for the employees and their families and fire and hazard insurance for the buildings and equipment had increased again.
His reluctant conclusion was that although the company was in good shape, in order to meet their long-term goals, some sacrifices were unavoidable.
Simon put his head in his hands.
Sometimes he hated his job.
Chloe hadn’t been able to get Simon Hopewell’s visit out of her mind. For the next few days, she kept thinking about him. He and Todd were so different. Yes, they both had black hair and the square-jawed look of all the Hopewells, but the resemblance ended there. Todd’s eyes were a bright blue, and most of the time they betrayed exactly what he was thinking, whereas Simon’s eyes were an enigmatic, cool gray. Contemplative, serious eyes.
Todd smiled easily and often—was charming and friendly. Simon was just the opposite—almost stern in his quiet, businesslike demeanor. He rarely smiled and, according to Todd, had no sense of humor at all. Of course, Chloe thought wryly, Todd had made other pronouncements that had turned out not to be true.
Todd liked to spend money. All through their courtship, he was constantly buying gifts and taking her to expensive places. Simon, on the other hand—again, according to Todd—kept an iron fist on the purse strings.
Despite this, Simon had generously offered to take care of all the wedding expenses, and his eyes were kind when he made his offer. Certainly Chloe never felt as if he were condescending to her the way his mother had. It had almost seemed like a point of honor with him.
What would Simon Hopewell think if he knew about the baby she was carrying? Would he be upset? Would he think she had tried to trap Todd? Maybe so. She hated thinking that might be the case. She almost wished she could tell him.
But that was ridiculous. She could never tell him. Chloe wondered why, suddenly, she felt such a twinge of regret. She told herself it was only because Simon would make such a great uncle, someone her baby could definitely depend upon and look up to.
She did feel regret about the fact there would be a lack of male influence in her baby’s life. Her father’s death, her uncle Phil’s death in Iraq—there would be no Patterson men to count on. And now, because of Todd’s betrayal, there would be no Hopewell men, either.
Well, it couldn’t be helped. What was done was done and could not be undone. Nor did she want it to be. Now that Todd had revealed his true colors, she knew she was better off without him, for the one character trait Chloe valued above all others was honesty. A trait Todd obviously did not possess.
So … good riddance to bad rubbish, as Grandmother Patterson used to say. Chloe and her baby would be just fine on their own. Better than fine. They would be great. But even as she told herself all this, tears slid down her face, and all the doubts and fears she’d thought she’d successfully buried tried to resurface. Angrily, she brushed away the tears. I’m fine. I’m strong. I can do anything.
Her words were an affirmation, one she’d repeated often throughout her life. And just as they had before they made her feel better.
Composed now, she headed for the kitchen.
A nice bowl of Ben & Jerry’s Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough wouldn’t hurt, either.
Simon put off going to see his mother until Wednesday. He knew it was cowardly, but he was tired of scenes and this one promised to be a doozy. But since there was a board meeting scheduled for Thursday afternoon, he knew he had to tell her the bad news before then. He called the house Wednesday morning and said he planned to drop by in the afternoon if she were going to be home.
“As it happens, my bridge club was changed to yesterday, so I’ll be here,” his mother said.
“I’ll see you around four, then.”
Simon marshaled his arguments on the drive out to the family home. When he pulled into the circular drive in front of the stately three-story colonial, he knew he was as ready as he ever would be to face the coming storm.
“I’ve asked Martha to bring tea into the solarium,” his mother said as she ushered him in. Martha was their longtime housekeeper.
The solarium was Simon’s favorite room in the house. On the east side of the house, morning sun poured in its windows. His mother had filled the room with lots of greenery and dozens of her prized orchids, as well as a fountain and waterfall at one end of the room. Percy, his mother’s pet parrot, occupied a fancy gilded cage in the shaded northwest corner, and Max, her chocolate Lab, could usually be found lying in front of the windows overlooking the river that meandered along the back of their property. Although the rest of the house was furnished with expensive antiques and imported rugs, the solarium was casually and cheerfully filled with bamboo chairs and sofas covered with bright chintz cushions. Dotted around the room were glass-topped side tables and a matching tea wagon. Today, because the day was mild, some of the windows were open, and Simon could hear the snip of the gardener’s shears somewhere nearby.
“I’m glad you called,” Larissa said, settling into her favorite chair by the waterfall. Max slowly got to his feet, stretched and moved over to her side, where he noisily flopped down once more. “I wanted to talk to you about the board meeting, anyway.”
“What about it?”
His mother started to speak, then fell silent as Martha entered the room carrying a large silver tray. She set it down on the tea wagon, then wheeled the wagon close to where his mother was seated. The tray was loaded with a silver teapot, creamer, sugar bowl, cups and saucers, small plates and a platter filled with bite-size sandwiches and a matching cake dish upon which sat what looked like a lemon sponge cake—Simon’s favorite.
He smiled at Martha. “How’d you know I was coming today?”
Her answering smile was warm. “Don’t you know I’m a mind reader?”
“Among other things,” he said, laughing. Like a saint for putting up with our family all these years.
Once Martha left the room and Simon and his mother had helped themselves to the refreshments, his mother said, “I wanted to discuss the amount of the family allocations before we talked about them at the meeting.”
“That’s why I came today. To talk about them.”
His mother raised her eyebrows. “Oh?” She lifted her teacup and sipped, her blue eyes meeting his over the rim of the cup.
Simon knew there was no percentage in stalling. He drank some of his own tea, then put the cup down and leaned forward. “I wish I had better news for you, Mom. I know what I have to say will not be pleasant to hear, but the bottom line is, there will be no increases to any of the family allocations this year.”
Setting her own cup down a trifle harder than the fine china warranted, his mother’s gaze turned icy. “You’re not serious. You couldn’t possibly be. Of course we must have an increase. Perhaps you don’t need one, but I simply can’t continue on without one, and I know Todd will feel the same way. After all, he’s just been married. It’s outrageous to think he can continue to live on the same amount of money. First of all, he and Meredith cannot live indefinitely in that condo of his.” She said the word condo as if it caused a bad taste in her mouth. “It’s tacky, all that black and red and chrome, just not the kind of place a young woman like Meredith would ever want to live in. I mean, surely you can see that, if anything, Todd will need to have his allocation doubled!”
There were a few things Simon could say to that, like the fact that in addition to his share of profits, Todd also drew a substantial salary from the company, but he’d learned long ago how futile it was to criticize his youngest brother. “I wish the company could afford to give everyone an increase—whether a family member or an employee—but Mark and I have gone over the numbers, and the company is simply not in a position to do so this year.”
“That’s ridiculous. I absolutely must have more to live on. If you think it’s easy to run this big house on what you give me … you’re mistaken. I make sacrifices to do so, and I’m tired of going without. I need at least fifty thousand more this year. I’d like seventy thousand, but I suppose I can manage on fifty.” She sat back in her chair with a satisfied smile. The queen bestowing a favor on one of her subjects. “No, Max,” she added irritably, as the dog nudged her leg. “Cake is bad for you.”
Simon suppressed a sigh. “Mother, the money is not what I give you. As one of the principal owners of Hopewell Enterprises the money is your share of each year’s profits. This year, there is very little profit. What with the new equipment, increases in some other expenses and the coming cost of retooling the plant, we’re stretched to the limit. In fact, your allocation should be cut by more than half. I realize that would cause you enormous hardship, so I plan to ask the board to okay keeping the amount the same as last year’s with the provision that we’ll take another look in six months.”
Larissa’s face paled. “And what does that mean?”
“It means if the changes we’ve made don’t help us improve our bottom line the way we think they will, we might have to decrease the amount you’re getting now.” Simon delivered this news as gently as he could.
“Decrease my share? Decrease it?” She jumped up. “How dare you!” She glared at him. “My own son! I can’t believe I’m hearing this. Why, your father would turn over in his grave if he knew how you were treating me. Weren’t you listening to me? I can’t run this house on what I’m getting now, let alone on less. What’s wrong with you, Simon? I’m beginning to think you’ve lost your mind. Either that or the power of running the company has gone to your head. The board will never go along with this. Never! In fact, I’m going to call Elias as soon as you leave here.”
Elias Whitney was president of the board and, along with Larissa, one of the largest shareholders in the company. He had, also along with Larissa, been against many of the changes Simon had recommended, although, in the end, he’d gone along with them.
Her threat didn’t scare Simon. Elias Whitney might be a longtime family friend, but he was also a shrewd businessman. Ultimately, he would continue to vote for the financial health of the company.
“Hopefully, this situation is only temporary. Just until we pay for all the upgrades.”
“Simon, are you hard of hearing? Have you not heard a word I said? I don’t have enough money to live on unless I get an increase. What do you propose I do? Do you want me to sell this house? Is that it?”
“I know you don’t want to sell the house.” Although why she needed an eight-bedroom home was beyond him. It wasn’t as if any of them still lived with her. Simon had bought his own home ten years ago, and both Todd and Noah had moved out years earlier. “But you could sell some of your stock to tide you over.”
“My stock!” She looked as shocked as if he’d suggested she sell her body. She gave him a hard look. “You have lost your mind. I will never sell my stock. That’s my insurance for the future.”
Simon knew that his father had carried a five-million dollar policy on his life and that most of that money should still be intact. Plus her company stock was worth upward of twenty million dollars, so her future was completely secure. But his mother was angry enough; he didn’t want to make things worse by pointing out the obvious.
For a few moments, he considered offering his mother the money she wanted—not as a loan but as a gift. Simon could afford it. He lived simply and saved more than he spent, and the value of his company stock was equal to hers. But he was reluctant for some reason. If she really did have money problems, he would have gladly helped her out. But she didn’t. She was just spoiled … and had a sense of entitlement. In her mind, since throughout her life as a Hopewell she’d always had whatever she wanted, she always should have whatever she wanted.
Maybe it was past time for her to learn what most people were forced to learn: that there was a difference between want and need.
An hour later, they were still going round and round with the same arguments. Finally, Simon rose. “Look, we’re not getting anywhere like this. I’m sorry you’re so upset, but I can’t change things just because you want them changed. And I think tomorrow’s board meeting will bear me out.” Max had gotten up when Simon did, and Simon rubbed his head.
“You haven’t heard the last of this, Simon. I’m not giving up. I intend to call Elias and then I’ll call all the other board members, as well.”
“That’s your right, Mother.”
“And then we’ll just see who’s boss.”
“Yes, I guess we will.”
She didn’t kiss him goodbye when he left. In fact, she barely said goodbye. He knew she was furious, and he had a feeling she’d be even more furious tomorrow, because he would bet his entire stock portfolio on the fact that the board members would vote with him and Mark. They couldn’t afford not to. Hopewell’s entire future depended on them making sensible financial decisions, and investing now for the future of the company was the most sensible financial decision they could possibly make.
But Simon wasn’t rejoicing in his anticipated victory.
How could he?
His mother might be spoiled. She might have a misguided sense of entitlement. And she might sometimes be unreasonable and petty. But he remembered how she’d always read him a bedtime story, even when she and his father were going out for the evening, how when he was miserable with chicken pox she’d played card games with him for days on end, how she’d beamed with pride when he’d given the valedictory address upon his graduation from college.
No matter what, she was his mother, and he loved her.
As he drove home, he remembered that he’d meant to tell her about his visit to Chloe and how she’d turned down his offer to pay the wedding expenses. But under the circumstances, maybe it was a good thing he hadn’t mentioned Todd’s ex-fiancée. His mother was upset enough.
No sense adding fuel to the fire.
Chapter Four
The board meeting went exactly as Simon had expected. All the directors, Elias Whitney in particular, were sympathetic to Larissa’s point of view, but in good conscience, they couldn’t vote the increase she wanted. Elias apologized to her, but Simon’s mother—after glaring at him—stormed out of the meeting in a fury.
“I’m sorry,” Elias said to Simon afterward. “I know this is going to make things uncomfortable for you.”
Simon shrugged. Things were already uncomfortable. And none of it was Elias’s fault. If only Larissa’s anger was the only reaction Simon had to face. Unfortunately, hers was just the beginning of the storm. By Friday afternoon—after spending hours breaking the bad news of no bonuses to his management staff—Simon wished there was a hole somewhere he could crawl into. At the very least, he wanted a glass of wine and a good dinner. And maybe a weekend of golf. How long had it been since he’d actually taken a weekend for himself?
As he left the office, he thought about how nice it would be if the good dinner was even now being prepared by a beautiful wife, someone who would understand and sympathize with him and tell him he’d only done what he had to do. Someone who would later join him in his king-size bed. And why was it that this thought immediately segued into one of Chloe Patterson?
What was wrong with him? In the past few days, he’d hardly stopped thinking about Todd’s former fiancée. Sure, she was attractive, but Simon knew dozens of attractive women, and he didn’t think about them all the time. What was it about Chloe that refused to leave him alone?
Simon was too honest with himself to blame his preoccupation with her on the fact Todd had jilted her. The truth was, she intrigued him on a personal level. Hell, if he were being completely honest, he’d admit that he was attracted to her … sexually attracted. Maybe he had been from the first time he met her. He still remembered the way he’d felt when he saw her with Todd at the company’s Christmas party last year. Jealous. Almost resentful. It had ticked him off to see Todd with the fresh-faced Chloe with the spectacular legs—she’d worn a short, dark red dress that swirled when she walked—when he, Simon, was alone that night.
Remembering how he’d felt then, he could feel his body responding now. Damn. He’d been without a woman for too long. In fact, he and Alexis had broken up a few weeks before that Christmas party. It was the reason he was alone that night.
He told himself he was being ridiculous obsessing over his brother’s former fiancée. What he needed to do was say yes to one of the dozens of invitations that came his way from more appropriate potential romantic partners. Because Chloe was off-limits. And even if she hadn’t been, she was planning to leave Riverton. Any involvement with her would be a go-nowhere situation—a real exercise in frustration.
But even as he told himself all this, he wondered what she’d say if he were to call her and ask her to have dinner with him. The desire to do so was so strong that he almost reached for his cell. But common sense quickly intervened. Hell, I’ll just be asking for problems. She’ll say no, anyway, so why open that can of worms?
Despite his rationally thought out decision, ten minutes later he found himself driving past Rosa’s Trattoria, one of the most popular restaurants in Riverton. He remembered from the investigator’s report that Chloe and her cousin and aunt had a habit of meeting there for dinner on Friday nights.
Would they be there tonight?
Glancing through the parking lot, he spied Chloe’s distinctive lime-green Volkswagen. Knowing this was stupid, that he should go somewhere else, he pulled into the lot and parked.
“Mr. Hopewell!” Gino Carbone, husband to Rosa and co-owner of the restaurant, exclaimed as Simon walked in. “Welcome back. How are you?”
“I’m fine, Gino. And you?”
“Excellent, excellent. It’s been a while since you’ve been here.”
“Too long,” Simon agreed.
“Are you expecting someone or—”
“It’s just me tonight.” Simon tried to keep from looking into the dining room, but out of the corner of his eye he could see Chloe sitting with two women at a nearby table.
Gino picked up a menu and beckoned Simon to follow him. Simon knew they would have to pass by Chloe’s table. A moment later, Chloe looked up. When their eyes met, hers reflected her surprise, but she quickly smiled and gave him a friendly hello.
He stopped, smiling back. “Hello, Chloe. How nice to see you again.” She looked beautiful in a green blouse that exactly matched her eyes.
When he continued to stand there, she only hesitated a few seconds before introducing him to her companions. “Aunt Jane, Molly, I’d like you to meet Simon Hopewell. Simon is Todd’s oldest brother.”
Simon grimaced. “But please don’t hold that against me.”
Jane Patterson, an attractive dark-haired woman, chuckled. “It’s nice to meet you, Mr. Hopewell.” Her brown eyes were filled with curiosity and intelligence. Simon knew she was taking his measure as she studied him. The cousin, a pretty young woman with curly dark hair who was about Chloe’s age, studied him carefully, too.
Protective, he thought. Both of them. And probably suspicious, too. Well, he could hardly blame them. Up till now, Chloe hadn’t fared well at the hands of the Hopewells.
Chloe’s aunt offered her hand, and Simon shook it, then turned to Molly and shook hers, as well. He knew they wouldn’t invite him to join them, but at least he would get to observe them awhile, for they hadn’t been served yet.
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