A Gentleman’s Offer (14 page)

“I could ruin everything for you. How would Nate feel if he came home and found us together?”

“I said get out.”

“You can’t force me.” He glanced at James. “Your little protector is out of commission and there’s no one else here to rescue you. I think you’d better start listening to me.” He wrestled the broom from her and threw it on the ground. He grabbed her arms and pulled her close, his breath hot on her face. “Come on. You want to care about somebody? What about caring about me? Who’s been your friend all these years? Who listened to your pathetic stories about your father and how no one liked you in school? Wasn’t I always there? Huh?”

She struggled against him.

“I will kill you in two seconds if you do not let her go,” Nate said in a quiet, deadly voice.

Lewis shoved Yvette away. “We were just playing a little game,” he said, startled by Nate’s sudden appearance.

Nate’s gaze pierced the distance with a fury that stilled the air. “And we’re going to play another game. You’re going to get out of our lives—and Cathleen’s—and we will never hear from you again.”

Lewis scowled, but didn’t speak. He grabbed his coat then stormed out. Once he was gone Yvette lifted James. His eyes had opened but didn’t look focused. “He’s hurt. We’ve got to get him to a vet.”

Nate saw the side of her face. “Did he hit you?”

She nodded then glanced down at James. “He also hit—”

Nate didn’t give her a chance to finish. Within seconds he was out the door. He returned minutes later rubbing his knuckles. She noticed red spots on his shirt.

“Is that blood?”

“Don’t worry, it’s not mine.”

“What did you do to him?”

“I doubt he’ll remember.”

“What does that mean?”

“It means I sent him home.”

Yvette gasped and widened her eyes.

“No, I don’t mean heaven,” he said quickly. “I made sure he got in his car after making my point clear. He may stop at a hospital, but that’s his decision.” He took James from her. “Come on, let’s go. You can tell me what happened.”

Cathleen looked at her watch for the fourth time. Lewis should have been there by now.

“Hi, Cathleen,” Nate said taking a seat.

“What are you doing here?”

“Keeping you company.”

“You don’t need to. My bags are in the car and Lewis will be here in a minute.”

He shook his head. “No, he won’t.”

“Yes, he will. He asked me to marry him. He wouldn’t have changed his mind.”

“It’s my fault.”

“What do you mean?”

“I wanted to make sure he really loved you so I told him that if he married you, you’d be disinherited.”

She set her mouth firm. “He does love me.”

“Then why isn’t he here?”

“He’s coming.”

“Cathleen,” he said gently. “He’s not the only man out there.”

“You’re marrying Yvette and I didn’t say anything. Why did you do this to me? You had no right! Do you think Yvette would marry you if you didn’t have money?” she asked, her eyes filling with tears.

“It’s different for me. I’m older and—”

“And selfish. You can have happiness and do whatever you want but I can’t.” She stood and raced out the door.

Nate returned to the apartment ready to fall into bed. He didn’t feel tired, he felt weary. He wished he could have done more damage to Lewis but knew he’d never see him again. At least the vet had said James would recover completely. And Yvette was better and he knew Cathleen would take time to forgive him. He wasn’t selfish. Maybe in the past but not now and he’d prove it.

When he opened the door, Yvette met him.

“A woman is here to see you.”

He paused. “What woman?”

“She said her name is Kim.”

Fear gripped him, but he kept his voice neutral. “Did she say anything to you?”

“No, she’s really nice.”

Kim came up behind Yvette. Years of long-buried memories threatened to crush him. Why hadn’t she changed? She was just as beautiful as when his father had married her over ten years ago. She made sixty look like a gift—her silver hair touching her shoulders, her tailored suit complimenting her figure. She forced a smile, he knew she could smile easily but rarely smiled around him anymore. “You look so much better. Have you made your decision?”

“I’m getting married,” he said in a flat tone.

The smile disappeared and confusion replaced it. “What? I thought—”

He held up a hand. “You don’t need to think. You just need to leave.”

“I was wrong. I can’t tell you how awful I feel about everything. I know I was selfish because I couldn’t handle your illness and a part of me was jealous of how your father worried about you all the time. I almost felt as though there was three of us in the marriage when I wanted him all to myself. I should have been there for you when Tracy left and you couldn’t work for a while and all the things you suffered through. I know you may not forgive me now, but I hope you will one day.” She took a hesitant step toward him. “I’m glad that you’ll have someone by your side.”

He gritted his teeth. “That’s not why I’m getting married.”

Yvette frowned. “By his side for what?”

Kim sent Yvette a nervous glance then stared at Nate astonished. “Doesn’t she know?”

“Know what?”

She turned to Yvette. “Nate has cancer.”

Y
vette sat quietly in her room. Now it all made sense: the nose bleeds (she hadn’t believed he’d cut his finger in Paris), the sleepless nights, the fevers, the dizziness. He was truly sick. The entire time she was playing make-believe he was dying right in front of her. She felt ill.

Nate knocked softly on the door then entered. “Can I talk to you?”

She shrugged, not trusting herself to speak.

“I’m sorry you found out this way.”

“I bet you’re sorry I found out at all,” she said bitterly.

“I didn’t want it to be a factor in your decision.”

“You were afraid I wouldn’t marry you.”

“Or that you’d marry me out of pity.”

“What’s the decision everyone keeps talking about?”

“I need aggressive treatment to fight this particular cancer and they want to know when I’ll start. I’ve decided not to.”

She stared at him. “What? Why?”

“I fought twice before. I thought I’d beaten it both times, but I hadn’t and I don’t want to go through it again. Kim married my father before my diagnosis. They used to call me their match-maker. I helped her brother out of a situation then introduced her to my father. After I got sick my father’s concern for me put a strain on their marriage. He was by my side all the time, always worried about me. And she…” Nate shrugged. “It was hard for her. One doctor said there was nothing he could do for me. When I told my father he refused to believe that.” The corner of his mouth quirked in a quick grin. “He made things happen so that I could get the specialist I have now.

“He’s been fighting this thing with me for years. She thinks that there’s a chance that
this
time I will get better. I don’t. I’m not someone special. I’ve never done anything great with my life, but with you I feel that my life has meaning.”

“I don’t understand.”

“When I die. You’ll receive all my money and as my widow no one can dispute that.”

“As your widow?” she said, despair making her voice crack. “You’re just going to die?”

He smoothed her hair. “Listen, you won’t have to take care of me. I have the money for care and—”

Yvette covered her ears. “I don’t want to hear this.”

He removed her hands. “I need you to,” he said, sounding desperate. “I’ve been trying to beat death for years and I’m not running anymore. I want to live in the moment. In you I see life and I want you to live the life you dream. Just think about it.”

“Okay, I’ve thought about it.”

He looked uneasy yet hopeful. “You have?”

“Yes. If you get the treatment, I’ll marry you.”

The hope in his eyes died. “I’m not having any treatments.”

“Then we’ll just stay friends.”

“No, we won’t. I don’t want you as a friend.”

“Fine,” she said in a hollow voice, lowering her gaze.

He lifted her chin and forced a smile. “You’re seeing too much in this. I want you to know that I’ve been looking at this from all sides and I’ve made my decision. There’s no one I would want to leave all my money to other than you.”

“Then you’ll have to find someone else.”

“Why?”

“Because I love you.”

“I love you, too.”

“Then have the treatment. Do whatever it takes.”

He glanced down.

“Aren’t you going to say anything?”

He looked at her with anguish. “I can’t say what you want me to.”

“You’d rather drop dead and give me all your money than stay alive and live with me?”

“It’s not like that. I’m tired. This is my third battle and I’m tired of wondering if I’ll make it. You know how freeing it is to stop worrying? To stop striving and trying to achieve? It’s a relief. I am not afraid of death.”

“You’d rather welcome death than fight for life?”

“Death has been knocking on my door for a long time.”

“That doesn’t mean you have to open it.”

His eyes filled with tears but he dropped his gaze before she could see them. “So you won’t marry me?”

Yvette bit her trembling lip. “I can’t.”

“Even if I told you that the money—”

“I don’t care about the money! Why don’t you believe me? If you spent every last cent on getting better—”

“But there’s no guarantee. What’s the point in spending money, time and energy on something you can’t control? How do you think it makes me feel to think of leaving you with a memory of me in treatments instead of lazing on a beach?”

“At least I would know that you tried.”

“And failed.”

“You could succeed.”

“The odds are against me.”

“But there’s still a chance.”

“A small one.”

“But it’s there all the same.”

He flashed a weak smile. “You’re still so stubborn.”

“So are you.” Her voice fell. “Please, Nate.”

He shook his head, then stood. “I’m sorry,” he said and meant it but it didn’t help. “At least we had fun.”

“Yes, that’s something to remember.”

He opened his mouth then closed it, knowing there was no more to say. He sighed as though the weight of the world had fallen on his shoulders and left.

Yvette stared at the door for several minutes then began to pack. Moments later she entered the living room with her luggage. Kim sat alone on the couch. “He went for a walk.”

“It’s okay,” Yvette said. “I don’t need to see him.”

“I didn’t mean to ruin things for you.”

“You didn’t do anything. You can’t ruin what isn’t real.”

Kim jumped to her feet, distressed. “Please don’t make that mistake. What you have is real and wonderful. Don’t throw it away. Nate can be stubborn, but I know you could bend him a little. Perhaps if you gave it some more time…”

“No,” Yvette said, wanting to believe Kim’s words, but not allowing herself to. “I was trying to make a wish come true that wasn’t meant to be.” Yvette placed an envelope on the table then put a leash on James. She took one last look around then walked to the door facing the reality that her dream had come to an end.

“She’s gone,” Kim told Nate when he returned. “But she left you a note.”

Nate raced over to the table and ripped the envelope open. The keys to the apartment and a check fell out. There was no note, no words, just a check made out to him for the remainder of the money she hadn’t spent. He fell into a chair as though he’d been punched. She didn’t want to be with him and didn’t want anything from him not even his money.

“What did she say?” Kim asked.

Nate crumpled the check in his fist. “Goodbye.”

The moment Yvette stepped into the foyer of her building, Mrs. Cantrell opened her door. She noticed Yvette’s bags and smiled. “You’re back from your vacation. My Arthur won’t stop talking about how wonderful your date was. Come in. I think…”

“Not today, Mrs. Cantrell,” Yvette said, dragging herself to the stairs. “I’m really tired.”

“You just need some food.”

“I just need some sleep, thank you.” She slowly climbed the stairs and walked to her apartment. Elliot peeked his head out.

“So you’re finally back.”

“Yes.” She opened her door.

“I baked—”

“No.” Yvette walked inside, dropped her luggage in front of the door then fell face-first on the couch. She couldn’t even cry. She felt too hollow inside for tears. She glanced up and saw
On the Town
magazine where she had left it on her coffee table. Suddenly anger gripped her as she thought of how empty and stupid her wishes had been. She leaped up, gathered all her magazines and threw them in the garbage. Then she called Rania.

“It’s all a sham, isn’t it? You don’t make dreams come true. You just turn them into nightmares.”

Rania replied to Yvette’s anger in a calm voice. “What are you talking about?”

“Nate asked me to marry him.”

“That’s wonderful.”

“And then I find out he’s dying of cancer.”

Rania paused. “Did he ask for a prenup?”

“What?”

“What will happen to the money after he dies?”

For a moment Yvette was too stunned to speak. “Who cares? He’s sick.”

“And that bothers you?”

“Of course it does! Why wouldn’t it?”

“Because you’ve never been really interested in men and this sounds like a great solution. You marry him for a few months and then he dies and you inherit his money. I thought you wanted lots of money, but the man didn’t matter.”

“I was wrong. You tricked me.”

“I didn’t trick anyone.”

“I don’t mean you personally, I mean this whole stupid club. It promised things it can’t deliver.”

“It gave you
exactly
what you wanted. You’re the one who changed the rules.”

“This is why I prefer animals to people. Animals don’t have hidden agendas, animals don’t toy with your emotions, animals are genuine and they don’t hurt you.”

“Funny how you’re always talking about how people have hurt you, but have you ever considered that you might be hurting him?”

“What do you mean?”

“The moment he didn’t do something you wanted him to, you left him. Does that show true love?”

“But I want him to get well.”

“What about what he wants? Doesn’t that matter, too? Is it wrong for him to want to spend his life with you on his terms? He made himself vulnerable the moment he asked you to marry him. He doesn’t know how long he has to live, but he does know that he wants to spend that time with you. You can’t always be the one in charge, Yvette. People aren’t like animals that you can force to follow your rules. You have to give something, too. You can love animals unconditionally, but it’s time you learn to love people the same way.”

The moment Yvette hung up the phone she covered her eyes. Perhaps Rania was right. Maybe if she talked to Nate some more they could compromise. She decided to drive to Diana’s apartment. She knocked on the door rehearsing what she would say to Nate when she saw him, but his sister opened the door instead. “Oh, you’re back,” Yvette said awkwardly.

“Yes.”

“Is Nate home?”

Diana shook her head. “No, he just left.”

“Do you know when he’ll be back?”

“He’s not coming back.”