Best Kept Secrets (31 page)

“Let me go!” she warned between clenched teeth.

“Sit down. Do not, and I repeat, do not attempt to hit me again.”

Her eyes filled with tears. His fingers were like manacles. “Please, Samuel, you’re hurting me.”

Samuel released her arm as if he feared contamination. He glared at her, frowning. “You can’t be pregnant. I used a condom with you.”

“Not the first time.”

“I pulled out.”

“You didn’t pull out fast enough.”

Teresa felt a measure of satisfaction when Samuel’s brows drew together in an agonized expression.

“What are
we
going to do?” she asked quietly.

Samuel stared at Teresa as if she were a stranger. “There can’t be a
we
. Not the way you think.”

“What the hell are you now? A mind reader?”

Struggling to contain his temper, Samuel closed his eyes. He could not, did not want to believe that a single reckless encounter resulted in his fathering a child out of wedlock.

He opened his eyes. “No, Teresa. I do not read minds. Are you certain you’re pregnant?”

She met his tortured gaze, her bravado slipping. He was hurting. “Yes. I went to the doctor last week. He wants me to come in for a comprehensive examination as soon as I have the time.”

Two deep lines of worry appeared between Samuel’s eyes. Teresa’s revelation made him feel old, fatigued—too old to be in the age-old dilemma of being caught in a trap of his own choosing.

“How much do you want, Teresa?”

“What do you mean?”

“How much money do you want me to give you?”

Her eyes grew wider and wider. “You think this is about money? That I trapped you so that you could pay me off?”

Leaning back in the chair, Samuel regarded her as if she were a business adversary. And that was what she’d become. “I don’t know what to think.”

Rage made Teresa reckless when she said, “I told you before that I want you. I want you to leave your wife and marry me.”

Samuel stared, complete surprise on his face. Then realization dawned. Teresa had manipulated him. Her seduction had begun before she’d convinced him to take her to Puerto Rico. He replayed their encounters in his head like frames of film. His eyebrows lifted when he recalled the time she’d come to
his house for the Independence Day celebration and had shown him what he could have if only he was willing to take the bait.

And like a gauche, bumbling adolescent boy looking for his first piece of ass, he’d fallen into her trap. Teresa Maldonado had just executed the oldest con game in the world. She’d literally caught him with his pants down.

He crossed his arms over his chest. “What you ask is impossible. I will never leave M.J. Not for you. Not for any woman on the face of this earth.”

His declaration echoed Liliana’s and Everett’s. Hearing it from them meant nothing, but the words coming directly from Samuel made her world tilt on its axis.

“What am I going to do?” she whispered.

Samuel reached across the table and covered her hands with one of his. “I will take care of everything.”

Her eyes shimmered with tears. “How?” Suddenly his face went grim, and Teresa knew exactly what he meant. “Good Catholic girls do not have abortions.”

A half smile crossed his face. “I shouldn’t have to remind you that good Catholic girls do not fuck married men.”

“Me cago en la madre que te pario!”

Removing his hand, Samuel glared at her. “I could say the same thing about your bastard’s mother. Fortunately my mother raised me to respect women. But if you continue to insult me I’m going to forget my home training. And if you’re so intent on having this baby, then I’ll give you enough money to go to Cuba to have it.”

Tears overflowed, staining the front of Teresa’s blouse. “I can’t go to Cuba as a Maldonado.”

Reaching into the pocket of his slacks, Samuel handed her his handkerchief. “Why not?”

She blotted her eyes. “If anyone discovered I was Ramon Maldonado’s daughter, then I would either be killed or imprisoned. My father had to leave Cuba with the clothes on his back
or he would’ve been shot on sight. He has been identified as an enemy of the state.

“And once my parents find out that I’m pregnant…” Her words trailed off as she broke down, sobbing.

Samuel came around the table, eased her gently to her feet, cradling her to his chest. “I’m so sorry, baby,” he crooned softly. “If things were different I’d marry you tomorrow.”

Teresa buried her face against his shoulder, praying for things to be different. “I love you. I will always love you.”

“Shh-hhh, baby.” He shook his head. She’d just cursed him, saying, “I shit on the mother who gave you birth” in a fit of rage, then within minutes confessed to loving him.

And Samuel believed she did love him because he was the first man who’d introduced her to passion. What Teresa didn’t know was that there would be other men, other men who would fall in love with her beautiful face, lush body and unabashed raw sexuality. She was a rare gift for a man willing to cherish what she was willing to offer him.

“I can set you up with your own house,” he said close to her ear.

She froze. “You want me to be your mistress?”

“You’re the one who used the word, not me. What I want to do is take care of my responsibility. You and your child will never want for anything whether I’m living or dead.”

“And what do I do, Samuel? Wait around for you to see me when you’re not too busy with your legitimate family? No. I did not make this baby alone, and I will not have it alone.”

“I’m not going to divorce my wife and marry you.”

Teresa pushed against him, freeing herself. Moisture spiked the lashes framing her ice-cold, pale green eyes. “Then it looks as if both of us have a very serious problem.”

Samuel’s expression was a mask of stone before it softened. “No, Teresa. You’re the one with the problem, and you’ve worked with me long enough to know I don’t take kindly to
threats. Piss me off and you’ll find yourself out on your ass without a penny.”

Teresa knew when to push and when to retreat. This was one of those times. Samuel knew she was carrying his child, and now all she had to do was wait to see what he would do. She’d considered becoming his mistress—but that was before she found out that Marguerite-Josefina was pregnant.

And what Samuel Cole did not know about Teresa Maldonado was that she was not only patient, but also very stubborn.

She’d set out to seduce Samuel, and she had.

She’d also planned for him to get her pregnant, and he had.

She also planned to get a husband, and she would.

Everett knocked on the door frame to Samuel’s office five minutes after Teresa walked out. “What’s going on?”

Samuel, leaning back in his chair, did not move. “What do you mean?”

“Teresa looks as if she’s been crying.”

Straightening to an upright position, Samuel pushed off his chair. “I need to talk to you.”

“Talk to me, Cole.”

He shook his head. “Not here. Let’s go for a walk.”

E
verett strolled the two square blocks that encompassed West Palm Beach’s Negro business district. Hands clasped behind his back, he listened to Samuel Cole unburden his soul. What he’d suspected had manifested.

He was angry, not with Samuel or Teresa, but with himself. He’d stood by and done nothing as Teresa subtly seduced her unsuspecting boss. But when he did confront her it’d been too late. She’d attempted to use the oldest trick in the world to break up a home and get a man to marry her. He hadn’t minced words when he told her that Samuel would never leave M.J.

“What is she asking for?”

“Marriage.”

Everett caught Samuel’s arm, forcing him to stop. “That’s it?”

Both men touched the brims of their hats as two well-dressed women walked by.

Samuel gave his best friend a look of disbelief. “That’s it?” he repeated. “Don’t forget I’m married.”

Gold eyes searched the lean face of the man who’d afforded him a way of life he never would’ve had even if he hadn’t left the insurance company what now seemed a lifetime ago.

“But I’m not, Samuel.”

Eyes wide, heart pumping uncontrollably, Samuel stared at Everett in shock. “No, Everett.”

“Yes, Samuel. I’ll marry her, give the baby my name, and no one will be the wiser.”

He swallowed to relieve his constricted throat. “You’d raise my child as your own?”

“I’d like to believe you’d do the same for me if something happened to me or my wife.”

“Hell yeah,” Samuel said quickly.

Everett patted his shoulder. “That does it. I’ll talk to Teresa and present her with my offer.”

“What if she refuses?” Samuel asked in a low voice.

“She can’t afford to. She’s pushing marriage because she doesn’t want to bring shame on her family. Let me handle everything.”

“Why are you willing to do this?”

Lowering his head, Everett flashed a rare smile. “I’m thirty-three, tired of living alone, and because our marriage will be a business arrangement there won’t be any hurt feelings once we decide to go our separate ways.”

“Why are you really doing this, Everett?”

He gave Samuel a long, penetrating look. “Just say it’s my way of looking out for my younger brother.”

Samuel felt a wave of emotion sweep over him unlike any he’d ever experienced. He extended his right hand. “Thank you.”

Everett took the proffered hand before pulling Samuel close and thumping his back. “Remember, we’re in this together.”

Samuel smiled, returning the embrace. “Together.”

“I’m going to ask one thing from you, Samuel.”

“What’s that?”

“Other than me and Teresa, no one will know that the child is yours.”

“I give you my word that no one will ever know.”

They returned to the office, Samuel taking the back staircase, while Everett walked up the front. He stepped into the reception area to find Teresa filing financial reports. Her head came up at the same time he removed his hat.

“I’d like to see you in my office,” he ordered quietly.

“Now?”

“Yes.”

Everett waited for her to walk into his office; he stared at Teresa’s back, smiling. He could see why Samuel was taken with her. The night he’d taken her to dinner it was as if he’d seen her for the first time, wondering why he hadn’t taken note of her startling beauty. It wasn’t until he returned home that he realized he preferred dark-haired, dark-eyed women.

He took off his suit jacket, hung it on a wall hook and placed his hat on the top of a bookcase. “Please sit down.” She complied, sitting in an armchair. Positioning a matching chair to face her, Everett sat, looping one knee over the other.

Stroking his mustache in an unconscious gesture, Everett reached out and grasped Teresa’s hands. They were ice-cold. “Don’t,” he warned softly when she attempted to pull away. He met her startled gaze. “I know about your condition.” His heart turned over when tears flooded her eyes. “I should’ve warned you before this happened, but I told myself it was none of my
business and that Samuel knew what he was doing. You’re with child and need a husband. And we both know that Samuel will not leave M.J. for you.”

Ignoring the tears streaming down her face, Teresa glared at Everett. “You’re right. This is none of your business.”

“That’s where you’re so wrong, Teresa. What happens to Samuel Cole is my business, and I don’t ever want you to forget that. I’m offering to marry you and give your baby my name. I will not touch you until after the baby is born. I want you to tell your family that I’ll be by tomorrow afternoon to talk with them.”

Ignoring her gaping mouth, he continued. “You’ll probably want a wedding, so start making arrangements on what you want. We’ll go and pick out a ring in a couple of hours. I’ll also ask Samuel for time off for a honeymoon, so let me know where you’d like to go.”

“You—you make this sound like a business arrangement,” she said once she’d recovered her voice.

“It is. I’m not in love with you, and you’re definitely not in love with me. So, let’s try to make the best of what could possibly become an uncomfortable situation.”

“Uncomfortable for who?”

“For you, Teresa. You and the child in your belly will be the losers if you reject what I’m offering you.”

Tunneling her fingers through her hair, she held the heavy waves off her face. “I’m so confused.”

Everett dried her tears with his handkerchief. “Let me handle everything. I’ll tell your father that I’ve been interested in you ever since you came to work for ColeDiz, and now that I’ve made my feelings known I want to do the right thing and make you my wife.”

Teresa’s hands trembled uncontrollably. “I don’t know if I can do what you propose.”

“Yes, you can. We both can.”

She stared at the man offering her the chance for respectabil
ity for herself and her unborn child. She couldn’t have Samuel Cole, but she was being offered a second choice, the man closest to him. They’d met and discussed her like a parcel of land they wanted to purchase, then decided who would claim her.

Her eyes narrowed. “I don’t understand how you’d want to claim another man’s child as your own.”

Everett leaned closer, his gold eyes darkening dangerously. “You are never to speak of the child as Samuel’s. This baby, whether girl or boy, will be known as the son or daughter of Everett and Teresa Kirkland.”

Teresa regarded Everett with impassive coldness. She hated him, hated his supercilious, patronizing manner. And if he thought she was going to submit to him once she delivered her baby, then he was crazier than the people they locked away in mental hospitals.

The accountant was offering her what Samuel couldn’t and wouldn’t. She would become Mrs. Everett Kirkland, but in name only.

“Okay,” she said softly. “I will marry you.”

Teresa sat on the porch step with Liliana, waiting for Everett to emerge from the house. She tried staring through the curtain of rain that fell sideways. She’d told her friend that Everett had come to ask her father’s permission to marry her, but hadn’t said a word about the baby.

“What’s taking so long?” Liliana whined like a child.

Propping her elbows on her knees, Teresa shifted her gaze to the car parked in the driveway. It belonged to the man who was to become her husband once Ramon Maldonado gave his approval. But what her father didn’t know was the longer he resisted, the more evident her condition would be.

She was only six weeks into her term, and her body was changing quickly. Her breasts were fuller, her appetite had increased, and she needed to marry within the next two weeks.

Liliana popped up like a jack-in-the-box when the screen door opened. Teresa was slower in rising. Everett stepped out onto the porch. A wide grin crinkled the skin around his tawny-gold eyes.

He reached for her left hand and slipped a ring with an emerald-cut diamond on her third finger. It wasn’t the ring she’d picked out the day before. The one she’d selected had a much smaller stone.

Lowering his head, Everett kissed Teresa’s parted lips, inhaling and swallowing her breath. “Thank you,” he whispered loud enough for Liliana to overhear.

Clinging to the front of his shirt as if he were a lifeline, Teresa stared up at him. “Thank you,” she repeated softly.

“Let me see your ring!” Liliana shouted before she put her hand over her mouth. Her hand came down slowly. “Oh,
m’ija
, it is so beautiful.”

Teresa hugged her friend. “Will you be my maid of honor?”

“But of course.”

The two women were babbling excitedly in Spanish when the door opened again and Ramon and Silvia Maldonado joined them on the porch.

Everett had asked the elder Maldonados to set a date for the wedding before the end of September. The next day they would leave for their honeymoon. Teresa hadn’t seen her parents’ homeland, so she would visit Cuba for the first time, not as Teresa Maldonado, but Teresa Kirkland.

Winding an arm around his fiancée’s waist, he smiled at her. “We have to go, or we’re going to be late for dinner.”

“Where are we going?”

“I’ll tell you in the car.”

Everett shook Ramon’s hands, then kissed Silvia’s cheek. “I’ll see you tomorrow,” he said in Spanish.

Liliana smiled as Everett held an umbrella over Teresa’s head when he escorted her off the porch to his car. She was
relieved her friend had changed her mind about seducing Samuel Cole.

Everett Kirkland would make her a much better husband.

Teresa saw the sign pointing the way to Palm Grove Oval, and knew Everett was taking her to his home. The rain had subsided to a light drizzle by the time he parked his car under a
porte cochere
.

“Don’t move,” Everett warned when her hand went to the door handle. “I’ll come around and get you.”

To anyone watching them, they appeared to be a normal couple, a loving couple; but appearances were deceiving, because they would begin a life together living a lie.

She watched Everett unlock the front door, step into the entryway, then extend his hand for her to take it. Trustingly, she placed her hand in his, feeling its strength when his fingers tightened.

The entryway was as large as the living room in the house where she’d grown up. It gave way to an expansive living room, and beyond that a formal dining room. All of the furnishings were Spanish or Caribbean-inspired.

“Most of the furniture was shipped from Costa Rica and Jamaica.”

She smiled. “I like it. Where are the bedrooms?”

“Toward the rear.” Cupping her elbow, Everett led her down the hallway, stopping at each bedroom. The two smaller rooms contained only rockers and a side table with a lamp. “As you can see I don’t have company.”

Walking into one room, Teresa noticed the wallpaper. Figures of circus elephants and calliopes dotted a pale green background. “This was once a nursery.”

Hands thrust into his pockets, Everett angled his head. “Yes. Samuel’s son and daughter slept here before he built the new house.”

“This was Samuel’s house?” she said without turning around.

“Yes.”

“And now it’s yours.”

“Yes, Teresa. It’s mine. And once we’re married it will be ours.”

She closed her eyes. She was carrying Samuel Cole’s baby, she was going to marry Samuel Cole’s business partner, and she would also live in a house that had at one time belonged to Samuel Cole.

How many more secondhand goods would the man she’d promised to marry accept before he developed enough of a backbone to say enough is enough?

Forcing a smile she did not feel, Teresa turned and smiled at her fiancé. “It’s a lovely home.” And it was. It still smelled new.

“I’m glad you like it.”

“May I see the kitchen?”

“Don’t you want to see our bedroom?”

“I’ll see it later. Right now I need to eat something or I’m going to be sick.”

Taking her hand, Everett led her into the kitchen. He seated her at a table, then opened the refrigerator. “Do you like fruit?”

“Yes.”

He took out a bowl of diced pineapple, mango and guava. Teresa had rested her head on the table to stop the spinning. “Eat,” he ordered, forcing her mouth open. It was only when she’d swallowed several forkfuls of fruit that the spinning stopped.

Teresa chewed and swallowed the last piece. “Thank you.”

Everett did not acknowledge her gratitude as he turned and put the bowl in the sink. She stared at his tall, slender figure as he leaned into the refrigerator.

“Why did you change the ring?”

He took out a bowl of cut-up chicken. “The one you picked out was too small.”

“But it was the one I wanted.”

“It wasn’t the one
I
wanted.”

“Why didn’t you say something when we were in the store?”

Everett set the bowl on a countertop. “Because I don’t argue in public, Teresa. To do so indicates you haven’t been properly trained.”

“You train animals, not people.”

“Proper rearing and good manners are essential if you want to be accepted in polite society.”

Her eyes paled. “Are you afraid I’m going to embarrass you in front of these fancy people who live around here?”

“No, I’m not, Teresa. Because that is something I will not tolerate.”

She stood up. “And if I do embarrass you?”

Everett stared at the woman who wore his ring, the woman he’d promised his boss he would marry to protect his reputation. He liked his women docile and obedient. Teresa Maldonado was a lot of things, but docile or obedient wasn’t among them.

A hint of a smile curved the corners of his mouth upward. “I will spank you for being naughty.”

She returned his smile, her breasts rising and falling, bringing his gaze to linger there. Teresa wasn’t certain, but she thought she saw a spark of desire fire in his eyes, but he’d shuttered his gaze so quickly she could’ve been mistaken.

“I’m going to see the bedroom now.”

Everett watched her retreating figure. Teresa was unlike any other woman he’d ever met.
What have I gotten myself into?
he mused.

The question nagged him later that night when he went to bed—alone. It would nag at him two weeks later when he stood in the formal English garden on the Cole estate with Teresa Kirkland, accepting best wishes from their wedding guests.