Buying His Bride (The Donovan Brothers Trilogy Book 1) (18 page)

Grace shook her head. “I keep telling Sierra she ought to leave McKinley and do the marketing and branding for Claddagh so we can expand one day. She’s got a lot of expertise and connections that we could use, and she’d enjoy it. Michael agrees with me.”

“He does?” Sierra was astounded. This was the first she’d heard of cozy tête-à-têtes between Michael and Grace.

“You think my son-in-law and I don’t talk? You’ve always wanted to use your skills to build Claddagh. Michael supports that. You two must have talked about this.”

There was a lot they hadn’t talked about, apparently, if Grace and he were having private chats about how Sierra should conduct her career.

He didn’t have that right.

It’d be one thing if she and Michael were an ordinary married couple. Then they would have discussed how they’d like to proceed with their shared life together.

But for Michael to give her mother the hope that Sierra could to quit her job at McKinley when he knew they’d be going their separate ways in the near future? That was unkind and irresponsible.

Sure, she was slated to walk away with a hefty chunk of cash, but it would take that amount and more, over time, for her to afford to devote herself to the pub full-time. She couldn’t quit her job anytime soon, and Michael must know that.

“Michael and I talk about a lot of things, Mother.” Sierra lied through her teeth. They’d avoided talking about anything of substance since the second night of their marriage. Mostly she was to blame. “That doesn’t mean I’m ready to up and quit my job at McKinley all of a sudden. Besides that, I’ve worked hard to get where I am.”

Grace sighed. “I know that. Right now I just want you to get some rest. But I still think Bruce would give you some time off if you asked for it. You know how fond he is of you.”

Gabe intervened. “We’ll try to talk Sierra into taking it a little easier in the next few weeks.”

Sierra sighed. “Obviously arrogance runs on the Y chromosome in your family. I can take care of myself, and don’t think you’re going to sweet-talk me into anything I don’t want.”

Grace patted her cheek. “We know that, baby.” She gave her a kiss. “Gentlemen, enjoy the rest of your afternoon and evening.”

As Grace left, Sierra shook her head in exasperation.

“She loves you very much,” said Rafe.

“Yes, she does. But she has no way of understanding how things really are between me and Michael. I can’t explain to her why what she has in mind isn’t an option right now.”

“About that,” Gabe began.

“About what?”

“It’s none of our business, of course,” he continued, looking uncomfortable.

A Donovan male, uncomfortable? A rare occurrence.

Sierra frowned. “Come on. Spit it out.”

A conversation with Gabe and Rafe was like watching a relay race. The conversational baton shifted to Rafe.

“You and Michael.”

Sierra was certain Michael was discreet enough not to have discussed their sex life with his brothers. They had been responsible for conceiving of the no-strings bargain in the first place. What were they getting at?

She stalled for time. “I don’t know what you mean.” She scrubbed a nonexistent spot on the bar. “You know our agreement. We’ve got another few months to go and then we’re done. Over. As planned.” She looked at them and pasted a wide smile on her face. “It’s worked out fine, right?”

“Has it?” When Rafe adopted this manner, he reminded Sierra of no one so much as his older brother.

“Well, hasn’t it?” she countered. “Connor’s better. My mother and I have been able to save our house and the pub. Why are you asking? Or rather, why are you asking me rather than Michael?”

The baton shifted back to Gabe.

“Michael hasn’t seemed quite himself in the past month. Quieter. Moodier. Every time Rafe or I try to ask him about it, he bites our heads off and says there’s nothing wrong, but even Connor is noticing now.” Gabe took a long pull of his drink. “When it starts impacting our father, that’s when we feel the need to investigate.”

“Oh.”

“That’s it?”

“Guys, I don’t know what you expect me to say. If there’s something Michael wants you to know, he’ll tell you.”

Rafe intervened. “Look, we realize it’s not cool to ask you to tell us something Michael would rather keep private.” He smiled. A charming smile. Sierra’s uh-oh antennae went up. “But is there anything you’d like to share with us yourself?”

Like what? They’d had mind-blowing sex? She knew it wasn’t part of the bargain, but she’d fallen in love with their brother? He didn’t love her, but she’d live? Oh, and by the way, she was an emotional basket case?

“Nope,” Sierra managed. Her eyes pricked with unexpected tears at the look of real concern on the two brothers’ faces. “But thanks, you guys, for asking.”

****

“It’s kind of you to have me here.” Lydia addressed Sierra over her glass of wine, settling into the couch in Michael’s living room.

With a politeness she didn’t feel, Sierra replied, “When you called last night and said it was me you wanted to speak with, not Michael, I was curious. As I told you, he’s not due home from his trip until late tomorrow evening.”

“That’s all right. As I told you, I want to see you, not Michael.”

It was a weeknight and Sierra had had another long day, made longer by Michael’s absence. Despite the awkwardness and tension between them, she missed him while he was gone, and the evenings seemed longer without him.

If Lydia wanted some time with on her one of those evenings, it might be an opportunity to find out if Grant had been talking about her. They’d come to the reception together, after all.

Lydia seemed different from the past times Sierra had seen her. She was a degree or two warmer, though not friendly. She looked spectacular, as always, her dark good looks highlighted by a cranberry sweater and black trousers, her short chin-length hair cut in its usual bob.

Sierra, with her flyaway curls she could never control, wearing a rumpled suit at the end of a hard workday, felt at a distinct sartorial and emotional disadvantage.

Calling upon the manners that Grace had instilled in her, Sierra asked, “It’s thoughtful of you to bring by a wedding gift. Shall I open it now or wait for Michael?”

Lydia waved away the question. “Oh, it’s nothing. Just a vintage bar set I thought you and Michael might like. I’m sorry it’s late.”

“Not at all.” Sierra tried to be friendly.

Lydia’s past antagonism seemed absent. Nevertheless, Sierra still wished she weren’t there. The truth was, she was jealous. Loving Michael made the thought of him involved with anyone painful, particularly a woman who was beautiful and certain of her long-time status in Michael’s life.

Sierra wasn’t certain of anything.

One of her many problems.

“Would you like a little more?” She topped off Lydia’s glass.

“Aren’t you drinking?”

“I’ll have a glass later with my dinner.” A pointed indication Sierra did have plans for later and they didn’t include her. As subtlety and politeness went, it wasn’t one of her best moments. But it seemed that subtlety wasn’t the order of the evening.

“Married life treating you well?”

Well, that was certainly putting things on the table.

Nerves a little frayed, Sierra decided to be direct as well. “Why don’t we get straight to the point?” She set down the wine bottle. “You could have sent your wedding gift, as most people have done, but you decided to bring it here and to do it when you knew Michael wasn’t home. Do you have something you want to say to me?”

Lydia fiddled with the strap of her handbag, then looked at Sierra. “I want to pass along greetings from someone Michael doesn’t know but you do. Grant Townsend asked me to say hello.”

Sierra’s heart sank. What had he told her?

As if reading Sierra’s mind, Lydia honed in on the topic Sierra least wanted to discuss with anyone, let alone Lydia. “Grant told me some interesting things about your past.”

Assuming a calm she didn’t feel, Sierra blew a curl out of her eyes. In truth, she was so tightly wound she wanted to scream. “What sorts of things?”

Lydia eyed her. “Do you really want to know?” She paused. “It’s not flattering.”

“I don’t think you came here intending
not
to tell me whatever it is you have to say, Lydia. So yes, I really want to know.” Sierra willed herself not to be sick. She had to hear what the other woman would say.

“Grant told me you were involved with his son when you were both in college. He said you used William as a stepping stone to get to him and a lucrative internship. You wanted to land a cushy position in their firm by sleeping with both of them.”

There it was. The other shoe had dropped. Grant had ruined her reputation at his company years ago, and now he was following through with his threat to smear her name all over again. And with it, the Donovan name as well.

“A real opportunist and tramp, is that it?”

“That’s what Grant says.” Lydia’s eyes narrowed. “According to him, when they tossed you out, you moved on. Now you’ve popped up in Michael’s life, you seem to have landed on your feet. Grant and his son figure you’ve moved from the relatively small time of their firm years ago into the big time by hoodwinking Michael and marrying into DEI.”

“And you believe them, of course.” Sierra fought back a wave of anger so intense it made her nausea fade. “Since you and I first met at our engagement party, you’ve seemed determined to dislike me, with or without any real grounds.”

Lydia shrugged. “The Townsends are envious, competitive men. Grant’s ego is easily damaged, so he might be lying. I’m not stupid. But a lot of women have pursued Michael for his money. I’ve known him a long time. He’s not fond of women who want him only for his wealth, you know. On general principle and also because of his mother. He doesn’t like liars, either. If I had reason to believe you were like Carol in any way, I’d blow the whistle on you. I wouldn’t want him to be fooled. Or hurt.”

“It seems to me you feel pretty possessive of Michael. Are you in love with him? Jealous of me?” She had to know.

Not that Lydia had any reason to be jealous.

To her surprise, Lydia replied, “Yes, I think I was in love with him at one time in my life. I was jealous of you when we met. You see, Michael’s family and mine go way back, and when he and I were younger, we saw a lot of each other. I suppose I fell in love with him a little.” She smiled and a cynical expression crossed her face. “It was a long time ago, and I got over him. He treated me mostly as if I were a little sister. But sometimes it’s been difficult to see him with other women.”

She continued with an honesty Sierra didn’t anticipate. “When I saw you two at the cocktail party at the Donovans’ house, I was surprised. I’d never seen Michael that eager for a woman. I suppose, in view of our long-standing association and the relationship between our families, I was hurt that he hadn’t shared his engagement ahead of time.”

Sierra had to hand it to Lydia. She was revealing herself in ways she would never have expected. She admired the woman’s honesty. But why the change?

“What’s your point in telling me all this now?”

“Because, after thinking things over for a while, I realized whether I like it or not, Michael may have found a woman he can truly love. He’s been marriage-averse all his life. He was known for it. But if I really care about him—and I do, regardless of whether I used to be in love with him—then I have to want what’s best for him.”

Sierra was ashamed. Would she have felt the same if their positions had been reversed? She wasn’t certain she could be that generous. She could never be that brave.

“However,” continued Lydia, her tone sharpening, “Grant’s account of you doesn’t fill me with confidence that you’re the right woman for Michael. Maybe you’re like all the others who’ve flocked around him over the years, wanting him for his social status and money.” She gave Sierra a glacial look. “If that’s true, you can be sure I’ll do everything in my power to break up the two of you.”

Sierra was exhausted. Tired of the deceptions she and Michael had put their friends and associates through. There wasn’t a lot of time left to their deal. What harm could it do to tell the other woman the truth now? If she didn’t, Lydia was likely to believe Grant’s version of reality and go straight to Michael with it.

She couldn’t bear that.

Taking a deep breath, Sierra rolled her shoulders, trying to dispel the tension she felt. “Lydia, things aren’t like that between Michael and me. You don’t have to worry about him. We married each other for business reasons, and I’m not taking advantage of him.”

A sound in the front hallway distracted her for a moment, but Lydia’s gaze quickly brought her back to the present. Sierra continued. “I’m not the money-hungry woman or slut Grant Townsend makes me out to be. In fact, he and his son used my naiveté against me when I was in college. William slept with me to add another notch to his belt, and Grant figured he’d pick up where his son left off in exchange for giving me an internship. William and I broke up when he slept around, and I quit immediately. It all happened a long time ago.” She took a sip of her wine and looked Lydia directly in the eye. “You can believe me or not, as you choose.”

The other woman stared at her for what seemed like forever and Sierra wasn’t sure what she was thinking. Then, to her relief, Lydia observed, “The Townsends have a great travel company, but I’m not impressed with their ethics. I think I believe that part of your story.”

Sierra relaxed a little but kept up her guard. “Thank you. Which part don’t you believe?”

“I’ve seen you and Michael together. You and he may he entered into marriage as a business deal, but neither of you is a professional actor. I don’t think you can fake the kind of chemistry the two of you share.”

Sierra cursed the heat that suffused her face. No point denying it. Lydia first encountered them with Michael’s hand up her skirt, after all. “That doesn’t mean anything. Basic biology, nothing more.”

“Hmm.” Lydia sipped her wine. “Maybe. Maybe not. My instincts tell me something is different this time around.”