REGENCY: Loved by the Duke (Historical Billionaire Military Romance) (19th Century Victorian Short Stories) (66 page)

She licked her lips hungrily at the sight of so much flesh.  Why not?  It wasn’t like she was making a whole lot of progress on her work otherwise. 

She stood up and began to remove her clothing.  “If I help you find your words to give to the board… might I be able to sweet talk you into letting me go back out with the
Sprite
for, uh,
more
testing?”

His smile would have melted steel it looked so warm.  “I had hoped for nothing less.” 

He reached for her.

The cold spray of the sea was a gentle reminder to her.

It was getting dark.  She would need to go below deck soon.

She opened her eyes and looked out over the open water.  The sun was setting in the west, the golden orb of light touching the water.  She pondered what ancient sailors used to believe about such a sight: that the ocean surely extinguished the sun like hot metal in a forge and that some god or other rekindled it every day at sunrise. 

It was superstitious nonsense, she knew.  But these days, she found that some of the old ways provided valuable insight.  The idea of even entertaining the preposterous had seemed more like an anecdote than anything else. 

“Hey,” Dane said and she felt his hand on her shoulder.

She turned to see him, and smiled.  He wore his usual ragged looking jeans and no shirt, what she repeatedly referred to as his “pirate attire”.  The only differences that he’d made in all the time she’d known him were the new tattoos on his chest, that his hair had gotten longer, and the ring on his finger.

“Hey,” she said, as he bent over to lightly kiss her.  He knelt beside her chair and kissed her large belly that presently had a pair of headphones attached to them.

“Beethoven?  Bach?  Mozart?” he guessed, indicating the headphones.  “What’s the baby listening to this time?”

She smiled and pointed at the cord that was presently draped over the side of the gently rocking boat.  His eyes traced the line and looked back to her for an explanation.  “The aqua phone?”

“Picking up dolphin chatter,” she explained.  “There’s a pod of them about a mile off.  I thought maybe the baby should listen to something playful.”

He beamed at her.  “The baby’s going to be a fish himself, isn’t he?”

“
She
is going to be a marine engineer, like her mother,” she said.  They’d had this debate before, if their child was going to be a boy or a girl, but she always found it cute the way he brought it up and was stubbornly determined to have a son. 

“You think listening to the real thing will help the baby pick up on something that you’ve missed?” he asked.

She gave a short nod.  “You know how they say if you start speaking a second language around a child at a young age that they pick it up easier?  Well, I’m hoping that she’ll develop an ear for whale song and well…”

She didn’t need to explain anymore.  He understood her point.

“You’ll crack it someday, you know.  The baby will help.”

She squeezed his hand.  “Always the optimist, aren’t you?”

“I have to be.  I believe in giving things a chance.”

She kissed him for that.

“Don’t be up here too long,” he said, giving her hand a final squeeze. 

She nodded and watched him as he disappeared back below deck.  She smiled again, having the weather deck to herself once again.  It was just her and the sea, and the unborn child in her belly.

She closed her eyes and went back to listening to the sounds of the water.

Chapter 1

Tate

Tate Henderson was developing quite the reputation these days, which wasn’t a surprise really. He’d gone from regular guy to superhero after winning the biggest match of the season and soon everyone knew his name.

“You’re like the Justin Bieber of sports.” One of his friends had said to him. Which he, of course, had taken as a compliment and used as yet another reason to become as wild as possible. It didn’t harm that he had the looks as well as the talent. He was twenty nine years old, with dark brown hair that swept over his face, bright blue eyes, the physique of an athlete and the whole world at his feet. The moment he had scored that final goal his social media had gone crazy, with girls practically throwing themselves at him. And really, who was he to deny their advances.
             

At the start, he’d taken it in his stride, but when one party got particularly out of hand he found that he could not say no any longer. He said yes to every party and every girl that came his way. “I’m having the time of my life,” he told Bobby, his oldest friend, “and I never want it to stop.”

That day was just a day like any other; he’d spent the night at a party, gotten horribly drunk and spent the morning nursing a hangover with countless cups of coffee. He had a meeting with his PR manager and by the time he was due to meet her he was still feeling rough. Nevertheless, he put on his sunglasses and sauntered inside, not daring to take them off. He looked around for Sally and found her sitting in the corner of the coffee shop, her hands folded. She looked upset. Sally Ann Truder had been his manager from the start. She’d been the one that had seen potential in him and she’d been the one that had taken a chance on him when nobody else would. From the very beginning she had promised him great things, and it was her guidance that had given him the confidence to play bigger and better each time. She’d been so proud of him the day he had scored that winning goal and the two of them had popped open a bottle of champagne the moment he was off the field. He knew that he needed her as much as she needed him. He liked Sally. She was demure in stature, and yet overbearing in nature. She reminded him a lot like one of those small yappy dogs who were convinced they were really an Alsatian. There was something about her sternness and her ability to say things as they were that made her a force to be reckoned with. He liked her non-nonsense style right from the start and so far they’d maintained a good relationship throughout his career. It was customary for them to meet once a week at a coffee shop to talk business and to keep his focus on the game. More and more he had noticed her become frustrated at him because each time he’d arrive with stories of parties rather than ideas for his game. Today was no different.

“Take off your glasses,” she said without saying hello or standing up to greet him. Tate sighed and did as he was told, well aware that his eyes were the same red colour as his shirt. He looked at her and smiled, hoping to gain back her confidence with a bit of flirtation.

“I’m sorry I’m late Sally. But you look gorgeous today. New hairstyle?”

“Seriously Tate? You’re going to flirt with me? Me? Firstly, you’re not my type. Secondly, why the hell are your eyes so red? Wait, don’t answer that. I actually really don’t want to hear another one of your stories. But listen, I have something serious to ask you. Can you explain this?” And with that she held out a newspaper.

Tate had no idea why she was handing him the newspaper but he knew it couldn’t be good news. He glanced at the page and immediately saw the words, “WOMAN CLAIMS THAT TATE ‘THE GREAT’ HENDERSON BROKE UP WITH HER OVER A TEXT MESSAGE. PERHAPS HE’S NOT SO GREAT AFTER ALL.”

Tate could barely look at Sally’s face but he noticed that her hands were shaking as she held out the paper to him. ‘Tate the Great’ had been something that she had spread through the media and was pleased when it had spread like wild fire. Now, it was being thrown back in her face, and he knew that it was because of him that it had happened. “Uh… well… I can explain. This chick was crazy Sally. Seriously. If I had to break up with her in person I probably would’ve been left with bruises. It really was the only way to go about it. Also, it really was not a serious relationship. It could barely be called a relationship at all.”

“Well if you’re not careful you’re going to be getting bruises from me anyway. Tate, you can’t keep doing this. I know you think you’re big stuff and all that, but can’t you see that you’re acting like an idiot. Do you really enjoy this type of lifestyle anyway? You’re turning thirty next week and most of the people you hang out with look like they’ve just finished high school. Do you really want to be seen as the pathetic old guy?”

Straight talking Sally has appeared. Tate sat back in his chair and waited while Sally ordered for the two of them. The waitress had come over just as Sally had finished her speech and Tate was grateful for the intrusion and the brief moment to catch his breath. He wanted to be upset with Sally, he wanted to tell her that her life must be boring and that she had no idea what he was going through. But the truth was that he understood why she was upset. And he knew that he was turning into the type of guy that he had always hated. Just the night before, at yet another party that had turned into an all-nighter, he had looked around and noticed how out of place he really was. If it wasn’t for his career there was no ways that people like this would be hanging out with him. They were all young and gorgeous and it was suddenly obvious to him why they hung out with him. It had nothing to do with his personality and everything to do with his money and his fame. Of course, he liked being richer than he ever thought possible – he’d be lying if he said he didn’t – but the thought that he was almost
buying
his friends didn’t sit well with him. When the waitress left he looked Sally in the eye.

“I’m sorry.”

Sally sighed, a small smile playing on her lips. “I know you are. And look Tate, I don’t blame you. Well, I do, a little. But what I mean is that I know how easy it is for fame to get to someone’s head. But you’re going to be out of this game in no time if you carry on like this. Not only is this lifestyle affecting your game, but you’re also starting to be hated by the public. And you’re a good guy. Well at least
I
know you’re a good guy, even if you pretend to be otherwise.”

“Well, I wouldn’t go
that
far.” Tate said and then laughed. “But what am I going to do Sally? I mean, I’ve done this to myself and now I have to get myself out of it. But even if I stop going to parties and stop messing around with girls, well how long will it take for them to believe me? A bad reputation is way harder to get rid of then a good one.”

“Well…” Sally wouldn’t look at Tate in the eye.

“What’s on your mind? You look like you have a plan.”

“Well, yes, I do have a plan. But I’m not quite sure how you’re going to feel about it.”

“Oh go on, try me. I’m up for anything at the moment. You’re right; I need to start focusing on my career.”

“Okay then, but hear me out okay! There’s one way that you can put your reputation back to where it should be. You need to move from bad boy to good guy and you need to do it quickly. The right type of woman would do that perfectly.”

“What do you –

“Stop interrupting. Just hear me out. The right type of woman. Someone with a good reputation. Someone that people can’t help but love. We need a girl that even the girls can’t be upset about because they like her as much as they like you. You’ll be the couple that everyone wants to be.”

“Okay, but –

“Tate. Just listen. So I know that you can’t just find a girl like that all of a sudden. So what I propose is this. We pay someone to be your wife. Wait! Don’t say anything. And stop giving me that look. It’s not unheard of. People meet their life partners online all the time. So what we do is we look for a personal assistant. And then when they come in for the job we choose the one that we like the most and propose the ‘wife’ situation. Okay, so they don’t have to become your wife. But you guys can pretend you’ve known each other for longer, or we can pretend it was love at first sight, and then you propose. Just until your reputation gets better again. And then, once it has, she can break up with you and you’ll suddenly be the guy that everyone wants to see happy again.”

“Whoa! Sally, that’s kind of a big deal. You’re asking me to pay someone to be my fiancé. To pretend to fall in love. I don’t know, hey. And how do we know that this girl is even going to agree?”

Sally smiled, “The fact that you’re asking me that question means that you’re actually considering it, which is great news. It means you KNOW that I’m right. But come on Tate, you know I’m always right.” Sally started laughing, seemingly delighted at herself and her plan.

“Oh what the hell. I’m probably going to regret this tomorrow. Right now I’m still half asleep. But only if I agree on the woman. Deal?”

“Deal!”
What have I just gotten myself into?