Tender Deception: A Novel of Romance (16 page)

“Make up with Jimmy. Help him get back on his feet. Help him get his band together. You love music, Kirk. You know it would be a tragedy to lose a group like that. They have every potential of becoming one of the most exciting jazz bands in the country.”

Kirk was silent, wrestling with his thoughts. His brooding gaze fell on her. “If I consider helping Jimmy, will you give me an explanation of why you have slammed the door on me?”

“It—it was for selfish reasons. I can’t explain....”

How could she tell him it was because she’d fallen in love with him? Her pride wouldn’t let her make that admission.

“Kirk,” she said earnestly, “Don’t let your anger at me stand in the way of helping your brother—”

“I told you I wasn’t angry at you, merely frustrated.”

He turned away from her and stood at the picture window behind his desk, staring down at the river traffic on the Mississippi. He was silent for several moments, deep in thought. Then he said, “Lilly, I’m moving my office out to San Francisco. I recently concluded a deal to lease a nightclub out there. It would be an ideal location for Jimmy’s band. Traditional jazz has a large following on the West Coast. Jimmy’s band would do well.”

Lilly’s heart leaped with joy. “That would be wonderful, Kirk. Jimmy will be so happy!”

“Wait a minute! I didn’t say for certain I would offer him the job. There’s a condition.”

Her momentary joy chilled. “A—a condition?”

“Yes. I’ll offer Jimmy and his band a steady job at the San Francisco club if you’ll marry me.”

For a frozen second there was a stunned silence. Lilly stared at him, unable to believe her ears.
“Marry
you?” she gasped.

“Yes,” he said coolly, giving her a steady look.

“But why in heaven’s name would you want to marry me? You don’t love me.”

“My reasons are my own. What do you say?”

“I—I don’t know what to say,” she stammered.

Her thoughts were chaotic. Under other circumstances, if Kirk were in love with her, his proposal would bring a joyous response. But Lilly struggled to find a reason for his startling announcement, knowing that he was in love with another woman.

She could think of several causes that motivated him. The most obvious were his jealousy directed at his brother combined with his frustrated male ego. He probably was not accustomed to having women say no to him. Her stubborn refusal to have an affair with him had only made him more determined to have her.

“It’s because of the way I feel about Jimmy, isn’t it?” she demanded. “You’re willing to go to the extreme of marrying me to get me away from him.”

His face registered no emotion. “I told you, my reasons are my own.”

“Then I have to guess what they are! I think you’re partly jealous over Jimmy and partly mad because I keep turning you down, so you’ve decided this is the perfect opportunity to get what you want from me. You know I’ll do almost anything to help Jimmy.”

His eyes darkened. “
Would
you do almost anything to help Jimmy?” he asked, a cutting edge in his voice.

She met his gaze with a haughty tilt of her chin. “Yes, I would.”

His eyes gazed at her furiously. He said coldly, “Well, then, this is your opportunity.”

Lilly had no immediate answer for that. She struggled to gain control of her tumultuous thoughts. Being married to Kirk Remington would be heaven if he were asking her out of love. But under these circumstances, it could turn into hell.

“You’re being heartless!”

“Why? That isn’t my intention.”

“You’re trying to bargain with me, aren’t you? You’ll exchange helping Jimmy for my sharing your bed!”

“I’m merely taking advantage of an opportunity. All’s fair in love and war,” he reminded her with a triumphant smile.

“It’s like a deadly card game and you’re dealing from the bottom of the deck!” she cried. “It’s not fair!”

“Just good old American enterprise,” he said, beginning to gloat because he had her backed into a corner.

“That’s how I got where I am in the business world. I’m trained to see an opportunity and seize it.”

“Ruthlessly!” she said tearfully.

He shrugged. “Nothing succeeds like success.”

“Is that the credo you live by? It’s pretty heartless!”

“Not at all. Life is made up of winners and losers. I try to be a winner. If Jimmy doesn’t mend his ways he’s going to be a loser.”

Lilly shook her head. “He’s the real winner. He’s the one with the talent.”

A flash of pain registered in Kirk’s eyes, and she knew she had struck a vital spot.

He looked away, regaining his composure. Then his gaze swung back to her. “Well, Lilly, what’s your answer? Do we get married and start Jimmy back on the road to success? We can fly out to Las Vegas tomorrow and have our wedding night there. Later, I’ll take you to San Francisco with me. You’ll have everything a woman could wish for. Better think twice before turning me down.”

Everything a woman could wish for...except love
, she thought sadly. Loving Kirk as she did, marrying him would demand no sacrifice on her part. He was an attractive, vital man. Sharing his life and his bed would be a thrilling experience. The sacrifice would be in marrying a man who did not love her in return, knowing that whenever he took her in his arms, he would be thinking about another woman...grieving for her....

“You ought to be willing to help your own brother without getting something in return,” she said bitterly.

“Well, perhaps I would help Jimmy anyway. But you have no way of knowing, do you? Then again, I might not. Do you want to take that chance?”

“No,” she whispered. She was silent for a moment, blinking back tears. Then her shoulders slumped. “You win. I’ll marry you—if you promise to help Jimmy.”

Kirk’s face was radiant. He caught her shoulders in the strong grip of his hands. “I’ll have my secretary take you around town to buy a wardrobe for the honeymoon. You won’t be sorry, Lilly.”

She raised her eyes to his, thinking about the beautiful opera star, Marie Algretto, whom he loved.
Are you sure about that, Kirk?
she wondered.

Then he stepped back. “There’s another condition, Lilly.”

She frowned. “What is it?”

“I want you to resign from Jimmy’s band. I want you to put your career in my hands. I promise I’ll promote you to the stardom in the entertainment world that you deserve.”

Disappointment crushed her. “I knew your jealousy was partly behind this. You don’t want me around Jimmy every night!”

“That’s not it. I simply think you’re wasting your time buried in his band. You can go much farther on your own. Trust me.”

“I don’t trust you,” she retorted.

“Suit yourself. But you’ll see—six months from now when your name is on everyone’s lips.”

Lilly thought tearfully,
I only want my name on your lips, Kirk, when you tell me you love me.
But she knew that time would not come.

“Jimmy is going to need help right away,” she said, “he’s flat broke. He doesn’t have the money to buy plane tickets for his band to get to San Francisco. And they’ll need some kind of advance to live on until the job starts. Jimmy doesn’t even have a horn any more.”

Kirk dismissed those problems with an impatient wave of his hand. “I’ll see that he has all the money up front that he needs.”

“It’s not going to be easy. Jimmy has a lot of pride and he’s pretty bitter toward you, Kirk. He may get stubborn and not want your help.”

“Then we’ll just have to talk some sense into him. But you haven’t given me your answer, Lilly. Do you accept my conditions?”

“To marry you and resign from Jimmy’s band.” Lilly nodded tearfully. “Yes,” she sighed. “You win, Kirk.”

His eyes flashed a look of triumph. He drew her into his arms, the look of a conqueror flashing in his gaze. She was unresisting, all the fight drained from her.

For a long, vibrant moment, he drank in the sight of her as their lips drew closer. She sensed a curious mixture of unrelenting strength and tenderness in his embrace.

His hands moved down her back, molding her to him. She quivered as his lips touched hers. His mouth felt warm and inviting. Was there a spark of true caring in his kiss? Could she dare grasp a fragile optimism that Kirk would come to love her, that their marriage might turn out all right?

He pulled back. Lilly searched his face for some clue to his true feelings. But the enigma of Kirk Remington was unfathomable. He remained a total mystery to her. Why would he go to such lengths to possess her when his heart belonged to another woman?

Perhaps his true feelings were as much a riddle to himself as they were to her. He was being driven into this marriage by emotional forces that for the present neither of them understood. She could only wait...and hope.

He suddenly became businesslike. “All right. I’ll keep my end of the agreement. We’ll have a talk with Jimmy. Do you know where we can find him?”

“Yes. I took him to my room last night. When I left this morning he was still sleeping. I’m sure he’s still there.”

The look of glowing triumph faded from Kirk’s eyes. His jaw became rigid. Dark anger flashed in his eyes.

Jealousy was clearly written across his countenance. For a moment, Lilly enjoyed a kind of perverse triumph. Then she said, “Don’t fly into a jealous rage. It’s not what you’re thinking. Jimmy was dead drunk last night. I had to put him to bed somewhere. I didn’t sleep with him. I slept in a chair.”

But she knew Kirk didn’t believe her. Nothing she could say was going to eliminate the jealousy that tormented Kirk.

When they arrived at her hotel room, they found Jimmy awake, looking haggard and unsteady. He had plugged in her little coffeemaker and was smoking a cigarette as he sipped the black liquid. His hand holding the cup was shaking.

Jimmy’s eyes blazed when he beheld Kirk walking into the room beside Lilly. “What are you doing here?” he snarled at his brother.

“You look awful,” Kirk said with a note of disgust.

“Who asked you?”

Lilly quickly stepped between the warring brothers. “Jimmy, we’re here to patch things up. Kirk wants to make you a very generous offer.”

“I don’t need his lousy money,” Jimmy said sullenly.

“Sure, you do just fine on your own,” Kirk retorted.

“Jimmy, calm down!” Lilly exclaimed. “And Kirk, you don’t need to be so sarcastic. Can’t we try to be civilized?”

Jimmy scowled.

Kirk said, “She’s right. Look, I’m willing to let bygones be bygones. We both blew our tops and said things we shouldn’t have. I guess I expected too much from you. I ought to be willing to accept you the way you are. As mad as I get at you, I still love you. You’re my kid brother.”

Jimmy frowned, looking down at his trembling fingers. “You try to push people around too much, Kirk,” he murmured.

“I guess I do. I had a tough time getting where I am. I had to be tough to survive as a roughneck in the oil fields and to make something out of myself. I suppose it made me a little ruthless. But I don’t like to see you like this and I don’t want you to lose your band. You guys have too much on the ball. Let’s shake hands and make a fresh start, okay, Jimmy?”

The younger brother nodded slowly. He sighed, looked up to meet his brother’s gaze and held out his hand.

“Good!” Kirk said, shaking his hand warmly. “Now, I want you to call your guys and tell them to pack up. I’m opening a new club in San Francisco. I want you to be ready to start there next week.”

The dull look of defeat faded from Jimmy’s eyes. In its place came a glint of excitement. “Do you mean it?”

“Of course I mean it. If you’ll stop by my office I’ll have some advance money for you. My secretary will take care of plane reservations for you and the band. How long will it take you to get your men together?”

“A day or two.”

“Fine. Get up there as soon as you can so the band can do some rehearsing before opening night. I suspect it’s rusty after the layoff. Oh, and you’ll need to find another piano player. Lilly has decided to resign from your group. I’m going to promote her as a single act.”

Jimmy looked shocked. He swung a questioning gaze toward Lilly. She blushed, her eyes sliding away from his look. “It’s true, Jimmy.”

Jimmy was frowning, some of the excitement melting out of him. “I don’t get it. Lilly is important to the band.”

Kirk said, “Jimmy, let’s face it. Lilly shouldn’t bury herself in a band. You know how much talent she has. There’s no limit to how far she can go on her own. You want what’s best for her, don’t you?”

“Sure I do,” Jimmy said slowly. “If it’s really what she wants to do.” He was beginning to look at Kirk with a questioning expression.

“I’m going to see that she has every break,” Kirk said. Then, looking directly at Jimmy, he said, “Lilly and I are leaving for Las Vegas tomorrow. We’re getting married.”

Lilly felt a flash of anger at Kirk for being so blunt. She had wanted to explain the situation to Jimmy herself. But obviously Kirk wanted the satisfaction of telling his brother that he had won and from now on Lilly was his property.