The Love Triangle (BWWM Romance) (27 page)

“Yeah. That was the day I had. I have to get married and pop out an heir or the estate goes to charity. Every last drop of it and there is nothing I can do about it.”

The flushed man was as white as a sheet and if she didn’t feel so bad, she may have been able to feel for him. It was clear that marriage was certainly not on his list of things to do, but it was for her. “Well, um, I wasn’t thinking we would get married for at least a few years. You know, we're both still so young.”

It was more of an offer than she had honestly thought there would be, but she shook her head. “No. It's even worse than that.’

“What could be worse than forcing you to get married and have children in less than a year?”

“Well it has been arranged, the marriage and all. I'm to wed into the Black family and merge our businesses.”

This time there was the shock she was looking for. The choice had been taken away from him and even though he hadn’t liked the option, he liked less that he had none. “So what does that mean for us?”

She groaned inwardly. He was pretty, but not very smart. It was pretty obvious what she meant, but he seemed more worried about the immediate moment. “We'll have to break it off and you'll have to move out. I can’t have a man around with my husband in the house. I'm so sorry Baxter, I truly am, but I have to protect my father's empire.”

Baxter swallowed hard and took his own gulp of wine. It wasn’t strong enough as he tried to dislodge the knot that had formed in his throat. “This is craziness. I thought we had time!”

“Baxter, it doesn’t have to be this way. I'm sorry, but it is just how it has to be right now.”

“Do you really think I'll wait for you?” His eyes that were usually so friendly were derisive and he reminded her of James for a moment. There was a look of evil and when he stood up she knew that it was not going to end well.

“Really, I'm sorry, Baxter, but I think you should leave. I'll have your things sent over. I don’t want any more drama. I've got enough of that already.”

“How can you be so damn cold, Dahlia? You act like we haven't shared everything together, laid awake naked all night just to talk.”

She sighed. This was the part that she hated the most and she was starting to second guess the way that she handled break-ups in the future. “I love you Baxter, but you know that I need to do this. If you can wait then when all of the ink is dry, I can quietly get a divorce. It's not like I have to stay married forever. Nothing is forever nowadays.”

Her words didn’t seem to make any of it any better, so she stopped talking. Dahlia watched the different emotions play over his face. Rage was the strongest and longest to linger, but then he seemed to accept something in his mind. “I will wait for you, Dahlia.”

She nodded her head and kissed him gently as he leaned forward. If he was smart, he would know that they would never touch again. They would see each other in passing, but never would they be that intimate again.

“Do you want to spend one last night together?”

Dahlia smiled and laid a dark brown hand on his face. She shook her head, “I can’t. It'll only make it harder to say goodbye.”

He got up abruptly, trying to salvage what was left of his dignity. She didn’t want it to end on such a sour note and even with the false words she knew that was their goodbye. She should have done better, but she had already moved on in her mind. Her destiny now included a man she had met once many years before. She was too young then to see him as anything more than one of her father’s friends.

Dahlia tried to get upset about Baxter leaving, but it felt like they had worked through their time together. She never thought it would be forever anyways. He was her age, but years behind her in maturity. If only she could actually like this Charles guy. If he wasn’t too overbearing and bossy, she just might be able to swing it without losing her mind.

She left a message with her Aunt June and told her that she would be over in a few days. June liked time to prep for visits and since she cooked better than anyone else she knew, Dahlia gave herself a few days to contemplate what was about to happen. She just needed to talk to June about it. See if there was any way around it.

Chapter 2

Charles was not as surprised with the news as Dahlia was. He had known they were destined to be together, ever since he tried to marry someone else the year before. It was set long before Johnston died, but even he was afraid to tell her his plans. Charles, like everyone else in their circle, had heard of Dahlia’s temper. Anyone who read a paper had seen one or two stories that ended with her getting sued and sometimes going into a rage. She was the wild child that was in every family, but even with all of that, she was the best for the business.

He was waiting for the call and though he knew what she looked like and he knew her reputation, not too many people actually knew the woman. It was amazing to him how in recent culture, there was still the need to worry about the bloodlines. It was as if they thought if they kept the wealthy families interlinked, they could only just get richer. Charles had decided then, that he would undoubtedly never love again. At least not until all of the arranged marriage stuff was completed and there was an heir between the two of them. While he was supposed to be married and impregnate her, Charles knew that after a short amount of time, they could get divorced and both move on with their lives.

“Charles, have you heard from Dahlia yet?”

He shook his head, his hands pushing through his collar-length brown hair. It was the third time he had been asked that day. “I'm sure I will hear from her soon enough. You told me that it's in the will, so she'll have no choice.”

“Yes and then we can get the business back on track. Merging with the Williams' will give us more work than we could have imagined. We won’t have to worry about being underbid all the time and the company will go on. The family name will go on.”

He nodded to his uncle. There really was no point in talking to his family. It wasn’t like he had a choice either. It was as if they could not bear the idea of the family fortune being lost forever.

“It will be done as you wish.”

He grumbled as he walked away. Charles saw his weekend as the last one he would have as a single man. With the timeline they had been given, he imagined that the wedding would be soon. The very idea of being with one woman the rest of his life was daunting and it was not the way he had seen it all happening. Charles had thought it would all just be different.

Not one to dwell though, he decided a night out was what he needed. He went to the country club and brought enough money to fill his night with gambling and partying. Either one would get his mind off what would come in the days ahead.

***

“Sir, you got a call while you were out this morning. I told her that you would call her back when you could.”

“Who was it?”

“Dahlia Williams.”

Charles sat up and rubbed his eyes. The time had come and he was a lot less worried than he thought he would be. “Thanks, Dale.” His butler handed him the slip of paper with her name and phone number. Charles stared at it for several moments and then got up. He wasn’t sure how it was all going to work out, but he took a deep breath and dialed anyways.

“Hello?”

Her voice was deeper than he had imagined and he was at a loss of words for a time. He didn’t know what to say, except to say hello back. “Can I help you with something?”

“Yes, sorry this is Charles. Charles Black.”

“Ah, so you're to be my husband and lover. Are you ready to meet or should we just do so on our wedding, like back in the old days?”

He paused, not sure if she was joking or not. If she was, it would be refreshing to say the least. The last thing he needed was an uptight bride that took everything too seriously. “Well I was hoping we could at least meet before the nuptials, but if you would like to wait, well I'm already there in spirit.”

“I suppose we should. See if your DNA will mix well with mine and all. I wonder if we could simply just clone and move on?”

“Nah, I like the old fashioned way best, don’t you?”

She could hear the hint of teasing in his voice. “ I do. When it's good of course.”

“Glad you know there's a difference! So drinks and dinner tonight, my wife?”

“Sure. Do you pick or do I?”

“Well I am the man.”

“Yes you certainly are. Pick me up at eight?”

“Great, see you then.”

He hung up and stared at the phone. What had just happened? Why did Charles feel like he had just been picked up in a whirlwind and shot out the other side? Charles started to see that his new marriage may be many things, but it didn’t look like boring was going to be one of them. He thumbed through some of the articles his phone’s search engine came up with and he looked at the woman he was going to meet that night.

Dahlia was the opposite of what he seemed to be attracted to. While he always had an affinity for petite blonds, Dahlia’s caramel skin and voluptuous curves made him wonder what he was missing. Her dark eyes held a hint of mystery and paired with a sharp mind, he couldn’t see things ever being dull with her around. Charles felt a stirring inside of him and while he tried to play it off as anything else, it was Dahlia that made his heart flutter. If a picture could make him feel that way, it boded well for the rest of the evening. Maybe marriage was just what he needed.

He looked back at himself and decided that a little effort would help speed things along. He brushed his long hair back and picked a suit that hung off him well. There was giddiness inside of him and though he had been dreading the call, he now couldn’t wait to hear her voice again.

Charles chose to drive himself, wanting the quiet ride to give him time to think. There was something in her voice that gave him pause and he just hoped that it wasn’t just him getting worked up. It was probably just his mind justifying something he didn’t want to do, but he kept hearing her laugh in his ears as he drove across town to pick her up. He was still trying to figure out what they were going to do. She could have anything she wanted, so it was hard to find something she didn’t already get for herself. What did he do with a woman who can have anything?

He still wasn’t sure when he pulled up and parked. Charles sat in the car for a moment, his heart racing far too fast. It was the moment of truth and when he got out, a calm came over him. He noticed the smell of gardenias in the air and the crunch of the pebbles under his feet. The house was huge and whimsical, not at all what he had been expecting from reading about her in the paper. As he had been buzzed in through a large gate, the landscape changed. She was bringing him to another house, not the apartment that she had been photographed at many times.

He knocked loud, waiting for the echoes to reach the inhabitants in the house. The door was opened by a young blonde girl and he was ushered in. His eyes did not linger long on the slight girl as they would usually. Charles was there for the lady of the house.

“I'll tell her that you're here. Please sit down.”

She showed him to a small sitting room off of the foyer. Charles was left there for several minutes to take in the art on the wall. Like the outside, the inside of the house was more than just a house. The walls were painted and his fingers touched the paint. It was as if it had just been painted and he half-expected it to smudge off of on his fingertips.

“I redid that room last week. It's dry again.”

Charles turned around to the voice and his heart stopped for a moment. Pictures did her no justice and when she walked towards him, it was as if his feet were rooted to the ground. Charles’ blue eyes met hers and she stopped in her tracks. His chiseled features and hard body, accentuated his manly looks, while his sandy brown hair complemented his complexion. “You did this?”
 

Dahlia nodded, her eyes watching the expressions on his face.

“Do you like it?”

“Yes. Very much so.”

Chapter 3

“Well then, shall we go?”

Charles had to physically shake his head to get it to work again. All he could focus on was her dark red lips, pouting prettily for him. He had so many things he had rehearsed in his head, cute things that would endear her to him so that the marriage would be easier. But he could think of not one thing to say, to break the silence that had engulfed them.

She started out the door and looked back at him expectantly. Dahlia put her hand out and he finally moved to take it. She sighed and pulled him out the door. It was going to be a long night, she thought to herself, or more aptly, a long year.