The Millionaire's Unexpected Proposal (Entangled Indulgence) (17 page)

“I’m sorry.”

“I don’t like to think about it.” She met his eyes. “Or talk about it much.”

“I shouldn’t have brought the whole thing up,” Sam said, but his head was spinning with all the information she’d just provided.

“But anyway,” she said, “that’s why I went to the school. It’s a Friends school and they’re really big on nonviolence and accepting everybody, and the people there were just so
nice.
” She grinned. “A little out there sometimes, but really good people. People who make a difference in the world. Plus, they worked with me to get caught up so I’m not a grade behind in school anymore which is great, ’cause that really bothered me a lot.”

Last summer, she told him, she’d gone to Nicaragua to help with a project to bring medical care and other help to people who were so poor they lived on the outskirts of a huge garbage dump and scavenged to get by. It had made her think, she told him, about how truly lucky she was. And how even though she’d lost her parents and been hurt so badly, she had a future and people who cared about her.

Sam was only half listening as Olivia, her spirits revived, dug into her lunch and a series of stories about her experiences at the clinic in Nicaragua. The other half of his brain was trying to process what he’d learned about Camilla and her marriage to Danny.

If he’d been wrong about Camilla’s motivations for marrying her first husband, what else might he have been wrong about? The danger in building a case on circumstantial evidence, he reminded himself ruefully, was that sometimes even though all the pieces added up, the answer you got was still wrong. Could there be some explanation he could understand, and even forgive, for why Camilla had never told him he had a son?

He thought back to all the harsh things he’d said to his wife. If Sam had misjudged Camilla, he owed her a lot more than an apology.

That evening, stretched out on one of the chairs on the terrace with a cold beer while Camilla, Olivia, and JD splashed around the pool in a complicated game of beach ball tag that JD had invented, Sam made a decision. Instead of looking at everything as evidence that his wife couldn’t be trusted, he was going to have an open mind. He’d been wrong about why she married Danny. And he’d been wrong about why she “sent” Olivia off to boarding school. As a trial lawyer, he knew there were times when you just went with your gut. His instincts had been telling him that ignoring the feelings he had for Camilla was a mistake. Sometimes you had to take a risk.

There were still things about her past that troubled him—why she had never contacted him when she realized she was pregnant, and whether her husband had been complicit in her decision to pass the child off as his, or had been deceived into believing JD was his son.

But if she’d really been marrying a man who, according to Olivia, had set out from the beginning to make her life miserable, then her pre-wedding fling seemed sad and desperate rather than wanton and heartless. He wondered for a moment what might have happened if they had met under different circumstances, then realized that he now had the opportunity to find out.

He’d been telling himself all along that the only attachment he’d made to Camilla was the sex. But it wasn’t true. Somehow she’d taken hold of his heart.

“Sam! Sam!” JD shouted, splashing to the other side of the pool as Camilla and Olivia advanced on him. “No fair! Come on, Sam, they’re getting me!”

Why not? Sam thought, as he set his beer down, peeled off his T-shirt and got into the pool, lifting JD onto his shoulders. He easily wrestled the ball away from Olivia and passed it up to JD.

“Okay, buddy, let’s go catch Mommy. Get ready to throw the ball.”

JD laughed so hard he almost fell off Sam’s shoulders as the beach ball bounced off Camilla’s head and she made an exaggerated tumble backward. Then Camilla sneaked around to tickle JD in the ribs and distract Sam, while Olivia bumped him off-balance underwater and toppled JD from his perch. Since the rules of the game seemed pretty flexible, Sam decided that diving under the water and grabbing either Camilla or Olivia by an ankle and dunking them was fair play, to JD’s delighted shrieks. Camilla darted just out of reach, splashing Sam in the face and laughing when he lunged for her and missed.

Then Camilla was right there in front of him, pressing her body up close, staring at him with those sea goddess eyes. Suddenly everything got quiet as she put her hands on his shoulders. Her hair was slicked back by the water, her face tilted up toward his, her eyes bewitching him. He looked into the depths of those intensely blue eyes as she leaned in to kiss him—then shoved him backward and under the water. He gasped, choked, and came up sputtering and laughing. She was already halfway across the pool, a mischievous grin on her face. “I’ll get you for that,” he threatened.

She laughed and said, “Not if I get you first,” grabbing the beach ball from JD and tossing it to Olivia for the score.

The next hour was spent scoring points in a system that made absolutely no sense to anyone but JD, who finally declared himself “the absolutely winner.”

Camilla took “the absolutely winner” upstairs for a quick bath, amid loud protests and sudden tears that left Sam wondering how little kids’ brains worked. He heard Camilla’s good-natured but firm responses to JD’s objections. Parenting really did take patience, and Camilla seemed to have an amazing supply of it.

When JD reappeared he was all smiles, in little bare feet and superhero pajamas. Camilla dropped him unceremoniously onto Sam’s lap and announced that there was just enough time to watch a DVD before bedtime. She headed off to the kitchen for popcorn and drinks, leaving JD leaning contentedly against Sam’s chest. Sam lowered his head close to JD’s damp hair and breathed in the fresh scent of baby shampoo and little boy.

JD looked up at him. “Are you smelling my hair?”

Sam laughed. “I guess I was. Is that okay?”

JD just smiled and snuggled back in. “Mommy does that, too.”

Sam watched Camilla walk back into the room with a beer for Sam, a glass of wine for herself, and some kind of a juice drink that had a little straw sticking out of it for JD. Olivia had retreated to her room to work on a song she was writing on her guitar, but reappeared when she smelled the popcorn.

It all just felt right. While the others watched the animated movie, Sam kept looking at Camilla. Everything about her just seemed so natural this evening. The way she laughed. The tenderness in her face when she looked at JD. How contented she seemed, relaxing on the couch in simple cotton pajama shorts and a tank top. Which was the real Camilla? The glittering socialite on his arm, or the young mother who seemed so comfortable in her own skin? Twice she glanced over and caught him watching her. The second time, after Olivia had again retreated to her room and JD was fast asleep on his lap, she looked puzzled, like she was half expecting him to say something. He felt like there was something he should say, but for once in his life the words just weren’t there.

So he lifted the sleeping JD and carried him up to his bed, while Camilla shut off the TV and gathered up popcorn bowls and drinks. Better to just relax and see how things played out. And try to show her, when they got into bed, the feelings he just didn’t feel ready yet to put into words.

Chapter Seventeen

It just wasn’t possible. Camilla stared at the thin line on the pregnancy test. Positive. It was the third test, and it was unanimous. And that little bout of the flu she’d thought she was coming down with last week obviously wasn’t. How could this have happened to her again?

She put her head down in her hands. The really light period she’d had last month hadn’t been a period at all. And now this month she was late and she was never late, not since she started taking the low-dose birth control pills her doctor had prescribed for that very reason. Low dose. Yes, her doctor had warned her that pregnancy was
possible
although extremely unlikely.

She groaned as she remembered the morning after their wedding, when he’d pulled her in off the terrace by the belt of her robe, and taken her right there against the French doors overlooking the waters off the Florida Keys.

She had just started to think that things were getting better between her and Sam. It had started with the night they made love in the limo. He’d made love to her in their bed almost every night since then, and twice in the kitchen last weekend when Olivia was at the park with JD.

And she’d sensed him softening toward her, not just in the bedroom, but in little day-to-day things. A half dozen times she’d caught him looking at her as if he wanted to say something, but then he’d looked away or they’d been interrupted, and somehow the moment was lost.

All of that was going to be ruined now. He’d think she got pregnant on purpose to trap him.

If she delayed telling him, he’d be furious when he found out. He’d accuse her of repeating exactly what happened with JD.

Why now? Why now when she was so close to the happy ending she’d allowed herself to start to believe in? She was in love with her husband. And he had feelings for her, she was certain of it. But when he found out her news, he would go right back to despising her and she couldn’t bear it.

“Camilla? Are you about ready?” She started guiltily when she heard Sam’s voice and quickly flushed the toilet, stuffing the used tests back into the bag and shoving it to the bottom of the bathroom wastebasket.

“I’ll be right there,” she said, taking a minute to smooth her hair. She felt mildly queasy. Well, at least she knew the reason for it.

It was the day of the annual law firm regatta, an event Sam and his partners hosted for their entire office staff and family members once a year. All the boats would sail across Biscayne Bay, but the real competition was among Sam, Jonathon, and Ritchie. Olivia had told her there were jokes in the office that paralegals and young lawyers were hired by Jonathon more for their nautical abilities than their legal skills.

This event gave a new meaning to the term team-building. Camilla was surprised how absolutely serious everyone from the firm—including spouses and children and a few “cousins” she strongly suspected were brought in as ringers—took the event. And how much fun they all had while being supercompetitive. Despite her queasy stomach, Camilla couldn’t resist climbing on board with Sam and Olivia and JD. Sam’s assistant and her fiancé were also on their boat, rounding out the crew of six. There were twelve boats altogether, their white sails flapping as they headed out across Biscayne Bay, the towering buildings of downtown Miami in the background.

Camilla settled into a comfortable deck chair at the rear of the boat, her main job being to keep JD, in his bright orange life jacket and new white-soled boat shoes that matched Sam’s, out of harm’s way. The water surface sparkled as if handfuls of diamonds had been scattered across it, and the white spray flew into the air as their sailboat cut sleekly across the glassy surface. Sam looked toned and tanned and as at home on the water as he was in the courtroom, and she felt such a strong stab of desire that she had to look away.

The less stalwart members of the group had remained on shore to watch the competition through binoculars. As the water got a little choppier and her stomach lurched, Camilla started to think maybe she should have joined them. Then the sails snapped in the wind, filled with air, and the boat tilted slightly and took off like a shot. She caught her hat just in time and JD screamed with delight.

“It’s so fast, Mommy, fast, fast, fast!” he squealed, and she held on to his squirming little body, while adrenaline surged through her veins. Sam turned back toward them and laughed, and a warm glow washed over her. Olivia’s face was bright with excitement. Sam yelled and pointed and she looked to the side, slightly ahead of them. They were gaining on Jonathon’s boat.

They battled it out for the next forty-five minutes, trading the lead back and forth, the ten other sailboats trailing behind them. When they got to the final straightaway Sam took her hand, pulling her up out of the chair.

“Wait, JD—”

“Got him, sis,” Olivia said, kneeling down to wrap her arms around her little nephew and point over to Jonathon’s boat, which was so close to their side that they could see the expressions of grim determination on the faces of the crew.

Sam pulled Camilla up to the wheel, and the captain relinquished it. Sam put Camilla in front of him, placing her hands on the wheel under his, the strong length of his body pressing against her back.

“No, Sam, we’ve almost won, I can’t—”

“Just hold the wheel steady, love, there’s nothing we can do but rely on the wind now.”

She kept her grip firm, looking to the side to see they were neck and neck with Jonathon. The wind was whipping her face, and despite its chill she felt warm all over and her heart beat a foolish patter simply because he casually called her “love.” Everywhere their skin touched her body felt energized. Her legs grazed his; his arms bracketed and steadied her, melding them together as if they were one person. She leaned back against his chest and tightened her grip on the wheel.

“That’s it,” he said.

She could feel Sam’s strength behind her, surrounding her and supporting her, and the boat seemed almost to take flight.

They finished just a fraction of a second behind Jonathon, leaving his unblemished record intact.

“Oh, well,” Sam said, as the rest of the crew moaned in disappointment. “There’s always next year.”

Camilla leaned back and tilted her head up. “I’m sorry, Sam,” she said.

But he just pulled her closer and leaned his own head down so she felt his warm breath on her neck.

“It’s all right,” Sam said, his voice suddenly tender. “I’ve already won.”

Before she could ask him what he meant, JD was bouncing up beside them, and Jonathon was shouting something from the other boat about second place being quite a good showing for a bunch of landlubbers.

Sam was a good sport posing with his second-place trophy—dwarfed by the monstrosity in Jonathon’s hands—and then they all gathered at the waterfront restaurant.

Unfortunately, even the sight of the seafood buffet wasn’t sitting well with Camilla, and she begged off the glass of champagne Sam offered her and excused herself, claiming the sailboat had made her a little seasick. He frowned after her for a moment, but then got pulled into a heated debate about some rival sports teams. Hopefully, Camilla thought, he wouldn’t notice if she was missing for a while.

She looked in the mirror of the ladies’ room, wet one of the fancy paper towels, then held it across her forehead. Her face looked white and she’d started breaking out in a cold sweat.

She dampened a fresh paper towel and sat on a little couch for a while, closing her eyes and letting the nausea recede. She was there about fifteen minutes and, fortunately, only interrupted once as a woman hurried a little girl into one of the stalls.

“Seasick,” Camilla murmured when the woman came out of the stall, and the young mother nodded sympathetically.

Camilla was pleased with herself when she emerged, looking and feeling refreshed, and saw Sam across the room entertaining JD and some other kids. Good. She hadn’t been missed.

She turned and walked straight into someone, felt a man’s solid chest and a hand under her elbow, steadying her.

“Hey, slow down.” It was Ritchie.

“Sorry, excuse me,” she smiled, and tried to walk around him, but he was still holding on to her elbow. He slipped his arm through hers.

“Why don’t we take a walk outside? You look like you could use some air.”

“All right,” she said, while her mind was swirling. Had he noticed how long she was in the ladies’ room? What could one of Sam’s partners want to say to her?

He steered her out to the terrace and they stood by the railing, looking out at the stunning view of Biscayne Bay and the little fleet of sailboats standing by at anchor.

“So does Sam know?”

Her heart started to pound. “Know what?”

He turned around, leaning against the railing to look at her. “Don’t play games with me, Camilla. Does Sam know you’re pregnant?”

“How did you guess?” She heard her voice come out in a whisper, and her knees felt unsteady.

“I have five sisters. Five. And among them, thirteen nieces and nephews. That’s thirteen times I’ve watched women in my family turn white and shaky at the sight of food. I watched you nibbling plain crackers, turn down a glass of champagne, and disappear into the ladies’ room for twenty minutes. And if I wasn’t sure before, the look on your face right now is telling me I’m right.”

“I haven’t told Sam yet.” She grabbed his arm. “Please, Ritchie, I know he’s your partner, but please, please don’t tell him.”

“I’m his partner, but you’re his wife. That relationship means more to me than to some people.”

She felt her eyes tearing up. He knew she’d entered into a mockery of a marriage, and it offended him. What must he think of her now, as she stood here begging him not to tell her own husband that she was pregnant.

“Camilla, look at me.” He waited until she did.

“How do really feel about Sam?”

“I love him,” she said simply. “I love him with all my heart.”

“Then tell him, Camilla. Tell him soon before he finds out for himself. He’s not a very forgiving man. There are reasons for that.”

“I know. I’m part of the reason.”

“Maybe a small part,” he allowed. “But it goes back long before he ever met you.”

She knew it was true. It was why he’d reacted so strongly when he found out Olivia was at a boarding school. Her heart ached for the little boy Sam had once been, rejected by his father and shuffled away by his mother and her new husband.

“He told me how he grew up.” She sighed. “You and Jonathon have been his family.”

They stood there silently for a while and Ritchie turned back to study another group of sailboats far out in the bay.

“You brought him a real family, Camilla.”

“He’ll think I tried to trap him. I didn’t. It was an accident.”

Ritchie nodded. “The worst thing you can do is hide it from him.”

“It’s hopeless.”

“When there’s love, it’s never hopeless. And marriage is a sacrament. Whether you believe it or not, God also stands behind you and the vows you made.”

Camilla heard the door to the banquet room open and close, and turned to see Sam walking toward them.

“There you are,” he said to Camilla, his eyes warming. “I wondered where you’d gotten off to.”

“Just enjoying the view,” Ritchie said.

Sam gave him a measured look. “Well, make sure it’s
that
view you’re enjoying,” he said, gesturing toward the water. He turned his gaze on Camilla’s face, reached out, and cupped the side of her jaw with his hand. “It’s my privilege to enjoy this one.”

“Well, I’ll take that as my signal to go back inside and look around for some
single
women who appreciate my charm,” Ritchie said.

Camilla leaned forward and rested her head on Sam’s shoulder. Ritchie turned before he opened the doors and gave her a long look, then went back inside.

“Feeling better?” Sam asked. “I should have warned you that sailing is a lot different from riding on a yacht. You need to get your sea legs.”

“I feel a lot better now,” Camilla said. “But I’m tired.”

“Nothing a nice long nap with your husband wouldn’t cure,” Sam said, pulling back to look in her face and wink at her rakishly.

“Do you ever think of anything else?” Camilla laughed.

“Not when I’m around you.”

She sighed and let herself settle back into the comfort of his arms for a few moments before they went back inside. She hoped he’d still have these feelings for her once he knew the truth. But every scenario she played out in her head ended the same way. And it wasn’t a happy ending.