Baby for the Billionaire(159)

“Worried I might croak?”

“Don’t joke about dying.” Juliet gave a visible shiver then leaned across the bed and brushed her lips across his furrowed brow. “There’s nothing remotely funny about it.”

“You could do so much better, my dear,” Frank whispered and Victoria’s own eyes grew dewy.

“Don’t sell yourself short, honey.” Juliet straightened. “Now hurry up, before the nurse comes back and chases us all out. I’ve got witnesses now, so you won’t be able to back out later.”

Victoria exchanged looks with Connor—his eyes were gleaming with humor.

“Juliet, my dear, I’ve wasted a lot of time because I was afraid I’d let you down. I’m certainly no Romeo, but you will bring light to my life if you marry me.”

A funny sensation shot through Victoria.

Juliet loved her father. The emotion in her glowing eyes was unmistakable as she gazed at Frank. But Victoria’s stomach hollowed out at the certainty that Juliet was heading for heartbreak.

Her father wasn’t capable of living up to anyone’s love. He’d even admitted that he hadn’t wanted to propose because he knew he would let Juliet down.

Yet before she could protest she heard Juliet reply, “Of course I’ll marry you, Frank. Tomorrow if you wish. You only ever had to ask.”





Twelve




It was midnight by the time Connor pushed open the front door. The coolness of the night had already settled like a blanket over the house. As they crossed the darkened entrance hall, Victoria finally broke the silence that had clung to her like a heavy pall on the way home.

“You were right,” she said listlessly, “I should’ve invited him—them—to the wedding.”

“Victoria, you couldn’t have known—”

“He called me. He wanted to see me more often. I told him I didn’t believe we could sustain a relationship.” She glanced at Connor. “I was afraid, in case he walked away like he’d always done.”

“You think he’s going to let Juliet down, too, don’t you?”

She spread her hands. “I hope not. But I don’t know. He doesn’t have a good track record at staying—or being responsible. But to be fair, my mother didn’t try very hard either. She just gave up. I thought that was what loving someone meant. Pain and unhappiness.”

“Don’t underestimate Juliet. There’s toughness under that merry cheerfulness.”

“She’d better be made of steel to survive my father.”

There was no bitterness. It was what she genuinely believed. He considered her. “Frank was a bad father.”

“Yes. Between him and my mother, I was determined never to have to rely on someone for money or love. But I don’t think they ever loved each other—they got married because of me.”

Was that why she was so desperate to be successful? Connor wondered. Or was it independence rather than success that she craved? That rang more true. If she could take care of herself, she wouldn’t need to be reliant on a father … or a husband. Suddenly a lot made sense.

It was possible, too, that she saw Dylan as the opportunity to relive her own upbringing. This time with a happy ending.

In a moment of clarity Connor recognized that Victoria had never anticipated a happy ending for herself—her parents had seen to that. Yet she’d married him. He ached for her. She’d chosen to move in with a man she despised rather than leave Dylan vulnerable.

She had backbone all right, this wife of his.

He opened his arms. “Your father is going to be okay. Come, let me hold you.”

“I don’t know whether my father and I can ever find common ground. But I won’t close this door on him again.” She came into his arms without hesitation.

Connor started off intending to give comfort, and found instead that by holding her close, her warmth and softness filled a chasm that he hadn’t even been aware of having.

Last time she’d asked to be held, he hadn’t been ready. He’d been too full of grief.

But now he was ready.

Slowly he inhaled her sweet, feminine scent and realized that he never wanted to let her go. That she had crept into his life, into his heart. That she had become a part of him.

By the time she pulled away, Connor knew that the healing had finally begun.

Victoria stepped into Bridget Edge’s office the following morning and shut the door behind her with a gentle thud. She’d given much thought to what she was about to do. After the shock of her father’s heart attack and Connor’s surprising tenderness in the aftermath, she’d come to the conclusion it was the only option open to her.