She still hadnt had that time. But her first look at the house had touched something inside her. And it did now, even more.
The place was lit up. Snow spiraled in the outside porch lights, and inside lamps shone in the windows like welcoming beacons. Kelly remembered the first time shed seen Kate Fortunes house. Shed grown up on a struggling single moms budget, and the opulence of the home base Fortune mansion had her bug-eyed. It just went on and onthe landscaped grounds, objets dart, priceless rugs, loot and luxuries shed never seen outside of movies. Kelly remembered thinking God, how easy it would be to develop a lust attack for material possessions. But working with Kate had somehow sabotaged her developing that vice. Shed seen firsthand what a life of privilege was about, and shed choose a mortgage anytime over having to live in a museum.
But Macs place was no museum. The house was stone. Two sturdy stories, with gleaming casement windows and gables and arched doorways. Compared to her three-room apartment, it was monster-sizeand she hadnt seen all of itbut the place had so much character and personality that it looked like... well, it looked like a home. Smoke chugged out of the chimneys and snow cuddled in the windowsills. Whoever had cleared the walk had left the shovel in the porch overhang. Maybe an ordinary person could live here. Like the kind of person who would forget to put away the shovel. Like her.
She only glimpsed the front for a second, then Mac punched a button and the garage doors opened. A Jeep already took up one parking placenot a fancy Jeep, but one with mud-crusted tires and a little dent in its fanny. It wouldnt particularly have startled her, except that Kelly had never seen Mac dressed less normally than a suit, formally ready for a shot in GQ. The Jeep is yours?
Yeah. Mac was already climbing out, the Jeep obviously the last thing on his mind. If he hadnt suddenly rolled his shoulders, she wouldnt have realized that he was whip-tired from the challenging drivenot counting everything else that had happened that day. Just head inside, Kelly. No ones hereI cant remember if you met Benz and Martha the other day. They live on the far side of the property, do some housekeeping and chores for me, and Ive lined them up to come in more often. While Im at work, I dont want you here alone, especially when youre this far pregnant. But for a few days, I thought you might want to explore the place on your own and not feel like strangers were hovering over you. If you dont remember the layout, that door leads to the kitchenjust settle in wherever you want. Ill follow you in two secondsI just want to check a few things out here first. The house has a generator if we lose power, and the way this storms building we could be holed up for a couple of daysoops.
Oops? Somehow Kelly didnt think that expression got much of a workout in Macs normal vocabulary, and suddenly there was that potent quicksilver smile again.
Yeah, I dont know where my head was. Here Im rambling on about silly subjects like blizzards, when I should have remembered there are bigger priorities. The bathroom is the first door on the left, he informed her.
She chuckled, and for the craziest moment they shared a smile. A real smile. For an instant she forgot he was a sexy hunk, forgot he was the formidably powerful Mac Fortune, forgot hed been sucked into protecting the woman his brother got pregnant. For that instant, Mac was just...a man. A man with rumpled dark hair and the shadow of whiskers on his chin and a smile that warmed up those cool green eyes. A man she wanted to know. Not had to get to know.
But he had that generator thing he wanted to look at, so she hustled inside. After shedding her coat on a kitchen chair, she kicked off her shoes and peeled promptly for the teal-and-white bathroom she saw off the kitchen.
When she washed her hands, she caught sight of herself in the vanity mirror and immediately considered hiding out in the bathroomlike for the next two weeks. Shed looked worse. She just couldnt remember when. Her fine blond hair was tumbling down, her makeup long gone and the elegant cream satin dress just looked silly over her basketball-size tummy. The bride of Frankenstein surely looked more put-together than this... but objectively Kelly knew that vanity was a pretty silly thing to worry about. Mac had no reason to care what she looked like.
It was just that this was the part of the day shed dreaded a hundred times more than the ceremony. Facing her new husband. Alone. There was no question or worry about intimacyeven if she werent seven months pregnant, she couldnt imagine being the kind of woman who would remotely attract Mac. Besides, hed already broached that lion in its den, and so had she. They had reasons to marry. They had no reason to sleep togetheror to feel awkward about that. But the average new bride would undoubtedly be flying into her lovers arms by now...and Kelly didnt know what to do, what to say, or even how to start the whole business of living together.
Well, postponing it wasnt getting the job doneor making it any easier. After running a quick brush through her hair, she charged out. Immediately she noticed that the back door was bolted and the outside lights shut offand Mac must have hung up her coat because it had disappearedso he was obviously in the house somewhere.
She padded through the kitchen, trying to remember the downstairs layout. The east side of the house held the kitchen, a long dining room with cushioned window seats and then a library/study kind of room with a fireplace and ceiling-tall bookshelves and a fat, plush, Oriental carpet in a million colors. She half hoped to find Mac thereshed already identified that room as a great private havenbut no dice.
Across the hall was a polished staircase leading up, and although she didnt remember much about the west side of the houseshe didnt have to. She promptly found Mac in the giant living room. And one look from the doorway was enough to make restless nerves prowl through her pulse again.
The room was ... stupendous. The ceiling and walls had all been paneled in heart-of-redwood. A stone fireplace arched to the beamed ceiling and was big enough to roast a boar. None of the furnishings were exactly fancy. They were just ultracool guy stuffa ten-million-button entertainment center, throne-size chairs, two long couches, sturdy antiques with a western flavor, fabrics in a forest green that complemented the rich redwood. The whole darn room was perfectat least for a guyexcept for the pile of battered suitcases and boxes all over the place.
Mac had shed his tux coat and unlatched the buttons at the top of his shirt. Until he saw her, he was hunkered down by the hearth, getting a fire going. Flames were already dancing, licking the kindling, warming the whole room with the tangy scent of pinebut all she could see were her waiflike suitcases cluttering up his elegant room.
He stood up with a smile. I was wondering if you got lost.
Id probably better tell you nowIve got the geographical sense of a deaf bat. I can get lost in a room with one door. Youve got a beautiful home, Mac.
Your home now, too. He motioned to the piled suitcases. I had your things moved this afternoon so you wouldnt have to be carrying anything on your ownbut I couldnt guess on the bigger items like furniture. I thought we could go over to your apartment in a few days? And then you could choose whatever you wanted to bring here
Um, most of my stuff is pretty much early-attic. I dont think anything is exactly going to fit in here too well.
Your home now, too. He motioned to the piled suitcases. I had your things moved this afternoon so you wouldnt have to be carrying anything on your ownbut I couldnt guess on the bigger items like furniture. I thought we could go over to your apartment in a few days? And then you could choose whatever you wanted to bring here
Um, most of my stuff is pretty much early-attic. I dont think anything is exactly going to fit in here too well.
Well find room. Or just move some of my things out. For that matter, if you want to redecorate or change something, all you have to do is say. And in the meantime, I didnt mean to dump everything hereor leave it for you to carry. But without asking you first, I didnt know where you wanted to sleep. Do you remember the upstairs?
To be honest, no. Actually she remembered the master bedroomMacs bedroomwith embarrassing clarity. But shed been too nervous that day to pay much attention to anything specific about the house.
Well...upstairs there are five spare bedrooms. I figured youd want to choose twoone to fix up for the baby and one for you? But I didnt know which ones would suit you without asking. I also thought, you must be exhausted after this long daymaybe youd just like to pick a bed to sleep in tonight, and save any other decisions until tomorrow or when you feel up to it.
That sounds fine. I really dont care where I lay my head tonight. Kelly thought this was going like a dreamonly too much so. He didnt seem to notice that her suitcases looked like Little Orphan Annie had come to visit. A small tray on the coffee table held two glassesthe one with milk was obviously considerately meant for her. Hed eased into discussing the sleeping arrangements the same way hed handled the wedding, the drive, everythingKelly didnt know what she expected, but it was never this level of perception and thoughtfulness. He was taking care of her as if she was precious china, for Petes sake, when hed been stuck with this marriage no different than she had.
We can either go upstairs now and get you settled in...or maybe youd like to just put your feet up in front of the fire and unwind for a while
Mac. She reached for the glass of milk and gulped down a slug. Dont you dare say one more kind thing. Youre just making me miserable.
Miserable? Instantly he quit messing with the fire and surged to his feet. Hell, why didnt you say something? It is the baby? Are you sick?
No, no, its not that kind of miserable. I just feel...look, Im disrupting your whole life. Its one thing to believe we had good reasons for doing this, and another to figure out how to be comfortable together. Everywhere I look youve got this great house all set up for a bachelor, and suddenly youre stuck with a woman who goes in for lace curtains and a pink couch. Somehow weve got to figure out how to talk the same language.
Mac looked confused. Theres no problem, Kelly. If you want lace curtains in here
No. Holy kamoly. No. Theyd look awful. The mental picture of frothy curtains against the rich, dark heart-of-redwood almost made her laugh. I didnt mean I cared about anything like that. I just...would you mind if I asked you some blunt, nosy questions?
Of course not. Shoot. He settled in one of the massive forest green chairs and motioned her to take the other.
She considered a straight chairknowing how hard it was to get in and out of anything these daysbut the only straight chair in the room was a mile from Mac. So she sank into the luxuriously fat cushions of the chair across from him and started in. There are so many things we talked about before. I know you realized how frightened I was the night I was attacked
I know. And I just wish I could change things, Kelly, but Im afraid criminals tend to prey on a family like the Fortunes.
I understand that now. But when I fell in love with your brother, Im afraid I never even thought about his being a Fortuneor how that could affect me or my child. She chugged another gulp of milk. What Im trying to say, though, is that your asking me to marry you solved so many things. Just from the angle of protection alone, Ive got you behind me, and the Fortune family and those nice big, tall gates.
And your baby will have a name.
She nodded. Yes. Heor shewill have the last nam hes entitled to, and the family relationships that go with that. Securing a future for my babyMac, thats everything to me. But weve been through all that, too. All those pa pers you had me sign. They were all a benefit to me. To my child. You even built an easy out for me into all those legalese papers
Mac cocked a black-stockinged foot on the coffee table From his quizzical expression, he still didnt understand where she was leading this conversation. The trust we se up for the baby was to secure his future no matter what we choose to do down the road. And we talked about this Kelly. Youre especially vulnerable now, this late in a preg nancyand right after the babys born, too. But those cir cumstances arent going to be the same, down the pike, and that means you could want to make different choices. We both agreed theres no reason this marriage has to last if i stops working at some point.
Kelly again made a gesture of frustration. Yes. Al thats great. I know all the advantages for me and the baby But thats just it. Its so one-sided. What on earth is in this arrangement for you?
Macs eyebrows arched as if the answer to that question should have been obvious to her. It was because of my brother that you were put in danger. We may never know if that jerk meant to kidnap you, but thereve been kidnap pings in the family before. Con artists, thieves, blackmai schemes tried on us. And your relationship with Chad mad the society columns often enough to make the public awar that youre pregnant with a Fortune child.
But it was Chad who put me in that situation. Not you None of it was your fault, Mac.
Fault, no. But responsibility is a different thing. We had a problem on the table that had to be solvedkeeping you and the child safe. If fixing that were as simple as hiring security for you, anyone in the family could have done it. It wasnt that simple. You werent raised in this kind of family. There were risks you had no possible experience to know how to cope with. And money alone was no way to do right for the baby, either. Mac hesitated, and then reached for the glass of scotch from the tray. Did Chad ever tell you much about our family?
Some. Not much. I know your mother died when you were around tenwhich had to be terribly hard for you. And I know youre the oldest, that theres a big age gap between you and the twins. Ive met Chloe, because she and Chad were so close
Thick as thieves, Mac concurred. And much as I love them, both of them are hell on wheelsmy father just seemed to lose heart after Mom died, let them run wild. But Chad has had the hardest time finding his way. I know his good qualities, and I know you do, too. But growing up, I was so much older that I really felt to blame for not being a stronger influence.
She shook her head. I understand what youre saying. You felt extra responsible because the baby was Chads. But this was still your brothers mistake. And mine. Not yours.
Thats my nephew or niece youre carrying. Blood kin. And it could be the closest to a child Ill ever have. Making sure that relationship was a legal tie