Page 56 of Brant
“What can I get done in those few hours?”
“A lot. Now go and get started. The earlier you go in, the more you can get done. The green.”
“What?”
“The dress. Wear the green. It goes well with your complexion.”
“Why, thank you.” Her sarcasm had him grinning.
“I love you!” he called after her.
“Bite me.”
His grin faded when she slammed the door shut. Wincing from the pain, he slowly dragged off his sweats and stepped under the pulsing hot shower, whimpering in relief as the jet sprays pummeled him.
“Honey! Look at you. You’re glowing. And this is after being in the hospital for three days. You look great.” Juliet circled the desk, admiring the cut of her dress and the diamond earrings in her friend’s lobes. “You look like a rich man’s wife. Oh, how could I forget? You’re the wife of a multi-billionaire.” Shaking her head, she sat on the chair in front of the desk.
“Oh, just shut up and let me tell you what that gorgeous and exasperating man did.” With her eyes sparkling, Indigo told her friend what she had come home to the day before. “You knew.” Realizing that her friend did not look in the least bit surprised alerted her.
“Of course I knew. Your man contacted me. He had his mother, your housekeeper, and Willow all working together to find out what you would like. The woman is not a bitch after all. Honey, he’s a keeper.”
The emotions started welling up again and she had to tamp them down ruthlessly.
“I love him.” Indigo shook her head in wonder. “And he truly loves me.”
“You doubted that?”
“Of course. He’s Brant O’Keefe and I know what you’re going to say. That I should stop thinking I’m not good enough. But it’s not only his looks and his money. It’s his reputation as well. And to think he could love someone like me. He bathed me.”
“Come again?”
Pushing aside the purchasing invoice, Indigo leaned her hands on the desk and smiled smugly. “He gave me a bath. It’s not the first time.”
“Bitch,” Juliet muttered mildly. “You sure hit the jackpot, and it could not have happened to a more deserving person. I’m happy for you. Now tell me about this wedding.”
“Oh crap! That reminds me, I need to call his mother.”
A month later, she wasn’t pregnant.
She had been hoping against hope that with the problem fixed, she would have conceived. But she wasn’t pregnant, and the disappointment was so keen that she felt it deep in her soul. So, she left the store early and came home. Barely acknowledgingMrs. Holt, who was in the middle of telling her that she had left some lamb and wild rice in the warmer, she went straight to bed, without taking off her clothes.
That was how Brant found her. Mrs. Holt had called in concern that something was wrong with Ms. Indigo. “She usually stays and chats for a little bit, but she went straight upstairs.”
He told her he would deal with it and wondered if she was being paranoid. His wife was tired. Next month they were getting married, and she was in the middle of planning a wedding along with his mother and the wedding planners. And her store was very busy. It was spring, and people were shopping like crazy.
Crossing the room, he sat on the edge of the bed and pulled the sheets down. She had been crying.
“What’s the matter?”
“Nothing.”
“Indigo.”
“It’s nothing.” She wiped her hand across her cheeks. “Are you hungry? I think there’s lamb chops-”
“I don’t give a damn about that. Start talking now. What the hell is it this time?”
Sitting up, she dragged the sheets around her. “I got my period today.”
