Tymber Dalton - Contractual Obligation

“That you’re coming to the Boca house with me next weekend. How about your parents?”

He grinned. “You are formally invited to my mom’s birthday party in three weeks. I’m under orders to get you there even if I have to tie you up and blindfold you to make it happen.”

“Great.” Well, three weeks, she could work up enough nerves by then.

Couldn’t she?

“Let me see your room,” she said. Then she threw her arms around him. “Not that you’ll spend a lot of time there,” she teased, kissing him on the side of the neck.

“I hope you let me get some sleep. You’ll wear me out.”

“Maybe that’s part of my evil plan, did you think about that?”

“Not really, but if it’s death by sex, sign me up.”

He led her upstairs, and she followed him into his room. “Ooh, you are a reader.” He had books ranging from classics to sci-fi and horror stacked on the formerly empty shelves.

“I have a lot more on my Kindle,” he admitted. “These are some of my favorites that I just didn’t want to let go of in print format.”

“I know what you mean. I have a ton of books on my Kindle.” No way in hell would she ever let him see the kind of books that populated her Kindle, however. She walked around to the pictures. “Is this your family?”

She didn’t think she imagined his expression darkened slightly. “Yeah. Mostly.”

One of them was a picture of Doug with a man about his own age, blond and blue-eyed, cute.

“Do you want dinner?” he asked, interrupting her before she could ask who the people in the pictures were.

“No, that’s okay. I ate on the way up.”

“Okay. You realize my family’s going to love you, right? I know you’re nervous about it, but don’t be. Seriously.”

* * *

She smiled. “I know. I…just need to adjust, that’s all.”

Doug sensed Harper was nervous about meeting his family. Understanding her background the way he did, he couldn’t blame her. But he knew they’d love her. All he had to do was convince her of that fact. What bothered him was the fact that he had to cozy up to Harper’s father. He’d seen him a few more times at the office, but nothing more than a few minutes of chatting here and there, usually with Gorden or Harper present.

What if Harrison didn’t like him?

Before he could talk to her about it more, she coaxed him to bed, and soon neither one of them were talking about the other’s family. As Doug held her in his arms later and watched her fall asleep, he hoped he didn’t disappoint her.

He wanted to make at least one person happy.

* * *

The week crawled. Harper let Doug drive them down to Boca in her car. She spent the trip reassuring him. “Daddy likes you. Don’t worry, you’ll see. Everything will be just fine.”

“I hope you’re right.”

When they got there, Harrison gave them a few minutes to get unpacked and settled into their bedroom before they went out onto the lanai to sit and relax before dinner.

“So, what do you make of this?” her father said as he handed an envelope to Harper.

“What is it?”

“Read it.” He sat down on the other side of the lanai and watched her.

The return address was…

“Bill James.” She scowled. She pulled out the letter, handwritten on Keisler Aeronautics letterhead. Basically trying to go over her head to get to her father personally, and accusing her of being rude and unprofessional. He also told her father he didn’t believe Harper had the “necessary business acumen” to do their corporation justice.

“Are you shitting me?” she yelled after she read it.

Her father laughed, nudging Doug. “See? Knew she’d do that. I love it when she gets all fired up. That’s why I showed it to her.”

She shook the letter at her father. “I had a lunch appointment with this rude bastard. I told him no then, and in no uncertain terms.”

He waved away her irritation. “Honey, don’t get your blood pressure up. I’m not about to sell out to that idiot. I don’t even know where he’d begin to find the capital to meet our price tag. Don’t worry.”

She settled back in her chair and gave the letter another once-over before balling it up and sending it sailing into the garbage can in the corner. Nothing but net.

“Not to mention,” her father added, “he didn’t earn himself any brownie points by slamming you in the letter.”

“What did you say in your reply?”

“I e-mailed him back and said that you spoke for the company, and that I knew you’d already refused his offer. Oh, and to fuck the hell off in that direction.” He pointed west, in the direction of the Gulf of Mexico. “Regards, have a nice day, eat shit and die, all that good stuff.”

That mollified her. She should have known her dad would have her back. He always did. The fact that he was swearing in front of her told her how upset the letter had made him as well, even though he did a better job of disguising it with humor than she did. “Did you tell him he’s also a lousy, weasely prick?”

“No, I believe I said something along the lines of ‘fucking asshole,’ but I might have been more polite than that.” He took a pull off his beer. “No one tries to use me to run an endgame around my little girl.” He looked at Doug, tipping the bottle in his direction. “Remember that, son. That’s one of your jobs, to have her back.”

He nodded. “Believe me, sir. I won’t let her or you down.”

Her dad clinked bottles with Doug. “Good man.”

* * *

By the time the weekend ended and they returned home to Tampa, Doug knew he wanted far more than just a friends-with-benefits relationship with Harper.

He loved her.

He didn’t know exactly when his feelings for her changed, but Saturday night when they lay in bed after making love, he realized the thought of walking away from her after his contract ended ripped holes in his heart.

But did she feel the same way about him?

He’d have to wait and see. He didn’t want to freak her out by admitting it too soon.

It also meant he’d have to put the feelings he still had for Tate on a shelf. He missed him like crazy, would love him forever, but it wouldn’t be fair to Tate to string him along.

If Tate hadn’t found someone else already.

In her sleep, Harper snuggled tightly against him. He pressed a kiss to her forehead as he smiled. He would make her happy. He could make her happy.

Maybe, in some small way, it would atone for breaking Tate’s heart.

Harper beat Doug to the trunk. She grabbed the casserole dish and wouldn’t turn loose of it.

Truth be told, she was scared witless. She wanted something to hold on to since showing up with a security blanket—or a bottle of Jack Daniel’s in her hand—probably wouldn’t put forth a good first impression on Doug’s family.

He smiled. “You’re not going to let me carry it, are you?”

She vigorously shook her head.

He leaned in and kissed her forehead. She had to fight not to swoon. Dammit, he was so sweet. She only hoped he really felt about her the way she felt about him. There’s no way in hell she’d admit it until she knew for sure. She didn’t want to look like an asshole and get her heart broken, even though the past few weeks with Doug had been perfectly matched teamwork in the boardroom, and fiery, passionate perfection in the bedroom.

They’d even gone shopping three days earlier for a present for his mom. She’d insisted on buying a necklace with a heart-shaped diamond pendant for her. Doug admitted she didn’t have anything that nice, and when he worried about the price, she shushed him. “She deserves to have something nice from her son. She sounds like a wonderful woman. I want to do this.”

She didn’t want to admit she also hoped the gift would make Doug’s mom overlook any issues she might have with their whirlwind romance.

He put both hands on her shoulders and made her look him in the eye. “They’re going to love you, baby. I promise.”

She nearly dropped the casserole dish right there and threw her arms around him. One of the things she loved about him was his ability to accurately read her mood and offer up just the right thing to say or do to put her at ease.

“I’ve never done this before,” she painfully admitted.

“What, go to dinner at someone’s house?”

“Meet someone’s parents.”

He frowned. “Are you serious? But you’ve probably dated…”

She looked down as she shook her head. She felt her body tremble as he gently turned her chin so her gaze met his. “I’m really not good at this, Doug,” she softly admitted.

His eyes searched her face. She didn’t know what he was looking for, but she hoped whatever it was, he found the answer he wanted. He leaned in and gently kissed her on the lips. As he did, his hands closed around hers, keeping the casserole dish from dropping to the walk and shattering all over the place. As he lifted his mouth from hers, he pressed his lips to her ear.

“They will love you almost as much as I do.”

She couldn’t feel her feet. She realized he, somehow, now held the baking dish.

She swallowed hard. “What?” she whispered.

“I. Love. You. Harper Wells, I love you. And I’ll sign whatever prenup you want me to just to prove it. I don’t want your money. I only want you.”

She wanted to seriously jump his bones right then and there. “I love you, too,” she managed through trembling lips. No one but her family had ever said that to her.

Then he was looking into her eyes again. Those sweet, deep-brown eyes of his that melted her right to the center of her core.

He smiled. “Let’s go introduce you to the family.”

* * *

Carl and Sarah Holt were generous and gracious hosts. She was immediately reminded of Gorden and Olivia. Tina and Eileen were also very nice and welcoming, although she couldn’t help but notice a few odd looks Tina gave her brother from time to time.

She blanched when she saw Sarah’s bandaged foot. She realized with some shame that she’d never probed Doug for details about his mom’s illness.

Sarah smiled. “It sucks getting old,” she joked. “I suppose, as everyone keeps telling me, it beats the alternative. The doctors and everyone around here are on me to lose weight, so I’ve started exercising. Dropped ten pounds so far, but it’s hard until that heals.” She pointed to her foot.

“What happened?”

“Diabetes. Fortunately, they only had to take a couple of my toes.”

“You’re lucky, Mom,” Eileen scolded. “What are we supposed to do without you?”

Harper had to fight not to run from the room. She had worked so hard to keep her secret from Doug, and here it was, laid out before her.

I have to tell him, she realized. I have to tell him tonight. Guilt ate at her that she hadn’t revealed it to him sooner, yet she also felt like an idiot for taking great pains to hide it from him. She struggled to not start giggling with relief right then and there. She couldn’t tell him in front of everyone, because it’d be difficult to explain to everyone why she hid it. He would understand, though.

She knew it, even though she felt guilty for holding back that last, miniscule in the grand scheme of things, bit of trust.

Their meal was wonderful. After eating, Doug helped his father get his mother out to the lanai. Harper went into the kitchen to help Tina and Eileen with the dishes. They were talking when she heard a knock on the front door. She couldn’t see what was going on from the kitchen, but she heard Doug’s voice and another man’s voice. Then they disappeared as Doug apparently stepped outside. She heard the front door close.

She was putting away a baking dish in a cabinet when she glanced out the window that looked onto the street. She saw Doug talking with another, familiar-looking man, slightly shorter than him. Blond, probably blue eyes from the light cast to them. She watched as they talked for a moment, then hugged.

Then Harper realized he was the man she’d seen in one of the pictures in Doug’s room.

Tina, who’d stepped behind her, gasped before she whispered, “Oh, no.”

The other man reached up to his face and brushed his hands across his eyes. He’s crying. “Who is he?” Harper asked.

Her expression turned sad. “That’s Tate Gillis. Doug’s ex-boyfriend.”

Shock churned her gut. “What?”

“Doug’s ex. He’s bi.” She looked puzzled. “Didn’t he tell you? He broke up with him when he took the job. They were together for a couple of years. We all figured they’d settle down together. Doug told us he didn’t want to put Tate through the crazy schedule he’d have to work.” She sighed as she glanced out the window. “He was a real sweetie.” Then she seemed to remember who she was talking to. “Sorry. I didn’t mean it to sound like that. Tate got a promotion right after Doug got the job with you. He said he didn’t want to take Tate from that. They parted friends.”