Chapter 47
“Your house isn’t safe,”my mother said as we rose from the table.
“We’ve been staying at the clubhouse,” I said.
My mother blinked. “The clubhouse? Right. It’s going to take me a little while to adjust to the truth of his identity.”
“We weren’t trying to hide it from you,” I began.
“Yes, we were,” Bones interjected with a roguish smile. “Just long enough for you to realize I’m the right choice for your daughter. And then we were going to tell you the truth. Honest.”
My mother laughed and shook her head. “Your father would’ve had a field day with this one. Can you imagine?”
I looked at Bones. “I can imagine, yeah.”
“I’m just impressed that you held your own the night of the charity gala,” Mom said. “You actually looked like you enjoyed yourself.”
“I did,” Bones stated.
“I hate to even bring this up, but I have to know the truth—did you sign a prenup?”
“Yes, I did,” Bones said. “You have nothing to worry about. I’m not after Hayden’s money.”
My mother’s expression softened at Bones’ answer. “So, are you returning to the, ah, clubhouse?”
“I guess so,” I said.
“No,” Bones replied. “I’ve taken care of security at Hayden’s house. We can go back there.”
I shot him a look.
He winked.
“Besides, we’re married now,” Bones went on. “There’s no benefit to hurting Hayden anymore.”
“I’m still in shock that Arnold is behind all this,” Mom murmured. “I mean, I believe you. Of course I believe you. I just wish we had solid proof that he did all this.”
“There’s no trail. Not really,” Bones said. “Just deductive reasoning on our end, which isn’t enough to actually do anything other than protect the company and Hayden.”
Mom reached for her phone. “Hold on a second.” She unlocked her cell and pressed the screen and put it to her ear. A moment later, she said, “Stanton, I don’t have time to explain, but I need you to do something for me. Under no circumstances is Arnold allowed back into the house. I’ll explain why later.” She paused and looked at me. “All right. Thank you.”
Mom hung up with Stanton. “We’ll go through his home office and see if we can find anything incriminating. Though I’m not even sure what to look for.”
“We’ll meet you at the house,” Bones said.
Mom nodded.
“What are you going to do about Arnold?” I asked.
“Call my attorney and begin divorce proceedings.” Mom’s face hardened. “I never should’ve married him so soon after Kellan’s death, but he…”
“Said all the right things,” I said.
“Yes. I did love him. Not like your father. Not anything like your father, but still…” She shook her head like she was trying to banish the thought from her mind. “Why didn’t you tell me about the man who tried to mug you? You purposefully kept that from me. Why?”
When I didn’t reply, she went on, “The truth, Hayden. I can take it.”
“I wanted to protect you,” I said quietly. “Daddy’s death was so hard on you; I wasn’t sure that you’d…”
“Be able to handle it?” She raised her brows. “That’s my fault if you thought you had to keep something of this magnitude from me. You may think I’m fragile, but I’m your mother. I have the right to know these things. Don’t hide them from me anymore.”
“Okay.”
“I’ll head back home and then see you both in a bit, right?” Mom asked.
I nodded. “Before we leave, I want to show Bones Dad’s old office.”
Her gaze softened. “He’d be so proud of you for what you did today.”
“I don’t know about that,” I said with a self-deprecating laugh. “I haven’t done much to deserve the praise.”
In a maternal gesture I was entirely too old for, Mom brushed a finger along my cheek. “I would have to disagree.”
“Me too,” Bones said as he wrapped an arm around my shoulder and pulled me toward him.
Mom smiled at him. “Normally, I’d be concerned at the speed of your relationship, but now I know I have nothing to worry about.”
“Nothing at all,” Bones assured her.
The three of us finally left the conference room and I hugged her goodbye at the elevator. My mother turned to Bones and embraced him. “Welcome to the family.”
The doors to the elevator opened and she stepped into them. She snapped her spine straight just as the doors closed.
Bones took my hand in his. “Show me your dad’s office.”
With a nod, I turned the other direction, and we walked past the receptionist.
“I can’t figure it out,” Bones said.
“Figure what out?”
“Your mother. You told her that her husband was behind the attempts on your life, and she hardly batted an eye.”
We stopped at the door at the end of the hallway. “She’s holding it together. Tonight, she’ll have Stanton make her a drink and she’ll sit and process. Until then, she’ll bury it. That’s just how she is.” I gestured to the door. “Here we are.”
I reached for the knob and twisted it. The office hadn’t been touched. It looked the same as it did three years ago. It might’ve been a waste of an office, but neither my mother nor I had the heart to clean it out. Someone came in once a week to dust and vacuum.
The bookshelves were lined with leather-bound books, the brass lamp on my father’s heavy, dark wood desk rested on the corner, and the high-backed leather office chair was just as I remembered it.
I walked over to the window that overlooked the courtyard. The stone fountain in the shape of an angel spouted water and dribbled into the pool. “When I was in high school, I used to meet him here after classes. He’d take me to get gelato and spoil my dinner.”
I looked at Bones over my shoulder and smiled. “He’d get pistachio, and I always got mint chip.”
“It’s a nice memory,” Bones said, shoving his hands in his trouser pockets.
“It is,” I agreed. I looked around the office. “I haven’t been in here in three years. I guess this is my office now. I thought…”
“You thought?”
I rubbed my sternum. “I thought it would hurt. Being in here.” I closed my eyes. “I swear I can still smell his cologne.”
I kept my eyes closed even as I heard Bones trek across the carpet. He wrapped his arm around me, and I buried my face in his chest.
“Duchess?”
“Hmm?”
“What the fuck is gelato?”
I leaned back to peer up at him. “Seriously?”
He shrugged.
I grinned. “Come on. I’m about to change your life.”
“There’s nothing here,” my mother said after two hours of digging around in my stepfather’s home office. She collapsed into his chair and looked defeated.
“Did you really think we were going to find anything incriminating?” I asked.
“No, but I’d hoped.” She glanced at her cell phone that rested on the desk. “Still no word from Arnold. I thought for sure he’d call so I could at least tell him I was starting divorce proceedings.”
The door to the office opened and Bones entered. “Any luck?”
“None,” I announced.
“The boys have finished changing the locks on the doors and I changed the front gate passcode for you.”
“Thank you, Royce. Who knew having a son-in-law in private security would come in handy.”
“Private security?” Bones repeated. “Is that the PR spin we’re putting on my job?”
“Hmm. You catch on quickly,” Mom teased. “Though, I have several friends that are always on the lookout for security detail as well as home monitoring. How are you with computers?”
“I can turn them on,” Bones said dryly. “You’d need someone in the tech field to get involved for the level of security I think you’re talking about.”
“Well, something to consider.” Mom shrugged her elegant shoulders. “Let me know if it’s something you want to consider.”
Bones’ brow furrowed in pensive thought. “I’ll think about it.”
Mom looked at the dainty Rolex on her wrist. “I think it’s time to take a break. We missed lunch. I can have Paula make us an early dinner.”
“Oh.” I bit my lip. “Actually, Bones is taking me out to dinner to celebrate our marriage.”
Mom’s gaze softened. “Of course he is. That reminds me…” She walked toward the door. “I’ll be right back. Don’t leave yet.”
She left us alone in the office and Bones took a seat on the dark leather Chesterfield.
“Where’d she go?” Bones asked.
“I don’t know,” I admitted. “Your guess is as good as mine.”
My mother returned to the office a few minutes later. “I wanted to give you this before you left.” She handed Bones a black velvet jewelry box. “I stopped off at the bank before I came back home.”
Bones opened the box to reveal my grandmother’s sapphire and diamond ring that I’d wanted as my engagement ring since I was sixteen years old.
Without a word, Bones plucked it from its velvet bed, picked up my hand and slid it onto my finger. He stared at me while he did it, a silent conversation passing between us.
My mother swiped the corner of her eye. “It’s perfect.” She hugged Bones and then embraced me. “Have fun tonight,” she whispered. “Don’t think about anything else except celebrating your marriage.”
Stanton held the front door open while he glared at Bones.
“Be nice,” I whispered to the aging butler. “He’s my husband now.”
Stanton harrumphed.
“Next time we come over, I promise he’ll bring you a bottle of your favorite Courvoisier. All right?”
He harrumphed again.
I hugged the butler who’d been a part of my family for as long as I could remember. He’d been informed of the circumstances surrounding our sudden marriage but would remain protective of me and my mother no matter what. “Please take care of my mother. I’m sure she’s waiting for the sun to go down before she starts in on the martinis.”
“It’s been a hard day,” Stanton said. “For both of you. I’ll keep an eye on her as best I’m able.”
I nodded.
Bones placed his hand at my waist and guided me toward the waiting town car. I climbed in first and he followed.
I leaned my head against his shoulder and quickly fell asleep.
“Duchess,” Bones rasped, his hand gently squeezing my thigh.
“Hmm?”
“We’re home.”
I reluctantly opened my eyes and lifted my head. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to fall asleep.”
He looked at me. “We don’t have to go out tonight. We can order in.”
I shook my head. “No. We have to celebrate. There’s plenty of nights to stay in.”
His gaze heated. “I’m starting to think going out is the worst idea in the world and I’m an idiot for even suggesting it.”
I laughed. “Come on. Let’s go have a beautiful meal. I promise you can ravish me later.”