chapter Nine
“Aunt Beatrice,” Liam said, trying to sound upbeat.
After the maître d’ had led Francesca and him to the table where the older woman was seated, she looked up at him and frowned. “Liam, do you ever wear a tie?”
He smiled, pleased he’d finally pushed her far enough to mention it. And now he got the joy of ignoring her question. He turned to his left and smiled. “This is my fiancée, Francesca Orr. Francesca, this is my great aunt, Beatrice Crowe.”
Francesca let go of his hand long enough to reach out and gently shake hands with the Queen Bee. “It’s lovely to meet you,” she said.
Aunt Beatrice just nodded, looking over his fiancée with her critical eye. Liam was about to interrupt the inspection when she turned to him with as close to a smile on her face as she could manage. “She’s more lovely in person than she is in her pictures, Liam.”
He breathed a sigh of relief and pulled out Francesca’s chair for her to sit. He hadn’t been looking forward to this dinner. In fact, he’d deliberately not told Francesca about it until after the gala was wrapped up. She would just worry, and there wasn’t any sense in it. His aunt would think and do as she pleased.
“I can’t agree more,” he said.
The first few courses of the meal were filled with polite, stiff pleasantries. His aunt delicately grilled Francesca about her family and where she came from. She was subtle, but Liam knew she was on a fishing expedition.
Francesca must’ve realized it also. “So what brings you to D.C.?” she asked, deflecting the conversation away from herself.
Liam swallowed his answer—that she was here to check up on him and their agreement.
“I’m speaking before a congressional committee tomorrow,” Aunt Beatrice said, allowing the waiter to take away her plate.
She had mentioned that before, but Liam thought it had just been an excuse she’d made up. “What for?” he asked.
His aunt’s lips twisted for a minute as she seemed to consider her words. “I’m speaking to a panel on federal funding for cancer treatment research.”
Liam couldn’t hide his frown. He also wasn’t quite sure how to respond.
“Have you lost someone to cancer?” Francesca asked. Better that she ask the question because she had no real knowledge of her family history, as Liam should.
“Not yet,” Beatrice said. “But the doctors give me about three to six months. Just enough time to get my affairs in order before I take to my bed permanently.”
Liam’s glass of wine was suspended midair for a few moments before he set it back down. “What?” He couldn’t have heard her correctly.
“I’m dying, Liam. I have stage four brain cancer and there’s nothing they can do. Some of the treatments have shrunk the tumor and bought me a little more time, but a little more is all I’m going to get.”
Unable to meet her eyes, his gaze strayed to her perfectly curled gray hair and he realized, for the first time, that it was a wig. How long had this been going on? “When did this happen? Why haven’t you told anyone?”
At that, his aunt laughed. “Please, Liam. The sharks have been circling me for years. Do you really think I’m going to let them know it’s close to feeding time?”
That was a true enough statement. The vultures had been lurking outside her mansion his whole life. This must be why she was so insistent on Liam marrying and taking over as head of the family. She knew the shoes needed to be filled quickly. She’d given him a year knowing she’d never live to see it come to fruition.
She’d been silently dealing with this for who knew how long. Worrying about her estate planning and altering her will even as she went for treatments and reeled from the aftereffects. “How can you go through this on your own? You need someone with you.”
“I have someone with me. Henry has been by my side for more than forty years. He’s held my hand through every treatment. Sat by me as I cried.”
Henry. He’d never understood why her butler stayed around, even at his advanced age. Now perhaps he comprehended the truth. Neither of them had ever married. They’d grown up in a time where they could never be together due to the wide social chasm between them, yet they were in love. Secretly, quietly making their lives together without anyone ever knowing it.
And now Henry was going to lose her. It made Liam’s chest ache for the silent, patient man he’d known all his life.
“I don’t know what to say, Aunt Beatrice. I’m so sorry.”
“Is there anything we can do?” Francesca asked. Her hand sought out his under the table and squeezed gently for reassurance. He appreciated the support. Like her mere presence at his speech, knowing she was there made him feel stronger. As if he could handle anything.
“Actually, yes. I’d like the two of you to get married this weekend while I’m in town.”
Anything but that.
“What?” Liam said, his tone sharper than he would’ve liked after everything they’d just discussed.
“I know our original agreement gave you a year, but I’ve taken a turn for the worse and I’m forced to move up the deadline. I want to ensure that you go through with it so I have enough time to have all the appropriate paperwork drawn up. I also want to see you married before I’m too much of an invalid to enjoy myself at the reception.”
Francesca’s hand tightened on his. It was never meant to go this far. He never expected something like this. “This weekend? It’s Monday night. That’s impossible.”
“Nothing is impossible when you have enough money to make things happen. I’m staying at the Four Seasons while I’m here. I spoke to the manager this morning and he said they could accommodate a wedding and reception there this Friday evening. They have a lovely terrace for the ceremony and the Corcoran Ballroom is available for the reception.”
Liam felt a lump in his throat form that no amount of water or swallowing would budge. He turned to look at Francesca. Her gaze was focused on her plate, her expression unreadable. She looked a little paler than usual, despite her olive complexion. Obviously, she was as pleased with this development as he was.
“I see no reason for you to wait any longer than necessary,” his aunt continued, filling the silence at the table. “After all, you’ve found a lovely woman. By all accounts you two seem to be very much in love.”
Her pointed tone left no doubt. His aunt had nailed them. He thought they had put on a good show. That it would be enough to pacify her until he could find the funding to buy her out. But he’d already heard from his accountant. The amount of money he needed was nearly impossible to secure, especially with the network in such a vulnerable place. They were looking at some other alternatives, but it would take time. Certainly longer that the few days they’d been given with her new deadline. That would take a miracle.
The Queen Bee was calling their bluff and he had too much riding on this hand to fold.
The waiter arrived then, setting their dessert selections in front of them. His aunt had never been much for sweets, but he noted a glimmer of pleasure in her eye as she looked down at the confection before her. He supposed that once you know you’re going to die, there was no sense holding back on the things doctors told you were bad for you. What was the point?
Aunt Beatrice lifted a spoon of creamy chocolate mousse and cheesecake to her mouth and closed her eyes from pleasure. Liam couldn’t find the desire to touch his dessert. He’d lost his appetite.
“Don’t make my mistakes, Liam. Life is too short to wait when you’ve found the person you want to spend your life with, I assure you.”
At that, Francesca pulled her hand from his. He suddenly felt very alone in the moment without her touch to steady him. “We’ll have to discuss it, Aunt Beatrice. Francesca’s family is from California. There’s a lot more to pull together than just booking a reception hall. But we’ll be in touch.”
Liam pushed away from the table to stand and Francesca followed suit.
“Aren’t you going to finish your dessert?” his aunt asked, watching them get up.
“We’ve got a lot to sort out. I’m sorry, but we have to go.”
His aunt took another bite, not terribly concerned by their hasty exit. “That’s fine. I’ll take it back to the hotel with me. Henry will enjoy it.”
*
Liam’s car pulled up outside Francesca’s town house, but neither of them got out. It had been a silent drive from the restaurant. They must’ve both been in some kind of shock, although Francesca was certain they had different reasons for being struck mute.
When his aunt first started this, Liam had asked Francesca to be his fake fiancée. There was never even a mention that they would actually get married. He assured her it would never go that far. It seemed safe enough, even as she could feel herself slowly falling for him. Nothing would come of it, no matter how she felt. She wanted the kind of marriage Liam couldn’t offer, but they only had an engagement.
Marrying Liam was a completely different matter.
Not just because it would never work out between them. But because a part of her wanted to marry him. She loved him. She wanted to be his bride. But not like this. She wanted to marry a man who loved her. Not because he had a metaphorical shotgun pointed at him.
When Liam killed the engine, she finally found the courage to speak. “What are we going to do?”
When he turned to her, Francesca could see the pain etched into his face. He was facing the loss of everything he’d worked for, and he wasn’t the only one. She might not agree with Aunt Beatrice’s methods, but she understood where the woman was coming from. Desperation made people do crazy things. This was an ugly situation for everyone involved.
“She called my bluff. I’m just going to have to call hers. Tomorrow I’m going to tell her that the engagement was a setup and that we’re not getting married. I don’t think she’ll sell her stock to Wheeler. It’s not what she wants. She’s a woman accustomed to getting her way, but she’s not vindictive.” He ran his hand through his hair. “At least I don’t think she is.”
Francesca frowned. She didn’t like the sound of that plan. She didn’t exactly get a warm maternal feeling from the Crowe family matriarch. His aunt had nothing to lose. If she was willing to go so far as to force him into marriage, she had no doubt she’d follow through with her threat. “You can’t risk it, Liam.”
“What choice do I have? I can’t ask you to really marry me. That wasn’t a part of the deal. I never intended for it to go this far.”
Neither did she, but life didn’t always turn out the way you planned. “When would you get the balance of the stock?”
Liam sighed. “It doesn’t matter. I’m not doing it. She’s taken this way too far.”
“Come on, Liam. Tell me.”
“I have to be married for a year. The ANS stock would be an anniversary gift, she said.”
A year. In the scheme of things it wasn’t that long. But she’d managed to fall in love with Liam in only a few weeks. A year from now, how bad off would she be? That said, the damage was done. Maybe a year of matrimony would cure her of her romantic affliction. It might give her time to uncover all his flaws. It was possible she wouldn’t be able to stand the sight of him by May of next year.
And even if she loved him even more…what choice did they have? Their network would be destroyed. They were both too invested in the company and the employees to let that happen. Her heart would heal eventually. It was a high price to pay but for a great reward.
“We have to get married,” she said.
Liam’s eyes widened. “No. Absolutely not.”
She couldn’t help the pout of her lower lip when he spoke so forcefully. She knew what he meant, but a part of her was instantly offended by his adamancy. “Is being married to me so terrible that you’d rather risk losing the network?”
Liam leaned in and took her face in both his hands. He tenderly kissed her before he spoke. “Not at all. I would be a very lucky man to marry you. For a year or twenty. But I’m not going to do that to you.”
“To me?”
“Yes. I know you’re a true believer. You want a marriage like your parents. I’ve seen your face light up when you talk about them and their relationship. I know that’s not what I’m offering, so I won’t ask you to compromise what you want, even for a year.”
She couldn’t tell him that he was what she wanted. If he thought for a moment that their arrangement had turned into anything more than a business deal, he would never agree to the marriage. He’d chosen her because he thought she could keep all of this in perspective. Knowing the truth would cost ANS everything.
Francesca clasped Liam’s hands and drew them down into her lap. “I’m a big girl, Liam. I know what I’m doing.”
“I can’t ask you to.” His brow furrowed with stress as he visibly fought to find another answer. They both knew there wasn’t one.
“You are the right person to run ANS. No one else can get the network back on top the way you can. Ron Wheeler might as well carve up the company if you’re not running it because the doors will be closed in a few months’ time.” She looked into his weary blue eyes so he would know how sincere she was. “It’s just a year. Once you get your stock, we can go our separate ways.”
“But what about your friends and family? It’s one thing to lie about an engagement that gets broken off. But to actually get married? Can you look your father in the eye and tell him you love me before he walks you down the aisle?”
Francesca swallowed the lump in her throat. She was very close to both her parents. They could read her like a book, and even as a teenager she couldn’t lie to them without getting caught. This would be hard, but she could do it because it was true. Just as long as they didn’t ask if he loved her…
“Yes, I can.”
“What about your town house? You’ll have to move in with me.”
That would sting. Francesca loved her town house. She could hardly imagine living anywhere else. But she saw the potential in Liam’s place. She could make that place her own for a while. “I’ll rent out my town house.”
“You don’t have to do that. It’s only fair I cover your expenses to keep it up even while you’re not living there.”
“Don’t you think your aunt would find it odd if the place was left vacant?”
“This is going to sound a little harsh, but if what she says is true, she won’t be around long enough to know what we’re doing. She will probably write the marriage stipulation into the stock agreement, but she can’t dictate what you do with your real estate holdings.”
Francesca wouldn’t put it past her. She didn’t seem like the kind of woman who missed anything. “I suppose we can worry about the details later.” She waited a moment as she tried to process everything they’d talked about. “So…is it decided then? We’re getting married this weekend?”
Liam sat back in his seat. He was silent for several long, awkward minutes. Francesca could only sit there and wait to see what he said. “I guess so.”
“You’re going to have to work on your enthusiasm pretty quickly,” she noted. “We’ll have to tell our families tonight so they have enough time to make travel arrangements.”
He nodded, his hands gripping the steering wheel as though someone might rip it away from him. “I’ll have Jessica call Neiman’s again and get you a bridal appointment. Can you call Ariella and Scarlet tomorrow? They did a good job on the engagement party. Maybe they can pull off a miracle of a wedding in three days.”
“I can. They’ll think we’ve lost our minds.”
Liam chuckled bitterly. “We have. Let’s go inside,” he said.
They went into her town house, and Francesca went straight into the kitchen. She needed something to take the edge off and she had a nice merlot that would do the trick. “Wine?” she asked.
“Yes, thank you.”
Liam followed her into the kitchen as she poured two large goblets of wine. When she handed him his glass, he looked curiously at her hand for a moment before he accepted it. “Can I see your ring for a minute?”
Francesca frowned, looking at it before slipping it off. “Is something wrong with it?” She hadn’t noticed any missing stones or scratches. She’d tried really hard to take good care of the ring so she could return it to him in good shape when it was over.
“Not exactly.” Liam looked at it for a moment before getting down on one knee on the tile floor.
Francesca’s eyes widened as she watched him drop down. “What are you doing?”
“I asked you to be my fake fiancée. I never asked you to marry me. I thought I should.”
“Liam, that isn’t neces—”
“Francesca,” he interrupted, reaching out to take her hand in his own. “You are a beautiful, caring and passionate woman. I know this isn’t how either of us expected things to turn out. I also know this isn’t what you’ve dreamed about since you were a little girl. But if you will be my bride for the next year, I promise to be the best husband I know how to be. Francesca Orr, will you marry me?”
She underestimated the impact that Liam’s proposal would have on her. It wasn’t real. It lacked all those critical promises of love and devotion for her whole life, but she couldn’t help the rush of tears that came to her eyes. It felt real. She wanted it to be real.
All the emotions that had been building up inside her bubbled out at that moment. Embarrassed, she brought her hand up to cover her mouth and shook her head dismissively. “I’m sorry,” she said. “Just ignore me. It’s been a rough couple of weeks and I think it’s catching up with me.”
“That wasn’t the reaction I was hoping for,” he said with a reassuring smile.
Francesca took a deep breath and fanned her eyes. “I’m sorry. Yes, I will marry you.”
Liam took the ring and slipped it back onto her finger. He rose to his feet, still holding her hand in his. His thumb gently brushed over her fingers as he brought her hand up to his lips and kissed it. “Thank you.”
Francesca was surprised to see the faint shimmer of tears in his eyes as he thanked her. It wasn’t love, but it was emotion. There was so much riding on this marriage. She had no doubt that he meant what he said. He would be as good a husband as he could be. At least, as good as he could be without actually being in love with his wife.
Liam pulled Francesca into his arms and hugged her fiercely against him. She tucked her head under his chin and gave in to the embrace. It felt good to just be held by the man she loved. As she’d said before, this had been an emotionally exhausting couple of weeks. The next year might prove to be just as big a challenge. But somehow, having Liam hold her made her feel like it just might work out okay.
It felt like he held her forever. When he finally pulled away, they both had their emotions in check and were ready to face whatever the next week might hold for them.
“It’s official then,” he said with a confident smile. “Let’s call your parents.”