“I can’t. The deal isn’t done yet, and you know we’ve got a leak.” It was precisely why he was using Quaid instead of one of the corporate attorneys they employed. “We were outbid by pennies twice last month. Someone is trying hard to make me look incompetent.”
“Charles.”
“It’s got to be someone close to me. Charles couldn’t have gotten those bids on his own,” Rene replied with a weariness he’d been feeling a lot lately. He hated the fact that he couldn’t trust his own staff or the majority of his family.
He needed Sylvie in so many ways.
“I’ll revise the prenup,” Quaid promised. “Did you tell her about the stock she’s about to come into?”
He didn’t see why he should go into it. “She doesn’t get that until we’ve been married for at least three years.”
“Yes, but you might mention she’ll be a full voting member of the board if she stays on, and that stock is going to be worth millions,” Quaid pointed out. “You know it’s in the contract.”
“She won’t read it. She’s doing this to help a friend. She doesn’t care about the money or the stock.”
“But that stock ties her to you forever. She can’t sell it unless you choose to buy it back from her.”
“That’s a problem for another time.” He didn’t see that it would be an issue. It wouldn’t take them three years to figure out if they were staying in the marriage. The only reason he hadn’t told her about that clause was he expected pushback. She didn’t want to take a ring from him, much less a good portion of his company.
“You’re saying that a lot lately, brother. I hope it doesn’t come back to bite you in the ass.” Quaid started for his SUV. “And call Dre before he finds out on his own.”
That was a problem for . . . Yes, he was doing that a lot lately. He was shoving things off and hoping for the best, because if he dealt with all his fires right now, he would go up in flames.
Quaid drove off and Rene was left with a quiet yard, the sounds of the bayou around him, but that hum had been the soundtrack of his life. He found it soothing.
What he hadn’t found soothing was that kiss. That kiss had been life-affirming. He’d worried he’d made too much of that night all those years before, but that kiss had shown him he’d forgotten at least half of what that woman could make him feel.
Wanted. Needy. Weak.
Like he was at least ten feet tall.
He supposed the thing that was most surprising was that she made him feel at all.
He was going through the motions and had been for years. He’d done what he needed to do to get through a day and counted himself lucky to simply wake up in the morning.
Did he have any right to bring Sylvie into his world? Would she save him or end up drowning beside him?
He took a deep breath and tried to force the pessimistic thoughts out of his head.
He concentrated on how she’d felt in his arms. Soft and warm and perfect.
He wanted her. It felt good to want something again. Something for himself.
He would convince her to stay with him, that he could provide enough joy to counterbalance the annoyance of dealing with his family.
“Mr. Darois? Is everything all right? Your mother is a bit worried that something is wrong with all the comings and goings so late. She’s staying up to make sure you’re okay.” Mrs. Graham stood on the porch, still wearing the uniform she insisted was in keeping with her station in the house. It was a blue button-up dress with a white apron and sensible shoes. He’d told her she could wear whatever she liked, but she’d refused.
“I’m coming.” He had some good news for her.
He jogged into the house, hoping tomorrow would be a good day for his mother.
And a special day for him.
chapter four
“What do you mean, you’re getting married?”
Sylvie dropped her bag on the big desk in her office and turned to her assistant. “I mean, I need to move a couple of my appointments this morning because I’m getting married over at the courthouse at ten and I promised my mother we would go have a nice breakfast with Rene and Cricket after the ceremony.”
Her mother had insisted, and when she’d texted Rene to let him know, she’d gotten back a polite It would be our greatest pleasure.
She’d stared at that last word for way too long. Pleasure. In less than an hour she would be Rene’s wife, and he’d made it clear their physical relationship was all up to her. He would be more than willing to pleasure her.
She would be living with him . . . Maybe she was technically already living with him since he’d been true to his word and there had been a moving crew at her place bright and early this morning. Not that it would take them long. Most of the furniture wasn’t hers. She’d packed her own clothes and shoes and makeup. They’d quickly had her books and other possessions safely boxed up, and she’d been informed that a professional service would handle cleaning the house she’d lived in since she’d become the mayor.
It had been a shock to see how little time it had taken to bundle up her life and sweep it all away. When she’d helped Sera move, it had taken days to get everything over to Guidry Place.
Would she even fit in at Rene’s house? It was huge and had old-world elegance. When she’d been a kid, she’d always pretended she was a princess when she went over there. Rene had been the prince who would one day notice she was there.
Was she making a horrible mistake?
Gertie stared at her like she’d grown two heads. “Married?”
It was good to know Hallie and Sera had kept their cone of silence. And apparently so had Rene’s friends. She hadn’t realized she was interrupting his weekly poker night when she’d gone to his place the night before. “Yes. I know it’s a surprise, but I’m getting married. It’s a bit of a rush, but we have our reasons. It won’t interrupt the rest of the week, but I need some time today. And I’ll need some time in a couple of weeks. I’ll get you the dates.”
She wasn’t sure exactly when the celebration for Rene’s aunt was taking place, but she knew it would be important to this mission of theirs. He would need her to show a united front to his family.
Gertie hadn’t moved. “Dare I ask who you’re marrying? Also, Quaid Havery dropped a contract off this morning. He asked for you to sign it at your earliest convenience and have it sent back to him. I told him any contract you’re signing needs to be looked at by a lawyer of your choosing. I wondered if you were buying a new place, but now I fear it has to do with this foolishness.”