Billionaire's Contract Engagement(42)

That, she realized, was what she needed to find out.

That had been a close call, Ash thought as he and Mel ate lunch. In  hindsight, bringing her computer might not have been the brightest idea  he'd ever had, but doing it today, instead of waiting until they got  back to San Francisco, had sort of been an accident. He'd grabbed it on  his way out the door when he left for the hospital. He didn't like the  idea of leaving it in the room, for fear that it might be stolen. But as  he climbed into his rental, the interior, at nine in the morning, was  already about a million degrees. Assuming he would be in the hospital  most of the day, it didn't seem wise to leave the laptop in the car, in  the blistering heat.

What choice did he have but to bring it into the hospital with him, and  as a result, give it to Melody? What if it did spark a memory? Was he  willing to jeopardize his plans? He'd been up half the night removing  personal information, so it seemed unlikely anything would shake loose a  memory.

To confuse her, and hopefully buy himself a little more time, he not  only removed things from the computer, but added a few things, as well.

To give her the impression they attended social functions together-when  in reality they rarely went out socially-he added a few entries for  fictional theater dates and parties. He also included a meeting with a  wedding planner, which he thought was a nice touch. One they had  regretfully missed because Mel had been missing.

The most brilliant switch, in his opinion, was her music. He knew from  experience that some songs evoked specific memories or feelings. Like  the knot he got in his stomach whenever he heard "Hey Jude" by the  Beatles, the song that was playing the day he drove home to break the  good news about his promotion and found his ex in bed with her personal  trainer.         

     



 

So, he deleted Mel's entire music catalog and replaced it with his own  music library. Mel had always preferred current pop music, while he  listened to classic rock and jazz. There wasn't much chance that would  be jogging any memories.

Now he was wondering if that hadn't been enough. Or maybe the memories  were going to come back regardless. Either way, he didn't want to panic  prematurely. Remembering something about the law was still a far cry  from regaining her personal memories.

He looked over at Melody and realized she'd stopped eating with nearly half her burger and fries still left.

"Full already?" he asked.

"Is there something you're not telling me?" she asked. "Something you don't want me to know?"

The question came so far out of left field he was struck dumb for  several seconds, and when his brain finally kicked back in he figured it  would be in his best interest to play dumb. "What do you mean?"

She pushed her tray aside. "I just get this nagging feeling that you're hiding something from me."

He could play this one of two ways. He could act angry and indignant,  but in his experience that just screamed guilty. So instead he went for  the wounded angle.

He pasted on a baffled expression and said, "God, Mel, why would you  think that? If I did or said something to hurt your feelings." He  shrugged helplessly.

The arrow hit its mark. Melody looked crushed.

"Of course you haven't. You've been wonderful." She reached out and put  her hand on his forearm. "You've done so much for me and I'm acting  completely ungrateful. Just forget I said anything."

He laid his hand over hers and gave it a squeeze. "You suffered a severe  head injury. You were in a coma for two weeks." He flashed her a  sympathetic smile. "I promise I won't hold it against you."

Her smile was a grateful one. And of course, he felt like slime for playing on her emotions. For using it to his advantage.

Remember what she did to you, he told himself. Although, one thing he  couldn't deny was that Melody was not the woman she'd been before the  accident. In the past, she never would have confronted him this way with  her suspicions. Yet, at the same time, she was much softer and  compassionate than she used to be. Not to mention uncharacteristically  open with her emotions.

When she told him she loved him he'd felt  …  well, he honestly wasn't  sure what he'd felt. It was just  …  unusual. No one had said that to him  in a long time. He and his wife had stopped expressing sentiments of  love long before the final meltdown. The pain of their breakup had been  less about lost love than the humiliation of her deceit, and his own  stupidity for not seeing her for what she really was.

In the long run he honestly believed she had done him a favor, although  he could have done without seeing the proof with his own eyes.

Even if Melody thought she loved Ash, she obviously didn't mean it or  she wouldn't have cheated on him in the first place. Besides, their  relationship wasn't about love. It was more about mutual respect and  convenience. She was only saying what she thought she was supposed to  say. She probably just assumed that she would never be engaged to a man  she didn't love. But that was all part of the plan, wasn't it? To make  her believe that they were in love. And apparently it was working.

He couldn't deny that in her current condition, he was having a tough  time keeping a grip on the anger he'd felt when he learned about her  pregnancy. He was sure that once he got her back home and she started  acting like her old self, the wounds would feel fresh again. He would  approach the situation with a renewed sense of vengeance.

He was counting on it.

Six days after Ash arrived in Abilene, after showing what Dr. Nelson  said was remarkable progress, Melody was finally released from the  hospital. An orderly wheeled her down to the front entrance, her heart  pounding in anticipation of finally being free, and as they exited the  building, a wall of hot, dry air washed over her.

She hoped their place in San Francisco had a courtyard or a balcony,  because after being cooped up in the hospital for so long, she wanted to  spend lots of time outside. She closed her eyes and breathed in deep,  felt the sun beat down hot on her face as she was wheeled from under the  awning to the curb where Ash waited with his rental car. It was barely  10:00 a.m. and it had to be pushing ninety degrees. The sun was so  bright, she had to raise a hand to shade her eyes. She wasn't sure of  the make of the vehicle, but it looked expensive.

Ash had dressed casually for the trip, in jeans and a T-shirt, and  Melody didn't miss the group of nurses following him with their eyes,  practically drooling on their scrubs.         

     



 

Look all you like ladies, but he's mine.

Not that Melody blamed them for gawking. He looked hot as hell dressed  that way. The shirt accentuated the width of his shoulders and showed  off the lean muscle in his arms, and the jeans hugged his behind in a  way that gave her impure thoughts. She could hardly wait until she was  feeling well enough to have sex again. Right now, if she did anything  marginally taxing, her head began to pound.

As soon as they reached the car Ash opened the door. A rush of cool air  cut through the heat as he helped her from the chair to the front seat.  The interior was soft black leather, and it had what looked like a  top-of-the-line sound and navigation system. Ash got her settled in and  helped with her seat belt, and as he leaned over her to fasten it, he  smelled so delicious she wanted to bury her face in the crook of his  neck and take a nibble. When he seemed convinced she was securely  fastened in, with her seat as far back as it would go-just in case the  airbag deployed and bonked her head, rattling her already compromised  brain-he walked around and got in the driver's side. "Are you ready?" he  asked.

"I am so ready."

He turned the key and the engine hummed to life, and as he pulled from  the curb and down the driveway toward the road, she had this odd feeling  of urgency. She felt that if he didn't hurry, the staff members were  going to change their minds and chase her down like a fugitive, or an  escaped mental patient, and make her go back to that awful room.

It wasn't until he pulled out onto the main road and hit the gas, and  the hospital finally disappeared out of sight, that she could breathe  easy again. She was finally free. As long as she lived, she hoped she  never had to stay in a hospital room again.

He glanced over at her. "You all right?"

"I am now."

"You're comfortable?" he asked.

"Very." He'd brought her suitcase to the hospital and she'd chosen a  pair of jeans and a cotton shirt to start the trip. She'd tried to find a  bra she liked, but either they were push-up and squeezed her breasts to  within an inch of her life or they were made of itchy lace, so she'd  opted not to wear one at all. As long as she didn't get cold, or pull  her shirt taut, it was kind of hard to tell. Besides, it was just her  and Ash and he'd seen her breasts plenty of times before.

The jeans were comfortable, and although at one point she was guessing  they were pretty tight, now they hung off her. Despite her constant  cravings for food, her eyes were bigger than her stomach, but Dr. Nelson  assured her that her appetite would return.