"Yes, we will. Goodbye."
Calista stewed over the news about her sister after she disconnected from the phone. Tami should know better. She'd had plenty of frightening asthmatic episodes.
"Mrs. Grant," Meg said, interrupting her thoughts. "You have a visitor. Mr. Rob Miller."
Calista felt a dart of surprise followed by extreme discomfort. "Oh. Um. He's a business colleague. Last week, he told me he needed to ask me a few questions about my projects. Please show him onto the back porch. I'll be down in just a moment."
Why had Rob shown up here without any warning? Her heart pounded in her chest out of fear. How could she explain him to Leo? Her hands turned clammy and she felt terror chill her to the bone.
Taking a deep breath, she struggled for composure. She would calmly arrange to meet him some other time at some other place. Calista walked from her makeshift office upstairs down to the back porch and closed the door behind her.
Rob turned to greet her. "Nice place," he said.
She bit her lip, but kept her voice low. "What are you doing here? Why didn't you call first?"
"Your cell phone changed. I called your work number and they said you were on extended leave. Hey, if you don't want the information-"
"No, no," she said, her stomach twisting. "What have you learned about Leo?"
"It's not just about Leo," he said. "It's about your father."
"What do you mean?" she asked.
"I hate to be the one to tell you, but I think you should know. I also knew you shouldn't see this in a report."
Her heart hammered against her chest in apprehension. "What? What is it?"
He moved closer to her and took her hand, lowering his voice. "Your father didn't die of a heart attack. He committed suicide."
Leo decided to leave the office early. Despite their trip to Japan, he realized he and Calista hadn't had a real honeymoon. Although he couldn't leave his business at the moment, he thought it would be a nice surprise to let her choose the place. Having a wife wasn't such a bad deal after all. Remembering how she'd melted in his arms the night before, he felt a new urgency to be with her again.Meg greeted him as he walked into the house. "Welcome home, Mr. Grant."
"Thank you, Meg. Do you know where Calista is?"
His housekeeper paused. "She has a visitor. She's talking with him on the back porch."
Him? Leo frowned. He didn't like the sound of that. He walked through the house toward the back porch, stopping suddenly when he spotted Calista in another man's arms. His stomach gave a vicious, sickening twist. The man caressed her back as she clung to him.
Who the hell was this? What was he doing with her? What was she doing with him? This was his house, damn it.
Taking a sharp breath, he strode to the porch and threw open the door. "Anyone want to tell me what's going on?"
Calista pushed herself from his arms, clearly startled, a guilty expression crossing her face. "Leo?"
"Yes, it's me. Your husband. Introduce me to your-" He paused. "Guest," he said in distaste.
She licked her lips nervously. "This is Rob. He was just leaving."
"It didn't look that way," Leo said, staring the other man down.
The man lifted his hands. "Excuse me. I'll talk to you later," he said to Calista.
She cringed as the man left.
"You want to explain what I just saw?" Leo asked, clenching his jaw.
She walked toward him. "It's not how it seemed."
"Then how was it?"
"It's hard to explain," she said.
"I'll bet. How long have you been involved with him?"
"It's not like that," she said. "I swear."
"Then why were you in each other's arms?"
She closed her eyes for a second then took a deep breath. "He's a private investigator. He just told me that my father didn't die of a heart attack. He committed suicide. I never knew," she said in a broken voice.
"If he's a P.I., then why the hell was he holding you in his arms?"
"I've known him for a while. He's a friend."
"Just a friend?" Leo asked, full of doubt.
"Yes," she insisted. "You have to believe me."
"No. I don't," he said, suspicion trickling through him like acid.
Fear and dread darkened her gaze. "Leo, you have to believe I would never sacrifice our marriage for a stupid affair."
"Why not?" he asked, challenging her. How foolish he'd been, he thought. He'd actually been on the verge of trusting her.
She bit her lip. "I wouldn't. I couldn't." She closed her eyes. "My marriage to you is too important."
"Because I can give you money," he said, goading her.
She opened her eyes and stared at him in shock. She took a deep breath. "Not for me, but for my sisters," she finally said. "Yes, I need the money for their education and for Tami's health problems."
"Is that why you married me?" he demanded. "To take care of your sisters?"
Her eyes turned cold. "What room do you have to judge? I know you and your father pulled a grifting scheme over on my father. I thought his shame had killed him. It turns out he took his life because of what you and your father did."
Her words hit him like a block of ice. He stared at her in disbelief. "You knew about my father and me?" He shook his head. "Why didn't you just threaten to blackmail me?"
She gave him a blank stare. "Blackmail didn't occur to me. I wanted my sisters to get a good education and I couldn't pay for it. I've been too busy paying off other family debts," she said bitterly.
He laughed, but the sound was hollow to his own ears. "You used me."
She lifted her chin and met his gaze. "The same way you used me so you could get the Japanese account."
"Sweet little Calista," he said in disbelief. "I never would have thought it."
Pain shadowed her eyes. "I never would have done it if I didn't believe it was necessary."
He shook his head. "How long did you plan to keep going with this charade?" he asked.
"Long enough to secure my sisters' future."
"Six months," he said, remembering the prenup.
She crossed her arms over her chest. "So now you see why I wouldn't possibly risk an affair."
"Your sisters," he said.
She nodded. "That and the fact that I'm not the kind of woman to go to bed with one man while I'm married to another."
He gave another humorless chuckle. "I'll never know that for certain. Will I?"
Another shot of pain flashed through her beautiful green eyes. He could almost believe she felt some sense of remorse. Almost. He could pay her and send her away. He could send her away and give her nothing. He knew, however, that he'd had a part in bringing down her father. The bitter reality backed up in his throat. At this second, he detested the very sight of her. But it was as much because she held a mirror to him of his past sins.
"Take my room tonight. I'm going into town."
She blinked in surprise as if she'd expected him to send her away. He wanted to. He wished he could, but something inside stopped him. "You can pick up Pooh in the morning." He turned and walked away.
"Leo," she called after him.
He paused. "What?"
"I-" She broke off. "I didn't expect things to turn out this way."
He walked out the door.
He'd fallen for the biggest con of his lifetime. He'd been so willing to believe her, so determined to protect her. He'd thought she could make him clean, and she had to the outside world. With Calista as his wife, it was easier for people to forget the fact that his past was murky at best. Her presence had greased the wheels for some of his business deals, too.
Leo had a choice to make. He could either cut Calista loose or hold on. He could make her pay for using him. He could make her life miserable, but he wondered if he would be making himself miserable at the same time.
This wasn't a decision to be made in the heat of anger. He needed time and distance.
Calista didn't know what to do. She sure hadn't expected to blurt out her reasons for marrying him. She wasn't sure if she should leave or stay. The thought of her sisters and unexpected feelings for Leo made her stay. He was more than she'd thought he would be. She did everything she could to fall asleep. Exercise, take a bath, drink warm milk.She went to bed, turned out the lights and her eyelids would not close. Sighing, she turned to her side and forced her eyes closed. Immediately, images of Leo raced through her mind. Leo laughing, Leo concerned about Pooh, Leo making love to her.