“Why me?” Aiden asked. “Why not one of the twins?”
James met the question with a cruel twist of his lips. “Because it’s you I want. A chip off the old block should be just stubborn enough to lead a whole new generation where I want it to go.”
The cold shock was wearing off now, penetrated by sharp streaks of fear. Nolen, Marie and Lily—the other residents of Blackstone Manor—weren’t technically Christina’s relatives. Not blood-related, at least. But they were the closest she’d come in her lifetime to being surrounded by people who cared about her. She wasn’t about to see them scattered to the winds, destroyed by James’s sick game of king of the world.
Besides, she owed this family, and the intense, dark-eyed man before her. Most of all, she owed Lily. Her debt was bigger than Lily had ever acknowledged or accepted Christina’s apologies for. If being used as a pawn would both settle her debt and protect those she’d come to love, then she’d do it. Christina’s family had taught her one lesson in her twenty-six years: how to make herself useful.
The lawyer stepped up to the plate. “Everything is set up in the paperwork. You either marry and keep the mill viable, or Ms. Blackstone will be moved immediately.”
A strained cackle had Aiden glancing at his grandfather. “Take it or leave it,” James rasped.
Christina barely detected the subtle slump of defeat in Aiden’s shoulders. “And just where am I supposed to find a paragon willing to sacrifice herself for the cause?”
“I’d think you’d be pretty good at hunting treasure by now,” James said, referring to Aiden’s career as an art dealer, already reveling in the victory they could all see coming.
“I’ve never been interested in a wife. And I doubt anyone would be willing to play your games, Grandfather.”
Taking a deep breath, Christina willed away the nausea crawling up the back of her throat. She pushed away from the wall. “I will,” she said.
“Oh, and one last thing...”
When spoken by James, those were not the words Christina wanted to hear. She eyed the door to the suite with longing. Only a few more feet and she’d be free...
For now.
“A platonic relationship between you two isn’t acceptable. My goal is a legacy. I can’t get that with separate bedrooms.”
Panic bubbled up beneath the surface of her skin until Aiden replied with a droll, “Grandfather, you can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make it drink.”
Even from her new viewpoint near the door, Christina could see the twist of James’s lips. “My dear boy, lead a horse to water often enough, and it will damn sure get thirsty.”
The bad part was, James was right. She’d only been in the room with Aiden for a half hour and the awareness of him as a man sizzled across her with every look. But sleep with him? A man who was practically a stranger to her? She couldn’t do that.
But what about Lily?
Christina noted the fine tension in Aiden’s shoulders beneath his damp dress shirt. The whole room seemed to hold its breath, waiting on someone to make the next move. But it wouldn’t be her—right now, she had no clue what to do, what to think. She just needed out of here.
Echoing her thoughts, Aiden turned toward her and took a few steps, only pausing for a brief glance back at his grandfather. “I refuse to make this kind of choice within a matter of minutes. Or to let Christina do so. I’ll be back later tonight.”
Aiden’s control as he ushered them both from the room intrigued her. What was really going on behind his mask of defiance?
Christina maintained her own poise until the door to the master suite clicked shut behind her. Then she stumbled across the hall to the landing as if she was drunk. Pausing with a tight grasp on the cool wood of the balustrade, she drew air into lungs that felt like they were burning.
She’d just volunteered to become Aiden Blackstone’s wife. But considering James’s final requirement, how would she ever go through with it?
Startled by the shuffle of feet behind her, she tightened her grip on the wooden banister. Knowing Aiden and Canton were approaching, Christina struggled to pull herself together. She needed to get through the rest of the afternoon without the veneer cracking.
Just as she turned back to face the others, Nolen appeared at the end of the hallway. The old butler’s eyes carried more than their share of worry as he approached, but he didn’t say anything. He probably knew every detail of what had transpired in James Blackstone’s suite this afternoon. Somehow, he and Marie always knew.
From behind her, Canton’s voice rang clear. “It’s early still. We can go down to the probate judge’s office now and get the paperwork started. You can be married within a week.”
Nolen frowned back at the lawyer, his glower making her feel cared for, protected. It was a rare occurrence for her—she was used to being the protector—making it that much more appreciated. Her heart swelled, aching with love and worry of her own. She slowly shook her head as she turned to face the men. “I need to think. Some time to think.” She struggled to clear her clouded thoughts. “And I need to check on Lily.”
“She’s fine with Nicole,” Nolen said, extending his elbow so she could take his arm. Old-fashioned to the core. Her muscles relaxed; her smile appeared. He smiled back. “But we’ll stop by if it will ease your mind.”
Resigning herself to his help because she knew it would soothe his concern, she slipped her hand into the crook of his arm. They crossed the landing to the other suite of rooms on the second floor. With a deep breath, Christina paused to look back over her shoulder. “Aiden, will you come see Lily?”
He watched her from several feet away, hooded lids at half-mast, hiding the only thing that would showcase his emotions. “Later,” he said, short and definitely not sweet. But his still features didn’t tell her whether he simply couldn’t face his mother or simply didn’t care. He turned to Canton. “I’m not going anywhere until I’ve looked over those papers and talked to my own lawyer.”
With a short nod, Canton moved to the stairs and started down. Aiden followed, his stiff back forcefully cutting off any approach.
Nolen harrumphed in disapproval, but Christina ignored him. Maybe she was imagining the loneliness in that brief look from Aiden, but he seemed cloaked in an aura of solitude. With a quiet knock, Nolen let them into Lily’s suite, leaving the mystery of Aiden behind her.
Here, filtered sunlight illuminated lavender-flowered wallpaper and a slightly darker carpet, the soft decor far removed from the oppressive majesty of the opposite suite. The tranquility soothed Christina’s shaky nerves. They passed through a sitting room with the television turned low to the sleeping area beyond.
Nicole, the housekeeper’s grandniece, sat in the overstuffed chair by the adjustable bed James had specially ordered. She looked up from the thick nursing textbook in her lap.
“Come to check on her?” Nicole asked.
Christina nodded. “How’s she doing?”
“Oh, the storm did neither of us any good, but after I did her exercises, she settled right down.” Nicole flashed a toothy smile, bright against her tanned skin. “Her vitals are normal, so she’s resting fine now. Still a little spooky, though, seeing her respond like that.”
“Oh, you’d be surprised at the stories nurses have about comatose patients. It’s a very interesting area of study.” Christina should know; she’d studied every case history, textbook explanation and word-of-mouth