introduced enough unpleasantness into this world. He threatened his own daughter if they didn’t do what he wanted.”
“Oh, I bet that’s all talk.” Marie looked sideways at Christina with a worried frown pulling all her wrinkles in a southern direction. “Is this true? Is he forcing you into something you don’t want?”
This was getting way out of hand—and way more personal than Christina wanted. “No. I volunteered. And nothing has been decided yet.” But I will take care of Lily—and all of you.
Marie went on, her frown softening a little. “Maybe our Christina is exactly what Aiden needs right now. These things happen for a reason, I do believe.”
Christina’s heart melted with Marie’s sugar-scented hug, but she doubted anything she did would soften the hardened heart of the Blackstone heir.
“You never know what might happen in a year,” Marie said with a sly smile. “Besides, family takes care of their own. She’ll be fine here with us.”
This conversation was almost unbelievable. If Christina hadn’t been in James’s room, she wouldn’t have believed the situation herself.
Christina’s mind echoed with Marie’s words. A year was a short time in some ways, a long time in others. Would she come out on the other side whole? Or with a broken heart to go with her divorce decree?
As long as Lily and the rest of her family were safe and cared for, it would be worth it for Christina. Marie was right. These people were her family, as close as she’d come to having one since her parents had divorced when she was eight. Who was she kidding? Her family had never been real.
As a child, Christina’s sole purpose in life had been as a pawn in her mother’s strategy to extort more and more money from her father. That’s where Christina had learned what two-faced meant—her mother all lovey-dovey when Dad showed up, abandoning her at her society friends’ houses when she was no longer useful. A hard lesson, but Christina had learned it well.
She’d promised herself when she’d turned eighteen that she’d never go back to that kind of situation; never again have no value outside of what she could do for another.
So was she truly willing to become James Blackstone’s pawn?
* * *
“When are you heading back? That Zabinski woman is killing me.”
He didn’t want to think about Ellen Zabinski right now. He had enough problems on his hands. After a solid twenty-four hours of thinking, Aiden knew what he had to do. He still didn’t want to, but this choice was inevitable.
“I’m not.”
The dead silence would have been amusing if Aiden wasn’t in such a bind. His assistant Trisha’s silence was as rare as some of the art he imported. While he waited for her to recover, he paced across his bedroom to gaze out the back window. He compared the view of the lush country yard, the gentle sway of the grass and tree branches in the breeze, with the constant motion of the city. The very sereneness made him want to fall asleep. Not in a good way. Why would he consider uprooting his busy life, even if it was only for a few months?
A myriad of reasons not to do this rambled through his mind—work, taking a stand against his grandfather’s high-handedness, a lack of interest in the mill and a whole host of other things. Then his gaze fell on the chestnut-haired beauty strolling across the lawn to talk to the gardener. Christina smiled, stealing his breath. Her stride was sure, and those hips... As she spoke, her hands gestured with elegant grace to illustrate her words.
He should be worried about his mom—not her nurse. But as Christina looked up into the fifty-year-old weeping willow in the backyard, exposing the vulnerable skin of her throat, Aiden’s mouth watered.
When Trisha finally spoke again, her words were slow and measured. “What’s going on?”
“Let’s just say, I will be stuck cleaning up family business for a while.”
She wasn’t buying that. “How long can it take to get the ball rolling on the estate? He had a will, right? Why would that require you to be on-site?”
“Yes, he had a will, but that’s not really helpful since he isn’t dead.”
A single bout of silence from Trisha was a surprise. Twice in one conversation—a miracle. But she came back with her usual snarky humor.
“So are you trying to talk me into moving to the wilds of South Carolina? Marty wouldn’t care much for that.”
Just the thought of Italian-born-and-bred Antonio Martinelli in Black Hills was enough to brighten Aiden’s day. “No, as amusing as that would be, I was thinking more along the lines of giving you an assistant and a raise.”
Make that three spells of silence, although the pause was much shorter this time. “Don’t tease me, Aiden.”
“I’m not kidding,” he said, feeling as if he should raise his hand in a scout-style salute. “You’ve worked hard, sharpened your own sales skills. I’m gonna need help to pull this off. We can do a lot by conference call and video chats, and I’ll make a trip up there when necessary. But the majority of first contact and sales will fall on you.”
Aiden ignored the surge of misery at the thought of being away from his business for long. But he wouldn’t be out of contact. And he would not lose the gem it had cost him years of his life to build.
“It’s only temporary,” he assured his assistant and himself. “Just until I can get legal custody of Mother.” But watching until Christina disappeared from sight, Aiden knew his motives weren’t nearly that noble.
Turning away, he gave Trisha a brief rundown of his grandfather’s demands.
“Whoa,” she said. “And I thought Italian-American grandparents were demanding. That’s crazy. Why would you go through with that?”
“At least a wife will give me a weapon against Ellen,” he said, making light of his current struggle. Shivers erupted just thinking about the barracuda with whom he’d mildly enjoyed his customary night, only to have her decide once wasn’t enough. She’d spent the last month making his life miserable. “How often has she called the office?” Aiden had blocked her from his cell phone.
“Oh, every afternoon like clockwork. She doesn’t believe that you aren’t here. I’m just waiting for her to show up in person and force me to pull out my pepper spray.”
There was way too much glee in his assistant’s voice. “Don’t get arrested.”
“I won’t...if she behaves herself—”
Doubtful. But Trisha handled most situations with tact—even if she talked tough. “Do whatever you have to do. Maybe me being out of town for several months will help. In the meantime, you can forward client calls to my cell.”
They talked a few more logistics, and Aiden promised to be in touch daily. Balancing two businesses in two different states would not be a walk in the park, but he was determined to hold on to whatever he could in New York.
His grandfather might take his freedom, but he would not destroy everything Aiden had worked so hard to build.
