Forbidden Contract (The Birmingham Brothers Series) (21 page)

“Seems to me you were looking out for her best interests…tell me what would have happened had you slept with her?”

“I would have hated myself in the morning….she would have hated me….”

“So you did the honorable thing.” Addison smiled. “I’m proud of you.”

“Then why do I feel like shit….why do I feel like I hurt her by rejecting her.”

“Have you talked to her?”

“No…I didn’t sleep much and I took Zeus out to clear my head…..when I came back I went into the kitchen to grab a cup of coffee while I tried to figure out how to approach her and I find her crying in Trent’s arms.....she didn’t talk to me just walked out.”

“Did you say anything?”

“Yeah….I asked Trent what the fuck was going on.”

Addison rolled his eyes as he looked out the window and saw Trent leaning over the desk as Bailey showed him something in the file. He knew what Trent was doing and couldn’t help but smile as he saw Beckett’s agitation.

“We all care about Bailey….you know Trent would never cross that line where she was concerned.”

“Yeah well for right now he seems to be in her good graces while I’m on the sidelines.” He frowned.

“What does it matter
?” His father asked him directly. “You just said it yourself if you had slept with her it would only last as long as the attraction.”

Beckett looked at his father frustrated that he was throwing his words back at him and somehow it made him look bad.

“How will it look….she and I are supposed to be getting married and she’s closer to Trent than to her own husband?”

“Since when did you care what other people thought?”

“I don’t care about me…..it’s her…and the kids.”

“Really, being honorable again?” Addison smiled. “Or is it possible that maybe you might have some feelings for the girl?”

Beckett looked at his father then back to Bailey. He thought about the conversation he had overheard between her and Tristan. Thought about his conversation with Tristan and the promise he made him. He couldn’t deny he had feelings for Bailey. He couldn’t deny the uncontrollable desire he felt for her. Yet when he had pulled back last night had he done it because he wanted more from her? Did he stop because he knew in going forward the seduction would eventually become a wedge between them? Was he afraid to consider the possibilities both his fathers and brothers assumed could happen. He looked back at Bailey as he answered his father.

“I’d be lying if I said I haven’t
considered a relationship with her….of the possibilities….but then I think of who I am and what the consequences would be if it didn’t work out.”

“But what if it did….why are you so afraid to take that step?”

“Dad…it’s not just me and her….it’s the kids too.”

“So are you afraid you can’t handle the responsibility of raising them?”

“That’s not it….I’m afraid……what if it doesn’t work out…then I’m not only hurting her but those kids.”

“Beckett…you need to trust in your feelings….and you can’t live a life afraid of giving someone your heart…..
you will never truly be happy.”

“What if I can’t give her my heart?”

“At least you tried….you haven’t really tried since Lachelle, son we loved her too… she never would have wanted you to live this life.” Addison said putting his hand on Beckett’s shoulder. “Take the chance son….you deserve it.”

“You so sure it’s Bailey?” He asked looking at his father.

“Let’s just say we all have a hunch.” He smiled. “Just take your time with her….get to really know her…..let things develop slowly.”

“Not so easy when I’m near her.” Beckett grinned. “My braid shuts down when she’s near.”

“So why don’t you just make sure the two of you aren’t alone….let her get to know you…in fact why don’t you go with your mother house hunting today….after all….it’s supposed to be your house too…you should have a say in it.”

Beckett looked at Bailey again and as if sensing his eyes on her she looked up. He saw a moment when her defenses were down and he caught his breath. She was beautiful and he knew if he took the risk and it ended it would be his heart that was forever shattered. He wasn’t sure if he was ready for that despite his family’s encouragement. He smiled and was surprised when she returned it before Trent once again drew her attention.

“You’re right….why don’t you just have mom send me the listings….there’s no need to drag her along.”

“Not a good idea.” Addison smiled as he reached for the door. “First off your mother has spent a lot of time and she has been looking forward to seeing
Bailey’s reaction to a few of the homes….and for right now…..both of you need to keep chaperones around.” He laughed.

“Alright.” Beckett agreed. “What time are we supposed to meet mom?”

“Just after lunch…..she figures she can get in all the houses before you need to get back and change for dinner and the play.”

Trent had explained Baileys duties while he drove her to work After making the introductions of the staff he took her to her office where Ethan had left her a stack of file folders neatly in the corner of her conference table. Trent pulled up a chair next to her as they began to go over the folders and he explained what he was looking for. At first she took notes than he handed her a file to see how fast she could pick up their business. To his surprise she skimmed the folder and accurately decided what needed to be done. He tested her on a few more files then leaned back grinning.

“What do you need me for…in fact….Tessa.” He yelled out to the girl sitting at the desk outside Bailey
’s office.

Bailey watched as the young woman a few years her senior entered the office notepad in hand. Ignoring Bailey she gave Trent the most suggestive smile as she leaned up against his chair. Bailey noticed the way Trent leaned back admiring her curves before pointing to the chair opposite him. She sat immediately
crossing her legs notepad ready to write down his every word.

“Baileys going to go over these files, I want you to take notes on all of her suggestions then I will need them organized by customer and typed by the end of the day.” He said standing. “I’ll expect the reports to be emailed to me before you leave.” Then he turned to Bailey. “I’ll send Alicia in also, I’ll need her to keep track of what supplies you think we will need and she can prepare the purchase order for my review.”

Bailey looked at him as the color drained from her face. “Trent….maybe you should leave this to one of the contractors.”

“Those idiots…..if they had spoken up originally when Travis and Jasper started cutting corners we wouldn’t be in this mess. You’ve proven you have an eye for detail and picked this up with relative ease
, your father taught you well…don’t worry I’ll preview what Tessa and Alicia submit….but I trust you.” He grinned kissing the top of her head as Tessa glared at her. “Besides….if we can get through this stack I can take you out in the field with me.” He grinned as he walked out of the office.

Bailey watched him leave and as he spoke to Alicia she grabbed another file. As she reviewed the work orders she felt the daggers Tessa shot her way. It was obvious she was hoping to snare Trent and she now saw Bailey as the obstacle
in her way. The fact that Bailey was engaged to Beckett didn’t even cross the woman’s mind. Bailey looked up as Alicia entered smiling. The temperature between the two women was night and day. Alicia, older than both women by thirty years was used to office politics and had worked for the company when Bailey’s father had interned there. She had sadly witnessed the company being run into the ground after Alistair had died and his son and grandsons took over. She had been recently looking elsewhere for possible employment but when the Birmingham’s made their appearance she chose to pass on a job offer she had received. She hoped her first impression of them was correct and that the company might be salvaged. She had been impressed when after that first day they began making cuts of the dead weight around the office and on the second day she had not only been promoted but given a generous raise. Tessa on the other hand had been fuming. She had gotten her position by sleeping with Travis and now that he no longer had any authority her job was in jeopardy. She had quickly tried to align herself with all of the Birmingham men but to her disappointment none of them seemed interested. She still held out hope for Trent based on his reputation until he had arrived with Bailey. Her hatred of Bailey only increased when she learned that Bailey was engaged to Beckett Tessa’s first choice of the Birmingham men. Then to add to it all the other members seemed enthralled with her. At first Tessa had assumed Bailey would be given a minor role and Tessa would be allowed to boss the girl around. When Trent announced she would be taking Jaspers old office, that the staff would answer to Alicia while Bailey would oversee special assignments reporting directly to Trent she almost screamed. Now as she sat across from her she began to devise a million ways in which she could discredit the girl. Unaware of Bailey’s background and training she was certain giving Bailey this assignment would prove to be disastrous. She would make certain she wrote down every suggestion she made so that when Trent read her report he would realize the mistake he had made and quickly demote her to making the coffee.

Bailey took encouragement from Alicia
’s smile and she began to dictate to Tessa the changes needed then looking at Alicia gave her the list of materials that would be needed. As she proceeded with the next file her confidence grew and by the time Beckett had entered the office she was completely engrossed in what she was doing. She noticed the way Tessa was shifting and following her gaze she met Beckett’s. He was standing outside his office with his father and the based on the frown on his face he didn’t seem pleased she was there. She quickly looked down at the folder trying to ignore his presence. Even after he went into his office with his father she could feel his eyes on her and made a concentrated effort not to look up. After several more files she neared the end of her pile when she dared to look up again. Beckett was looking at her with a smile on his face and for a moment she found her walls down as she returned his smile. The moment was broken when Trent entered her office distracting her as he sat on the corner of her desk. When she looked back at Beckett he was staring at Trent frowning and she sighed.

“Come on beautiful…..that’s enough paperwork for the morning…..I have to go out into the field and I want you to come with me….mom gave me direct orders to drop you off in time to have lunch with her.” He said grabbing her purse. “Alicia can you make sure Tessa and your reports are emailed before the end of the day.”

“Of course.” She smiled as Tessa glared.

“And if my brother wants to know where we
’re headed you can tell him Vegas if I can convince Bailey to dump him for the better looking brother.” He laughed as he took her arm.

He had her whisked out of the office before Beckett could reach his door. As the elevator door closed she saw Beckett round the corner to stop them. She looked at Trent who was leaning casually against the opposite wall
smiling.

“It’s good for him.” He joked.

Bailey studied him for a moment. “Just what are you up too?” She asked.

He hesitated a moment as he looked at her. She could see he was mulling over in his brain what if anything he should tell her. Finally he shrugged.

“We like you…the family….we think you would be good for Beckett.”

“Beg your pardon?”

“You heard me….it’s obvious you are attracted to my brother though why when you could have me.” He grinned causing her to smile. “You should smile more often…..my brothers and idiot, afraid to risk getting hurt again…that’s why he puts up with Macy.”

“Trent….this isn’t a real marriage.”

“It could be.” He said as the door opened. To both their surprise Beckett stood on the other side and it was obvious he had run down the five flights of stairs to meet them.

“Where are you to off too?” He asked Trent as they stepped off the elevator.

“Bailey did such a good job on my files I thought I would take her out in the field and show her what we do.” Trent said as he casually took Baileys arm intending on leading her past Beckett.

Beckett stood directly in their path refusing to budge as he stared at Trent’s hand. Feeling the tension between the two; Bailey removed her arm as she tried to cover
the action with a sneeze. Neither men were fooled but neither commented.

“Mind if I tag along?” Beckett asked as he now took Baileys arm possessively.

Trent just smiled. “No….we have to be back by lunch, moms taking her out before she takes her house hunting.”

“Actually I’ll be going too so why don’t we take your car so you can just drop us off to meet mom. I’ll have Ethan bring my car back to the house after work.”

“No problem.” He said leading the way as Beckett followed with Bailey.

Bailey noticed the way Beckett loosened his grip expecting her to yank her arm free as they walked. When she didn’t the corners of his mouth curved upwards. She had promised herself she would remain cool in his presence, but the moment his fingers circled her arm all resistance disappeared. She told herself it was because all eyes of the office were on them and she had a role to play but if she was being honest she enjoyed his touch. When they reached Trent’s car Beckett held her door open as Trent climbed in the driver’s side. Once she was settled he closed her door then slid into the back seat.
With Trent present the conversation flowed as he explained to Bailey that they would be inspecting homes already built but not yet occupied. She was glad Trent had told her to dress casually because within the first hour of inspecting the house he had her crawling up in the attic. When she came down Beckett couldn’t help but grin at the smudges of dirt on her face. He handed her his handkerchief and pointed her to the nearest bathroom as he and Trent discussed what needed to be done. Alone in the bathroom she turned on the water as she looked at her face. The handkerchief smelled of Beckett and she held it to her nose for a moment. Looking at her expression she frowned as she realized she was fantasizing again. Putting the cloth under the water she wiped off the dirt smudges then went in search of the guys. By the time they met up with his mother Bailey was in need of a shower. After one look at her Kathleen looked at Beckett who just held up his hands.

“Don’t blame me….Trent insisted she follow him up into the attics to learn….I gave up after the third house.”

“I’m sorry Kathleen…maybe we could do take out and eat at the park?” Bailey suggested.

“That’s a fine idea.” She smiled staring at the park across the street. “Beckett why don’t you go fetch us some food while I go over the listings with Bailey…it will help us narrow
down the choices.”

“Alright
, any preference?” He asked looking at Bailey.

“Uhmmm….something light…..are we still going out to dinner before the play?”

“Of course.” He grinned obviously pleased she wasn’t backing out.

Bailey looked around at the
restaurants and spotting one looked at Kathleen. “Chinese?”

“Sounds good, you know what I like.” Kathleen smiled.

“Bailey?” He asked wanting to know her preference.

“Vegetarian Mei Fun.” She replied. “If they don’t have that th
an Egg Drop soup and an egg roll.”

“And to drink?”

“Just water please.” She smiled as Kathleen now led her across the street. They found a picnic table under a tree and while they waited for Beckett Kathleen showed her the printouts of the homes she had picked. Bailey loved all the homes but she fell in love with two of them. Both were two story homes from the turn of the century and one had been completely renovated inside. Bailey was leaning towards the other one because she didn’t like some of the modern touches the owners had added to the first. When Beckett returned he looked over the choices and frowned when he saw the renovated house.

“Why would they have changed out the fixtures like that, it takes away from the style of the home.” He frowned as his mother and Bailey pulled the containers out of the bag.

“I like this one.” Bailey said pointing to the other home. “It may take some work but it would be fun renovating it to make it look like it had looked when it was first built.”

“Well you’re marrying into the right family.” Kathleen said as Beckett sat next to Bailey. “The boys did a wonderful job when they renovated a bed and breakfast in Maine.”

“I’d want to be authentic.”

“No you won’t.” Beckett argued and when he saw her frown he explained. “
When we get back I can pull up the files on my laptop….when we did the bed and breakfast the owner wanted to go totally authentic but when we showed her what the wallpaper would have looked like and the color scheme she about died.” He grinned remembering. “Thankfully mom was there to help her understand what we were trying to accomplish….mom kept her distracted shopping for the right furnishings while we prepped and restored the inside. We kept the bones of the house and all the original woodwork, but we compromised on the color schemes. We did one room at a time and when we finished the home was featured in both Architectural Digest and Bed and Breakfast Magazine.” He boasted.

“I’d like to see it.” Bailey said as she opened her container. Grabbing the chopsticks she dug in and smiled in satisfaction. “I think I could live on Chinese.”

“You should have Beckett cook for you then….he took a course last year.” Kathleen added.

Bailey looked at him and her surprise was evident. “You cook?”

“If I want to eat yes.” He grinned. “You seemed shocked.”

“Most men’s extent of cooking stops at the grill.” She replied.

“I enjoy cooking….I find it relaxing.”

“So just Chinese?”

“No…I also took a class in Italian and French foods, I had a friend whose mom was Mexican and she taught me in exchange for my labor….and.” He smiled unable to resist. “I do specialize in tail gate parties.”

Bailey was quiet for a moment as she studied this new side of him. The more she got to know him the more she found him impossible to resist. She looked back at the photos of the house. She wanted the house but knew there would be a sizeable investment in renovations and already they were spending too much.