Forbidden Contract (The Birmingham Brothers Series) (36 page)

“Yes ma’am.”

“Like you she was a beauty and when she entered a room the men’s heads turned.” She smiled as she remembered. “Much the same as they do for you. I think it’s the innocence you both elude. We knew her family and though they we’re nice people they were not of our class.” Bailey could not help but wince at her comment and Regina noticed. “Bailey, in our world class structure means everything. When you marry outside of you class you are shunned by our kind, I know it seems cruel but it is how it has been for hundreds of years. We thought he would get her out of his system, he needed to sow his oats and what better way than with someone beneath him. Eventually he would remember his place and leave her. When he told us they had gotten married your grandfather was furious. He demanded the marriage be annulled and your father refused. He gave him the choice and your father chose her. It broke your grandfather’s heart. He was left with two vile sons who belonged to another man while his true son had gone.”

“Father was hurt too….he only spoke to me once about it and I remember how sad he was when he asked me how could he have not chosen the woman he loved. I never asked him about it because I didn’t like seeing the pain in his eyes.”

“At first your grandfather thought he would come back, apologize and do what was expected. As the years past he grew angry with your father as a means to cover the hurt. Then as he grew older the sadness overtook him. I had finally convinced him it was time to forgive and offer a way for your father to come home. But your father was killed.” She said as her eyes began to well up. “The day Ryder died I lost my husband. Oh he went on, went through the motions of life, but his soul was empty. That was when I truly realized how much I had grown to love that man. When he died I promised his legacy would live on and I did everything I could to salvage his name. When my sons married I hoped the women they chose would change them, they didn’t. When they had children all I saw was my punishment for my summer of passion. It’s a hard thing for a mother to admit her children should never have been born.”

“Did you ever see their father again?”

“Yes….he came back a few years later, drunk and down on his luck. He threatened me, told me he would expose the truth about their real heritage if I didn’t pay him.” She frowned remembering that day. “I was afraid….not for me….not for the boys….but for your grandfather and how it would ruin him.”

“What did you do?”

Regina looked up and Bailey saw the horror in her eyes for a moment before it was replaced by her stubborn pride.

“I did what was expected of me. I gave him some money to go away
and when he came back again a few years later I did it again and the following year I gave him some more. The year he came after your father’s birth I realized he would never stop so I hired a man who took care of him for me.”

“You had him killed?” Bailey said shocked.

“NO….but the man who beat him assured him that if he ever showed his face around my family again he would be killed. He never came back.”

Bailey suddenly sat as her legs began to shake. Her grandmother took her seat behind the desk and sitting proudly she folded her hands upon the desk and looked directly at Bailey.

“Bailey, I know you think you are in love with Beckett and in your heart even if you won’t admit it you want to believe in the fairy tale. That you and he will marry and he will grow to love you. When the year is up he will stay and you will have the family you have always dreamed up. No matter what I say you will do as your heart tells you. But listen to a woman who has lived a long time. Who knows the difference between love and passion? For the next few weeks he will love you, he may even say the words to you. He will make you feel as if you are the only women in the world that has ever made him feel this way. That he cannot see a life without you. When the vows are spoken and when he is no longer able to share your body he will look elsewhere. That is his history and no matter what you hope he will not change. His longest relationship was an open relationship with a woman who didn’t care if he cheated. That was why I put the clause in the contract Bailey. I didn’t want you to make the same mistake I made and fall for a man who could not love you the way a man should. The way your grandfather loved me and the way your father loved your mother. Each man sacrificed for the women they loved.”

Bailey sat there staring at her grandmother refusing to believe that what she said was true. Beckett was not the man her grandmother portrayed. He was willing to walk away from the contract for her
but she was the one who wouldn’t let him. He was the one who wanted more than the three weeks with her but she was the one who insisted it end. Was her grandmother correct though about what would happen after their vows? Would he move on to another if she denied him her bed? Was she fooling herself to believe he could remain faithful to her? If Macy was his longest relationship and the only reason it lasted so long was because it had been open ended how could she believe he would do anything else? She wanted to trust him and believe what he said but the doubts returned. As she stood now her only question was what she would do when she walked out that door. She looked at her grandmother.

“I have three weeks with the man I love. If it ends after we take our vows then so be it. Unlike you I have gone in with my eyes open and will have to accept the consequences of my action. I do not doubt my heart will break and only time will heal it. I also do not doubt my heart may never be whole again. But I will not regret one moment of that time and I will savor every minute I have with him till then. Thank you grandmother for both your honesty and your concern
but I am my parent’s daughter and I still believe in the possibility of love.”

“For your sake my dear I hope you faith in him is confirmed.
” She said as Bailey turned to leave. “One more thing.” Regina said stopping Bailey at the door. “I will make two requests of you, when in public please try to maintain some form of decency.”

“And the second?” Bailey asked looking at her grandmother.

“I would prefer the children do not learn of your affairs in bed, they will lose their innocence to soon as it is.”

“I will respect your requests.”

“Thank you.” Regina said dismissing Bailey.

When Bailey opened the door she found Beckett waiting outside. She saw the concern in his eyes and knew it had taken every ounce of his control not to barge in on the discussion between her and her grandmother. She also saw fear. She knew he was worried that her grandmother would somehow convince her to change her mind about him. She walked up and leaning against him she wrapped her arms around him
and as he wrapped his arms around her and he shuttered in relief.

Several times Beckett had stopped himself from barging into the study. When Regina had asked to speak to Bailey he had felt his stomach drop to the floor. Bailey had turned to him and he saw the fear and doubt in her eyes. He assumed like her that her grandmother knew about their previous night and was going to lecture Bailey. He was also afraid she would make some type of demand that would force Bailey to keep her distance. He wanted to speak up in their defense but knew Regina never did anything without a plan and he needed to figure out what the game was before he could defend against it. So he had smiled and defiantly kissed Bailey
’s cheek as a signal to Regina that he and Bailey had changed the definition of their relationship. He had watched them leave then turned to the deal with the amused looks of his family. As expected it was Trent who spoke up.

“So I take it the two of you finally found a room?”
He grinned as he bit into an apple.

“Trent!
”  His mother warned. “Beckett and Bailey’s relationship will remain private between them. It is not our concern unless they chose to make it so.”

“It is our concern if it voids the contract.” Justin reminded her. “Sorry Beck, I am happy for you but I’m not about to invest all of our time and work into a company to see it go down the drain because my younger brother needs a new bedmate.”

Beckett would have charged his brother if his father and Ethan hadn’t grabbed him and held him back.

“Bailey is not a new bedmate.” He said through gritted teeth. He looked at his father and
when he assured him he would not hit his brother Roark released him. Ethan hesitated then he too let go of Beckett’s arm.

“Justin is right Beck, you know how I feel about Bailey and I couldn’t be happier for the two of you, I think she is the only woman who has a shot of making you happy. But the reality is if you can
’t keep your dick in your pants then everything we have done and do in the future will be worthless. Say the word and we can pack things up and head back home. We can see if Grayson will give us an extension.”

“We all know he has already given us our last extension. If we go home we better start coming up with the list of who we lay off.” Ethan said.

“We aren’t going home and I haven’t broken the contract.”

“So you didn’t sleep with her, could have fooled me.” Trent said.

Beckett stood rigid; the only other sign of him trying to maintain control of his anger was the muscle that now flexed on his jawline. He walked over to the table and poured himself a cup of coffee taking a drink to try to calm his temper. He looked over to Trent.

“The contract states we can’t have sex, but it doesn’t begin till we take our actual vows.”

“So wait a minute, you mean if the contract isn’t valid for another three weeks then what about the work we are doing and the changes we are making?” Justin asked.

“
Regina has given us a verbal agreement contingent on my marriage. If I don’t marry Bailey I break the contract. If I have sex with her after the marriage I break the contract.”

All eyes turned now to
Roark who had read the original contract and the highlighted amendment when Baileys name replaced Alicia’s. “He’s right, it’s a technicality I don’t think Regina counted on.”

“So basically you
get to enjoy the forbidden fruit for three weeks before you get thrown out of Eden?” Trent said raising his eyebrow and when Beckett scowled he held up his hands. “Sorry bro, is that truly what you intend on doing?”

“I don’t know.” He said sitting down as he ran his hand through his hair in frustration.

“Is it true you gave Macy her walking orders?” Ethan asked.

“Yeah and for the record no we did not have sex before or after I took her to her hotel, I ended it at the airport when I picked her up.”

“Your scratch marks tell another story.” Ethan replied. “You have been known to utilize the bathrooms there.”

Beckett looked now at his mother who didn’t seem surprised.
He rolled his eyes and sighed. He didn’t know how she did it but Kathleen Birmingham always knew the details of her children’s lives.

“Let me amend my previous statement. When I got to the airport I planned on taking her back to the hotel and letting her know it was over, I never planned on having sex with her.”

“So you did have sex with her?”

“No! I cou
ldn’t wait till we got to the hotel so I told her at the airport. While we were waiting to retrieve her luggage she began to put doubts in my mind about Bailey. They were lies and I was stupid enough to consider them. When we got to the parking lot I wanted to forget about Bailey and Macy had no objections, hence the scratch marks….but, I couldn’t get Bailey out of my head and suddenly everything about Macy seemed wrong. So I stopped before we lost too much of our clothing.”

“How did she take it?” Trent asked unable to hide his smile.

“How do you think…..let’s just say I was lucky to get away from her with only a few scratch marks.”

“We’ll I can’t say I’m not happy. Just what did she say about Bailey that put doubts in your head?” His mother asked.

“She told me both Jasper and Rhett are sitting comfortably at their uncles home in Virginia, that the attacks were just fabricated as a rouse to make me feel protective, make Bailey look vulnerable. Bailey told me she took acting in high school and I began to wonder. There is a strong attraction between us but I began to wonder what if it was an act on her part and as for me it was the innocence that drew me.”

“You don’t truly believe that, you saw the bruises.”

“I know, besides I had Kevin look into a few things.”

“Wait a minute, you had her investigated?” His father asked what the rest thought. “Why?”

“It’s not what you think, I asked him before Macy put doubts in my head. I trusted Bailey but Regina is a different story and she has been manipulating me since our meeting. I wanted to make sure she had nothing to do with the attacks and for Bailey’s safety I wanted to make sure both of the bastards are far away. I also have him looking into the guy who attacked her in California because I think he is more of a threat than either of the other two.”

“Why do you say that?” Trent asked.

“After she was fired that guy, Jackson, he stalked her, made phone calls at all hours, she thinks he may have slashed her tires. She had to move several times before it ended. What worries me is the nightmares Alexis keeps having. She sees a man break into their home and kill Bailey…..the man in her dreams is Jackson but Alexis never met him. It’s possible she saw him outside one of their apartments.”

“Where is he now?”
Roark asked looking at Trent whose eyes narrowed as he listened.

“Still in California, seems he has gotten into some trouble at his father’s firm and they are planning on shipping him out, Kevin will let me know when and where.”

“So we have a few things on our plate.” His mother said as she took control. “Ethan I want you and your father to go over that contract with our lawyers.”

“Mother I already did that before I signed it.” Beckett reminded her.

“No you read the first one, the same one your father read with Alicia’s name on it, you also read a copy of the amendment.”

“And?”  Beckett asked.

“When she replaced the contract with Baileys name and added the amendment did you bother to reread the whole thing?”

“No, I glanced over it, noted the amendment she added and confirmed the
verbiage, the rest was the same.”

“You glanced over it.” She smiled. “So if Regina was clever enough to change some of the wording within the body you wouldn’t have caught it.”

“No.” He admitted. “I just signed it and she had the final draft sent to the office.”

“Here?”

“No back home…..what are you suggesting?”

“Maybe she added a few other changes she never pointed out.”

“Then the contract would be invalid.” Justin said.

“Not if your brother signed it.”
Roark commented.

“How could I have been so stupid?”

“It happens…..that’s why your brother and our lawyers handle the paperwork.”
Roark said trying to ease his mind. “What are you looking for?” He asked his wife.

“A back door….Regina added the no sex clause to prevent Beckett and Bailey from sleeping together. I think she was tryi
ng to protect her granddaughter’s heart. I also have to believe she would have left a back door in the small chance Beckett and Bailey actually fell in love.” She smiled as all of her men looked at her as if she had lost her mind. “That’s what I would do.”

“Ok I’ll have a copy sent to our lawyers and another copy sent down to us, you said we had a few things on our plate.”
Roark said taking a seat.

“
Yes, we need to deal with the possible threats to Bailey. Trent I want you to handle these.” She said and seeing Beckett began to protest she held up her hand. “Beckett, I expect you to remain by her side, see to her safety personally….if we need to send someone to get the message to any of these men your brother will go.”

“Alright but I don’t want to be kept out of the loop.”

“You won’t, Beckett none of us couldn’t be happier about you and Bailey but I do need to advise you to precede with caution….if there is no back door than your relationship must change the day you wed. It will put a strain on both of you but Bailey will suffer more. She hasn’t had the experience you’ve had in relationships, be cautious of her heart.”

“
I understand and I have no intention of hurting her.” He stated. He wasn’t ready to admit to his family his true feelings for her.

Beckett began to get anxious the longer he waited for Baileys return. It didn’t help to have his family pretend to carry on conversations while they kept casting glances between him and the door. Finally fed up with waiting Beckett rose and headed for the study. The door was closed and he reached to enter then held back. He knew Regina wanted a private conversation with Bailey and he needed to respect her wishes. If he barged in it could make things worse for Bailey and he already knew she was on shaky ground.

Last night she had given him a gift she could only offer once. The evidence was left on the stained sheets on his bed. He had been careful to remove them and stash them where no snooping eyes would look so he wondered how Regina found out. He was certain that was the reason she had requested to speak to Bailey in private. He pictured her first chastising her for her behavior, reminding her of her duty to maintain the family honor and adding to her already over burden shoulders the fate of the family’s welfare. The longer he waited the angrier he became. He again reached for the door handle then froze. Suddenly another thought crossed his mind. What if Regina convinced Bailey to keep her distance from him? What if she destroyed all the progress he had made in Baileys trust in him?

Both of them had been fighting the chemistry between them
not daring to risk getting hurt but Bailey had been more fearful. She had never allowed herself the chance for love. He easily dismissed her relationship with Matt as one sided. But with him she had moments where her guard was down and she let him in. Then she would spook and the wall went up. Only when he kissed her did the wall shatter and he connected with the passion he knew she held in reserve. But each time, when the connection was broken she replaced her wall. He knew he had given her moments to doubt. Macy had always hung between them and until he ended it he wasn’t truly free. He still didn’t understand how Bailey had snuck in and stolen his heart. From the moment he had seen her with Jaspers hands on her he had felt a connection and a need protect her. He had told himself it had been just chivalry but when he looked into her violet eyes he envisioned himself drowning in them. He remembered the day when she bolted off on her horse and the fear he felt that she might get hurt before he could save her. His anger afterwards had been sprung out of relief. When he pulled her up on his horse he felt the heat of her body as she pressed against his back and from that moment on he wanted to kiss her, to hold her in his arms and know the passion she could offer. Even when he was angry with her he wanted her. What irritated him even more was how comfortable she seemed to be around his brothers. With them she smiled freely, laughed and talked with no wall to shield her. He had wanted that too and only last night when she had finally given herself to him freely did he experience that woman. He had feared that when he saw her this morning she would have put up the barriers again but she hadn’t and he couldn’t explain the joy that filled him. Would Regina destroy all that? He was just about to enter the study when he heard the door open and saw Bailey standing there. Her face was pale and he saw the pain and doubt in her eyes. He was unable to mask his fear as she met his gaze. As she walked up to him he prepared for the worst but when she leaned into him wrapping her arms around his waist a tremor of relief when through him and he held her.

“Are you ok?” He asked resting his chin on the top of her head.

“Yes” She replied and he could hear the hurt in her voice.

“Do you want to talk about it?”