Jayne Krentz - Dawn in Eclipse Bay

Sullivan cleared his throat. “Always heard that Gabe, here, was a different kind of Madison.”

“Not that different,” she shot back. “And what’s more, you can’t buy him off or scare him off. Madisons don’t work that way.”

“She’s right,” Mitchell said. “If Gabe wants to marry her, you won’t be able to get rid of him with money or threats.”

“Which brings up a very crucial issue,” Lillian said. “As I told Mom on the phone, Gabe has never asked me to marry him. Isn’t that correct, Gabe?”

“Correct,” Gabe said.

“What’s this?” Sullivan grabbed the handle of his cane and used it to haul himself up off the sagging sofa. He turned on Gabe with a thunderous expression. “I was under the impression that you were serious about my granddaughter. If you think I’m going to stand by while you shack up indefinitely with her, you can think again.”

“Wasn’t planning to shack up indefinitely,” Gabe said.

Mitchell beetled his brows. “Just what are you doing here, Sullivan?”

“Before we were so rudely interrupted,” Sullivan said, “I was presenting a business proposition to Gabe. Of course, that was when I was still under the impression that he intended to marry Lillian.”

Mitchell eyed him with deep suspicion. “What kind of business proposition?”

Gabe looked at Lillian. “Your grandfather was outlining the financial advantages of marriage to you. You come with one-third of H.I., you know.”

“The advantages ?” Lillian stared at Sullivan. “You mean you’re trying to bribe him to marry me?”

“I just wanted him to understand that we’d be happy to have him as a member of the family,” Sullivan said mildly.

“Well, shoot and damn.” Mitchell whistled softly. “Got to hand it to you, Sullivan. Didn’t think you had that much common sense.”

Lillian was aghast. “You weren’t trying to buy him off. You’re here to try to buy him for me. This is the most mortifying thing that has ever happened to me in my entire life.”

Sullivan stiffened. “What’s mortifying about it? I thought you wanted Gabe.”

“For heaven’s sake, Granddad. It’s like you’re offering him a dowry to take me off your hands. If he marries me and gets a chunk of H.I., everyone will say he did it for the money.”

“Which is why I turned down the deal,” Gabe replied softly.

She swung around to face him. “You did?”

“Shoot and damn.” Mitchell waved a hand. “Why did you go and do something dumb like that? You coulda had the lady and one-third of H.I. That’s what we call a win-win situation.”

“What choice did I have?” Gabe gestured toward the papers on the coffee table. “If I sign those Lillian would always wonder if I married her for her inheritance.”

“No, I wouldn’t,” Lillian said quickly.

Gabe looked at her. “I appreciate your faith in me but I’m afraid I can’t accept you and one-third of H.I., too. I just finished explaining that to Sullivan.”

“What if I just give up my shares in H.I.?” she asked.

Sullivan glared at her. “I’m not about to let you walk away from your inheritance, young woman. Wouldn’t be right. I worked my tail off to build that company. I did it for you and Hannah and Nick.”

Her refusing a third of H.I. would be a terrible blow to him, she realized.

“Evidently I’m fated to be doomed by my inheritance,” she muttered.

“Depends,” Gabe said.

She looked at him, hope rising. “On what?”

“There is a way around this. If you agree to marry me and if your family insists on endowing you, so to speak, you can put your share of your Harte inheritance into a trust for any children we might have. Okay with you, Sullivan?”

Sullivan looked thoughtful. “One way to handle it, I guess.”

Joy flowed through Lillian, bringing a rainbow of colors.

“No problem,” she whispered.

Gabe got to his feet. “You’ll do it? You’ll marry me?”

Neither Mitchell nor Sullivan so much as twitched. It was, Lillian thought, as if the whole world was holding its collective breath in anticipation of her answer.

“Well, sure,” she said softly. “I mean, what else can I do after you turned down the chance to get your hands on a chunk of my family’s company? It’s such a truly Madison-style gesture. But I really don’t want you to feel that you have to do this. It’s not necessary, honest. I know you’re not a fortune-hunter.”

He gave her his slow smile, showing just a hint of teeth. “Honey, if I want Harte Investments, I’ll buy the whole damn company when your dad puts it on the market in a year or two.”

Everyone stared at him in dumbfounded silence.

Lillian met Sullivan’s eyes. He grinned. She felt the laughter bubble up inside.

“Yes, of course,” she gasped between giggles. “Why didn’t I think of that. It’s no secret that H.I. will be up for sale soon. You can buy it outright when Dad retires. No fuss, no bother, no need to get married.”

“Trust me,” Gabe said. “it would be a whole lot simpler that way.”

Mitchell grunted. “Never thought of that.”

“Probably because business is not your forte, Mitch,” Sullivan growled. “It was obvious right from the start that Gabe didn’t need to marry Lillian to get his hands on Harte. All he has to do is wait a few years and do a buy-out.”

Gabe wrapped his fingers around Lillian’s wrist. “Come on, let’s go someplace where we can discuss our private affairs in private.”

He opened the porch door and led her outside into the bright afternoon light. Together they went down the path toward the rocky beach.

Neither of them spoke until they reached the bottom.

“You’re serious about this?” she said at last.

“Never been more serious in my life.” He tightened his hand around hers. “Did you mean it when you said you’d marry me?”

“Yes. But you don’t have to give up a share of Harte Investments for me. I mean, I appreciate the grand gesture but it’s not necessary. Really.”

“It’s necessary.”

“Why?”

He stopped and pulled her around to face him. “Because I’m a Madison. A Madison does things like turn down the offer of a third of a multimillion-dollar company for the woman he loves. It’s in the genes.”

The woman he loves .

“Oh, Gabe.” The brilliant colors of happiness splashed through her, effervescent and glorious. She went into his arms. “I love you so much.”

He kissed her.

Except for a few details such as the fact that they were on the beach, not on the bluffs, and she wasn’t barefoot and there was no gossamer gown, the scene was just the way it had been in the romantic fantasy she had conjured up when she had set out to meet him on the path.

Perfect.

Sullivan surveyed the seating options in Mitchell’s living room and chose the recliner that provided a view of the bay. He lowered himself into it with a long sigh and looked out at the water. The light was starting to go. He never liked this time of day.

“We came mighty close to screwing that up pretty bad, didn’t we?” he said.

“What’s with this we business?” Mitchell settled into the other well-worn recliner. “You’re the one who damn near screwed things up. What the hell did you think you were doing trying to buy Gabe with a chunk of H.I.?”

“You’re the one who told me I was supposed to fix things.”

“You don’t fix things between a Madison and a Harte with a business contract.”

“Seemed like the logical thing to do. Pretty clear that Lillian wanted him and I just wanted to encourage him to see the benefits of marriage to her.” Sullivan stretched out his legs, wincing when his joints protested. “How do you stand this damp, cold weather all year long?”