The Marriage Promise (Billionaire Games Book 4) Read online

  “So you’re at the suite alone with the kids?”

  “Yes.”

  “Boys? Girls? How old are they?”

  “Girls. They’re nine and twelve, I think they said.”

  “Oh, hell…go out there and ask one of those girls where their mother is.”

  “I will. I will.” Deidra’s tone wasn’t nearly as confident as her words.

  “Great. Now you call me back later and let me know what they said.”

  “But it’ll be too late there. You’ll be asleep.”

  “Then call me in the morning.”

  “Okay.” Deidra looked over her shoulder. The girls were sitting on the couch. Amy had the television remote in her hands and she and Emily appeared to be arguing about something. Probably the remote control. “I’d better go. I’ll call you tomorrow.”

  “Okay. Go find out. Bye.”

  And with that, the call ended. Deidra went back inside, and the girls stopped talking, arguing, or whatever they were doing.

  “Was that my dad?” Emily asked.

  “No.” Deidra shook her head. “A friend of mine back in California. She’s very pregnant with twins and trying to live vicariously through me right now.”

  “Twins?” Amy said distastefully and glared at Emily. “Believe me, one baby at a time is plenty.”

  Uh oh. The last thing Deidra wanted was for Amy and Emily to start fighting again.

  “Hey…” Deidra dropped onto the couch between the girls. “Let’s find something to watch on TV until the origami paper gets here.” She nodded enthusiastically at them. They each relented slowly, Emily first, then Amy.

  The three of them settled in while Amy channel surfed. Within half an hour, a bountiful supply of origami papers in a variety of colors was delivered.

  Two hours later, Deidra had demonstrated and helped the girls create half a dozen different flowers, and the fruits of their efforts were scattered all over the table. Some folds were better than others, but Deidra wasn’t judging. She was just enjoying hanging out with Amy and Emily.

  “Miss Deidra?” Emily looked up at her. “When is my daddy coming back?”

  “Well…” Deidra sucked in a breath, buying time to find the best response. “I’m sure he’ll be back as soon as he can.”

  Emily’s face melded into a distressed expression. “Miss Deidra…” Her voice trailed off as she waited to command Deidra’s full attention. Once she had it, she continued, “I’m hungry.”

  Oh, my God! Deidra chastised herself. Why hadn’t she thought the children might be hungry? And to think, John had entrusted their care to her. Well, no matter, she could easily fix it.

  “Shall we order room service?” she suggested. “Do you know where the menu is?”

  Emily nodded and ran to the desk on the other side of the couch where she grabbed a brown binder and trotted back to the dining table.

  Deidra’s cell chimed. She glanced at the display. It was John. “I need to take this,” she said, standing up. “You girls go over the menu and decide what you want. We’ll order just as soon as I finish this call.” Once they both nodded, Deidra stepped away from the table and moved out onto the lanai, closing the sliding door behind her. “Hey…” she said into the phone. “How is Phillip?”

  “He’s hanging in there.” There was a brief pause, then John added, “Can the girls hear you? They don’t know, do they?”

  “No.” Deidra shook her head as she spoke. “I stepped out onto the lanai to take your call.”

  “Thank you,” he said, and she could practically hear the relief pouring out in his sigh. “And I’m sorry about all this.”

  “Don’t worry about it and don’t worry about us. The girls and I are doing fine. In fact, we’re about to order dinner. They’re perusing the room service menu as we speak.” She wanted him to know she had everything under control. That she could take care of his children. He could count on her.

  “Thank you. And be sure to charge it to the room.”

  “Will do,” she said softly.

  “I’ll try to get back as soon as I can,” he said. “But if you need me to come back right away, I will.”

  “No.” Deidra shook her head. “You stay there as long as you need to. I’m sure you’re a great comfort to Helen.”

  “I would like to stay until the test results come back. It should be within the hour.”

  “No problem. I’ll make up some story to tell the girls.”

  “I’m sorry to put you in a position where you have to lie to Amy and Emily, but I don’t want them to know about Phillip just yet.” There was another long pause. “I have a very good reason, and I will tell you about it when I see you.”

  “Don’t worry,” she assured him. “I won’t lie. I’ll just play dumb.”

  That got a laugh out of him. “Deidra, I’m sorry if I’ve ruined your vacation.”

  She thought about it for a moment and then said with a hint of laughter, “You’ll make it up to me.”

  “You can count on it,” he said smoothly. “Do you mind if I speak with the girls briefly?”

  “Oh, sure. Hang on and I’ll get them.” Deidra opened the sliding door and went back inside. “It’s your dad,” she said, handing the phone to Amy.

  After a few brief moments of talking to each of the girls, Emily handed the phone back to Deidra with a pouty look on her face. “He says I gotta take a bath.” She perched her hands on her hips.

  “Can you do that alone?” Deidra asked, nearly scared out of her wits. She’d never been in the position to have to bathe a child. She’d never even seen it done.

  Emily rolled her eyes and nodded.

  “Don’t be rude, Em,” Amy said. “Deidra’s been very nice to us.”

  Deidra sucked in a breath to hide the shock as she turned to Amy. She wasn’t expecting that. The turnaround in Amy’s behavior from just a couple of days ago was nothing short of miraculous. Deidra marveled at the quickness of it.

  “Sorry, Miss Deidra.” Emily batted her eyes.

  “It’s fine, Emily,” she assured her. “But perhaps you should take a quick bath before room service is delivered.” Deidra presented it to her as a suggestion so she’d feel like she had a choice in the matter.

  “All right.” Emily nodded. “Would you order me one of those chicken wrap thingies?” She waited until Deidra acknowledged her request, then trotted off toward one of the bedrooms.

  Deidra and Amy perused the room service menu until they decided on selections. Once Deidra had placed their order, she returned to the dining table where Amy was still sitting, playing with the origami flowers they’d made.

  “So, when is my dad coming back?” she asked after Deidra sat down.

  “He said he’s almost done and it shouldn’t take too much longer.” She kept her response vague and noncommittal.

  Amy peered at the pink flower in her hand as if she were inspecting it. “I’ll bet it has something to do with my mother,” she said solemnly.

  Deidra’s heart shriveled. “Why would you think that?” Were they expecting her? Was John’s wife the one who was destined to ruin Deidra’s vacation?

  “There’s something you don’t know,” Amy said.

  Tell me about it! Deidra gave herself a mental kick for letting herself get too attached to John and his daughters, and so quickly, too.

  “It’s about why we’re in Hawaii.” There was a sadness radiating from Amy, one Deidra couldn’t quite put her finger on. Perhaps she was just missing her mother and was ready for her to join them to make the family complete.

  Boy, did she ever feel like a third wheel. Then Deidra remembered why she was in Hawaii. That showered her with sadness. “If you want to share,” Deidra said, simply to get her mind off her own troubles. “I want to listen.”

  “I’ll bet my Dad is making arrangements for Sunday.”

  Sunday? Oh God. Was Amy’s mother—John’s wife—joining them on Sunday? “Is that when your mother arrives?” It was none of Deidr
a’s business, but she had to ask. For her own sanity, she had to know if this woman was going to come in and rip away every shred of dignity that Deidra had.

  When her eyes drifted back to Amy, the child had a horrified look on her face. Tears slipped from Amy’s eyes before she muttered, “She’s already here.”

  “Huh?” was all Deidra could manage.

  Amy pointed to an exotic-looking canister sitting on the kitchen counter that Deidra hadn’t noticed before. It was beautiful, with butterflies in various shades of blue and purple that seemed to be flittering over a bed of deep blue flowers. The entire scene was overlain on gold. Deidra quickly realized the canister was an urn.

  Deidra’s heart ached with sadness, then sympathy, and finally shame that quickly spiral into guilt over the sliver of relief that had cut its way into her heart knowing that Amy’s mother was not going to show up to claim her family.

  “Oh God, Amy…I’m so sorry.” Deidra’s voice cracked as she bit back the urge to cry. “I had no idea.”

  Amy hung her head as tears spilled from her eyes. She began to jerk with her sobs. Instantly, Deidra was out of her chair, on her knees and pulling the girl into her arms.

  After a few moments of clinging to Deidra, Amy swiped at her tears and tried to smile. “I shouldn’t let Emily see me cry,” she said, pulling away from Deidra and scooting back into her chair.

  Deidra moved back to her own chair. “I’ll tell you a secret.”

  Amy looked at her with interest, but didn’t say anything.

  “I came here to scatter my parents’ ashes.” Deidra’s tone was solemn.

  Amy’s eyes widened. “Really?”

  Deidra nodded. “They passed away three months ago. Car accident.”

  “My mom had cancer.”

  The thought of John having to watch his wife die of cancer sucker-punched Deidra’s heart. The thought of Amy and Emily having to witness it, shattered her badly-bruised heart into pieces.

  “How long has it been? Since your mother passed away?” Deidra asked, thinking it must’ve been recently. She had no business getting mixed up with a family in mourning.

  “Three years.”

  Three years? Deidra felt her mouth falling open and snapped it shut. She sucked in a breath. “Oh my…” Her words trailed off as she searched for something to say, some words of comfort, yet trying to understand how John and his children had been left hanging in limbo for so long.

  “Yeah.” Amy almost laughed. “My dad’s had a hard time letting go. That’s what my Uncle Ray says.”

  A knock at the door eased the tension. “Uncle Ray may be on to something,” Deidra said, pushing herself up from the table. Thank goodness the food was here. Hopefully, by the time they’d eaten, John would return and Deidra could be on her way. This was a situation she didn’t need to get mixed up in—well, at least not any more than she already was. Now that she realized the true nature of the situation she was in, she had to extract herself from it. Quickly.

  John Sinclair stepped out of the limo and strolled through the Trump Tower’s open portico toward the elevators. He’d been so afraid that Phillip would not survive the heart attack, but after receiving preliminary tests, the doctors assured John and Helen that Phillip would indeed survive. He would, however, have to spend the next week in the hospital. The entire party was scheduled to return home long before Phillip would be released from the hospital, and then surely he would need rest before he could even consider getting on an airplane.

  John went to the lobby on the sixth floor, explained the situation to the woman at the registration desk, and extended Helen and Phillip’s room through a week from Friday. By then, surely, he’d be able to bring the jet back to Hawaii to retrieve them.

  The elevator doors slid open. John stepped inside, swiped his room’s card key and hit number twenty-eight. The elevator traversed the floors swiftly. John stepped off the lift and headed down the hallway toward his suite.

  He would have to find a way to make it up to Deidra for asking her to pretty much lie to his children about his whereabouts. It wasn’t exactly an out-and-out lie, but rather a lie by omission. At this point, the line between the two had blurred. He felt a little bad about it, but he would’ve felt worse upon seeing his children’s faces knowing Phillip had been taken to the hospital. The last time they’d heard someone had been taken to the hospital—their mother—she didn’t come home.

  John paused at the door to his suite and willed himself to remain calm in front of the children. Confident in his ability, he swiped the card key and opened the door.

  Emily hopped up from the dining table. “Daddy!” She ran to him. “We had so much fun with Miss Deidra.” She latched onto his hand and led him toward the table. “Look at the pretty flowers we made.”

  Paper flowers in a variety of colors had been bunched together in the center of the table, probably when room service arrived. Near-empty plates occupied the perimeter.

  Amy and Deidra glanced up at John.

  “Hey, Dad,” Amy said.

  Deidra smiled at him and his heart melted. John surveyed the table as a distraction to keep from making a fool of himself by staring at Deidra. “I trust you girls didn’t give Deidra too much of a hassle.”

  Both girls groaned, but Deidra moved in swiftly. “Amy and Emily were perfect companions this evening. I doubt I could’ve had a better time anywhere else.”

  “That’s very generous of you.” John chuckled, knowing Deidra’s proclamation was most likely an embellishment of the truth. His children, especially Amy, hadn’t been perfect in a long time.

  “Dad.” Amy stood. “The fireworks are going to start soon. Can Miss Deidra stay and watch them with us?”

  “I wouldn’t want to intrude,” Deidra spoke up.

  “Of course, you must stay,” John said, trying not to beg. “We’d be honored to have you watch them with us. Our balcony has a perfect view.”

  “Well…” Deidra sighed. “If you’re sure it’s not an imposition, I’d love to stay and watch.”

  “Then it’s settled.” John clapped his hands together. “Should we order some dessert?”

  After much deliberation, choices were made, dessert was ordered and delivered in a timely fashion. On the lanai, John and Deidra both indulged in a glass of wine while the four of them dined on chocolate crunch (a chocolate mousse with wafers) and Tuscan chocolate bread pudding while watching the fireworks show.

  When the grandeur of the finale faded away, Deidra moved to the edge of her chair. “Thank you for inviting me to stay for the show. It was spectacular.” She looked specifically at John. “I hope all of your business works out in your favor.”

  Deidra pushed herself up from the chair, and Amy leaned toward John and whispered, “Dad, can’t we invite her to lunch tomorrow or something? Don’t you owe her for tonight?”

  Amy was right, and she had obviously taken a liking to Deidra. Truth be told, so had John. How could he not like a woman who’d been the means to transform his bear of a daughter back into the sweet, lovable, agreeable girl she’d once been? Before her mother’s death.

  A wave of guilt splashed over John as he stood, but he called after her anyway, “Deidra…?”

  She glanced over her shoulder as she stepped across the threshold of the sliding door. She stiffened when her eyes met his smile.

  “The girls and I would like it very much if you would join us for lunch tomorrow. We’ve planned a trip to the north shore. Turtle Bay. They’ve got a great little restaurant that overlooks the beach there.” He was rambling now. Something he hadn’t done since his crush on Robin Thompson back in high school.

  “That’s really not necessary,” she said. “I was happy to hang out with the girls this evening. We had a great time. Lots of fun.” She was courteous enough, but John got the feeling she was trying to distance herself. But why?

  “Please join us. It would be our pleasure.” The thought of her walking out of his life made his heart pound erratica
lly against his chest.

  Emily rushed to Deidra’s side, hugging her. “Please, Miss Deidra?” She glanced up and gave her that look. The one John had rarely been able to deny.

  Deidra brushed Emily’s hair back out of her face. “All right.” She agreed, but her tone had been reluctant. She looked back at John. “If you’re sure I won’t be intruding.”

  “Positive,” John said. “We’d love to have you join us.”

  “All right.” She nodded. But John got the feeling that she still had her reservations. She hurried to the door, so fast he was barely able to catch up to her before she’d stepped into the hallway. She stopped once outside the room, as if the threshold was a safety barrier. “I’ll see you all tomorrow then.”

  John said, “We’ll call for you at the Embassy Suites around ten.”

  “Sounds good. I’ll wait by the entrance.” She nodded and turned away.

  “Good night, Deidra.”

  She waved over her shoulder without looking back. “Good night.”

  John closed the door. He was filled with thoughts of what might’ve happened to cause her to want to distance herself from him and the girls. What had happened while he was at the hospital? He went to find Amy.

  The girls were in their bedroom. Emily was already lounging on the bed, channel surfing. Amy was in the bathroom. John walked across the room and tapped on the bathroom door. “Amy?”

  “Yeah,” she said behind the sounds of sloshing water.

  “When you’re done, let’s talk.”

  “Okay.” Her garbled reply echoed through the door.

  John headed back toward the door leading into the living room. Moments later, Amy padded out with Emily tagging along.

  “What did you all do this evening?” he asked in as nonchalant a voice as possible. The girls hung out near the doorway leading to their bedroom.

  “We made origami flowers,” Emily said.

  “And had dinner.” Amy shrugged.

  “What did you talk about?” Nerves were starting to rattle his voice.

  Amy glanced at Emily and said, “Nothing much.”

  “Deidra seemed a little upset when she left.” John peered at the girls, waiting for signs of guilt from either of them. None came.