Once Forbidden, Twice Tempted (The Sterling Wives Book 1), стр. 34
“And is that what you really want, Tara? If you were being truly honest with yourself, and there were no repercussions, would you be saying that to me? To stay out of your bed?” He held his breath as he waited for the answer. If she was about to say yes, it would crush his most fragile dream, the one he had no business holding on to. But he wanted a dose of reality. It might help him see a way through this.
“I don’t even know what you’re asking, Grant. I don’t do well with hypotheticals.”
“That’s not true. The woman who stood down at the waterfront and painted a picture for me with nothing more than her words and her passion is one-hundred-percent capable of seeing the possibilities.”
“Are you asking me a question about business? Or us?”
Grant swallowed hard. He hadn’t expected to meet this challenge today, to have to double down on what he wanted in his heart. But he had to say it, be done with it and let the dust settle. “I’m asking about us. The other night was spectacular and you know it. We have always had a connection. Don’t tell me that years of flirting were for nothing. That there was nothing behind it. I don’t believe that.”
Tara waved him off and turned back to the window. “Well, of course I’m attracted to you, Grant. But do you really think that I will just throw away a professional opportunity so we can have a fling? I’m not playing a short game here—I’m playing a long one.”
“What makes you think it would only be short-term?”
“Two reasons. First off, you have never been able to make a relationship last for more than a month. Second, Sterling isn’t going anywhere and we both want the same thing, which there is only one of.”
If only Tara knew that the real reason he’d never been able to make a relationship work was because he compared all women to her. It was a stupid, foolish thing to do, and he’d fought it many times, but it always came down to that. Tara had a way of worming her way back into his head. “What if we shared the leadership of Sterling?” He could hardly believe what he was suggesting. Johnathon would never have thought such a thing was a good idea, and Grant wasn’t sure he thought it was smart, either. Still, he was looking for some fissure in the wall Tara had put up between them. There had to be a way in, a chink in her impenetrable armor.
She shook her head with such conviction that he braced for her answer. “No way. I want to win or lose, and really I just want to win. I should have had a role in this company all along. Johnathon should’ve kept me here. You know it, and I believe he knew it, too. There’s no other reason for him to have written me into the will. I don’t believe for a minute that he did it simply because he loved me like he loved Astrid and Miranda. I was a pit stop for him, and I paid a price for it. I got pushed off into a career I didn’t want, and I got sidelined from the direction I wanted to take, which was to follow in my dad’s footsteps. I have the chops, Grant. I know I do.”
“I know. I know.” He felt himself backing down, and he was tired of pushing himself into a corner. He had to accept that Tara’s primary focus right now was on business. He was going to have to let her move forward with her plan. As long as she had the other wives on her side, they could call all the shots they wanted to. Hell, they could ouster him as CEO if they so chose. He couldn’t play fast and loose with his role in the company. He had to learn his lesson. “So I guess I have my answer.”
“I’d like to hear you say it just so I know we’re on the same page,” Tara said.
“We’re fighting for control of Sterling Enterprises by seeing who can make the best leader. And that means that in the meantime, I’m staying out of your bed.”
Eleven
Tara had offered to host dinner for Miranda and Astrid at her house, but Miranda had insisted they do it at her place. Balancing the pregnancy and her job had left her exhausted, and it was easier if she didn’t have to go anywhere. Neither Tara nor Astrid had any reason to dispute her.
Tara pulled up to what had once been Miranda and Johnathon’s home, now solely belonging to his widow. Situated in La Jolla, overlooking the water, this was close to Grant’s home, which was a mile or two south. Grant and Johnathon had always been thick as thieves, and they’d liked being in close proximity. When Johnathon lived with Tara in Coronado, the two had always complained it was too far.
The house was truly magnificent, an absolute showcase of Spanish architecture, with white stucco, black-leaded windows and a red clay roof topping the six different levels of the home. The tropical seaside landscape was lit up dramatically, as was the house, adorned with wrought iron carriage lamps. Tara had seen the property once, but that was before Johnathon and Miranda had bought it. She’d shown it to a couple five years ago, when the asking price was six million. Tara estimated that it had to be worth at least twelve by now. That was quite a nest egg for Miranda, on top of the millions Johnathon had left to her.
Financially, Miranda would do just fine. Emotionally, Tara didn’t know, but she was sure she was about to find out how Miranda was faring.
Tara waited in her car in the driveway until Astrid arrived. She wanted the chance to speak to her for a moment before they went inside. Luckily, it was only a five-minute wait