“I know,” he confirmed, and by then I had already forgotten the question.
He turned back to my family. “This was such a lovely meal. Please allow me to help clear the table.”
We all gawked at him. Does one do that when one is a Duke?
Apparently, Auggie did. He stacked the plates and helped clear the table with the rest of us. He indulged one quick, private drink with my folks while the rest of us kids cleaned up the kitchen. Finally, Fern encouraged me to join them in the living room, just as he stood and made his excuse to leave. I followed him out the door.
I didn’t expect to walk him all the way to the gate, but I found I really didn’t want to part ways with him until I absolutely had to. We had some unfinished business.
He seemed to enjoy the company either way. He slid me a side glance as we walked side by side. “You undersold your family,” he said. “They’re wonderful.”
“Thank you. I’m sorry if my mother crossed over some boundaries. She didn’t know the rules.”
“What did I tell you about apologizing? I’m going to start knocking zeroes off your paycheck.”
I laughed. “You’d still hire me after all this?”
“It only confirmed what I already knew. Who you are. Where you come from,” he said, nodding his head towards the house. “You have integrity, Peaches. Plainly speaking, I’m the one who owes you the apology.”
“For what?”
He stopped and turned towards me. “When you showed up last night,” he started, but then held back, choosing his words carefully. “Suffice it to say, I misunderstood the agenda. Usually when a ballsy girl shows up on my doorstep in the middle of the night, it’s to see how far she can get. This is usually fine for me because I like to see how far she’ll go. It’s a game, you see. And I was playing by those rules. But you had the good sense to pull back. It was the smart, professional thing to do. I knew then I could trust you with my story. I don’t want anyone else to tell it. I never did. Why do you think I was willing to pay such a high price for it? It’s worth that much to me.”
“And you’d still hire me, knowing that I’m pregnant?”
“Yes,” he said with a nod. “Because I think you’re worth it.” The compliment took my breath away. “I know you’ll earn every dime twice. And it does my heart good to know it’ll go to someone who needs it.”
What could I say to that?
“Unless I’m misunderstanding the situation and there’s someone else in your life you need to consult,” he offered, his eyes drilling into mine.
I shook my head. “There’s no one.”
But that wasn’t right either. I had my family. And I had my baby. I touched my stomach, and I held my head up high. “Everything you’ve seen here is what we have.”
He smiled, as if the answer pleased him. He reached inside his coat pocket, pulled out an envelope and handed it to me. “Then allow me to apologize again for what will seem paltry in comparison.”
He watched me, expectantly, so I opened it. It was another contract and another check, this one twice the size of the other one. I nearly lost my footing and he righted me by the elbow. “But why?”
“I told you. You’re worth it. You’re writing a book after all.” He turned to keep walking along the path towards the front gate. “That’s a pretty massive undertaking. Who knows how long this may take? Plus, you’ll need an assistant when you travel. I figured there would be nobody better than your sister.”
“Fern?” I echoed. It was everything I wanted. How did he know?
He nodded. “Her compensation is included with yours. I went to Headliner Pulse today to renegotiate the terms.”
“Did Lydia ask why?”
He laughed. “She was too busy kissing my feet.”
I chuckled too. That did sound like Lydia.
“Your secret is safe with me, Peaches. Once you get a chance to review the contract, you’ll see there’s a pretty extensive Non-Disclosure Agreement. I’ve already signed my half. Everything between us is protected, from that very first interview.”
I glanced back up at him. “Why are you doing all this? Really?”
He shrugged. “Good karma.” We reached his car. I noticed there was no silent servant. He had come on his own, to ensure everything that transpired was completely private. “So, what do you say?”