navy blue velvet drapes lent opulence to the elegant space. The bed had been stripped and a new mattress, still in the plastic, sat atop the four-poster antique bed. The blue, white, and turquoise silk brocade cover and new white sheets sat stacked on the antique dresser. Once on the bed, they’d set the tone in the room of quite elegance and tranquility.
“Dad thought of everything. He even had a new mattress delivered today. Just perfect for you and me to begin our own business arrangement, don’t you think, Marti?”
“So you won’t sleep on the same bed as your father, but you’d sleep with his mistress. Is that it, Walter?”
He liked the acid tone of her voice and the defiant stance she took. She’d be a challenge. “You’re a beautiful woman. Exactly the kind of woman I like. You’ve got those long legs and tight ass. You’re breasts are full, and I’ll just bet they taste like peaches and cream. I love your hair. I’d like to wrap it around my hand and wrist and yank your head back until you cry out in pleasure and pain.”
He advanced on her. She needed to get out of there. Things had turned bad quickly. The look in Walter’s eyes told her he wasn’t going to take no for an answer any longer. He’d been making passes and sleazy comments to her for weeks. Now that George was gone, he considered her part of his inheritance.
“You’re wrong about me, Walter. I am not, and never was, your father’s mistress. He was a friend of my grandfather’s. He’s known me since I was a child. You know that.”
“He wanted us to think that. He’d had affairs before. He had one with a woman when he and my mother were separated, when I was young. I’ll just bet there were others.”
“You’re wrong. He loved your mother. He strayed while they were separated, but he went back to her.”
“So what? We’re talking about you and me now.”
He advanced on her again. Only a few steps away, she tried again to make him stop. “If you touch me, I swear I’ll scream this house down.”
“Who would care if I touched a whore like you?”
“I would,” Cameron said from the door, “and she’s not a whore. You should have some respect for the only person who cried for your father. She’s one of the few who truly grieves for him.”
“What is that supposed to mean? You don’t think I’m upset about my father’s passing?”
“I think you can’t wait to hear the reading of the will. You don’t have to wait any longer. The lawyer is ready. Go downstairs.”
It wasn’t a request.
Walter’s eyes darted from him to her. “Pack your bags. You’re out of here tonight.”
“No, she’s not.”
“This is my house, and what I say goes.”
Cameron continued to glare. Tomorrow, he owned half the house. Marti could stay as long as she wanted. Tonight he’d find out who owned the other half and tomorrow he and Emma would move in, with Shelly in the west wing. He wasn’t sure Marti would stay with Shelly there, but Emma wanted Marti to stay until the wedding. He’d try to convince her.
“We’ll just see about that, won’t we?” Cameron said defiantly.
“What do you mean?”
“Let’s go listen to the reading of the will.”
Walter glared at Marti and left the room, giving Cameron a wide berth.
“Are you okay?” Marti looked worse today than the last time he’d seen her.
“I’m fine. Just tired. I was up all night with George.”
“Same story, different day. You told me the same thing last time. I didn’t buy it then, and I don’t buy it now. Why didn’t you call me?”
She looked shocked. “I left a message with your assistant this morning and you never called me back.”
“I got the message from my assistant, but all it said was call Marti. I didn’t think it was important.”
She looked at him like he was a stranger.
“I left a message with Shelly, telling you it was urgent and George was dying. She said you were helping Emma get dressed. She knew it was important. I guess that message wasn’t important either, because it was just me calling,” she said, letting her anger and hurt show.
Shelly did tell him she called, even if she didn’t say why, which pissed him off, but she’d asked him not to call and encourage her. Shelly insisted Marti was just making a last-ditch effort to hold onto him and cause problems between them when they’d finally