“I know, that’s why I married her.”
“She’s your wife?” Parker shook his head. “She’s not wearing a ring. If you’re married, why isn’t she wearing your brand?”
Making a mental note to remedy that problem as soon as possible, Luke glared at the man. “That’s my business, not yours. She’s mine and you keep your damned hands off her.”
“And if I don’t?” Parker prompted, his cocky grin sending Luke’s blood pressure into stroke range.
“You’ll be picking up several of those capped teeth of yours from the floor,” Luke warned, halfway hoping the man would give him a reason to show that he meant business.
“Is that a threat?” Parker asked, raising an eyebrow.
Luke shook his head. “No, it’s a fact.”
Luke walked away before he carried out his promise and punched Parker square in the face. Taking several deep breaths to bring his anger under control, he searched the crowd for Haley. He wasn’t sure who he was irritated with the most—Parker for zooming in on the fact that Haley wasn’t wearing a wedding band or himself for forgetting to buy her one.
Either way, it didn’t change the fact that she belonged to him, and Luke Garnier wasn’t the type of man who shared what was rightfully his.
By the time Haley found Arielle in the powder room, her anger at Luke had been replaced with an undeniable sadness. There was no way he’d ever see their marriage as anything more than another one of his business deals. She’d been deluding herself when she’d thought that he might.
Not only had he introduced her to Emerald Larson as his executive assistant, he obviously hadn’t shared the fact that the woman was his newfound grandmother. And if that wasn’t proof enough that he viewed her only as his employee, just look at the way he’d ordered her to look for his sister.
“Haley, are you all right?” Arielle asked, clearly concerned. “You don’t look like you feel very well. Should I go get Luke?”
Lowering onto one of the plush sofas in the lounge area, Haley shook her head. “I’m fine, really. And no, I’d rather not see Luke at the moment.”
“Uh-oh.” Arielle walked over to sit down beside her. “What has that boneheaded brother of mine done now?”
“More like what he hasn’t done,” Haley informed, feeling absolutely miserable.
She wanted a baby more than anything, but what had she gotten herself into? How could marrying a man she loved with all of her heart for the purpose of having the baby she wanted so badly, make her feel so hopeless?
“You love him, don’t you?” Arielle inquired, reaching to place her hand on Haley’s. “That’s why you agreed to his hair-brained plan to have a baby, isn’t it?”
“You know about our arrangement?” she ventured, somewhat surprised.
“I know all about it,” Arielle assured Haley, her smile encouraging. “When Luke told Jake about the two of you getting married and the plan to have a baby, Jake couldn’t dial my number fast enough.” She grinned. “I think it was just too much for poor Jake to keep to himself. But it did give me a bit of a reprieve.”
“I’m sure it was quite a shock to both of you,” Haley attested, nodding. “But enough about me and Luke. What about you? Your brothers—”
Obviously not wanting to discuss her brothers’ concerns, Arielle interrupted, “I’ve known for some time that you absolutely adore Luke.”
“But how? I’ve always been careful not to show how I felt about him.”
The young woman smiled. “When I was here at Christmas, I saw the way your eyes would light up when he walked into the office. And let’s face it, women are a lot more intuitive than men. You could hang a sign around your neck, advertising how much you care about him and I think Luke would probably miss it.”
“Men are rather clueless, aren’t they?” Haley agreed, her mood lightening ever so slightly.
Arielle nodded. “And Luke is one of the worst. When it comes to business, he’s unsurpassed. But he’s avoided having a real relationship so long that he doesn’t recognize what is as plain as the nose on his face to the rest of us. I’m just glad he finally realized how perfect you are for him.”
“You do know that our marriage is just to get me to have his heir? It’s only temporary,” Haley elaborated, wondering if Luke’s sister really did know everything.
“That’s what I was told, but I don’t think that’s going to be the case.” Arielle gave Haley a knowing look. “I saw the way Luke reacted when he found Chet Parker talking to you. If looks could kill, they would be hauling poor old Chet to the morgue right now.”
“But I’ve never been interested in anyone but Luke,” Haley argued, shaking her head.
Arielle laughed. “I know that and you know that, but my overly obtuse brother can’t see it.”
They were silent for a few moments, before Haley brought up her brothers’ concern. “I’m sure you know Luke and Jake are very worried about you.”
The young woman sighed as she stared down at her hands. “As much as I love my brothers and appreciate everything they’ve done for me, there are some things they just can’t fix.”
Haley put her arm around Arielle shoulders. “Is there anything I can do?”
Shaking her head, Arielle raised tear-filled eyes to meet Haley’s questioning gaze. “I really don’t think there’s anything anyone can do. I’m almost three months pregnant.”
“Have you told the baby’s father?” Haley asked, her heart going out to her sister-in-law.
“I’ve tried, but I can’t find him.” Arielle bit her trembling lower lip. “Please, you have to promise me you won’t tell Luke or Jake. I’m just not ready to listen to a lecture right now.”
“You have my word.” She wasn’t about to betray her sister-in-law’s confidence. “But you will have to tell your brothers eventually.”
“I know, but I have some things that I need to work out before I let them know.” Sniffing, Arielle straightened her shoulders. “Besides, Luke and Jake would just start demanding to know who the father is so they could have one of those famous brotherly talks with him.”
“You’re right. And that would probably just make matters worse.” Haley knew for certain they’d track the man down no matter what it took.