Wed on His Terms: Million-Dollar Marriage Merger. Charlene Sands

perfect. Everything has to be pure from the wine you make to the babies you bring into this world. Well, I’m pregnant, Tony. With David’s baby. You’d be raising David’s child as your own.”

      Tony didn’t flinch. He didn’t turn away. He didn’t move so much as a muscle in surprise. That was his mistake. Rena expected shock. She expected him to change his mind, to withdraw his marriage proposal. It irked him that she thought so little of him.

      Rena backed away, gasping at his nonresponse. Her mouth dropped open, and when she spoke, her voice broke with accusation. “You know. How? How do you know, Tony?” She pressed him for an answer.

      â€œI didn’t know for sure, until now.”

      Rena narrowed her eyes. “Tell me.”

      Tony sighed. “It was David. He suspected it.”

      Rena backed away, her hands clutching at her hair. Her shoulders slumped, color drained from her face. It was as if she relived his death all over again. She looked down at a patch of shriveled grape leaves on the ground. “He knew about our baby.”

      â€œI’m sorry, Rena.”

      Her eyes watered. “David won’t ever meet his child.”

      â€œNo, but he wanted to protect him and … you. I’m capable of doing that for you, Rena.”

      â€œBut I don’t want to marry you,” she said softly.

      Tony heard the resignation in her tone. She was considering her options. “I know.”

      She peered into his eyes. “How would it look? I’m barely a widow—and now I’m marrying my husband’s friend.”

      Tony made this decision to protect Rena days ago. “No one has to know. We’ll keep it secret.”

      â€œSecret?” She looked at him, puzzled.

      â€œFor a time, anyway.”

      She closed her eyes, contemplating. She battled with the idea of marrying him. Her facial expressions reflected her thoughts as they twisted to and fro.

      He pressed his point. “Your winery needs help fast,” he said quietly, and then added, “but more important, your child needs a father.”

      â€œMaybe that’s true.” Rena’s eyes flooded with tears now, her voice filled with surrender. “But I don’t need you, Tony. I’ll never need you again.”

      That was the closest she’d come to a yes.

      Tony made mental plans for their wedding day.

      Rena cried herself to sleep for two nights, realizing the futility in denying the inevitable. She was cornered and had nowhere to run. She’d been waging mental wars inside her head since Tony’s proposal for a secret marriage. She couldn’t come up with any other viable solution to her dilemma. She was so heavily in debt she doubted she’d find anyone willing to take on such a big risk.

      But how could she marry Tony?

      How could she allow him to be a father to David’s child?

      It all seemed so unfair.

      Rena stepped outside her house and squinted into the morning sunlight rising just above the hills. Golden hues cast beautiful color over the valley. This was her favorite time of day. When David was alive, she’d often wake early and come outside to tend her garden and open her mind to all possibilities. David would sit on the veranda to drink coffee and watch her. They would talk endlessly about little things and his presence would lend her peace and comfort.

      But since his death, Rena had sorely neglected her garden. Today, she hoped she’d find solace working the soil and nurturing the lilies and roses. She needed this time to come to grips with what she had to do.

      She put on her gardening gloves and took to the soil, yanking out pesky weeds, and with each firm tug, thoughts of what David asked from her in his death plagued her mind. He hadn’t given her what she needed most—time to grieve. Time to try to figure out a way to save Purple Fields on her own. Instead, he’d hidden the facts from her and shielded her from bad news. David had always been a man she could count on, but he hadn’t realized the toll his dying request would take on her.

      She tugged at a stubborn weed, bracing her feet and pulling with all of her might. Emotions roiled in the pit of her stomach. Feelings she’d held in for a long time finally came forth as she felt the weed break with the ground. “I’m so mad at you, David, I could spit.”

      The weed released, easing from the soil slowly and Rena held it in her hands, staring at the roots that had once been secured in the earth. “You died and left me with this mess.”

      And when she thought tears would fall again, instead simmering anger rose up with full force. She was angry, truly angry with David. She was angry with herself. But most of all, she was angry with Tony Carlino. Her anger knew no rationality at the moment. And for the first time since David’s death, Rena felt strong in that anger. She felt powerful. She refused to let guilt or fear wash away her innermost feelings. David had let her down. Tony had blackmailed her.

      But she didn’t have to take it without a fight. She didn’t have to lose control of everything she loved, just because fate had stepped in and knocked her down. New strength born of distress and determination lifted her. She still had a say in what happened in her life. Her primary obligation was to protect her unborn child and secure his future legacy.

      Rena whipped off her gloves and stood up, arching her back and straightening out as a plan formed in her mind. With new resolve, she headed back into the house. She had a call to make. She needed expert legal advice and knew that Mark Winters, David’s longtime friend, would help her.

      She may be down temporarily, but she wasn’t out.

      For the first time in a long time, Rena felt as though she had some control about her destiny.

      And it felt darn good.

      Tony glanced at his watch, his patience wearing thin as he sat in a booth by the window at the Cab Café. Rena was ten minutes late. Had she backed out of this meeting at the last moment?

      This morning, he’d been happy to hear Rena’s voice on the phone. She’d called early, just as he was leaving for work and she’d sounded adamant that he meet with her today. She wouldn’t give him a hint as to what the meeting was about, but since he’d proposed to her last week, he figured she’d come to realize that marrying him was inevitable. Not one to ever look a gift horse in the mouth, he’d cleared his schedule and shown up here five minutes early.

      The boisterous teenage hangout held a good deal of memories for them both, and he wondered why she’d picked this particular place. At one time the Cabernet Café was a wine-tasting room but when that failed, the owner had changed the café's focus and now it thrived as a burger-and-fries joint.

      A waitress wearing an apron designed with a cluster of purple grapes approached and Tony ordered coffee to pass the time. He decided to wait until he’d finished his first cup before calling Rena to see what the delay was.

      Less than five minutes later, just as he was pulling out his cell phone, Rena stepped into the café. He rose from his seat and she spotted him. He gave her a little wave, which she ignored.

      As she approached, Tony noticed she had shadows under eyes that were haunted and sad, but even that couldn’t mask her genuine beauty. Her hair was pulled back from her face in a ponytail and she wore jeans and a blue sweater that brought out the sparkling hue of her eyes. Her purse sat on her shoulder but she also carried a manila folder in one hand. He waited until she reached the table and sat across from him before he took his seat.

      â€œI