She kissed him on the cheek, leaving him to grapple with the resulting wave of warmth through his body. “You’re handsome and rich. No matter what life hands you, I’m guessing you’ll be just fine.”
Four
Tara hardly slept at all the night of the meeting at Max’s office, her head swirling with ideas. She’d gone in unsure of Grant’s plan, thinking he might merely be trying to keep the peace. As CEO, he needed the full confidence of a solid core of shareholders. She’d thought he might work on building an alliance. Instead, he was trying to divide and conquer.
Which got Tara thinking about a coalition of her own. An unlikely one, for sure, but one that might free her from the shackles of her current career and let her pivot to something new. One where she could step in at a high level, determine her own destiny and bring her history with Sterling Enterprises full circle. She’d been there on Day One and unfairly spun out before things got good. It was only right that she’d step in after Johnathon’s death and make sure the company continued to thrive. Perhaps this new direction would bring her some of that elusive happiness, exactly what her dad had told her to stop waiting for.
Leaving a late-afternoon home showing, she took the bridge over the bay into Coronado. She always felt more relaxed once she was on the island. It had always been too quiet for Johnathon. He preferred the hustle and bustle of downtown San Diego, which was where he and Astrid had lived together, or the slightly showier homes up on the cliffs in La Jolla, where he’d lived with Miranda. As for Tara, Coronado had the charm of a small town, with very expensive underpinnings. You couldn’t buy a piece of property for less than two million and that was for a postage-stamp lot. Her home, a three-bedroom, three-bath beauty several blocks down Ocean Boulevard from the Hotel del Coronado, provided a stunning view of the Pacific while still affording her some privacy. It was the one thing in her life that gave her any peace.
Tonight, there was no telling if serenity and decorum would prevail once Miranda and Astrid were back in the same room. It wasn’t difficult to envision a real dustup between those two. They had every reason to not like each other. But in Tara’s experience, money did a lot to assuage hurt feelings. The the promise of a big payday might be enough to persuade them both to set aside their differences. Or at least forget about them.
Astrid arrived first, shortly after seven that evening, wearing black from head to toe in the form of a sleek pencil skirt, matching jacket and patent Louboutins. Either Tara was misreading the outfit or Astrid was trying to send the message that she was just as much a grieving widow as Miranda. Tara prayed Miranda wouldn’t notice, but it was hard to imagine that she wouldn’t pick up on it. Not that Tara had much time to think about it at all—Miranda came walking up the sidewalk less than a minute later.
“Come on in,” Tara said, then closed the door behind them. She led them upstairs to the top floor, which was where the kitchen, great room and master suite were located. The ocean views were most stunning up there, on full display through a near-one-eighty degrees of plateglass windows. “Can I offer either of you something to drink? Wine? Sparkling water?” She knew she needed something nonalcoholic on hand for Miranda.
“Water is good for me,” Miranda said just as quickly as Tara had thought it.
“I need wine,” Astrid said. “I’ll call a car if necessary.”
Tara poured them each their beverage of choice, and reminded herself that she’d dealt with plenty of prickly situations in her real estate career. She could sell them on her plan. She mostly convinced herself. “Let’s get comfortable in the living room so we can talk about Grant’s offer.” She led them over to the seating area, complete with two large white linen sectionals with a chunky oak coffee table between. Her decor was beach-y, but elegant. Perfect as far as Tara was concerned.
“Can we call it that?” Astrid asked. “He’s only offering to buy our shares in small chunks over the next several years. I’m not selling my shares to him. I would rather have my money now.”
“You mean the shares of Sterling Enterprises neither of you should own?” Miranda asked.
“Let’s back up here for a minute. There’s no reason to get upset,” Tara started, wanting to keep things civil.
“Upset?” Miranda cut her off. “That doesn’t even begin to capture the range of emotions I’m feeling. I shouldn’t have to be here right now, having this meeting. I shouldn’t have to think about this. I feel betrayed by my dead husband. I feel betrayed by the father of my child.” Miranda closed her eyes and pressed her hand to her lower belly.
Oh, no. Tara’s sights flew to Astrid’s face, anxious to gauge her reaction to the news Tara had been hoping wouldn’t come out during this meeting.
Astrid’s skin went impossibly pale and ashen. “Child?” she asked, her voice so fragile it was like glass.
Miranda’s eyes popped open. It was obvious from her expression that she realized her mistake. She’d just given up the secret she’d wanted to keep from Astrid, at least until she returned to Norway. “Yes.” She swallowed hard. “I’m about eight weeks along. It’s early days.”
Tara sat frozen, bracing for Astrid to explode. Miranda seemed to be doing the same. Neither did so much as blink or dare to utter a single syllable.
But Astrid did something no one ever could have expected. She smiled. “Johnny had a baby on the way?” A tear
