Fortune's Vengeful Groom

Eliza nearly dropped the bottle she held. “Except the most important promise of all,” she said, handing him back the champagne. “Dinner is waiting.”

Reese set the bottle down on an entry table and arched his brows. He hadn’t really wanted to drink champagne with her. No, his intention was to make a point, and he wasn’t entirely sure he’d succeeded.

Eliza led him up a wide winding staircase to the second floor. It irritated him to no end the pains she took in order to keep their marriage a secret. She’d probably arranged for the entire family, as well as the staff, to be gone this evening. Fine by him. He wasn’t overly fond of the Fortunes anyway, from the little Eliza had shared with him about her family. And now she was tucking them both away somewhere on the second floor.

“You have a dining room up here?”

Eliza rolled her eyes. “We need privacy. We’ll dine in my studio.”

“Ah, worried that your father or brother might stumble upon the domestic scene? Wonder what they’d say to see you actually dining with your husband?”

“Shhh. Please, Reese. Keep your voice down.”

Reese clammed up, but not to ease her distress. His plan of action called for charm and wit, not anger. He’d had six years to stew and now he’d have to control his boiling point.

He followed her into a large room that appeared welcoming and warm, a room that clearly wasn’t ordinarily used for dining. Yet she had a table set beautifully with all the finery he’d have expected from a Fortune and she’d obviously gone to some trouble to conceal a work area using drapes of material. Reese felt himself relaxing some. “This is nice.”

Eliza shut the door behind them, then let out a deep sigh of relief. “We can talk in here without…”

Reese raised his brows. “Without?”

“Interruption. Would you like to have a seat?”

So formal, he thought. Had she forgotten how it’d been with them? The laughter, the sweet promises, making love anywhere and everywhere, including the backseat of his truck. Reese shoved aside an image of Eliza straddling him on a chair not too unlike the one she so properly offered him just now. She’d been beautifully naked, gripping him tight and rocking that chair for all it was worth.

He removed his jacket and loosened his tie.

Eliza approached, coming up close enough for him to catch a whiff of her scent. The familiar exotic perfume teased his nostrils, bringing back even more memories. She still wore the same fragrance that had lingered on his clothes for weeks after she’d gone.

“I’ll take that,” she said, reaching for his suit coat.

He handed her the jacket and sat down. Within a few moments, she joined him at the small round table. When she uncovered the dishes, he glanced down at the meal, then lifted his gaze back up to her. “Pot roast and all the fixings.”

“Yes,” she said, meeting his eyes as though meeting some sort of challenge, as well.

Reese studied her for a second, while something fierce slammed into his gut. She remembered. Damn her. They’d had a good thing, and she’d destroyed it—and him, nearly—when she’d walked out of their marriage. Well, he was here to set things straight. He tempered his anger with the knowledge that he would do just that. Then he’d be gone.

Reese took a bite of the roast and nodded. “This is very good.”

Eliza’s lips trembled into a little smile. “Thank you. I, uh…my cooking ability hasn’t improved much, but I’m happy with the results.”

Reese swallowed and leaned back in his seat. “Are you saying you cooked this meal?”

She nodded. “It was a huge donation, Reese.”

“So you figured you owed me? You figured—”

“I’d do the same for anyone who made a bid,” she said in a rushed breath. “It’s only right.”

Too bad his wife had a slanted view of what was right or not. She’d honored her pledge to cook a meal for a hefty donation, but she hadn’t the decency to tell him to his face that she’d missed the good life and was leaving him high and dry six years ago. Reese let her comment drop for the time being.

He scanned the room again, this time with discerning eyes, noting the objects partially hidden behind draped fabrics. “So what is this place?”

Eliza’s eyes brightened for the first time tonight. “It’s my studio. I do interior design. It’s something I’ve always enjoyed.”

“Are you in business?”

She shook her head. “No. Maybe someday,” she said on a wistful note. “I’ve decorated the third floor of the estate. And I use my talent for charitable events at times.”

Reese forked another mouthful and chewed thoughtfully, wondering about Eliza’s life. Didn’t sound as though she lived on the edge anymore. The Eliza he’d known had been part risk taker, part sexy bed partner. She’d been carefree and happy—or so he had thought until he’d realized that he had been her entertainment that one summer.

Now she spent her time raising money for good causes, but it seemed, from the light that sparked in her eyes just then, that she wasn’t pursuing her true passion. He’d noted the longing on her face when she’d let down her guard.

He glanced at her full plate. “Not hungry?”

She lifted a quick smile to him and picked up her fork, ready to stab the meat. Then she lowered the fork down none too gently. “Reese, why’d you make such a large donation last night?”

He smiled. “Because I can.”

Eliza’s blue gaze met his. He’d always thought she had the prettiest eyes. That hadn’t changed, only now he knew what kind of deceit those eyes could conceal.

“How can you? What’s changed in your life?”

“I told you one day I’d strike oil, darlin’.”

She slumped back in her seat, stunned. “You mean…you did it? You actually…I never thought…”

“That was the problem, wasn’t it? You never believed in me. You never thought I’d fulfill my dream. All you saw was a silver-buckled rodeo cowboy without a dime in his pocket.” His tone turned gruff. “But after you left, I made it my mission in life. I partnered up with my brother Garrett. We pooled our resources. With his business sense and my gut instincts we struck oil after two years. Now Parker Explorations is a successful wildcatting company in Montana.”

“You own your own company?”

Judging by the look of awe on her face, she appeared truly surprised. Reese had wanted that reaction from her, but now it seemed that her lack of faith in him achieving his goals just irritated him even more. He’d wanted to shock her and rub his success in her face to gain well-deserved satisfaction. He’d done all that, but it wasn’t enough, damn it. “Let me get this straight. You married a rodeo cowboy from Montana and never in your wildest dreams did you think I’d amount to anything. I had no money, and that just wasn’t good enough for you. After our little summer fling, you got tired of playing the penniless wife and headed for home. I get that now. But you should have stuck around. My company is one of the fastest growing in Montana, and now I’m finally setting down roots. I’m staying in one place for a change and building my own estate just outside of Bozeman. So let’s just call our marriage what it really was—a foolish notion. Or how did you say it in your note? A mistake.”

Eliza blinked, then stared at him as if he’d gone raving mad. “Reese! What are you talking about? I didn’t run out on you because of money. And I certainly wouldn’t have married you if I hadn’t lo—”

“Hadn’t what, Eliza?” he probed, shoving his plate away and leaning in with elbows braced on the table.

She hesitated for a moment and then on a long-winded sigh finished, “Hadn’t thought it would last forever. I’d planned on staying married, but you…you were the one who made that impossible. How could you think I’d stay in a marriage to a man who’d been unfaithful? After less than three months together, Reese! I’d trusted you. And you, you…”

Reese tossed his napkin onto the table and bolted out of his seat. “What?”

“Don’t pretend you don’t know what I’m talking about.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about! I was never unfaithful.”

Eliza sat perfectly still in her seat and spoke slowly. “I’m not a fool, Reese. But apparently you thought I was. That last night, when I left you to go home for my father’s surprise birthday party, I came back to our hotel room unexpectedly and saw her.”

Completely baffled, he asked, “Saw…who?”