Fortune's Secret Husband

She gave him an odd look. “How do you know? You’ve had nothing to do with me for ten years.”

That sounded like an accusation, but he didn’t stop to wonder about it. The apartment was decorated in chrome and glass, black and white. There was a row of flowered throw pillows on the sofa and he wondered if Lucie had added those.

“You weren’t chrome and glass at seventeen, and I doubt very much if you are now.”

“I’m only going to be here a month, Chase. The sublet was furnished. Now tell me, why are we still married?” She went over to the sofa and sank down on it, motioning for him to do the same.

He rounded the long, glass-topped coffee table and lowered himself beside her, careful not to let any parts of their bodies touch. He didn’t know why, but it just seemed to be the wise thing. Discarding that sentimental thought, he gazed into her eyes and wisdom seemed to fly out the window. This was Lucie, the girl who had stolen his heart. But then he snapped his thinking back to what it should be. She was a public figure now and here only for a month.

He explained quickly, “I applied for a business loan separate from my father’s company. It has nothing to do with him.”

He saw the remembrance pass through her eyes that he’d once told her he’d never work for his father and never be anything like him. Circumstances had changed that, but now they were going to change again.

“After I filled out all the paperwork at the bank,” he went on, “the loan officer called me to tell me I needed my wife’s signature before they could put the payment through. I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. My parents said our marriage was annulled. But then I did research of my own and discovered it is still on the books. I wanted to tell you in person in case the information leaked out and somehow made the tabloids. I know how much your family has been hounded by the media.”

Lucie looked even paler. In fact, she looked ill, as if she might faint.

“Are you all right? Can I get you something? I don’t want you to pass out.”

She straightened her shoulders and tossed her hair back. “I’ve never passed out in my life, though this might be a good time.”

Apparently she still had a sense of humor. Right now, though, he didn’t think it made either of them feel better.

“Did you see the media storm my sister went through?” she asked.

Chase nodded. “I did. And I don’t want us to experience anything like it. That’s why I’m here. To tell the truth, I’d never be caught dead shirtless outside my house with a shotgun aimed at reporters like Quinn Drummond.”

Quinn was Amelia’s husband, a cowboy commoner in the eyes of everyone but Amelia and now her family.

“He was driven to it,” Lucie protested. “You can’t imagine what it’s like living in a fishbowl with every decision or faux pas analyzed to death by the media.”

Chase felt disgruntled at her assessment. Maybe he really didn’t know what it was like. “I understand your concerns. My parents and I can’t understand what happened with the annulment. My father maintains that he had the marriage dissolved. It must have been a snafu in the paperwork. He and I have spoken with our family’s lawyer, as well as an international attorney. We’re going to settle this as soon as possible. If I have to, I’ll get a whole law firm on it.”

Lucie wasn’t looking at him but rather at the wall. She seemed to be in a daze. Maybe he should stay a little while. On the other hand, maybe he should go quickly. He handed her another business card.

She started. “I have your card.”

But he shook his head. “You have my personal one. This is the ranch card. Note the address for the Bar P. It’s about a half hour from here.”

“You live on your parents’ ranch?”

“I live in the guesthouse. That’s going to change soon.”

“And you work for your father?” There was surprise in her voice. He’d been right. She did remember.

“For now, but that too will be changing. It’s a long story. You have all my numbers. If you want to talk anytime, just call me.”

She studied the card and kept studying it as if she was thinking about him working at Parker Oil, as if she might be thinking about all the things that might have been.

He stood, believing she needed time to absorb the news. He had started to cross for the door when Lucie suddenly popped up from the sofa and rushed to him. She took his arm. The feel of those fingers of hers, even through his suit jacket, made his body respond.

He could tell she was a proper lady now when she said, “I’m sorry for my reaction. The shock of the news of being married to you really upset me. You must be just as upset.”

“I’m not upset. I’m just concerned about what it means for you, too. When I couldn’t find you, I panicked a bit. I didn’t want this to come out without us talking first.”

Talking. Not only talking but falling right back into memories. As he had in the elevator, he caught the scent of her perfume, light and airy. It teased him, even though she always tried to be so proper. She hadn’t been proper in bed. That was something he’d never forget—their wedding night.

“Maybe after this sinks in and we absorb it, we can have lunch or something.”

She was gazing up at him in that way she’d always had, and he thought he could tell she still felt drawn to him, just as he felt attracted to her. But it didn’t mean anything. It couldn’t. A wife was the last thing he wanted right now. He intended to buy property that was all his own and move the horse rescue operation he’d started on his family’s huge spread to his own place. This project would be all his and have nothing to do with the Parker family name. He’d owe his dad nothing but a good day’s work when he consulted with Parker Oil.

Chase stepped away from Lucie and toward the door. She didn’t follow him. Maybe she’d decided a husband was the last thing she needed, too.

He opened the door, but he couldn’t help saying, “Remember, if you want to talk, call me.” He didn’t wait for her response. He left before he stayed.

Once outside the apartment complex, he headed down the street. Unfamiliar with the building and its parking restrictions, he’d left his pickup in a public lot down the block. He headed for it now and made a decision. Instead of going to his family’s ranch, which was about a half hour away, he was going to book a hotel room near Lucie. He’d give a call to his mother later and let her know he wasn’t going to be back tonight.

His mother had persuaded him to live on the Bar P. She’d asked him to stay there after his dad’s stroke several years ago. His dad had recovered, but she lived in constant fear he’d have another stroke. She wanted Chase to keep him from overdoing it, and that was what Chase had done on all levels for the past five years. But recently, when a college friend was killed, he’d realized he had to live his own life, not the life his parents wanted him to live. The horse rescue ranch would be a first step in that direction.

Thinking again about a hotel room, he felt he needed to stay close by Lucie so she didn’t disappear again or fly off somewhere. The reason? He couldn’t get his life restarted until their situation was cleared up.

What other reason could there be?

* * *

When Lucie’s alarm woke her, she wasn’t only startled by the sound; she was startled by the dream she’d been having. It starred Chase and was anything but tame. She was still married to the man! Her subconscious had apparently been trying to process that and had inserted him naked into her dream.

She remembered his body all too well. She recalled every detail of the way he’d touched her—not simply in the dream, but on their wedding night.

“I’m still married to the man,” she repeated aloud, remembering all too well everything about it, including being sent home in shame.

Her parents had known about her reckless affair with Chase, but not the marriage. Why hurt them with an impulsive escapade that had been erased from the books? Lucie had promised Chase’s father she’d never breathe a word about any of it to anyone. After all, her family would have been embarrassed and humiliated even more if the word of her marriage ever got out. They were constantly in the public eye.

She had to talk to someone about it, and she had to talk now.

If she called her mother... First of all, she couldn’t. Her mum was in a remote village without cell phone towers for miles. Second of all, she’d tell her mother in good time. After all these years, her mum might be hurt that Lucie hadn’t told her in the first place.

Lucie sighed. The questionable decisions of youth. She’d thought the passage of time had healed all this, but she’d been wrong. Because the annulment had never gone through?

Yes, that was certainly the reason.

She’d call Amelia.

She didn’t even bother to brush her teeth first. Amelia lived on a ranch with Quinn and she’d be up early. She had a baby, so certainly she’d awake. Thinking about her niece, Clementine Rose, made Lucie miss her. She picked up her cell phone and dialed her sister.

“You’re up early,” Amelia said without preamble. “Going to look at more office spaces?”

“I wish I was. I mean, I will be. I mean—”