by Dara Girard
“I need to understand your habits if we’re going to live together.”
“We may live in the same house, but we won’t be sleeping together. Unless…” He lifted a questioning eyebrow.
“Absolutely not.”
He shrugged nonchalant. “Then we’ll have separate bedrooms.”
“However, I still want to know if—”
“The answer is no. Do you?”
“No.”
“Any more questions?”
“No.”
He stared at her for a long moment then moved towards her, grabbed her by the shoulders and lifted her to her feet.
“What are you doing?” she asked as he moved over to the bed.
He forced her to sit down then stood in front of her. “Let’s get a few things clear.”
She smoothed down the bedspread with trembling fingers hoping he didn’t notice. “I think you’ve made everything clear,” she said in a steady tone.
“Not clear enough.”
She glanced down unable to meet his gaze and noticed a droplet of water slide down his calf. “Go on.”
“I’m sorry I scared you.”
Her head snapped up. “What?”
He sighed. “I know I shouldn’t have taken advantage of the situation in Kirkland.”
“Situation?”
“The hotel.”
“You call nearly sleeping with me while pretending to be your brother a ‘situation’?”
“I’m trying to apologize and explain that I won’t ever touch you again.”
“That’s not—”
He rubbed his chin, pensive. “No, that’s wrong. I’ll try, but you’ll have to promise me not to do three things. One, don’t kiss me on the mouth.”
She stared at him outraged. “Why would I kiss you on the mouth?”
“Two,” he continued, ignoring her question. “Don’t grab my hand.”
“If I—”
“And three. Don’t pretend to like me. If you do, I will use it to my advantage.” A glint of mischief entered his eyes. “That much I can promise you.” Before she could reply he said, “Follow those rules and you’re safe with me. So you can stop being jumpy.”
Ava rubbed her hands together annoyed. “I haven’t been jumpy.”
James folded his arms and looked at her with pity.
She hated that look. She couldn’t let him think she was afraid. She was the one in control now. No one told her what to do. She reached out and grabbed his hand then looked at him defiant. “I broke your rule, what will you do now?”
He pulled her roughly to him, his cold brown eyes bore into hers. She felt his wet chest dampening the front of her blouse. “Don’t toy with me, Ava. I’m attracted to you, but that’s not one of my weaknesses. You need me as much as I need you, but I can be scary when I want to be. I don’t think you’re ready for that yet.” He released her.
She pulled her damp blouse from her chest, feeling hot and cold at the same time. “Was that a warning?”
“You’re a smart woman stop asking dumb questions.”
She didn’t trust him. He could lie easily and it annoyed her that his words gave her a little thrill. The attraction was mutual, but then she remembered how he’d been able to keep her off-balance while pretending to be Jackson. He was a calculating man; he didn’t say or do anything without a hidden agenda. Did it matter whether he was really attracted to her or not? She had to be careful not to underestimate him again. His attraction may not be a weakness, but if she was not careful it could be hers. “I’m still angry with you. Both of you.”
James nodded. “Fair enough. But you can relax. For the next six months you’ll be safe from me as long as you abide by my rules.”
“Don’t worry I’ll follow your silly rules.”
He sent her a long look. “Good and I’ll do my best not to make you want to break them.”
“That won’t happen.”
He only smiled then disappeared back inside the washroom.
Chapter 14
“This isn’t what we agreed.”
Ava closed her eyes at her father’s biting tone on the other end of the phone. She’d received his call on her cell phone while James was in the washroom and quickly dashed out into the hall so that he wouldn’t be able to overhear her. “I know, Dad, but I had to make a quick decision.”
“Without consulting me. If you ruin all the years of planning I have put into this—”
“I won’t. I know how important this is to you. Nothing will go wrong.”
“It already has. You married the wrong brother.”
“No, I can use this switch to our advantage. I now have the Fortunes exactly where I want them. This will not ruin our plans in the least, it will make it easier.”
“How can it be easier with Edgar breathing down your neck? You’ll be living in his house!”
Ava leaned against the wall. “I’m sure the house is large enough that we’ll rarely see each other, besides, isn’t it good to get close to the enemy?”
He paused. “That is a good point.”
Ava pushed herself from the wall with renewed confidence. “I’m glad you think so.”
“But James still concerns me. Jackson had been our target for a reason.”
“But James has more loyalty to his family than Jackson. Manipulating him will be a weapon we hadn’t thought of.”
“Another good point. Where are you now?”
“Still in Las Vegas. We’ll be flying out early tomorrow morning and then let the fun begin.”
“Be careful.”
Ava smiled. “Always am.”
Chapter 15
The housekeeper, Abigail Todd, a sturdy looking woman from Jamaica with braided black hair, stared at James and Ava in confusion when she met them in the large, angular foyer of the family house. “But why didn’t you call first?” she asked, taking Ava’s bags from James. “I don’t understand. I thought…I thought…didn’t Master Jackson get married yesterday?” She touched her chest a little embarrassed. “I admit I might have enjoyed myself a little too much at the reception.”
“A change of plans,” James said in no mood to elaborate. “Ava’s my bride now.”
Abigail’s face fell in dismay. “I don’t have a room made up yet and have you eaten? I have to consult with the chef—”
“Don’t worry,” Ava said, sensing the woman’s discomfort, although James didn’t seem to mind, “I’m sure any room will do and I can eat anything.”
Abigail looked at James sending him a silent question. He nodded in response. “Yes, you can use that room.”
She smiled then nodded and took Ava’s bags.
“That sounded mysterious,” Ava said, following him down the hallway. “Is it a locked room?”
“It was. Clearly it won’t be anymore.”
“What was in there?”
He walked into the great room, a high ceiling structure that seamlessly combined the features of a traditional living and family room, and gestured to a large couch. “Would you like anything to drink?”
“No, but a tour of the house would be nice.”
“Yes, I’m sure the housekeeper will show you around later. I have some work to do. I’ll see you at dinner.”
“But it’s barely past noon.”
“Let’s just say I want to make myself scarce before—”
“Do you mind telling me what the hell is going on?” a voice bellowed.
James briefly shut his eyes. “But that’s not going to happen,” he said with a sigh. He spun around and faced his stepfather. “Let me just—”
Edgar pointed at him. “Who are you?”
James gestured to his subdued blue shirt and light grey trousers, which was in direct contrast to what his brother would wear, and said incredulous, “You can’t be serious.”
Edgar frowned and his tone hardened. “I’m very serious.”
“I’m James.”
“Where’s Jackson?”
He s
hrugged.
Edgar looked at Ava who also shrugged.
“Why are you coming home with James when you just married Jackson yesterday?” he demanded.
Ava twisted the ring on her finger. “Actually I didn’t really marry Jackson.”
“What do you mean?” Edgar said, his voice rising. “We all saw you.”
James cleared his throat. “Actually that was me.”
Edgar fell down into a chair. “This doesn’t make any sense.”
“All you need to know is that Ava is now married to me.”
“How?”
“We eloped.”
“In Las Vegas,” Ava explained.
Edgar frowned and narrowed his eyes. “Are you sure you’re James? This isn’t a joke?”
James nodded.
“It just doesn’t sound like something James would do,” he muttered to himself.
“It’s all my fault,” Ava said, taking James’s hand. But when he gave her a low growl of warning, reminding her that she was breaking one of his rules, she quickly switched and looped her arm through his. “It happened suddenly. I told Jackson how I really felt and he helped me capture the one I wanted.” She looked up at James with feigned adoration.
Edgar’s keen gaze darted between them. “I see.”
“I’m legally a Fortune and there’s nothing to worry the stockholders and interfere with our business plans. Actually, I have a few things I want to discuss with you tomorrow.”
Concern swiftly left Edgar’s face. The mention of business always put him in high spirits. “Good.” He stood appearing more relaxed. “I’m still confused, but as long as things are still going in the right direction I suppose it doesn’t matter.” He shook her hand. “Welcome to the family…again.”
She smiled. “Thank you.”
He left.
Ava looked up at James with a smug expression. “How did I do?”
“You almost had me fooled,” James said impressed. He looked around. “Now let me see if I can escape before—”
“James, Ava, what a surprise!”
They turned and saw Flo with her arms outstretched in greeting. “Abigail just told me.”
James hugged her and placed a kiss on the cheek. “It’s good to see you, but I have to—”
“I knew you were up to something since the night before last.” She took a seat and patted one of the cushions. “Sit down and tell me everything.”
James reluctantly did, sending Ava a look that she could release his arm, but she ignored him, so they ended up sitting side by side on the loveseat. “There’s not much to say.”
Flo frowned in disappointment.
“I have plenty to say,” Ava said.
Flo smiled, eagerly leaning forward. “I knew you would.”
“The truth is, although I’d agreed to marry Jackson, I secretly fell for James. At the last minute we realized we couldn’t pretend how we felt about each other so we had James and Jackson switch places.”
Flo furrowed her brows. “But why did you go through the ceremony? You could have announced the change.”
“Yes, I could have,” James said, turning to Ava to see how she’d lie her way out of it.
“We didn’t want to disappoint you,” she said smoothly. “We weren’t sure how you’d feel about us. So we did it for show.”
James nodded. “Knowing that the marriage wouldn’t be valid…”
“Allowing us to legally elope,” Ava added.
“Which we did.”
Flo covered her eyes.
“Mom,” James said worried.
She looked at him with tears. “You’re even finishing each other’s sentences. I’m so happy I can’t put how I feel into words.” She wiped away tears. “I got to see a love match. I was so worried that Jackson was making a mistake.”
James stiffened. “But you never said so. You said you wanted to see us married before…” He let his words fade away.
“I wanted to see you happy. That matters more to me than anything.”
James briefly closed his eyes feeling a little sick. “But if Jackson had cancelled the wedding you would have been devastated, right?”
“I would have been disappointed, but I would have understood.” She motioned to them. “Instead I got this. This is better than I could have imagined. I knew it was you standing up there. It wasn’t my imagination.”
“No,” Ava said with a light laugh, nudging James to remove his frown and pretend to be happy.
He plastered on a smile.
Flo sat back with a happy sigh. “Thank you for loving my son. I was so worried he’d never find someone who would truly understand him.”
“Yes, well…”
“You’ll have to tell me more about this secret romance between you two.”
“Yes.”
“Later,” James said. “I have things to do. As you know the housekeeper is getting Ava’s room ready so—”
Flo frowned. “Separate bedrooms already?”
“Just for convenience. You know I work a crazy schedule.”
“You don’t have to pretend on account of us.”
“I snore,” Ava said.
“Make him too tired to care.”
“Mom,” James said embarrassed.
She stood up and winked. “You didn’t invent sex, you know.”
Abigail looked at Ava anxiously as Ava looked over the futuristic décor of her new bedroom, which was down the hall from James’s. “It’s a bit unusual, but it’s one of the best rooms in the house,” she said.
“It’s beautiful,” Ava said, although she wasn’t sure that was the word to use. “If I need anything I’ll let you know.” Abigail nodded and left. Ava walked further into the bedroom not sure what to make of it. It was like something she’d never seen before—both beautiful and strange. The room was completely white with a touch of red accents in the pillows and curved lamp. The bed’s glass backrest had a crocheted backdrop that cascaded from the ceiling like a white waterfall adding beauty and calm, the wispy bed seemed weightless as it floated near a large window. Angel soft fabric covered the bed as if the room was supposed to be a heavenly paradise.
Ava turned when someone knocked on the door. “Come in.”
“Suitable?” James asked, coming into the room.
“Yes, who used to stay here?”
“Edgar’s first wife.”
Ava widened her eyes. “He was married before?”
James nodded. “No one knew about her. He kept her locked up in this room for years. One day she disappeared. I’m hoping the same fate won’t happen to you.” He shoved his hands in his pockets. “We Fortune men have our secrets.”
She sent him a baleful look. “You have a very imaginative mind for an engineer.”
His mouth kicked up in a grin. “I had you worried there for a minute.”
“Not even.”
“A couple seconds then.” He sat on the side of the bed.
“But what was the room before?”
“You’re really curious?”
“Yes.”
“Ask the housekeeper.”
“Stop calling her ‘the housekeeper’. Her name is Abigail.”
“Is it?” he said with little interest.
“You should at least know the name of your staff.”
“Really?”
Ava opened her mouth to respond then stopped when he sent her a look and she realized her was teasing her. He had a playful side she hadn’t expected.
“Why won’t you just tell me?” she said.
“You won’t believe me.”
“Yes, I will.”
“It’s a guest room.”
Ava shook her head. “No, it’s not.”
“See? I told you you wouldn’t believe me.”
Ava gestured to the hallway. “She—”
“Who?”
“Abigail.”
He frowned. “Who?”
“The housekeeper, the one—” Ava paused when she rea
lized he was teasing her again. “She wouldn’t have given you that secret look if it was just a guest room.”
“It’s not just a guest room. It’s a special guest room.”
“Special?”
“Yes, when I want to entertain.”
“I don’t understand.”
“That’s okay.” He stood. “See you later.”
Unable to hide her curiosity, Ava promptly searched and found Abigail in the chef sized kitchen. “What’s the story behind my room?”
“Story?”
“Yes, why is James being mysterious about it?”
“I wouldn’t know. Is there something wrong with it?”
“No, thank you,” she said not wanting to stress the poor woman more than she needed to. She’d figure out the true history of her bedroom eventually.
She’d been left alone the remainder of the day, getting a tour of the house and meeting the staff before changing for dinner, choosing a simple blue satin dress, although James had assured her they weren’t that formal.
“What am I supposed to tell her about our secret romance?” Ava asked as she and James headed down the curved staircase to the dining room for dinner.
“I don’t know what you can say about our secret romance,” James said. “You’re the one who came up with the idea.”
“You’re the one who wanted to have a wedding she didn’t even really need.”
“She needed something,” James countered, unperturbed. “You saw how happy she is about this.”
“The only one.”
“Relax, six months won’t be that long.”
“And what if she stays so happy that she lives longer than six months?”
James sent her a sharp look and Ava felt her breath catch as she realized how cruel she sounded. “I didn’t mean it like that. I meant—”
He stopped at the bottom of the stairs. “You don’t have to worry. She’s really dying. There won’t be any miraculous cure so you’ll be free in six months.”
She felt wretched. She didn’t like the Fortunes, but she’d gone too far. “James, listen I didn’t—”
He continued down the hall. “Let’s not keep them waiting.”
Ava softly swore and followed him. She didn’t mean to sound so callous. She liked Flo, she’d gotten to know her more working on the wedding preparations, and was a little sad that she was ill, but she had bigger things to think about.
