“Kissing me is wrong?”
“Yes,” she blurted out. “I mean, no.”
He chuckled. “Which is it?”
“Ugh. What if I choke? What if I don’t look convincing?” What if she screwed up and gave the camera exactly what they wanted and Blake lost his inheritance?
Blake removed one hand from the steering wheel and placed it over her cold ones. “Samantha?”
“Yes.”
“Relax. Let me take charge here.”
She shook her head. “I’m not used to men taking charge in my life.”
“I know that. But you can trust me.”
She wanted to trust him. But her hands shook as they pulled into her driveway. He removed the key from the ignition and shifted in his seat. “Let’s just go inside and start packing.”
“Are you going to kiss me the minute we’re inside?” God, she had to know… so she could prepare herself.
Blake leaned forward and removed his sunglasses. “Come here,” he whispered, staring at her lips.
She inched forward, thinking he wanted to whisper something important.
Instead, he leaned over the seat and placed his lips softly on hers. The heat was instant and sizzled all the way to her toes. Her eyes fluttered shut as she eased into his kiss. Then he moved away. “Kissing will be the easy part,” he said over her opened lips. “Pulling back will prove much harder.”
Praise for Catherine Bybee
BINDING VOWS
“BINDING VOWS whisked me into an adventure that I was sorry to see end.”
~Romance Studio
5 Tombstone Review for BINDING VOWS “... was such an amazing book...possibly the best I have read so far this year. ...so much fun...”
~Megan, Bitten By Books
SILENT VOWS
5 Stars, “SILENT VOWS is a fascinating timetravel tale of ancient Druids and modern heroes that pulls the reader in from the very first page.”
~Affaire de Coeur
REDEEMING VOWS
“As in the first two stories, the plot comes together with danger, suspense, romance, and the author's own blend of humor.”
~The Romance Studio (5 Hearts)
BEFORE THE MOON RISES
“BEFORE THE MOON RISES has earned the distinction of being one of the top e-books I’ve come across…”
~Nights and Weekend Reviews
“A page-turning mix of fast cars, sexy shapeshifters, and paranormal suspense.”
~Caridad Pinero, New York Times bestselling author
EMBRACING THE WOLF
“Richard and Kate's story was so intoxicating. I was so deliriously drunk on their instantaneous chemistry.”
~Romance in the Backseat
Wife
by
Wednesday
Catherine Bybee
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales, is entirely coincidental.
Wife by Wednesday
COPYRIGHT Ó 2011 by Catherine Bybee
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews.
Contact Information: catherinebybee.com
Cover Art by Crystal Posey
Visit Catherine at www.catherinebybee.com
Publishing History:
Published by Catherine Bybee
Amazon Kindle Edition
Dedication
This one is for my Dad who has read every word I’ve ever written and still looks me in the eye.
Thank you for your never-ending support.
I love you!
Acknowledgements
I have to take a moment and send a big publishing hug to Crystal Posey… AKA the goddess of all things website and book covers. I know you were apprehensive about the whole book cover gig, but man did you come through with this one. Thank you is such a paltry phrase for my appreciation of all you do.
As always, a big thanks to my critique partner Sandra Stixrude, AKA Angel Martinez, without your editorial eye publishing this book wouldn’t have been possible.
One more shout out to my facebook friends and fans that helped me come up with the title for this book. God I love social media.
Chapter One
“I need a wife, Carter, and I needed her yesterday.” Riding in the back of the town car en route to a Starbucks, of all places, Blake Harrison glanced at his watch for the tenth time that hour.
Carter’s startled laugh rode on Blake’s last nerve. “Then pick one of the masses and walk the aisle.”
His best friend’s offhand advice might have held merit, if Blake could trust the women in his life. Sadly, he couldn’t. “And risk losing everything? You know me better than that. I don’t need emotion clogging up something as important as a marriage agreement.” An agreement was exactly what he needed. A contract. A business deal that would benefit both parties for the course of one year. Then they could go their separate ways and never lay eyes on each other again.
“Some of the women you show up with would be happy to sign a prenuptial agreement.”
He’d already thought of that. But he’d worked hard for his emotionless bastard reputation and didn’t need to mess it up by pretending he was in love in order to have a woman walk up the courtroom steps with him. “I need someone who’s on board with my plan. Someone I’m not remotely attracted to.”
“You sure this dating service is the right way to go?”
“Matchmaking, not dating.”
“What’s the difference?”
“They don’t match your love interests. They match your life plan.”
“How romantic.” Carter’s sarcasm came across like a shout.
“I’m not the only one in my position, apparently.”
Carter laughed and then choked on his own breath. “Really,” he sputtered. “I don’t know any other men with your title and your wealth calling a stranger to set them up.”
“This guy comes highly recommended, a businessman helping men like me in similar situations.”
“What’s his name?”
“Sam Elliot.”
“Never heard of him.”
Traffic clogged the intersection two blocks from where his appointment with said businessman was taking place. The seconds clicked past the time of his scheduled appointment. Damn, he hated being late.
“I gotta go.”
“I hope you know what you’re doing.”
“Business is what I do, Carter.”
His friend huffed in disapproval. “I know. It’s relationships you suck at.”
“Screw you.” But Blake knew his friend was right.
“You’re not my type.”
Blake’s driver swerved in traffic to make a light. Ruthless, just like his boss wanted him. “See you tonight for drinks.”
Blake hung up the phone, slipped it into the pocket of his dress coat, and sat back in his seat. So he was late. Men in his position could walk in half past the designated hour and still have people climbing over themselves to make it look like it was their fault. A lot rode on the outcome of this meeting. Finding a wife before the week was out in order to keep his ancestral home to go with his title, not to mention the remainder of his father’s fortune, hinged on Sam Elliot.
He hoped to hell that his personal assistant’s contact knew what he was talking about. Otherwise, Blake might be forced to broach the subject of marriage to Jacqueline, or maybe Vanessa. Jacqueline loved her independence more than his money.
The fact that she kept a lover other than him pushed her out of the running for wife. That left Vanessa. Beautiful, blonde, and already riding the wave of soon-to-be ex because of her hints about being exclusive. He didn’t like the thought of leading her on. He was a bastard, but never cruel. Some women would disagree, and the tabloids had branded him as pompous and cunning. If the papers sniffed around what he was doing, they’d write it up as a joke. He’d like to avoid the added scandal. Reality however was a rightful bitch, and he knew his fake marriage would need to look real in order to keep his father’s lawyers satisfied.
Neil pulled the long black car up to the curb and quickly opened Blake’s door in front of the green and white painted coffee house. With briefcase in hand, Blake ignored the turned heads as he strode into the storefront. The rich smell of freshly ground beans filled his nose as he scanned the tables searching for the man he pictured as Sam Elliot. Blake assumed he’d find a man wearing a business suit and carrying a portfolio with possible wifely prospects inside.
The first glance didn’t deliver, so he removed his sunglasses and started over. A young couple with dueling laptops sipped their lattes across from each other at one small table. At another, a man in crew shorts and a t-shirt argued with someone on his phone. At the counter ordering, was a couple pushing a stroller. Stepping farther in, Blake noticed the small frame of the back of a woman with a mass of curly auburn hair. Her toe tapped anxiously, or maybe she was listening to music through a set of ear buds. Eyes still skimming the small crowd, Blake found a lone man occupying a plush chair. He wore a casual pair of pants and looked to be in his late forties. Instead of a briefcase, the man held a book. Blake narrowed his eyes and caught the other man’s attention. Instead of a flicker of understanding, the man’s dark gaze fell back to his book.
Damn, maybe Mr. Elliot was caught in the same traffic.
Late never boded well for prospective clients, no matter what business they were in.
If Blake had other choices, he’d turn and leave.
Walking past the lone redhead, Blake stepped around the stroller and ordered a plain coffee, then resigned himself to sit for a few minutes and wait. He placed his briefcase on an empty table and turned to get his coffee when the teenage kid behind the counter called his name.
The hard weight of someone’s stare rolled down his spine. His eyes scanned around the room to see who watched. Instantly, his gaze fell on a set of emerald green eyes that narrowed as they took him in. The petite woman sitting alone wasn’t listening to music, or reading a magazine. She was staring directly at him.
Her striking gaze returned to a small notebook computer before bouncing back his way. Recognition flittered over her. He’d seen the expression before whenever someone placed his name with his image. Here in California, the frequency of that awareness didn’t happen as often as it did at home, but Blake recognized it nonetheless.
The woman seemed harmless enough. That was until she opened her mouth and spoke directly to him. “You’re late.”
Two words. It took two words in a voice so low it dripped like sin and put phone sex operators to shame to render Blake speechless.
Red’s words registered. “Excuse me?”
“You are Mr. Harrison, right?”
The question was simple, but Blake couldn’t quite comprehend it. He answered on auto-pilot, completely derailed by the woman in front of him. She stood and only met the top of his shoulder. “I am.”
“Sam Elliot,” she introduced herself and stuck out her hand for him to shake.
It wasn’t often that Blake was kicked back a few notches. Yet with only a couple of words, the woman in front of him had done so. He reached out and took her hand in his and a wave of heat surged over him. Her penetrating stare and knowing smile wavered when they shook hands. Her palm was cool, even if her demeanor was one of complete control.
“You’re not a man.” Blake wanted to groan. That had to be the stupidest thing he’d ever said to a woman in his life.
Ms. Elliot however, was nonplused. “Never have been.” She offered him a smile and exposed perfect teeth as she removed her hand from his. He missed it instantly.
“I was expecting a man.”
“I get that a lot. Most of the time it works to my advantage.” She indicated the chair across from her. “Would you like to sit so we can get started?”
He hesitated, not sure if he should continue this “interview” or insist on the woman’s gender to change. He didn’t consider himself sexist, but musing over the woman who was taking her seat and crossing her slacks-covered legs drew his attention away from his goal, and placed it squarely on her. Sam Elliot could be the poster child for contradiction and Blake hadn’t learned anything about the woman… yet.
Ten minutes was what he would give her to prove she could meet his needs. If she didn’t, he’d move on and explore other options.
Blake unbuttoned the top button on his suit jacket before taking his place at the table. “Is Sam short for Samantha?”
“Yes.” Samantha didn’t meet his eyes as she removed a stack of papers from a small case she’d placed against the side of her chair. The brief smile she’d given him was gone and replaced with a thin line between her lips that didn’t reveal her thoughts.
“Do you use Sam to fool your clients?”
Her hand stalled as she pushed the stack of papers in his direction. “Would you have come if you knew I was a woman?”
Probably not.
Without voicing his words, Samantha tilted her head to the side and continued. “You make my case, Mr. Harrison. Let me see if I’m reading your intentions. In your mind, you’ve set a time limit for me to prove myself. What was it… twenty minutes?”
“Ten,” he blurted out, not meaning to. What was it about this woman with the bedroom voice that stole his ability to hold his tongue?
She smiled again and his stomach knotted with a shot of unexpected and unwanted desire.
“Ten minutes,” she repeated. “To outline exactly how I plan on finding you the perfect wife for your short-term goals. A businessman like yourself expects quick efficiency and no emotional baggage to complicate matters. Am I right so far?” She watched him now. Her green eyes never wavering, her freckled nose pert over pink lips that moved to usher her erotic 900-number toned voice.
“Completely.”
“Women are emotional, which is why your assistant looked into my service to begin with. My guess is, there are many women who would sell their souls to marry you, Mr. Harrison, but you don’t trust them enough to give them the title.”
Most of the time, it was him outlining his needs. Having the tables reversed should have left him feeling exposed. Somehow listening to Sam Elliot, who was definitely not a man, spelling out his dilemma didn’t strip him bare, but rather blanketed him with comfort. He’d come to the right place to fix his problem.
“How do I know I can trust a woman you come up with?”
“I prescreen every lady in my directory just as thoroughly as I do the men. Background checks, financial obligations, family skeletons hiding in their closets, personal habits.”
“You sound like a private investigator.”
“Not hardly. But I can understand why you’d think that. Matching people is what I do.”
Blake sat back and crossed his hands over his chest. He liked her, he decided, mentally adding another ten minutes to his predetermined time.
“Shall we continue?”
He reached for his coffee and nodded.
Sam grasped onto a pen and twisted the papers she’d pushed in front of him her way. “I have a few questions for you before I allow this to move forward.”
Blake’s brow rose with her words. Interesting. “How long do I have to prove myself to you, Ms. Elliot?”
She glanced up through long lashes. “Five minutes.”
He sat forward, thoroughly intrigued with what she was going to determine about him in that amount of time.
“Have you e
ver been arrested?”
His record was clear, but that wasn’t the question.
He knew if he lied to Sam, she’d pack up her things and walk out the door. “I was seventeen and the kid I punched was hitting on my sister. The record was buried.” As all records of kids from his station in life were.
“Have you ever hit a woman?”
His jaw tightened. “Never.”
“Ever wanted to?” She watched him now, eyes sharp.
“No.” Violence didn’t play into his personality.
“I need the name of your closest friend.”
“Carter Billings.”
She scribbled the name down.
“Worst enemy?”
He didn’t see that question coming. “I’m not sure how to answer that.”
“Let me rephrase it, then. Who in your life would like to see you come to harm?”
His first thoughts scanned his list of business associates who might have felt slighted over the years. None would be better off if he were gone at this point. There was only one person who might see things differently.
“Whose image are you thinking of, Mr. Harrison?”
Blake took a drink of his coffee and felt it hit the bottom of his stomach with a thump. “Only one.”
Samantha lifted her eyes to his, waiting.
“My cousin, Howard Walker.”
A tiny slack in her jaw, a slump in her shoulders, these were the only things that indicated the impact of his words. Much to Blake’s surprise, Samantha Elliot wrote down the information and didn’t question further.
She removed the top sheet of her papers and handed him the others. “I’m going to need you to fill these out. You can fax them to me at the number on the bottom of page eight.”
“Did I pass your test, Ms. Elliot?”
“Honesty needs to be maintained throughout this process. So far, everything is working for me.”
It was Blake’s turn to smile. “I could have lied about the assault charge.”
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