by Francis Ray
He shook his dark head. “I was trying to show off. Something I never did. Guess I should have known then that you were the one for me.”
Her free hand tenderly palmed his cheek. “Just so you know it now.”
“With every breath I take,” he assured her. “But you haven’t even looked at the ring.”
Faith was surprised to hear the anxiety in his voice. Brandon was one of the most self-assured men she knew. Leaning against him, she looked down, gasped, and straightened.
“You can get another one if you want,” he quickly said. “I picked it out by myself. I just thought the pink diamond would be unique, just like you. I haven’t given you anything else.”
Her head jerked up. “What are you talking about?”
He glanced away. “You gave and I took. I finally realized that the night you tossed me out of your place. My so-called freedom wasn’t worth anything if you weren’t in my life. Your love and generosity humbled and shamed me. You gave me your most precious gift: your innocence.”
“Brandon,” she said, taking his face between her hands. “If you ever again say anything so idiotic I will hide your precious knives and cookware. Every time you touched me, every time you smiled, every moment with you was a gift that for so long I feared I’d never have. You gave me you, your love. Nothing material can ever compare to that.”
He hugged her to him. “You’re the best thing that ever happened to me.”
“I feel the same way about you, and by the way—” Her gaze swept the room. “The ring is absolutely perfect and so is this.”
“Whew. Esmeralda was great in helping me set this up tonight.” His mouth twitched. “I think Henrí is warming up to me. He cooked the dinner we’re having later since I happen to know you didn’t eat. But first we have to visit my mother, then call your parents. We’ll tell the rest of the family tomorrow.”
She bit her lower lip. “What if your mother picked out someone else and is upset?”
“You’re the one I picked,” Brandon said adamantly. “Mama likes you and will soon love you. You’ll see.”
Faith wasn’t convinced. “Maybe we should wait until tomorrow morning. Maybe she’s asleep.”
“She doesn’t go to bed until after the last news program at eleven. Tomorrow morning, you’re going to wake up with a very satisfied smile on your face. Mama would take one look at you and know,” he told her frankly.
She blushed. “But you never let us stay together past two.”
He grinned devilishly. “I figured out a way for me to stay longer at your place.”
Her grin matched his. “Then we’d better hurry.”
His arm around Faith’s waist, Brandon walked up the steps of his mother’s house and rang the doorbell. Five-foot topiaries graced each side of the double wrought-iron doors. Viewed through the opening was the recessed front door and a huge pendulum wrought-iron chandelier.
Waiting for his mother, Brandon kissed his fiancé on the top of her head and reassured her, “Mama will love you.”
“I hope so. I really like and admire your mother.”
“She’s going to be so surprised,” he said with a broad grin. “For the first time, one of us got the best of her. I picked my own wife.”
The inner door opened. Ruth Grayson saw them in the light and hurried to unlock the grilled doors. “Brandon. Faith. Is everything all right?”
“Everything is perfect.” Brandon ushered them both inside the house, then lifted Faith’s left hand and had the pleasure of seeing his mother’s eyes go wide with surprise. “Mama, I’d—”
His mother squealed like a teenager meeting her idol, then enveloped Faith in a hug. Keeping one hand on Faith, Ruth hugged Brandon with the other. “This is wonderful. Have you set a date yet?”
Faith glanced up at Brandon with love shining in her eyes. “He just asked me less than half an hour ago.”
“I’m the first to know?” At their nods, Ruth hugged them again. “The others will be as pleased as I am.”
“You really are happy?” Faith asked.
“Of course.” Ruth smiled down at her. “I will have another beautiful daughter who is talented and gifted and loves my son. What more could a mother ask?”
At the words “talented and gifted” Brandon’s antenna went up. “You think Faith is talented and gifted?”
“Of course. Don’t you think so?” Ruth asked, her expression unreadable.
“Yes,” he hastened to say.
His mother chuckled. “I should hope so. Now, let’s sit down and, Faith, tell me every detail of how he asked you to marry him.”
Brandon sat beside Faith on the sofa while his mother sat in the nearby side chair. Watching his mother, he let Faith tell her about tonight. His mother looked at him with pride when Faith, her voice a bit shaky, recalled receiving the flowers, the travel posters, the engagement rings. Both women’s eyes misted when Faith told how Brandon proposed on one knee.
“I could keep you all night talking, but your parents deserve to have the good news as well. I expect both of you here tomorrow night at seven for dinner to celebrate with the family.” Ruth went with them to the door, and after one last hug she bade them good-bye and closed the door.
“Something isn’t right here. She was too happy.”
“Why do you say that?” Faith asked.
Lines radiated across Brandon’s brow. “It’s something Sierra said about a woman doing one thing when her object was another. Mother was trying to push the Albuquerque designer down my throat. She even went to you for help. Then we show up engaged, and she’s doing handsprings.” He shook his head. “We already figured out she wants talented and gifted daughters-in-law.”
Faith, her eyes huge, looked at the house, then back at him. “She said I was gifted the time she came to see me at my office.”
“She did?”
“She told me talent lay in many areas and my gift was as a nurturer, like you,” she told him quietly.
“Why didn’t you tell me?” Brandon almost yelled.
“I didn’t think it mattered.” Faith shook her head. “Besides, when you came into the office afterward I was miserable thinking your mother had picked out the Albuquerque designer for you. I was almost in tears,” she explained, then bit her lip. “If you’re right, then . . . then—”
“You were the one she picked for me.”
Faith’s squeal of delight imitated that of Brandon’s mother earlier as she hugged him. “Oh, Brandon! This is so wonderful! I was so afraid I wouldn’t measure up to the other wives.”
Brandon had been about to go off on a tangent about being manipulated, but hearing the happiness in Faith’s voice he asked instead, “My mother’s scheming makes you happy?”
“Immensely. Despite the McBrides’ curse and the fact that I’m not as slender as her other daughters-in-law, she thinks I’m good enough for you and can make you happy.”
He snorted. “I love every delectable inch of you, there is no curse, and you’re too good. Besides, I’m the only one you have to worry about pleasing.”
She gave him a quick kiss. “Then we’d better get back to my place so I can get started.”
Laughing, they ran down the steps to the car.
Epilogue
Inside the house, Ruth let the curtain fall as soon as Brandon’s Porsche pulled out of the driveway. She rushed to the phone and dialed.
“Mr. Montgomery. I’m sorry to call so late, but I thought you’d like to hear that everything worked out as we planned. I must admit I felt better as well knowing the pipes really did have a leak behind the wall. By simulating a false leak we actually prevented what could have been a major catastrophe.”
She smiled. “Yes, it’s wonderful how things work out for the best sometimes. Good night.”
Almost unable to contain herself, Ruth dialed another number. “Felicia, they’re engaged. They just left. They were both glowing.” She looked at the wedding pictures of her two older sons and their wives on
the mantel. Soon Brandon and Faith’s would be there as well.
“I think Brandon actually thought he had pulled a fast one on me when he arrived, but then he became too quiet.” Smiling, she took a seat on the sofa. “He’ll figure it out, but he’s so happy he won’t mind. But I’m almost positive that he’ll never guess that we faked the leak or made the hotel reservations for Mr. Nolly, then let nature take its course.”
She laughed, then sobered. “Pierce and Sierra won’t be so forgiving, I’m afraid.”
She sighed. “Yes. I agree. I don’t usually second-guess myself, but I have reservations regarding my next two choices. Both are as unpredictable as Pierce and Sierra. The friction between them will be immediate and intense. Making this work will test even our combined ingenuity.”
Ruth stared at the family photo with all the children smiling and crowded around their parents. The photo had been taken the week before her husband flew on his fatal flight to Brazil. At times, her heart still ached for him.
“No, I have every intention of going through with things as planned.” Marriage had heartaches, but it also held great joy. “Let me tell you about the woman I’ve chosen. Trouble is coming to Santa Fe and as a famous actress once said, ‘Fasten your seat belt.’ Pierce is next.”
Read on for a sneak peek at Francis Ray’s
unforgettably provocative mainstream novel
In Another Man’s Bed
Coming in trade paperback from St. Martin’s Griffin
Winter 2007
Justine Crandall had seduction on her mind and in less than ten minutes she would be in bed with the man she adored.
The racy thought made Justine grin, then she laughed out loud at her uncharacteristic naughtiness. Both she and Andrew, her husband of five years, were as conservative as they came, but since they’d been apart for two weeks, she didn’t think he’d put up much resistance.
In the cocooned luxury of the Porsche Carrera, she sighed in pleasure and anticipation as the sports car easily took the sharp turns up the Appalachian Mountains. She’d been on the road since five that morning and couldn’t have picked a better day for the drive.
Spring was in full force. The air was crisp and clean, the sky a startling blue, and the roadside bursting with wildflowers. She smiled and slowed as a deer bounded gracefully across the road and disappeared over the steep incline. She’d seen several this morning. It was a good thing DEER CROSSING signs were posted. As owner and operator of It’s A Mystery Bookstore in Charleston, she seldom had a chance to enjoy nature.
Last night, after Andrew had finished his last workshop at the men’s retreat in Gatlinburg, he’d called to say he was too tired to make the four-hour drive back to Charleston on Sunday afternoon. Justine suggested he stay at their nearby cabin for a few days before returning. He could work on the book he wanted to write.
As soon as she hung up, she’d begun planning to surprise him. They were going to have two whole days by themselves, something they hadn’t had in a very long time. They’d built the cabin as their retreat two years ago, but it had been almost a year since they’d been there together.
Justine patted the Gucci overnight bag in the seat beside her. Inside was a new blue negligee. Andrew loved blue and he loved her.
She’d be the happiest woman in the world if they could begin planning a baby. Andrew wanted to wait until he wasn’t away from home so much, but she was hoping she could change his mind.
However, for the past nine months Andrew had been on a grueling schedule conducting a number of men’s retreats across the country. There hadn’t been very many occasions for “trying.” Justine didn’t begrudge the time Andrew spent away from her because she felt his work was important. Perhaps if someone had counseled her father he might not have left her mother for another woman.
Justine knew she’d never have to go through divorce. She and Andrew were committed to each other for a lifetime. Not just because they loved each other, but also because neither wanted to repeat the mistakes of their parents.
Shortly after nine she pulled up to their cabin, a two-story structure with a gabled roof and a balcony that ran along the back of the house. Disappointment hit her on seeing another car parked beside her husband’s Escalade. She’d wanted them to have this time alone. Annoyance crept in. He should be resting instead of counseling someone.
People sometimes took advantage of Andrew’s goodness. He didn’t know how to say no. Usually she stayed out of his business affairs, but lately he’d been preoccupied and easily distracted. It was time he was a bit selfish and put himself first, she thought.
Getting out of the Porsche, a birthday gift from Andrew, she shoved the keys into the pocket of her white slacks and started toward the hand-carved front door. She and Andrew could unload the car later. Now, she couldn’t wait to see her husband after being apart for two weeks.
Going up the stone steps, she inhaled the sweet fragrance of the peace roses in full bloom on either side of the house. She made a mental note to put a bouquet of the lush pink flowers in their bedroom.
Entering the spacious interior she had lovingly decorated in warm earth tones and comfortable easy-to-care-for leather, she turned, expecting to find Andrew and his guest in the kitchen. The big plate-glass window in the breakfast nook gave a spectacular view of the heavily wooded mountains and always beckoned them to begin their day there as they ate a leisurely breakfast together.
She started in that direction, then heard a sound from upstairs. She glanced at her watch. Nine-ten. Andrew was an early riser. Worried, she started up the stairs. He didn’t take care of himself when he was away from her. She wished he were home more. He was a wonderful, loving—
Her thoughts abruptly halted as an unmistakable moan of sexual pleasure drifted out to her from their bedroom. Stunned, she stood at the top of the stairs, a tightness in her chest, her throat. She wasn’t aware of how long she remained immobile before she moved down the hallway in a daze. Her tennis shoes were soundless on the wool runner on the polished oak floor as she stopped at the open door of the master bedroom.
Justine’s heart clenched, her breath snagged as she caught a glimpse of a woman’s naked butt and shoulder going into the master bath. Her gaze stayed glued to the closed door as if putting off looking at the bed as long as possible. Her hands clenched, she finally made herself look. Hot rage rolled through her.
Her husband lay naked on the wide bed. His eyes were closed, one long leg was drawn up, and a satisfied smile curved his soft mouth upward. Justine tried to remember if she’d ever seen that look of complete satisfaction after they made love. She couldn’t.
She must have made a sound because Andrew’s eyelids flew up. Stunned, he stared at her with those light brown mesmerizing eyes that had swayed and motivated thousands, then he sprang out of bed to cut her off from the bathroom.
“You lying, cheating bastard!” Justine snarled.
Andrew looked as taken aback by the harsh words spewing from his wife as by her appearance. “Justine, please let me—”
The open-palm slap across his face echoed through the silent room. He stared at her as if she’d gone mad.
There were so many hot emotions running through her that she thought she might just have. She’d always been quiet, had never raised a hand to another person, had never given her mother or her teachers one moment of trouble, but right then she wanted to scratch Andrew’s handsome face to shreds.
She’d given him everything, and he’d left her with nothing. The only reason she didn’t slap him again was the fear of not being able to stop. He would defend himself and that meant he’d have to touch her. She never wanted his hands on her again.
“I trusted you. I loved you,” she said, her voice trembling with rage and pain.
“It only happened once,” Andrew told her, his hand on his cheek, his eyes wide and uncertain.
She fought the urge to hit him again. “Do you think that makes the betrayal any less?”
“Ho
n—”
“Don’t.” Justine stepped away from the hands reaching for her. “Who is she?”
“It doesn’t matter. She means nothing to me.”
Justine raised her hand to hit him again, then clenched it into a fist instead. “That takes you even lower.” She swallowed the painful lump in her throat. “Don’t come home. I’m filing for divorce as soon as I get back.”
Fear leaped into his eyes. “You can’t throw away all that we mean to each other, all that we’ve shared.”
“I didn’t. You did. Now, get out of my way.”
“No!” Andrew said, spreading his arms wide so she couldn’t go around him. “Let’s go downstairs and talk.”
Hysterical laughter burst forth. “You’re naked and your lover just left the bed I picked out for us. Nothing you can say will change anything. Good-bye.”
“Jus—” His hands lifted purposefully toward her.
“Try to touch me and you’ll regret it,” Justine promised. She looked over his shoulder at the closed door. There was no sound coming from the bathroom. Whoever was behind that door could hear them.
Justine had a few words for her. “There’s a word for women like you, but I don’t want to foul my mouth saying it!” With that parting shoot, she turned and walked from the room. What she really wanted to do was scream and kick and howl.
Her world had just been torn apart, her heart yanked out of her chest. One arm wrapped around her heaving stomach, she stopped on the stairs for just a second, then continued downward. She had to get away.
Her pace increased. She didn’t want to give Andrew or his lover the pleasure of seeing how much their betrayal had hurt her. She ran faster, stumbling on the way out the door, picking herself up to stumble forward again.
By the time she reached her car, her hands were shaking so badly it took several tries to get the key into the ignition. As she pulled off, Andrew, always well-groomed and fashionable, ran out of the house with his shirt open, his slacks unfastened. He was carrying his shoes. She gunned the Carrera and spun out of the driveway, fighting the upheaval in her stomach, the gut-wrenching loss of her dreams as Andrew leaped into his own vehicle and began to chase her.
