Bought: His Temporary Fiancée

by Lindsay, Yvonne

  “Close your eyes,” he said, a note of teasing in his voice.

  Margaret again did as he’d asked and waited. Her heart jumped a little as his warm fingers captured hers and as she felt the cool slide of metal on her ring finger.

  “There, a perfect fit. Do you like it?”

  Will continued to hold her hand and as Margaret opened her eyes, they widened in shock at the stunning ring he’d placed upon her finger. Shafts of brilliance spun from the emerald-cut diamonds flanking a large rectangular glowing ruby. The gold band itself was very simple, leaving all its glory to the stones set upon it.

  “It’s the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen,” Margaret said, sudden tears springing to her eyes.

  More than anything in the world right now, she wished this was for real. That the man opposite her at the table was indeed in love with her and pledging his life to hers. She blinked back the moisture and summoned all the composure she could find.

  “I’ll take great care of it, I promise you,” she said, withdrawing her hand from his.

  “It was harder to find than I thought,” Will admitted. “But as soon as I saw it, I knew it was you.”

  His words were like tiny shards of glass tearing at her dreams. She’d slid into the fantasy of being his fiancée with all too much ease and she needed to remind herself of the truth—that she was simply a means to an end.

  Seven

  Monday morning saw the return to routine that Margaret craved. Here, in the office, she could focus one hundred percent of her energy on her work. Will was away in meetings all day that day and after the intensity of the weekend, she was all too glad for the space that provided her.

  Today she was looking forward to seeing one of her dearest friends, Sarah Richards, for lunch. Although they’d been four years apart at school, never really crossing paths, they’d formed a firm friendship over gallons of coffee in the intervening years. Margaret had been surprised when Sarah had married Quentin Dobbs—she hadn’t really thought him Sarah’s type at all, despite his long-standing crush on her—but they’d made it all work only to have it ripped apart when he was killed in a motor vehicle accident three years ago. Margaret had always admired Sarah’s “take no prisoners” attitude, a legacy of her fiery red hair, she supposed. Sarah worked as a waitress in the restaurant at the Tennis Club and Margaret had actively steered William from dining there with her. It was one thing to lie to the rest of the world about their engagement, but to one of her best friends?

  But Sarah wouldn’t be put off. She’d left a message on Margaret’s mobile phone, saying she was free for lunch today and could meet her on the Cameron Enterprises campus. Margaret couldn’t think of a single decent reason to postpone the inevitable any longer. She checked herself in the polished reflection of the elevator doors as she traveled downstairs to meet her friend. Yes, she’d pass muster. No one could tell just by looking at her that she’d just indulged in the most decadent and sensual weekend of her entire life.

  “Oh, my God! You look fabulous!” Sarah gushed the instant she saw her. “What have you been up to? Actually, on second thought, maybe you shouldn’t tell me, I’ll only get jealous.”

  Margaret felt her cheeks flush with embarrassment. “Sarah, I’m still the same old me.” She laughed uncomfortably.

  “Well, yes, I know that. But, wow, I really like what you’ve done. Seriously, you look amazing. And there’s more. You’re glowing. It’s a man, isn’t it? Tell me everything. Gillian said you’ve been reported on in the Gazette as being the mystery woman on the arm of a certain Cameron Enterprises executive, is that true?” Sarah demanded, her green eyes flashing with curiosity. “Although I’m not sure I should forgive you for leaving me to read about your love life.”

  “Over lunch, I promise.” Margaret laughed. “Where do you want to eat?”

  “How about outside? It’s warm enough and I brought a couple of roast beef subs and diet sodas. Sound good?”

  Relief flooded Margaret that at least they’d be able to enjoy each other’s company in the relative privacy of the campus gardens, without others straining to overhear what she was saying. It felt as if everyone wanted to know her business since her engagement to Will had become common knowledge around the office. Even more so since she’d arrived at work this morning wearing his ring.

  “Sounds excellent, thanks.”

  After they’d settled on a bench Sarah divvied out their lunch. She sighed with unabashed pleasure as she bit into her sub. After she’d chewed and swallowed she turned to Margaret.

  “So, he’s good in bed, isn’t he?” Sarah came straight to the point.

  Margaret nearly choked on her sip of soda. “I beg your pardon?”

  “He has to be brilliant, seriously. Everything about you is radiant. And look at how you’re dressed. I bet he can’t keep his hands off you. Who is it?”

  Margaret took a deep breath. “William Tanner.”

  “You’re kidding me. The CFO from Cameron Enterprises? One of Rafe’s henchmen?”

  “The one and only,” Margaret conceded wryly.

  Sarah sat back against the back of the bench and took stock of her friend. Margaret knew the exact instant her eyes picked up the ring on her finger.

  “You’re engaged to him? And you didn’t tell me?”

  Sarah grabbed her hand and turned it this way and that in the light, gasping over the beauty of the stones.

  “It’s all very sudden,” Margaret said. “It’s taken me by surprise as well.”

  “You guys haven’t known each other very long, are you sure about this? It’s not like you to rush into things.”

  Margaret struggled to find the right words. Words that wouldn’t come across as a blatant lie. Finding the balance between the truth and what would satisfy her very astute friend was not going to be easy.

  “It’s different from anything else I’ve experienced,” she finally managed. “We met back in February—you remember me telling you about that kiss at the Valentine’s Day ball?”

  Sarah nodded, the expression on her face silently urging Margaret to continue.

  “Well, it kind of grew from there. We just went to San Diego for the weekend. It was out of this world.”

  Suitably distracted from having to delve into the whys and wherefores of the engagement, Margaret told Sarah about the weekend she and Will had just shared.

  “Well,” Sarah said, when Margaret had finished, “I’m really happy for you. You deserve someone special. You’ve put your own needs on the backburner for far too long. It’s time you looked after yourself first.”

  Margaret swallowed back the guilt that came hard on the heels of her friend’s words. It wasn’t fair to deceive her like this—to deceive anyone, for that matter—but to save Jason’s job she had to keep the truth very firmly locked deep inside.

  “Thanks, Sarah. So, anyway, that’s enough about me. Tell me, how’s your grandmother doing?”

  Sarah laughed. “You know Grandma Kat. She’s great. She’s already roped me in to helping plan her birthday party in a couple of months’ time. Like she even needs the help!”

  Margaret let Sarah’s conversation wash over her and breathed a sigh of relief that she had been diverted from Margaret’s engagement being the topic “du jour.” It was a few minutes before she realized that Sarah was waiting for her to answer something.

  “I’m sorry, what did you say?” Margaret asked apologetically.

  “Apology accepted,” Sarah said with an exasperated smile. “Too busy reliving that weekend of yours, I suppose. Can’t say I blame you. Anyway, I just noticed that guy over there. Does he look familiar to you? I feel like I should know him from somewhere.”

  Margaret looked across the gardens at the tall cowboy walking along the path toward the main building. In amongst all the suits he stood out, and not in a bad way. She looked a little harder. There was definitely something familiar about the way he looked, even the way he moved, but she couldn’t pin him down.


  “I know what you mean.” Margaret shrugged. “I can’t place him, though. Maybe he has a double out there. They say we all do.”

  “Hmm, yeah,” Sarah said before looking at her wrist watch. “Oh, my, look at the time. I really have to go. I have an early start to my shift this evening and a ton of stuff to do before then. It’s been great to see you again. Don’t leave it so long next time, okay?”

  Margaret embraced her friend and took solace in the warmth of Sarah’s unabashed hug. She ached to tell her the truth. To share it with the one person who’d probably understand better than most just why she was doing what she was doing. But she knew she couldn’t.

  “I won’t. And you take care.”

  “Always do.” Sarah stood and started to gather up their trash.

  “Leave that. You brought it, the least I can do is clean up. Thanks again for lunch.”

  “No problem. Your turn next time.” Sarah grinned back at her. “See you soon, yeah?”

  “Definitely.”

  Margaret gave a small wave as Sarah headed off toward the car park. For a minute she sat back on the bench and closed her eyes against the brightness of the sun burning high in the clear blue sky. Being with Sarah had been a breath of fresh air. But now she had to get back to business—and back to the business of continuing to be the best counterfeit fiancée Will Tanner could ever want.

  Margaret was exhausted by the time she let herself into the front door at home. It had been a busy day and, to her chagrin, she’d missed Will’s presence in the office far more than she’d anticipated. It both irritated and surprised her. It wasn’t as if they really were engaged, or as if they actually meant anything to one another.

  “Not out with the boss man tonight?”

  Jason’s voice made her start.

  “No,” she replied carefully. “How was your day?”

  “As good as it gets when you have a hundred sets of eyes watching your every move,” he said bitterly.

  Margaret sighed. So it was going to be like that. She’d hoped that maybe they could have a nice quiet evening together. Catch a movie on cable and just enjoy one another’s company like they used to. Like before this whole business with Will Tanner.

  “At least you still have your job. It could be worse, you know.”

  Jason snorted a laugh that totally lacked a spark of humor. “Sure, although not by much.”

  “Hey, why don’t we put Cameron Enterprises behind us for a night,” Margaret suggested. “Sit down, order in some dinner and watch some movies together.”

  “Can’t,” Jason said, tugging on his jacket which he’d snagged from the couch in front of him. “How come?”

  “Overtime.”

  “Overtime? Really? I would have thou—”

  “Thought what? That because I’m under supervision that they don’t want me there any more than I need to be?”

  “Jason, that's not—”

  “I don't care what you think, Maggie. Right now I just don’t want to be around you.”

  Her gasp of hurt split the air between them. She watched, stunned with the emotional pain that reverberated through her, as Jason closed his eyes for a couple of seconds and heaved a sigh that seemed to come from Methuselah himself.

  “Ah, hell, Maggie. I'm sorry. I don’t want to hurt you. I mean, I know it's ridiculous to feel this way. You’re my sister and you’ve looked after me better than anyone else ever could. Given me opportunities that Mom and Dad always wanted me to have. You’ve even kept the house exactly the way they left it. Sometimes it feels like a freaking shrine to our old life before they died—and most of the time that’s okay, it’s something solid that we have in common. But sometimes it’s suffocating and right now, looking at you—seeing the way you’ve changed for him, seeing how happy you are—it’s just more than I can stand.”

  She crossed the room and put her hand on his arm. “It doesn’t have to be like this, Jason. He’s a good man. I’ve seen a side of him that’s different from what everyone else sees—you should see how much he has contributed personally to Hannah’s Hope. He wrote a check today that was huge. Sure, he’s intense and driven, but he’s just and loyal, too.”

  “Just? You can still say that after what he’s done to me?”

  “Jason, I saw the reports.”

  “Oh, sure, that figures. You’d believe a bunch of words and numbers before you’d believe me.”

  “I hardly have any cause for blind loyalty, Jason,” she protested. “I don’t even know if I got this job on my own merits or because he wanted to keep an eye on me because of what he believed you’d done!”

  “Oh, so now that’s my fault, too. Well, sis, I don’t see you protesting very hard. After all, look at you. Look at yourself. Look at what you wear now. You’d never have been seen dead in that stuff before. You don’t even drive your own car.”

  “So you’re mad at me for wanting to look nice? For needing a vehicle that’s more reliable?”

  “You always looked nice—if anyone ever bothered to go beneath the surface of what you hid behind. I’m not stupid. I know you did it deliberately. And I know you haven’t upgraded your car because we’ve been paying off my loans. But seriously, Maggie, you’re so dolled up now I don’t even recognize my sister inside you anymore.” He snatched his arm away from her hold. “You know, I can take the changes, I can even take that you’re working for that arrogant SOB, but what hurts the most is that you believe him over me. Your own brother.”

  Before her very eyes Jason appeared to age, looking every one of his twenty-four years, and more.

  “Jason, I know it must have been tempting, but you’ve been given another chance.”

  “When will you understand, Maggie? I. Didn’t. Do. It.”

  He turned sharply away from her and headed straight for the front door.

  “Wait, please!” she cried, moving to block him. Anything to make him stay. Make him understand. “I love you, Jason. You’re my brother. I’ve always been there for you, you know that.”

  “Not anymore,” he said bitterly, grief stark on his face. “But when I prove that I’m right and your precious Mr. Tanner is wrong, maybe you’ll believe me again.”

  The door slammed resoundingly behind him. Margaret stood there for some time, hoping against hope that he’d be straight back, but through the thick slab of wood she heard him start up his motorbike and head out onto the street.

  On unsteady legs she made her way to her bedroom and sank onto her neatly made bed. Was Jason right? Was she struggling so hard to hold on to everything they had before their parents died that she was stifling him? She’d fought so hard to hold on to him, to prevent him from being taken into foster care.

  Margaret looked up at the bedroom wall, at the map of the world covered with red pins marking all the countries she wanted to visit one day, and with a single yellow pin marking where she’d been. Here. Vista Del Mar, California.

  She’d sacrificed her own dreams of education and travel to ensure that Jason had the most stable upbringing he possibly could with both their parents gone. She’d given it up without so much as a thought or regret for what might have been. She’d done it because she had to, needed to. Because it was what their parents would have expected of her. Because she loved her brother.

  Slowly she got up from the bed and crossed to the wall, then slowly, painstakingly, began to remove the pins from the map. Once they were all gone and tucked back in the box from which they’d come, she took the poster off her wall and systematically tore it in two, then in two again. Then and only then did she let go of the grief that now built with steady pressure in her chest.

  Nothing mattered. Not a single thing she’d done. Ever. She’d failed her brother and now she was in a relationship with a man who thought only in terms of profit and loss. Hell, it wasn’t even a real relationship. It was a farce perpetuated so he could trick his father into signing over ownership of something that should, by right, have been his all along.

  Marg
aret knew she would continue to do whatever it took for Will to have what was his. She’d given her word and that word was gold. And, in the past week, she’d seen a different side to the man they’d all said was unflinchingly ruthless. A side that spoke to her on a level she’d never anticipated.

  She’d shared intimacies with him this weekend she’d never shared with another man. Been lifted to heights of pleasure that were as addictive as they were seductive. She’d felt special and cherished—as if she were half of a pair that belonged together—and, damn it, she wanted it all again.

  Margaret fisted the torn poster between her hands and threw the balled-up mass to one corner of the room, before collapsing on her bed—sobbing now as if her heart would break. A heart that she now knew belonged irrevocably to a man who didn’t return her feelings. A man whose world was so far removed from her own reality that she felt like a fairy-tale princess when she moved within it.

  But the clock was ticking fast toward midnight. Once Will had what he needed she’d be redundant to him, in more ways than one. As redundant as it now appeared she was to Jason as well. Suddenly, her life yawned before her like a gaping dark hole. Without the things she’d anchored herself to, where would she go, who would she be?

  Everything she’d done until now had a purpose. She’d had a brief to follow. She’d been needed. But when all this business with William Tanner and Cameron Enterprises was over, where would that leave her? She knew for herself, from the celebrity gossip magazines and articles, that men like him changed their mistresses as often as they changed their designer shirts. Even in the past week she’d seen conjecture in the Seaside Gazette’s gossip column about who William Tanner would adorn his arm with next. The photos they’d shown of him with various other girlfriends, some of them supermodels, just made her heart ache even more.

  Given what he was used to, was it even worth hoping that he could fall in love with someone like her—as she’d fallen in love with him?

  Eight