by Regina Duke
“Just a minute!” He fumbled with the leg rest, then gave up in disgust. He lifted his cast off the floor and used both hands and his good leg to move the chair to the door. He pulled it open, but the chair was in the way, and it jarred him from head to toe.
Belle waited patiently. “Tell me when you’ve moved the chair.”
Uly pushed himself backwards. “Okay, come in.”
Belle entered.
Uly gasped in surprise. She was a vision, all legs, beautiful legs. Runner’s legs. And tan, and glowing from her exercise. Her short dark hair seemed trained into place, and her tee hugged her lithe frame.
“You okay?” asked Belle.
“Uh, sure, yeah, I’m fine,” sputtered Uly. He cleared his throat. “Good run?”
“Very.” But she didn’t look relaxed. Her movements were short and jerky.
“What’s wrong?”
“Long story.” She went to the kitchenette and found a cold bottle of water. She drank half of it down.
Uly was transfixed by her elegant neck and the line of her jaw. When she lowered the water bottle, he averted his eyes.
“I know you don’t need that chair.” She looked at him pertly, a tight smile on her lips.
Uly sagged against the chair arms. “Oh?”
“Don’t worry,” said Belle. “I think I know why you still use it.”
“Oh, really?”
Belle nodded. “I met your mother, remember?”
Uly laughed, then wagged a finger at her. “Do they have a special class in nursing school for sizing people up? Or is that a natural talent?”
Belle wagged her brows at him. “Why do you want her to think you’re injured worse than you really are?” As she spoke, she leaned over him and reset the leg rest and helped him settle his cast on it.
“Thanks.”
“You’re welcome.” She sipped at her water and moved to the sofa. She sat cross-legged where he’d been sitting. She ran one hand over the warm spot on the cushion beside her. “I’m surprised you didn’t break the other leg, trying to get from here to your wheelchair when I knocked on the door.”
Uly felt a blush heating his cheeks. “Busted. It’s faster to hop around than it is to manipulate this contraption.”
“You’re too impatient,” said Belle. “Don’t hop around. You don’t have the right cast for that.” She paused, as if deciding what to say. Then, “You can use your crutches.” A moment later, she added, “If your ribs are up to it.”
Uly shrugged. “Okay. Will I still be able to use my ankle as an excuse to avoid a family dinner?”
Belle flashed him an understanding grin. “Sure. I’ll back you up on that. You’re not ready for that kind of stress.”
“Thanks.”
Her smile was gone in an instant.
Uly’s brows drew together. “Something is wrong, isn’t it?”
Belle shrugged. “I got some distressing news. I’m working it out.” She propped her long legs up on the coffee table.
Uly found himself staring at those legs again. He cleared his throat. The mention of her personal problem gave him an opening and he took it. “I got some bad news, too. From my father.”
Belle’s expression shifted to one of sympathy. Uly wondered if she was aware of doing that. Maybe that was why she became a nurse. Maybe she was hardwired to care about other people. That might help him with his problem.
He took a deep breath and began. “I was working with Dad in Kuwait when my accident happened. That’s why my mother is upset with him. He feels like his sons have to learn everything from the ground up. And that’s what I was doing when I got hurt.”
Belle nodded. “I can see why your mother would be irritated with him.”
“Well, Dad is working on a huge business deal. He loves it over there. Loves the culture, the people. Everything.” He didn’t quite succeed in keeping the bitterness out of his voice.
“I take it you don’t?”
Uly’s features tightened with the strain of holding his tongue. He said simply, “No.” He busied himself with maneuvering the wheelchair closer to the sofa. “Here’s the deal. Through no fault of my own, for some crazy reason, the fellow Dad is doing business with will only go through with the deal if I am married. My father told him I’m a married man, and now the other guy has hinted that he wants proof. Crazy stuff. One of the reasons I don’t really do well over there.”
“And the problem?”
“I’m not married.”
Belle tilted her head to one side. “Are you going to get to the point soon? Or should I go take my shower?”
Uly made an exasperated noise. “You’re on the clock, right? I’m trying to explain what’s going on.”
Belle’s lips curled in a tiny smile.
Uly pinned her with his gaze. “Are you teasing me?”
“Someone has to. I don’t see anyone else available at the moment.” Her expression lightened up. “Go on. I’m sorry. Your father has put you in an awkward position?”
“Yes. Thank you. If this fellow finds out I’m not married, it’ll make my father look very bad. And it may sour the deal.”
“You mean, if the other guy finds out your dad lied?”
Uly felt his frustration level rising. “He didn’t exactly lie. I mean, I was married once, a very bad decision when I was much younger, and it didn’t last. So there was a time when I was married, but not anymore. One way or another, Dad got himself in a pinch. And it could cost him billions.”
Belle choked on her water and coughed droplets all over her tee. When she could breathe again, she gasped, “Billions?”
“Right.” Uly frowned in confusion. “Mother told you Dad was a billionaire in the oil business.”
“Yes, but I was thinking Texas. You know, like in those old movies? One rickety well, hoping to strike it big?”
“That was my granddaddy, and he hit it big in spades. So now my father wants me to get hold of his personal lawyer and draw up an agreement and hire an actress or someone to pretend to be my wife for a year.”
“Does everyone in your family have his own lawyer?”
Uly tsked and shook his head. “Woman, can you just listen for a minute? Yes, we have dozens of lawyers, but they’re all tied up with the oil companies and this deal Dad’s working on. Corporate mostly. Dad wants me to use his personal lawyer from the old days. Well, their firm anyway. He told me who to call. But my problem is—”
“You need to rent a wife!”
CHAPTER SEVEN
Belle felt her brain buzzing. First, the sheer incomprehensible wealth that Uly and his family represented made her head spin. And then, learning that they were mere humans after all, capable of saying stupid things and endangering huge business deals with their little white lies? That left her reeling. But the thing that made her heart flutter with hope was the fact that they had dozens of lawyers! That ought to put her on even footing if she had to defend herself in court.
Uly seemed put out by her straightforward approach. “I was going to ask you if you were interested in the job, but I’m not sure I could stand a full year of having you interrupt me every time I’m talking.”
Belle checked the time on her iPhone. “Meds,” she said.
“What?”
“You are cranky and impatient,” said Belle gently, changing tactics without blinking an eye. “Your meds have worn off, and you’re in pain.”
Uly did a mental inventory. At last he said, “Yeah, my back is killing me. And my ribs are aching again.”
Belle left the sofa as he retrieved his medications. She shook his pills into her palm. “I apologize,” she said. “I didn’t mean to get back late. I should have told you to set your alarm and take your pills. Here.” She took his hand and put the pills on his palm. “I’ll get you a bottle of water.”
When she returned, he was trying to pretend he hadn’t been looking at her legs. She handed him the bottle.
“You get comfortable. Take those pills. I have
some questions about this new job opportunity.” She smiled at him. “Why don’t I go shower and change? By the time I get back, your pills will be working. Is that all right with you?”
Uly swallowed his pills. “Yep. That would be fine.”
“And no hopping! Promise?”
“No hopping. Here.” He handed her his room key. “I won’t have to get to the door when you get back.”
“Good idea.”
Belle returned to her room. She rushed through her shower. She was filled with a sense of hope. A tiny voice in her brain was cautioning her to be careful, but she couldn’t help feeling that being careful got her into trouble in the first place. She was careful to follow the doctor’s instructions as written. Where was her little voice then?
She remembered how Uly had admired her legs. Maybe a short skirt? That wasn’t very nursey of her. She should wear scrubs. She was working as his nurse. She pulled a couple of outfits out of her suitcase. She hadn’t brought much with her. If she’d gotten the hospital job, she would have driven back to Denver and tied up loose ends. But as it was, she had just the suitcase and a couple changes of clothing. Jeans for driving home in. The suit she’d worn for her interview this morning. She couldn’t wear that until it was dry cleaned. Little Charlie had tinkled on it. That left her scrubs.
With a sigh of disappointment, she slipped into the black pants and the white scrub top with its scattered pattern of red hearts and black stethoscopes. It would have to do for the moment. Maybe tomorrow she’d get a chance to visit that little boutique in town.
Sure. With her unemployment check.
She laughed out loud. “Or maybe not,” she said to her reflection. She checked her hair. Then she put her running shoes back on. Scrubs and heels were not a good match. She took a few moments to calm herself, sitting on the edge of the bed. She held her cell in her hand and braced herself before she checked for any new messages from her former supervisor.
No. Just that same cold warning.
Not quite as jarring now. She marveled at how different things could seem when there was hope.
Mumbling to herself, “Don’t count your chickens yet,” she collected her purse and her room key, then headed back upstairs.
She found Uly stretched out on the sofa, injured ankle propped on a pillow, with his earphones on. His eyes were closed. She could tell from his expression that his meds were working.
“I’m back.”
Uly opened his eyes and raised his brows in greeting.
“Are you hungry?”
“Yes, ma’am. But I have no desire to move from this sofa.”
“Shall I order room service?”
“Great idea. I want steak and a big old baked potato with everything on it.”
“You chill,” said Belle. “Rest is the best thing for you.”
“Charge it to the suite,” said Uly, letting his eyes close again.
Thirty minutes later, Belle let in a waiter with a rolling cart. He headed for the dining table, but Belle stopped him.
“Let’s use the coffee table,” she said. “Mr. Garrison doesn’t need to be moving around.”
While the waiter set their dinner out on the coffee table, Belle helped Uly sit up. She tucked a pillow between his back and the arm of the sofa and made sure he was comfortable.
Uly pulled a twenty out of his pocket and handed it to the waiter. “Thanks a bunch, friend. It smells delicious.”
When they were alone, Belle sat on the carpet opposite Uly and lifted the lid on her plate. She’d been craving lasagna all day. A straw basket held half a loaf of hot French bread.
Uly managed to settle his plate on his lap. They ate in companionable silence until they’d both taken the edge off their hunger.
Belle pulled a piece of French bread off and spread butter on it. “You said something about a lawyer?”
Uly nodded. His steak was gone. He was toying with the last half of his baked potato. “Seems wise. We’d both be protected that way. You wouldn’t have to worry about me sneaking into your bedroom, and I would have some assurance that you wouldn’t try to soak me for everything I’m worth.”
Belle tried to sound casual. “How much does this position pay?”
Uly shrugged. “What do you think?”
“Very tricky,” said Belle. “Let me set the reward. That ensures I can’t complain about the deal later.”
Uly tilted his head to one side. “Do you always analyze everything like this?”
Belle thought for a moment. “Unfortunately, not always. I probably should have researched working conditions before I gave in to my heart’s desire to be a nurse.”
Uly looked confused. “I thought you handled yourself like a natural.”
“Thanks. I used to work in an ER, remember?” She shoved French bread in her mouth before she could say too much. Polly Garrison would check on her with the Board of Nursing and call her former supervisor. Beyond that, Belle decided she would pick the time, if ever, to reveal why she was let go.
“Why’d you leave?”
Belle concentrated on buttering another bite of bread. “Like I said, I should have researched the conditions beforehand.” She silently applauded how she sidestepped the issue. “Maybe I was born to be a home care nurse. Taking care of you is turning out to have benefits.” She patted her tummy. “Death by lasagna. What a way to go.”
“The food here is awesome. Mr. McAvoy, the owner, oversees everything, and he’s crazy about his Italian restaurant.” Uly set his plate on the coffee table. “What’s in that box?”
Belle opened the pink cardboard box. She closed her eyes and threw her head back to mouth a thank you at heaven. “Dessert! And I’m eating bread? Yuck.” She undid the sides of the box. The confections included a fat piece of marbled cheesecake cut in two slices, a wedge of German chocolate cake, and for the purist, a dozen slices of European cheese on a plate with apple wedges. She picked up a clean fork. “State your preference. I’m going in!”
Uly laughed. “Cheesecake.”
“That’s a good omen,” said Belle. “As man and wife, we should have something in common. When do I sign the contract?”
“Whoa, Nelly. You haven’t told me your price yet. And you haven’t read the agreement, and I haven’t even called the lawyer yet. Let’s eat our cheesecake first. Is that coffee?”
Belle poured them each a cup. Silence reigned, except for their occasional moans of cheesecake pleasure.
Belle licked the last remnants off her fork, then announced, “We should fly to Vegas and tie the knot. Fastest way to go.”
Uly’s brows met in the middle. “Are you running from the law or something? Don’t tell me. You’re a serial killer, looking for your next billionaire victim so you can live off your inheritance after you poison him slowly with arsenic in his cheesecake.”
“That’s absurd.”
Uly snapped his fingers. “You’re right. You are much too impatient to wait for arsenic to build up in my system. You’re a nurse. You’ll probably arrange an accident in the bathtub or something.”
Belle threw up her hands. “Hey! You’re the one with the father who carelessly told a business associate you were married. And what business is it of anyone if you are or not? And why do you even care? What kind of convoluted mess are you involved in? What would make you seriously consider hiring a woman to play your wife?”
Uly was boring a hole through her with his eyes. Belle moved a slice of chocolate cake onto her plate.
Uly said, “Truce.”
Belle said, “Fine. Want some cake?”
Uly knitted his brows together for a moment. “Yes, I do. What’s in them pills I’m taking? I never have two desserts.” He held out his plate to receive cake. He forked a bite into his mouth and mumbled, “Oh yeah.” After he swallowed, he said, “Sixteen billion dollars.”
Belle’s eyes nearly popped out of her head.
“That’s what the business deal is worth. Not all at once of course. It’s a five
-year deal. And please don’t ask me any more questions.”
Belle licked frosting off her fingers. “One million dollars. And ditto.”
It took Uly a moment to get her drift. “You mean, you’ll do it for a million dollars? Paid in full?”
Belle held up a hand. “Pending my approval of the written agreement. See? Fast learner. Also, if your spouse were to need legal counsel at some point, she’d be able to use your guys, right?”
“Oh my God, you are running from the law.”
“I am not! And did I not say ditto?”
Uly nodded. “No questions. We both have our secrets. Okay. I’ll call the lawyers tonight and have the papers drawn up. You’ve got to do the whole year, though.”
“Understood.”
“Vegas is a good idea. I’ll see if I can’t get us there tomorrow.”
Belle sloshed her coffee and it spotted her scrub top. “Rats!” She looked at Uly imploringly. “Can you front me some cash so I can buy some clothes? You can take it out of the million. You’ve seen the entire wardrobe I brought with me. Between coffee and puppy pee, all I have left is my running shorts.” She couldn’t bring herself to spend Polly’s expense money on clothes.
Uly pulled out his wallet and riffled through the bill compartment. He extracted several.
“Hundreds okay?”
Belle’s mouth dropped open, but she closed it quickly. “Fine.” She accepted the bills. “Aren’t you worried that I’ll pocket this and you’ll never see me again?”
“Nope.”
“How can you be so sure?”
“Because there’s a million more waiting for you. And because you’ve met my mother. If you cheat me, she will hunt you down.”
They stared at each other for a moment, then both burst out laughing.
“Good point,” said Belle.
Uly put his wallet away. “Besides, we need each other. And yes, if you really need a lawyer, you can use my guys.” He put finger quotes around the last two words. “I think it may be too late to hit the boutique tonight.”
“There’s no Wal-Mart?”
Uly looked horrified. “In Eagle’s Toe? Are you kidding? Besides, if you’re going to pretend to be my wife, you have to look the part. You need Mina’s Boutique. That woman has a talent for dressing the rich.”
