My Favorite Husband

by Pam McCutcheon

  “So do I. And that’s why it’s so difficult for me to say this.”

  “What?” Kelly asked in an abstracted tone, trying to catch sight of Chaz.

  “I’m going to have to let you go.”

  That got her full attention. “You’re what?” She couldn’t have heard right.

  “I’m letting you go,” Candace said.

  She knew that hiding business would get her into trouble. “I’m sorry I made you hide. It was stupid of me, but I—”

  “That’s not it,” Candace said, interrupting. “But considering your antipathy toward our new Pizzazz Girl, and the fact that you and your husband used physical violence against one of our editors, I don’t see how I can keep you on.”

  “Let me get this straight. You’re firing me?” Just so Kelly wouldn’t tempt her new boyfriend?

  “Yes,” Candace said though she had the grace to look uncomfortable. “I just don’t think it would be appropriate for you to continue working at Pizzazz.” She gestured at the mob scene around them. “And I really don’t want the magazine associated with this . . . situation.”

  Stunned, Kelly just stood there as Candace joined Spencer and linked elbows with him. Ohmigod, what now? Kelly was having a hard time taking it all in.

  Chaz. She needed Chaz. She turned blindly to find him.

  What she got was her mother.

  “You have a lot to answer for, young lady,” Grace said.

  “Not now, Mother,” Kelly said wearily.

  Grace sniffed. “This scene is totally unacceptable. You’re a disgrace to the Richmond name. Don’t bother to come home. You’re not welcome there anymore.” Without waiting for a reply, she turned and left.

  What did she mean by that? Kelly tried to follow her, but a policeman stepped into her path. “Excuse me,” she said, but the large young man didn’t budge.

  Staring impassively down at her, he asked, “Are you Kelly Richmond?”

  “I was—that’s my maiden name.” What was this about?

  “AKA Kelly Vincent?”

  “Yes.”

  “AKA Kelly Preston?”

  Uh oh. She held her hands out in supplication. “Yes, but I can explain.”

  He snapped cuffs on her outstretched wrists. “You can explain down at the police station where you’ll be charged with bigamy.”

  She listened in a daze as he recited her rights. She was under arrest for bigamy? But how did they find out? Who had notified them? Not that many people knew. She glanced around wildly and her gaze settled on Billings, who looked all too smug.

  That was how. He must have guessed.

  As her world crumbled around her, Kelly let her face fall into her braceleted hands and tried not to sob. Ohmigod, what do I do now?

  A shocked exclamation brought her head up. “What’s going on here?” Chaz demanded, glancing at the cuffs.

  Kelly glanced around wildly, hoping none of the reporters had followed him to witness her humiliation. But he must have given the reporters what they wanted, for they were all leaving the lobby, talking busily on their cell phones.

  Kelly sniffled, trying not to cry. “I’ve been evicted, fired, disowned, and arre-rested,” Kelly wailed. Then, seeing the horror on Chaz’s face, a bit of hope filtered through. Blinking back tears, she said, “But the situation could be wo-orse.”

  Confusion plain on his face, Chaz asked in disbelief, “How?”

  Kelly felt her lower lip tremble. “You could tell me you’re leaving me again.” And her heart stopped as she waited for his response.

  Chaz’s heart almost stopped at the hope in her eyes. She did love him. And, he suddenly realized, he’d been punishing her just as much as she had been punishing him. He didn’t need Scott to confirm that Kelly was telling the truth about trusting him. As he’d told her brother only a few days ago, Kelly was the most honorable woman he knew. Of course she was telling the truth.

  “Oh, honey,” he said. “I love you. We can work this out.” He tried to hug her, but the handcuffs got in his way.

  He glanced at the young cop. “Are the cuffs necessary? She’s not exactly a dangerous criminal.”

  The cop colored. “With the bigamy charge, her eviction notice, and the disorderly conduct of this unruly crowd, I thought it prudent.”

  Chaz scowled at him. Lord save me from overzealous rookies. “Well, she’s not guilty of bigamy. Wait here, and I can prove it to you.”

  The cop stiffened. “I’m not sure I can do that, sir.”

  “You will if you don’t want to be slapped with a charge for false arrest. That wouldn’t look very good on your record, would it?”

  The rookie swallowed hard, but managed to keep his dignity. “I’m willing to hear what you have to say.”

  “Good—there’s a lawyer here who can explain it to you.”

  Chaz quickly rounded up Gerald and sicced him on the rookie with instructions to get Kelly released immediately. It should be easy enough—Gerald had all the evidence on him to prove Kelly wasn’t a bigamist.

  While Gerald was doing that, Chaz spoke quickly to Billings, Kelly’s mother, Candace, and Amalia in turn. By the time he returned to Kelly, the rookie had been joined by a stern-faced older cop who was releasing Kelly from the handcuffs.

  “You’re free to go, ma’am,” the rookie said, chagrined. “I’m sorry for the misunderstanding.” Glancing at the older cop, he added, “Really sorry.”

  Kelly just nodded and threw her arms around Gerald’s neck. “Thank you so much.”

  Gerald patted her awkwardly on the back as the cops left. “It was nothing, my dear. You gave me all the necessary evidence.”

  She beamed at him. “But I couldn’t have explained it nearly as well as you did.” Turning to Chaz, she said, “He was wonderful. He spouted legalese at them until they finally gave up.”

  Chaz clapped him on the back. “Thanks for your help. We appreciate it.”

  “No problem, no problem,” Gerald said. Then, apparently embarrassed at being thanked, he hurried away.

  And suddenly Chaz’s arms were full of Kelly. “Thank you, too,” she said with an effusive hug. “Being arrested would have put the cap on a truly horrible day. Thank you for finding Gerald for me.”

  “It was the least I could do,” Chaz murmured, reluctantly letting her go as she pulled back.

  “But where did you go?”

  “I thought I’d check to see if I could do anything about your other problems as well.”

  Looking surprised, she asked, “Were you able to?”

  “Well, Billings backed down after I explained the situation and . . . persuaded him to give you a little more time.”

  Kelly grinned. “And just what form did this persuasion take?”

  Chaz shrugged. “I found out that he called the reporters and the police. And I told him if he didn’t want his superiors to know that this hubbub was all his fault, he might want to treat you a little better. You can stay as long as you like.”

  Kelly laughed. “Well, the sooner I’m out of this place, the better. But . . . do I have a place to go home to?”

  “If you mean will your mother let you in the house, yes.” Chaz grimaced. “She was upset at the possible stain on the family name, but Scott and I convinced her that everything will be fine. You can go home . . . if you still want to.” Though why anyone would choose to live with Grace Richmond was beyond him.

  “And my job?”

  “I’m afraid I couldn’t help you there. You’ve burned too many bridges. With Amalia and Deuce both working there, Candace just isn’t willing to risk the potential confrontations that might ensue. She has promised to give you good references, though.”

  “Well, that’s something anyway,” Kelly said with a sigh.

  “You’re not too disappointed?” he asked in surprise. “I thought you loved your job.”

  “Not really. It was a way to pay the bills and they treated me well, but I didn’t love it.”

  “That’s good,”
Chaz said in relief. “After what we did to Deuce, I don’t think either of them will ever forgive us.” He gazed down at her with a grin. “Scott told me what happened earlier. Did you really slap Deuce?”

  Kelly grimaced. “Yes, but I’m not proud of it. I was just so angry at him for letting Amalia’s brothers tie you up. I’m afraid I lost my temper.”

  Chaz found it heartening that Kelly had been angry enough for his sake to hit someone. Especially when that someone was Deuce. “Speaking of Amalia, she also explained the truth to her brothers so they’re no longer after me . . . and they’ve released that poor priest.”

  “It was that easy?”

  He shrugged. “As far as her brothers are concerned, what Amalia wants, Amalia gets. And thank God she doesn’t want me anymore. The thought of being a supermodel is far more tempting.”

  Kelly laughed. “So we’re both free now.”

  “Yes.” Chaz reached out to stroke her arms. “But I don’t want to be free of you. Not now. Not ever.”

  He knew that now. Whatever it took to keep Kelly in his life, he’d do it.” He couldn’t leave her alone after so many bad things had happened to her—bad things that he was responsible for. “I’ll cancel that job in Turkey. Staying here with you is more important

  “Oh, Chaz.” Moisture pooled in Kelly’s eyes. “We’re quite a pair, aren’t we? What are we going to do? Neither one of us has a job.”

  “We can find one,” he said. “No problem.”

  “But will you be happy staying here with me?”

  “Of course,” he said firmly, trying not to let his doubt show in his voice. He’d wasn’t entirely sure what he could do, but he’d try his best to make it work.

  Laying a hand on the side of his face, Kelly said, “Oh, Chaz. I can’t do that to you. Nothing you find here can equal the thrill of the job you have now.”

  “The thrill of being with you will just have to do,” he said with a smile.

  Kelly sighed. “You do know what to say to make me feel better, but I would hate to take that away from you. After experiencing it myself, climbing up and down those balconies, I now know why you crave it so much.”

  “You enjoyed that?” he asked incredulously, his hope suddenly rising.

  “Yes.” Kelly shook her head. “It’s amazing, but I’ve never felt so alive, so exhilarated as I did today. The past few days, really, ever since you came back.”

  “Then come with me,” he urged.

  “What?”

  “I had no idea you enjoyed this sort of thing. Why don’t you come with me to the dig in Turkey? You can experience the thrill of discovery along with me.”

  Kelly’s eyes widened. “Can I do that? Will they let me?”

  “Sure, why not?” Chaz said, ebullience lending his heart wings. “They always need extra people for administrative work, to assist the archaeologists, stuff like that. Even the most mundane job on a dig can be pretty exciting at times. What do you say?”

  “That’s perfect,” Kelly exclaimed. “I’d love to go with you. And this way, I won’t have to worry about you all the time. I’ll know exactly what danger you’ll be in.”

  “Yep, you’ll be right there alongside me, sharing it with me.” He grinned, ecstatic as he realized all his dreams were about to come true. “But there’s one thing we have to clear up first.”

  “What’s that?” Kelly asked, looking apprehensive.

  “I want to make sure we’re legal first. Will you marry me . . . again?”

  Kelly threw her arms around him. “Of course, silly.” She gave him a fervent kiss and grinned. “You always were my favorite husband.”

  Dear Reader,

  I hope you enjoyed My Favorite Husband. As the name implies, the book was inspired by the movie My Favorite Wife—the version starring Cary Grant and Irene Dunn, to be specific. But, to make it my own, I switched the roles of the hero and heroine. And, though the premise is the same, the rest of it is my own offbeat take on the story.

  Scott Richmond, Kelly’s brother, wasn’t intended to be in the original story, but I had to have someone for my heroine to talk to, so he chimed in, then wouldn’t leave. As a result, I had to promise him a book of his own. If you love Scott as much as I do, watch for his story in Caught in the Act.

  But you can’t blame the “muscle massager” joke on Scott. My critique group insisted I use it after it was perpetrated on me by my brother and his wife. One of these days, I’ll get even with them for it.

  I’d love to hear from you as well. Contact me through my website and let me know what you think of my book, or leave a review at an online retailer. Reviews are an excellent way to show writers what you think of their books, and we really appreciate your feedback. While you're on my site, sign up for my newsletter to keep up with what else I'm doing!

  Thank you so much for reading My Favorite Husband and spending time with me and my characters. See below for a free download of another romance!

  Pam McCutcheon

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  Other Romances by Pam McCutcheon

  Caught in the Act

  The Trouble With Fairies Novella

  The Hope Chest Series, Book 1: The Mesmerist

  The Hope Chest Series Boxed Set

  The Three Graces Series, Book 1: Belle of the Ball

  The Three Graces Series Boxed Set

  Golden Prophecies

  Quicksilver (ebook coming soon)

  A Little Something Extra

  A Reluctant Rogue

  Chasing Baby

  Here Comes the . . . Baby

  About the Author

  Pam McCutcheon is the award-winning author of romance novels ranging from fantasy, futuristic, paranormal and time travel to contemporary romantic comedy. She also has two nonfiction how-to books for writers in print, has published fantasy short stories as Pamela Luzier in various anthologies, and writes the Demon Underground Young Adult urban fantasy series under the name Parker Blue.

  After many years of working for the military as enlisted, officer and civil service successively, she left her industrial engineering position to pursue her first love—a career in publishing. She can be found in beautiful Colorado Springs with her rescue dogs, on Facebook, or on the Internet:

  Pam. McCutcheon.Author

  pammc.com