The Wedding Venture: 5-hour read. Marriage of Convenience, Romantic Comedy (Colorado Billionaires Book 3)

by Regina Duke

  “I’ll be there in a minute!” Bits of maple leaf clung to her hair. “Great, just great.” She ran the brush through it as best she could. She blew air out with frustration and decided Jason would have to take her as she was. She headed for the front door, trying to straighten the red turtleneck. How could a girl get so disheveled just by raking leaves?

  Oh. Right. Maybe the anger her memories stirred up had something to do with it. She rolled her eyes and opened the front door. Her jaw dropped.

  “Darius! What are you doing here?”

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  Vicky crossed her arms and hardened her voice. “How did you find me?”

  Darius was tall, and he emphasized his height by wearing his blond hair very short on the sides and moussed upward on top. He had perpetually arched brows, chiseled features, and a brooding bad-boy look that Vicky had found very appealing in college.

  He had become even more appealing when her mother protested that having a boyfriend would not help her career. Vicky thought her mother would find him more acceptable when she revealed that Darius was also hoping to become a concert pianist, but the revelation had the opposite effect. Her mother protested that no pianist needed that kind of competition in her personal life and demanded she stop seeing him.

  That, of course, guaranteed that Vicky would see even more of Darius. After several months and a visit home with Darius in tow to introduce him, her mother decided he was God’s gift to women. From that moment on, Vicky began to feel a tiny bit jealous because every time she talked to her mother, Elsa seemed more interested in Darius than in her. Now, after crying her heart out for two solid days and finding herself in Colorado again, with no room to return to in San Francisco, Vicky felt only revulsion at the sight of him.

  Darius held his hands at shoulder height as if afraid to touch anything and asked, “May I come in?”

  “What are you doing here?”

  “I came to apologize. I picked a lousy time to start an argument.”

  “You told me you were tired of me and never wanted to see me again.”

  “It sounds so harsh when you summarize it like that. You know how dramatic I can be. Can’t we go inside and talk things over?”

  “No.” Vicky’s voice rose with indignant outrage. “You broke up with me the night before a major competition, Darius. You did that on purpose so I would be unable to perform. Now here you come, pretending we just had a little quarrel? You’re a rat. Go away.” She started to close the door, then paused. “You didn’t answer my question. How did you find me?”

  Darius shrugged. “I went to the pawn shop where you took your laptop. Since you couldn’t come up with the money before your ticket expired, the fellow put it on sale, and I bought it.”

  “I wouldn’t have had to pawn if it you could have loaned me fifty dollars,” she snapped. “You were bragging about how much money you made playing weddings, but you couldn’t spare me fifty bucks for two weeks? And then you went and bought my laptop?”

  “Yes. And it cost me fifty bucks to buy it. Talk about irony.”

  Vicky found herself wondering if a woman could mortally wound a man with a garden rake. It would only take a moment to retrieve it from the back yard. She growled at Darius. “How did having my laptop tell you where I was?”

  Darius strolled to the half wall that surrounded the porch and perched on it. “You always kept your passwords on sticky notes on your desk, but I could have guessed even if you didn’t. Chopin? Really? So obvious. I turned on the computer and there was your Facebook page. Did you know if you click that little button that says ‘Keep me logged in’ you are logged in until you turn that off? Well, you never turned it off.” He wagged a finger at her, naughty, naughty. “I saw that Madlyn was your only Facebook friend, and she lived in Eagle’s Toe, Colorado. Handy little locater device. It’s a small town. Everyone knows where Madlyn Lake lives. Honestly, Vicky, one friend on Facebook? Is that even possible? How can anyone have only one Facebook friend? That’s unnatural.”

  “Where’s my laptop now?”

  “Are we getting back together?”

  “No.”

  “Then it’s my laptop. I have a sales receipt to prove it. And it’s got that lovely Maestro music notation software I’ve been wanting.” He smirked.

  Vicky glared at him. She wondered what the penalty was for gouging out a man’s eyes with her bare hands. Was there a name for that? Eyeballicide? Was it even a crime? She was certain a female jury would find her not guilty, regardless.

  “I hate you, Darius.”

  “I guess that means I’d better start plying you with candy and flowers.” He batted his eyes at her.

  In the past, Vicky had found that behavior charming. Today, it made her gag. “You’re not listening to me. You broke off our relationship, not me. You ruined my chances at the competition. And you did it on purpose. Did you win?”

  Darius waved the question away. “What if I pay your back rent for you? And next month’s rent as well?”

  “You’re way too late,” Vicky snarled. Then, “You didn’t win, did you? You wanted me out of the way because I’m a better pianist than you, and after all that, you didn’t win.” She allowed herself to feel tremendous satisfaction at that realization.

  “Details, details.”

  “Who beat you?”

  Darius’ charm evaporated. “This conversation is going nowhere. I came because I thought you might be interested in patching things up. I see I was wrong.”

  “Yes. You were wrong about a lot of things. You thought I would fall into a puddle at your feet. Wrong. You thought I’d be so desperate, I’d fall for your stupid line about our little quarrel. Wrong. You thought you could offer to pay my rent for a month and I’d fall all over you. Wrong, wrong, wrong. I don’t need you. I never needed you. I just didn’t know it. Goodbye.” She closed the door with a bang and leaned against it, trembling uncontrollably.

  A few seconds later, she heard his steps retreating from the porch.

  She moved to the sofa and collapsed there. Briefly, she contemplated the liquor in Madlyn’s kitchen cupboard. Would a shot of brandy stop her shaking?

  Was she angry or devastated? She decided it was a combination of both. What a jerk! He actually went to the pawnshop and bought her laptop. She knew the ticket had expired. She knew the pawnbroker would sell it to someone. But thinking some stranger might buy it didn’t bother her nearly as much as knowing that Darius had snagged it on purpose to get the software he wanted and then used it to figure out where she was.

  Her thoughts turned again to mayhem. Maybe she could make his death look like an accident. He was leaning on the shotgun, Officer, and it went off. No, that wouldn’t work. Besides, she had trouble with confrontation. Look how badly she was trembling. She could never shoot anyone.

  Poison? She could look up arsenic on-line if she had her laptop. Maybe she was capable of murder after all.

  Deep down, she knew she would never harm him, but thinking about revenge made her feel better.

  She heard steps on the porch.

  Yes, maybe she could shoot him as an intruder. Didn’t Madlyn’s dad have a hunting rifle? She got up and opened the coat closet. There it was, in the corner of the closet. She pulled it out. She’d scare the crap out of Darius.

  With the rifle tucked under her arm, she called out, “You deserve to die, you pig!” At the same moment, she pulled the door open.

  Jason Darby threw his hands in the air. “Don’t shoot!”

  Vicky lifted her hand to her mouth. The rifle dropped to the floor and fired.

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  Jason jumped sideways but the bullet didn’t come anywhere near him. It did tear a chunk out of the porch’s half wall though. He put a hand out to keep Vicky back, but she seemed frozen in her tracks. Then he leaned over to retrieve the rifle.

  “I thought you called me here to discuss my job offer. I take it you found the terms unacceptable.” Sarcasm dripped from every syllab
le.

  Vicky staggered backward into the living room. “My God, I could have killed you. I am so sorry. I thought you were my ex. I just wanted to scare him off.”

  “Is he violent?”

  Vicky blinked at the question. “Not physically.”

  Jason frowned. “Is there more than one kind?”

  Vicky nodded. “Maybe you have to be a woman to get that.” She turned away and barely made it to the sofa before her legs gave way.

  Alarmed by her distress, Jason strode to her side and dropped to one knee in front of her. “It’s okay. I’m fine. It was obviously an accident. You’re not used to handling guns, are you?”

  “No.” She looked like she might throw up.

  Jason said, “I’ll get you some water.”

  “Okay.”

  He stood up, closed the front door, balanced the rifle in the corner, then went in search of the kitchen. It wasn’t hard to find. He ran water in a glass, wondering if he was getting involved with a nut case. Why would she answer the door with a rifle in her hand? She’d either been very frightened or very angry. He carried the water back into the living room. Vicky was trembling on the sofa. She looked green around the gills.

  “Drink.” Jason wrapped her hands around the glass.

  Vicky sipped at the water.

  “Just what did this ex of yours do to earn your wrath?”

  Vicky sipped more water. She struggled to speak. “I’m so sorry.”

  “Yes,” said Jason gently. “We’re past the sorry part. We’re talking about your ex now.”

  Vicky nodded. “He dumped me. Right before a huge competition. Destroyed me. I couldn’t perform.” She had trouble forming complete sentences.

  “Okay. I take it this competition was a major deal?”

  “My chance to launch my career.”

  “Oh. Was this before or after you found out you were homeless?”

  “Two days before.”

  “Ouch. That’s why you came to Eagle’s Toe?”

  “Yes. Madlyn bought me a ticket.” She stared at the glass in her hand, as if wondering how it got there.

  Jason relieved her of it and set the glass on the coffee table. “I take it he showed up here this morning.” He sat down beside her. So close he could smell her shampoo. The idea of some man frightening her so badly that she reached for a rifle made him angry. He was filled with a sudden desire to protect her. He wondered what she would do if he slipped his arm around her shoulders. But no. He needed to stay in control. He cleared his throat and added the word, “Unexpectedly.”

  “He’s so arrogant.” Her bitterness soured her voice. “Acted like we’d had a spat, and said he wanted to make up. He wanted me to take him back. After what he did. I hate him.” She seemed surprised when the last three words came out of her mouth. She turned her face away. “I’m sorry you had to see me like this.”

  “And you wanted to shoot him?”

  “I wanted him to leave me alone. Madlyn’s dad used to go hunting, so I reached in the closet and grabbed the rifle. I didn’t know it was loaded. I just wanted to show him that I was serious when I told him to leave.” She was babbling now.

  Jason patted her knee. “Easy. If it makes you feel any better, it would have worked. Especially the part where you dropped the rifle and it went off. That would have made your point.”

  Vicky’s eyes widened with alarm. “Do you think the police will come?”

  Jason cocked his head to listen. “I don’t hear any sirens. If your neighbors are at work, maybe no one noticed.”

  Vicky looked horrified. “No one noticed a rifle shot?”

  Jason shrugged. “Second season for rifle hunting elk and deer is mid to late October. People around here like to hunt.”

  “Second season? How many are there?”

  “Four for that category. But you need a tag. It doesn’t matter. You’re in shock. Calm down. You’re not going hunting. Tell me more about your boyfriend.”

  “Ex.” Her features set in a grim mask. “How can a man be so cruel? He did that to me on purpose so he’d have a better chance.”

  “He’s a pianist, too?”

  She nodded. “He should do very well. My teachers used to tell me you have to be ruthless to make it to the concert stage.” Tears glistened in her eyes. “He even bought my laptop from the pawn shop and refused to give it back to me.”

  Jason frowned. “You had to pawn your laptop?”

  She nodded and tears spilled onto her cheeks. She wiped them away, impatient with herself. “I had to pay my rent last month. It was already late.” She shrugged. “Doesn’t matter now, does it?” She looked at him and brushed away another tear, as if it were a fly. “Have you ever been so broke you had to pawn stuff?”

  Jason shook his head no, unable to think of anything to say.

  Vicky reached for the fax on the coffee table. “I read this after you left. You’re really willing to pay someone a million dollars to pretend to be your wife?”

  “Not pretend. To marry me for at least a year.”

  She took a breath and leaned back against the cushions. “May I ask why you’d want to do that? You’re an attractive man, you drive a very expensive car. Why would you have to pay someone to marry you?”

  Jason leaned back, as well. She seemed to be recovering from the shock of nearly shooting a man. He was pleased that the idea was so disturbing to her. It meant that maybe she wasn’t crazy after all. He resisted the urge to reach out and tuck a loose strand of hair behind her ear. He organized his thoughts. How much should he tell her? Would she think he was a jerk, like her ex, for wanting to control the family money?

  “My grandmother is very wealthy. I’m her only heir. But for some reason she has decided that she needs to control my life. She wants me to marry a woman she has personally picked out. The only way I can remain her heir is to be married before her deadline, but I have no interest in marrying some hand-picked debutante.”

  Vicky’s eyes filled with compassion. “I hate it when people try to control everyone around them. Can she do that to you? Legally, I mean?”

  Jason shrugged. “I left a message for the lawyers last night, and I just got off the phone with the senior partner before coming here. She can stipulate whatever she wants. I could challenge in court, but that’s like making the lawyers heir to the fortune.”

  “Wow. I never knew anyone who had lawyers and had to worry about a fortune.” She played with the hem of her top. “I really need—”

  Someone knocked at the door.

  “Want me to get it? In case it’s your ex?”

  Vicky nodded vigorously.

  Jason felt sorry for her. In an instant, she’d gone from curious to terrified. He got up and opened the door.

  “Hello, Officer.”

  CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

  Vicky felt her pulse quicken at the sight of the policeman. She got up and joined Jason at the door.

  “Is something wrong?” she asked, hoping she looked innocent.

  The young policeman glanced down at his uniform. “Sorry. I just got off duty. Is Madlyn home?” His gaze moved back and forth from Jason to Vicky. “Do I know you?”

  Vicky held out a hand. “I’m Madlyn’s best friend from high school. Victoria Winn. I just arrived yesterday for a visit. Madz is at work.”

  The officer’s expression relaxed. “Oh, right. She told me she had company coming. I’m John Dare. Didn’t we have algebra together?”

  Vicky smiled. “I was so clueless in high school, we could have shared a locker and I wouldn’t remember. I’m sorry.”

  “No problem. Sorry to bother you. I’ll catch up with Madlyn at the shop.” He tipped his cap and turned to leave, then paused and sniffed the air. “Someone doing target practice inside the city limits?”

  Vicky felt her cheeks burning. “I was rummaging in the coat closet and had to move Mr. Lake’s hunting rifle. Then like a clumsy idiot, I dropped it, and it went off.”

  Officer Dare glanced dow
n at the porch, then looked her in the eye.

  Vicky met his gaze evenly.

  “Okay,” he said at last. Then, “Everything all right here?”

  Vicky nodded. “Yes, of course. This is—”

  Jason extended a hand. “Jason Darby. Nice to meet you.”

  Recognition flitted across Dare’s features. “Same here.” He shook Jason’s hand. “Your car?” He tilted his head toward the Jaguar in the driveway.

  “Yes.”

  Dare smiled. “Nice ride.”

  Jason smiled back. “Thanks.”

  Dare looked at Vicky one more time, then turned and headed for the blue pickup at the curb.

  Vicky closed the door and sagged against it.

  “What are you so nervous for?” asked Jason. “He’s just a friend of Madlyn’s, probably came by to ask her out or something.”

  “How did he know a gun was fired?”

  “He’s a policeman. They’re trained to know those things. Calm down. It’s not like you really tried to kill someone.”

  Vicky ran her hands through her hair. “This whole thing has messed me up, and I need to rehearse. My hands are still shaking.”

  “Look, you had a traumatic experience. It’s all right. Only people in the movies are unaffected by accidents like that. Fortunately, you didn’t hurt anyone. Okay? Are you rehearsing for another competition?”

  “I’m always getting ready for another test,” she said. “It’s like I can never relax. I’m beginning to wish my mother never started me on the piano.”