Still The One

by Joan Reeves

Frederick laughed. "He thinks if you're not married then you must be engaging in some kind of hanky-panky on the side. Isn't that a hoot? And he's not some old codger like me, either. But don't let me interfere with your story. Go on, son."

  "As I was saying," Burke tried again.

  "Heck, that man acts as if women and men can't work together without their hormones getting the better of them and wrecking the company," Frederic interjected. "He ought to know by looking at your financials that you and Tiffany don't have any hormones!"

  Ally choked back a laugh, but she didn't say anything.

  Burke winced. "Thanks, Granddad. You want to tell the rest of this story?"

  "Shoot, no, son, you're doing a great job." Frederick leaned back and sipped his coffee. "Go on."

  "Sakamoto also thinks that an unmarried man is an unstable man. According to his philosophy, married men have more at stake and work harder."

  "So to make a long story short," Frederick interrupted again, "if Tiffany and Burke want the money, they have to get hitched to somebody. So they decided getting hitched to each other was the perfect answer."

  Burke rolled his eyes. "Well, I'm glad I finally had the chance to tell this story," he muttered. He looked at his grandfather. Frederick's blue eyes twinkled with mischief.

  Uh, oh. Burke knew that look. He'd seen it every time Frederick had tricked him and Rod into doing something they didn't want to do, such as getting them to work at the local hamburger joint rather than hitching to Alaska to work on a fishing boat which both boys had decided they must do one summer. Well, it wasn't going to work this time. Whatever it might be, he wasn't falling for Frederick's tricks.

  "That's a very, uh, interesting story," Ally said. Was he involved with Tiffany or wasn't he? Though she didn't have a concrete answer from Burke about their relationship, she felt a glimmer of hope that this marriage of his was nothing more than a convenience. "Well, I'm sorry I upset your plans."

  "Yeah, I can hear the regret in your voice," Burke muttered.

  After a sip of coffee, Frederick said, "You clean up real nice, Ally. But then you always were a pretty girl."

  Ally smiled. "Thank you, Mr. Winslow."

  "Now, now. Don't call me Mr. Winslow. You called me Granddad before, and I assume somehow or other that you're still married to my grandson so you're still entitled to call me Granddad. And I won't take no for an answer."

  "All right, Granddad. So is there more to this story? Any deep dark secret about the morally indignant Mr. Sakamoto?"

  "Sakamoto is coming here next week. I guess Burke will lose the deal, even though it would be a perfect investment for Sakamoto." Frederick snorted. "Maybe it's just as well. This deal has Burke and Tiffany acting like a couple of clowns."

  "Thanks, Granddad, for continuing to clarify and explain so succinctly," Burke said dryly.

  "Aw, shucks, son. I just feel real strongly about making a travesty of the sacrament of marriage even if you seem convinced that good business partners make good marriage partners." He sighed loudly. "Though I guess if you marry someone you like, there's always the chance that you could grow to love them. What do you think, Ally?"

  That observation took all the wind out of her sails. Ally studied the coffee in her cup as if it held the answer to the meaning of life. When she'd been married to Burke, if she were honest, she'd admit that all he seemed to care about was getting ahead. But back then, she couldn't acknowledge that fact. She'd been too overwhelmed with her own immature fear that he was seeing other women. Either way, she'd felt ignored. Apparently, his career was still the most important thing in his life. In Tiffany, he'd found a woman who fit into his plans perfectly.

  "Yes, I think love can grow between two people," she said softly. She pictured Burke with the beautiful Tiffany, day after day. Not to mention, night after night. It might start out as a business arrangement, but given the intimacy of the situation, he was bound to succumb to Tiffany's charms. She was beautiful. And he wasn't the kind of man to choose a celibate life. With sinking spirits, she realized that she'd only bought a delay in his wedding. For the first time, she admitted to herself that she'd wished for more.

  "Tell me what brought you to Houston, Ally," Frederick said. "Guess there must have been something wrong with that divorce you got?"

  "Dear old cousin Will who handled my divorce didn't have enough sense to follow up. Guess that's why he only practiced law for a year," she said, lightly.

  "Well, I'll be a ring-tailed possum."

  "Granddad, don't you think that's overdoing it a little?" Burke asked dryly.

  "But I'm just amazed as all get out," Frederick said. "I mean, you need a wife, Burke. As it turns out, you've already got one!"

  Chapter 6

  "Oh, no. Don't even think what you're thinking," Ally warned. Impersonating his wife wasn't what she had bargained for. It ran a distant second to what she wanted, she realized with a start.

  "Why not? This would be the perfect answer to my problem?" Burke said. He cocked his head to the side and studied her as if appraising her for the role.

  "I am not the answer to your problem." He hadn't changed in his ambition. His career still took priority. And he had Tiffany when he needed more than work. Burke didn't want her back. He just wanted his blasted deal to succeed. "I didn't come here to be your wife, Burke. I came to get our divorce back on track. We need to do whatever is necessary to make it official."

  "We can do that too as soon as the deal goes through, if that's what you want."

  Hurt by his easy agreement to the divorce, Ally said, "Good. That's exactly what I want. I don't want to be married to you any more than you want to be married to me." He need never know that part of her had wished that he'd take one look at her and fall for her all over again. What a hopeless romantic she was.

  Burke said, "You're certainly in a hurry to be legally free. Why is that? Got someone waiting in the wings."

  Ally met his eyes across the room and knew she'd lied to herself when she'd decided to return here. She hadn't just wanted him to see the woman she had become. She'd wanted him to fall in love with her again.

  Oh, Ally, you fool!

  "Well, do you have a boyfriend waiting for you?"

  The devil made her do it. That is the only excuse she could come up with for her reply. "Why, yes, I do. And he's just the most wonderful man in the world."

  Burke's brows snapped together. "I see. No wonder you wanted to get this divorce processed." He paused a moment, then said coolly, "For now though, you're still my wife."

  Ally shivered, knowing she was getting in over her head. "Quit saying that. I am not your wife."

  Burke felt like punching her mystery man. "That's not what you said in the church less than an hour ago." So she had another man, huh? It hadn't taken her long to replace him. After all, it had only been six years. Why was she in such a hurry?

  "I did not come here to break up your wedding because I wanted to be your wife again. I'd have to be insane to want that, wouldn't I?"

  "Thanks a lot," he said. His mind worked furiously. This could be his chance. Whoa! He applied the mental brakes. His chance for what? To show Ally that he didn't need her. Right? Or was it something else? He pushed the thought away. This was a chance for revenge. What else could it possibly be? She'd broken his heart, and now she'd come back to stomp on it, with tales of her new boyfriend, for good measure. Well, he'd show her that she didn't have any hold on him any more.

  "I mean," Ally added hastily, "it's not as if you've been sitting around waiting for me to come back to you, now is it?"

  "You're right. I'd have to be crazy to have expected, or wanted, that."

  "Good. Fine. Then we're agreed." Ally crossed her arms and leaned back, seething. Then she relaxed her arms and forced herself to reach for her coffee as if the matter was of no importance. She sternly commanded herself to get this over with and leave before she made a worse fool of herself.

  "But you are still his wife," Frederick said w
ith a chuckle. "It sure would solve a lot of immediate problems."

  "Stop saying that, Granddad. I'm not his wife."

  "Me thinks thou doth protest too much," Burke said, eyes glinting.

  "Well, you can doth think whatever you doth please." Her heart pounded in a confusion of emotions.

  Burke frowned. "Granddad's right. I need a wife, and you're here."

  "No, he's not right. We're married in name only."

  "Well, that's okay. It would be a business arrangement just like Burke and Tiffany were going to have," Frederick put in. "A marriage of convenience."

  "I don't think so, Granddad," Ally said, trying not to shout. Marriage of convenience my foot! Ally was willing to bet that the business Burke and Tiffany were engaged in was monkey business as much as computer business. Even if they weren't, did the elderly man really think that Burke would have kept his hands off Tiffany for long? Maybe Frederick Winslow had forgotten what it was like to be in intimate quarters with a member of the opposite sex, but she hadn't.

  How could she possibly have a marriage in name only with Burke, the one man, the only man, who excited every nerve ending in her body?

  Burke studied the panicked expression on Ally's face. What was she so upset about? Was the idea of being his wife so abhorrent? His wife. The two words had an unsettling effect on him. He told himself it was just because he was excited over finding a solution to his immediate problem. Teaching Ally a lesson would just be an extra bonus.

  "Actually, Burke," Frederick insisted, "Ally's coming here is the answer to all your problems."

  When Ally squawked in protest, Frederick said, "Just hear me out. What you've proposed is brilliant."

  "I didn't propose anything!" Ally protested.

  "Ally, you can't run away and leave Burke in the lurch. You're the one who put him on the spot. If you had signed the divorce papers the way you should have, then he wouldn't be in this predicament. Or if you had let him know before now. But you showed up and sent Tiffany flying. The way I see it, you're responsible for this mess."

  "No, Granddad!" Ally shook her head vehemently.

  Frederick stood then swayed as if disoriented. He pressed his hand over his forehead. "Oh, my!"

  "What's wrong?" Burke leaped to his grandfather's side and grabbed the elderly man's right arm. Ally rushed to his other side.

  "Here, sit down," she urged. "Let me get you some water." She dashed to the kitchen and was back in an instant.

  "Now, now, don't fuss over me," Frederick groused, sipping the glass of water she pressed on him. "I guess I'm just so stressed out by this whole situation."

  Ally felt terrible. "I'm so sorry," she said contritely.

  Lines of worry creased Burke's forehead. "Do I need to call a doctor?"

  "No, no. I'll be fine. Just a little dizzy spell. Guess this has all been too much excitement for me."

  Ally and Burke's eyes met over Frederick's head. Her eyes questioned. His accused. Burke shook his head and shrugged his shoulders, at a loss to explain his grandfather's sudden ill health. Frederick hadn't complained of any health problems. As far as he knew, his grandfather was in perfect health. Worried, he faced the fact, for the first time, that Frederick Winslow wasn't a young man any more.

  "I've just been so upset over this Sakamoto thing that my blood pressure has gotten out of control," Frederick said.

  "I didn't know you had a blood pressure problem," Burke said, feeling guilty. He'd been so busy that he had neglected his grandfather the last few weeks. Had that been when Frederick started suffering from high blood pressure?

  "Well, it's not something I brag about."

  Burke studied Frederick closely but his grandfather didn't look any different than he ever did. In fact, he looked to be the very picture of good health. Puzzled, he wondered about this sudden blood pressure problem.

  "Just relax," Ally urged. "We won't talk of this any more."

  "No, we need to talk about it," Frederic insisted. "Burke has to play host next week. Ally, your plan is his only chance. You two are still married. It's the perfect answer. Even if Burke wanted to get divorced and remarried, he couldn't accomplish it in enough time. And that's assuming Tiffany still wants to go through with the marriage."

  "This is emotional blackmail," Ally wailed.

  "Oh, dear," Frederick gasped and closed his eyes.

  "There, there," Ally said, hurriedly. "I didn't mean to upset you."

  Burke shushed her. "That's enough for now. We'll talk later," he muttered, as much puzzled as concerned.

  Contrite, she realized he was right. But she had to return to Dallas. She wouldn't be able to handle a steady diet of Burke Winslow.

  "Ally, you owe this to Burke," Frederick insisted. "If it hadn't been for you, he'd be married by now."

  "It's not my fault," she protested feebly. But in her heart, she felt guilty.

  "You're the one who stopped the wedding, aren't you?" Frederick asked.

  "Yes, but. . . but it wouldn't have been legal," she stammered.

  "Sakamoto wouldn't have known that," Frederick said.

  "Yes, but. . . ." Ally's voice trailed off.

  "And Burke has worked too hard to lose everything now."

  "Granddad, the deal isn't that important," Burke said with a shrug.

  "Not important? Then why were you and Tiffany going to marry just to make it work?"

  Burke frowned, uncomfortable at the question. The deal was important but it wouldn't shut him down if it didn't go through. Maybe his priorities were out of kilter. Perhaps work had become too important. It had been the only thing that had kept him going after Ally had left him.

  "Think of all the embarrassment you caused Tiffany and her family," Frederick said, "not to mention the ridicule Burke will receive."

  "Yes, but," Ally tried again, her voice softer than before. She felt that she was fighting a battle she couldn't possibly win.

  "To sum it up," Frederick said, pressing her hand, "You've sabotaged Burke's future."

  Ally felt miserable. "That's not what I intended. I didn't know the ramifications of this."

  "I believe you, child. But this is your chance to make it right. Play the role of Burke's wife for the next month. Then when the papers are signed, you and Burke can file for divorce. That's what you both want, isn't it?"

  "Of course it is," they replied in unison.

  Ally wavered. They were asking far more than she was willing to part with. How could she be next to Burke, day in and day out, and the nights, the voice of temptation whispered, and not fall completely in love with him again? This wasn't what she'd expected! But she didn't want to upset Frederick any more than he already was.

  Burke watched Ally as she considered Frederick's scheme. He really should be honest with her and tell her that the fate of his company didn't hang in the balance. But something held him silent. Maybe Ally did owe him something for leaving him the way she had six years ago. He looked her up and down, certain that she was unaware of his perusal. Maybe he just wanted to find out if she still went up in flames when he kissed her.

  Kissed her! What was he thinking? Get a grip, he commanded himself. There would be no kissing. This was just going to be a marriage of convenience. Just the way it would have been if Tiffany had gone through with the ceremony. He reminded himself that her jealousy had destroyed their marriage. She'd broken his heart.

  His resolve hardened. "Decide now. Tell me one way or the other," he told her brusquely.

  "Give me a minute! I'm thinking." Ally worried her lower lip with her teeth as she considered all the ramifications of this little deal. She knew it was a mistake. Somehow, she would have to find a way to play Burke's wife yet keep her emotions in check. She looked up at him and sighed. Otherwise, she'd never get out of this intact.

  "This is a dumb plan," she protested, "but I guess I have no choice."

  "It may be dumb, but I don't have a choice either. I've got thirty employees, and their families, to think about. It
's not just my future. It's theirs too," he defended. Somehow, he didn't feel a pang of guilt at coercing her with half-truths.

  Ally twisted her hands. "I didn't think of it that way."

  "You never did. Think that is. That's the way you were in the past so why should I think you'd be any different today?"

  "That's not fair. I am not the silly, starry-eyed girl I was six years ago."

  Burke looked her up and down. "Except for some obvious physical differences." His left brow arched. "I can't see that you're any different."

  "That's insulting. It doesn't seem as if you have changed much either."

  "Oh, but I have. I'm not the trusting soul I once was. You cured me of that," he said.

  "I could say the same if we are going to trade insults. One thing is certain. You're still the same autocratic arrogant chauvinist that I was married to. That's an excellent reason for us to make this divorce official. So if I have to play your wife to get this divorce, then fine!"

  "Children, children. You're giving me a headache. Stop arguing. You'll have those nosy people from the church poking their heads in here at any moment. Maybe I should leave you two alone to thrash this out. As they say, three's a crowd."

  "No, don't go," Ally pleaded, not wanting to be alone with Burke. "You need to rest."

  "I feel much better. Just needed a moment of rest I suppose. You need to work this out with Burke."

  Frederick ambled over to the door and paused. "Now, you kids work out the details. I know you both are sensible, mature adults. Put the past behind you. Forget that passion you once had. Don't even think about all that lust and sex."

  Frederick left them standing there, looking like two uncertain, gawky kids. As soon as he was far enough away from the parlor, he pulled his cell phone from his coat pocket and placed a call.

  "Hi, Darlin'," he said. "It went like clock-work, even better than we planned. I've stirred the pot, and they should just about be coming to a boil real soon."

  "I'll be glad when these kids get straightened out." His voice dropped to a husky whisper, "Then maybe we can have a wedding of our own."

  A grin broke over his face. "I should be at your place in about an hour. Will you wait up for me?"